“Mmhmm.” Bianca nodded. “I did indeed, but if I cannot peek at my presents, you cannot take a gander at yours, deal?” She stuck out her hand for a handshake.
“Deal.” Jonah murmured as he took her hand in his and stepped closer to her. But instead of kissing her like he so wanted to, he just stood there and stared down at her. Then he turned abruptly and left.
There was one little package that he didn’t place under the tree though. He had bought it at the spur of the moment and he was still unsure if he wanted to give it to her. He didn’t know if he wanted to take such a chance. He kept it with him wherever he went for safekeeping.
A couple days later, one week from Christmas, Bianca was in the kitchen making eggnog and hot apple cider. There was a small festival being held in town that day and Jonah said he would take her. She packed the drinks in a small thermos and placed it in a basket along with some food for them so they could enjoy the Christmas show. The little school children would be singing carols and putting on a play and there was even to be a Santa Claus who would pass out small trinkets to the people in attendance.
Snow was falling all around them as they travelled to the heart of town. Jonah had wrapped them both in cloaks and blankets to ward off the cold. Bianca still shivered as the wind swept past them and Jonah put his arm around her, pulling her closer to his side. When she huddled deeper into him and even buried her face against his shoulder, he couldn’t help but feel very content.
Bianca, for her part was also quite satisfied. More and more, Jonah was starting to display his affection, in look and touch, and Bianca was happy that they had come as far as they had. She could see them growing old together and loving each other, perhaps with a house full of children, as time marched on. It warmed her heart and she sighed appreciatively and thanked the Lord from her heart.
When they reached the town, Jonah helped her down from the carriage and then placed his arm around her waist as they walked. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world. Given the dense crowd, neither of them noticed the man that had trailed them throughout the day.
Little children ran around with mistletoes tied to sticks and tried to get as many couples to kiss as they could. When one little girl ran up behind Jonah and Bianca, dangling her mistletoe over Bianca’s head, Jonah laughed out loud. He quickly pecked Bianca on the cheek obligingly.
“No mister,” the little girl said between giggles, “you have to actually kiss her.”
Jonah looked at the little girl and then at Bianca. She merely raised her eyebrows and waited patiently.
“You shouldn’t disappoint the children, Jonah,” she said smiling.
Jonah grinned and leaned in closer. “And how about you, Mrs. Cassidy? Would you be disappointed?”
“Very much so.”
Jonah’s eyes lit up with heat at her reply. He bent his head closer and brushed her lips with his. She responded by opening up to him and he pressed in closer. He would have deepened the kiss and happily forgotten his surroundings if the giggles of the little girl didn’t bring him back to reality.
“I think we should continue that in the privacy of our own home.” Jonah whispered.
“Is that a promise?”
The only reply she got was a wink.
Bianca had trouble keeping her mind on the festivities. It kept going back to that brief kiss she desperately wanted to continue – and the promise of more from Jonah. She had been half afraid that he would pull back from her again but he kept a hold of her hand as they meandered along and found opportunities to touch her in one way or another, whether he adjusted her hat or cloak or wrapped his arm around her waist.
When they arrived home that evening, Jonah helped Bianca to her cottage. For the first time since she had first entered the house, Jonah followed her inside. For a while, they just stood staring at each other; the only light around them came from the moonlight filtering through the window. Bianca made the first move when she stepped closer to him and reached up to remove his hat. She placed it on the hook near the door and began to untie his scarf. Before she could pull it off of his shoulders, Jonah caught her hands and pressed them against his chest, drawing her even closer in the process.
He pulled her hands up and twined them around his neck while wrapping his arm around her waist. With the other hand, he lifted her chin and pressed his lips against hers. When she responded, he deepened it further and slid his fingers into her hair. After a long moment, before the kiss could go any further, he pulled his head back, breathing heavily. He rested his forehead against hers and gazed into her eyes.
“The horses,” he said between deep breaths, “their still standing in the snow.”
