Sugar Plums for Dry Creek & At Home in Dry Creek

by Janet Tronstad

  Lizette must have given her self that speech a dozen times over the last few days, yet she still felt the need to re mind her self.

  Apart from that kiss, Judd had given absolutely no indication that he was interested in her in any way except as a dinner guest and ballet instructor. In fact, usually he just frowned at her. She didn’t know why she was having these fluttery feelings about him, but it had to stop. She didn’t want to embarrass her self by making him worry that she was get ting romantic ideas just because he’d thrown him self into the part of the Nutcracker with enthusiasm.

  And the kiss—well—what man wouldn’t be pleased to know he was a prince in stead of a wooden kitchen utensil used to break apart nut shells? Didn’t she remember that foot ball players kissed their teammates after winning a particularly important game? Of course, she didn’t think they kissed them on the lips, but that was only a matter of location. The principle of the victory kiss was the same.

  No, she had no reason to take Judd’s kiss personally. She was a professional. She knew how people threw them selves into acting.

  Lizette looked over at Judd. They were standing at the bottom of the church stairs as they had be fore, only this time it was dark and it was hard to read any expression on Judd’s face. She did notice that he wasn’t frowning though, and that was a good sign with Judd. Now that she thought about it, she didn’t think he’d frowned at all today. Except, of course, when he’d first seen the lemon pie she’d made for him.

  “You’ve got your candle?” Judd turned to Lizette and asked.

  Lizette nodded. Amanda had al ready given her the candle she had made for her to use to night. It was a short pink candle, and Amanda had put glittery sequins all over it, because, she said, it re minded her of the ballet costumes.

  “I’ve got mine, too,” Amanda said as she held out her blue candle. She had decorated it with the same kind of sequins and sparkles that she’d used on Lizette’s.

  “Mine are here,” Judd said as he patted the pocket of his coat.

  Lizette had already seen the two candles he carried. One was the candle the kids had made for him and the other was the one they had made for their mother.

  Lizette had smiled when she had seen the candle the kids had made for Judd. They obviously couldn’t agree on what kind of candle Judd would like, so the candle had been dipped in red coloring on one side and green coloring on the other. The two colors mixed in places and made long rivulets of dark purple. The one thing the kids had seemed to agree on was cow stickers, and they had put them all over the candle. The candle they had made for their mother was a tall yellow taper with stickers of two long-stemmed white roses on the side of it.

  Bobby hadn’t shown any of them his candle. “It’s green,” was all he would say.

  Judd and Lizette seemed to take a deep breath at the same time and they looked over at each other and nodded. Then they each took the hand of a child and started to walk up the steps to the church.

  The church was trans formed at night. Last Sunday morning the light shining into the sanctuary from the windows had made the place look homey. The light had also clearly shown up the nicks in the back of the pews and the scuff marks on the floor by the entry.

  But to night, there were no nicks or marks showing. There were light sconces on the side walls and a dim glow came from each one. There was also an over head light that gave a muted light. Instead of the imperfections of the room, the yellow light made everything look richer.

  Lizette glanced over at Judd. It also made every one look more hand some.

  “Do they have a ballet here, too?” Amanda whispered in a hushed tone as they stood at the back of the church.

  “No, sweetie, those are choir robes,” Lizette answered as she followed the direction of Amanda’s gaze.

  Two women were standing near the piano and they had on long robes made of mid night-blue satin with white collars. They were leaning over to read some music that the pianist was playing. From where they stood, Lizette could hear the soft hum of the women’s voices as they sang a song.

  “Oh, welcome,” Mrs. Hargrove said as she and Charley walked down the aisle to ward them. “I’m so glad you came.”

  “We wouldn’t miss it,” Judd said as he shook the hand Charley offered. “We have some special candles to light. Besides, I wanted to talk with the sheriff if he’s here.”

  Judd still hadn’t talked with the sheriff, and he wanted to know a little more about when the kids’ father was coming up for trial. Not that Judd expected to go to the trial. He just thought he should know un less any one said any thing in front of the kids.

