Pony Express Christmas Bride

by Rhonda Gibson

  Thomas frowned at her over his shoulder. He kicked the snow from his boots and opened the door to the house.

  Josephine looked around him.

  Hazel sat with her bare feet propped up on the fireplace hearth. She’d been sleeping in Thomas’s chair. “’Bout time you two got home.” She yawned and stretched.

  “See? I told you she just came for a visit.” He set the mother dog down on the floor. She immediately shot off to Thomas and Philip’s bedroom.

  Josephine wanted to tell him that he’d said no such thing but decided now wasn’t the time. She carried the puppy into the room and set it down. It followed its mother. Thomas handed Josephine the bread bag.

  “Would you like for me to bring your bag in now or can it wait until I put the horses away?” he asked.

  She’d forgotten all about her tea and sugar. “It can wait until you come back inside.” Josephine turned to Hazel. “What brings you over?”

  “Does a body need an excuse to come for a visit?” Hazel shot back.

  Josephine grinned. She spotted the basket that Hazel stored the unfinished quilt in. “No, but I thought maybe you wanted to work on the quilt.”

  Hazel yawned again. “Not right now, but I would like to stay the night, if it won’t be too much of an inconvenience.” She followed Josephine into the kitchen and sat down at the table.

  “Of course it won’t be.” Josephine turned to the coffeepot. Or would it? Where would Hazel sleep? She poured the hot liquid into three cups, then turned to set one in front of her guest. Sipping from her own cup, Josephine continued studying her problem. Perhaps she’d give the older woman her room tonight. Or Thomas could give Hazel his.

  “Don’t fret, Jo. I already sniffed out the sleeping arrangements.” Hazel uncovered a plate in the center of the table and took out a molasses cookie. She munched it with relish. “I sure am glad you two are home. I’m as hungry as a polecat after hibernation.”

  Unsure what to say regarding Hazel’s first statement, Josephine decided to address the second. “I hope you don’t mind a sandwich and pickles.”

  “Not at all. And I don’t suppose you’d mind heating up that jar of beans and ham to go with those sandwiches, would you?” Hazel motioned to the sidebar, where two jars of beans and ham stood.

  “No, but you didn’t have to go to all the trouble of bringing them over here.” Josephine grinned, happy to see Thomas would get a hot meal, after all.

  “Well, I suppose not. But I wanted to. You aren’t going to deprive an old woman of doing the simple things that give her joy, are you?” She laid her cookie down and tried to look downtrodden.

  Josephine laughed. “If you’ll show me an old woman, I’ll sure treat her nice.” She walked over and picked up one of the jars. “Should I heat up one or two?”

  “Let’s open them both.” Hazel went to the washbasin and proceeded to cleanse her hands. “You ignored what I said a while ago.”

  Josephine pulled out a nice-sized pot to put the beans in. “No, I answered you.”

  “About the sleeping arrangements.” Hazel dried her hands. “I thought we girls should have a talk before Thomas comes in.”

  For the first time, Josephine felt as if Hazel was butting in where she didn’t belong. “Look, Hazel, Thomas and I agree on how things are.”

  Hazel nodded. “I’m not worried about you and Thomas so much as I am about you and Philip.”

  Josephine poured the beans into the pot. “What do you mean?”

  “Well, I was thinking today about the last time Thomas rode for the Express.” She pulled the flour sack open and took the bread out.

  Instead of trying to figure out what Hazel was getting at, Josephine decided to just wait for her to spit it out. She handed Hazel a bread knife.

  “You stayed with me.”

  Josephine nodded. “That’s right.”

  “Philip stayed here.”

  “Yes?”

  Hazel chuckled. “You really are young and thickheaded.”

  Josephine felt the insult down to her toes. She tightened her lips to keep angry words from spewing out of her mouth. Not only was Hazel insulting her, but she was doing it in Josephine’s own kitchen.

  “Look, you and Philip cannot stay in this house alone together. It might all be respectable, but that’s not how the townspeople will see it should one of them decide to come out for a visit.” She sliced the bread and placed it on a plate.

