12 Naughty Days of Christmas 2020

by Megan McCoy

  And on the other side of the pine trees in the town square was a little two-story building with some cursive script and an M.D. on the bottom. She jumped off Lancelot and let him roam to the water trough as she dashed inside. He wouldn’t run away. He was too much of a pet, spending most of his day eating right out of Pryce’s hand and getting rub downs.

  “Doc!” she called, stomping her big boots on the wooden slats of the porch. “Please, is there a doctor here?”

  A slender woman with long, blonde curls and a bloody white apron opened the door, looking bemused at being interrupted. Instead of greeting Holly, she turned and went right back to the large rectangular table in the middle of the big room, complete with a pig that was split open down the middle. She very casually thrust her hands back inside the dead animal and nodded at the waiting area.

  “He’s out delivering the Oldman’s tenth baby. Should be back pretty quickly. All they have to do is let gravity pull that child out.”

  Holly paced and ran her hands over her head. She didn’t have that kind of time. Did he have an apprentice? Pausing, she turned and watched the young woman digging around the insides of the pig, plucking out organs like she was pulling dandelions from a garden.

  “You,” she huffed, walking closer and trying to not react to the smell of the dead animal. “You can help me.”

  “I’m no doctor…”

  “You obviously are comfortable with, well, doctor things!” She gestured at the kidney the woman was holding. “Please, Miss, I’m desperate! I don’t know what happened, but he fainted out on his ranch and I can’t, I can’t get him to wake up.”

  “Drunk?” she asked, wiping her bloody hands on a rag and smirking.

  “No, please, ma’am, he was out chopping wood and came inside so sweaty and then passed out on the bed and-”

  “Snake bite,” the woman said, suddenly standing right next to Holly with a serious look on her face. She turned and looked at the door, maybe hoping for the doctor to be willed to return, then checked the clock, then turned back to Holly. “Seconds matter. We have to go now.”

  Holly thanked her repeatedly, watching with relief as the very capable woman began checking little glass vials and dumping them into a black leather satchel. She pulled the strap across her shoulder, grabbed her by the arm and pulled her outside.

  “Wagon?”

  “I, I didn’t have time to hitch it up…”

  “No time to saddle my horse, we’ll ride yours double.” She pushed Holly and they both jumped on Lancelot. “Let’s go!”

  Holly nodded and kicked the horse, feeling the woman’s arms tighten around her waist as they dashed out of town. She urged Lancelot to go faster as they cut through the pines and patches of snow in the setting sun, feeling branches slap at her face and the young woman sitting behind her.

  “Name’s Shay.” She had to shout over the pounding of hooves and wind in their faces, but Holly heard.

  “Holly.”

  They arrived fairly quickly and Shay wasted no time leaping off the still trotting black horse. She ran inside and removed her satchel, digging through it as Holly breathlessly ran inside.

  “How do you know him?”

  “He’s, um, we’re, we’re married.”

  Shay paused and looked up from her bag. “Good. Help me remove his clothes. I need to find the puncture wounds.”

  Holly felt her cheeks heat as the young woman ripped off Pryce’s boots and began unbuckling his belt.

  Shay paused and looked over her shoulder. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before in my line of work.” She frowned and gave Holly the once over. “How about you?”

  Holly swallowed and began slowly pulling a sock off his foot. “Er, well, we, um, just got married last week.” And he was always already dressed in the mornings.

  Shay shook her head and yanked Pryce’s pants down, going for his shirt buttons next. “D’you just meet or something?” She snickered, but paused as she pulled his strong arms out of his blue shirtsleeves and saw the other woman’s face. “Shit, Holly, I’m sorry. You’re, are you the one from the Bridal Express?”

  Holly cringed at the nickname for the company that had taken care of her for so long. She didn’t know other people used that name for Zachary’s Companions. She half nodded as she worked on the other sock.

  “Holy shit, is this Pryce Browning?” Shay stopped at that point, backing up a step and looking from the unconscious man on the bed to the woman in pants clutching a sock. Then she looked around the one room cabin. “What are you doing in this shit hole?”

