by Danni Roan
Meg’s sweet musical, wild laugh was like a slap in the face to her father, who wheeled to face the girl glaring at her as if she’d come unhinged.
“Oh Pa.” She chortled. “You’ve got it all wrong.” Laughter still shook her as she took in the scene. Hank, huge, young and fit, cowered at the foot of the stairs while her father, white hair spilling over his forehead as fire shot from his ice blue eyes advanced.
Grasping the door handle she turned her head and called softly down the hall. A minute later, Fiona, still holding Eric’s hand came to the door.
“Fi, you have some explaining to do,” Meg said with a smile, ushering her younger sister onto the porch. “Pa’s got the wrong end of the stick. Somehow he got it in his head that Hank wanted to marry me.” A soft giggle escaped her.
Eric, seeing his father’s troubled face dashed through the door, raced down the stairs and took his father’s oversized hand in his own small one.
“Mr. Joshua, why are you saying my pa’s gonna marry Miss Meg?” he asked plaintively. “We want to marry Fona.” His luminous blue eyes sparkled as he looked toward the young woman who stood next to her sister a strained expression on her face.
Joshua James staggered, then leaned against the post of the porch roof. Fiona ran to her father. “Pa?” she said taking his hand. The older man blinked at her, then his features softened.
“Is this true?” he said, all bluff and bluster gone from his voice.
“Yes,” she replied nodding her head and flicking a glance toward Hank and Eric. The little boy, taking his cue, led his father up the stairs to face Fiona and her father.
Joshua dragged a lung full of crisp air into his chest, closed his eyes, and then opened them again. “Girls, someone is going to have to explain this. I’ve been hearing that Hank’s been sparkin’ Meg for weeks now.”
Meg stepped up and took her father’s hand in hers. “We weren’t spraking Pa.” she said, now serious. “I was helping Hank win Fiona.” Both girls blushed and looked at each other for a moment, then smiled. “I could tell she was crazy about him almost from the start.”
“But what about the hand holding, and the huggin’?” Joshua asked still confused.
“I’m not sure who saw what but the only time Hank and I ever held hands was when we shook on my offer to help him get Fi to fall in love with him.” She smiled at her sister, begging for understanding.
“I did hug him the other night when he told me he wanted to talk to you though. I think he’ll be a wonderful brother to me” she added.
Joshua sagged against the porch post. Why did everything he tried to do for his daughters seem to go so haywire, he thought. Then pulling himself together he looked Hank in the eye.
“Do you love her son?” he asked, all animosity gone from his gaze.
“Yes sir” Hank replied, reaching out toward Fiona, who in an instant was tucked in at his side.
“Please let us marry Fona.” Eric’s pleading voice went straight to Joshua’s heart. He smiled back at the boy.
“I think that’s up to Fiona son” Joshua said, now looking at his daughter. “But maybe we’d better let your pa ask her.” He reached out a hand to the tyke, who took it then turned back to see his father go down on one knee in front of Fiona and the others.
“Fiona.” His words were soft his eyes focused fully on her. “Would you be my wife?” He asked.
A bright smile spread across Fiona’s face as she replied. “I’d be honored to be your wife Hank Ballard.”
Rising to his feet Hank lifted her completely off of the ground and kissed her right in front of her father.
As Hank placed Fiona back on the ground, Eric raced to them throwing his arms around both of them with glee.
The announcement in the parlor a few minutes later was met with stunned silence. Several eyes darted toward where Meg leaned negligently against the lintel of the door frame, a smug grin on her face. Even Joshua’s eyes danced with laughter at the shock on the older member’s faces.
The girls on the other hand flew to their sister, hugging her and already chatting about the wedding and all of the special arrangements. Fiona beamed at them all, joy filling her heart to over flowing.
The week leading up to Christmas day was full of activity. Uncle Brion, Winny and their two children made their way down the mountain for the holiday early to avoid any unpleasant weather.
