The Christmas Vow

by Shanna Hatfield

  Arlan gave her a pleased smile and nodded his head. “That’s what she keeps telling me.” He stood as the crowd began to wander back downstairs for cider and dessert. “If I ask nicely, can you help me haul her props downstairs, Adam?”

  “I’d be happy to.” Adam kissed Tia’s cheek. “As long as the queen doesn’t mind.”

  She rolled her eyes at him and fluttered her hand toward the stage. “Go on, but you better hurry or I can’t promise there’ll be any gingerbread cake left for you.”

  “Save me a piece, Queenie. Please?” Adam winked at her and followed Arlan behind the stage.

  Tia glanced around and saw Toby skipping out the door, holding hands with Erin Dodd.

  Satisfied he behaved himself, she grinned when Ginny looped arms with her. The two of them descended the stairs, talking about their plans for the following day when they’d gather at Luke and Filly’s home for Christmas dinner. In addition to the Granger and Stratton families, Arlan and Alex, Adam, Tia and Toby, the Dodd family, and the Bruner’s would all meet at Granger House to celebrate Christmas together and enjoy a holiday feast.

  As she reached the bottom of the stairs, Tia once again thought she caught a glimpse of the judge in the milling crowd, but knew her mind had to be playing tricks on her. She rubbed her temple and sighed.

  “Are you unwell, Tia? You look a little pale.” Ginny place a hand on her shoulder and glanced at her in concern.

  “I’m fine, Ginny, but thank you for asking. It’s probably just all the excitement of the day.”

  “It is an exciting day, isn’t it?” Ginny smiled at her then waved to her mother-in-law. She excused herself to help Filly and some of the other women pour coffee and cider.

  Unreasonably unsettled, Tia looked around until she located Toby and Erin sharing a sugar cookie and giggling together in the parlor with a group of children.

  Relieved to see her son having such a wonderful time with his little friends, she turned into the dining room and cut a large slice of gingerbread for Adam and a small piece of pumpkin pie Alex had brought.

  She visited with some of the women from church as she ate the pie then went to check on Toby.

  The boy was not in the front room with the other children, although Erin was there. Mindful the two youngsters generally stayed together, she set Adam’s piece of cake on a side table and approached Erin.

  “Erin, have you seen Toby?”

  The little girl nodded her head and swallowed the bite of cookie in her mouth. “He said he needed to use the necessary.”

  “Thank you, sweetheart.” Tia cupped her chin and gave her a warm smile. “And thank you for being such a good friend to Toby.”

  Tia left the front parlor and strode down the hall toward the bathroom. The door stood open so she returned to the dining room, hoping to find Toby there, snitching more cookies.

  He wasn’t among those in the room, so Tia rushed into the kitchen and asked if anyone had seen Toby.

  “I haven’t, Tia, but he’s got to be around here somewhere,” Filly said, cutting a sheet cake into squares and placing the slices onto plates. “Have you asked Erin?”

  “She said he went to the bathroom, but he wasn’t in there. I checked the front parlor and the dining room.” An impending sense of panic made Tia’s breath come in short gasps as she knotted her hands at her waist.

  Filly quickly wiped her hands on a dishtowel then reached out and grabbed one of Tia’s hands. “Come on, we’ll find him.”

  Together, they checked the library, the guest rooms on the main floor of the house, even the linen closet and didn’t see Toby.

  As they hurried down the hall, they ran into Arlan, Adam, and Luke as they returned from carrying Alex’s props outside to her magic wagon.

  Immediately, Adam stepped forward and grasped Tia’s arms. Concerned by the fear in her eyes and the grim set of her mouth, he gave her an imploring glance. “What happened? What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t find Toby. He was eating cookies with Erin one moment and the next, he was just gone.” Tia leaned against Adam, drawing strength from his presence. “What if the judge sent someone else to try and take him? What if…”

  Adam shook his head. “The sheriff wired the U.S. Marshal’s office in Portland yesterday. They were going to arrest him based on the confession from Mr. Bass.”

  “But Adam, if nothing’s wrong, where is he?” Tia clutched the lapels of his coat in her hands and gave them a frantic shake. “I can feel it, Adam. Something’s happened.”

