Holly: The Christmas Bride (The Brides of Paradise Ranch (Sweet Version) Book 9)

by Merry Farmer

  And yet, with each day that passed, he found himself wishing more and more that his marriage wasn’t fragile. He wanted it to be as strong and steady as the marriages he saw in his congregation. But to get there, he had no idea what he needed to do.

  Chapter 9

  Tea with her friends had gone a long way toward making Holly feel more at ease with life and Haskell. She still didn’t have a clue what to do with George, other than smile at him across the dinner table and discuss the business of the day, but at least she was beginning to feel as though she fit into the routine of the town.

  “If everyone who has come to be a part of the choir could please come take a seat in these front few pews, I would appreciate it,” she called out over the mulling, chatting crowd of pageant participants who had gathered at the church for practice.

  Slowly, the group broke off the conversations they were having and ambled to the front few pews on the right-hand side of the church, near the piano. Very slowly. Holly sent George an anxious look, but he returned it with a confident nod. A zip of excitement rushed through her. It was just a nod and a smile, but behind it was the promise of so much more. If only she could find the key to unlock that door.

  “Of course, I should be given a solo.”

  The comment, delivered in a salubrious soprano, yanked Holly right out of her thoughts. She turned to find an exquisitely dressed woman with blonde hair and sharp blue eyes grinning at her as though they were both part of an elite club. A second woman, who looked so similar they had to be sisters, stood just behind her, and a third, several years younger but obviously still a sister, stood even further behind. The youngest was distracted by a group of young men laughing on the other side of the aisle. It took Holly a second—she’d been introduced to so many people in such a short amount of time that she was still trying to keep everyone straight—but she placed them as the Bonneville sisters.

  “A solo?” she said, hoping she maintained her manners. She hadn’t been formally introduced to the older Bonneville sisters yet, but she had gotten to know Bebe a little when George cast her as Mary in the pageant, then when she asked to step down from that role so she could join the choir.

  “Yes,” the oldest—Vivian, if Holly remembered right—went on, her smile as haughty as ever. “I am the best singer here.”

  “Oh?” Holly’s instinct to bring the arrogant woman her friends had written so much about down a notch was at odds with her drive to be as hospitable as possible to all of her husband’s congregants. “Do you sing?”

  Vivian laughed, a little like shattering glass. Melinda laughed with her. “Do I sing?” Vivian touched a hand to her chest and batted her eyes.

  “Like an angel,” Melinda answered for her.

  There was nothing Holly could say but, “I look forward to hearing you, then. Once I get things settled and organized, I’ll ask everyone who is interested in a solo to sing a hymn for me.”

  “What a splendid idea,” Vivian cooed. She touched Holly’s arm as if they were old friends. “You know, I’ve been meaning to make a trip into town to invite you to tea at our ranch.”

  “Really?” Holly blinked rapidly, caught between being wary and honored.

  “Yes,” Melinda added. “The wife of the town’s pastor is definitely the sort of company we should be keeping.”

  “And, of course, our pastor’s wife needs to make sure that she keeps the right kind of company as well.” She glanced over her shoulder as she spoke.

  Holly followed the line of her glance to see Bonnie and two of her girls entering the church. Bonnie caught her eye, waved, and smiled. Holly smiled in return, acknowledging her with a friendly nod.

  Out of the corner of her eye, Holly caught George just as his smile faded, replaced by an anxious look. He took a step forward, as if he would intercept Bonnie on her way to say hello to a group of ladies that included Emma and Katie. He thought better of it and stopped, turning instead to greet the Montrose brothers.

  “It’s outrageous who is allowed to participate in these sorts of functions these days,” Vivian went on, lowering her voice as if she and Holly were co-conspirators. “Rev. Robbins is so right when he says there is no place for harlots in church. I’m surprised Rev. Pickering didn’t toss them out years ago.”

  “Perhaps now that you are here, you can be a moral influence on him,” Melinda added. “Right, Bebe?”

