A Plain and Sweet Christmas Romance Collection

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A Plain and Sweet Christmas Romance Collection Page 14

by Lauralee Bliss


  “Sleep, then,” Martin replied sarcastically.

  But sleep was far from Martin’s grasp. For an unexplainable almost painful yearning rose up in his belly, and it wasn’t hunger. He was too unsettled to even think about sleep. His mind wouldn’t rest. Even as the railcar rocked and Filipp snored, Martin continued to watch out the window until, as he’d predicted earlier, the snow flurries began. This opportunity was a once-in-a-lifetime occasion. Everything depended upon what would happen after they made their connection in St. Paul, boarded the Canadian Pacific, and stepped out of the train onto Canadian soil.

  Chapter 2

  In Mountain Lake, Minnesota, the next morning, the blizzard ended and some nearby townsmen dug out the schoolhouse. A note was posted on the door and the children were moved to the teacher’s home where they would wait for their families. At that time, Hanna departed with her brothers. However, along the way, the reprieve ended and snow began to fall again. Wet and steady but no longer blinding, allowing them to arrive home safely. Dad hurried from the barn, relieved to see them. But Hanna could tell something was wrong.

  “Your mom’s sick. Go to her so she can rest. She’s been worried over your safety. Viktor, warm up and then come help. This storm is not over yet. There’s much to do.”

  “Yes, Dad,” Viktor replied.

  Their mom wept with relief over them. She asked about all the other children, and Hanna shared as much as she knew. Then Hanna shooed the boys from the room. “Go warm up by the fire.” When they were gone, she examined her mom with growing concern. “You’re feverish. What happened?”

  “Too long in the snow, I guess. Helping your dad. I just need rest. I spent the night praying. Now that I know you are safe, sleep will come and I’ll be good as new. There’s so much to do. Especially in this season. Only ten days until Christmas with so much to do,” she repeated.

  Hanna nodded. “Don’t fret.” She lifted a cup to her mother’s mouth. “Drink something.” Then she pulled the covers up around her neck and kissed her forehead. “Get better.”

  Next she cut thick slices of bread and spread it with apple butter for her brothers. As they ate, she stoked the fire and instructed Viktor, “Bring some meat from the smokehouse before you help Dad.”

  Viktor took that as his cue to get busy. She handed Stefan a broom and instructed Yury to put away coats, line up the boots, and dry the floors with a rag. Soon she had a stew cooking on the stove. She felt fortunate for their comfortable home, a far cry from the crude soddy they used to reside in, which still remained tucked into a hill on their property and used as storage.

  Her mother was right to be concerned about the fast approach of Christmas. While the Mennonite Brethren didn’t celebrate with trees or wrapped gifts, they offered gifts of service, especially to those in need. At Christmas, her mom always delivered peppernut cookies and quilts to the Immigration Depot, which housed new Russian settlers until they could procure land and a home. It was a free service, set up by the railroad company and run by the community. In Mountain Lake, they’d all been through similar circumstances, and most of the residents were eager to help newcomers who would eventually become part of their church and community. Hanna determined to nurse her mother back to health in time to keep up her beloved traditions.

  But several days passed, and Sonya hadn’t improved. She maintained a low fever and developed a cough. With her illness added to the storm, the joy had departed from the house. Dad was grim and overworked. Stefan and Yury were irritable from being cooped inside. Even Viktor had lost his sense of humor. And Hanna was worried. She peeled potatoes and watched the relentless snowfall. Would it never cease? And why wasn’t God healing her mother? Didn’t Proverbs 3:7–9 say, “Fear the Lord, and depart from evil. It shall be health to thy navel, and marrow to thy bones. Honour the Lord with thy substance”? Mother did all that and more. She did so much good for the community. Lord, please restore health and joy to our home—Hanna didn’t usually add stipulations to her prayers, but this time she felt impelled to do so—in time for Christmas.

