Christmas with the Cookes

by Kit Morgan

  Fortunately, the wagon was small and cramped with the four of them. Even better, Doc and Grandma were sitting facing backward behind them, the best way to fit everyone when they put a tree in. They’d have to place it across the wagon bed to make it fit, but it would do.

  Once they left town, he let Powder break into a trot. There was enough snow on the ground to move with ease, but not so deep it would give the horse trouble.

  “Whee!” Grandma said as the sleigh sped up.

  Doc laughed. “One would think you’ve never done this before.”

  “I’ve never done it in this rig,” she said. “It’s smaller than the one Logan takes.”

  “Logan?” Jefferson said. “You’ve gone to the tree line with Logan before?”

  “Of course, if I can catch him in town. Doc and I used to go with him and your father and uncles back in the day. Those were good times.”

  “Have you heard from your Uncle Duncan lately?” Doc asked.

  “No, not since he wrote in the fall.”

  “Is that the duke in England?” Lorelei asked.

  “Yes. He was here last summer. We had a good visit.”

  “An interesting one is more like,” Grandma laughed.

  He knew what she referred to: the infamous hunt for a rare bird everyone in Clear Creek thought was just a strange-looking chicken. The Turners found it and sold it to August Bennett, who’d had it for years until the MacDonalds showed up in town with Uncle Duncan, Aunt Cozette and some strangers who were looking for it. Those strangers were the oddest people Clear Creek had ever seen … hmmm. Were they from another time too?

  He pushed the thought aside. He didn’t want to think of the MacDonalds, exotic birds or anything but spending the day with Lorelei. With any luck he’d catch a private moment with her and tell her his intentions. She’d either say yes or no, but he was pretty sure she’d say yes. It felt like there wasn’t another option, not for his heart. Then it would just be a matter of doing that – provided a Scotsman the size of an oak tree didn’t get in the way.

  They talked of the play, the weather, and Uncle Harrison and Aunt Sadie’s trip to Nowhere to visit the Weavers. He wondered how his cousins were getting along. Finally, they spotted Logan’s wagon far ahead, just entering the tree line. “Oh, there they are!” Lorelei said, looking around. She’d been looking around a lot. “It’s so beautiful out here. I can’t believe it.”

  “Not too hard to believe the good Lord knew what He was doing when he made it all,” Grandma said behind them. “But I do have to admit, I never tire of taking it in.”

  “Me neither,” Doc agreed.

  Jefferson smiled at Lorelei. “Are you having a good time?”

  “The best. This is great!”

  His chest warmed. He liked seeing her happy. Her smile made his heart swell almost to bursting.

  They continued on to the tree line, where a small track led to Amon Cotter’s cabin. They’d leave their wagons and horses there and hike into the trees behind it to a spot where there was new growth. Amon had cleared an area for horses, but it never got used and the pines and firs reclaimed it. It would be a handy spot for a few years, until the trees grew too large to use for Christmas.

  Lorelei looked around again. “I think I’ve been here.”

  “Yes, you have,” Jefferson said. “Father told me this is where the MacDonalds had he and Mother meet them to fetch you.”

  She fidgeted, glancing around. “I thought this place looked familiar.”

  A shiver ran up his spine and he began to sense her agitation. “Everything all right?”

  “Yes, I’m fine. But … well, it reminds me of …”

  She didn’t need to finish the sentence. He looked at her and thought, It’s all right.

  Her gaze met his and her shoulders relaxed. Thanks.

  By the time they reached Amon’s cabin, Logan and his son Owen had a fire going in the cabin for Doc and Grandma. “It’s a shame Amon built this place then never got to use it,” Grandma said as Jefferson helped her out of the wagon. “Nice place. Big too.”

  “Where did he go?” Lorelei asked, still subdued.

  “England, to help my Uncle Duncan. I think I told you that, remember?”

  “I don’t recall. Sorry.”

  He thought a moment. Maybe he hadn’t told her. Ever since Lorelei arrived, he’d been muddled at times. She did that to him.

  Logan came out the front door. “I’m going to have to tell Cutty the place needs some cleaning.”

