A Texas Christmas

by Thomas, Jodi Jodi Thomas

  Sleep had evaded Rand.

  First, he worried that the children weren’t warm enough, so he’d ventured upstairs to make certain they hadn’t thrown their covers off. Then, of course, he’d stopped on his way back to check on Sarah, who was snuggled deep beneath the quilts. He’d added logs to the fire twice. Once back in bed, he tried unsuccessfully to get some sleep.

  After what seemed like hours passed, Rand had pulled on his boots and a jacket to check on sounds coming from the livery. Finding nothing out of order, he returned to his bed figurin’ that the dang mama cat that had a litter up in the hayloft was probably playing around upsetting the horses. He supposed her kittens were big enough to wean, although he hadn’t seen hide nor hair of them. A family of felines was another thing he wasn’t too keen on inheriting.

  Rand couldn’t remember the last time he had slept late.

  Typically, by the time the rest of the businesses opened their doors, Rand had already put in several hours of work. As far back as he could remember, a hard day’s work never scared him. Even when he worked on the Waco suspension bridge and came home exhausted, with little rest, he was up and raring to go long before sunrise.

  Taking a deep breath, he exhaled, relishing his memories.

  That’s when he sensed someone beside his bed. Generally, that would put him on full alert, even make him reach for his Colt, but this smelled of peppermint, probably coming from the supply of peppermint sticks he’d been saving for a while from bags of Arbuckle coffee.

  He kept his eyes shut and tried not to move, although he could make out the twins between his thick eyelashes. Lying flat on his back, most likely all they saw was his beard, sideburns, and mustache, so what were the little tarts up to?

  “Is he dead?” the tiny girl’s voice said.

  “Naw, he ain’t dead,” Damon said, barely above a whisper.

  Rand felt pressure on the side of the bed as they leaned down on their elbows and used the mattress to support their chins. He could feel their minty breath against his cheeks.

  “Bet he is, and now I won’t get any warm milkth,” Addie Claire said with tears in her voice.

  “Don’t begin that cryin’. He ain’t dead.”

  “How do you know?”

  “’Cause the hair in his nose is still movin’.” They both leaned closer. “See, it’s twitchin’ around, so he ain’t dead.”

  “How’d you know that?” Addie Claire asked.

  “Saw a bear asleep one night, and he looked jest like that.” Damon had obviously fabricated an explanation.

  “But Mr. Frumpy isn’t a bear.”

  “Nope, but there could be a bear under all his hair.”

  A bear! Heaven to Betsy!

  Rand couldn’t contain temptation. He let out a hearty “grrr,” and sat straight up in bed, stretching his hands out in front of him.

  The twins returned bloodcurdling screams, louder than anything Rand believed he’d ever heard out of such small mouths. He was pretty sure they stirred up dust when they leaped up and ran for the door.

  Rand doubled up with laughter that echoed off the closedin walls of the tiny room. He couldn’t recall the last time he laughed so hard.

  From the smell of coffee brewing, the day had begun, and it wasn’t even sun-up yet.

  “What in the Hades is going on?” Sarah appeared in the doorway with her hands on her hips. Addie Claire peeped from behind Sarah’s calico skirt and Rand spied Damon’s boots on the other side. Sarah protected her chicks like a mother hen.

  Well, true to form, he’d sent more kids hidin’ behind their mama’s skirt tails, but this time they had a reason to be scared of him. Not on purpose, mind you, just something he couldn’t resist doing.

  From her red cheeks and her blond hair perfectly in place, he’d say Sarah had been awake for a while, so the screaming hadn’t sent her scurrying down the stairs to see what was wrong with the children.

  Sarah looked him up and down. When she realized he was in his drawer tail, she directed her attention away from him and onto the children, instructing them to go back into the kitchen.

  “I’ll be there in a minute,” she said.

  Once they were gone, Rand tossed the quilt back and stood up.

  She ducked her head, as though she’d never seen a man in his union suit before; but then he’d imagine she’d probably never seen a man in first-thing-in-the-morning condition before either.

