[2015] Cowboy for Christmas

by Christian Michael

  Chapter 7 – Could This Be Love?

  Jessie lay awake, staring at the ceiling in her room. She slept in the main bed of the house, and Toby slept on a small cot in the living room. As she lay there, wishing for sleep, she thought about Toby, and the way her life had turned out.

  The morning she married John, she never would have thought she would be in this house, married to a stranger, less than 5 years later. She had pictured a different life, one that was filled with John and the children she hoped they would have together.

  The afternoon she married Toby, she had felt at peace. She was eager for the future, though at the time she didn’t know why. Now she questioned what she was thinking, and why she thought he was going to love her.

  You didn’t even know he existed before a few months ago, and here you are, sleeping in his house… in his bed even! If you wanted to fall in love with him, you should have worked that out before you came all the way out here to marry him.

  Her thoughts were interrupted as she felt a twinge in her stomach.

  She felt the baby kick inside her, and she put her hands on her tummy. It was getting close to the time for her baby to be born, and the thought of that both thrilled her and terrified her at the same time.

  She liked her baby in her belly. The baby was safe there, never to get hurt, and never to be taken away from her. If Jessie had her way, her baby would never leave her.

  She didn’t want to talk out loud, fearing she would wake Toby. He was generally good natured about things, but she knew he worked hard and needed his sleep when he could get it.

  You sound like a businessman, worried that your partner is going to be too tired to work tomorrow. Could you love that man? He is kind and charming, but he still treats you like you are the maid of the place. That’s not love.

  She sighed and closed her eyes, mixed emotions running through her the entire time. She wished Lizbeth were here to tell her what to do. Lizbeth always knew what to do, and she wasn’t afraid to tell everyone around her what they ought to be doing, too.

  A smile crossed her lips as she thought about her rambunctious friend back home. She had written to her after she arrived in California, but there hadn’t been a reply to her letter yet. Jessie knew Lizbeth would write to her when she got the chance, she just had to be patient.

  She’s probably busy running the town now. I used to be her project, but now that I’m gone, I’m sure she found someone else to raise.

  Suddenly a wave of sadness crossed over Jessie. It was the first time she had felt sad since she left Missouri. It wasn’t a sadness for her friends, and it wasn’t a sadness for John. It was just a general sadness that seemed to sweep over her and grasp onto her heart like a cold fist.

  She wanted to be loved, and she wanted to love again, but love seemed like a dream she had when she was young, or a dream of a dream.

  Toby lay awake in the living room, also staring up at the ceiling. With the crackling of the fire in the kitchen he couldn’t hear Jessie breathing, so he only assumed she was asleep. He lay still, lest the creaking of the cot wake her.

  His mind was a mess. He couldn’t get the picture of Jessie in the field, surrounded by flowers, off his mind. She had looked so perfect, and so pretty, it was like an angel had come down out of heaven and had been sitting there right next to him.

  Those big brown eyes she had, framed in by those thick brown locks of hair. She was captivating, and she was his bride. He wanted to treat her well. He wanted to make her happy, but he didn’t know why he couldn’t get her off of his mind. It was getting harder and harder to concentrate on the work he had to do.

  Every move he made, he saw her. He could see her in the flowers that were along the path to the house, and in the sunrise he watched every morning as he did the chores. He thought about her as he milked the cow, and when he actually got to see her, his heart pounded inside his chest so strong he wondered if she could hear it, too.

  With each passing day he wanted to be with her more and more, and that feeling terrified him. He had promised himself he wasn’t going to feel this way about anyone, but the more he saw her, the harder it was to not feel anything.

  She is having a baby that I am not the father of. How could you feel this strongly about her? She came out here to marry you out of sheer need. If she had been in a different situation, you never would have had a chance with her.

  Toby yawned and rubbed his eyes. He rolled over, his back to the fire. With thoughts of Jessie still running through his mind, he desperately tried to fall asleep. Whether he got any rest or not, the morning was coming, and he was going to have to do the chores no matter how tired he was.

  He didn’t know when sleep finally claimed him, all he knew was it only felt like a few minutes before the rooster was crowing outside.

  Chapter 8 – A New Start

  Fall leaves crowned the tree line at the edge of the field now. Jessie walked slowly, a basked in one hand, the other hand wrapping her shawl around her shoulders. The air was getting chillier, and she rarely left the house without her shawl or a coat.

  This morning, Jessie wanted to take a stroll in the field she had gone to with Toby a couple months before. There was a peacefulness there that she couldn’t find anywhere else. Toby was busy most of the time now, doing something out in the barn.

  He spent almost all of this free time out there, working with the wood he had left over from the extra room he had built on to the house. It had taken him nearly a month to complete it, but was finally done. As soon as that project had been finished, he spent every spare minute he had in the barn.

  Jessie missed Toby. She had grown used to the business like nature of their marriage, and was enjoying the companionship she found with Toby around. She still felt that twinge of emptiness in her heart every now and then, but for the most part she was happy.

