White Christmas in Dry Creek

by Janet Tronstad

  He had his arm looped around the neck of the petite young woman who was smiling up at Eric with as much delight as he seemed to have looking down at her.

  And then Eric’s eyes adjusted to the inside light.

  “What are you doing here?” He stared at Rusty in confusion.

  Rusty didn’t answer and tried to make eye contact with his brother to urge him to keep silent. Sometimes, the less said, the better. He noticed his brother wasn’t wearing a cap, but Rusty could still see the mark the band had made on Eric’s forehead.

  “Surprised to see your older brother, are you?” Sheriff Wall said as he stepped farther into the room. He’d hung up the phone and had no doubt seen it all.

  No one said anything as the sheriff faced the two young people. The lawman scanned both Eric and the girl before focusing on the first of them.

  “Where were you last night?” the sheriff asked Eric, bringing all the power of his badge to the question.

  “He was with me.” The girl leaped into the silence before Eric could answer. She took a step forward, almost as though she was shielding him from the lawman.

  “Karyn,” Renee said softly as she stepped closer to the young woman and put a hand on her arm. “The sheriff is only asking.”

  Rusty was pleased to note that Eric did not hide behind his girlfriend, but stepped to the side and then closer so that the shield was reversed. Eric put an arm around Karyn and stared defiantly at the sheriff.

  Rusty noted his brother didn’t answer the question and was staring at him.

  “What happened to you?” Eric asked Rusty. “Run into trouble?”

  “He was shot last night,” the sheriff said, his voice slicing through any small talk anyone was thinking of making. “At that ravine where you lost your cap.”

  Rusty knew the sheriff was bluffing on that last bit, but he didn’t know how to warn his brother.

  Eric’s face had already gone white. No glimmer of joy remained.

  “You were there?” he asked quietly, looking at Rusty in concern.

  Rusty bit back a groan.

  “Who else was there?” the sheriff asked, pressing his advantage.

  Eric shrugged. “I can’t tell you that. Not yet, anyway.”

  “You can tell the lawman,” Rusty said, hoping his brother would listen to reason. It wouldn’t do Eric any good to protect the man in the orange parka.

  Eric just shook his head. “We weren’t doing anything.”

  Rusty knew better than that, but he didn’t want to talk to his brother in front of the sheriff. He could see the other man already knew something was wrong with Eric’s answers.

  Everyone was silent for a few minutes.

  Then the girl, Karyn, hiccuped.

  “What’s wrong?” she wailed and twined herself around Eric.

  Eric’s face turned red as he tried to curl himself around the girl, likely so the sheriff couldn’t see her or hear what she was mumbling about.

  The lawman didn’t seem inclined to listen to Karyn anyway, not when he could stare down his nose at Rusty.

  “What?” Rusty finally protested.

  “I’m hoping you have sense enough to tell me what you and your brother are involved in,” Sheriff Wall said to Rusty, his voice dead serious. “This morning I figured you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Now I’m beginning to think that maybe you’re bringing the trouble with you.”

  “I haven’t done anything,” Rusty said.

  “Then why’d you end up with that bullet in you?” The lawman shot back the question. “Did your brother have anything to do with it?”

  “I think we need an attorney,” Rusty finally said.

  The sheriff was silent for a minute.

  “If that’s the way you want to play it, I can put you in touch with a lawyer,” the lawman said. “You’re not being arrested. I am asking you to stay in the area, though.”

  The sheriff gave each of them a thorough study—Rusty, Eric and then Karyn. “I’m holding each of you responsible for the other two. Any one of you leaves, you’re all in trouble.”

  Karyn hiccuped again.

  Rusty stepped over to the sheriff and whispered, “Look, leave the girl out of it. She didn’t have anything to do with what happened.”

  Sheriff Wall looked up at him. “Yeah, but she’ll keep your brother around. That’s enough.”

  Rusty looked over to see Eric patting his girlfriend on the back. Then he glanced over at Renee and wished he hadn’t. She was staring at him as if she held him responsible for every tear that poor girl was shedding.

