Marshal Zane's Christmas Horse: A Wyldhaven Series Christmas Romance Novella

by Lynnette Bonner

  Kin transferred his focus to the parson and felt his concern rise. The man didn’t look good. He’d been fighting a cold for a few days now, but today his eyes were all red and puffy.

  “Sorry about your trip,” Kin offered.

  PC blew noisily into a hanky. “Might be for the better. I feel like I was on the receiving end of that avalanche. Achy and cold.” A shiver worked through him as if to emphasize his statement.

  “Sorry. You should go home and sleep.”

  “Maybe I can now. I’ve been too busy getting ready for this trip.” He offered a droll tip of his lips.

  “Good news is they are saying the train seems undamaged.”

  Mrs. Holloway dropped her head back. “Oh, praise the Lord.”

  Kin motioned back to the group getting ready to leave the station. “Thought I might go help shovel out the train. See what I can learn.”

  She stood. “Thank you, Kin. You’ve no idea how grateful I am for your help.”

  “Happy to be of service.” He transferred his gaze to the parson. “Could you escort Mrs. Holloway back to town?”

  PC nodded. “Of course. If that’s all right with her?”

  The marshal’s wife had a bit of a blank look on her face. “I... Yes. I hope everyone on the train is okay.”

  PC shoved his hands into his coat pockets and hunched into his shoulders. “I’m certain we would have heard if there were any serious injuries.”

  She touched the lace at her throat. “I suppose that’s true. At least that’s something. A comfort.”

  Kin stepped back and started them all toward the entrance. “Yes, ma’am. I’m sure PC—Parson Clay—is right. And I’ll make sure the horse is taken care of. Don’t worry any more about it.”

  PC frowned and mouthed to Kin above Mrs. Holloway’s head. “A horse?”

  Kin gave him a little nod and placed a finger over his lips. He could tell PC all about it later.

  The group near the door started to exit.

  Kin moved toward them. “I’ll be home later this evening.” With his next glance at PC, however, he hesitated. He looked at Tommy. He was dressed warmly, with a pair of sheepskin gloves on his hands and a wool hat on his head. “Tommy? You want to come with me to the train? Help shovel?”

  Tommy’s eyes brightened. He nodded excitedly. “Tommy sh-shovel!”

  Kin looked to the parson for permission. He figured taking Tommy with him would give the man a better chance for some rest.

  PC waved him onward. “Thank you. Yes, Tom, you can go. But remember, no running off. You have to stay right with Kin the whole time.”

  “I s-stay with Kin.” Tommy nodded. “Y-you see h-her home. We go sh-shovel.”

  Kin couldn’t suppress a little smile. Tommy had made that sound as if their work was by far the more important.

  PC gave Kin a little roll of his eyes when Tommy wasn’t looking. And Kin suddenly realized what a sacrifice the man had made when he’d taken Tommy under his wing. It wasn’t easy living with someone who needed constant monitoring and attention. Even he’d escaped the house on occasion just to avoid having to listen to Tommy’s prattle.

  Kin lifted a hand of farewell, and then motioned for Tommy to follow him. Hopefully the parson would take advantage of his afternoon of solitude and be feeling better by the time they returned home.

  Zoe Kastain eyed her older sister across the dining room table. She was supposed to be finishing the corrections on the last few math assignments the students had turned in, and Belle was putting the finishing touches on a watercolor painting she planned to give one of the twins for Christmas.

  They sat in companionable quiet, but Zoe had sensed a wall between them for the last few days. Just after Pa had passed, they’d gone through a rough patch, but she’d thought they’d made it past it. Yet, for several days Belle had been short in every reply and distant in her demeanor. Zoe didn’t like it, but she hadn’t been able to think of a subtle way to approach the subject.

  She looked at Belle’s painting. It was a picture of Hijinks the family dog, stealing a drink of milk from a pail that Aidan carried. Aidan had his hand to his eyes and was studying a V of geese in the sky, bucket of frothy milk hanging forgotten by his side. The red barn in the background and the pink curl of Jinx’s tongue gave the painting just the right balance of bright shades to balance out the greens and the blues.