  Rand grabbed for his pants and stepped into them. “Sorry if I upset the little ones. I was just funnin’ with them.”

  “They aren’t upset as much as scared.” She looked down at him, now that he was sitting on the side of the bed putting on his boots. “Children scream at anything that surprises them, but you shouldn’t have deliberately scared them.”

  “Well, they shouldn’t have been lookin’ at the hair in my nose.” He ran his left palm over his thick beard. “All men have hair in their nose.” He quickly changed the subject. It certainly wasn’t appropriate for discussion between a man and a woman.

  “I’ve got to go feed the animals.” Rand snorted, a tad upset that she didn’t see the humor in what he’d done. It’d been on a whim and out of character for him. He’d never been spontaneous, and now he knew why.

  One thing was certain, the priorities of his day had just changed. A haircut and shave jumped to the top of his list. Unless a miracle happened, from the amount of light streaming in the window, they wouldn’t be going to Sarah’s aunt’s hotel anytime soon, so he might as well not tempt the children to further investigate his facial hair.

  “I’ll make sure the twins play quietly and not bother you again.” She pushed back a tendril of blond hair and tucked it back behind her ear. “I have coffee made.”

  “I can smell it,” he replied in the only way he knew how: with a minimum of words.

  She took a deep breath and shot him a polite, yet brittle smile. “The children’s clothes are dry, so as soon as I can get our things together, we’ll be ready to go to the hotel.” She stiffened her back and squared her shoulders, obviously trying to show him there was no compromising. “I appreciate your hospitality and letting us barge in here, but I’ll not bother you for breakfast. We can eat with—”

  “The children need breakfast,” he interrupted.

  “I know how to take care of the children, and I think it’s best we get out of your way as soon as possible. I didn’t mean to be a burden on you.” She swallowed hard. “The weather is something I had no control over.”

  He read in her voice . . . “And neither do you!”

  “You’re not going anywhere,” he snapped much too quickly.

  Sarah set her chin in a stubborn line and raised her eyebrow in surprise. He’d been too sharp, and he realized it.

  Rand tried to soften his tone, which was somewhat like toning down the sound of an approaching steam engine. “If you’ve looked outside, you’d know we’re smack-dab in the middle of a blizzard and nobody is going anywhere for a while.”

  “I should have realized that. I hope the train gets here with the Christmas bell,” she said in a much friendlier voice. “The children were looking forward to hearing it ring on Christmas.”

  “Not likely. If it’s as bad outside as I think it will be, it might be days before we can dig out.”

  To his surprise, he didn’t see any disappointment in her eyes, rather a glimmer that he took as relief.

  “I need to tend to the horses,” he again said.

  Rand swore she smelled of sugar and spice as he passed her, or was it the biscuits in the pan on the sideboard?

  “Coffee sure will go good with those biscuits. There’s a jar of jam in the cupboard.” Stopping, he turned to her. “I don’t know what kind of jam. Might be plum or chokeberry. And I meant what I said about making yourself at home. We’re stuck together for a bit now, so as long as you and the kids are here, my home is yours.” He stopped, and after giving his next statement a little thought, added, “Up in the bedroom w
here the twins slept, you’ll find a trunk that belonged to my mama. There’s knittin’ needles and yarn, also some hand towels to stitch on, if you get bored.”

  “Thanks. Please don’t let us be a bother, we’ll be fine.”

  “You’re no bother.” Without looking back at her, he walked through the great room directly to the forge and added wood. He used the bellows to fuel the fire.

  Flames leaped higher and higher.

  Fuller and fuller.

  Hotter and hotter.

  He pumped the bellows as though they would relieve some of his frustration, but for once, it couldn’t lay the blame on others. He’d now have to wallow in a mess of his own making.

  The words of his father came to mind. “Doesn’t matter how high the manure is, it’s how even it’s spread out in the end that counts.” At the moment, Rand sure as hell had created a lot of manure for one man to handle.

