Free Dalakis Passion 3 - Stefan's Salvation by N.J. Walters Page B

mayor turned his attention to her. "And how are you
today, Laurel Rose?"
Now that the tense moment had passed and she was relaxing, she noticed that the
thunder had ceased to rumble and once again the sun was shining and the breeze was
kicking up the colored leaves that had fallen from the surrounding trees. "I'm fine,
Cyril," she offered with a smile. He was one of the few people of Salvation who always
spoke to her. She suspected that it wasn't because he particularly liked her, but that he
considered it one of his duties as mayor, which he took very seriously. He was a short
man with a round face and belly and a ruddy complexion, but he had a smile and a
kind word for everyone.
"That's good, that's good." She could tell that he'd already dismissed her now that
his duty was done. He turned to Jeremiah and motioned him toward a group of men at
the far end of the field. "Wanted to ask your opinion about a few things..." He trailed
off as he sent a furtive glance toward Laurel Rose.
She knew then that the men were talking about the possibility of development in
the area and didn't want to discuss it in front of her. She also knew that the mayor and a
large section of the townspeople thought she was holding up progress and should sell
her land. Not only would that mean jobs for the area, but they'd get rid of her as well.
Fine. She'd find out what she needed to know later at the diner.
Jeremiah drew himself up and puffed his chest out even further than Laurel Rose
had thought possible. Full of his own self-importance, he allowed the mayor to lead him
away. But at the last second he turned back to her and smiled. Like a snake getting
ready to strike, he clapped his beady eyes on her. She was surprised he didn't hiss.
"We're not finished."
"I didn't expect we were," she calmly replied, although her apprehension was
growing. This man meant her harm. She only hoped she got warning enough to protect
herself when the time came.
A group of women who had just gotten off a tourist bus bustled up to her table and
began to ooh and ahh over her selection of homemade soaps. "Oh look, Missy," one of
the women said to her friend. "Lavender soap, and mint, and lemon." She laughed and
smiled at Laurel Rose. "Did you make these yourself?"
Dismissing both men from her thoughts, she turned her attention to the women
who wanted to shop. After all, they provided her living and that's what was really
important.

By the time she dropped into a booth in the corner of Kathy's Kitchen, the local
diner, later that afternoon, Laurel Rose was exhausted. She'd had a very successful day,
selling out all her soaps and herbs and a good portion of her plants. She'd even sold
two of her hooked rugs for two hundred dollars apiece to the ladies on the tour bus.
Tucking her purse into the corner of the booth, she leaned back against the seat and
heaved a sigh of relief. She was tired, but it was a good tired. The money she banked
this time of year helped her get through the winter months. She owned the house and
the land and grew many of her own vegetables, but she still had to have gas for the
truck, heat for the house and there were some things she just had to buy from the store.
It was a challenge to keep her budget balanced through the winter when there were no
weekly markets or tourists to sell her goods to. But after her stop at the bank on her way
to the diner, her bank account was looking even healthier.
"What can I get you?" The short blonde cracked her gum as she stared with
undisguised interest at the scar on Laurel Rose's face. The nametag on her pink
polyester uniform said that her name was Karen and she looked to be somewhere in her
twenties.
Laurel Rose didn't recognize the waitress. Not that she should--she didn't come
into the diner often. But she did recognize the look of dawning awareness and almost
morbid interest that crossed the other woman's face as Karen figured out who she must
be. Laurel Rose knew that people talked about her and speculated