Willow Creek Christmas

by Graison, Lily

  And for the first time since the war ended, he was actually glad he was.

  * * * *

  "Come back inside, Keri. You look frozen through."

  Abigail touched her arm and was tugging her away before she could find words enough to thank Noah for going after Aaron. For rescuing and taking care of them when the storm hit. For everything.

  She glanced over her shoulder at him as they entered the house. He was still by the fence, staring up at her as Abigail shut the door behind them, and she knew she'd not get a chance to thank him. He'd been too eager to be rid of them and was probably climbing into his wagon this very moment.

  The warmth of the house enveloped her as she entered the foyer. She spotted Sophie Ann. She was staring out the front window, her face pressed against the glass.

  "Come back into the kitchen, Keri. We need to get you two warmed up."

  She followed Abigail and sat back down in the chair she'd vacated earlier, her arms still around Aaron.

  "How about some more tea?" Laurel asked her. "It'll warm you up in no time."

  "All right," Keri said. "Thank you."

  Laurel refilled her tea cup and even poured one for Aaron. They sat in silence for long minutes, drinking from their mugs until the chill was chased away from her bones.

  Laurel and Abigail left the room, their hushed whispers filling the air and Keri closed her eyes, trying to escape her reality for a brief moment. She had no idea what to do now. As much as she hated the thought of imposing on the marshal, and risking him finding out what she'd done, she didn't have much of a choice. Regardless of how it looked to others, she wasn't stupid. She knew she couldn't walk to California in the dead of winter. If she were honest with herself, she'd acknowledge the fact that they wouldn't be able to do it had it been summer. She'd taken her kids from the only home they'd ever known and turned them into homeless beggars.

  She sighed, finished her tea, and glanced into the hall where the women were talking. Movement past Abigail's shoulder caught her attention and leaning back enabled her to see around the woman. Marshal Avery stood just inside the front door and to her surprise, Noah was with him, the two men deep in their own conversation. When the marshal broke away and joined the women, Keri looked away. They were discussing her, trying to figure out what to do with them. She didn't need to be told to know so and embarrassment burned her cheeks. They pitied her. Talking in soft whispers so she couldn't hear and humiliation burned hot in her chest. She swallowed and nudged Aaron away so she could stand.

  Noah startled her when she turned. She hadn't heard him enter the room. He glanced at Aaron, told him to "go find your sister," and waited until he had before he looked back over at her. His shoulders lifted as he inhaled a breath, his gaze locked with hers. "You and the kids will be coming back home with me." Keri blinked up at him. "I've things to pick up at the mercantile. Be ready to go when I return."

  She opened her mouth to discuss the matter but he turned before she could get a word out, walked back down the hall and out the front door. Morgan followed him after a few moments. The two women broke apart, Laurel grabbing her coat and slipping it on before leaving the house while Abigail hurried up the stairs.

  What was going on? Where was everyone going? And why had Noah decided to take them back home with him when she knew it was the last thing he wanted to do?

  Chapter Eleven

  Laurel returned a short time later, her arms draped in clothes. She smiled at Keri as she hustled into the room to the right of the front door. An office from the looks of it. A light flared in the room as a lamp was lit and Abigail's footsteps tapped on the stairs a moment later. Her arms were also filled with clothes.

  The uncomfortable feeling she'd had when they all left intensified as the two women busied themselves in the office and Keri craned her neck to see what they were doing. When Laurel called her name, she jumped, startled by the noise.

  She entered the room, her eyes scanning the clothing the women had. Small dresses and stockings. Hair ribbons and nightgowns. Trousers and shirts that looked as if they'd seem better days but still better than the rags Aaron was wearing.

  These strangers had gathered clothing for her kids?

  Tears filled Keri's eyes again. She'd cried so much today, her head felt stopped up, her throat aching with the emotion.

  Laurel smiled her way as she folded the trousers and shirts. "These aren't the best," she said, "but it’s all we have on such short notice. They're hand-me-downs mostly, from the box over at the school, but they come in handy on occasion." Her smile brightened. "Like now. They'll do for Aaron until something better can be found for him."

