ROMANCE: Holiday Romance: Her Christmas Surprise (Sweet Clean Holiday Romance) (Holiday Bride Book 1)

by Mercy Levy

  Nathan squinted his eyes and nearly hissed at Steven. “You, boy,” he said through gritted teeth, “can take Simon's place. “

  A gunshot broke through the back window in the dining room and struck the front wall. “That's a warning,” a man yelled from outside. “If anyone tries to run, we'll cut you down.”

  Nathan laughed. “Ten minutes. Be outside.” And with that, he turned and slammed the front door closed.

  “I fight my own battles,” Simon told Steven. Bending down, he snatched his rifle up off the floor. “I'll go out and face my brother. I was a coward in the eyes of my daughter once. I'll never be a coward again.”

  “You're not a coward,” Rose promised her daddy. Torn between the man she was falling in love with and her daddy, she begged God to show them a way out of her nightmare. “No one needs to go outside.”

  “Nathan will burn us out,” Simon told Rose looking over his shoulder toward the gun shattered window. “Sheriff, even if I cut Nathan down, his men will end it for me and then force their way inside the hotel.”

  “Assuming he has more than one man,” Sheriff Tracy told Simon. “But yeah, I know what you're getting at. But they ain't much we can do except go bullet to bullet and hope the Good Lord gives us a miracle.”

  Simon began to talk again, but before he could, Steven pulled out his gun and aimed it at Simon. “Simon, you're ain't going outside to be killed. I'm going in your place. Now, you can fire me if you want, but I ain't gonna let a wounded man walk into a gun fight.”

  Rose watched Steven slowly back up to into the front lobby. Jacob lowered his rifle and let Steven pass. “No,” Rose cried out and ran up to Steven. “Please, there has to be another way.”

  Steven paused. With his left hand, he wiped Rose's tears away. “If I live through this, can I have our permission to fall in love with you?”

  “Yes,” Rose promised through trembling lips. “Only if you give me permission to love you back.”

  “It's a deal,” Steven promised. Looking deeply into Rose's tear-filled eyes, he leaned forward and gently kissed her lips. “Even if I die, I die a man who finally understands what it means to want to love instead of needing to love.”

  Rose grabbed Steven's left hand and kissed it. “I want to love you, too.”

  “You have your daddy now,” Steven told Rose. “He needs you. It's time to heal from your wounds.” Pulling away from Rose, Steven rushed toward the front door. This time it was Jacob who stopped him. Firing a warning shot, Jacob ordered Steven to stand still. “What are you doing?”

  Jacob grabbed Rose's hand and pulled her to Steven. “I see that God has brought your hearts together. If anyone is going outside and face down that killer, it will be me. In my day, I was mighty fast on the draw. Now, hurry, put your hat and coat on me.”

  “What...no...Jacob, this is crazy...” Steven began to object. But when Jacob looked into his eyes, he knew to obey. The look in the man's eyes told Steven that God was speaking.

  “Time to use my gun one last time and then maybe I'll be able to stand behind the pulpit,” Jacob told Steven and winked at Rose. “Tonight the old gunfighter in me will fight his last fight.”

  Chapter 4

  Miracle

  “I'm going outside with you,” Rose told Jacob watching him strap on Steven's gun belt.

  “No, dear, you're night,” Jacob informed Rose. With love and affection, he leaned over and kissed her cheek. “I'll see you in a bit. Steven, open the door.”

  “I can't let you--”

  “You will. Now open the door,” Jacob replied in a stern tone. “Faith, boy...faith.”

  “I'm not a coward,” Steven pleaded with Jacob. “I can fight my own fights.”

  “Then fight for this young lady's heart because that's the only battle you need to win,” Jacob told Steven. “Now, open the door.”

  Rose reached out and gently took Steven's hand. “Open the door for him,” she whispered. “I know you were willing to go outside. You'll always be my hero for that. But can't you see, God is sending someone in your place...because you can't kill that awful man waiting outside.”

  Steven bowed his head and opened the front door. Jacob patted his shoulder and disappeared into the darkness outside. Closing the door, Steven began to cry. “I'm a coward.”

  “No, you're not,” Rose said and hugged Steven as tightly as she could.