They were delighted that this year there would be another wedding to celebrate. Along with them they brought about the sorriest looking undersized blue roan mule anyone had ever seen. He was scrawny, ridge backed, and puny.
Brion had traded a few ponies to an Indian boy who used the animal to herd sheep but thinking the animal would do better on the flat land away from the heavy snow fall in the hills, had brought it down to the ranch.
“Well and just maybe he’d suit a little boy as a riding pony,” he added as he’d explained the situation.
Walters, always keen for an excuse to go to town, volunteered to head for Casper and fetch the preacher for a Christmas day wedding. Joshua sent word to Benji, who arrived the same day with his lovely wife Cathleen.
The old cow hand and longtime partner of the Broken J looked better than he had in years. His dark eyes glowed happily- apparently married life agreed with him.
Will, working the colt on the slow days, invited Eric to come along and soon Eric was even able to saddle his own mule, with only a little help.
The mule was a curious thing though and since he was kept close to the barn and out buildings, he was able to untie himself and soon got in the way. One day he even wandered into the forge where Deeks was making a strange cooking pot for Chen Lou.
“You scoot now!” the bent blacksmith said to the creature, shooing it away from his fire.
“You’d better go get your mule” Will said to Eric, who was sitting on the corral rail.
Hopping down, Eric raced to the forge where Deeks was repeating his performance.
“Scoot, you ornery cuss” the man said.
Eric grabbed up the animal’s bridle reins and drew it back to the fence where it stood contentedly letting him scratch its long pointy ears.
“I guess Scooter’s a little bit in trouble now” Eric called over to Will as he pulled the leggy colt to a stop on a long lead line.
“Scooter?” Will asked wondering what the boy was talking about.
“Yep, the mule, I’m gonna call him Scooter.” They both laughed.
Hank tried to keep himself busy as the women prepared not only for Christmas but for his wedding. He hardly saw Fiona anymore as she was busy sewing with the other woman who insisted she had to have a new dress to be married in. The ladies spent most of their time in the parlor, talking and gossiping, which meant that the men stayed as far out of their way as possible.
“Congratulations again, Hank,” Isadoro said early one morning as they walked out of the barn each carrying a bucket of milk. “I reckon you’ll be wanting to get that furniture of yours moved into the big house now, won’t you?” the smaller man asked with a glint in his soft brown eyes. Hank stopped so fast in his tracks that the milk threatened to slosh over the edge of the bucket.
Isadoro, laughed. “You hadn’t thought of that had you?”
Hank gazed at the man, still shocked. He’d assumed that Fiona would move into the sod shack. The little structure had become home to him. He then blinked while the older man waited patiently for his thoughts to run their course. Hank’s whole body jerked as his mind raced, where was Eric going to sleep?
Isadoro’s chuckle brought him back to himself and he blushed with shame at not having thought about a new living situation for his wife. Surely she wouldn’t want to move into the little soddy and leave her home.
“Come on son, before the milk freezes in that bucket. We’ll all sit down and have a little talk at breakfast then get it all sorted out.”
Hank’s shoulders sagged in relief, but his cheeks remained rosy.
Placing
the buckets of milk on the work table he gazed about looking for Fiona. She sat at the big table next to Eric, her head bent toward the boy listening intently to something he was saying. Her wild, unruly curls had broken loose of the tight knot they’d been forced into just that morning and hung in ringlets along her ears.
Feeling his gaze on her Fiona lifted her eyes and smiled at the handsome man who would soon be her husband. A soft blush flooded her cheeks as she thought about what that would mean, and she dropped her eyes shyly as he walked over to take his customary seat next to his son.
“Josh,” Iss called across the table after grace had been said. “Seems like we might have a housing situation here.”
All eyes turned toward Isadoro. “I was just tellin’ Hank that he’d have to figure out new housing arrangements once he was married.” He cast his eyes to the end of the table where Hank sat next to Eric and Fiona.
“That’s easy enough to sort out,” The patriarch of the household said smoothly. “Fiona’s room is big enough for both of them and Eric can move into the spare room, or we can make one of the big storage rooms into a place for him.”