  Keri couldn't say a word in reply. Abigail was folding dresses, adding them to the pile of trousers and shirts. When everything was sorted, Abigail found a bit of twine in one of the desk drawers and tied everything together.

  "There," she said, smiling. "That should help out a bit."

  "I can't…" Keri cleared her throat twice before getting the words out. "I can't take these."

  "Sure you can," Laurel said. "They were just sitting in a box. It isn't as if we took them from someone who needed them."

  Keri looked at Abigail. "The dresses?" she asked, quietly. "Will your daughters not need them?"

  Abigail smiled. "Not for a while yet. They belonged to my niece, Alex, but they're still a bit too big for my girls. They'll probably be too big for Sophie Ann as well, but I have this." She held up a small black box and laid it on top of the clothes. "It's a sewing kit," she said. "You can tack up the hem or take the sides in a bit if they're too big for Sophie."

  The marshal and Noah returned a few moments later and for some unexplainable reason, the moment Noah turned to look at her, the anxiety she felt eased a bit. "Ready?" he asked, his head once again tilting a fraction to one side.

  She stared at him, wondering why he was willing to take them back. She crossed the room and joined him in the foyer. "Why are you doing this?" she asked, her voice pitched low so the Averys wouldn't hear. "I know you don't want us in your house and it's okay. We'll be okay."

  "Are you going to stay here with the marshal until your brother can be found?"

  Her heart ached, misery causing the back of her throat to tighten while tears filled her eyes again. "I don't want us to be a burden to anyone."

  "So, you're going to, what?" Noah said, his eyes darkening. "Sneak away again? Make it to Missoula before the next storm hits? Then what?" He glowered at her, his eyebrows pulled down as he frowned. "You don't look like a stupid woman to me, Keri. Don't prove me wrong."

  She looked away, saw the faces of her children and knew Noah was wrong. She was stupid. Stupid for dragging her babies halfway across the territory when she could have found a husband anywhere along the way. She may not have been happy but they would have been warm, fed and cared for.

  And not a burden to these people.

  Noah grabbed the blanket she'd used to wrap herself in on the way to town and held it out to her. "It's just until the marshal can find your brother."

  She sighed and stared at him, still unsure why he was taking them back in. "You didn't answer my question, Noah. Why are you doing this? I thought you wanted us gone."

  "I did." He shifted his weight from one foot to the other but never took his eyes off her. "And truth be known, taking you back home with me is the last thing I want to do but I can't let you leave, Keri. You can't drag these kids across the country in the dead of winter and if I have to be inconvenienced for a time to prevent you from doing that, then so be it."

  "So instead of us being a burden to the marshal, we'll be a burden to you?" He never answered but the look on his face changed. Something in his eyes told her he didn't really see them as a burden, regardless of his surly manner. Did he want them to come back so they wouldn't leave Willow Creek or because he really wanted them to stay?

  The answers never came and the longer she stared at Noah, the more she realized she didn't really have a choice. Not no
w. She either went with Noah or stayed here with the Averys. They couldn't survive the winter in the open.

  She bit her bottom lip and stared at Noah's bearded face. "What will people say?" she asked. "About us staying with you, I mean?"

  He shrugged. "I don't care what they say. They'll talk regardless of what I do."

  "That may be, but…"

  The marshal took a step forward, his arms crossed over his chest. "As far as the townsfolk are concerned, Noah rode into Missoula and got himself a wife. He rarely comes to town so no one will question it. Stop worrying, Mrs. Hilam. Everything will be fine."

  Keri thought of another dozen excuses why this was a bad idea but in the end, it made little difference. They needed somewhere to stay through the winter and imposing on the marshal made her feel uneasy. He was a family man with children. He didn't need more people to worry about. At least with Noah, she was comfortable around him—when he wasn't acting like a disgruntled bear—and he lived alone. She wouldn't be putting anyone out. Well, no one other than Noah. Maybe she could talk him into taking his bed back. At least she wouldn't feel so bad then.