  “I didn’t do anything,” he said to her.

  “Oh, you men” was all she said as she walked over to rub Karyn’s back.

  Rusty thought this would likely mean that the invitation to eat would be snatched away. But just then the ranch hands started coming in from the corrals and barn. They stomped into the room, their loud voices drowning out the girl’s sobbing.

  “We could smell pot roast when we were halfway here,” one man said as he pulled a straight-backed chair out from the table. He looked over at Rusty. “That wolf dog of yours smelled it, too. I think he’s staying right outside the window there—hoping for a handout. Better give it to him. I wouldn’t want to rile him if I were you.”

  The man pointed to a window that was open a couple of inches. “Fresh air.”

  “Dog is friendly,” Rusty told the men. “Just takes him a bit to get to know you.”

  “You’re saying he’s shy?” the ranch hand protested in astonishment. “He’s half the size of that horse of yours—and she’s so pregnant she’s almost ready to deliver. I’ll eat my hat if that wolf dog of yours is shy.”

  “Well, he’s had a hard time these past few years,” Rusty insisted. “He’ll need to get used to you.”

  It was silent for a minute as the ranch hands absorbed his words and then nodded. They’d likely had some rough patches in their lives, too. And they likely knew that looking tough on the outside didn’t mean the pain went away any faster on the inside.

  “I hope you put lots of carrots in with the beef,” another man said then, turning to Renee.

  She nodded.

  Rusty suspected Renee didn’t quite know what to do, but she finally just excused herself to go to the cook’s kitchen to get the pot roast. Karyn pulled herself together and followed Renee, saying she was going to help.

  Eric and Rusty were left to stare at each other. It was a slow thaw, but Eric’s lips gradually turned up into a smile and Rusty grinned back.

  “I’m glad you’re here,” Eric said.

  Rusty walked over and thumped his brother on the back. “You never even told me you had a girlfriend.”

  “Well...” Eric blushed, but didn’t say any more.

  “Yeah, well,” Rusty agreed as he put his good arm around his brother’s shoulders.

  They just stood there together for a minute while the ranch hands all seemed to find a place at the table.

  “I didn’t mean to make Karyn cry,” Eric finally said in a low voice. “It’s just, I’ll do something and she gets all upset and I don’t even know what it was that set her off.”

  Rusty offered what sympathy he could. “We Calhouns don’t know much about women.”

  “Ain’t that the truth,” Eric agreed.

  Rusty had never thought he’d see his baby brother in love.

  The sad truth was that they were right. Their father had often said the Calhoun men were hopeless when it came to women, and Rusty had always agreed. It had taken him some years in the military to realize his father could simply have been kinder to his mother. He didn’t need to understand her to do that much.

  “So Dog’s with you?” Eric finally asked.

  Rusty
nodded. “I couldn’t leave him at the Morgans’ when I went riding last night. He wanted to come and when he saw I was bringing Annie, he practically begged.”

  It was only then that Rusty realized the two women were taking a long time to bring the food to the table. Which couldn’t be good, he told himself as he looked over at the sheriff. The lawman was still glancing at him with suspicion, but all Rusty could do was smile back.

  Chapter Five

  Renee did all of her cooking for the ranch hands in the front half of the small cabin off the walkway in front of the bunkhouse. The cook’s quarters were in the back part of the cabin. The walkway had an overhang to keep the snow and rain away as the food was brought to the table so that, even though some flakes were falling now, Renee and Karyn could have easily carried everything into the bunkhouse by now.

  But they weren’t ready to face all of the men yet.

  Renee had pulled two large roasters, smelling of cooked beef and root vegetables, out of the oven and set them on the top of the gas stove. The scent of braised onions and garlic warmed the plain room. On the counter next to the pans, a large glass bowl held a huge mound of lettuce with diced fresh tomatoes, mushrooms and grated Parmesan cheese. A basket with two dozen wheat dinner rolls sat on the other side of the counter. Two cubes of butter were on a small crystal plate next to that.

