Sleigh Bells Ring

by Jessica James

  She stopped and looked up at him with an innocent smile, but the expression didn’t quite reach her eyes.

  “That shot had nothing to do with skeet shooting.” He placed his hand on her shoulder and spoke low so no one else would hear. “It would take hundreds of hours of practice to make that shot at that distance with that pistol. You want to explain this little feat to me?”

  He watched the color drain from her face and sparks flash in her eyes. “Beginner’s luck, I guess.” She forced a laugh, wrenched herself free, and walked away without a backward glance.

  Chad watched her tall, athletic figure until she disappeared, as a nagging sense of suspicion started to creep toward the surface. He didn’t know much, but he knew luck had nothing to do with it. What was she hiding?

  He’d been so angry—and hurt—when she’d left that he’d never questioned her story. But looking back now, little things over the years didn’t quite add up—and they certainly weren’t adding up now.

  Why did weeks...and sometimes even months...pass by without her family hearing from her? He found that strange considering the close bond the entire family shared. Mrs. Dunaway had confided in him when he’d arrived at the ranch a few months earlier that she never really knew where Jordyn was—only where she’d supposedly been.

  His mind drifted farther back, to the last time he’d seen her. They’d gone on a late-night ride, with the moon so bright on freshly fallen snow it had seemed almost like day. He remembered her laughter and her beautiful eyes, and thinking to himself that he wanted to spend the rest of his life with her.

  He hadn’t had the nerve to tell her during the ride, but once they’d returned and stood gazing at the huge Christmas tree, he’d finally let his feelings be known. With the bright lights of the tree on her face, he’d told her he loved her—and he’d kissed her for the first—and the last—time.

  Chad swiped his hand over his eyes to stop the memory, but it did no good. She’d told him she would never love anyone like she loved him—and then she’d informed him that she’d been offered a job in New York City that she felt she had to take.

  The memory of what happened after that remained a blur...probably because deep down inside, Chad never believed she would leave her family and the ranch. She was close to both her parents and loved this place with every fiber of her being.

  Yet she’d packed up and left.

  Chad watched a family walk by smiling and laughing as they discussed the fun they’d had on the trail ride. Their joy and enthusiasm only caused the pain in his heart to increase. Memories were being made, just like Mr. Dunaway wanted. But his own memories of this place were suddenly more painful than enjoyable. He knew Mr. Dunaway would hate that so he forced them from his mind.

  Still, he recalled what Jordyn had told him before she’d left, insisting she hadn’t accepted the job for the money, or the prestige, or the chance to travel.

  What else was there? And why hadn’t he pressed her on it?

  He didn’t have time to ponder the question long. Loud shouts from outside the barn sent him running.

  Chapter 8

  Seeing is believing, but sometimes the most real things in the world are the things we can’t see.

  – The Polar Express

  It took only a second for Chad to see the chaos and confusion was taking place in a corral right outside the barn. By the time he was close enough to get a better look, he could see Jordyn was down on her knees working over the prone figure of one of the younger ranch hands. She had already removed her bandana and was tying it around the young man’s arm.

  “What’s your name?” Even from this distance, Chad could hear her voice. It sounded calm despite the messy scene.

  “Adam,” the young man answered.

  Jordyn glanced up just then and noticed his approach. “Do you have your medic bag?” she asked. “He’s losing a lot of blood.”

  Chad took off for his truck and returned with his kit in less than a minute. “Is it an artery?”

  She shook her head. “Looks like he hit the fence when he fell. Sliced his arm open pretty deep. There’s a lot of blood, but it’s not spurting.”

  “Keep pressure on it.” Chad pulled a package out of his bag and ripped it open, then maneuvered the special bandage around Jordyn’s red-soaked fingers.

  “I had one of the guests go get Kristy from the house,” she said. “She knows more about this stuff than I do.”

  “Good.” Chad nodded. “I know she’s an RN, but you’re doing fine. Put some pressure up here.”