  A beat too late, Bebe dragged her eyes away from the young men, particularly Hubert Strong. Hubert had also asked to step down from his role as Joseph to join the choir. Holly suddenly wondered if that had anything to do with the fact that the choir would be meeting three times as often as the pageant actors. “Huh?” Bebe blinked her way into the conversation.

  Vivian and Melinda made twin noises of disgust.

  “Bebe, what have I told you about throwing pearls before swine?” Vivian snapped.

  Bebe lowered her head. “That Hubert Strong is a swine.”

  “Precisely.” Melinda nodded, then sniffed. “Who in their right mind would bother with men anyhow?”

  Vivian hummed sagely and rolled her eyes. “If I had known better, I would have remained an honorable spinster my entire life. But at least I have been given some hope for my pains.” She pressed a hand to her belly. Holly had heard that she was expecting, but she wasn’t showing yet.

  Across the room, a trio of men dressed more finely than the others and didn’t seem to be there to participate at all burst into derisive laughter. One—who didn’t look as though he was the shiniest apple in the bushel—glanced toward Vivian. He leered at her and winked.

  Vivian sent him a sour smile, then turned back to Holly with a disgusted grunt. “No, I most certainly would not have agreed to marry Rance if I knew what it meant.”

  “Is that your husband?” Holly did her best to remain pleasant.

  “Rance.” Vivian sighed dramatically. “For my sins, yes, he is.” She pressed the back of her hand to her forehead, extending her other hand to the side a little.

  In a perfectly choreographed motion, Melinda took her sister’s hand and patted it reassuringly. “There, there, Vivian. With any luck, you’ll have a son by this summer, and you can keep that wretched oaf at arm’s length for the rest of your life.”

  It was all Holly could do to keep her expression steady. She was grateful that the Bonneville sisters seemed to believe their introductions and dramatic display were done and took a seat in the front pew. The others slipped into seats as well. The group of young men that Bebe had been staring at broke up, and Hubert Strong slipped subtly into the second pew, sitting directly behind Bebe. Yes, Holly could definitely see why the two of them would have chosen the choir over plum roles in the pageant if it meant they could sit within arm’s reach of each other more often. That left Holly standing in front of almost two dozen potential choir members, all of whom looked eagerly to her for leadership.

  She swallowed and pressed a hand to her stomach. George was still chatting with the Montrose brothers. They were there to play the wise men, not to sing in the choir, and so stayed at the other side of the room. Holly found herself wishing that George would stand by her side as she took this big step into a leadership role. Then again, she’d always done better in life when she’d stood on her own two feet.

  She cleared her throat. “Welcome, ladies and…” She paused, looking at the potential choir members. Almost all of them were women. Aside from Hubert Strong, there were only three other men, and of those, Noah Kline and Freddy Chance looked like they were there more to support whatever shenanigans Hubert was up to, and Dr. Abernathy sat with a grumpy look on his face, as if he’d been forced by his wife to attend.

  Holly smiled and started again. “Welcome to the choir. I’m so glad you decided to take time out of your busy schedules to provide this sort of service for our community.” The choir members stared back at her with silent attention. Holly began to feel warm. “Now, for our Christmas pageant, I thought that we could keep things simple by si
nging a few religious carols during the nativity scene. I’ve chosen a few songs that most of you already know, I’m sure. Perhaps if we all enjoy this little experiment, we can attempt more elaborate choral pieces in the new year.”

  “As long as I can sing a solo, I’ll learn anything,” Vivian said.

  Holly blinked, her face flushing hotter. “Yes,” she answered slowly. “Perhaps that is a good place to start. If you already know which vocal part you sing or you have no interest in singing a solo, you can move to the appropriate place in the pews. Sopranos there.” She indicated to the far end of the pew. “Altos there. Tenors…” She paused, looking at the feeble amount of men in attendance. “Well, perhaps all the men could sit on this side.” She indicated where she wanted them to go. “And if you don’t know which part you sing or if you’d like to be considered for a solo, why don’t you come up to the front and form a line, and I’ll listen to each of you sing, one by one.”