  “Here. Drink this. It’ll get rid of those hiccups.” Renee gave Karyn some water.

  The girl did what she was told. Then she handed the empty glass back to Renee.

  What little sun there was on this overcast day came through the room’s side window and fell on the Karyn’s face. It didn’t seem to warm her, though.

  “I lied,” the girl confessed. Her face was blotchy and Renee thought she looked miserable. She was standing next to the door with her shoulders hunched and her feet restlessly tapping.

  “Eric wasn’t with me last night,” she added finally and slowed her fidgeting. “I don’t know where he was.”

  “I think we all figured that one out,” Renee said, trying not to judge the girl too harshly. The poor thing was only seventeen. “But I hope you know you can get in all kinds of trouble by lying to the sheriff.”

  “I know,” Karyn muttered with her head down and her voice small.

  Renee debated whether to scold the girl some more, but decided she’d been scared enough.

  “Do you think Eric did something bad?” Karyn asked, lifting her head. “Something illegal?”

  Renee shrugged. “Both brothers might be doing something criminal.”

  She hadn’t been expecting it, but Renee noticed her eyes were damp now, too. She told herself she shouldn’t be surprised. She’d known all along that Rusty was likely up to no good out there last night.

  “I suppose it is the rustling.” She finally said the words they both dreaded.

  Karyn swallowed. “Well, at least they aren’t out killing people.”

  “Don’t do that,” Renee said more sharply than she intended.

  “What?” Karyn looked bewildered.

  “Try to make it better than it is,” Renee said, all of her weariness coming out.

  “Oh.”

  Renee faced the girl. “Rusty was shot last night. He would have died if he hadn’t made his way to the Elktons’ place. Somebody out there is shooting to kill. It wasn’t an accident. Someone is doing something very wrong and Rusty must be involved in some way.”

  “I suppose,” Karyn agreed.

  They were silent for a while.

  “Sorry I pressed you so hard,” Renee apologized. “But I used to do that with my husband. I’d try to find a way to make his actions seem better so that I could live with them. It never worked. He got worse and worse and there I was with my head in the clouds and trouble happening all around me.”

  “Did you love him?” Karyn asked softly, all her own agony showing in her eyes. “Your husband?”

  “I thought I did,” Renee said and then added with a smile, “just like you probably think you love Eric.”

  Karyn was quiet, looking at the floor with her hair hanging down and hiding her face.

  “It’s not a crime to love,” Renee said then. “We just need to be smart. My mistake in not seeing my husband clearly didn’t just affect me. It also hurt Tessie. She suffers now because I ignored the signs that he was turning into a thief and a liar. The children always—”

  Karyn looked up.

  Renee drew in her breath with the sudden thought. “You’re not—?”

  Karyn shook her head vigorously. “No, we haven’t even done anything. We wouldn’t. But I want to have babies with Eric—someday when we’re married. Now I wonder if he would be a good father.”

  Renee opened her arms to the girl.

  “All I can say then is that you need to go slow,” she told Karyn as she embraced her. “I believe Eric can turn his life around if he wants to—with God’s help. I started a new life here in Dry Creek and I know anyone can.”

  Karyn stepped back from Renee’s arms. She wiped her eyes and then nodded. “Yes, but how will I know if Eric and me—if we should be together?”

  Renee looked at the girl. “Just ask some of the people in church. Mrs. Hargrove. My dad and his wife. The pastor. Ask Mr. and Mrs. Elkton when they get back.”

  Karyn’s eyes went wide. “Ask everybody?”

  Renee nodded. “Trust me—most of them already have an opinion on it. It might be good to hear what they all have to say.”

  “Wow,” Karyn said, looking a little stunned.

  “And don’t forget to ask Betty Longe,” Renee said. “She certainly knows all the names of eligible men around here. And she’ll tell you what she thinks.”