  “Then we’ll find him.” Adam turned to his brother and his friends. They agreed to search the house as well as outside.

  Alex sent one of her older students to fetch the sheriff who’d already returned to his office.

  Arlan and Adam pulled on their coats and gloves. Tia started to reach for hers, but Adam shook his head. “Stay here, Tia. If Toby is in the house, you need to be here for him.”

  “But, Adam…” Tia blinked to keep the tears pooling in her eyes from spilling down her cheeks.

  “I’ll find him, Tia. I promise.” Adam kissed her full on the mouth. It wasn’t a kiss borne of passion, but one shared from love and apprehension. “You know I always keep my promises.”

  She nodded and squeezed his hand. “Hurry, Adam. Please hurry.”

  Arlan and Adam raced outside with Luke and Blake.

  “Let’s spread out and go through town a street at a time,” Luke suggested. “Blake and I’ll take the north half if you two take the south.”

  “Good idea,” Adam said, turning and walking down a block with Arlan beside him. “If you were trying to get a child out of town without being seen, where would you go?”

  “The livery,” Arlan said and took off running with Adam hot on his heels.

  Together, they raced into Douglas McIntosh’s livery and blacksmith shop. The man looked up from the counter where he did his paperwork and smiled. “What can I do for the Guthry brothers today?”

  “Have you seen any strangers, Douglas?” Adam asked as a feeling of dread made knots form in his stomach.

  “Sure have. He left about half an hour ago. Man had a rented sleigh from Heppner and said he planned to make the train this evening. He came in this morning and paid me a tidy sum to feed and water the team of horses, and to keep them ready to go this afternoon.”

  “Did this man have anything with him when he returned?” Adam asked, desperate to know if Toby had in fact been abducted.

  Douglas removed his hat and thoughtfully scratched his head. “Come to think of it, he was carrying a small trunk. He seemed to struggle with it, like it was heavy, but when I offered to set it in the sleigh, he insisted on taking care of it himself.”

  “Was there anything strange in the sleigh?” Arlan asked. “Anything at all?”

  “He had two heavy lap robes, a jar of peppermint sticks and a few children’s books.” Douglas looked from Arlan to Adam.

  The two brothers nodded at each other in silent agreement. Adam ran out the door to let Blake and Luke know they were riding after whoever had snuck into town and back out again in the rented sleigh.

  “We’re going to need our horses, right now.” Arlan hurried to saddle his horse, Orion, while Douglas saddled Adam’s rented horse.

  The sheriff caught up with Adam and agreed to ride along while Luke and Blake stayed in town, continuing to search for Toby.

  “Do you think the judge sent someone else after Toby?” Adam asked as Arlan approached riding his horse and leading Adam’s.

  The sheriff shook his head as he mounted his own horse. “I didn’t want to worry you on Christmas Eve, but I received a telegram this morning that the judge wasn’t home when they went to arrest him. His wife said he had business out of town and planned to be back sometime Christmas Day.”

  “Then we better catch him before he makes it to Heppner and gets on that train.” Adam swung onto the back of his horse, racing out of town.

  An hour later, they topped a rise and
saw a sleigh gliding along the snow-covered road ahead of them.

  “That’s got to be them,” the sheriff said to Adam as they spurred their horses forward. In minutes, they overtook the sleigh.

  A pompous, richly dressed man scowled at them as Adam and Arlan rode on either side of the sleigh, tugging the team to a stop.

  “What is the meaning of this?” the man demanded, glaring at them. “I’ll have you arrested for detaining me if you don’t release the horses this instant.”

  “Oh, I don’t think that’ll be necessary,” the sheriff said, pointing to the bronze star pinned to his coat. “These gentlemen are helping me with a problem. See we’ve got a little boy missing back in Hardman and heard you might know something about that.”

  The man scoffed and waved his hand toward the back seat of the sleigh. “As you can see, there are no children in my sleigh. Now, get out of my way, I have a train to catch.”

  The sheriff shook his head. “Might I assume you’re Judge Devereux?”

  “Yes. Have you heard of me, even out here in this backwater territory?”

  “Oh, we’ve heard of you all right.” The sheriff watched as Adam swung out of his saddle and stepped next to the sleigh, looking for any sign of Toby.