  For just a flash, Rand considered jumping into the roaring fire to see if he was as tough as he thought he was. He’d never been soft and cuddly, probably not as a baby, not as a companion, and certainly not as a husband.

  He’d managed to handle the whole morning pretty dern lousy, but he’d reacted the only way he knew how—bossy and unyielding.

  Fighting heat, smoke, flames, and noise for so many years contributed to his roughness, but nothing had prepared him to be snowed in with two kids and a gorgeous, strongminded woman.

  After he finished his chores, he’d go back in and drink coffee with Sarah and try to mend things with her, make her understand that what she saw was what she got with him. That is, if she hadn’t already bundled up the children and sloshed their way to the hotel.

  Rand reached for his apron, but an envelope caught his eye. It was weighted down by a pothook he’d made a few days before. He picked it up and read “Mr. Humphrey. Personal,” written in what Rand could only describe as hen scratching.

  Who would have left him a letter?

  Just as he was about to open the envelope, a terrifying scream, as shrill as Rand had ever heard in his born days, echoed through the air.

  Rand dropped the envelope and rushed to the great room where the commotion was coming from.

  One word followed another scream . . . FIRE!

  Chapter 7

  Addie Clare’s scream seemed to go on forever. Sarah’s heart nearly jumped out of her chest and fright washed over her, yet she knew she wasn’t nearly as frightened as the little girl.

  “Fire!” Addie Claire stood in the doorway separating the great room from the blacksmith’s shop staring at the ferocious fire in the forge. She covered her eyes with her arms. Trembling, she screamed, “Don’t touch. Don’t touch or you’ll burn up, too.”

  Damon appeared out of nowhere. “A bear cain’t be burned up.”

  Addie Claire pounded her brother on the chest. “He can, too.” Tears rolled down her cheeks, landing on her blouse, while her little fists continued to hit at her brother.

  Sarah took Damon by the shoulders and squatted down to be on his level. “Leave your sister be.” She swatted him on the backside and he scurried off.

  She quickly turned to the little girl and took her into her arms. “It’ll be all right, Addie Claire. I promise.”

  Addie Claire sank into Sarah’s arms and rested her head on her shoulder. Tears soaked through Sarah’s blouse. “Mr. Frumpy might get burned to death,” she cried.

  Sarah pulled the little girl to her and rocked the child until she settled down a bit.

  Things happened so quickly that Sarah didn’t even notice Rand had left his post at the forge and rushed to their side. He now squatted down beside Sarah.

  “Hey, little lady,” he addressed the child. “The fire won’t hurt anybody, as long as you are careful and know how to handle it. It can be your best friend or your worst enemy.”

  “It hurts you to death.” She looked up for only a second before burying her face again in Sarah’s arms.

  While she respected the fact that Rand was experienced and comfortable around fire, he wouldn’t understand why Addie Claire was so terrified unless he knew what she had gone through.

  Since Sarah and the children would be leaving Kasota Springs as soon as the snow subsided and would probably never see Rand again, there was no need to explain anything to him.

  The little girl stopped shaking and dried her eyes on Sarah’s sleeve before she looked up at Rand.

  Sarah followed her gaze up to the giant of a man, and by the expression on his face she considered that he just might have a heart as big as his frame and understand much more than she first thought.

  “Little lady, how about coming with me and I’ll show you and your brother what a blacksmith does?”

  She looked over at Sarah. “Can I, Mummy?”

  Sarah nodded approval. The child didn’t need to go through life being scared of fire, be it a candle or a blaze in a forge. Rand seemed genuinely concerned.

  “Go get your brother and meet me in the shop, and I’ll let you touch some of a blacksmith’s tools.”

  Addie Claire looked at him in a leery way before she scampered off yelling, “Bubba, Bubba.”

  Rand pulled to his feet. “While she gets him, I’ll bring in your bags. They are in the shop.”

  Sarah exchanged a smile with Rand. “Thank you. You haven’t eaten breakfast.”

