White Christmas in Dry Creek

by Janet Tronstad

  Rusty watched as Renee and Tessie left the visitors’ room. Then he reached into his sling and took out all the candy and gum he’d bought earlier. While he was doing that, he turned on the microphone.

  He set the candy down on the ledge on his side of the plastic partition and settled into the chair.

  “I’ve been expecting you,” Denny said with a wide smile. “Had to get rid of the missus so we could talk.”

  Rusty was speechless, so he pushed the candy through the opening. Denny picked up a package of the gum and smiled.

  “Thanks,” he said.

  “No problem,” Rusty replied.

  They both sat there while the man opened the package and pulled out a stick of gum. He slowly unwrapped it and put it in his mouth.

  “My, that’s fine,” he said as he started to chew.

  The man worked his jaw for a good minute before he was ready to talk again.

  “You need to tell your brother to cool it,” Denny finally said. “That’s my message to you. He’s making the man nervous and he doesn’t want to do that. The man’s afraid he’ll identify him.”

  Rusty couldn’t believe it would be this easy, but he leaned closer anyway so the microphone could pick up every word.

  “Just who is my brother making nervous?”

  Denny chuckled. “You know I can’t say something like that in here. These walls have ears. Besides, as I understand it, you know more than I do. The Calhoun boys are in deep. Just keep your kid brother in line and you’ll do fine.”

  Rusty was stunned. “What did you say?”

  “That’s right,” Denny said with a wink. “Never admit anything.”

  Then the visiting time was over. Just like that. The guard came over and shut the partition. Denny stood up and shuffled back to the door to the rest of the prison.

  Rusty walked out of the room in a daze. Was he that out of touch with his brother? They’d talked together for hours last night. Eric was candid about refusing to name his mystery man, but he had seemed straight about everything else. Was he lying?

  As Rusty made his way down the hall, he saw Renee and Tessie waiting for him on a bench near the main door. Tessie was curled up on her mother’s lap, her head bowed and her angel wings sticking out from her back awkwardly. She looked wounded and Rusty wished he’d never encouraged her to come.

  Denny Hampton had filled them all with grief today. Making them question what they believed about those they loved.

  Renee and Tessie looked up as Rusty approached. The girl squirmed off her mother’s lap and ran to Rusty. He picked her up without question and her head rested against his shoulder.

  Then he stood beside Renee, looking down at the haunted expression in her eyes. “We’re going to be all right.”

  She gave him a slight smile. “So Tessie told me.”

  Together they walked out of the building.

  “On the drive back,” Renee said as they neared the pickup, “we should rehearse your lines for the pageant. It’s coming up tomorrow night.”

  Then she looked at her daughter in his arms. “Tessie can help.”

  Rusty felt the girl nod her head against his chest.

  “My pleasure,” Rusty said as he opened the back door on the pickup and strapped Tessie into her booster seat. She already looked better.

  “I can use my wings,” the girl murmured.

  Renee was an expert at picking up the pieces and going on, Rusty told himself. He’d never admired a woman more. When he climbed into the passenger seat, she was already behind the wheel, but she looked over at him. The glance she gave him was grateful, but it promised a hint of something more lasting. He felt his breath lodge in his throat.

  She was open to more between them, he could see that. But he couldn’t say anything now because she might not be so very open once she heard the tape he’d just made. He had no choice but to give it to the sheriff. Denny Hampton hadn’t just pointed a finger at Eric—he had said Rusty was involved, too. Renee would not like that.

  “Do you have a crown for when you’re king?” Tessie asked Rusty as her mother backed out of the parking space.

  Rusty shook his head as he turned to face the girl. “We’ll have to make one when we get home.”

  Tessie brightened at that.

  Maybe everything would be all right, Rusty told himself. Then he sighed. He just didn’t believe it. But he wouldn’t let his sense of foreboding spoil Tessie’s enjoyment in getting ready for the pageant.

  Chapter Eleven

  The next morning, Renee hung the last of the gingerbread men on their Christmas tree before going over to the bunkhouse. Tessie hadn’t needed an alarm clock to wake up this morning. When Renee rolled over at six o’clock, she saw her daughter lying there, staring up at the ceiling.

  “What’s wrong?” Renee had asked softly.

  “Does God see my daddy when he looks down from heaven?” the girl questioned.

  Renee pulled her daughter close for a hug. “God sees everyone everywhere.”

  After a breakfast of oatmeal, Renee gave Tessie one of the broken gingerbread men to eat before she got ready to walk over to the bunkhouse. A plate of the gingerbread men stood on top of the refrigerator waiting for them to come home after the pageant tonight.

  The sky was overcast and gray clouds were in the north when they stepped outside. There was no wind and the temperature was in the mid-forties.

  They walked briskly, but hadn’t bundled up as much as usual.

  “Will Rusty be here?” Tessie asked just before they reached the bunkhouse door. “When we open our presents?”

  Tessie had drawn her prince a picture of Dog, tied it with a bright red ribbon for Rusty and included a dog biscuit for his animal.

  “We’ll need to invite him.” Renee said.