  A small trunk, just big enough to hold a child rested on the floor in the back of the sleigh. He reached out to lift it and the judge turned on him, cracking the whip he held across Adam’s arm.

  Before the judge hit him again, Adam jerked the whip out of his hand and tossed it to the ground.

  Quickly working the latch free on the trunk, he lifted the lid and gasped, gaping at Toby bound hand and foot.

  Adam growled in rage and punched the judge in the face so hard, it knocked him off the seat of the sleigh into the snow.

  “What have you done to my boy?” Adam untied Toby’s hands and feet then tenderly lifted the child out of the trunk, terrified by his limp body and shuttered eyes.

  The little chest rose and fell, so Adam knew Toby still breathed, but he remained unconscious.

  “It’s just a little chloroform,” the judge said, holding a handkerchief to his bloody nose as he sat in the snow. “That boy isn’t yours, he’s mine. I intend to raise him in the manner I see fit.”

  “Well, now, that’s going to be a little hard since you’ll be spending the rest of your life in prison.” The sheriff dismounted and locked handcuffs around Cedric’s wrists. “Where we come from, what you did is called kidnapping. Most law enforcement officials and judges who aren’t in the pockets of criminals take offense to that.” The sheriff shoved Cedric into the sleigh then tied his horse to the back of it. “With the full confession your friend Mr. Bass gave us, including the details about the disappearance of Mr. Nivens and your involvement in any number of crimes through the years, you can plan on never again seeing the light of day as a free man.”

  Finally grasping the fact that his carefully plotted world crashed around his ears, the judge lost his bravado and began to plead for mercy.

  The sheriff looked to Adam and tipped his head toward the judge. Adam reached out with one clenched fist and hit Cedric’s chin with just enough force, his head snapped back and knocked the man senseless.

  “Thanks, Adam. I wasn’t looking forward to listening to his whining all the way back to town. I suppose I could take him on to Heppner, but my wife has a nice meal planned this evening and I’m not of a mind to miss it.” The sheriff turned the sleigh around while Adam continued to hold Toby in his arms.

  Arlan snatched one of the heavy robes off the seat as the sheriff drove past him then walked over to where Adam stood with Toby. Carefully, he tapped the child’s cheeks while Adam tried to coax Toby awake.

  “Come on, now, Toby, time to open your eyes so we can go back to your mama and have a merry Christmas. You don’t want to miss out on the Christmas festivities at the church. How will Pastor Chauncy make it through the program without you there to be one of the shepherds?”

  Toby’s eyelashes fluttered and Adam gave Arlan a hopeful glance.

  “You can do it, son. Open those eyes and give me a peek.” Adam knelt on one knee in the snow, shifting Toby so he sat on his bent leg with his arm supporting his back.

  The child’s head listed to one side and Arlan tapped his cheeks again. “Come on, Toby. If you wake up, I promise Aunt Alex will show you a special magic trick.”

  “She will?” Toby mumbled as his eyelashes fluttered again.

  Arlan grinned. “She sure will.”

  Toby released a ragged breath and slowly his eyes opened. Although he seemed somewhat dazed and foggy, he didn’t appear any worse for wear.

  “What happened?” Toby asked, as Adam hugged him tight and kissed his forehead.

  Rather than answer his question, Adam handed the boy to Arlan while he mounted his horse. He held his arms out for his son. Between the two brothers, they got the heavy blanket wrapped around the boy as Adam cradled him in one arm in front of him.

  “What do you remember, Toby,” Adam asked as they started back toward town.

  “Erin and I were eating cookies with our friends and I had to use the necessary. Mrs. Granger has such a nice one, doesn’t she?” Toby asked.

  “She certainly does,” Adam agreed, eager to find out how Cedric had managed to kidnap Toby right beneath their noses. “Then what happened.”

  “Well, after I went to the potty, I wanted another cookie, one for me and Erin, so I went to get one. Then I saw Grandfather. He had my coat and hat and said Mama asked him to walk me home. Grandfather picked me up and carried me outside. That’s all I member.”

  “That’s good, Toby,” Adam said, offering the child a reassuring smile.

  “Did you see my Grandfather?” Toby asked, sitting up a little as he came more fully awake.