  “I’ll eat extra dinner, then.” Beneath his scraggly beard and mustache, a boldly handsome face smiled warmly down at her. “I’m sorry she got scared.”

  “It’s not your fault.” She tugged at the threadbare apron around her waist. “Are you sure you have time to mess with the children?”

  “From the looks of the weather, all we have is time.” As though he suddenly realized he was exposing his venerable side, he set his jaw and let a half frown form on his face.

  Turning from her, he walked away.

  In short order, Rand returned with her bags and took them upstairs.

  The twins met Rand at the foot of the stairs and followed him into his shop.

  Sarah smiled to herself. No doubt the children were in good hands, and she’d better get busy fixing some dinner. The chicken and dumplings were nearly gone, but there was enough for a noonday meal. She’d nosed around earlier and found plenty of supplies to prepare supper.

  Before she did anything, she had to change out of her day-old traveling suit into something more suitable. She went upstairs and, after locating her trunk Rand had left, dressed in a brown calico day dress accented with red and trimmed in ivory lace. She touched a sprig of mistletoe Addie Claire had pinned on the lapel before leaving Carroll Springs, then tied on a red apron she had sewn especially for the holidays. That made her feel more festive, but what she saw next ruined the moment.

  The small bag carrying the children’s Christmas presents was nowhere in sight. She knew for certain she’d left Carroll Creek with it, but apparently somewhere along the way, it’d been misplaced or lost.

  How was she going to explain to the children that there would be no Santa that year?

  With disappointment weighing heavy on her heart, she went back to the kitchen. It would work out somehow, she just knew it. There would be Santa, but how? Maybe the weather would break and she could buy some things from the local mercantile. After all, it was two days before Christmas. Surely Mother Nature would cooperate. Surely.

  Sarah pulled a bowl from the cupboard and sifted flour in it. She deliberately switched her thoughts to Rand. She’d never been so smitten by a man in her life. She shuddered. Of all the complications she didn’t need right now, a man’s attention topped the list. She’d come twenty-five years without one, and now wasn’t the time to fix what wasn’t broken. She’d been caring for the children just fine without anyone else’s help.

  Her thoughts wandered from one thing to another for a while before settling on just how secure she’d felt the night before when Rand had taken her upstairs and put her to bed. Although she had been so exhausted that she’d b
arely responded, she recalled enjoying being in his arms and wished it had been longer.

  In a state between sleep and being awake, she had snuggled deep against his hardened chest, and her head fit perfectly in the hollow between his shoulders and neck where she could feel the beating of his heart. Rand had smelled of leather and outdoors in a manly way.

  Just remembering last night set her heart to racing.

  Enthralled in her thoughts about Rand, she forced herself to focus on the task of making bread for supper.

  Remember, Sarah, you do not need or want a man in your life!

  Rand wasn’t exactly sure he could convince the little girl that fire was something to respect but not be scared of, but he’d do the best he could. No doubt something had happened in her life to make her so terrified of the flames.

  Damon rushed over to a sledgehammer leaning against the wall. Although he could pick it up, he couldn’t lift it high enough to do any damage. He grunted and tried to lift it up again, but failed.

  “That hammer weighs somewhere around thirteen pounds, so you’ll have to grow up a bit, tadpole, before you can sling one over your shoulder,” Rand said.

  “I’m big enough.” Damon grunted and tried it a third time before allowing Rand to pick up the hammer and return it to where it belonged.

  Rand stepped over to the worktable and put a file and ball-peen hammer in their proper places.

  Addie Claire’s gaze never left the fire, but after a while she turned her attention to what Rand was doing, then said, “Mr. Frumpy, I can’t see.”

  “Mr. Humphrey,” Damon corrected her.

  “That’s what I said . . . Mr. Frumpy.” She stomped her feet in a show of frustration with her twin brother.

  “Just a minute and I’ll see what I can do,” Rand said.

  He considered letting the children stand on a crate, but they might fall and get hurt. He couldn’t take the chance on that happening, so he cleaned away some of the soot from the table.