  Decision made, she glanced into the other room where Aaron and Sophie Ann sat watching the school children play a game that didn't involve screaming. She called Aaron's name until he noticed her and stood, grabbing Sophie Ann's hand and walking her across the room to where she stood. The blankets they'd been using to ward off the cold were gathered and wrapped around them again as the front door was opened. Going back home with Noah was a complete contradiction to what she'd meant to do but as she followed him out of the house, she didn't dismiss the sense of relief she felt.

  She followed Noah quietly, Morgan in step behind her, his arms filled with the clothes the women had packed. Reaching the wagon, Keri stared at the small cot sitting in the back. She glanced at Noah and wondered where it had come from, but decided to ask later.

  When the kids were settled, Marshal Avery saying his goodbyes and walking away, Noah turned to help her into the wagon. She looked down at his outstretched hand, the black leather gloves she'd never seen him take off still in place, and she didn't hesitate placing her hand in his to let him help her into the wagon. For whatever reason, he had invited them back into his home. She was too stunned to ask for the real reason why, and sat silently all the way back to his cabin.

  Noah parked the wagon near the door and helped her down, picked up Sophie Ann and placed her feet on the ground, and reached for the cot and mattress, hauling them in and setting them along the farthest wall opposite the bed. The bundles of clothes were brought inside, the blankets they'd been wrapped in folded and put back inside the chest at the foot of the bed, and it wasn't until Noah went to unhitch the horse from the wagon that she turned to look at Aaron. "What happened when Noah chased you down?"

  Aaron sighed and leaned against the bed. "We talked, mostly."

  "About what?"

  "All kinds of stuff." He shrugged and gave her a wide-eyed look. "He said I had to be the man in our family now since Pa was dead and that you and Sophie Ann wouldn't be able to get along without me."

  Keri smiled, her heart aching as she looked at him. "He's right. I'd probably wither up and die if you weren't here." That earned her a smile from him. "Do you plan on staying, then?"

  "I don't think I got no choice," he said. "After Noah was done talking, he told me to come out of my hiding spot and get back to the marshal's house. He didn't sound like he was asking me either."

  Keri raised an eyebrow. "He yelled at you?"

  Aaron shook his head. "No. He didn't have to. I knew by the sound of him he'd probably snatch me up by one ear if I didn't do as he said, so I just did it."

  She'd heard Noah's deep, demanding voice enough to know the power behind it and Aaron was at least smart enough to know not to test the man. Of course, after he reacted so badly to Sophie Ann getting into his drawings, she was sure both kids would tread lightly around him.

  When the door opened, she turned, watching Noah come inside, a large package wrapped in brown paper under one arm. He removed his coat and hat, then looked in her direction. Keri could tell he wanted to say something. He apparently had as much trouble speaking up as she did at the moment. She glanced at the package then raised her eyes to his. "Is there anything in particular you'd like for supper?"

  He shook his head. "No. Anything you'd like to fix is fine." He took a step, then stopped and held out the package. "This is for you. It's all the mercantile had."

  That beard of his hid so much of his face, it was a wonder Keri could even tell he was blushing, but there was no mistaking the red tint glowing on his cheeks. She crossed the room and reached for the package. "Thank you." He nodded once, turned and left her standing there. She watched him reach for the leather journal Sophie had nearly destroyed and the box of pencils before taking a seat in the rocker. Laying the package on the bed, she debated on opening it. What had he bought? And why?

  "Can we eat soon?"

  Keri looked down at Sophie Ann when she spoke and smiled. "Yes, love. We'll eat soon. Can you sit out here with Aaron and not get into any trouble?" Sophie Ann grinned and nodded her head. Leaving them to entertain themselves quietly, Keri headed for the kitchen.

  * * * *

  Noah could see her out of the corner of his eye. She was inching closer, her blond curls bouncing over her shoulders. He looked over at her. She stopped walking the moment she realized he'd seen her. She held his gaze until he turned his head.

