The Sheriff's Christmas Miracle

by Maddie Walker

  The Sheriff’s Christmas Miracle

  Maddie Walker

  THE

  SHERIFF’S

  CHRISTMAS

  MIRACLE

  MADDIE WALKER

  Copyright © 2020, Maddie Walker. All rights reserved.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and events are purely the work of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner.

  Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental

  Also By Maddie Walker

  All of my Mail Order Bride stories can be read as standalone books in no particular order

  The Brides of Twin Valley Fall 5-book box set

  The Brides of Wicklow 5-book box set

  The Brides of Whitevale River 6-book box set + special bonus book!

  Miracle of Love 14-book box set featuring Amish author, Serenity Blum

  Chapter 1

  “I say, Rita dear, you are positively glowing. Pregnancy does become you.”

  “Thank you,” Rita Dowes replied with a bright smile. “I confess, that’s a relief to hear as I’ve been feeling rather like a cow as of late.”

  Her best friend, Millie Rogers, let out a snort of laughter, nearly spilling her tea as a result. The two women sat together in Rita’s front parlor, enjoying afternoon tea as was usual on a Tuesday and Thursday. Rita had met Millie through their husbands, Robert and Jacob. The men had been boyhood friends and had introduced the two women while they were all four still deep in their courtships. They’d taken to each other like oil to fire, and had been inseparable ever since.

  Millie was her confidante and closest friend, after Robert of course.

  “I can assure you, you do not look like a cow,” Millie grinned once she’d gotten ahold of herself. “In fact, if I am being honest, I don’t think you’ve ever looked lovelier.”

  Rita chuckled and shook her head. “Now you are simply flattering me to make me feel better. A lovely gesture, dear, but I see right through it.”

  “Believe what you will,” Millie said with a shrug. “But if you were to ask Robert, I’m sure he’d say the same.”

  A flush of color warmed Rita’s cheeks as her husband came to mind. It had been over a year since they’d married, but she still blushed like a schoolgirl in love whenever she thought of him.

  Clearing her throat, she scrambled to change the subject so Millie wouldn’t notice her lovesick expression and tease her relentlessly.

  “How is Jacob enjoying his new position with the newspaper?” she asked before taking a sip of tea.

  Millie’s grin widened. “Oh, he’s loving it, truly. I swear, he was never satisfied with his work when he was at the mill. But now, he’s been coming home each night with a smile on his face and a spring in his step. It’s been a joy to see.”

  “I’m very glad for that,” Rita replied sincerely. “Jacob is such a talented writer, I’m glad he finally gets to put his skills to good use.”

  “Is Robert still satisfied with his work at the mill?” Millie asked. “He never seemed to mind it as much as Jacob.”

  Rita nodded. “It’s steady work and a stable income, so he doesn’t complain much. I know it isn’t his dream, but he’s content there for now.”

  “If he wasn’t working there, what would he be doing?”

  Rita took a moment to consider her answer, thinking back over the countless conversations she and Robert had had about possibilities for their future. One idea of his kept popping into her mind, and she had to admit, it was a rather appealing thought to her as well.

  “Well, I think if he could do anything, he’d take us out West to start a homestead somewhere,” she said at last.

  Millie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Really? A homestead? I wouldn’t have thought such a thing would appeal to Robert. I wouldn’t have thought he’d ever want to leave Baltimore.”

  Rita shrugged. “The man has these grand ideas about wide-open skies and stretches of land as far as the eye can see. I have to admit, it does sound appealing when he really gets going on the subject. To have a fresh start in a new place where there’s nothing but opportunity, might not be the worst option for our growing family.”

  “Oh, Rita, I would miss you so!” Millie declared.

  Reaching across the tea service, Rita grabbed her friend’s hand.

  “And I would miss you terribly, too. Fear not. I doubt such a thing will ever come to pass. With the baby only six months away, it would be foolish of us to drop everything to make a new life for ourselves out west.”

  “Plus, if you stay here, you’ll have the support of friends and family to help you with the baby,” Millie pointed out.

  “Well…we have Robert’s family, at least,” Rita said, her tone growing soft as a familiar pain stabbed through her chest. It didn’t hurt as much as it had used to before she’d married Robert, but it was still there, a constant reminder of what she’d never really had as a girl.

  Millie’s face fell. “Oh…I’m sorry, Rita, dear. Sometimes I forget that you’re an orphan. You’re just always so happy and satisfied with your life, and—”

  “It’s all right,” Rita assured her, patting her friend’s hand affectionately. “I have Robert now, and you, of course. And soon, I’ll have the baby as well. I’ll finally have the family I’ve always wanted.”

  Millie nodded. “You deserve to have happiness, sweetheart. You’re far too kind and loving to be without people who cherish you.”

  Rita could feel the sting of tears enter her eyes and she quickly shook her head, warding them off.

  “My goodness, but we’ve gotten a bit away from ourselves, haven’t we?” she teased. “We should speak of a lighter subject. Something that doesn’t require such emotional fortitude.”