  “Sheriff Wall had some kind of business that took him out of town,” Charley said. “Asked me and my son to give the Billings police a call if any thing went wrong around here.”

  “Does he usually leave some one in charge when he’s gone?” Judd hadn’t realized how much he’d counted on calling the sheriff if trouble did come up with Amanda and Bobby’s father.

  “There was never any need for him to leave someone in charge,” Charley said. “I think he’s just worried because—” Charley glanced at the children and lowered his voice until only Judd could hear “—well, we don’t usually have something in town that a criminal wants that much. But now—well, the sheriff said he’d feel easier about leaving the two of us to keep an eye on things, especially until they got the man transferred over to the Billings jail. My son doesn’t get into town much except for church, but I’ll be around to keep a look out.”

  Judd frowned. “Is there a delay with sending him to Billings?”

  Charley shrugged. “They needed to wait for an opening. The jail in Billings is full at the moment. So they’re keeping him in Miles City.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with the jail in Miles City, is there?”

  Charley chuckled. “Nothing some extra heat wouldn’t cure. The county doesn’t like us to keep folks there in the winter because we can’t afford to heat it the way it should be. It tends to be on the cold side.”

  “But it’s se cure?” Judd asked.

  Charley nodded. “It might not be comfort able, but it’s built like a fort.”

  Judd nodded. He supposed there was no need to worry. The Miles City jail should hold the man, and that was all he cared about.

  Mrs. Hargrove smiled down at the children. “Why, look—you’ve both got your candles.”

  Judd pre pared him self for Amanda to press her face into his leg from shy ness, and he had his hand half way down to re assure her when he realized there was no need. Amanda didn’t even look back to see that he was there. She just smiled up at Mrs. Hargrove and started walking down the aisle between the pews.

  “We want to get a good pew,” Amanda turned around and said to Judd and Lizette.

  Judd wondered what made a pew a good pew, but it looked as though Amanda had definite opinions on the matter. If she didn’t, Bobby had al most reached her and would no doubt add his ad vice, as well.

  Apparently, going to this church had done something be sides make Judd un comfort able. It had made the children confident in Dry Creek with out him.

  “I guess they don’t need us,” Judd said to Lizette now that both children were ahead of them.

  Judd looked down to smile at Lizette and was glad he had got ten the words out of his mouth be fore he did. He’d never seen Lizette in soft light be fore. He’d seen her in the bright day light of the ballet studio and the ordinary light of his dinner table. He’d even seen her just minutes ago in the dark ness out side as they walked up to the church. But he’d never seen her in soft muted lighting like this.

  She was beautiful. Softly beautiful. Stirringly beautiful. She was—

  “Whoeee.” Pete’s voice broke Judd’s concentration be fore he even knew the cow boy had walked up be hind them. Not that the cow boy was paying Judd any attention. The man was looking at Lizette like she’d stepped off the pages of a magazine ad for a tropical paradise. “Aren’t you something?”


  Lizette smiled at the man.

  Judd resisted the urge to growl like a guard dog. Well, he tried to resist the urge. No one noticed he didn’t quite succeed except for Mrs. Hargrove.

  “If you need an ant acid, let me know,” the older woman said as she looked at him and patted her purse. “I carry a small pharmacy in here. After a big turkey dinner like today, you won’t be the only one who needs help digesting it all.”

  “Thanks, but I’m fine.”

  Judd told him self he was fine. He was certainly just as fine as Pete.

  And Lizette must realize it. She was looking at him now in stead of at Pete.

  “Maybe Mrs. Hargrove has something in her purse for that rash of yours,” Lizette said with a sym pathetic tone in her voice.

  Judd grimaced. “I don’t have a rash.” He looked over at Mrs. Hargrove and then at Pete. Their eyes were all bright with curiosity. “I just asked her to scratch my back while I was washing dishes. I just had a little itch. That’s all. No rash.”