  Earlier, she had wrapped some bacon around chestnuts and stuffed some mushrooms so she’d have a heartier appetizer in case Rusty did want to come. She hoped he would. He was beginning to feel like family to her, and Tessie obviously adored him.

  When they went inside the bunkhouse, Tessie walked over to the card table that had been left by the fireplace and laid down the coloring books she’d brought with her. Renee took the box of crayons from her pocket and took it over to set by the books. She had offered to let Tessie bring her new princess coloring book, but the girl had shaken her head and brought her farm book with the horses instead.

  Tessie hadn’t spun any more fanciful tales about her father, not even this morning after she worried about God being able to see him. Renee wasn’t sure if that meant Tessie was going to give up her fantasies or not. All she knew was that as Tessie’s mother, she wasn’t even ready to pray for the grace to forgive her daughter’s father. He hadn’t needed to be so cruel.

  Breakfast was over at the bunkhouse when the sheriff arrived at nine o’clock. Renee opened the door for the lawman but it was clear he was there on business. He said only a brief hello before going to the back room to talk with Rusty and Eric.

  Renee went about cleaning up the table, loading the dishes onto her cart and going over several times to admire the coloring Tessie had done.

  Twenty minutes later, the sheriff walked down the hallway and let himself out. When she saw how grim his face was, Renee didn’t even say goodbye to the lawman.

  Moments later, Eric stomped out of the bunkhouse, stating that he had to go to Karyn’s place and see about that donkey her parents had offered to loan to the pageant tonight.

  Rusty must have followed close behind his brother, because he was standing at the end of the hall when Eric left. He had a look of weariness on his face.

  “Trouble?” Renee asked as she walked over and stood beside him. She was almost finished putting the breakfast dishes in the cart and would then need to chop cabbage
for the coleslaw for noon, but she had time to talk if he needed.

  “Some days I’ve got nothing but trouble,” Rusty said as he gave her a wry smile.

  He hadn’t shaved yet today and his stubble gave him a tough look. The defeated expression in his eyes didn’t help, either.

  “If I can help, let me know,” she offered.

  “I just don’t know what to do,” Rusty finally admitted.

  Renee longed to lean in and hug the man.

  Rusty flashed a look at her and then closed his eyes as though he was in pain.

  “You never did say if my ex—if Denny—gave you any good information for the sheriff,” Renee finally said, keeping her voice low so Tessie couldn’t hear.

  Rusty opened his eyes then, searching hers for something.

  “The news isn’t good,” he finally said. “From what the sheriff can see, anyway. Eric still won’t identify the man he knows about. And Denny implied my brother and I are part of whatever is happening.”

  Renee was too stunned to speak.

  “I suspect the word will get around that Eric and I are persons of interest in the cattle thefts,” Rusty added. “I’m wondering if we should bow out of being in the pageant tonight. I wouldn’t want us to detract from the kids.”

  “I’m sure Mrs. Hargrove would want you to play your parts,” Renee said, numb herself. “People have had all kinds of reasons to pull out of the pageant in the past and she’s always said we need to just go out there and tell the story of Jesus’s birth.”

  “It’s not always that easy,” Rusty said.

  “I know,” Renee agreed.

  They were silent for a moment, looking at each other warily.

  “It would help if I knew you trusted me,” he said then, so faintly she almost didn’t hear him.

  Renee already felt herself withdrawing. Even if she loved him, she wasn’t willing to try to prop up another man as he slid into a life of crime.

  “What does the sheriff say?” she asked.

  Rusty’s face went stiff. “He probably thinks my brother and I are guilty. And I suppose he plans to prove it.”

  “Oh,” Renee said. “I’m sorry.”

  Rusty gave a curt nod and started to walk toward the door. When he got there, he turned. “Do you happen to know of anyone around here who has an orange parka?”

  Renee shrugged. “One of the high school girls, Leslie, has a big parka with an orange lining. It’s bright orange, too.”

  “Thanks,” Rusty said as he pulled the door open.

  “She’s helping with the angels in the pageant,” Renee offered. She couldn’t seem to let him step through the door. She found herself wanting to pull him back. “If you need to talk to her, she’ll be there tonight.”

  Rusty nodded. “Thanks.”

  And then he was gone.

  The room was suddenly cold and she felt a shiver inside. She walked over to the fireplace and took a minute to check Tessie’s coloring. The girl wasn’t as enthusiastic as usual. Renee knew she couldn’t have heard her conversation with Rusty, but Tessie picked up on emotions.

  This Christmas had started out with such promise, Renee thought to herself, and then it slid downhill. She had just escaped a marriage with a criminal, though, and she’d never again marry a man who broke the law. Not even if she loved him more than she thought possible and he made her daughter laugh.

  But had Rusty done anything wrong? She was coming to believe he hadn’t.

  * * *

  Rusty borrowed a ranch pickup in the afternoon and drove over to his childhood home, hoping he would find some clue as to what was going on there. The barn was as he had left it when he put his duffel in the hayloft some days ago. The house was unlocked and, apart from a layer of dust, hadn’t changed in years. He stopped in the living room to wind the grandfather clock that had stood in the house for the past two generations. It started right up, marking the passage of every minute Rusty stood there.