  Holly had never really heard language like that from a woman before, but then again, she’d been experiencing a lot of firsts this past year of her life. She’d already decided that she liked the young physician’s assistant, who also wore pants, and who was completely no nonsense. When she wanted to say something, she said it.

  “Please, the snake bite,” Holly pleaded, biting her lip as she reached up and began unbuttoning the sweat-soaked red plaid long johns. She peeled them back carefully, revealing his tanned, glistening skin that pulled tightly over his muscles.

  Shay quickly located the bloody wound on his wrist, the swelling making his arm balloon up a little. She tossed a pillow at Holly as the woman tried to look anywhere but directly at the exposed man in front of her.

  “Elevate his feet.” When Holly complied, she carefully pulled the sheet up to his waist to make her more comfortable. She needed her help and she needed her attentive. “Now hold him down gently, don’t apply too much pressure, but this might hurt enough to wake him.”

  Holly nodded and held his shoulders, watching as Shay retrieved a glass and what looked like rubber tubes, placing them carefully over the wound as she pulled her blue neck scarf over her nose and mouth. She applied pressure and began pumping, the suction cup pulling blood through the tube into the glass. It wasn’t exact, but only a little blood squirted out onto her arms.

  “He’s bled a lot, which is good,” Shay began, talking to Holly to keep her distracted. “Means the venom is already halfway out. This can help with the rest, and I’ll give him an anti-venom injection once I go out to the woodpile and determine what kind of snake did this.”

  “A rattlesnake, of course,” Holly said, widening her eyes. “And you can’t go over there. What if you get bitten too?”

  “There are over thirty species of rattlesnakes, Holly, I need to verify or else the anti-venom won’t work as well.”

  Holly sighed and stood up, jamming her feet into the boots by the door as she grabbed the shotgun and loaded two shells. “He needs you here. I’ll be right back.”

  Shay opened her mouth to object, but the woman who she thought was a shy, shrinking, virginal violet had already left. She continued pumping slowly but paused when she heard a shot echo around the cabin. She carefully set the tube and glass contraption down and stood when Holly walked back in and unloaded the second shell, catching it as it popped in the air.

  “It’s black, with geometric white shapes down the back.”

  “Diamondback,” Shay mumbled, digging through her bag and retrieving a large silver syringe. She ran her finger over the glass vials and found what she needed, then drew in the thick liquid and injected it into Pryce.

  His body jerked a little, but she was already wiping off the needle and nodding as Holly leaned down and pulled the covers up.

  “He needs a couple of pillows under his head, and then we need to immobilize his arm. He should move as little as possible to keep whatever venom is left in him from circulating.”

  The two women worked by firelight, keeping him comfortable and warm as they wiped his head and tried to get him to drink a sip of water every now and then. Holly poured them both a whiskey as they took a break and sat by the fire.

  “So, newlywed, I take it you and Mr. Browning haven’t had intercourse, judging by the way you blushed when he was nude and haven’t gotten used to telling people you’re married. You even called it his ranch.�
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  “It is his ranch and,” Holly sipped the amber liquid and looked away. “No, we haven’t.”

  “Don’t worry,” Shay chuckled, taking a sip and looking at the glass with appreciation. “Pryce’s parents were married for twenty-five years before they died. He’s in it until the end. And if I’ve noticed anything about him besides his handsome face and utter disinterest in every woman in town, it’s that he respected his mother very much. He probably just wants you to feel comfortable before he sticks his penis in you.”

  Holly choked on the whiskey she was drinking, but quickly turned her head and tried to recover, wiping her mouth and forcing a smile.

  Shay narrowed her eyes, though. “I thought you Bridal Express girls were war widows.”

  Holly bit her lip and cleared her throat, straightening her shoulders. “I lied. To get away. To get a better life. And now.” She looked at Pryce breathing steadily on the bed. “Well, I thought I had.”

