by Dinah McLeod
I pouted at the stern scolding. “You know as well as I do that I was only trying to help!”
“Don’t you sass me, wife, or you’ll find yourself with a bottom hot enough to cook the Christmas turkey.”
I sniffed loudly. “We’re having chicken,” I remarked primly, and received a sharp smack to each of my cheeks that had me rubbing long after we got into the buggy. I still didn’t see why he didn’t trust me to ride the twenty minutes by myself, but I wasn’t fool enough to pursue the matter any further.
To my surprise, I felt my excitement mount the closer we got to my childhood home. When we pulled up the road, before our buggy had even stopped, my brothers and Abby were on the porch waiting, waving at us. Trent was at the buggy in an instant and lifted me down before Clay could even dismount, hugging me as tight as if I’d been gone a year.
“Put me down!” I demanded, laughing. “I am a married woman now, Trent! You can’t just toss me around like a child!”
“You still weigh as much as one,” he kidded, kissing my cheek.
I took his arm and walked toward the group of onlookers. Wesley also hugged me, and offered a gruff “welcome home,” that was filled with words he would not say. I knew them all the same. Abby embraced me, simmering in her excitement.
“It’s too cold for Libby to stand outside,” Wesley said by way of explaining his wife’s absence, but it was no matter to me. I was well pleased by the warm welcome.
When the five of us entered, Libby rose from her chair and came over, offering a small smile. “Hello, Maggie. You look well.”
“As do you,” I replied, noticing that she looked well indeed. Three months with child, her cheeks were rosy, and her hair seemed to gleam with more shine than ever before. Her belly was still flat as a washing board, I noticed, but she was carrying herself with more care and seemed warmer in her manners.
“Abby and I cleaned the kitchen good for you last night,” she remarked.
“Did you?” I shrugged off my shawl, which Clay took from me without a word. I took in the sight of my family and felt a surge of love. I hadn’t known I could be so full to bursting with joy, but I was. I knew myself to be a changed woman for the love I shared with my husband, and suddenly, looking at my sisters-in-law, I no longer remembered why it had been so important to me to do everything on my own. “What are we making?”
Abby was the first one to smile, and after exchanging a glance with her, Libby followed suit. “It might be cutting it pretty close to make apple pie,” Abigail remarked ruefully.
“Never you mind,” I said, dismissing her concern. “Not with the three of us working at it. And you’ll do the biscuits, Libby? And the gravy?”
“You best do the gravy, Maggie. Otherwise Wesley will have a fit.”
I smiled at the compliment. “Alright, then. I expect you have a recipe for chicken?”
She eyed me thoughtfully before replying. “I know one, but not as good as your ma’s, I reckon.”
“Ah,” I nodded. “Well, then, I think you’ll be wanting to learn it.”
The men watched the exchange in silence, and the three of us made our way to the kitchen. It was a bit cramped, but we managed, dancing around each other and asking for help when needed. Soon enough, I relaxed in their company, and we were giggling as we gossiped over our work. Turned out that Libby’s parents were very excited about the baby and wanted her to move back in with them.
“But how could you do that?” I teased. “Wouldn’t you just die if they heard Wesley chastising you?”
“I’m sure he’d have quite a stern word to say to my mother,” she giggled.
“And your family?” I asked Abby. “Have you heard from them?”
“No, not yet,” she said, a bit too brightly, I thought.
“Well, no matter,” I said as I mixed flour and salt together. “You’re a Swift now.” I nodded to Libby also.
We had to wash up again before the meal to get the flour and food splatters off our fingers and faces. We stood over the basin of water and scrubbed, teasing each other all the while. It was probably the best time I’d ever spent in their company, and I wondered at the fact that it should happen after I’d moved from the house.
“Do you enjoy married life?” Libby asked innocently as I took the rag from her.
“Hush!” I scolded, knowing very well which part she meant. But I blushed, as she intended, and she and Abigail giggled. “Don’t let Wesley hear you talking like that,” I scolded playfully.
“Indeed!”
The three of us made it to the table just as Clay came in, stomping his boots on the ground. His eyes sought me out, and I went to him the moment they found me.
“Hello,” I murmured in his ear.
“Darlin’.” He greeted me with a kiss. “I’m proud of you.”
“Proud of me? For what?”
He just smiled and led me to the table. When we took our seats, Wesley asked for us to join hands. We bowed our heads over the meal, and he prayed, thanking God for the meal, for the women who had prepared it, and the life that Libby carried inside of her. When he thanked God for bringing Abby and Clay into our family, I felt my throat clog with tears. I had so much to be thankful for.
“Amen,” I echoed after him, giving Clay’s hand one last squeeze before reaching for the peas.
“Now, Trent!” Libby scolded. “Save some potatoes for the rest of us, I spent all day mashing them, and I know there’s enough for everyone!”
“I was going to make sure you all got a forkful,” he replied, his eyes wide with pretended innocence until we all laughed.
“Those are my wife’s potatoes,” Wesley reminded him. “So, by law, they belong to me. Hand ‘em over.”
“Sure thing, brother,” Trent said, passing Wes the bowl. “But just remember that my wife made the pie, so by your logic—”
“I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you,” Clay drawled. “Those would be last words for you, I should think.”
It wasn’t the Christmas that I had longed for, or the one I had imagined, either. I had so much more than I’d expected, the fulfillment of nearly everything I’d ever longed for. I couldn’t take my eyes off my husband, who kept sneaking glances my way. I knew what he was thinking—when we went home I think he intended to give me a very special gift indeed, although none could be more precious than the love he’d given me already.
“Merry Christmas,” I whispered to him.
“May we have many more, Mrs. Callahan, just as merry,”
I lifted my glass to toast his words and drank deep.
The End
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More Stormy Night Books by Dinah McLeod
A Husband’s Duty
Now that she is finished with college, living in a nice house, and married to a handsome and devoted man, life seems to be going quite well for Jessica… except for one thing. Her wounded relationship with her younger sister Beth, torn apart years ago by a dispute over a high school sweetheart, has been allowed to fester for so long that she doubts it can ever be healed.
As much as he loves her, Jonathan is well aware that Jessica
can be a stubborn brat from time to time. Fortunately he also knows the proper way to deal with a naughty wife: a good, hard, bare bottom spanking. When Jessica’s estranged sister Beth and her fiancé Zach visit for dinner, Jonathan demands that she treat them with civility and respect. Jessica does neither, and her disobedience and defiance earn her a painful and embarrassing spanking… with Beth and Zach still in the house and hearing every stinging swat.
Jessica’s chastisement is as shocking for Beth as it is for Jessica, and almost before she knows it she finds herself having a conversation she would never have expected with her own fiancé… a conversation that she quickly realizes could eventually lead to her own bottom being bared and firmly spanked.
Will Jessica’s sore backside motivate her to put aside her childish grudge and make amends with her sister, or will it push them further apart? Is Beth prepared to accept discipline when Zach feels it is necessary, or will the subject drive a wedge between them?
Dinah McLeod Links
You can find excerpts of upcoming books and general thoughts from Dinah McLeod via her blog, her Twitter and Facebook pages, and her Amazon and Goodreads profiles, using the following links:
http://980875189741781282.weebly.com/blog.html
https://twitter.com/DinahMcLeod2
https://www.facebook.com/dinah.mcleod.3
http://www.amazon.com/Dinah-McLeod/e/B00DIQGNFO/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/7147846.Dinah_McLeod
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Epilogue
More Stormy Night Books by Dinah McLeod
Dinah McLeod Links
