Violet stepped out of the gap between the buildings and smoothed her skirts. She needed to meet Juliette and Willow in a few minutes, but she wasn’t quite ready to head back to the mercantile.

Instead, she made her way to Tom’s forge, stopped to lean against the side of his shop, and waited for Jimmy to step out from their hiding spot. She was addicted to him. She didn’t even try to deny it anymore. She wanted to see him as much as she could, and now that they’d decided to bring their relationship out into the open, everything was more real. It seemed possible. And Jimmy already felt like hers.

When he stepped out from between the buildings, his eyes met hers, and she gave him a slow smile. He returned it, and she could tell he was still thinking about their kiss. She wished she was still behind the buildings with him, but maybe, if everything worked out, they’d be engaged before too long. As crazy as that may have seemed a few weeks ago, it was more than possible now.

They didn’t want to get caught kissing behind the buildings, but now they were telling others, there was no reason she couldn’t speak with him in the middle of town. She wanted everyone to know she wanted him.

As if he felt the same way, he took several steps toward her, and she moved from her place to meet him halfway. But when she was almost to him, someone called to her from across the street.

“Miss Morgan! Miss Morgan!” The porter from the train station rushed toward her, then leaned forward slightly and sucked in several breaths, as if he’d been running for a while. “I’m glad I caught you before you returned home.”

Jimmy reached them in time to overhear, and looked at Violet with concern. “Is everything all right?”

“I don’t know.” She looked at the man. “Is it?”

He took off his hat and held in his hands. “Forgive me. I didn’t mean to worry you. I have a message for you.”

“A message? From whom?”

“I was sent to tell you your fiancé is waiting for you.”

Violet’s mouth fell open and Jimmy stiffened next to her. “Who is waiting for me?”

The man looked uneasily between Violet and Jimmy, obviously picking up on the sudden tension. “Your fiancé?”

Jimmy stepped forward. “She doesn’t have a fiancé.”

Violet swallowed at the light menace in his tone. She held out her hand and placed it on his chest, forcing him back from the porter a step. “There must be some kind of misunderstanding.”

“I don’t know anything about that, Miss. All I know is I was sent to give you the message.”

When she felt Jimmy push forward again, she asked, “And where is this person?”

“He said he’d meet you at Sally’s Café. Although, he didn’t seem too pleased with the idea. He expected your lodging to be in town, and that you’d be able to greet him immediately upon his arrival. His words.”

“Greet him?” Now Violet was really confused. “Did he just arrive?”

“Yes, on the train.”

At his words, a niggling thought of who it sounded like entered her mind, but she brushed it aside. Richard wouldn’t have traveled all this way, and he certainly wasn’t her fiancé any longer.

Jimmy couldn’t remain silent. “And did this man tell you his name?”

The older man nodded his head enthusiastically. “He sure did. He said he was Mr. Richard Edwards the Second.” He scratched his head. “Er. Maybe it was the Third.”

The color drained out of Violet’s face. Richard was here? What on earth did he want?

For a moment, she let herself believe he was here for another reason, that he hadn’t come all this way for her. He shouldn’t even know she was here. Logically, she knew no other explanation made sense. The only reason Richard had come to Promise Creek was for her. But why?

Violet realized Jimmy had gone silent next to her. She looked over at him, taking in his rigid stance, the questions in his eyes. He didn’t look at her with accusation, but he did look as if he were on guard.

She reached out and put her hand on his forearm, wanting to reassure him, and if she were being honest, herself as well. “I’m sure there’s a good explanation for this.”

“I’m assuming Mr. Richard Edwards the Second is your ex-fiancé?”

“The Third.” She winced. “And yes. That’s him.”

He took a deep breath, but kept quiet a moment, obviously contemplating what he was going to say next. “And you’re sure you’re no longer engaged?”

“Completely sure. Plus, I’m married to another man now, at least as far as everyone in New York is concerned.” She was so grateful she’d explained about her previous engagement earlier. If she hadn’t, this situation would probably have been a lot more difficult.