  Jordyn did as she was told, and then continued to talk to Adam. “You hanging in there?”

  He nodded, though his eyes were closed. “Doesn’t hurt much, but I don’t like seeing all that blood.”

  Within moments, Kristy arrived and knelt down beside her. “Luke’s getting his truck. We can put him in the back seat and drive to the hospital. It will be faster than calling an ambulance.”

  Chad continued working as they talked, splinting the arm to keep it immobile and prevent the bleeding from getting any worse.

  “You okay to get into the truck?” he asked Adam as Luke backed his truck up to the scene.

  “Yeah, I’m good.”

  Though shaken, Adam was able to stand with some assistance from Chad, and to climb into the seat.

  After they pulled away, Chad began cleaning up the debris he’d left as Jordyn tried to calm the nerves of what bystanders remained. When everyone finally meandered away to their next activity, he turned to her. “Did you see what happened?”

  “Some of it...out of the corner of my eye.” She looked around as if still a little dazed. “Someone threw something at his horse. It bucked, and he flew off, hitting the fence.”

  Chad stopped. “Threw something at a horse? Who would do that?”

  There was no pause. “The guy in the checkered bandana.”

  Both of them gazed around, but there was no sign of the man now.

  “I saw him talking to that guy over there, earlier.” Jordyn pointed to a man standing in the doorway of the barn. “You know him?”

  Chad’s gaze focused on Judd, and a tinge of suspicion began inching its way up his spine.

  “Yeah. I know him.”

  “I’ve never met the man, but he doesn’t look very friendly or sociable. I’m not sure he’s the kind of person we should have working here. I’m going to talk to Mom about him.”

  “Well, we’ve been short-handed—and with the Gala, she probably isn’t going to want to increase the workload on everyone else.”

  “Really? Because I haven’t seen him doing much.”

  “Me neither. But he’s the boss, so...”

  “Wait.” Jordyn looked up at him. “He’s the foreman Mom hired?”

  Chad hit his hat against his leg a few times before answering. “Yeah. I don’t know if you heard, but old Charlie died kind of suddenly. This guy apparently showed up at the right time with acceptable credentials. I guess Mrs. Dunaway was a little overwhelmed at the time—with your father just passing—and hired him on the spot.”

  Jordyn stood with her hands on her hips gazing in the direction of the bunkhouse. “If I have any say, he’ll be fired on the spot.”

  “It’s not that easy to do in Montana.” He paused and let out his breath. “Plus, I heard there’s a contract.”

  Jordyn jerked around. “What?”

  Chad pushed his hat up off his forehead. “Might be hearsay, but that’s what I heard.”

  “Why would Mom do that? Everything around here has always been done with a handshake.”

  “Maybe because the ranch work was something your dad always took care of. And since she had no one else to help her, she felt pressured into making a decision.”

  Chad wasn’t sure whether it was his words or the way he said them that caused the angry reaction from Jordyn. She took a step toward him and jabbed her finger at his chest. “You don’t have to sound so accusatory!”

  He held his hands
up innocently. “Based on your reaction, I’d say you might have a guilty conscience.”

  Jordyn didn’t respond other than with a look of grief and pain. Then she turned and started to walk away. “Thanks for your help.”

  “No. Wait.” Chad felt instantly sorry for the look of torment that had crossed her face. “I’m sorry.” She stopped walking but didn’t turn around so he spoke to her back. “To tell you the truth I feel guilty about it too. I got here after Judd was hired. I should have stopped by and checked on your mom sooner.”

  He kicked the dirt with the toe of his boot as he thought about the months he had wasted in a drunken stupor rather than helping out at the ranch.

  Jordyn glanced back at him as if to see if his words were sincere. She appeared to accept his apology, though she didn’t say so. “What’s going on with the sudden shortage of hands anyway? Painted Sky has always had a waiting list of people wanting to work here.”