  “I hadn’t thought of that.” Josephine sighed. “What are we going to do?”

  “Well, I’ve been thinking on that, too.”

  Josephine stirred the beans. “What did you come up with?” She dreaded Hazel’s answer. The older woman would probably suggest that she go to her house and wait for Thomas to return. Josephine did not want to do that. She wanted to make this cabin a home.

  “If you don’t mind, I’ll come stay with you while Thomas is gone.” Hazel grinned at Josephine. “I’m sure Philip won’t mind going to my place and taking care of the chores there.”

  So that was her plan. Send Philip to her house. “So we’ll do the chores here? What if a Pony Express rider comes through needing a change of horses?” Josephine tapped the spoon against the side of the pan, then looked back at Hazel.

  “I figured Philip could take care of his morning chores here. He’ll have to start a little earlier and then go to my house and do my morning chores. Then he’d be back here in time to take care of any riders that might come through.”

  Josephine liked this idea. Not only would Philip get another lesson in how he’d messed up things for her and Thomas, but also for himself and Hazel. “Then he would have to return to your place in the late afternoon to do chores at your place again, along with his chores here.”

  Hazel nodded. She clucked her tongue. “It’s the only way to assure that you and he are never alone.”

  “I wonder what Thomas will think of this.” Josephine inhaled the smell of ham and beans. Her stomach growled.

  Clomping boots on the front porch told the women Thomas was heading into the house.

  “We’ll soon find out,” Hazel answered.

  He entered the house and called to Josephine. “Josephine, I went to the storehouse and got a hunk of ham for you to slice up for dinner.”

  She met him at the kitchen door to take the meat. Josephine tried to hide the grin on her face as she took the ham, but failed miserably. He held out the bag from the general store, as well.

  His gaze studied her face. “You look as mischievous as an unbroken mustang horse. What have you two been up to?” Thomas asked, looking from her to Hazel.

  While Josephine sliced the ham, Hazel filled Thomas in on their conversation. He tipped his chair back and listened. Josephine couldn’t tell what her new husband was thinking.

  “Well, that would take care of wagging tongues, I suppose.”

  Hazel nodded and then got up to help Josephine finish setting the table. “That’s what I am hoping for.”

  She and Josephine sat down and bowed their heads. Thomas blessed the meal and then asked, “Who gets to tell Philip?”

  Josephine grinned. “Well, you.”

  * * *

  “That sounds about right,” he muttered.

  The pitter-patter of dog feet sounded loudly in the now-quiet room. He saw the mother and her pup coming to stand beside his chair. “Sorry, girl, you two have to wait for the scraps. We’re not going to start feeding you from the table.”

  “What are you doing with two dogs, anyway?” Hazel blurted out.

  Thomas frowned. “You didn’t tell her?” he asked Josephine.

  “She didn’t give me a chance.” She buttered a slice of bread and took a big bite.

  “Tell me what?” Hazel demanded.

  The urge to
tease the old woman tore at him. “Aw, never mind. You don’t want to know.”

  “Know what?”

  Josephine tried to hide a grin behind her bread. Her pretty eyes sparkled at him as she enjoyed his teasing of Hazel. “It was probably a bad idea to start with.”

  “What was a bad idea?” Hazel looked like a hoot owl as her head swung back and forth between them. “One of you better get on with telling me.”

  Beautiful tinkling laughter spilled from Josephine. He couldn’t control his own mirth any longer and felt a laugh build from his belly. At the growing frustration in Hazel’s face, he finally said, “One of them is for you. You get first pick.”

  “Now, why in the world would you get me a dog?” Hazel stood up and walked toward the animals. The mama dog turned her head to the right and then to the left as she eyed Hazel. The puppy grabbed hold of the hem of her dress and began tugging and growling.

  Thomas watched both Hazel and Josephine. Should he have offered his wife first pick? Josephine smiled as she watched Hazel coax the mama dog to her.

  “We thought if you had a dog, you wouldn’t get lonely.”