“I remember. But why is he here then? Why is he claiming to be your fiancé?”

She shook her head and held up her hands. “I have no idea. There was no mistaking the end of our engagement. He practically left me at the altar for another woman. I was humiliated.” She looked at him again, willing him to believe her, willing him to trust her. “I don’t know why he’s here.”

He blew out a long breath, then took her hand and squeezed. “I believe you.”

Her heart eased. She’d been so worried he’d be angry. After telling her he didn’t want to be involved in a situation like this, here he was, involved in almost the same situation once again, right when they’d decided to tell everyone about their relationship.

“Why don’t we go see what he wants?” he suggested.

Violet nodded, grateful to have his confidence, but she wasn’t sure it was the best idea. She had no idea what Richard wanted to say, and she didn’t want Jimmy upset. “Are you sure you want to be there? I can handle this.”

“I know you can. You’re more than capable, but I’d like to be there if it’s all right with you. I want to make sure you’re safe.”

She smiled and leaned against him. “That’s kind of you.”

“It’s not all due to kindness.” He leaned toward her ear and whispered, “You’re mine. I want to make sure he realizes that.”

Her belly flipped as tingles went through her. Something magical happened when he did that, and she was pretty sure he knew it. It was as though her body filled with electricity, lighting up every inch of her until she was sure she’d catch fire.

She knew she’d sound ridiculous if she spoke, so she nodded her agreement and they set off after the porter.

Jimmy didn’t escort her quickly to Sally’s Café. Every step was measured, even, and she wondered if he needed a bit more time to gather himself before meeting Richard.

“You can still leave,” she offered softly.

“Not a chance.”

His words both comforted her and concerned her, but before she could say anything more, Jimmy had opened the door to Sally’s café and was gesturing for her to enter. “Let’s get this over with.”

She nodded, then straightened her spine and wiped all expression from her face, ready to face Richard. Jimmy’s surprised looked caught her eye, but she didn’t comment. This Violet, the one who had just mentally armed herself, was a person Jimmy didn’t know, and someone Violet had hoped he never would. But if he was truly interested in a future with her, he might as well see this part of her past. This would help him understand her in a way words never could.

Violet stepped into the cafe, her eyes quickly landing on Richard. He glanced up at her briefly, then dismissed her and looked back to his paper, before freezing a few seconds later. His eyes darted back to hers, and his paper fell limp in his hands.

Violet raised her chin just a fraction, and it seemed to snap him out of his lapse. He stood from the table and strode toward her, giving Jimmy a brief glance, before deeming him unworthy of notice. The same as he’d done when she’d first walked in.

“Darling!” He took her hand in his and kissed the back of it, then lowered his voice and said, “You look positively feral. Were you in some sort of accident?” He glanced around as if he were embarrassed to be seen with her.

She promptly removed her hand. “Whatever do you mean?” she asked, but she knew exactly what he meant. She never would have been caught dead looking like this in New York. If she’d appeared anything less than perfect outside her bedroom walls, she would have paid for it. Every hair on her head had always been styled, no wrinkles had ever marred her skirts, and she’d always appeared at the peak of fashion.

He gestured from the top of her unraveling hair, to the hem of her dusty skirts. “I should think it obvious.”

Violet gave him a practiced smile. “We’re no longer in New York, Mr. Edwards. Things are different here.”

“I wouldn’t have thought it was that different.” He said it like it was a bad thing, then looked at his surroundings and sniffed in disapproval.

Heavens, had she really been engaged to this shallow creature? Or worse, had she been this self-absorbed?

Loathing spread through her as she realized she truly had been just as bad.

She’d known she’d changed since coming to Promise Creek, but until this moment, she hadn’t known exactly how much. Now, the stark difference nauseated her. “Apparently, you were wrong.” She blew out a breath, already tired of the mindless banter. “Why are you here, Mr. Edwards? I thought everything between us had been resolved.”

“Richard, please. And obviously not.”

“I don’t know how clearer it could have been, Mr. Edwards. You jilted me for Abigail Broderick. It was splashed all over the papers.”