  As she released her Christmas prayer, Dad bounded out of the bedroom, his voice gruff. “You must go for the doctor.” As was his custom, he reasoned aloud, “I’d go, but it’s too hard for you to remain and take care of the animals. But you’re deft in the snow, and I know I can depend on you to fetch your mother the help she needs.” However, he didn’t say what they both were thinking. Deft in the snow because she’d learned the hard way—from her mistakes—how to survive. “And take some food along for the Immigration House. She would want you to do that.”

  “Is she worse?” Hanna panicked.

  “That’s for the doctor to tell.”

  “I’ll go right away.”

  The journey wasn’t far, but given the snow accumulation, it was midmorning by the time she arrived at the village. She stopped directly at the Immigration House to deliver food. The building swarmed with people but not Russian immigrants. So unusually cramped, she could barely maneuver through the mishmash of bed pallets strewn across the floor. Pressing through the crowd, she went directly to the kitchen to find a flustered administrator helping the cook. He rushed to accept the food, gushing thanks. “Tell everyone you meet that we need volunteers to house people. And we need more food. The train’s snowed in, and all these passengers have no place to go. It will take days before they can get the track cleared. If it quits snowing.”

  Hanna gulped at the dire situation. Though their own house was more than sufficient for her family, it contained no extra beds. But evaluating the situation before her, the floor space in front of their hearth would be better accommodations than the depot provided for the stranded. If her mom weren’t sick, she’d find a way to help. Then it hit her. The soddy! “Mom’s sick and I’m going for the doctor, but our soddy is available. I’ll swing back by and see if anyone is interested. If so, they can return with me.”

  “Bless you, Hanna. I’m sure you’ll have some guests.”

  “I can take two on my sled, and I’ll spread the word about the need. I’ll have the doctor do the same.”

  “Godspeed. Go and get the doctor. Bless you.”

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Martin Penner slapped snow off his gloves. “The engineer thinks we’ll be stranded at least a week. Says they can’t even start to clear the tracks until it stops snowing and conditions will worsen the farther north we go. Says we might as well settle in. But I don’t like it. Don’t like being idle.”

  Filipp agreed. “But there’s nothing we can do until it quits snowing. Wait. I saw a woman bring food to the cook. They were speaking Plaudietsch—the low German of the Mennonite Brethren. Intrigued, I got close enough to overhear part of the conversation. Her family is offering an empty soddy. It’d be better than this.”

  Martin scanned the room, feeling claustrophobic. “Sounds good. But shouldn’t we allow a family with children to take it?”

  “I heard her say she only has room for two on her sled. I’ll go see what I can do.”

  Within the hour, a pretty girl entered the building and drew Martin’s attention. She had blond hair and wide-set, large, slightly slanted eyes. Her countenance was serious and determined. She definitely wasn’t from the train, or he would’ve noticed her earlier. At least Filipp would’ve noticed her.

  He did now. “There she is! Let’s go.”

  Martin scrambled to his feet, amazed Filipp hadn’t mentioned her beauty.

  Filipp made quick introductions. “We understand you’re offering a soddy?”

  Hanna replied, “Yes, you’re welcome to stay in it. But my mother is ill, and I need to return at once. Can we talk along the way?”

  Martin snatched up his belongings even as Hanna led them outside. When his brother noticed her marked limp, he touched her arm. “Are you all right.”

  She jerked it away, her chin jutting upward. “I’m fine.”

  It gave Filipp enough pause that Martin found himself standing next to a sled, which was
equipped with steerage that allowed its passengers to stand but appeared too small for their use. He voiced his concern. “This holds three?”

  “All the time. My brothers are a bit smaller though.” Her blue eyes twinkled as she looked at Martin. “You’ll have to hold my waist. Filipp can hold yours. And you can both help push.”

  Filipp grinned at him and nudged him to get on first. He tried to resist, not wanting to be the one so tightly sandwiched.

  She gave the hint of a smile, her eyelashes glistening with snow. “I won’t bite, Martin. We’re fully bundled in clothing, so I won’t even feel your touch. And I’m not making more than one trip.”

  “I’ll drive,” Martin replied.

  “No thanks. I wouldn’t even be able to see over your back. You don’t know the way, and it’s my sled.”