  The pages she'd ripped out of his journal were beyond repair. He stuffed them in the back of the book and scanned through the pages, pulling out the ones she'd scribbled on. The book itself was in good shape although more than a few pages fell free from the binding.

  Sophie Ann had nearly reached his chair when he grabbed his pencil and laid it against a blank page. The first few strokes across the paper looked stark against the background. His touch was light, the pencil strokes long and he had a vague outline by the time Sophie Ann reached him. She leaned against the arm of the chair, peering down at what he was doing. She never said a word, just watched quietly as he drew.

  The ticking of the clock sounded loud in the stillness but for once, it didn't cause the melancholy that usually invaded him every evening. The thought should have alarmed him but for some reason, it didn't. As much as he disliked being around people, these scruffy kids, and their soft spoken mother, didn't bother him much.

  He didn't waste time perfecting the sketch. He held back a pleased smile when Sophie Ann gasped as the picture started to take shape. He glanced at her, noticing her wide eyes before she smiled.

  "That looks like me," she whispered.

  Noah didn't reply. There wasn't a need to. He worked on the sketch as the scent of food filled the air, the soft pattering sounds of Keri in the kitchen causing something in his chest to tighten. He still didn't know why he'd brought them home with him. It wasn't his intention when he'd bundled them up and took them to town, or when he fetched Aaron and returned him to the marshal's place. But when Abigail had taken Keri back to the house and she looked over her shoulder at him, he'd already made his decision. He'd take them home with him and keep them until Morgan could locate Keri's brother. And if Peter Davis couldn't be found…

  Well, he'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

  When the drawing was finished, he scribbled Sophie Ann and a date on the page and turned the book so she could see it. She grinned, grabbed the journal with both hands and stared at it so long he wasn't sure she was going to give it back.

  "Can you do a horse?" she asked, her big eyes imploring as she looked up at him.

  "After supper I can." He pocketed the pencil, Keri coming into view as she stepped back into the room.

  "Aaron, you and Sophie Ann get washed up. Supper is almost ready."

  Sophie Ann whirled, the journal still in her hands, and ran across the room, holding the book up to show her mother. Keri's face lit from within, her surprise evident. When
she glanced at him, heat burned along his neck until she looked back down at Sophie Ann when the girl said, "He's going to draw me a horse after supper."

  "Is he?" Keri said. "Well, you best get cleaned up so we can eat, then."

  The girl ran back across the room and handed him the journal before darting off again. She hadn't made it halfway across the room before she turned back to face him. A frown tugged at her lips. "I'm sorry I messed up the other pictures."

  Her voice was pitched so low, Noah barely heard it. He glanced at Keri before turning his attention to Sophie Ann. "Apology accepted." Her frown vanished in an instant. Closing the book, he set it aside as both kids disappeared into the kitchen, the sound of water splashing as they washed was heard before both of them came barreling back into the room and plunking down near the fire. When Keri followed them with two plates, he knew he'd have to get two more chairs. The floor wasn't a place anyone should have to eat from.

  Following Keri into the kitchen, he noticed his plate was already filled and sitting in front of his chair. He sat, picked up his fork and kept the expression on his face neutral when Keri grabbed her plate and left him sitting in the kitchen alone. He couldn't say why the sound of her retreating footsteps felt so dismissive. He hadn't done anything to make them feel welcome. He barely spoke to them, if truth be known.

  As he listened to them laugh and talk in the other room, he ate in silence, the question of why he'd brought them back whispering inside his head again. He couldn't think of one reason that stood out from the others but he had to admit, hearing something other than that damn clock ticking made the evening seem a little less bleak.

  Chapter Twelve

  Noah had no sooner sat by the cow when he heard the barn door open. He turned his head, not surprised to see Aaron looking at him. The boy was wearing the clothes the Avery women had given him. They were a bit big, the pant legs rolled several times to keep from dragging the ground, but he didn't look nearly as homely as he had the first time he saw him.