  Millie chuckled. “Oh, very well. Let’s change the subject. Have you by chance heard the rumors going around about Miss Baxter?”

  Rita raised her brows in interest. “No, I haven’t. What are people saying?”

  “They say that she’s agreed to marry a man in Montana whom she’s never met,” Millie said, a note of awe in her voice. “A wealthy rancher, if the accounts are to be believed.”

  Rita frowned. “How would she even come to know such a man?”

  “She is to be a mail-order-bride,” Millie explained. “You’ve heard of these arrangements, I presume?”

  Rita shrugged. “Yes, a little bit.”

  “Well, what happens is that men out West advertise on this side of the country requesting women to marry them and help them tame the wilderness. A woman need only respond to his request, and the two start sharing letters with one another before they decide whether to meet and marry.”

  Rita’s eyes widened. “You mean, these women travel all the way out West to marry men who are strangers to them?”

  Millie nodded. “Exactly.”

  “And this is a common practice?”

  “It might not seem so common to us in this part of the country,” Millie shrugged. “But my understanding is that there simply aren’t enough women to go around out there, and so it’s becoming more and more of a practice to seek one in such a manner.”

  “How very odd,” Rita mused. “I understand the benefits the men may receive from such an arrangement, but what on earth would compel a woman to do such a thing?”

  “I suppose for many of the same reasons we work so hard at securing husbands the regular way,” Millie replied. “Security. Comfort. Protection. To not be a burden upon our parents.”

  Rita grinned. “A rather cynical view of marriage, don’t you think? Are you not in love with Jacob?”

  “I prefer to see it as a practical and realist
ic arrangement,” Millie countered with a chuckle. “Not everyone is as lucky as you, my dear, to have found the love of your life. Don’t get me wrong, I care deeply for Jacob, I really do, but we grew into our love. It wasn’t there at the beginning. At least, not nearly as strong as yours was for Robert. Most women are content to know we won’t wind up lonely old spinsters, and if we happen to like our husbands along the way, all the better.”

  Rita supposed that was true, and Millie was right. She was lucky. Robert was the best thing to have happened to her, apart from her pregnancy. He’d given her that stability and security Millie had focused so much on, but he’d also made her feel like she was the most adored woman in the world. Growing up, she hadn’t thought she’d been so fortunate as to one day marry for love, but she had, and she was very thankful for it.

  She couldn’t imagine that many of these women who became mail-order-brides loved the men they were traveling for.

  I don’t think I could go through with such an arraignment. Especially knowing just how wonderful a full and loving relationship can be.

  “Well, here’s to Miss Baxter,” Rita declared, holding her teacup aloft. “May she find some happiness out in the wilds of the West.”

  Chuckling, Millie lifted her cup as well. “Here, here.”

  The two women broke into a peal of laughter and Rita almost didn’t hear the knock on the front door.

  “Oh, dear, who could that be?” she murmured, setting her cup down and pushing to her feet.

  “I can get it for you if you’d like,” Millie offered, but Rita shook her head.

  “No need, really. I need to get up and stretch my legs anyhow. I get so terribly stiff if I’m sitting for too long a time.”

  Millie nodded in understanding and Rita made her way out of the parlor and into the foyer. She wasn’t yet so big that her walk would be considered more of a waddle, but that is how she felt she looked whenever she moved around.

  Reaching the door, she opened it and was surprised to find two men standing on her front porch. It took her a moment to recognize them. They both worked with her husband at the mill.

  They both stared at her for a moment and the larger of the two removed his hat.

  A terrible chill crept up her spine.

  “Good afternoon,” Rita said, keeping her voice calm as she gazed at them. “Is there something I can help you with, gentlemen?”

  The men shared a glance, and both hesitated to speak. At length, the larger one standing to her right sighed and met her gaze.

  “Ma’am, I’m afraid we have some… some terrible news.”

  The chill spread faster until it felt as though her whole back were pressed against a wall of ice. Her mind was already trying to determine what it was they were going to tell her, but she forced her thoughts to quiet, too afraid of where they might end up.

  She gulped. “What…what news is that?”

  The men shared a look again before the one who’d already spoken murmured, “It’s Robert, ma’am. There’s been an accident at the mill. He…he’s dead.”

  Rita’s whole body went rigid with disbelief and terror. She could only stare at them, unable to form words to respond.

  “Rita? Dear? Is everything alright?”

  She couldn’t even turn her head to look at Millie, but she could hear her friend slowly approaching her from behind.

  “I’m afraid we’ve had to inform Mrs. Dowes of the tragic news of her husband’s passing,” the man who kept talking explained.

  Millie let out a shrieking gasp.

  “What? Robert is…is dead?”

  Both men nodded.

  Robert is dead. No. Robert can’t be dead. That’s impossible. We’re too happy for that to happen. Our future is too bright. We have a child on the way. He can’t miss the birth. He can’t be dead. He can’t be. He can’t be.

  The words rolled through her mind over and over again, but they didn’t feel real.

  Robert was dead.

  Her Robert.

  He was dead.