  He appreciated her logic if not the fact she’d singled him out to be the one sandwiched. Seeing no other option to get to the soddy, he stepped onto the sled and felt Filipp embark behind him.

  Hanna pushed off. “It’s like rowing a boat if we work in sync.”

  It took awhile to get the hang of it. They made good time going downhill, but when they went uphill, someone had to get off and pull. Since Filipp was on the back and the strongest of the trio, he did most of the pulling, which gave Martin breathing room as well as a chance to get to know Hanna better.

  She explained how she came to be in town that day, and Martin hoped her father would be agreeable to her spontaneous offer. “The soddy will need some work. We use it for storage. But it has a stove and a few old furnishings.”

  “We’re en route to Canada and may find ourselves living in a soddy for a while, so it will be good practice.”

  “Why are you traveling in winter?”

  “We’re scouting for our family. Dad has a job he couldn’t leave, and if all goes well, the family will join us in the spring.”

  “Sounds like you have it all planned out. It appears God is providing for you. You’re obviously Russian. You’ve probably noticed this is a Russian Mennonite Brethren settlement. It may be His way of showing you He is caring for you and favoring you on this venture.”

  “I know.” What were the chances of getting stranded with other Mennonites? “It does seem to be a God sign.” And it didn’t hurt that his hostess was fetching and strong, appealing traits in a female. No matter what shape the soddy was in, this was more interesting than being cramped at the Immigration House.

  ♦ ♦ ♦

  Martin’s story intrigued Hanna. And although she’d claimed she wouldn’t feel his touch, she did. Very much so. As when they went downhill, he leaned heavily against her. Though she normally was one with the sled—and, as Dad claimed, quite agile—Martin’s presence affected her attentiveness. Quite belatedly, she noticed a newly fallen log blocking the road. “Jump!” she shouted.

  She leaped, and everything else went blurry until she opened her eyes and found herself sitting in a snowbank. The brothers scrambled to their feet from the opposite side of the road and hurried to her aid. Filipp reached her first. “Are you all right?”

  “Are those the only words you know?” she retorted tartly.

  “This time, I was referring to your eyesight.”

  They glared at each other a moment.

  The way Martin’s lip twitched, he enjoyed his brother’s discomfort. He silently held out a hand to her. While both men were strangers to her, from the start she’d been inclined toward Martin. For some reason, she allowed him to help her. She brushed off. “I just hope the sled’s not damaged.”

  Filipp had already retrieved it and was pulling it around the log back onto the snowy road on the other side. “Looks fine,” he said. “Maybe I should drive?”

  “Does the soddy still seem appealing?” she asked.

  “It does to me,” Martin replied.

  “Then both of you, on the back.”

  “Quit distracting her,” Filipp warned. “I can’t see a thing back here.”

  Biting back a grin, she shoved off and laughed when she caught both men off guard. But she quickly chastised herself. Her family remained at home working hard with Mom sick while she flirted with two strangers, one whose touch sent electricity through her body.

  “Filipp’s right,” she said. “Let me concentrate on driving. It’s not far now.”

  She felt Martin’s hand rest briefly on her shoulder. “I didn’t mean to rattle you.”

  She tried to ignore his touch, remaining quiet, brooding, and watchful.

  When they reached home, Dad and Viktor were shoveling snow, digging out the barn door—which had become a routine chore and one which appeared to be a losing battle against the snow.

  Dad set down his shovel and seemed inquisitive, but it was Hanna who broke the silence. “How is Mom?”

  “The doctor saw her and left already.”

  “I’m surprised we didn’t meet him on the way.”

  “He’s checking on some neighbors before he heads back to the village. He said all the schoolchildren made it home safe.”

  “Thank God,” Hanna replied. “And Mom?”

  “He gave us something for her cough and will try to come back in a few days if he can make it through the snow.” He turned his attention to the brothers. “He mentioned the trouble with the train. Are you passengers?”

  Filipp introduced themselves. “And Hanna offered us your soddy. I hope you’ve no qualms. We can take over your shoveling.”