  “Hmm,” Mrs. Hargrove said with a smile. “Well, I don’t think I have any thing to treat that with.”

  “I think I feel an itch working its way up my back right now,” Pete said as he stepped closer to Lizette. “Maybe you could scratch it for me?”

  “We’ve got candles to light,” Judd said as he took Lizette’s arm and steered her down the aisle.

  “Here we are,” Amanda whispered from the pew she and Bobby had chosen.

  Judd al most groaned again. The two of them had chosen the half pew that was off to the right side of the piano. He figured the pew could hold two adults comfort ably. But when you added the two children, they would all be very tight.

  The kids were geniuses, Judd told him self ten minutes later. The only way he and Lizette could fit in the pew with the children was if he held Amanda on his lap and Bobby sat next to the piano. That meant he and Lizette were in the middle and pressed close together. It was perfect. Judd could watch the light dance around in Lizette’s dark hair as she moved her head, and he was also close enough to smell the faint lilac perfume that she wore.

  He was a happy man.

  “Can I go up with my candle now?” Amanda asked as she squirmed down off of Judd’s lap.

  Judd looked around. Several people had taken their candles up, but it didn’t look like any one was standing up right this minute. “Sure. Do you want me to come with you?”

  Amanda shook her head. “I can do it.”

  Judd had to blink his eyes when he saw Amanda walk up in front of the whole congregation and put her candle on the table. A few weeks ago she wouldn’t even speak to him, and now she was telling every one why she was grateful.

  “I’m glad I get to be the Sugar Plum Fairy,” Amanda said after she put her candle on the table. Then she skipped back to the pew where the rest of them sat.

  “You did real good, sweetie,” Lizette said to the girl as Amanda crawled back up on Judd’s lap.

  “You sure did,” Judd added. It was Lizette who had worked the change in Amanda. Judd had known how to protect the child, but he hadn’t known how to make her so excited about something that she needed to talk about it.

  Several more people got up to take their candles to the front of the church. Pete was one of them. He had a plain white candle stuck in the bottom of a tin cup, and he said he was thankful he’d got ten to have Thanksgiving dinner with his mother up by Havre.

  “Ah, isn’t that sweet?” Lizette murmured.

  Judd grunted. He’d been un aware that Pete had a mother.

  “And I got to bring her a geranium plant that was blooming,” Pete continued. The cow boy held his hat in his hands, and Judd couldn’t tell if the other man was sincere or just saying what the women wanted to hear. “She appreciated the plant now because her arthritis is bad and she can’t be out much.”

  “Ah,” Lizette sighed. “He’s good to visit his mother.”

  Judd didn’t point out that for all they knew the cow boy only ever spent one holiday with her. One holiday didn’t mean he visited his mother regularly.

  Judd was frowning by the time Pete sat down in his pew. Judd knew he was being uncharitable and it made him irritable. The truth was, Pete probably did know more about family life than he did.

  Mrs. Hargrove stood up next. The older woman carried a can de la bra with several candles in it. She said she was lighting candles for those in her family who couldn’t be here. “And one of them should be,” she added. “And will be by next Thanksgiving if I have any thing to say about it.”

  “Amen,” Charley said from his place in the church, and several people nodded.

  Judd noticed that the middle-aged man who sat next to Charley didn’t nod like every one else in the church did. He didn’t even smile or look the least bit thankful. That must be Charley’s son. Judd wondered if the poor man had any idea what his father and Mrs. Hargrove were planning for him. Probably not. But the man looked like some one who could take care of him self, and Judd had enough of his own trouble to worry about.

  Bobby went up with his candle after the Curtis twins had finished.

  “I’m thankful that my Mom is okay even if I don’t know where she is,” Bobby said bravely after he added his candle to the table. Judd noticed Bobby had wrapped a yellow rib bon around the candle. It must have been the rib bon his mother accidentally left when she left the children with Judd.

  “Shall we go up now?” Judd whispered in Lizette’s ear.

  Lizette nodded and stood up when he did.