  “Who said I was lonely?” Hazel gently shoved the pup away, but she only came back again and again. The mama dog slowly inched her way to the older woman. “You sure are a pretty little thing.” She slowly reached out and petted the dog’s ears.

  Thomas held his tongue and noticed that Josephine had the wisdom not to answer Hazel’s question, either. His wife laughed when the puppy sank her teeth into Hazel’s apron ties and pulled them free from the older woman’s expanded waist.

  Hazel ignored the pup and slowly inched her hands under the mama. “If it’s all the same to you, I think Mama and I are more compatible. I’m not sure I could keep up with a puppy.”

  The mama dog allowed Hazel to cuddle her close. She closed her eyes and looked as if she enjoyed the scratches about her ears.

  “I think she likes you, too.” Thomas pushed away from the table and grinned at the two women.

  Hazel smiled over the dog’s head. “Of course she does. At my house, there are no rules. She can eat at the table if she wants to.”

  Thomas lost the smile on his face. He hoped Hazel was joking. If the weather wasn’t so bad right now, neither of the dogs would be in the house, let alone eating at the table.

  It was Hazel’s turn to laugh. She pushed up from the floor, still holding the mama dog. “Does she have a name?”

  “Nope, she was a stray. Thomas rescued her and the pup,” Josephine said, carrying dishes to the washtub.

  Hazel started to put the dog back down on the floor.

  “I’ll clean the kitchen while you get acquainted with your new dog.” Josephine motioned for Hazel to go into the sitting room.

  Thomas saw the indecision on Hazel’s face. It was clear she wanted to play with the dog but at the same time felt she should help with the cleanup. “Yes, go on. I’ll help Josephine clean up the kitchen and we’ll be right in.”

  Hazel looked at him speculatively. She nodded her head and chattered to the dog as she left the room. The puppy whined at Thomas’s feet.

  He reached down and picked her up. “Hungry again, aren’t you?”

  Josephine grabbed two small bowls. She filled one with water and placed scraps of meat and bread in the other. “There you go. That should keep her busy while I clean the kitchen.” Josephine set the bowls by the back door.

  Thomas couldn’t believe how quickly she took care of the dog’s needs and then continued on with her chores. “I’ll help you.” He set the pup down and walked to the basin to wash his hands.

  “Here, why don’t you take these scraps to Hazel for her dog?” She thrust a small cloth with ham and bread pieces at him.

  Thomas took the food and frowned. Was Josephine trying to get rid of him? Or was she simply taking care of the animals?

  Her gaze ran over his face. “It was really nice of you to get her a companion. And one for me, as well.” Josephine turned back to the dirty dishes.

  Thomas didn’t know what to make of this new, shy woman. What had happened to the carefree laughter they’d shared earlier? Was she nervous about being alone with him in the kitchen? Or had she remembered he was a scarred man when she’d run her gaze over his face? Frustrated, he left the kitchen.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Thomas settled down on his makeshift bed in front of the fireplace, thoughts of the day running through his head. All in all, the day had gone well. That was, up until they decided Hazel should have his room and he should sleep here, on Philip’s temporary corn-husk mattress.

  He and Philip had brought it in from the barn when Josephine took Philip’s room, and though Philip hadn’t complained, Thomas knew now, as he shifted to get comfortable, that his brother must often get up more tired than when he went to bed. They’d have to fix this problem and soon.

  Something else had been troubling him of late. The easy way Josephine asked him to pray, as if she had every confidence that he could get through to the Lord. Of course, she didn’t know it had been a long time since he had done so and he planned to keep her from learning that sad fact. He closed his eyes and told the Lord he was sorry for his lack of communication with Him, that he planned to do better and his desire was to have a household of faith.

  With the peace of the Lord, Thomas fell asleep, only to be awakened by something rubbing against the side of his face. He jumped and sat straight up. The sound of a smothered giggle had him turning to see who else was in the room with him.

  Josephine sat beside him on the floor, her finger against her lips in silent entreaty. “Shhh. Hazel is still asleep.”

