“Good?” He laughed at her expression. “Why is that good?”
“Because I never wanted to go to begin with. It was all Rose and Violet’s doing. I agreed only because they wouldn’t stop talking about it.”
“Would the school not have helped?”
She shrugged her shoulders. “I suppose, but I have little trouble communicating with anyone, so I didn’t see the point.”
There was a bench in front of the station, so Daisy crossed the distance to it and sat down. He did the same, both of them watching the train get further away. He wasn’t sure how he felt about her missing her train. A part of him was elated at the fact she wasn’t going. But it was a missed opportunity. The school would have taught her so much, but he wasn’t sure she needed it. As she said, she had no problem communicating with people, so she didn’t see the need for it. And she was right. He had to repeat himself a few times for her to grasp everything he was saying, but mostly, she understood and could answer without missing a beat. The fact she could do it at all was amazing. How did someone who couldn’t even hear talk to begin with? Curiosity got the best of him, and he tapped her arm to get her to look at him. “How is it you can talk but can’t hear?”
She grinned. “I wasn’t born deaf.”
“Ah, that explains it then.”
“It took a long time for me to learn how to control the way I said words so I wasn’t shouting or whispering, but I’ve managed okay with my family's help.”
Every so often, her pronunciation of words was off. A dropped syllable here or there, but he understood her as well as he did anyone else. “How long have you been deaf?” he asked.
“Since I was eight.”
“And how old are you now?”
“Nineteen.” She looked at her feet and swung them before saying, “There was a sickness that went through Silver Falls when I was young. Almost everyone caught it. There wasn’t a doctor in town then, so many people died. Both my parents and my older sister, Heather.” She met his gaze and smiled. “I didn’t, but I lost my hearing. The fever was too much, I guess, because when I started feeling better, I couldn’t hear a word anyone was saying.”
“How long did it take you to learn to read lips?
She grinned. “A really long time.” She sat back against the bench and crossed her arms under her breasts. “Most of the time I can make out what people are saying, but some people are harder to read than others.”
“I’d imagine so. It's amazing you can do it at all.”
Her cheeks turned a slight shade of pink before she looked away. The small compliment wasn’t meant to flatter, but he could tell by that blush staining her cheeks that it had.
He stood and looked toward the town. There were people everywhere. Hundreds, if he had to guess. The noise was loud. Voices, hammers, strange bangs and dings, and the air was filled with so many scents, he couldn’t pick out any of them.
“What are we supposed to do now?”
Daisy’s question was a good one. What were they supposed to do now?
Looking down at her, he said, “I have no idea.”
Butte, Montana, was a confusing, bustling town of multiple streets, alleyways, and so many businesses, Daisy was sure to get lost. Houses lined the road on the outskirts of town, and buggies, wagons, and horses made it almost impossible to cross the roads. As busy as it was, there was nothing but silence as she stood on the sidewalk with Clay. He was looking down the road, his head turning left then right, and his face was alight with—something. Pleasure didn’t seem like the right word. Maybe it was excitement. He’d said he liked new places and wanted to travel. Perhaps being in this place was giving him that.
He pointed further down the road before turning his head to look at her. “I see the sheriff’s office,” she saw him say. “Let’s head down there first.”
For the second time that day, he grabbed her hand, entwining his fingers with her own, and her face heated, blushing no doubt, as he tugged her along with him. The many faces she saw as they headed across town had her stepping closer to Clay. She’d never seen so many people in one place before. Not even the Founders Day picnic had this many.
She’d known most of her life that Silver Falls was a small town. It was nothing more than a stagecoach stop along the trail, really, and she had only ever imagined what other towns were like. Elkin, where they’d caught the coach, was much larger than Silver Falls, but it paled in comparison to Butte.
Her attention was drawn back to Clay when he stopped. The door in front of them was embossed with the words, Sheriff’s Office. He opened it before ushering her inside. The sheriff was a portly man with a kind face. He smiled at them both before asking, “What can I do for you?”
She turned her head to Clay, watching as he told the sheriff about the stagecoach robbery and the two ladies the bandits had taken. When he started to tell him about Eugene and his wife, and mentioned the dismembered body parts he’d found behind their house, she looked out the window. The idea of that sweet old man and woman luring people to their home and then killing them for food was preposterous, but Clay had no reason to lie about it. He’d ushered them out of there so quickly, she had no choice but to believe him. Why else would he have run so far and fast if what he said wasn’t true?
She put it out of her mind and studied the people on the street. The ladies here were dressed in the latest fashions. Rose always brought her the newest periodicals when they came into the store, and she lived vicariously through the things she read about and saw. Drawings of what ladies were wearing in Paris graced the pages, and she’d dreamed of one day wearing something so fine. Perhaps the new seamstress in Silver Falls could make similar dresses. The notion vanished the moment she thought it. Going into the dressmaker's shop meant she’d have to see Veronica, and she’d rather eat rusty nails than be in the same room as that girl.
She glanced at Clay out of the corner of her eye. He was the reason she and Veronica didn’t get along. The newest residents in Silver Falls had seemed nice enough when they’d arrived, but Veronica had set her sights on Clay the moment she spotted him. Not that she blamed her. He was handsome and hardworking, a rugged type of man anyone would want, herself included, if she were being honest, so it was nothing but jealousy that made her and Veronica enemies. They didn’t like each other, and she tried to avoid her.
Clay touched her arm and got her attention before ushering her to the door. Once outside on the sidewalk, he said, “The sheriff is going to look into the stagecoach robbery and find out more about Eugene and Irma. He mentioned a few people who have gone missing around town, so maybe they’re the reason.” He looked down the street and motioned to something with his head before grabbing her hand again. Warmth set her limbs to tingling as he did, and she bit her lip to keep from smiling like a loon.
She’d lost count of how many times he’d held her hand now. Was Violet right about him? Did he like her? As improbable as it was, she secretly hoped he did.