He flicked his hand through the air as if it had been nothing. “You know how the press is. It’s all in the past now.”

Violet felt Jimmy take a step forward and pull her to his side. He didn’t speak, but he was there, lending her strength, and she was grateful for it. “I don’t see how any of that matters. Why are you here?”

“Your parents sent me, of course. I thought it would be obvious.”

She frowned. She hadn’t expected his answer. “Why would my parents send you? I haven’t even heard from them.”

He rolled his eyes. “Don’t play coy, dear. They received your letter asking for funds to return home. They were grateful to hear you’d come to your senses and sent me to bring you home safely.”

Jimmy stiffened next to her, but she barely felt it through her shock. “I didn’t send them a letter,” she said truthfully.

Richard gave her a patronizing smile, and she wanted to claw it off his face. She controlled herself, but just barely. Behaving as a shrew would not help the situation.

Realizing she wasn’t going to drop the act, Richard sighed and reached into his pocket, pulled out a folded letter, then handed it to her. “I guess it’s a good thing I brought it.”

Violet felt the blood drain from her face as she recognized her handwriting. As if her hands had frozen stiff, she clumsily opened the paper, reading the words she’d written in her room some time ago in one of her weaker moments. She closed her eyes in disbelief. Juliette must have found it and sent it, not realizing it was meant for the garbage. “I had no intention of ever sending this. Another woman I live with must have sent it by accident. And in any case, why did my parents send you, of all people?”

He squirmed, but she couldn’t tell if it was genuine or just for show. “I think that would be best discussed in private.” He glanced at Jimmy meaningfully.

“I’m staying.” It was the one and only thing Jimmy had said since they’d walked in, and she almost jumped.

Richard started arguing, but Violet held up her hand. A headache was forming from the mess she’d gotten herself into, and she couldn’t stand the noise. “Stop. I’ll speak with you, but only because this is a mistake I could have prevented by throwing this in the trash.” She turned to Jimmy. “Will you give us a moment? The sooner I talk to him, the sooner he’ll leave.”

“Violet—”

Richard puffed his chest up. “Don’t presume to speak to my fiancée so informally, peasant.”

Jimmy choked. “Peasant?”

Before he could move past her, Violet spun and placed her hand on his chest. “Let it go. Please.” It took a moment for his eyes to stop boring into Richard and look at her. “This is something I have to do.”

“You really want me to leave?”

She brushed aside the hurt she heard in his voice. She didn’t want him to leave, but she knew Richard wouldn’t tell her why he was really here if Jimmy remained. “Yes. I’ll find you after.”

Jimmy’s jaw clenched, and frustration filled his eyes. He gave her a single nod, turned, and left Sally’s, slamming the door behind him.

“Good Lord, Violet. What have you gotten yourself into? He’s practically a savage.”

Violet counted to ten before she turned back to face him, her face frozen in a serene expression. “What I have, or have not, done here is none of your business. You broke our engagement, and I have no obligations toward you.”

“Well, that’s where you’re wrong. We are engaged. Your parents have given their blessing.”

Her expression fractured. “That was before you threw me over for another woman!”

He shook his head and gave her a small smile, as if he found the situation amusing. “You’re quite wrong about that. I was confused and called off our engagement hastily. I wasn’t in my right mind. I soon realized that after you left town.”

“I think what you mean is Abigail’s father didn’t approve your match, did he?”

His eyes narrowed, and she realized her flippant remark had cut to the truth. She laughed harshly. “I should have known.”

He sneered. “Such a look doesn’t become you, Violet.”

“You know what doesn’t become me? You. You don’t become me. That letter got sent to my parents in error. I never intended to send it, never intended to return, and I certainly will never marry you. You can be assured of that.”

“But your parents—”

“—have no say in my life now. When they disowned me for leaving, it absolved me from having to do anything they say. I don’t care if they engaged me to you. I will never marry you. Of that, I’m completely certain.” Violet shook her head. “We both know you never loved me anyway.”

“Of course I—” But when she gave him a disbelieving glare, he shrugged. “I loved the connection with your father.”