Bianca nodded. “You should go put them in the stall.”
“Mmm. Bianca. I…I think I am falling in love with you. You are not at all what I expected. And…I have to know if you feel anything like that for me.”
Bianca’s heart soared. She didn’t say anything. She just nodded.
Jonah smiled. “I can’t believe you are mine.” He took a deep breath and opened his mouth to continue but was cut off by the sound of the horses’ whines. Jonah laughed wryly.
“Let me go take care of those horses and then I will be back.”
Bianca grinned and nodded before watching him leave.
Smiling softly to herself, Bianca headed to her room after hanging up her cloak, hat and mittens. She stripped off her gown and slipped into the peignoir and wrapper Cissy had insisted she buy. She took her hair out of the constraining bun and unbraided it to brush it out. When she heard her bedroom door close, she turned to greet Jonah shyly.
But the man who stepped into the candlelight was not Jonah.
“Who are you? How did you get in here?”
The man laughed harshly. “The name’s Frank, darling. I see my son hasn’t mentioned me. That’s too bad. I told him what I would do to the one he loves. He must not have believed me.”
As he spoke, he drew a knife out of his pocket. Its edge glowed sharply in the small light as he advanced on her. “That was a very touching scene you shared in the foyer.”
“You were watching us?”
“Indeed I was. I’ve been trailing you since this morning when you arrived at the festival. After I saw that kiss, I came back here and waited for you.”
As he spoke, Bianca edged sideways and Frank matched her moves, circling her, as if toying with her.
“Why?”
“My son stole my wife from me and now I will steal his from him. I warned him long ago that I would.”
Sudden understanding dawned on Bianca. “You’re the reason why he’s been so hesitant to take our marriage forward.” She didn’t fully understand but she knew she was right.
The back of her legs hit the table behind her and she grasped a heavy paperweight before moving away and closer to the door.
Frank followed her but he was done talking. He lunged at Bianca with the knife but she threw the paperweight at him with all her might and it caught him on the side of the head, dazing him. Bianca didn’t wait. She pulled the door open and ran out of the bedroom and then out into the yard, screaming for Jonah along the way.
She heard Frank crash through the living room and follow her. She twisted back to look and slipped on the ice in front of her and fell. Frank was faster than he seemed and the paperweight hadn’t done much damage.
He covered the distance between him and his prey quickly. Bianca tried to scramble away from him but the ice was slippery and Frank got to her first. He turned her over and straddled her stomach. The knife glinted in his hand in the moonlight as he raised it above his head with a maniacal laugh. When he brought it down, Bianca braced herself, just as a loud boom shook the night air and Frank screamed in agony as the knife went flying and blood spurted from his hand. Another boom and Frank’s shoulder jerked and he fell back away from Bianca.
Jonah came up alongside her, shotgun to his shoulder. He pulled her up with one hand, keeping the other steadi
ly on the trigger of the gun firmly aimed at the now bloody man. Bianca scrambled up and Jonah swept her behind him.
He slowly advanced on Frank but the man didn’t move. When Jonah stepped over him, he was surprised to see Frank looking at him with wide, glazed eyes – a dead man’s gaze. Jonah turned him over and found the knife Frank had used on Bianca lodged in his back. It must have landed hilt first in the snow when it was shot out of Frank’s hand and Frank had impaled himself on it when he fell back from the second shot.
Jonah felt nothing but relief. The shadow specter of Frank Cassidy was no longer hanging over his life like a gloom. He was free.
The next week, on Christmas morning, Jonah and Bianca sat down before the hearth and sipped on hot chocolate. They had a pile of wrapping paper flung all over the living room and both were as giddy as children as they took in their gifts. Jonah excused himself and went to his room. When he came back out, he had a small package wrapped in gold with a red bow in his hands.