  “According to Luke, it all started when Judd was hired as the foreman. Men started quitting. Things started happening.”

  “Like what kind of things?” She turned and faced him now, her anger apparently forgotten.

  “I don’t know. You can just tell things aren’t like they used to be. At first, I blamed it on your dad not being here, but things aren’t adding up.”

  Jordyn nodded and stared over his shoulder. “I’ll get to the bottom of it.”

  “Really?” Chad couldn’t help himself. “You show up after ten years of gallivanting around the world, and think you’re going to fix everything here in a week?”

  Her gaze darted back to his and her brow furrowed. “It wasn’t my choice to be away, Chad. I told you—”

  “Right. I remember.” He bounced his palm off his forehead. “It wasn’t your choice. How could I forget?”

  Chad knew he was being harsh, but he couldn’t help it. She’d hurt him, and he was just now realizing how deep the pain went. The fact that he could still feel this much emotion after more than ten years made him angry. Why couldn’t he just forget about her? Move on?

  Still, he knew that lashing out like this wasn’t fair to her—and it certainly wasn’t making him feel any better about himself. As he threw the strap of his medical kit over his shoulder, he tried to sound conciliatory. “You should probably go change clothes.”

  Jordyn looked down as if seeing her blood-soaked hands and shirt for the first time, and nodded absently. “Yeah. Let me know if you need any help in the barn.”

  Chad watched her walk back toward the house and felt a wave of empathy for her. Yes, she’d been traveling the world for the past decade doing who knows what, but she’d come home for the holidays only to find a tangle of unexpected problems. He needed to put the past behind him, and try to support her and Mrs. Dunaway. He let out a long sigh.

  No matter how hard that was going to be.

  Chapter 9

  At Christmas, play and make good cheer, for Christmas comes but once a year.

  – Thomas Tusser

  As Jordyn made her way back to the house, she noticed a number of young children laughing and holding something small in their hands. Their faces were lit with pure joy as they ran around searching high and low for more hidden objects.

  Before Jordyn could grab the memory that was slowly surfacing, a couple walking by her pointed to the same children. “Oh, look. Someone found a Believe Bell,” one of them said.

  Jordyn nodded as it all started coming back. Her father loved creating special, magical moments that couldn’t be found anywhere else—especially for children. With the world outside Painted Sky Ranch progressing and technology advancing, he wanted a simpler, more traditional, old-fashioned experience they would remember forever.

  The idea for the Believe Bells came about when Jordyn found a sleigh bell lying in front of the house one Christmas Eve. Instead of explaining to her that it had probably come from one of the horse’s collars, her father told her it must have fallen off Santa’s sleigh. Every year after that, Jordyn would search for fallen sleigh bells—and every year she would find one.

  It amazed her that they were never the same. Sometimes a slightly different color. Other times a distinctive shape. Always with their own unique sound. As she grew older, Jordyn had her suspicions about where they were coming from, but it wasn’t until she was getting ready to leave for New York that her father confessed the truth about what he’d done so that his baby girl would keep “believing.”

  Jordyn stopped in mid-step as it occurred to her that she didn’t have anything tangible to hold from those days. Every year on Christmas Eve, her father would tell her to place the bell on the front porch so Santa could put it back on the sleigh. Jordyn smiled to herself as she remembered running onto the porch every Christmas morning before she even looked under the tree. It filled her heart with joy to discover that Santa had taken the bell.

  The thought of his simple act of love caused Jordyn’s eyes to well up with tears. Her father had been larger than life when he was alive. And even after he was gone, his spirit continued to live on in the traditions and love that still flowed through Painted Sky Ranch.

  She could see it on the faces of the children as they searched for their own sleigh bells, because of course, the practice had eventually grown to include everyone at the ranch. Her father had woven an elaborate story about a select group of elves—the Sleigh Bell Elves—who would come hide bells all over the ranch. Upon their arrival, each family received their own special jar to decorate and collect the bells they found. A tag on the jar said: With every bell that you receive, Santa knows that you believe.