  “Don’t worry,” Shay sighed, leaning back and finishing her glass of whiskey. “He’ll recover. And don’t worry. Intercourse isn’t as bad as they lead women to believe.”

  “You’ve, you’ve done it?” Holly asked, wide eyed.

  “Like I said,” Shay grinned, standing and stretching. “You’ll like it. And everyone in town’s tried to do it with him.”

  “So, you know him?”

  “Sure. Everyone does. There’s a silver mine on the property. And he is, or was, an eligible bachelor. Get what I’m saying?”

  Holly nodded and was about to ask for a little more background, when Shay cursed and asked if the sun was rising.

  Holly looked out of the east window of the cabin and nodded.

  Shay held her face in her hands and began pacing like it was the end of the world, though. “Oh, my Lord, my dad is going to kill me.”

  “Your dad?”

  “The doctor? Yes,” Shay replied breathlessly, packing up everything and throwing the satchel over her shoulder. “He’s going to have to come out and look Pryce over later.”

  “Well what about you?” Holly asked.

  Shay’s father was the town doctor, of course. She’d probably been assisting him her entire life. No wonder she was so good at it.

  “Me?” Shay huffed and walked outside into the freezing air of the early morning. “I’ve been out all night. I’ll be spending the next few hours in the woods fetching about seven switches. Can I take your horse? I’ll have my dad bring him back when he comes.”

  Holly nodded and called out in thanks just as Pryce began stirring in the bed behind her. She ran to his side, swiping his brown hair back and kissing his forehead, telling him it was going to be all right.

  “Hmm,” he mumbled weakly, a small smile crossing his lips. “What did I do to deserve to wake up like this?”

  “You almost died!” she hollered, rubbing the back of her hand under her eyes. She stood and frowned down at him. “So, don’t ever do it again!”

  Chapter 5

  Silver Creek Lodge, The Master Bedroom

  “Jesus. You’re right, these journals do read like a romance novel.” Bradley had started to carefully thumb through them with deference to their age, but indifference to the content. Now he squeezed tightly and couldn’t put the worn leather-bound book down. He leaned back on the soft white pillows of the king-sized bed and grinned down at Eve, resting next to him.

  He’d carefully sat her up on the couch and had brought her a little soup to eat, and then he’d helped her upstairs to the master bedroom, where he’d insisted she sleep. He’d explained all the other relatives had stayed in there, so she would too. Luckily, she was just a little too weak to argue, as he moved her suitcase and tote from one of the guest rooms down the long, open hallway.

  Then she just looked tired, so he’d pulled the covers over her, sat down in the middle of the bed, and began reading aloud where she’d marked the book. And it was kind of scorching hot for the late 1800s, that was for sure. He’d even seen a sketch on the back pages of what appeared to be a naked woman bathing in a river, probably Silver Creek, and probably Holly Browning.

  Her blue eyes turned up to him. “I’ve never had anyone feel that way about me. Definitely no one writing about it.”

  “Lucky me,” Bradley looked down at her next to him and felt a warm feeling wash over him. He gently brushed a strand of dark blonde hair back off her face.

  “I’ve made so many mistakes with men.” Eve turned her head and looked at the door to the bedroom. “You’d better go.”

  “If anyone understands starting anew, Eve, I do.” He placed two fingers under her chin and turned her head back. “Do you want to tell me about it?”

  “No,” she pouted, trying to turn her body so her back was to him.

  He laughed softly and shook his head. “All right, I can see you’ve had enough today.” He stood and rummaged through a black bag. “Let me listen to your lungs and then you can go to sleep.”

  She smacked the stethoscope away when he plugged it in his ears and tried to press it to her chest.

  He just chuckled again and waited patiently.

  “I’m fine, but you’re right. I’m tired. Now, go away.” She scowled up at him and looked determined.