  Steven began to speak, but the corner of his eye caught movement. Looking toward the top of the stairs, he saw a man appear with a rifle. The man was aiming his rifle straight at Rose. “Get down,” he yelled and threw his body in front of Rose just as the rifle erupted.

  Sheriff Tracy spotted the man and yanked out his gun and fired off three shots. The man on the stairs grabbed his chest and dropped forward, falling down the stairs. “No,” Rose cried dropping down onto her knees. Steven was laying face first on the floor. “Daddy...please...”

  Simon ran to Steven, bent down, and with dread, rolled Steven over as Sheriff Tracy checked to make sure the attacker was dead. “He's dead...how is Steven?”

  Rose carefully placed Steven's head in her lap. “Daddy...is he...”

  Simon began checking Steven's chest for blood. “I don't know. I can't tell.”

  With her vision blurry from her tears, Rose closed her eyes and began to pray for a miracle. “Please Dear Lord...not him...not like this...please...we both want to be able to love...”

  “Well, will you look at this,” Simon said.

  Rose opened her eyes. She saw her daddy pull a Bible out of Steven's coat with his good hand. The Bible had a bullet lodged in it. And then, suddenly, Steven began coughing. “That's it, son, come back to us.”

  Slowly, Steven began to open his eyes. “What...what happened?”

  “My hero,” Rose whispered. “You saved my life.” Leaning down, she kissed Steven. As she kissed Steven, a single sun shot echoed into the lobby from outside. “Oh, my...”

  Simon stood up. Grabbing his rifle, he prepared for the worst. Sheriff Tracy walked to Simon's side and waited. “Old Jacob was a great gunfighter in his day.”

  “I know,” Simon said. Looking down at his daughter, he thought about how God was working miracles in the blizzard. “One more miracle, Lord, please.”

  “No more miracles,” Nathan Bedrock said.

  Spinning around, Simon saw Nathan appear in the dining room door. Nathan was pointing his gun directly at Rose. “Don't.”

  Nathan leaned back his head and laughed. “Don't,” he laughed, “don't what? Don't make you suffer? I'm going to make you suffer, Simon. I'm going to kill your daughter and let you live.”

  “Who was outside?” Sheriff Tracy demanded.

  “My other man. I brought two men with me. Amazing what people will do when they believe they are outnumbered,” Nathan replied and stopped laughing. “I see that you tried to pull a fast one on me. No matter, I still get what I want.”

  Rose looked down into Steven's eyes. Steven painfully stared up at her. “Don't let go of me,” he begged her. “I'll...protect you,” he said struggling to move.

  Nathan fired a warning shot into the air. “Get up, girl,” he ordered Rose. “Stand over by the door.”

  “No,” Simon said putting his body between Rose and Nathan. “You will have to kill me first.”

  “And me,” Sheriff Tracy said backing up to Rose. “Go one, get it over with you filthy rat.”

  Nathan narrowed his eyes. “Get out of the way,” he hissed trying to get a clear shot at Rose.

  “Do your business,” Sheriff Tracy spat at Nathan and prepared to be cut down.

  “You killed my Pa,” Nathan growled at Simon. “In cold blood.”

  “Your Pa was vermin,” Simon yelled back. “What kind of man beats a woman with his fists? Go on, Nathan, and kill me. I'm tired of hearing you whine over a piece of trash. I killed your Pa because he was beating our mother to death with his fists. I put that skunk six feet under and I don't regret a single second of it.
So go on, do your business.”

  “Please God...one last miracle...please God...one last miracle...please God...one last miracle,” Rose prayed. And then, out of nowhere, she saw a woman appear at the top of the stairs holding a rifle. The woman aimed her rifle at Nathan and fire one single shot. The bullet from the rifle took Nathan's Bedrock life before his body hit the floor.

  “I don't like trash in my hotel,” Jacob's wife yelled down the stairs and then turned and walked away.

  “Well I'll be,” Sheriff Tracy said and then whistled into the air. Hearing the front door open, he spun around with his gun drawn. Jacob entered through the front door and slammed it shut.

  “Mighty cold,” he smiled. But when he saw Nathan Bedrock lying dead, his smile faded. “Who did I fight outside?” Then he looked down at Steven. “Steven!”