  Zoe smiled at the image and shook her head. Every time she saw a new painting of Belle’s she was in awe again of her sister’s talent. “Did you really see Jinx do that?”

  Belle wrinkled her nose. “I really did.”

  Zoe felt her stomach turn. She quirked her lip. “Did we drink it?”

  Her sister’s laughter tinkled through the room. “No. I made sure that the pig got that bucket along with her slops.”

  “Thank heavens!” Zoe fiddled with her pencil. “Are you mad at me?” The question popped out without her permission. She rolled her lips in and pressed them together.

  Belle frowned and lowered her paint brush, meeting her gaze. “No! What makes you think so?”

  Zoe shrugged. “You’ve just seemed...off, recently.”

  With a sigh, Belle set the small paint brush onto a plate and used her rag to wipe her fingers. She worked at the task for so long that Zoe thought she wasn’t going to continue the conversation, but finally she looked up. “Do you remember right after Pa died, how I told you I wanted to go to Seattle to study art?”

  “Yes. To the university. Their first graduate was a woman, you said.”

  Belle nodded. “And I still want to go.”

  “So why don’t you?”

  Belle waved a hand. “Ma needs me here. Wants me here. I just keep waiting for the right time, I guess.”

  “So you are unhappy?” Zoe slid the math papers into a neat stack and leaned on her arms against the table.

  “No. I’m content. I’ll go to Seattle one of these days when the time is right. In the meantime, I can buy a book or two about art from the Sears and Roebuck catalogue when I get a little extra money from work.”

  Zoe tilted her head. “What has made you upset the last few days, then?”

  Belle pushed aside her paint paraphernalia and leaned forward, all her focus on Zoe. “Do you want to take the teaching exam? Or are you just doing it because Ma wants you to?”

  A wave of relief crashed over Zoe. “Is that what this is about? You think Ma is forcing me to stand for the test?”

  “Is she?”

  “No. Not at all.” Excitement surged through her. “I am so thrilled and terrified all at once. But Ma didn’t make me do this. I can’t imagine anything I’d love more than to be a teacher.”

  Belle still looked uncertain. “Okay, good. But you know you can be anything you want to be, right, Zo? Like, anything.”

  Zoe grinned. “I know.” Her thoughts trailed to a wistful memory. “When I was little, Pa asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. We were sitting just there in front of the fire. I told him I wanted to be a Grizzly Bear. He threw back his head on a laugh.” She paused, recollecting the joyful sound of it. “Do you remember his laugh, Belle?”

  Her sister’s expression softened. “I do.”

  “He told me that if I was a Grizzly Bear, I would have to eat raw fish.”

  Belle chuckled.

  “I told him that was okay because if I was a Grizzly Bear, I would like it.”

  Belle reached across the table and squeezed her hand. “I have to amend my earlier statement.” She smirked.

  Zoe frowned. “You do?”

  “You can’t actually be anything you want to be.”

  Zoe grinned and covered Belle’s hand with her own. “I really do want to be a teacher Belle. Truly.”

  “All right, then. I’m happy for you. And I’ll quit being upset with Ma for making you take the test.” She winked.

  “That’s good. Just promise that you won’t put off your dream of art school for too much longer?”

 
; Belle gave her hand a pat, then withdrew and picked up her brush, once more. “I promise, Zo.”

  Satisfied, Zoe returned to the final pages she needed to grade and tried not to worry about the thought that had plagued her for the past several weeks since she’d made the decision to take the test.

  What was she going to do if she didn’t pass?

  Chapter 5

  Crisp snow crunched beneath Jacinda’s boots as she and the parson strode toward her horse, with him carrying his and Tommy’s bags.

  She felt uneasy and knew she wouldn’t be able to relax until this whole issue with the horse was resolved. Her mind was still spinning with a hundred different scenarios—all of them dire situations that could end up with her losing her investment. Then what would she do for Zane’s Christmas present?