  He didn’t want to rile her up again and cause another attack, so he figured he’d just sneak back in after cleaning the kitchen, and check her breathing in her sleep. Any irregularities and he could recommend different medication. “Okay, you adorable, little, asthmatic nerd. But bear in mind that there is an appointment in the near future between my hand and your pretty little ass.” He laughed and jumped back as her hand flew out and swung around at him.

  “Get out!” she shouted, cheeks flushing. Then she held her chest and closed her eyes as she wheezed. “Fuck.”

  Bradley jumped back in bed next to her, sucking in a loud breath and exhaling slowly, waiting for her to mimic him. When she did and their eyes met, he did it a few more times, holding her shoulders gently in his hands and waiting until the panic left her eyes.

  “Okay?” he asked, lightly pushing her back on the pillow.

  She nodded and breathed steadily, closing her eyes and parting her perfect pink lips.

  “I’m going to stay,” he said, concern in his voice. To his surprise, he felt her muscles relax next to him. She even turned a little on her side, like she wanted to spoon. Biting his lip, he reached over and flipped off the light. There was enough moonlight to illuminate the room, so he softly stroked his hand up and down her arm in a soothing way.

  Her quiet voice broke the silence and had him smiling in the darkness. “You can’t hit me.”

  “I would never,” he replied in an assertive voice. He felt her body stiffen a little, so he continued stroking her arm as he leaned over to speak in her ear. “I will spank you, though.”

  “No.” Concise and certain. He liked that.

  “It worked for Holly and Pryce.” He smiled as she turned and looked at him in the silver light and shadows of the bedroom.

  “Yeah, in the 1800s.”

  “They loved each other.”

  “I don’t know if she loved that part.”

  “Well, I’ll tell you what, then. If you get to the end of these journals and she doesn’t have one nasty thing to say about her terribly abusive husband, who beats her, then I’ll spank some sense into you.”

  “That’s a terrible arrangement.”

  He chuckled again and traced a finger down the side of her face. “He loved her. She loved him. It’s so obvious. And it seems like he’s not hurting her when he spanks her. Just sending her little reminders to take care of herself. Much like you’re in need of.”

  “You’re in need of a shrink.”

  “And you’re in need of someone who cares about you. Not just someone who wants something from you.” He heard her suck in a breath and could see those steely blue eyes staring at him in the darkness.

  “How do you know that?” Her voice was a whisper.

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sp; He leaned down and kissed the corner of her mouth, lingering as he spoke. “I can read you like I’m reading those journals. Your face is so expressive. Your emotions so open. I love it.”

  He cupped her cheek in his hand and kissed her full on. Her lips were soft and parted almost immediately. He gently licked into her mouth and moaned appreciatively when he felt her hands reach up and run through his hair. He carefully positioned himself up on his elbows, no weight on her fragile lungs, but he really wanted to surround her with his body and consume every inch of her.

  She was so self-assured and passionate, yet so delicate. She had that Childress quality that garnered the attention of everyone in a room. Well, he was always the only one in the room with her, really, but still. And she’d been so adorably angry with him just moments before. He was dying to know what was going through her head.

  Eve had spent the entire day buried in the past. Checking provenance, authenticating fine china, all things historical. It was how she spent most days. The last two relationships she’d had with men had ended with disputes over work. Which had led to cheating. Which had led to vindications about breaking up.

  She just thought she’d be alone forever. Then Bradley barged in. Literally. He had a way of sneaking up on her and scaring the piss out of her. But then he’d take care of her. Listen to her. And he hadn’t quit on her. Yet.

  The asthma attack had made her feel weak, both physically and emotionally, but he stuck by her. No justification for deserting her because she was too much to handle, like one guy who had just told her he wasn’t up for a “project” like her. Bradley seemed to like the work. A lot. Maybe too much since he felt like he needed to work on her a little bit and, what, spank some sense in to her?

  Yeah, right. He seemed dubious on whether or not he needed her consent to engage in that little undertaking and she made sure he knew her opinion on the matter. It felt like it would be a physical fight between someone who was a large, strong man and someone who was a fragile-ish but strong-ish woman.