  Over half of the women stood and scurried to form a line near the piano. Dread pooled in Holly’s stomach at the sight. If she had that many women who would vie for solos, the choir could end up beset with rivalries and problems before it even started. She headed for the piano, sending George another worried look across the room.

  This time, George reacted instantly to her silent call for help. He said something to the Montrose brothers, then crossed the church to join Holly at the piano. “Do you need some help?”

  Grateful beyond telling, she smiled. “Yes, I was about to listen to the women who either don’t know what vocal part they sing or who are interested in a solo. Do you think you could help organize the rest?”

  “Absolutely.”

  George smiled, then stepped over to talk to the people who had remained seated in the pews. Bebe was one of them, though both of her sisters had gotten up to sing. Hubert now leaned forward, whispering something to Bebe. If Holly wasn’t mistaken, she caught him passing a note over the back of the pew as well.

  “Vivian, I see you’re first to sing,” Holly rushed to distract the older Bonneville sisters.

  “Yes, of course.” Vivian tilted her chin up with a proud smile. “I’d like to sing Amazing Grace for you.”

  Holly knew the song well and turned to begin the accompaniment. Much to her surprise, Vivian actually had a beautiful voice. Her tone was clear and the sound she produced was pleasing. As Holly played, she wondered if that was the only pleasant sound the woman ever produced. It was all she could do not to grin as she played. The sobering thought that she would have to give Vivian a solo at some point and that it would make her insufferable wiped the grin off her face.

  Luckily for her, most of the women who had lined up were not there to audition for solos, but rather because they had no idea what part they sang. Holly was able to sort them into soprano or alto easily, and to find a few others who would be able to sing solos or duets if needed. In short order, everyone was seated and the rehearsal was able to begin in earnest.

  They hadn’t been singing for more than ten minutes before the church door opened and Robbins strode in. George instantly left the end of the pew where he had joined in to sing with the tenors, and walked to the back of the church to greet Robbins. The two started out speaking in low tones while Holly went on with rehearsal. The trio of men that included Rance Bonneville—and had continued to lounge around the back of the church doing nothing—took interest. In no time, George and Robbins started to raise their voices.

  “I have every right to be here.” Robbins came close to shouting. “This is not your house, this is God’s house, and I am His humble servant.”

  “No one is saying that you don’t have a right to be here,” George replied, holding out his hands in an attempt to appease Robbins. “Only that this is not the appropriate time to solicit for donations to your charity.”

  “Any time is the appropriate time for God’s work,” Robbins went on. He spoke so that he could be heard by everyone, even though George was clearly trying to keep him quiet. “Do you think the lives of those poor savages stop being miserable simply because you are rehearsing some paltry show?”

  Holly continued to conduct the choir through the hymn they were singing, but more and more of her singers were twisting to see what the commotion at the back of the room was rather than focusing on the music, especially since Rance and his friends were openly laughing.

  “Even you must agree—” George went on, wincing as he raised his voice, “—that for everything there is a time and a season. A time to ask for donations and a time for choir practice.”

  “You skate perilously close to blasphemy, Rev. Pickering,” Robbins boomed.

  The voices of the choir grew smaller and feebler until only Vivian and Melinda were left singing their hearts out while everyone else stopped to watch the confrontation at the back of the church.

  “Ladies,” Holly whispered, stopping Vivian and Melinda as well.

  “God’s work shall be done day and night.” Robbins went on chastising George. “It shall be done in rain and sunshine, in summer and in winter. God’s work is never done, but those of us who serve Him are tireless.”

  “Yes, I’m sure you are.” George rubbed his temples. “But this is choir practice. You can pontificate and ask for donations all you want some other time.”

  “Do you mock me, sir?” Robbins reeled back in offense.

  George sighed. “No. I’m just saying that we’re trying to rehearse for the Christmas pageant.” Before Robbins could get another word in, he added. “You’re welcome to sit back here and wait for rehearsal to be over, but please don’t interrupt.”