  “He’s the one that joined us for tea, isn’t he?” Lorelei said.

  “Yes – Amon married his daughter Nettie,” Jefferson explained. “They live on the Jones ranch about an hour and a half from here. The Joneses help them keep the place up so when Amon or any of the others come visit, they can use it.”

  “I see.” She stared at the cabin warily – probably remembering how the MacDonalds had press-ganged her here – and shivered.

  He took her hand. “Come on, it will be warmer inside. You can stand by the fire and wait with Doc and Grandma.”

  “Sounds good to me,” Grandma said. “We can get lunch ready for these rascals. They’ll load the trees on the wagons, we’ll eat, clean up, then head back.”

  Jefferson would rather take Lorelei with him to pick a tree, but she was cold, and he didn’t want her trekking through the snow. “She’s right – you’ll be much warmer in the cabin.”

  She looked at it and swallowed hard. “If you say so.” She didn’t seem convinced.

  “C’mon, Lorelei,” Grandma wrapped an arm through hers. “Let’s go stand by the fire. You can tell me what it’s like where you’re from. I hear that place has really grown.”

  She gave Jefferson a helpless look, clearly wanting to go with him too. But this was best – he didn’t want her shivering with cold the entire way back to town. “Stay with the Wallers, honey.” His eyes widened at the endearment, but it slipped out before he could stop it.

  She was just as surprised but smiled and blushed as Grandma dragged her off.

  Grandma headed toward the front door. “Don’t forget the canteen! I know for a fact there are no glasses in this house.”

  Jefferson smiled. No one seemed to mind his slip of calling Lorelei “honey”, least of all Lorelei. He gathered what he needed and headed for the cabin. The sooner they got the trees, the sooner he could spend time with her. The cabin was the perfect place to grab a private word. He could offer to show her around, provided Grandma or Doc didn’t beat him to it. If so, he’d have to come up with something else. No matter what, by the end of the day he wanted to let her know how he really felt.

  * * *

  Lorelei stopped at the threshold of the cabin door. Uh-oh, she thought, this is where I came in.

  Thoughts roiled in her head of the party, the MacDonalds, that stupid spray cheese on the stupid cracker. If she stepped inside, would the past week and a half disappear? Would she be at the party again in her own time? Would Jefferson disappear from her life forever? Would she be sent to another century into the past, when this area was uninhabited except by Native Americans and beavers?

  “What’s the matter, child?” Grandma asked. “You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

  She forced a smile. “I’d rather not explain, Grandma.”

  The old woman nodded. “Well, let’s go inside before I freeze to death.”

  Lorelei stepped inside and looked around. The ceiling was no more than nine feet high here, but the living/dining area was still large. The kitchen at the other end wasn’t walled off as it was in the future - no pass-through, no modern appliances next to the old cook stove.

  Doc went straight to the stove, took a piece of wood out of a nearby bin and put it in to burn.

  “Let’s sit over there,” Grandma said. Lorelei escorted her to the table and pulled out a chair for her. “Thank you, child.”

  Jeff entered the cabin and joined them. “Here’s the food.” He met Lorelei’s gaze and s
tepped toward her. “We’ll be back before you know it.”

  They locked gazes and her heart leaped in her chest. She wanted to hear him say it again, say anything again. He could talk about cattle breeds and make her heart buzz and her stomach somersault. But the way he’d said honey – it was like a drug, and she was hooked. “Hurry back.”

  “We will.” He strode out of the cabin.

  “Well, he’s a might smitten, wouldn’t you say?” Grandma quipped.

  Lorelei smiled. The old woman didn’t waste any time. “I hope so,” she gushed, then covered her mouth and giggled.

  “Oh, child – looks like he’s not the only one!” She opened the bag of cookies and took one. “I think you two will be the talk of the town.”

  Lorelei opened her mouth to protest and stopped. So what if she was? Isn’t this what she wanted? She could have a life here with a man she was falling for, and a family – his family. They were wonderful people. Work would be hard, and she’d miss electricity until it arrived in thirty years, not to mention all the tech that went with it, but here she was happy without it.