  Simon held up the Bible with the bullet in it. “God has spoken tonight, Pastor.”

  Rose looked down into Steven's eyes. Together they listened to the storm howl outside. But now the storm seemed sad and alone rather than dangerous and threatening. And like all storms, the blizzard would eventually pass and wonder away, allowing broken hearts and shattered lives to heal. “Can I still be your hero?” Steven asked.

  “Always and forever,” Rose smiled and softly caressed Steven's head. “Our new year will begin with love.”

  *

  Steven walked Rose through a snowy backfield. He pointed toward the mountains that were covered with a white blanket. “Those mountains...this land...makes me feel free.”

  Rose watched has her breath came out in white puffs. Even though her cheeks were red and very cold, she felt warm standing next to Steven. It was the first day of the New Year and life was wonderful. “It's very lovely, here,” she replied holding Steven's hand and watching a gentle snowfall. Wearing a white coat over a thick blue dress, she felt very pretty. Yet, Rose knew in the eyes of the man who loved her, it was her heart that was beautiful and not her outward appearance.

  “You'll be...going back to St. Louis soon?” Steven asked.

  “I sent my mother a telegram,” Rose admitted. And then, she giggled. “My mother has agreed to travel to Snow Valley. I expect she might throw a few plates at my daddy.”

  “Does that mean you're not leaving?” Steven asked confused.

  Rose began to walk through the snow. Drawing in a breath of cold air, she exhaled slowly as a cold wind grabbed at her long black hair. “I have prayed about this, Steven. I feel that God is telling me to stay with you.”

  Steven's heart almost stopped. Filled with a joy he never felt before, he stopped walking and looked at Rose. “Do you mean that?”

  Before Rose could answer, she saw her daddy appear beside a tall barn in the distance. “Daddy is waving at us.”

  “We better go see what he wants,” Steven sighed.

  Walking with Rose to the barn, Steven held onto Rose's hand with hope and faith. If God did take her away from him, then he would just have to manage. But if God allowed the woman to become his entire life, he would gratefully accept the joy with an open heart. “Pack your bags,” Simon told Steven in a gruff voice and then looked at Rose. “That stubborn mother of yours just sent me a telegram and told me to bring you back to St. Louis.”

  Rose stared at her daddy. Simon was wearing his thick coat that made him look like a grizzly bear. His eyes were watery from the cold and his face nearly frozen. “But daddy, mother said she would travel to Snow Valley and speak with you. And Steven and I, we need more time together.”

  “You two will have all the time you need,” Simon assured Rose attempting to keep a stern face as he examined the snowy backfield. “Steven, I said go pack a bag. Do I need to repeat myself?”

  “No boss, I--”

  “You what?” Simon barked. “I tell you what you are...you're fired!”

  “Daddy,” Rose said shocked.

  Simon winked at Rose and finally lost his strength to remain serious and upset. Reaching out his right hand, he patted Steven on the shoulder. “Son, this land is no place for my daughter. Rose belongs in St. Louis with her mother. Now, Rose, before you get upset, we both know that's true.”

  “But daddy--”

  “And I'm getting old,” Simon continued. Drawing in a deep breath, Simon sighed as he looked around the land. “I love this land, but it's very hard on me. I want to be near my daughter. So I've decided to sell my ranch and move to St. Louis. I want you to come with me, Steven. I want us to be a family.”

  “Oh daddy,” Rose said and squeezed Steven's hand. “Do you mean it?”

  “Yes,” Simon smiled and then studied Steven's cold face. “Son, what do you say?”

  “I don't know?” Steven said feeling his heart reach out for the land he loved. “I...this land means a great deal to me.” Then he looked into Rose's beautiful, warm, eyes. “What would I do in a city? I can barely read and write, remember?”

  Rose took her right hand and gently touched Steven's face. She knew. “Daddy, you don't want to leave this land, either,” she said. “You selling your ranch for my sake, aren't you?”

  Simon remained silent. His silence answered Rose's question. “Rose, I--” Steven began to speak.

  “Daddy, you send mother back a telegram and tell her that I refuse to go back to St. Louis. My life is here in Snow Valley, now. I want to raise my family here and grow old with the snow. There's nothing waiting for me in St. Louis except cold money and lonely nights sitting in front of fireplace wondering what it might be like to truly be happy. God has given me the happiness I need right here in Snow Valley.”