  “Good thinking, Hanna.” Dmitri paused to consider the offer. “Maybe later. For now, go and get settled so that you can have a fire and bed tonight. Tomorrow I’ll find something for you to do.”

  “Thanks. We appreciate the hospitality.”

  Viktor, who’d been curiously silent until now, asked, “Did the train run off the tracks?”

  “No. But it was slow going, and we were fortunate to make it to the station.”

  Hanna felt relieved of her family’s acceptance. Though she’d never doubted her decision, she’d been feeling guilty for entertaining her handsome guests. She shook away her thoughts and motioned. “Grab shovels and follow me. Let’s go open up the soddy.”

  Chapter 3

  Martin followed the path Hanna made with her snowshoes, each step sinking to his thigh. If he didn’t know better, it would seem she was leading them into a frozen wilderness. But suddenly a dome shape materialized within a small thicket of trees. Upon reaching it, he could see some mud bricks peaking through the snow. Most of the soddy, however, was buried in the white hillside.

  “Here we are.” She shrugged apologetically.

  It was easy to see the first order of business was digging out the door.

  “I’d help, but I must check on Mom and prepare supper.”

  Martin quickly replied, “You’ve already gone out of your way for us. And this doesn’t look so bad, the way it’s sheltered.”

  “It was once a good home for us.” She smiled. “Come to the house for firewood.”

  “We’ll earn our keep.”

  “I’ve no doubts. But we’ve plenty to share.”

  He wondered what it would be like to have ample and enough to share. His family barely scraped by feeding their nine mouths. “Thanks. For everything.”

  She nodded and turned to go. As soon as she was out of earshot, Filipp laughed.

  Tossing a shovelful of snow to the side, Martin bristled. “What’s so funny?”

  “Watching you watch her. You aren’t immune to women after all.”

  “If you want to sleep warm tonight, then put your energy into your work and not your mouth.”

  After that, they worked in silence to dig out the door, which also needed to be unboarded. When they burst inside, rodents scattered, but Martin was pleased to see wood flooring and a stove. “This is better than I’d imagined.”

  Filipp examined some pallets stacked in a corner and a swarm of dust filled the air. He coughed then waved his hand in front of his face with a grin. “Rats un
der there. But the soddy seems dry. Ready to take possession?”

  Grabbing his shovel and opening the door with a grin, Martin nodded. “Ready.”

  Filipp kicked the pallets, and rodents scattered everywhere. A battle pursued. Martin mostly missed. Filipp proved to be quicker with the shovel. But Martin found his talent in shooing them out of the soddy. When at last they couldn’t scare up another living thing, he leaned on his shovel. “Want to sweep or go after firewood?”

  “Far be it from me to hinder love. You go.”

  “There’s nothing to it. We aren’t staying here. So there can’t be.”

  “Oh, there’s something to it. Just enjoy it while you can, little brother.”

  Feigning disgust, Martin started toward the house, thankful that in spite of the snow, a path of sorts was taking shape and making the task easier. Filipp was more practiced with women, and he was right about the matter. Even if they were on a Canadian mission, he couldn’t resist the draw that Hanna had immediately held over him. And he was thankful Filipp was behaving and not pursuing her for himself. For Filipp would steal kisses and leave her brokenhearted, but Martin would withhold his pleasures so that she need not get hopeful over a relationship that could never be and get hurt when the day came for them to leave. But secretly, he hoped the snow would continue to fall for a few more days so he could bask in her beauty and make a few more memories to last him through the cold winter nights.

  At the Friesens’ main house, he stepped onto a small porch and knocked at the door.

  Hanna opened it, looking domestic with a kerchief on her head and rubbing her hands on an apron. She wore a modest dark dress with black stockings peeking out beneath. It comforted him to be among his own people.

  “The soddy is good.”

  She laughed. “The depot was really bad, wasn’t it?”

  “Not so many rats though.”

  “I could hear you waging war all the way up here.”

  He found her easier to talk to than most women and fun to tease. “Now, Hanna, you know we don’t believe in war.”

 

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