  There was just one hitch – the MacDonalds and their intentions, whatever those were. She remembered the Scot’s voice the night she was taken. When he told Shona to take them to Clear Creek, it was a command. She might have been drugged, but she heard and felt what he said. If he tried to take her away from Jeff … no. She didn’t care what they wanted. If they tried to separate them, she’d tear their eyes out.

  Wow – where did that come from?

  “Something bothering you, child?” Grandma asked softly.

  Lorelei relaxed the claws she didn’t realize she was making with her hands, took off her coat and hung it over a chair, her back to the stove. “Yes.”

  “Jefferson?”

  She glanced between Doc and Grandma. “Yes and no.” She stared at the fire in the hearth at the other end of the room.

  “Sometimes it helps to have a listening ear,” Doc said. “And lookie here, you have four!” He motioned to Grandma and himself. “We have the time if you do.”

  She put a fist to her mouth to fight back tears. She needed to tell somebody. But there was a concern she needed to address. “I … it’s …” She frowned and looked at Grandma, waving a finger between her and her husband. “Does he know …?”

  Grandma looked surprised. “You don’t think I keep secrets from my husband, do you? Of course, he knows. And he’s a doctor, so he knows how to keep things to himself.”

  Lorelei nodded. That made seven – eight if Doc Drake had told his wife. The circle was getting too crowded. “Okay. Had to check.”

  Grandma stood, went over and wrapped Lorelei in her arms. “It’s going to be okay.”

  Lorelei sniffed back the tears before they could fall. “I’m sorry, I’m just not sure what to do.”

  “No one ever said young love was easy,” Grandma soothed. “And in your situation, it’s that much harder. But we were all young once. You’ll get through this, just like we did.”

  Lorelei smiled weakly as she pulled away, turned a chair around and sat in front of the old couple. “Did you have to worry about a Scottish couple popping up out of nowhere and breaking up your relationship?”

  Doc frowned. “No, I’m afraid you’ve got us there. But I’ll tell you this – if they try, they’re going to have to go through me.”

  “Us,” Grandma corrected.

  “Awww,” Lorelei sighed. She couldn’t remember anyone going to bat for her like that. The Wallers were so kind, so real – nothing phony about them – and she knew, absolutely knew that they’d keep that promise. Whether it would do any good … well, only time would tell.

  “Lorelei, we know what true love looks like,” Grandma said. “And you and Jefferson have it by the bushel. I don’t think the MacDonalds will try to split you two up. In fact, I’m thinking that might be why they brought you here.”

  Lorelei stared at them. “You really think so?”

  “Have you ever been in love before? With anyone from your time?”

  “No.”

  “Ever felt like you were close to anyone back then? Or forward then, I suppose.”

  Lorelei chuckled at the phrasing. “No. I’ve always been on the outside looking in.”

  Grandma nodded. “So maybe you belonged here all along. Maybe you were born in the wrong place, and the MacDonalds were fixing it.”

  That hadn’t occurred to her. “Huh.”

  “Sarah,” Doc said. “Maybe you ought to tell her.”

  “Tell me what?” Lorelei asked.

  Grandma sighed. “Maybe it will explain some things. To all of us. Lorelei … we’ve known the MacDonalds a long time. Twenty years now. When Duncan Cooke and his wife Cozette were courting. According to Duncan, Dallan was the one that made that happen.”

  “He did?”

  “Yep. Might fine looking folks, the MacDonalds are, wouldn’t you say?”

  “Well, I suppose …” The couple was striking, though what did that have to do with anything?

  “So how old would you guess they are?” Doc added.

  Lorelei shrugged. “I … they seem pretty young. Shona doesn’t look much older than me. Maybe 21, 22? And Dallan, I’d say thirty at the most.”

  “That’s our guess too,” Grandma agreed.

  Lorelei glanced between them – what were they trying to say?

  “We’ve known them for twenty years and haven’t seen a gray hair or wrinkle on either of them,” Doc said. “And they’re not the only ones …”

  “Doc, that’s enough,” Grandma said. “Can’t you see you’re scaring the poor child?”