  Simon smiled. “Are you sure, Rose?”

  Rose looked into her daddy's eyes. “Daddy, I've missed you so much. And now that I know what you had to leave, your reason makes me love you so much more. But we have many years torn away from us and I want those years back. Mother will manage.” Rose turned to Steven. “Please, go into the house and prepare our picnic, Steven. Today is so beautiful and I can't wait to take our picnic.”

  Steven pulled Rose into his arms and hugged her. “Happy New Year, Rose. And you better bet I'm going to grow old with you throughout the years.”

  “You better keep your promise,” Rose whispered into Steven's ear and laid her head down on his shoulder. For a couple of minutes, she stood very still, listening to the snow fall, the winds howl, and the land sleep. But in the midst of the sounds, she heard two heartbeats become one in the snow. “I love you. You're my hero.”

  “I love you, too,” Steven said back. “You're my miracle.”

  Simon smiled. He turned and walked away. Someday soon, he began to whistle, he would walk his grandchildren through the snow. In the meantime, he had to get the ranch ready for a wedding. THE END

  Valerie

  CHAPTER 1

  Valerie tossed a stone into the spring and watched the ripples it created. Her heart was aching, her body felt like lead. She had hoped against hope that things would not come to this but life was never easy. She knew that this was another trial sent by God to test her but, oh, it was hard. Today, as she sat away from the wedding party, having wandered deep into the woods, she wondered if this was what her life was meant to be like.

  Thirty-one years old and still without a husband. It had pinched her of course but she had been content with her life. Today, she had paid for her sister’s wedding and she had been happy. It had never occurred to her for one minute that her parents were unhappy, that they thought her a shame on their family. She had kissed her sister’s cheek and sat down behind her parents. She had been about to tap her father’s shoulder, wanting to see if he wanted something to drink, when she had heard his words, “How much longer does she plan to stay with us, Susan?”

  Her mother had told him to lower his voice and he murmured, loud enough for her ears, “I can’t even show my face to my friends. They keep asking what is wrong with her. What about Wilson’s son? He’s been looking for a wife.”

  “He’s a drunkard and he gambles,
Tom. And I heard from Peggy that he beat up two of the women at the local pub.”

  “Baseless rumors. He seems like a fine young fellow. So he has a bit of a temper, who doesn’t? Talk to Wilson tomorrow.”

  “What about Valerie? Shouldn’t we ask her first?”

  “Just set the date for the wedding with Wilson and I’ll tell Valerie. She should be grateful that someone wants her at least.”

  Valerie let her tears flow unchecked. Her own father? She earned, she worked very hard, hard enough that she had been offered a managing post by her very modern employer. No longer did she have to sew bonnets herself. She managed six women from the village and whatever she earned, she handed every penny into her father’s hands. And yet he thought she was a burden. She knew Wilson’s son. She knew of his abusive habits. They would throw her at the mercy of that beast? Without a thought?

  Getting up, she started walking and soon came upon a familiar path. She had used to play here with her sister when she was a child. If she went straight ahead, an hours walk at the very most, she would find herself at her house.

  She took off her hat. And crumpled it in her hand. Everybody in town would be at Laurie’s wedding so she didn’t have any fear of running into anybody. She dragged herself home and changed her clothes. And then she sat on her bed and stared at the floor. She was not going to marry Benny Wilson. She could not!

  The local church was visible from her bedroom window and she clutched at her cross. Was this another trial for her? But God was kind. He was fair. And the pastor had once told her that God would always help her if she helped herself. She closed her eyes.

  Faith. She had to have faith!

  Opening her eyes, she clenched her teeth. Everything happened for a reason. If her parents were so tired of her then she would leave. She looked at the time and got up. It was three in the afternoon. Her office would still be open. She had taken a leave for the day but maybe it was time to make some changes.

  She put on her dress and her bonnet and left.

  It was not uncommon for women to work but it was rare for them to be in a managerial position. However, Valerie was such a hard worker, that despite the protests from some of the people, her employer had appointed her as a supervisor. So it was to him she went today.