  Gone.

  He’d never walk through the door and kiss her on her forehead again.

  He’d never grin and laugh with her over a dinner she’d prepared him.

  He’d never hold her close at night when it was just the two of them alone in the dark.

  He would never meet his child.

  He would never meet his child.

  He would never meet his child.

  It was that thought that finally broke her. A sorrow the likes of which she’d never known ripped through the dam holding it back and flooded through her. She gasped for air, feeling as though she were drowning. Someone screamed. Was that her voice? Her knees began to shake and then she was collapsing.

  Small hands caught her from behind, and larger ones slipped under her arms from the front before she hit the floor.

  “Rita!”

  She heard Millie calling her name, but her voice seemed far away. The room was spinning, and Rita thought she was going to be sick. She couldn’t see straight. Could hardly perceive being lifted and carried back into the parlor.

  Her chest hurt. It felt as though a weight was bearing down on her, crushing her. She couldn’t tell if she wanted to scream or cry, but she had a distinct suspicion that she was already doing both.

  Someone was holding her and murmuring what should have been soothing words in her ear, but there was nothing that could ease the agony tearing through her. When blackness started to creep in at the edge of her vision, it was a relief. She didn’t want to be conscious anymore. She didn’t want to feel any of the things she was feeling.

  Rita didn’t fight the pull as she was dragged down into the encroaching darkness.

  Perhaps I will be lucky and simply never wake up.

  That was her last thought before she finally, mercifully slipped into the abyss.

  Chapter 2

  She watched the rain as it fell in sheets outside her window, the chill of the air seeping through the glass to wrap around and sink into her. Rita pulled her shawl tighter around her shoulders, but it did little to warm her. The cold was already inside her, after all, infecting her soul.

  It had been a month since Robert’s passing. The longest and worst month of her life by far. Rita had gone from elation, feeling as though she was finally getting everything she’d ever dreamed of, to a despair so deep and suffocating, she wasn’t sure she’d ever be able to escape it.

  Rubbing her belly absently, she continued to stare out the window, as she had little strength or motivation to do anything else.

  A soft knock on her bedroom door surprised her, but the feeling was dull and not enough to make her turn around to face whoever was entering the room behind her.

  “Rita?” Millie’s soft voice floated to her. “Rita, dear, what are you doing up here?”

  Rita sighed and forced herself to face her friend. “Nothing. I was just watching the rain.”

  Millie’s expression was sympathetic, and Rita almost couldn’t stand it. She knew her friend cared and was worried about her, but she was tired of everyone’s sympathy. She didn’t know what to do with it and was too exhausted all the time to bother to figure it out.

  “You should come downstairs,” Millie said. “There’s some hot soup on the stove. I think it’ll help you warm up.”

  Rita wasn’t hungry, but she knew she should eat something.

  The first few days after Robert’s death, she’d refused to eat and barely drank. Millie and Jacob had grown so worried for her, they’d fetched a doctor, who’d firmly told her if she didn’t want to nourish herself, she needed to at least nourish the baby. She’d been forcing herself to eat a couple of times of a day ever since, even though she had little appetite. She’d lost her husband, but she wasn’t going to lose her baby because of her own selfish grief.

  Nodding, she replied, “That sounds lovely. Thank you.”

  Millie gave her a tentative smile, then reached out her hand for Rita to grasp and hold onto as they m
ade their way out of the room and into the hall. They didn’t speak as they went downstairs, and Rita felt a pang of guilt for that. Millie and her husband had gone above and beyond to help her, and she knew she hadn’t been showing them proper gratitude. Neither ever complained nor said one word to her about it, but the realization that she was being such a poor friend only added to her misery.

  When they entered the kitchen, a delicious smell wafted through the air to try and tease Rita into some kind of hunger, but it didn’t provoke anything in her apart from some small appreciation that her friend cared so much to try. Jacob was sitting at the small kitchen table, but he stood the moment she and Millie walked through the door.

  “Rita, how are you feeling?” he asked immediately.

  “Let’s not burden her with questions,” Millie scolded. “Could you fetch her a bowl of the soup? And some bread, too.”

  Jacob nodded and dashed toward the stove as Millie helped Rita into a chair at the table. There was a small pile of mail resting on the smooth surface of the table, and as Rita eyed it, the first fluttering of anticipation entered her chest. It was small and weak, but it was there all the same.

  “Oh, I thought I said to put those somewhere where she didn’t need to see them,” she heard Millie murmur to Jacob.

  “Several of them are addressed to her specifically,” Jacob replied in a low voice. “If she ignores them, things will only get worse.”

  Rita released a small sigh. No doubt, he was referring to the bills and the notices of debt that were beginning to pile up. She’d been keeping up with them as best she could, but she had no income of her own, and the money that she and Robert had been saving was soon to run out.

  Reaching out a hand, she grabbed the pile of correspondence and pulled it closer.

  “Oh, Rita dear, you don’t have to worry about any of that just now,” Millie said hurriedly as she returned to her friend’s side. “You can just relax.”