  Then he climbed the stairs to the bedrooms, checking in Eric’s first to see if there was any sign of the boy. He’d been there recently, if the scatter of clothes was to be believed.

  Rusty’s old bedroom was the way he’d left it eight years ago, right down to the plastic curtains someone had put on the windows for him. They were not white any longer, but the swirled pattern remained.

  His father’s room had been cleared out, except for the bed and dresser. Rusty felt a moment’s pang imagining his younger brother needing to take care of the man’s belongings after he died. Rusty had been on a deep-cover mission in Afghanistan at the time of his father’s death and hadn’t even heard about his funeral until it was over. He’d called and talked to Eric as soon as he could, making arrangements for the boy to stay with the Morgans until Rusty could come home.

  At the time, he could have taken a trip back for a week or so to spend with his brother, but since he’d be getting out of the service in a few months, it hadn’t seemed necessary. Now Rusty regretted not doing it.

  Sometimes it seemed his life was one misstep after another, he thought. He shouldn’t have pressed Renee this morning on her feelings about him, not when he hadn’t even figured out himself what was going on. And the sad truth was that he might never know. He was innocent, so he knew there’d never be anything but circumstantial evidence that he was involved with the rustling around here. But unless the truth was discovered, people would always wonder if he’d had something to do with it.

  As long as there was any doubt, he needed to stay away from Renee and Tessie. He did not want to force Renee to know the agony of choosing between him and the new life she was building for herself and her daughter. She wasn’t convinced of his innocence, even yet.

  Rusty had to stay in the area until everything was resolved with the rustling. The sheriff had been helpful with that. The lawman had said he’d already asked the Havre sheriff’s department to try to find a contact for the corporation that had purchased the Calhoun family ranch. Maybe he and Eric could stay in the house until they found another place. It seemed a small thing to ask since no one was living in it yet.

  After walking through some of the fields, Rusty decided it was time to drive into Dry Creek so he could help get everything set up for the pageant that night. He was surprised at how attached he’d become to the whole community here. His family had always held themselves apart from the rest of the people in the area. Rusty told himself that if he ever lived here again, he would be part of everything. Even if it meant wearing a lacy purple robe to play King Herod in the pageant.

  Chapter Twelve

  Renee tied Tessie’s blond curls back with a white ribbon. The girl was wearing her red dress to the pageant and she’d change into her angel robe and wings once she got there. Renee had already put some new glitter on Tessie’s angel wings.

  “Is Rusty going?” Tessie asked for the second time in the past hour.

  “Yes, sweetie,” Renee answered. “I hope so.”

  The man better show up, she told herself. He hadn’t stopped by the bunkhouse for the early supper she’d served the ranch hands. Not that he had to come, of course. He had told Pete he was going over to his family’s old ranch to look around, but Renee couldn’t help thinking how easy it would be for him to just drive down to the highway and head east. Or north or south. He could lose himself in some distant place and never have to worry about the crimes being committed around Dry Creek—or any part he’d had in them.

  Renee looked up as she and Tessie walked out to the pickup. The dark sky was clear and she could see a sprinkling of stars. It had snowed all week but the temperature had been high enough at times yesterday and today to melt most of the snow that was on the ground. They might not have a white Christmas after all.

  Dozens of pickups and a few cars were parked outside the barn when Renee pul
led in. If it had been light out, she would have looked for the pickup Rusty had borrowed, but in the night all she saw were dark shapes that looked alike.

  She could identify the pickup with the horse trailer as the one Eric and Karyn had borrowed to bring their donkey to the pageant. The braying told her the donkey had not yet been unloaded.

  Renee held Tessie’s hand as they walked toward the barn. She was glad her daughter was excited about the evening. When she opened the door, a burst of light and laughter stood before them.

  They stepped in and Tessie took off. That was enough unlike her daughter that Renee followed. The girl was unerring in her path and she ended up standing at Rusty’s feet.

  “Did you bring the crown I made you?” Tessie demanded from where she stood with her hands on her hips. “A king needs a crown!”

  Rusty smiled down at the girl. “I sure did.”

  He reached behind him and brought back a brown paper grocery bag, the kind she kept stacked in a corner of the bunkhouse for everyday use. He opened it and pulled out a paper crown, cut out from the same paper as the bag. Someone, and it had to be Tessie, had colored jewels all over the crown.

  Rusty put the handmade creation on his head and it fit.

  “The best crown a king ever had,” he said to Tessie as he made a slight bow.

  Tessie stared at him as if he were a real king. “It’s beautiful.”

  Renee felt useless. She should have thought of the crown. Well, she had thought of it earlier, but with all that had happened lately, she had forgotten.

  “It does look nice,” Renee said, giving a smile to her daughter. “I love the colors you used.”

  Tessie had used some of her special glitter crayons so the reds shone deep and the yellows sparkled like real gems. The crown had a series of points and each point had a shimmering green circle on it like an emerald.

  “They’re king colors,” Tessie agreed.

  Just then Mrs. Hargrove came through with a clipboard in her hand saying, “Costumes, everyone. Put your costumes on.” She stopped and looked at Rusty. “Where’s your robe?”