  “I did, Toby, but he had to leave and I don’t think you’ll see him for a long, long time.”

  Toby released a relieved sigh. “That’s good. Mama said we had to be polite to Grandfather and Grandmother, but they aren’t much fun.” Toby wiggled a hand free from his blanket cocoon and reached up to pat Adam’s cheek. “I’m glad you’re my daddy.”

  Adam swallowed down his emotion. “Me, too, son. Me, too.”

  Arlan and Adam urged the horses to hurry home, passing the sleigh halfway back to town. The judge remained knocked out on the seat beside the sheriff and Adam grinned at the lawman as he and Arlan rode past him.

  The sheriff touched the brim of his hat and snapped the lines on the rumps of the team, eager to return to the warmth of his home and his own Christmas Eve plans.

  Adam rode straight to Greg and Dora’s home. Before he had a chance to pull the horse to a full stop, Tia raced down the front steps. Adam swung out of the saddle with a sleeping Toby in his arms. Before he handed the boy to her, he spoke in a hushed tone. “He doesn’t know what happened, Tia. Don’t scare him. The judge dosed him up good with chloroform. All he knows is that his grandfather won’t be back for a long time.”

  “Oh, you saved my baby.” Tears streamed down her cheeks as she took Toby from him and softly kissed her son’s cheek. “I can’t thank you enough, Adam, and you too, Arlan.” She glanced to her brother-in-law as he stood nearby. “Thank you for bringing him home.”

  Adam gave her a tender smile. “He’s my son, too, Tia. I promised to bring him back to you, and I did.”

  “And I promised him my wife would show him a magic trick, so I think I better warn her to have something planned for later.” Arlan kissed Tia’s cheek and patted Adam on the back before taking the reins of the two horses and walking off in the direction of the livery.

  Adam squeezed Tia’s hand. “Let me get your coat then I’ll take you home. Once I get you and Toby settled, I’ll let everyone know to call off the search.” Adam turned to go inside, but Tia held onto his hand. He glanced at their joined fingers then lifted his gaze to her face. “Thank you, Adam.” She placed a soft kiss to his cheek with Toby cradled between them.


  The boy chose that moment to awaken and squirmed. “Ew! Don’t slobbery kiss on me.”

  Adam chuckled and Tia dropped her head, raining kisses on Toby’s cheeks, making him giggle.

  “Hi, Mama.” Toby reached up and patted her face. “May I have another cookie? I didn’t get one earlier.”

  “Yes, baby.” Tia rubbed her nose against his. “Let’s go inside.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  “He’s snoring.” Adam’s soft chuckle made Tia smile as he returned to the parlor after checking on Toby.

  Hesitant to set the little boy’s gifts beneath the tree and fill his stocking, they first made certain he was sound asleep.

  “Under normal circumstances, he’d sleep in late and give me a chance to catch up on my rest. However, I have a feeling Toby will be up bright and early, ready to discover the gifts Santa left for him.”

  “Who can blame him?” Adam asked as he placed an orange in the toe of Toby’s stocking then filled it with foil-wrapped chocolates, peppermints, and a bag of shiny marbles.

  Tia smiled at him from where she set a wooden sled, painted bright red, beneath the tree along with a few other packages wrapped in shiny red and silver paper.

  “That’s quite a sled.” Adam picked it up and admired the sleek curves of the metal runners.

  “Douglas made it for me. I asked him to do it as soon as I knew we’d be here for Christmas,” Tia said, excited for Toby to find it beneath the tree. He’d mentioned several times how much he wanted his own sled.

  “He’ll love it, Tia.” Adam set the sled beneath the fragrant branches of the tree then disappeared down the hall to his room.

  He returned carrying a wooden boat, complete with a sail, and set it beneath the tree. Not big enough Toby could fit in it, the boat did look like a miniature of his favorite in the picture book.

  “Oh, Adam. He’ll be so thrilled.” Tia sank to her knees and ran her hand over the smooth wood side of the boat. “Where on earth did you get it?”

  Adam hunkered down beside her. “I made it, with Blake’s help. If it hadn’t been for his knowledge and tools, I might not have gotten it finished in time for tonight.”