Violet nodded, not surprised at all. What did surprise her though, was that the knowledge didn’t hurt as it would have a year ago. Richard hadn’t loved her, and even though she’d thought herself in love at one point, she’d hardly cared for him back then. She knew that with certainty now, because she was in love with Jimmy. A man who cared for her, was her friend, had made her laugh, had encouraged her to be more than the spoiled society brat everyone had trained her to be.

He was who she loved. He was the man she wanted to spend the rest of her life with. “You know, Richard, I should probably feel sorry you wasted your time in coming here, but I don’t. I don’t feel sorry for anything. Actually,” she said as she cocked her head, “that’s not true. I’m sorry I didn’t see you for the snide, hollow man you really are.”

She took a step toward the door to leave, but his hand snapped out and wrapped around her arm. “Don’t walk away from me.”

She tried to jerk her arm away, but he only squeezed tighter and yanked her backwards, forcing her off balance. The skin under his grip twisted, and she grimaced in pain, but she refused to be cowed. “Unhand me.”

He pulled her closer and whispered angrily in her ear. “If you ever embarrass me like this again, you’ll regret it.”

She gritted her teeth, but before she could respond, the cafe door slammed open.

Jimmy stepped forward like an avenging angel. “Release her. Now. And if you ever touch her again, you’ll be the one who regrets it.”

Richard gave Jimmy a patronizing smile. “I don’t know who you think you are, but I’m Miss Morgan’s fiancé, and I’m here at her parent’s request to bring her home.”

Jimmy glanced at Violet, scanning her for any other injuries, before turning his attention back on Richard. “I don’t care who the hell you think you are, or what right you think you have, but if you don’t release Violet right now, you’re going to find out how we handle things here.”

Violet teared up but refused to let the moisture leave her eyes. She didn’t want Jimmy to think she was seriously injured. She wasn’t crying in pain. She was moved someone cared enough about her to step in, to demand she be left unharmed, no matter what Richard said his right was.

When Richard didn’t make a move to release her, Jimmy stepped forward, his hands clenched. “I’ll tell you one more time. Release her.”

Richard debated another second, before making a sound of disgust and pushing her toward Jimmy. Jimmy caught her with one arm and pulled her up against his side, never looking away from Richard. “There’s another train leaving in an hour. Make sure you’re on it.”

Richard spluttered, but didn’t argue.

Before she knew what was going on, Jimmy had whisked her out of the cafe and loaded her up onto his horse. “But Juliette and Willow—”

“I’ll make sure they know where you are.” He climbed up on the horse behind her, and pulled her in tightly against him, before urging his mount forward.

Juliette and Willow would be filled with questions, but Violet didn’t care about that at the moment. All she could think about was what had happened in the cafe with Richard.

Jimmy dismounted at the mercantile, telling her he’d only be a few minutes, before heading in. Less than a minute later, he walked back out and mounted the horse. “I told them I’d take you home.”

She nodded, not knowing what else to say. But when Jimmy neared the opposite part of town, she asked, “Where are we going?”

“My house.”

Her grip on the saddle horn tightened. He didn’t sound happy, and dread filled her. They obviously needed privacy for this conversation, but Violet didn’t know what he planned to say to her. Was he going to tell her he didn’t want to see her again? Was he going to look at her in disgust over writing a letter she’d never mentioned...and had never actually sent? What must he think of her? “Jimmy, I want to—”

“Let’s wait until we’re in the house.”

The tears she hadn’t shed in the cafe filled her eyes again. But this time, they ran over. She nodded her agreement, worried he’d hear the tears in her voice. Before, she’d been happy because she loved Jimmy, but now, she feared it. He had the power to hurt her unlike anyone ever had in her past.

It all seemed so unfair, but she was responsible for this too. She had written that letter. If she’d been stronger, if she’d opened her eyes sooner, none of this would have happened. She’d written it just before she fell in the river and hadn’t written another since then.

When they finally reached his house, he dismounted and reached up for her. Where before he would have lingered, holding her against him, he immediately set her aside, and a piece of her heart broke. She knew what was coming.