  Judd set Amanda down on the floor so she could walk with them.

  Sometimes a man had more to be grateful for than he could share with other people. Having Lizette come up front with him and the kids be side him made him feel humble and proud all at the same time. When they were together in church, Judd felt like he be longed some where and to some one. He wondered if church did that to other people.

  “I’m grateful that the town gave me a place to set up my ballet studio,” Lizette said as she set her pink candle on the table. “It’s made my mother’s dream come true. I wish she were here to see it.”

  Judd wished he’d had a chance to meet Lizette’s mother. She must have been a special woman to raise some one like Lizette all by her self.

  “I have two candles,” Judd said as he reached into his pockets. Both Amanda and Bobby were on his right, so he handled their mother’s candle to them. “The first candle is for Barbara, Amanda and Bobby’s mother. If she were here today, I think she’d tell you that the thing she is most grateful for is her two wonderful children.”

  Bobby and Amanda carefully set their mother’s candle on the table.

  Judd pulled the other candle out of his pocket and set it on the table. “As for me, I’m grateful for—” Judd stopped. He meant to say he was grateful for the dog that had wandered onto his farm last spring. And he was thankful for the dog. He’d never had a pet be fore. But he suddenly wanted to be more honest with the people of Dry Creek who were watching him. So he cleared his throat and began again. “I’m most grateful for feeling like I’m part of a family today.”

  There, Judd told him self. He’d been open and vulnerable and no one had stood up and called him a liar or any thing. In fact, what he could see in the dim lighting was that most people were nod ding their heads like he was right to be grateful for that. Judd stood with the kids while they waited for Lizette to light her candle.

  The rest of the people in the Dry Creek church lit candles. Some of them mentioned being thankful for good health. One or two were thankful for the year’s good crops. Still others were grateful that family members were all able to be together for the holiday.

  When every one had finished taking their candles up to the front of the church, the two women in choir robes sang a song about amazing grace. Judd figured they had that about right. He’d never seen much kind ness or grace in his life, but he was beginning to think that the people in this church knew something about grace that he did
n’t. Maybe he should take the kids to church here until their mother came to get them. He’d like for them to know about this amazing grace that was in the song.

  He sighed. He guessed if he was going to do this church business, he should do it right. Maybe he could order a tie from the cat a log. While he was at it, he’d order a suit, as well.

  Judd looked over at Lizette. He wondered if she’d wear that cute little hat to church again if he wore a tie. At least as long as the kids were with him, Judd was pretty sure she’d sit with them in church.

  And Sunday was only a couple of days away. Maybe it wouldn’t be such a hard ship to go to church after all.

  Chapter Thirteen

  It was the Monday morning after Thanksgiving, and Lizette was making progress on plans for the Nutcracker. She’d seen Mr. Elkton in church yesterday and he’d offered her the use of the barn he owned on the out skirts of Dry Creek for the performance it self. She’d been assured by Mrs. Hargrove that enough people would come to see the Nutcracker performance that they would need to have more space than Lizette had in her dance school.

  “Plus, we can set a refreshment table up at one end of the barn for those lovely pas tries you mentioned, and we’ll need some punch, of course,” Mrs. Hargrove said. “Don’t you worry about it being a barn. The building hasn’t been used as a barn for ten years or more. We keep it clean just for events like this. We’ll have our Christmas pageant there on Christmas Eve, so we’ll just get things ready earlier and have the Nutcracker in the barn, too.”

  Lizette planned to have the ballet this coming Friday evening, December 3. She’d walked over to the barn after church yesterday and checked to see if the floor was smooth enough for ballet movements. It was.

  Plus, the barn was charming. There were several windows on each side of the barn, and the sun light showed off the square features of the structure. There were rafters and square trim around the windows and the large double door. The wood was all golden as if it had been polished.

  It was easy to believe that there had been other performances in the building. There was even a small sound system that had been wired around the rafters so that the music she used for the Nutcracker would be easier to hear.