Chapter 28

The young woman parked her jeep in front of a building that advertised that it was a gas station, post office, and general store. She climbed out of her Jeep, and looked around at the town with amusement. It was just as small as she had been expecting.

She walked into the store finding that it was packed with merchandise from floor to ceiling. An elderly man was seated in a wooden chair next to a small Franklin wood-burning stove. At least the stove wasn’t lit.

The man rose from his chair. In a warm voice, he asked, “Can I help you?”

“I’m looking for the Dan Daniels place,” the woman answered.

“You must be Violet,” the man said startling the woman.

“I am,” Violet said.

“My condolences on the loss of your mother,” the man said while taking his cap off and holding it over his heart.

“Thank you,” Violet said.

Seeing the surprise on her face, the man said, “Dan stopped by and said that you might be around asking for directions to his place.”

“That makes sense,” Violet said.

It struck her that life out in the country was a little different than life in the city. This wasn’t her first time away from the city. Her mother and father used to take her camping when she was younger. They would pack up a trailer and head out to the national parks for one-week vacations. However, it was her first time to interact with the locals on more than a superficial level. It seemed to her that there was a lot less privacy out here than in the city.

“Vincent is over at the diner having lunch. He’ll take you most of the way to Dan’s place,” the man said.

“There’s no reason for him to go out of his way,” Violet said.

“He’s kin to Dan. Besides, it’s no problem for him to take you by Dan’s place. He lives right down the road from him,” the man replied.

“He’s at the diner, you say,” Violet said.

“That’s right. It’s right next-door. I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t expecting you,” the man said.

“Thank you.”

The man said, “It’s a shame about your mother. Sonny speaks very highly of her. That cancer is a nasty disease.”

“She spoke very highly of Sonny,” Violet said.

It seemed strange to her that although her mother had never made it there, the folks ... complete strangers ... spoke about her as if she was a dear departed friend. She didn’t know how to take that, but it didn’t really surprise her. Part of the reason she was there was to meet the people who had been so nice to her mother during her last days.

Before Violet had a chance to leave the store, an elderly woman entered from the rear door.

She looked at Violet and said, “I didn’t realize that we had a customer.”

“This is Violet,” the man said.

“My condolences for your mother,” the woman said resting a hand on Violet’s arm.

“Thank you,” Violet said.

“You’re a pretty young woman. I imagine that Sonny is going to fall for you like a ton of bricks,” the woman said.

“Thank you,” Violet said.

The woman said, “Sonny is a good boy. You could do a lot worse than him.”

“I’m not really here to find a man,” Violet said amused by the assumption that she was there to meet Sonny. Her mother’s descriptions of Sonny had intrigued her and she had come out there, in part, to meet the man who had so thoroughly charmed her mother.

The woman smiled at the denial. She wasn’t fooled for a minute.

Patting Violet on the arm, she said, “Of course you aren’t.”

“I’m sure that Vincent is waiting for you over at the diner,” the man said.

Violet went over to the diner. A young man waved at her to get her attention. She walked over to his table.

Rising from his seat, he said, “You must be Violet.”

“I am,” Violet said.

“I’m Vincent. Dan said that you might need some help finding your way to his place. Why don’t you sit down a spell? I’ll take you by his place once I finish eating,” Vincent said. He pointed to the chair across the table from where he was seated.

“No need to go to any trouble on my behalf,” Violet said.

“No trouble. I live right down the road from him,” Vincent replied.

He examined the young woman for a second while she took a seat at the table next to him. She was an attractive young woman full of energy. Her blue eyes sparkled with excitement. It was obvious to him that she was dressed for the country as evidenced by her hiking boots, blue jeans, and casual blue jean jacket.

Returning to his seat, he said, “I hope you don’t mind me saying this, but Sonny is going to be able to resist those blues eyes of yours ... for just about one second.”