  Thomas felt his heart accelerate. She sat peering at him intently. Her shining, dark eyes full of intelligence and independence of spirit, her hair mussed from sleep. She took his breath away. Did she know how beautiful she was?

  “I thought you were never going to wake up, sleepyhead. Has married life already made you lazy?”

  Her infectious grin and teasing voice brought an immediate response. “Lazy? Woman, I feel like I just went to sleep.”

  “Shhh. Keep your voice down—you’ll wake up Hazel.”

  He sat up and whispered, “What are you doing up so early? It’s not fully daylight yet.”

  She held the pup out, both arms extended. “Little One here needs to go out.”

  At the last moment he tempered his laugh, but he wanted to guffaw. “Little One?” He quirked his eyebrows questioningly. “You named this poor pup Little One?”

  She squeaked in self-defense, “Well, I couldn’t think of anything else.”

  “Shhh. You’ll wake up Hazel.” He loved getting back at her. They both giggled like little kids, sharing the morning in perfect harmony. Happiness welled up in his heart. He was happy that they could be friends, even if they would never be true husband and wife. This was a pretty good way to start the day.

  The puppy began twisting round and round, and Josephine’s eyes grew big as saucers. “You better hurry, Thomas, or it’s going to be too late.”

  He threw the quilt off and sprang to his feet, taking the puppy with him. He exited the back door onto the porch and set the puppy on the ground below the last step. The little dog immediately did her business and tried to leap onto the step. Thomas laughed, scooped her up and entered the house hopping. He’d rushed out without boots and now his socks were wet with snow and his feet were colder than a snowman’s nose.

  Josephine laughed quietly when the puppy ran into her lap, then laughed out loud, quickly covering her mouth with the back of her hand, when Thomas plopped down on the quilt. “Brrr. I about froze my toes off.” He stripped off the wet socks and thrust his feet back under the quilt, pulling it up to his neck. “It’s freezing outside. That’s your puppy. Why was I the one who took it out?�
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  Josephine had placed her feet just under the edge of the quilt and his feet brushed against hers. His eyes widened as she immediately recoiled, but he motioned to her that he would move his feet to the far side and he raised the quilt in invitation. She slid her feet back under the quilt and he tucked the edges tighter.

  She ignored his question about the puppy and asked a different one. “What are you going to do this last day before your Express ride tomorrow?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Well, the day before I had to ride, I tried to do something special that I enjoyed or I planned something special for when I got to my next destination.”

  “Like what?” Thomas saw the puppy’s eyes droop, then widen, and he smiled. At Josephine’s questioning look, he nodded at the pup. She chuckled. She leaned over and nuzzled her face against its head and the puppy bit at her hair. Thomas asked again, “What do you mean about planning special things?”

  “Well, the day before the trip, I’d spend the day with a good book or simply daydreaming. Or, if I didn’t have time to relax before going, I’d ask the stationmaster what the next stop was like. If it had a restaurant, I’d plan on a big meal and a walk around town. If it wasn’t a big town, I’d still get a meal and then take a walk in the woods or down by the stream or river. It broke the monotony of all those hours alone.”

  “Oh, well, usually I simply do chores and try to rest up before going.” Thomas saw the first rays of daylight enter the window by the front door. Ordinarily he would have already been in the barn doing chores. Instead he lay propped on his elbow listening to his wife, a bevy of ideas flitting through his mind on planning a special day.

  He heard a quickly smothered whine from the mother dog in his bedroom. He tapped Josephine’s knee and motioned her to follow him, pulling her to her feet. He tiptoed to his bedroom door and quickly opened it. Hazel tumbled forward and only his quick thinking kept her from crashing into the hard wood floor. The dogs set to barking, Josephine giggled and Thomas straightened Hazel.

  “What in blue blazes?” She placed both hands on her hips, her lips puckered with annoyance. If not for the faint tinge of pink creeping up her neck and into her cheeks, one might think she hadn’t been listening at the door. Thomas decided to let her off the hook. After all, she was one of his favorite people.