Coral by Juliet James

Author:Juliet James [James, Juliet]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Squeaky Clean Western Romance

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In the few moments from before Wally falling to when Coral commenced her walk to the tea room, there were certain small interactions taking place between Coral and Roy — but aside from those two themselves, no one but the most inquisitive and perceptive of people would have noticed.

Of course, Joseph Bean, top-notch barber and champion spreader of gossip, was just about one of the most inquisitive and perceptive people in the entire Territory — and positioned as he was, right behind Roy at the top of the stairs when it happened, he had a bird’s-eye view of the whole incident, and was not too shy to keep a close watch on all the participants.

What Joseph Bean later reported to his wife was, “I seen it, I tell ya. The very moment they fell for each other. It was Wally who took the main fall, o’ course, down the steps, but them two’s in love, just as sure as eggs comes from hens, or I ain’t a barber, I tell ya.”

What Mary Bean replied could not entirely be repeated in polite company, but it went something along the lines of Joseph needing to mind his own business for once, and leave all the match-ups to the Lord, or at least to Lettie, as she seemed to be working as His agent, and what would an old barber know about love anyway?

To which Joseph replied that he knew enough to have gotten himself the best dang woman in four Territories, and the pair had then kissed and made up, agreeing to disagree on the matter of whether or not the new girl had any interest in the Black boy.

And while Mary Bean was the finest cook around, and was often enough correct about matters of love, on this occasion she could not have been any more wrong.

What had truly happened, the thing Joseph had seen, was that very moment when Roy and Coral had first laid eyes on each other. Even for Joseph, it was like the heavens had opened, the Lord reaching down with two hands and facing the young lovers toward each other, and playing some almighty musical note that set their hearts to beating in tune.

That was what Joseph Bean saw.

Of course, there was nothing the lovestruck pair could actually do about it right off. Roy saw the girl, lost his whole sense of being to the sight of her for that moment, and walked smack dab into Wally Davis’s rear end, knocking the man flying down the Come-By-Chance church stairs.

Coral, for her part, did not at first see the fallen man, her eyes being filled with the most pleasing visage of Roy Black, the sun seemingly only there to highlight his ruggedly handsome features.

Then over the next several seconds, the pair looked, at various times, from Wally to each other, to Wally, to each other, to Wally, to each other again. The nervous smiles that came unbidden to both faces were of such a secret and almost

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