Bianca looked at him curiously when he presented it to her. I bought it a month ago but I wasn’t sure if I was ready to give it to you until we went to the Christmas Festival. I had already decided that I would give it to you that morning and Frank’s demise just gave me more of a confirmation.
“I am sorry about what he put you and your mom through, Jonah. I am glad he can’t hurt you anymore.” Jonah had explained everything about Frank to her after that fateful night and Bianca was glad Jonah was finally able to move past it.
She carefully unwrapped the package and opened the small box inside. The gift inside stunned her. Jonah knelt next to her.
“I know I said when I met you that I did not want a wife, only a maid. But you changed all of that. You turned my world upside down. You are genuine and generous, practical and fun. I can’t imagine anyone else that I would rather spend the rest of my life with. We have been married for several months now but as of yet, we have not lived as husband and wife. But I love you and I want you to be mine alone. Bianca Cassidy, would you be my wife and companion from this day on for as long as God gives us breath to share?”
Bianca just stared at him. Her Christmas Miracle had occurred. He was everything she ever wanted and she loved him with all that she had.
Bianca leaned forward and kissed Jonah. She didn’t have words to say what she wanted to say but he knew what she was saying all the same. He slipped the ring on her finger and enfolded her in his embrace.
The End.
Wandering Cowboy
Mail Order Bride
CHRISTIAN MICHAEL
Chapter 1
Little River, Montana
Dora Sullivan stepped from the rickety stagecoach coated in dust onto the muddy ground. She felt grimy and exhausted but she’d made it. Smoothing a hand over the front of her skirt, she looked around. Men milled about or walked to-and-fro carrying various items but no one seemed to be looking for her, just at her.
Worry knotted her stomach. She wasn’t sure what Hank Mills looked like, he’d only said tall with brown hair, but she was sure he would have recognized her—if only for the fact that she was the only woman who had exited the stagecoach.
Taking a few steps forward, a hand landed heavily on her shoulder causing her to jump. “Sorry, Miss,” the coach driver said with a smile beneath his large moustache, “Just wasn’t sure where you wanted yer trunk?”
Blinking rapidly, she looked from the trunk to the man then back to the trunk. “Is there a hotel nearby?”
He nodded once. “Yup.”
“Please take it there then.”
“Sure thing.”
He turned and left and she searched the crowd again before resigning herself to the fact that Hank wasn’t there. Or if he was, he wasn’t coming to claim her. A thought slammed into her chest. Was that it? Had he taken one look at her and wasn’t interested?
But, looking into the gawking stares of the men surrounding her she didn’t think that was the reason. She was by no means the most beautiful woman, but she had a feeling men in the West took what they could get. Not that that thought was comforting.
Stepping up to the ticket window she leaned closer, “Excuse me.”
“Yeah,” a booming voice said from behind the bars.
“Can you direct me to the local hotel.”
“Down the street. Take a right. It’s on the right.” The man went back to his newspaper without another glance her way.
Trying to shake off the rudeness of the man, she held her head high and pounded down the boardwalk. Just as the disinterested window clerk had said, the hotel appeared on the right and she entered, relishing the calm tranquility of the interior. It wasn’t as nice as places she had seen in Massachusetts but she hadn’t been accustomed to finery anyway.
“Hello,” she said at the desk. “I’d like to reserve a room.”
The clerk helped her, taking almost the last of her reserved money, then directed her to the post office where she hoped someone would know about Hank Mills—her fiancé.
“Yeah, I knew Hank,” the post office worker said.
Dora froze. Knew? “I’m sorry, what do you mean…knew?”
“He passed away a few weeks back. Some kinda accident as I heard it.”
Her heart pounded in her chest and the constriction of her throat kept her from answering.
“Why do you ask?”
“I—” her voice cracked, “I was to marry him.”
The clerk’s mouth dropped open to form an “O” shape. “Really?”
“Yes,” she said, feeling the shock morph to terror like a live thing in her chest. This couldn’t be happening.