  After all, her baby was to be born in just over a month, and she would have her hands full. Every now and then she wanted to go out to the barn and talk to Toby while he worked, but he told her she wouldn’t want to be in that dirty old barn, breathing in the dust in the condition she was in, so she spent her days alone in the house.

  In her free time, Jessie spent hours knitting things for the baby. She had made a scarf for Toby for the turning weather, but she hadn’t seen him wear it. Now she worked diligently on a baby blanket for her little one. It was a bright blue, like the sky had been the first day she had arrived in California.

  Suddenly, she heard a shout, and turned. Toby was calling for her, and hurried to catch up to her.

  “There you are Missy! I have been looking all over for you… come here, I want to show you something.” Toby reached for her hand, and Jessie looked at him in surprise.

  She reluctantly agreed and hurried as best she could beside his lively steps. There was something different about him, something she couldn’t put her finger on, but something that made her heart pound.

  Was it the way he looked at her? Normally, he would speak looking away from her, or just give her a glance when he finished. Now, he looked at her full on, gazing into her eyes. She felt vulnerable when he did that, but excited at the same time.

  They hurried to the barn, and Toby suddenly turned to face her.

  “Now, I want you to go in front of me, and I am going to cover your eyes. Don’t worry, there’s nothing in the way for you to trip on, just walk in a few steps, and stop when I say.”

  “Toby?” She asked, but he shushed her and walked behind her, covering her eyes from behind.

  They walked into the barn, and Toby stopped.

  “Are you ready?” He asked, and she nodded.

  “Look!”

  He lifted his hands off of her eyes, and Jessie blinked, letting her eyes adjust to the darkness of the barn. There, right in front of her, stood the most beautiful cradle she had ever seen. It was carved out of mahogany, and stained with a chestnut stain.

  “Oh Toby!” She cried.

  “Do you like it?” He asked,
concerned, then continued. “I wanted to make you something special for your little one, Jess.

  Listen to me. This is hard for me to say, mostly because I don’t understand it myself, but I love you Jessie. I really do. When I was young, and I saw the pain my father felt when my mother passed away, I promised myself I wouldn’t fall in love.

  I wanted to save myself that pain, until I met you. You changed everything for me, Jessie. You are so beautiful and so kind and so charming. I just couldn’t help it. I fell in love.”

  Jessie felt her throat get tight as he spoke. She had never dreamed this is what he was doing out here in the barn, and the fact that he told her how much he loved her made her feel like she was on top of the world. All she had wanted when she came out here was to find love, and now she had.

  “Toby I-“ She began, but he interrupted her.

  “Don’t anything. I don’t want to hear you say anything. All I want is the truth. I know I haven’t been the kind of husband you deserve, and I know I wasn’t the man you thought I was when you moved out here, but I have to know… Do you love me?”

  He looked anxiously into her eyes, and waited.

  A smile slowly spread across Jessie’s face, and she had tears in her eyes as she nodded.

  “Yes, I do love you Toby. I do!”

  Jessie threw her arms around his neck and kissed him, and he gently lifted her up off the floor. She felt complete at last. Her child was going to be born into a home filled with love. A home that was happy. A home that was ready for a baby.

  Toby paced back and forth in the living room. Jessie had gone into labor earlier that day, and now the doctor was in the room with her, and all he could do was wait for the news. He wished there was more he could do to help, this waiting was driving him crazy.

  He could hear Jessie making noise in the other room, and he prayed she would be ok. He couldn’t shake the fear of losing her out of his mind no matter how hard he tried, and he wouldn’t feel better until he knew she was ok.

  After what felt like hours, the doctor finally appeared in the door. Toby turned quickly, though he stayed in the middle of the room.

  “You should be very proud, Mr. Mathews,” the doctor said as he wiped his hands on a towel.

  “You have a new son. Mother and child are both just fine, would you like to see them?”

  Toby hurried into the room to find Jessie holding a small bundle in her arms. She looked up and smiled as he came into the room, and he kissed her. He reached out and took the little baby in his arms, and kissed his son on the forehead.

  Jessie smiled at the sight, and laid back on the pillow. She had never been so happy in her whole life, and she knew no matter what happened next, she was going to be ok. She had her son, she had Toby, and she had love. Everything in life was absolutely perfect.

  She wouldn’t change a thing.

  THE END.

  Love Never Fails

  Mail Order Bride

  CHRISTIAN MICHAEL

  Chapter 1 – Mary Needs a Mother

  The rain pattered against the window of the schoolhouse, and Jason twisted his hat in his hands. His daughter, Mary, sat on the bench beside him, letting her legs dangle freely. She swung her feet carelessly back and forth.

  “Mary sit still,” her father said in a low voice.

  “But why Papa? I’m so bored!”

  “Because you need to act like a lady.” Jason would have continued his speech, but the door to the back of the school opened at that moment, and he stood to greet the teacher.

  “I’m sorry to keep you waiting, Mr. Shoats, but I’m afraid the weather made travel a little difficult.”

  “It’s quite all right Mrs. Johnstone. I trust you have a ride home in the rain?”

  Mrs. Johnstone smiled and nodded, then turned to look at Mary.