She followed him up the porch and inside the house, moving into the sitting room. Restless, she stood by the fireplace instead of taking a seat. She wanted to leave immediately if things went how she thought they would. The town wasn’t far, and she could walk there instead of having him take her home. She couldn’t bear the thought of riding with him, of touching him, after he’d broken her heart.

She crossed her arms and faced him, knowing she looked defensive, but couldn’t help it.

He looked at her, and his shoulders fell, as if he didn’t know what to do. He cursed softly and ran his hands through his hair, before flopping onto a chair. “I don’t know what to say.”

“Just say how you feel.” She wanted him to just tell her. To end it, if that’s what he wanted to do. It was worse prolonging it.

“How I feel?” he asked incredulously. “I feel angry. Frustrated. Upset. I want to go back there and punch him.”

Every emotion he’d listed had felt like a lash against her skin, until his final sentence. “Excuse me?”

“You heard me. I’m not proud of it, Violet, but when I saw him grab your arm through the window, I lost it.” He scrubbed his face with his hands as if he were still searching for control.

Her hands slowly lowered to her side as she tried to comprehend what he was saying. “You’re upset about that?”

“Of course! I’m furious.”

Confusion filled her. “I understand. But I assumed you were upset about everything else too.”

He jumped up and came to her, holding her hands. “I’m angry, but not at you. I’m furious over the way he treated you, the way your parents are still trying to use you as a pawn. I was hurt and frustrated when you asked me to leave, but I didn’t get far. After about ten steps, I realized I was being an idiot and came back. When I heard him tell you that your parents had agreed to another engagement, even after everything he’s done, and not even asking you, I was angry.”

“You heard? How?”

He nodded slowly. “The window was open, and Mr. Richard Edward the Third doesn’t speak quietly.”

“You know I never meant to send the letter, right?” She heard the hope in her voice and wanted to squelch it but couldn’t. She didn’t want to hide anything from Jimmy. “I wrote it, but never intended to send it.”

He nodded. “I know. I believe you.”

Relief flooded her. “I was worried you thought I lied to you. That when you saw the letter, you’d think I wrote to my family and was just passing time with you until I left.”

He lowered his eyes as if ashamed. “I did actually. For a moment, but then I realized you’d never do that. I know you, Violet. If you didn’t want to be involved with me, if you truly wanted to return east, you would have said so.”

Relief coursed through her, threatening to overwhelm her. “I love you, Jimmy.” Fresh tears tracked down her cheeks, but she didn’t brush them off or look away from him. “I love you, and it scared me you would think that and wouldn’t want me anymore. When I thought about losing you, it gutted me.”

Air rushed out of him, and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close so her face rested against his chest. “I love you too. You don’t ever have to worry I won’t want you. I’ll want you forever.”

She let out a broken laugh, and when she glanced up at him, he sealed his lips over hers, bringing his hands up to cup her face. He pulled back, gently wiping her tears with his thumbs. “I don’t ever want to be without you. I know I said I didn’t want to get involved with someone who had someone else, that I didn’t want the tangles I’d gone through with Aria, but I realized the second I stepped out that cafe door, I wasn’t letting you go. I didn’t care what I had to do, I was going to convince you to marry me. You are the only woman I want.”

Her lips quirked. “Is that a proposal?”

He took her lips softly. “Only if the answer is yes.”

“You have to ask first.”

He looked deep into her eyes. “Will you marry me, Violet?”

She leaned forward until their lips were a breath apart. “Yes. Absolutely yes!”

His grin lit up the room, and for the first time, she felt pure, unadulterated joy. He whooped and scooped her up in his arms, before running out the front door onto the porch.

She gasped. “What are you doing?”

He grinned and called out for the world to hear, “I love Violet Morgan! And she’s agreed to be my wife!”

She guffawed. “You’ve lost your mind.” But she loved it, every single crazy-filled moment of it.

Still laughing, they kissed as he held her close in his arms. She found the other piece of her heart in the wilds of Montana, and she would never once think of leaving again.