Fiona’s eyes grew wide at the conversation and soft pink tinged her cheeks. “Pa,” she whispered, her voice soft. “I…” she hesitated a moment, casting her eyes toward the big man to her left. “I sort of thought I’d move into the soddy,” she finally squeaked. Hank smiled at her in relief.
Josh eyed them both then scratched his head.
“We could add a room to the sod shack easy enough,” Isadoro said “That is if Will and Katie don’t mind sharing some of the lumber we’ve stored for their place.”
“Oh, that would be fine.” Katie chimed in, looking at her husband for agreement.
Will smiled taking her hand. “That sounds like a fine idea.”
“Well that’s settled the,” Josh beamed. “I guess we’ll be getting to work on that right after breakfast.”
Before the week was out a small, slant- roofed room was added to the back of the soddy. Eric was thrilled with the idea of his own room and couldn’t wait to sleep in it. He even had a wood floor as the process of compacting the earth into a hard slab was too difficult in winter.
The interior of the snug room was plaster with heavy lathe and mud (they mudded in winter?) into a room that could keep the weather out. It even had its own small window. Hank moved a small bed and dresser that he’d brought with him into the space and Fiona hung bright curtains, making the room feel like home.
Just two days before Christmas Walt arrived with the preacher. They’d ridden along the trail with a couple from Casper who wanted to see Yellowstone in winter.
The recently established National Park had appealed to them and they’d packed up two sturdy pack mules and headed that way, taking advantage of the relatively mild winter so far. Seeing the small caravan just outside the gate, most of the men gathered in the yard, waiting for Walt and the preacher to amble toward the barn. Joshua waved at the couple as they rode past the ranch.
The man, bundled in heavy sheep skin, his black hair curling around his ears under his hat, smiled a crooked smile at the ranch owner as soft brown eyes glowed. The young man’s wife, wrapped heavily enough in warm winter garb to make her look twice her size, her blonde hair tucked up under a white hat, waved as well as she chatted to her husband about what they might see in the recently named National park. For some reason they seemed familiar to Joshua and he raised a hand in greeting as they trotted on down the trail.
Christmas morning woke to a fresh skiff of snow covering the ranch in a blanket of white. Fiona crept down the stairs silently and gazed out the window at the quiet world. Careful not to wake the others she placed her last few gifts under the tree. Only moments later, the silence was shattered by the thunder of feet descending the stairs as Mae and the twins raced to the tree to see what was there.
Everyone had been working on gifts for weeks or even months and they could barely contain their excitement. Issy, seeing Fiona already there walked over and squeezed her hand, herdeep chocolate eyes softly glowing.
“I’m so happy for your Fiona,” she said, her voice hushed among the noisy morning on the ranch. Lexi was always quiet like Fiona, and looking at her now Fiona realized how little she knew about her studious sister. Of course being a twin meant that Lexi always had her best friend with her. Fiona smiled and wrapped her arm around her younger sibling.
Moments later the whole ranch seemed to cram itself into the large parlor. Men and woman sat about the place on the settee, chairs or even on the floor, when nowhere else was available.
Hank arrived last carrying a sleepy eyed Eric, who roused when he saw the presents under the tree. Feeling bold on his own wedding day, Hank placed his arm around Fiona’s slim waist and brushed a kiss against her cheek.
Joshua, seeing that everyone was present, opened the Bible and began to read from Luke 2:1-14. The Christmas story quietly laid out for all to understand.
“In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree…” His soft deep voice filled the room as every mind turned to thoughts of the most precious gift of all. “…and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son…” absorbed in the sound of her father’s voice, Fiona barely noticed as Hank slipped his arm around her. “…Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to man,” Joshua ended, then closing the good book he looked to the preacher. “Reverend, won’t you say a prayer on this special morning?”
A gentle hush filled the room as the wiry man lifted his voice in prayer.
