Page 21 of May I Kiss the Bride
Still, dancing with her was something he couldn’t very well turn down since Elsie had insisted on it.
“I know she’s only a visitor, Papa,” Elsie had said when he’d returned to the barn that night. “But I chose Viola for you to dance with. I already told her too.”
This had certainly caught his attention. “Oh, and what did she say when you told her?”
“She said you and she were friends, but I don’t think that means you can’t dance.”
“It sure doesn’t,” Rey had answered.
So here he was. Taking a turn about the room with Viola as the fiddler played a slow melody. Rey could practically feel every single person’s eyes upon him, but he decided not to care. He could dance with a woman and not make front-page headlines in the weeklyMayfair Chronicle, right?
“You seem to be deep in thought,” Viola commented. “Did everything go well with Billy, or did he take another swing at you?”
Rey gazed into Viola’s upturned face. “Oh, he was quite repentant. Most men get that way when they’re facing jail time.”
“Hmm.” Viola looked away for a moment. “Well, thank you for attempting to throw him out, even though things went awry.”
Rey chuckled. “You’re welcome.” He paused. “Did you think I was hovering over you like Billy accused?”
“Hmm,” Viola said again.
Rey was beginning to think that maybe she was trying to torture him with all those mysterioushmms. “You can be honest with me, Viola. I’ll take it like a man.”
Her brows arched. “I’ve always been honest with you, but that doesn’t mean I have to tell you all my thoughts and opinions. But if you really want to know, I can understand how Billy, or others, might have viewed their sheriff as hovering over the new lady in town. Or maybe it was just the pie table—I assume you’re fond of pies like most people.”
“I am fond of pies, but I was also enjoying my chat with you.” Rey pulled her a half inch closer. “Is there something wrong with a little conversation?”
She lifted her chin a bit higher. “Nothing wrong with it at all. I just find it funny that we were both determined not to dance tonight, yet here we are.”
“Here we are …” He knew he was smiling like a fool, but he found he didn’t care. His little matchmaker daughter was probably going to read into this dance far more than she should, but again, Rey didn’t care at the moment.
He thought about how wonderful it would be if everyone could leave the barn dance so that he could be alone with Viola. Why? He wasn’t ready to put that into words, but there were too many potential interruptions. He felt like a giant clock was counting down, one tick at a time.
Viola’s smaller hand was encased in his while her other hand rested on his shoulder. This brought him a measure of comfort that he’d forgotten about. How a woman’s touch could bring him so much contentment.
“I’ll bet word of this will reach my aunt before I return to her place,” she said, “and then I’ll never hear the end of it.”
“Which will be?”
When her brow creased, he added, “What will your aunt pester you about?”
“Oh, she’ll tell me what a fine man you are. She’ll bemoan her arthritis and how she can’t trust the other shopgirls as much as me. Then she’ll finally add that you’re the type of man who’d let me pursue my dreams. The type of man I could marry, have a family with, but still enjoy things outside the home.”
“AmIthat type of man?”
“Are you going to go back on your word, Reynold Christensen?”
“I’ve never gone back on my word, and I don’t aim to now.”
They weren’t dancing anymore. They were simply standing in the middle of the floor, in each other’s embrace, their words whispered between them.
“I’ve decided to do it,” Viola suddenly said. “I don’t know how my parents will react, but when I return home, I’m going to visit the nursing school in San Francisco and inquire about enrolling. If they won’t have me, I’ll look around at other cities.”
Something twisted in Rey’s heart, but he grinned. “Excellent. You’re a natural, you know. Even tonight, with Billy being as rotten as he was, you still took care of his broken nose. And you didn’t faint at all that blood.”
“First of all, he wasn’t you with a gunshot wound. Second, he deserved the broken nose for the way he acted. I guess seeing him face down on the ground showed that he was human after all.”
Rey was very satisfied with her answer. Without a word, they both began to move again to the melody of the dance music.
