The chorus of crickets, the soundtrack of summer, and the occasional birdcall were the only sounds breaking the humid stillness of the morning as they had stood on her porch after locking her front door.
Not usually one to linger, Josh had leaned against the porch railing and paused to look at her house and then turned to him and quietly said, “I know we only had the weekend with her, but I’d ask her to marry me today—and not only because it doesn’t sit well with me to slink off in the dark like this.”
“I’d ask her today, too, if I thought she’d say yes.”
And that had been all that needed to be said. They’d gone home to sleep a while and then showered and called Clay Cook about a ring. Lily and Clay had invited them to lunch at Rudy’s, where Clay had talked to them and sketched out a design for the perfect ring for Violet.
Clay had given them the approximate date the ring would be ready, and they’d given him a down payment and asked if there was any way to rush the ring.
Outside the restaurant, before they went to their vehicles, Lucas had shaken his hand and said, “Pleasure finally doing business with you, Clay.”
Lily had chuckled and said, “I imagine we’ll be seeing your faces in the jewelry store on a regular basis from now on.”
Neither he nor Josh had been able to hide their sappy grins.
They’d talked to their parents that morning, and though they’d been a little surprised, they were forward-thinking people. His parents had gotten to know Violet during the renovation project and his mother had “mentioned,” to no one in particular, on a regular basis that she thought Violet had a good head on her shoulders and would be a catch for some lucky fella. After their revelation, Mom had hugged them both and asked to see the ring when they had it picked out. So he’d texted the picture to her while they’d finished up with Clay and Lily.
Somehow, Josh had convinced him on the way to the Emporium that they should wait until they had the ring in hand to propose.
“Okay, eager beaver,” Josh said, chuckling as Lucas opened the truck door even before Josh had put the truck in park. “Let’s go see our lady.”
“You’re sure you want to wait?” Lucas said as they walked past the sheets of bare plywood covering the two windows.
“Positive. Wouldn’t you rather have the ring in your hands when we propose? I know I would.”
“I guess,” Lucas said, still not fully convinced as he pulled open the door.
He’d always been struck by the atmosphere of the place, even, when they were still doing the construction and restoration work, before the Emporium had been officially reopened after the expansion into the main building.
It’d been a hardware store years ago, and he could recollect going there with his father to buy supplies for projects around the house or on the job. What she’d done with the place was really something. She’d respected the original lines of the structure and had asked them specifically to use materials in keeping with the original construction.
Their older brother, Samuel, had updated and redone the nightmare that had been the electrical system, bringing her building up to code, while their next oldest brother, David, had put in central air conditioning and heating. The rest of the brothers, Paul, Thomas, Jude, and Mark had assisted in the carpentry to create the establishment Violet had dreamed of ever since inheriting the buildings from her old bachelor uncles. They’d owned and operated the hardware store for many years and had left the buildings and a tidy inheritance to their favorite great-niece.
They might’ve done the work, he thought, but as he’d breathed in the scent of the place, a pleasing mix of books, wood, and herbs—maybe lavender or rosemary—he knew it was Violet who had created the peaceful, welcoming atmosphere. They’d worked on a lot of homes and business around the area, but this had been the one he was proudest of, but that might’ve been because this was also the place where he’d fallen in love, one day, one conversation, one softly spoken complimentary word from her at a time.
“You’re not just a carpenter, Lucas, you’re an artist,” she’d said one day as she stroked the freshly sanded surface of the oak sales counter at the front of the store. He’d worked hard to make it perfect for her, and she’d swiped a tear from her eye when he’d showed it to her during the construction.
Josh waved a hand in front of his face and grinned. “Hello? Daydreaming already? She hasn’t said yes yet.”
“Yet,” Lucas affirmed as they headed to the left side of the Emporium, where the bookstore and Violet’s office were located. “I hope Clay finishes it fast.”