  “No, keep talking,” Lorelei insisted. “I want to hear this.”

  “No one in town talks about it,” Doc went on. “Maybe they’re too afraid of the answer, whatever it may be. And the MacDonalds have brought nothing but good to Clear Creek and to us, so we’re not about to look a gift horse in the mouth. But those folks are from … well, they’re way beyond us normal folks. They’re not just time travelers. They’re something else too.”

  Lorelei snorted. “I know that. The time travel alone was a dead giveaway.”

  “My guess is they know things we probably don’t want to know. So don’t you think that if they’re going to drop you back in your distant past without warning, they have a very good reason for it? And if they’re good people – and I can vouch that they are – don’t you think they might be doing it for your benefit?”

  “But … then why didn’t they just tell me that?”

  “Would you have believed them?” Grandma mused. “Or would you have run the other way?”

  Lorelei felt her stomach settle. That was a really good point. “Are you sure they won’t …?” She couldn’t even say it.

  “Oh, we’re pretty sure. Why would they go to all this effort just to hurt you?”

  Another good point. Again, she felt like a burden was being lifted off her. If they could trust the MacDonalds – and given the medicine Grandma received, they were trusting them with their lives – couldn’t she? “I suppose you’re right. Ugh. I feel like an ingrate when you put it that way.”

  “Oh, pish tosh,” Grandma replied. “No sense beating yourself up over it. We’ve known them for decades – you’ve only known them for a couple of months?”

  “Not even that.”

  “Well, there you go,” Doc said and blew out a long breath. “Well, now that that’s taken care of …”

  “What?” Grandma said. “It doesn’t solve anything.”

  “Maybe it does,” Lorelei mumbled. “I mean, I don’t know how to get home. But I do know what I can do while I’m waiting. Because …” Should she say it? Yes. Yes, she should. “… because I’m crazy in love with Jefferson Cooke.”

  Doc exchanged a quick look with Grandma. “Yeah, we kind of knew that.”

  “And he can read my mind.”

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  Chapter Twenty-Two


  By the time Jefferson and the others returned to the cabin, Lorelei had given Doc and Grandma a rundown of her life over the last few years and a full sketch of what was happening between her and Jeff. They listened quietly, with an occasional nod or two, their eyes widening when she described the whole mind-reading business. Lorelei skipped over explanations of 21st-century technology – things were complicated enough without that.

  “Don’t worry, Lorelei,” Grandma eventually said as she peeked out the window. “Doc and I will help you and Jefferson. But you’d better speak with the young man.”

  “I intend to.” Lorelei looked out the window and saw Jeff tying the tree down across the sleigh. Logan had two in his wagon. “I just have to find the right opportunity.”

  Doc shook his head. “No, you need to grab the soonest opportunity.”

  She smiled. Gosh, it was nice to have allies! And yes, she had to tell Jeff how she felt, or she’d burst! “Thank you.”

  “I’m sure Grandma and I can find a way to keep Logan and his son busy for a short spell. But don’t waste time, you hear?”

  “No, sir, I won’t.” She smiled, quickly smoothed the skirt of her blue day dress and tried not to panic. She’d never told a young man she loved him, let alone the way she felt about Jeff. She knew he felt the same, but did he? In her heart she knew they were already together, but did he know it? What if this was all in her head? After all, she’d been moved through time – what did that do to a person, exactly?

  “Ah, that feels nice,” Logan said as he entered the cabin followed by Owen. Jeff brought up the rear. From the kitchen, Lorelei and Grandma watched them cross the big room to the dining table. Owen took one look at the sandwiches Grandma was taking out of the bags and sat, his eyes on the food. It made sense – being the front end of the camel and a woodsman besides had to burn calories. Logan sat across from him.

  Jeff joined Lorelei at the stove. “Mighty cold out there. It’s a good thing you stayed inside where it’s warm.”

  She smiled shyly. Talking with Doc and Grandma about the MacDonalds had made her hopes soar. She felt a little more sure of things now.