  With that, he marched away from Robbins and down the aisle to where the Montrose brothers were trying on their wise men costumes, with Wendy’s help. The Montrose brothers, who, just like everyone else, had seen the entire confrontation, sent pointed looks Robbins’s way. Robbins maintained as much bravado as he could with their unspoken threat hanging in the air, then sedately took a seat in the back pew.

  Holly let out as much of a breath of relief as she dared, then cleared her throat to draw the attention of the choir. “Let’s try that again from the last verse.”

  As soon as the choir saw that nothing else was going to happen, they faced forward and turned their attention back to singing, but Holly saw the writing on the wall. She ended rehearsal earlier than she’d planned to, freeing the choir members to go about their business. Some went to say a word to George while others went back to chat with Robbins. Holly had half a mind to march back and tell Robbins to shoo, but she couldn’t argue away the fact that he had as much right to be there as anyone else. Instead, she glanced across the front of the church to George, who now had his head together with the Montrose brothers in a way that didn’t exactly suggest discussion of the wise men.

  “You two sort things out yet?”

  Bonnie’s question at Holly’s side had her jumping out of her skin. “What?”

  She whipped to face Bonnie, only to find the woman laughing softly at her. “I’ll take that as a no.”

  Holly stared at her for several seconds before figuring out what Bonnie was talking about. She took in a quick breath. “Oh. That. Well, no, we haven’t really figured out an effective way to talk to each other,” she said, then brushed on to the more immediate problem with, “I wish there was more that I could do to help George deal with that menace, Robbins.”

  Bonnie’s brow flew up, but she didn’t immediately say anything.

  “What?” Holly asked when she noticed.

  “Nothing.” Bonnie made a gesture as if brushing a thought away. “I just would have thought that you’d still be caught up in learning how to be together after the history the two of you have.”

  Too many thoughts came to Holly at once. Between remembering everything Bonnie had told her about how she’d reconciled with her own husband after years of misunderstanding when they’d had tea at the hotel the other day, and watching one of the women from the choir hand some sort of bill
over to Robbins at the back of the church, her mind was completely distracted. She had to force herself to look at Bonnie instead of letting her thoughts stray.

  “I suppose we’re coming along step by step,” she said. “Though I’ll confess, I wish we’d step a little faster.” She lost her train of thought again as the Bonneville sisters reached Robbins and began chatting with him. “I just wish I knew what he was truly up to. I hate to question a man’s commitment to God, but…”

  “But God gets a little fuzzy when money is involved,” Bonnie finished for her.

  “Exactly.” Holly nodded. “And—” She stopped when she noticed George staring at her and Bonnie. The look he wore was downright panicked. Her gut quivered. “And I still don’t know what to do about George.”

  She wasn’t making a lick of sense, but Bonnie seemed to read beyond her words. “Why don’t you come over to the hotel for tea again tomorrow? Maybe I can offer you some sort of helpful advice without all the distractions.”

  Holly had continued to stare at George, but at Bonnie’s invitation she turned to her and forced a smile. “That would be lovely. Thank you.”

  Bonnie began to walk, heading toward the back of the church, and Holly walked with her. “In my experience, everything sorts itself out in time. Everything.” They passed the tiny group that consisted of Robbins, the Bonneville sisters, and Rance, and Bonnie raised one eyebrow. “We just have to wait patiently for mistakes to be made.”

  They reached the door, and Holly realized Bonnie was talking about Robbins, not George. Or perhaps both of them. She couldn’t help but grin. “I have always been a very patient person.”

  “Good for you.” Bonnie winked, then headed out into the snowy night.

  Holly stayed at the door to say goodbye to a few more choir members and pageant participants. The men who seemed to be loitering with no purpose joined up with women Holly presumed were their wives as they left. Hubert had been loitering near the back of the church, but snuck out when he evidently came to the conclusion that Bebe wasn’t going to get away to talk to him. That prompted Bebe to slip away from her sisters and out the door. Vivian and Melinda weren’t fooled, though. They left the conversation Rance was still having with Robbins, saying a quick goodbye to Holly before rushing out after Bebe.