  They descended the platform steps and Jacinda stopped next to her mount and untied it from the rail.

  Parson Clay set the bags down, shoulders slumping.

  “What is it?” she asked, eyeing him.

  He gripped the back of his neck, staring down the road toward Wyldhaven. “Jerry Hines dropped us off. But he had to get right back to his store. I’m obviously not functioning at my peak. I don’t have a ride.”

  “Oh dear.” And in his current state of health it wouldn’t be safe for him to walk the whole way back to town. Especially not with the deep snow on the roads. Her horse was too small to carry both of them, and would already be exhausted with the work of simply getting her back to town.

  Yet...she glanced to where the party of men were just starting out in the direction of the train, then back to him. The parson was in far worse shape than she was. He needed to get home and get into his bed.

  Making a quick decision, she shoved the reins toward him. “You take my horse. I won’t be comfortable until I see that the Appaloosa I bought for Zane is fine, at any rate. I’ll go with the other party and return to town later.”

  The parson frowned. “No. I couldn’t take your mount. I’ll just walk.”

  “Nonsense. They have a sleigh. See?” She pointed. “I’ll ride on it, and once we get the tracks cleared and meet up with the train, we’ll have the extra horse that I can ride home. It’s the perfect solution.” She thrust the reins at him once more, hoping he wouldn’t realize that she wouldn’t have a saddle or bridle. She would figure out that hurdle later. Right now, the parson’s health was more important.

  Thankfully his condition seemed to be muddling his thoughts, because he didn’t protest further. “All right. Thank you.” He sneezed. Then sneezed again.

  She was suddenly torn. “You sure you’ll make it back to town fine?”

  He gave her a half-hearted smile. “The day I can’t sit a horse, I’ll be dead.”

  Her brows rose as she gave him a once-over. She only hoped that today wouldn’t be that day. She didn’t want to live with the man’s death on her conscience. “Okay. I’ll check on you tomorrow and bring you some soup.”

  He touched the brim of his hat. “Obliged.”

  She left him then, and hoisted her skirts to dash toward the departing group. She didn’t want to be left behind!

  Kin had kind of forgotten that Tommy wouldn’t have a mount, but when they caught up to the group of men, several of them were piling onto the back of a large sleigh.

  Relieved, Kin helped Tommy find a seat, and then swung into his saddle.

  The party took leave, but at the pace they were traveling Kin couldn’t help but think that they might not reach the train till next spring. However, they’d only gone a few feet when from behind them, he heard Mrs. Holloway’s voice.

  “Kin!”

  Wondering what she could have forgotten, he turned to face her.

  Skirts hoisted to skim the snow, she worked her way through the deep drifts toward them. “Help me onto the sleigh.”

  “What?”

  She flapped a hand. “I’m coming with you.”

  Kin didn’t move. “Ma’am, it’s going to be hard work to clear those tracks.”

  “I know, but I won’t rest until I see for myself how that Appaloosa is. And I’ll find things to keep myself busy. I can heat water. Make coffee for the men, if there’s some on the train.”

  Coffee did sound like a grand idea, but before he could move to dismount, Tommy had already leapt from the sleigh. “Y-you c-can have my s-seat!”

  Mrs. Holloway smiled and took Tommy’s helping hand. “Thank you, Tommy. There’s room enough for both of us there, I believe.” Once she was on board, she leaned down to help Tommy back up.

  Tommy settled onto the seat beside her and grinned at Kin over his shoulder. “PC’d be h-happy I remembered my m-manners.”

  Kin gave him a nod. “Yeah. Good job, Tom.” He tried not to let it grate that Tommy had acted the gentleman before he had.

  As they started off once more, Kin had another thought. He hoped the marshal never found out about this little trip because he would have Kin’s hide for letting his wife jaunt off on such a venture.

  Back at the Kastain place, Maude paced in the little room in the barn. Her relief at the lawmen’s gentle treatment had soon turned to despair as she realized they didn’t even have a penny to their name.

  How were they to pay back everyone they’d taken from?

