Read Online A Match Made in Dry Creek by Janet Tronstad - Free Book Online
Authors: Janet Tronstad
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natural, but it was definitely there. And she wasnât wearing her suit or one of her housedresses. Instead, she had on a turquoise dress with one of those swirly skirts.
âIs there a problem?â Curt asked. She would be wearing black if someone had died, but he couldnât think of any other reason for Mrs. Hargrove to be wearing lipstick. She had to be going somewhere and he knew there were no weddings around.
âNo, of course not,â Mrs. Hargrove said as she opened the screen door for them. âDoris June is just setting the table.â
It took a second for Curtâs eyes to adjust to the indoor light. For some reason, Mrs. Hargrove had turned off her overhead light and only had the lamps turned on tonight. It was probably an energy-savings thing, Curt thought. Although, it was just as well the house was a little dim tonight. This was the first time he had been back inside this house in twenty-five years and he didnât want anyone looking at his face too closely.
âAlways did like that sofa,â Curt said as he looked around. He used to watch television with Doris June on that sofa. He was glad to see that nothing had been changed. Things had kind of faded softly over the years,but they were basically the same. The same flowered wallpaper was on the wall beside the stairs that went up to the second floor. The brick fireplace still had the same brass poker that had turned brown with tarnish.
âThey donât build sofas like that anymore,â Charley agreed as he walked over and sat down on the thing. Ben followed him.
âSome people think it needs replacing,â Mrs. Hargrove said a little louder than was needed.
Curt heard the rattle of silverware coming from the dining room and turned his head toward that room. He was just in time to see Doris June walk out of the dining room. For a second, as she stood in the doorway between the two rooms, framed in the light, her face showed clearly.
Curt hadnât realized that he hadnât really seen Doris June since sheâd been home. Thereâd been no light in the pickup, and even when he dropped her and her mother off last night, the porch light had only shown shapes. If he had thought about it, he would have assumed her face would have softened over the years with the wrinkles and the slight paleness that comes from getting older. He would have been wrong.
She did not glow like the young girl she used to be, but she had a confidence that made her seem even more alive. She was beautiful.
Last night he thought he knew who she was in her conservative pantsuit and sensible shoes. But the visionbefore him made him forget all his assumptions. Heâd pictured Doris June as living a solitary life, but no woman wore a soft, floating pink dress like that one unless she was used to dating and going nice places. Heâd been ten kinds of a fool to have spent the day thinking of words to try to mend Doris Juneâs broken heart. Sheâd obviously mended that heart of her years ago and moved on past him. For all he knew, she didnât even remember that they had packed their bags and headed out for an elopement years ago.
Chapter Five
D oris June was glad the Nelson men had worn their Sunday clothes. It made her feel less foolish in the clothes she was wearing. As a rule, people in Dry Creek didnât dress up for any meal except maybe Thanksgiving dinner and here she was dressed up as if she was going to a prom or something and it was only a midweek dinner among neighbors.
Doris June had thought she was making a point by buying the flyaway pink dress with its jagged hem and trailing sleeves. She had hoped to show her mother that there was nothing sensible about such styles. When Doris June suggested her mother expand her wardrobe to include something more than gingham housedresses, Doris June had meant her mother should also wear some sensible polyester skirts and white cotton blouses. Shehad not meant that her
âIs there a problem?â Curt asked. She would be wearing black if someone had died, but he couldnât think of any other reason for Mrs. Hargrove to be wearing lipstick. She had to be going somewhere and he knew there were no weddings around.
âNo, of course not,â Mrs. Hargrove said as she opened the screen door for them. âDoris June is just setting the table.â
It took a second for Curtâs eyes to adjust to the indoor light. For some reason, Mrs. Hargrove had turned off her overhead light and only had the lamps turned on tonight. It was probably an energy-savings thing, Curt thought. Although, it was just as well the house was a little dim tonight. This was the first time he had been back inside this house in twenty-five years and he didnât want anyone looking at his face too closely.
âAlways did like that sofa,â Curt said as he looked around. He used to watch television with Doris June on that sofa. He was glad to see that nothing had been changed. Things had kind of faded softly over the years,but they were basically the same. The same flowered wallpaper was on the wall beside the stairs that went up to the second floor. The brick fireplace still had the same brass poker that had turned brown with tarnish.
âThey donât build sofas like that anymore,â Charley agreed as he walked over and sat down on the thing. Ben followed him.
âSome people think it needs replacing,â Mrs. Hargrove said a little louder than was needed.
Curt heard the rattle of silverware coming from the dining room and turned his head toward that room. He was just in time to see Doris June walk out of the dining room. For a second, as she stood in the doorway between the two rooms, framed in the light, her face showed clearly.
Curt hadnât realized that he hadnât really seen Doris June since sheâd been home. Thereâd been no light in the pickup, and even when he dropped her and her mother off last night, the porch light had only shown shapes. If he had thought about it, he would have assumed her face would have softened over the years with the wrinkles and the slight paleness that comes from getting older. He would have been wrong.
She did not glow like the young girl she used to be, but she had a confidence that made her seem even more alive. She was beautiful.
Last night he thought he knew who she was in her conservative pantsuit and sensible shoes. But the visionbefore him made him forget all his assumptions. Heâd pictured Doris June as living a solitary life, but no woman wore a soft, floating pink dress like that one unless she was used to dating and going nice places. Heâd been ten kinds of a fool to have spent the day thinking of words to try to mend Doris Juneâs broken heart. Sheâd obviously mended that heart of her years ago and moved on past him. For all he knew, she didnât even remember that they had packed their bags and headed out for an elopement years ago.
Chapter Five
D oris June was glad the Nelson men had worn their Sunday clothes. It made her feel less foolish in the clothes she was wearing. As a rule, people in Dry Creek didnât dress up for any meal except maybe Thanksgiving dinner and here she was dressed up as if she was going to a prom or something and it was only a midweek dinner among neighbors.
Doris June had thought she was making a point by buying the flyaway pink dress with its jagged hem and trailing sleeves. She had hoped to show her mother that there was nothing sensible about such styles. When Doris June suggested her mother expand her wardrobe to include something more than gingham housedresses, Doris June had meant her mother should also wear some sensible polyester skirts and white cotton blouses. Shehad not meant that her
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