  “I have some cookies left over from lunch in my bag. If you want to go wait in the coatroom you may have them. I will only be a minute with your father.”

  “Yippee!” Mary shouted as she leapt off the bench and ran down the aisle.

  “Mary! You must walk while indoors! You –“ Jason sighed and shook his head.

  “I’ve been trying my best to teach her some manners, but it’s hard when she’s in school all day then has to wait at my brother’s shop while I finish up. I know Jack doesn’t have to time to teach her while he’s trying to run the store, and a stable is no place for a little girl.”

  Mrs. Johnstone held her hand up to stop him.

  “No explanation needed, Mr. Shoats. It’s quite all right. I know that you have a lot to do with the stable and trying to keep a roof over your heads, but Mary’s manners aren’t what I wanted to talk to you about. It’s her schooling.”

  Jason looked down at the floor, nervously twisting his hat in his hands as he listened. He hated these discussions with the teacher. Always had, even before it was just him and his daughter. Now, without the support or help of his wife, he felt even more pressured by the teacher.

  “What about her schooling? She’s here every day, and I hear her reciting her lessons at the dinner table…”

  “She may recite something, but they certainly aren’t her lessons.” Mrs. Johnstone replied curtly, and a pang ran through Jason’s heart as the teacher continued.

  “She is falling behind in her reading to be honest, and I don’t think she’s even trying. She seems to have lost all interest in schooling or any academic subjects at all for that matter.”

  “Well, she has been through a lot-“ Jason began, but once again he was cut off by Mrs. Johnstone.

  “I am sorry for your loss, Mr. Shoats, and I can only imagine what losing a mother can do to a child, but that was months ago, and your daughter isn’t getting any better in her studies. Now, I am afraid she is going to hold up the class if we don’t do something about this.”

  Anger welled up inside of Jason, but he held his tongue. The last thing he needed to worry about right now was making the teacher mad and getting his daughter expelled.

  Life had been a struggle the past few months. His wife, Lucinda, had passed away with fever. He had done everything in his power to help her recover, and in spite of taking her to every doctor in the area, she finally succumbed to the illness.

  Jason had worked long hours at the stable, trying to catch up on the doctor bills and keep himself and his daughter fed and clothed. The payments for the house were due to the bank, and he didn’t have time to help her in school. In fact, Mary had been spending the afternoons after school with her Uncle Jack in his little shop while Jason finished up his work at the stable.

  Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted with Mary poking her head into the room.

  “Papa! The rain’s letting up! Can’t I go out and play in the puddles? Please Papa! Please please please please please!”

  Jason turned to face his daughter, and said firmly, “Honey, I have to talk to your teacher right now, I need you to wait out in the other room, and I’ll be right there.”

  He struggled to keep his voice low, trying not to yield to his frustration, although he felt right at his wit’s end at this point.

  “But Papa! This is taking forever! I’ll be right outside! Please Papa! Please?” Mary was running around in circles by the door, waving her arms around and yelling.

  Finally, Jason couldn’t keep his voice down any longer.

  “All right!” He yelled, “But stay right outside where I can see you out the window. And don’t get all muddy, you hear?”

  “Yay! Thank you, Papa!”

  Mary turned and ran out the door, completely undeterred by her father’s outburst, and began jumping in every puddle she could find.

  Jason watched her go, then took a deep breath in before letting it back out slowly.

  “I’m sorry for that, she gets excited, and forgets that she has to wait her turn.” Jason turned back to the teacher, hoping she didn’t mind the exchange.

  The teacher just looked at him and shook her head.

&n
bsp; “Look,” Jason continued, “I know Mary needs to learn some manners, ok?”

  “What the girl needs,” Mrs. Johnstone sighed. She hesitated for a moment, then said in a lowered tone, “is a mother.”

  Jason exhaled sharply, sat down, and looked out the window. He sat there a second, watching his daughter jump from puddle to puddle in the rain as he still twisted his hat in his hands.

  Finally, he nodded.

  “Yes, indeed she does.”

  Chapter 2 – Alone in the World

  Amy Anne sighed and put the towel over the rack in the kitchen. She listened to the clamor in the other room, but didn’t pay much attention to what was actually being said. She figured they were all talking about some picnic or garden party or something like that.

  The youngest child in the family of 5 children, Amy Anne never felt like she fully belonged. She wasn’t a blood relative to the sisters in the other room, she had been adopted by this wealthy family when she was just a child.

  They had been kind to her, but they hadn’t let her forget the fact she had been adopted, or that their mother and father weren’t her mother and father. Amy Anne’s adopted parents knew nothing of this talk, and had always treated Amy as their own, but regardless of this Amy Anne still felt that she was alone in the world.

  Suddenly, the voice of her sister Jane called into the kitchen.

  “Amy Anne! We are talking of having a garden party! What do you think? We should invite all of the young ladies and gentleman in town… especially the eligible young gentleman!”

  She heard laughter in the other room, and her other sisters chide Jane. Amy Wiped her hands on her skirt, and walked to the doorway of the parlor.

  “A garden party? But we just had a party last month. If we throw them too often they will begin to expect it, and the house will always be filled with strangers!”