  Sure, she’d only let them take food, except for the time Seth had taken that tin of money. But food didn’t come cheap, especially in the dead of winter. And that tin of money had contained over seven dollars!

  She stopped and spun to face Kane. “How are we going to get money to pay everyone back?”

  He shook his head. “I don’t know.”

  “It’s the middle of winter in logging country and you’re a rancher.”

  “I realize that Maude.”

  From his stool by the fire, Seth dropped his head into his hands. “We never shoulda stolen anything. We should have tried again to ask for help.”

  Maude gritted her teeth. Just because she knew he was right didn’t mean she had to like having her failure shoved down her throat.

  Kane was irritatingly calm. “God will provide something for us. You’ll see.”

  Maude clenched her teeth and set to pacing again. Kane and his infernal belief in God. “Where was God when Ma and Pa were being murdered in their beds and our house burned to the ground?”

  Kane rubbed his hands over his face. “I don’t know.”

  She tossed her hand in the air. “That’s what I thought. You don’t know, because He wasn’t there. Because He doesn’t care!”

  “That’s not true.” Kane shook his head. “It may seem that way sometimes, but if there’s one thing I know for a fact it’s that God loves us more than we could ever know. Just look how He sent Kin to you and Seth just when we needed Him and this place”—he swept a gesture around the room—“the most.”

  “Coincidence.”

  “And was it coincidence that when you broke down and decided to start stealing it was in the territory of lawmen who are fair, and just, and understanding?”

  She turned her back on him without reply. They could play this game all day, going rounds with each other about whether God really existed and loved humankind. Neither of them would win, and neither of them would change the other’s mind.

  “We’re coming up on Christmas.” Kane apparently wasn’t ready to let this round of the fight go. “That’s what the celebration is all about. The fact that God loved us so much that He sent His son to be born. Out of His love for us, He chose to come! Knowing He would eventually be required to give His perfect life on our behalf.”

  Maude didn’t reply. Maybe she was too focused on the fact that they would have to come up with so much money to enjoy their philosophical debate. The list they’d made at the sheriff’s office had been quite substantial, when all was said and done.

  “Tell you what.” Kane was still talking. “We are going to pray right now.” He stretched one hand toward Seth and the other toward her. “Come on.” He waggled his
fingers. “If you don’t believe in God, it can’t hurt any to talk to Him, right? We’ll pray and we’ll ask for help in paying this all back. And you’ll see, He’s going to answer. It’s going to be great.”

  Maude rolled her eyes, but she knew he would just pester her until she agreed, so she stepped over and took his hand. Seth completed the circle, and she swallowed down the lump that bulged in her throat. This was so reminiscent of the way Ma and Pa had them end each day back home on the ranch. And look what good that had done them!

  Kane’s voice was a low rumble when he spoke. “Father in heaven, I know that You see this predicament we find ourselves in. We’d like to make amends for the wrongs we’ve committed to the good folks in this community. You know this time of year it won’t be easy to find work. Please, we ask that You provide a way. Amen.”

  “Amen,” Seth agreed.

  Maude only clamped her teeth together and stepped over to look out the window at the late afternoon sun.

  If Seth and Kane were relying on God to do something about their situation, she feared they were going to be stuck in Wyldhaven for a very long time.

  It took them nearly an hour to reach the train, and Jacinda was ever so thankful that the sun still shone brightly in the sky.

  This whole situation would be so much worse if the weather was gloomy.

  The train tracks, though covered with enough snow for the sleigh to ride on them, were clear enough that the train could make it through without issue since the cow-catcher would simply plow the snow off to the sides. But a little less than a quarter of a mile from the train they came upon the scene of the snow slide.

  A great section had sloughed down the mountainside, but thankfully most of it had not reached the rails. Only a length of track about a hundred yards long was covered in deep snow that would need to be shoveled. Still, it was a lot of snow to move. She was thankful so many men were with them!

  The men set to, and Tommy grabbed the first spade and dove in with gusto, sending huge shovelfuls of snow flying over his shoulder—right back onto the tracks behind him.