  “Okay,” Karyn said, squaring her shoulders. “Sort of like going to the elders for their advice? Like they did in the Bible.”

  “Exactly.” Renee smiled at the girl and then turned to the counter. “Now, come help me. We have all those ranch hands to feed.”

  Renee walked across the small room to a counter and pulled out a cart from behind it that she often used. She rolled it up to the stove and they began to load the food on it. Tragedy might unfold and grief might surprise a person, but food seemed to be necessary in the midst of all of life’s crises.

  “Do you think they’re still there?” Karyn asked as they pushed the cart out to the boardwalk.

  Renee looked up, uncertain what Karyn was asking.

  The boardwalk was damp from the fallen snow, but it wasn’t slick. The metal wheels rumbled along the wooden planks well enough.

  “Eric and his brother,” Karyn clarified. “Do you think they could have gone away? Eric doesn’t like hanging around lawmen.”

  “I don’t know,” Renee managed to say as they pushed the cart even faster.

  The thought of Rusty not being there was upsetting to her, although she told herself her concerns were for Tessie. He was supposed to be watching Tessie, and even with all of the other adults there, Renee didn’t like the thought that he might have just walked off and left her daughter without telling her. Then she saw Dog come around the corner. “They’re here, all right.”

  “What’s that thing?” Karyn asked, moving closer to Renee.

  “Rusty calls him a dog, but I’m not so sure,” Renee answered as she kept the cart rolling and watched the animal. Dog did seem a little shy, as if he was nervous around them.

  Or maybe she just imagined he was that way because she couldn’t take any more stress right now, and if he wasn’t growling or snapping at her, she didn’t need to worry about him.

  * * *

  Inside the bunkhouse, Rusty heard a rumble and walked over to open the door for Renee and the young woman. He noted Renee gave him an odd look when she passed him, but he had no idea what it was for. Tessie
was still sleeping on the sofa. While she was tossing and turning a bit, she was safe, so that couldn’t be it. A gust of cold wind came inside and Rusty could see that heavy flakes were now falling. He suspected the snow might turn to rain soon. Their white Christmas might be more of an ice Christmas than anything.

  By the time the tingle of the cold left his face, Rusty could smell the pot roast. He didn’t blame the other men for stampeding to the table to take their places. His mouth was watering, too. He hadn’t had a meal like this since— He stopped in thought. He couldn’t remember.

  The whirlwind of men reaching for the food as soon as it was on the table finally subsided, and in the wake of it, there were five places left in the circle, room for two people to sit on one side and three on the other. His brother sat down quick enough at one of the chairs and Karyn sat next to him.

  That left a grouping of three chairs.

  Rusty looked over at Renee. She seemed a little uptight as she studiously avoided his eyes. He wasn’t about to wake up Tessie since, even with whatever adventures she was having in that dream that kept her tossing around, she had seemed tired to the bone. He saw no reason not to sit down and eat, though, so he walked over and pulled out a chair. He left two chairs on the one side so that Renee could choose to sit in a chair next to him or away from him.

  Of course, she chose the one farthest from him. Rusty noticed everyone was looking around the table waiting for something.

  “Sheriff Wall, would you mind saying the blessing for the food?” Renee finally asked.

  The lawman gave a quick nod and the men and women bowed their heads.

  “Father, we thank You for all You have provided for us today,” the man prayed. “Keep us faithful. Keep us safe. Help us to live pleasing to You. Bless this food You have put before us. Amen.”

  Rusty couldn’t help but wonder how the sheriff could pray with men he was intending to arrest. He could almost see the sheriff’s mind working to figure out what had happened last night.

  If Rusty hadn’t seen his brother drive away, he would be wondering, too, if Eric had pulled the trigger of the gun that shot him. The boy had guilt written all over his face. And Rusty hadn’t been around him much as the boy grew up. They had written and talked on the phone, but that was different from going fishing together and that kind of thing. Maybe Eric blamed Rusty for leaving him with their father when he went away to join the army.