“Dear Lord,” he began, “today we are not only thankful for the gift of your Son, who came to us, not in glory but in humility, but we are also thankful for His love which grants us access to you. May we learn from His example and show today and always true love to our fellow man. Amen.”
With the benediction, gifts were exchanged. Loud gasps and soft guffaws echoed around the room. Eric’s excited chatter ran like a golden thread through the tapestry of words and wishes.
Fiona finally handed Hank her gift, biting her bottom lip nervously as he unwrapped the plane brown paper. The thick multi-colored scarf tumbled out in folds, long and lush and warm. Hank’s eyes grew wide as he examined each row of color, then wound the thing around his neck.
“I didn’t have enough of one color,” Fiona began in explanation. Hank lowered his handsome face to hers.
“I couldn’t want for anything more,” he whispered.
Breakfast was pure chaos. Even Joshua wasn’t sure how they had enough places for everyone to sit, and he was beginning to wonder if the high strungpreacher might bolt for the door at any time, but the man slipped right into the madness around him with a laugh and a smile.
Nona, Winny, Chen Lou, and even Billy quickly chivied the whole crew out of the kitchen and out of their way as every dish imaginable was prepared for the oven, ice-box, or pantry.
The James girls gathered up Fiona and with much giggling made their way up stairs to prepare the bride for her big day. Hank was repeatedly slapped on the back as he was told to go get ready for his wedding.
Eric, smug in his special status, climbed up onto the big stool in the middle of the kitchen and waited to see what delights would magically appear from the big green cook stove.
Tousling his son’s head before leaving, Hank quickly gathered his things and headed to the bath house. He only had one good suit of clothes, but it had been washed and pressed by Chen Lou and looked more than presentable.
The big bath house was warm as the small stove, pulsed out heat into the heavy walled structure. Hank had only just stripped out of his shirt and trousers when his soon to be father-in-law entered. It seemed that everyone was getting spruced up for the big day.
“Come sit in the sauna with me son.” The older man gestured with his hand as he began to strip out of his winter gear.
Hank hung his long-johns on a peg with his clothes, then wrapping a piece of towel around his lean hips in imitation of the older man, joined him in the sm
all room. Inside the air was hot and dry as hot rocks were heated by the stove in the other room.
Joshua sat down on a bench along the wall then picked up a dipper from a bucket and poured it over the rocks that hissed and sizzled. The damp heat seemed to work its way into every one of Hank’s pores and sweat popped out on his bare skin. He breathed deeply, letting the heat and moisture fill him.
A soft chuckle from Joshua made him open his eyes and turn toward the other man.
“Nervous?” Joshua asked pouring another scoop of water on the rocks.
Hank’s flush had nothing to do with the heat. “Yes sir.”
“I always was, too.” Joshua said pushing his silver white hair out of his face. “I was just a young buck when I married Fiona’s ma,” he stated. “She was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen and I couldn’t believe she’d have me.” He chuckled again. “I thought I’d pass out at our wedding, but I made it through.”
The older man’s eyes took on a faraway look and Hank realized that he and his almost father-in-law both understood, love and loss. A strange comfort settled over him at the thought and a silent prayer rose from his heart toward heaven.
He’d had a long way to come to get where he was on this day, but the joy he felt at the fact that in only a few hours Fiona would be his wife overrode all the doubts and worries.
“I see we understand each other,” Joshua offered. “Loss is something that we all go through, but if we can keep our faith, if we can trust that all things work to our good, we can find joy at the end.”
On the last words the door opened, letting in a blast of much colder air. Billy, Isadoro, Deeks, Walters all marched in and lined up on the bench.
They sat that way in companionable silence for a long time then one by one the men rose and headed out to the big tubs in the other room. Josh rose and Hank followed him.
“The right way to do this would be to go outside and run around in the snow for a bit, but I don’t think today’ll be the day for that.”
Upstairs in the house the girls helped Fiona bathe, washing her hair in sweet lavender soap, then brushed it dry. Once dry she slipped into her petticoats and Katie did up the laces of her corset.