“I’m sorry ma’am. Real sorry, but he’s gone. I wasn’t sure who to forward his mail to. Heard about a brother he had and I just tracked him down the other day. Did you want to contact him maybe?”
Dora tried to think through what the man was saying. Contact Hank’s brother? Why…but then she considered the fact that, if she didn’t contact him, who would? She had at least gotten to know Hank a little through their letter writing and, though she never thought she would truly love him, she had felt certain they would be happy. Eventually.
“Yes,” she said, surprising herself. “I’ll write him a letter.”
Nodding, as if to convince herself, she turned around and made her way back to the quite safety of the hotel. She couldn’t afford to stay for much longer as a guest nor could she afford to buy a train ticket back. Maybe, just maybe, she could gain work at the hotel until she figured out what to do with her life.
All of her plans had fallen through and she was alone. Utterly alone.
***
Raymond Ellis adjusted his seat in the saddle. He was used to riding long periods of time and today was no different. He had a lot of territory to cover if he was going to make it half way to his next job by dusk.
The town sat ahead, the dusty streets busy with foot traffic and horses. He rode down the main street on his way to see the smithy. His horse needed a new shoe and he needed supplies. It would hopefully be a quick stop, but a necessary one.
After leaving the horse to be tended to, he walked toward the general store, the list of provisions he needed fresh in his mind. There wouldn’t be another town for a few days so he needed to stock up. He jumped up onto the boardwalk and toward the door of the general store just as a woman barreled out—and straight into him.
“Ouch!” she said, stepping back and nearly falling over.
“Steady there,” Raymond said, reaching out rough and calloused hands to steady her.
She stepped back, a wild, frightened look in her eye. “Don’t touch me.”
He yanked his hands away, holding them up to show he meant no harm. “I’m sorry, miss,” he offered a small smile, “Just making sure you didn’t fall over.”
Her black hair was pulled back into a sloppy bun but it was her vibrant green eyes that held him captive. They were stunning and beautiful, reminding him of dew on a prairie field in the light of
dawn.
He looked over the rest of her face, his eyes flicking to her lips briefly but always back to her eyes.
She took another step back. “Th-thank you,” she said, then spun on her heel and was gone.
He stood watching her for a moment, breathless. She was the most beautiful woman he’d ever seen. And he needed to see her again.
Rushing to the corner, he peered around but was greeted with an empty street. She was gone, like the last rays of sunlight in the evening, and he was devastated to realize he may never see her again.
He shook his head, feeling foolish. He was a cowpoke. A man without a home who rode the range—had been riding the range since he was a boy—not some lovesick boy who wanted to meet a girl and settle down.
Yet the thought of settling down wasn’t as unattractive to him as it once had been. He’d spent years traveling, never settling into a place, but that didn’t mean the rest of his life had to be like this. Or maybe it did. What kind of husband could he be?
Expelling a breath, he spun around and went back to the general store. He was thinking like a crazy man right now. One pretty girl and you’d think he’d been out in the sun too long.
“Howdy,” the storekeeper said, smiling behind his counter. “Can I get you anything?”
Raymond sidled up to the counter, weighing his options. He was acting a fool, he knew that, but what could it hurt just to see her one more time? A pretty face to remember as he rode off into the sunset that evening.
“Got a question for you,” he said.
“I’ll see what I can do to answer you.”
“I just nearly knocked over a pretty little lady on her way out of here. I feel terrible and wanted to apologize. Might you know where she went? Rushed off in quite the hurry.”
The shopkeeper narrowed his gaze. “What do you want with Dora?”
“No, no,” he said, holding up his hands, “Nothing untoward. I just wanted to apologize—properly.”
The man kept his narrowed gaze on Raymond for a long time before standing up, putting his hands on his hips. “Her names Dora and she’s a kind woman. Works in the hotel restaurant right now, but she’s only been in town a week or so. I don’t want to hear that you were over there pestering her.”
[2016] Widow Finds Love Page 51