  Guests could either take these treasures home with them at the end of their trip, or put them out on the porch of their cabin for Santa to pick up. If they left the jar for Santa, they would find a note in the morning that said: Thank you for the Sleigh Bells. Their jingling sound will remind Santa of your family’s kindness as he delivers presents all over the world.

  Jordyn remembered the delight her father would take out of watching even the most skeptical adult’s face light up when they stumbled across one of the bells. As the jars began to fill, the excitement for Christmas day intensified. People came to Painted Sky now as much for the tradition and the anticipation of the Believe Bells as for the scenery and relaxation.

  Of course, that wasn’t the only special treat. Each cabin came with its own small Christmas tree and a box of ornaments to decorate it. There were classic movies and books, as well as plenty of hot chocolate and popcorn too. Special requests were often fulfilled by volunteers dressed as elves.

  Jordyn thought about her last Christmas at Painted Sky. She’d been a young woman by then, but she’d found a bell and put it on the porch as was her custom. And just like every other time, it had been gone Christmas morning, though Jordyn had only looked as an afterthought. She’d spent most of the night in tears after telling Chad that she’d be leaving for New York.

  She wondered briefly what had ever become of all those bells. Had her dad kept them? Or had he used them on any of the dozens of harnesses he’d collected over the years? She’d have to remember to ask her mother.

  Of all the Christmas traditions started by her father, this one was perhaps the most memorable. No matter where Jordyn was in the world on Christmas Eve, she always took time to close her eyes and remember the magic she felt finding that special gift and giving it back to Santa.

  Chapter 10

  The joy of brightening other lives becomes for us the magic of the holidays.

  – W.C. Jones

  “Is everything all right out there?” Mrs. Dunaway wore a bright red dress with a black belt and had her silver hair swept back in a loose bun. For the first time, Jordyn noticed how much smaller her mother was compared to the last time she’d seen her. She’d never been heavy, but had a plump face that was always smiling. She looked downright slender now.

  “There was an accident, but nothing to worry about.” Jordyn watched her mother’s face turn to
worry. “Adam, one of the younger ranch hands was injured. He’s on the way to the hospital. Kristy went along.”

  “How bad was it?” Her mother’s gaze swept Jordyn’s hands and clothes. “Oh, dear.”

  “It’s not as bad as it looks. I’m going to go get cleaned up. Then I’m ready for my next assignment.”

  “Well, you have three more hours until the opening cocktail party tonight at the Lodge. It will be non-stop until Christmas after that.”

  As Jordyn headed to her room, she passed a large mirror on the landing at the top of the stairs. She couldn’t believe how bad she looked. No makeup. Hair a mess. Face streaked with dirt and blood. She hurried to her room to clean up.

  After taking a hot shower, Jordyn tried on a few of the outfits that she’d sent to the ranch ahead of time. She selected a simple red dress with a black pattern that looked festive and comfortable enough for the evening events. With her hair blow dried and twisted into a simple bun, she went back down the stairs to see how she could help.

  The house was alive with activity now, but her mother was nowhere to be found. Guests stood talking and laughing in front of the huge fireplace while volunteers and staff scurried to keep everything running on time.

  Jordyn made her way through the kitchen pantry to the little room her mother used as an office, and found her sitting at the desk staring at a piece of paper in her hand with a blank look on her face.

  “How are things going?” Jordyn asked in a cheerful voice from the doorway.

  Her mother jumped and put the paper down quickly before turning around with a forced smile. “Everything’s going fine, honey. You look beautiful.”

  “A little bit better than I did an hour ago anyway.” Jordyn smiled as she continued into the room. “I heard...umm...that you’re short on ranch hands.”

  Her mother’s head tilted and her eyes narrowed. “Who told you that?”

  Jordyn shrugged, not wanting to get Chad in trouble. “I just overheard, that’s all.”