Uncle Carl pulled the shade to block the window on the front door, and the entire family paused for a moment. “Merry Christmas!” Uncle Carl said, and they all burst out laughing and wishing each other Merry Christmas. The air buzzed with excitement as they each rushed off to gather the gifts they had been secreting away from the others for the past few weeks.
They spent the afternoon decorating their Christmas tree with strands of popcorn and paper chains. Millie and Aunt Joyce took turns playing Christmas carols on the piano as they prepared to celebrate the holiday.
In the midst of their festivities, there came a pounding on the front door. So loud, it rattled the window.
The piano music paused. “What’s that?” Millie asked.
“Someone’s at the door,” Josie said.
“We’re closed.” Uncle Carl shook his head in disbelief. “Everyone in town knows we close at noon on Christmas Eve. What kind of fool would come pounding on our door now?”
“What if it’s not a customer?” Josie asked, her pulse speeding up. What if it’s Clinton? She glanced at Millie and wondered if she thought the same thing. “I’ll go see who it is.” She paused to check her reflection in the mirror.
Of course it was Clinton! She knew he’d never let her down. She rushed to the door, fumbled with the lock, and threw it open wide, a smile on her face. “Cli—” her words faded. “Oh, hello, Lydia. Is everything okay?” As Uncle Carl had said, everyone knew they were closed.
“I am so very sorry to disturb you, Josie. I know you are closed, and I’d never in a million years want to interrupt you, but I burned the cake I was making, and it’s a special recipe Rafe’s mother sent me. It’s a Christmas tradition in their family and, since I am going to be part of the family soon, well, I just have to make it perfect.” Josie was positively wild-eyed as she talked about the cake. “I used the last of my flour and...well...I just thought...maybe you could help me out.”
“Of course.” Josie opened the door for Lydia to enter. If she couldn’t start her own Christmas traditions, she could at least help a friend to do so. Retrieving a sack of flour from the shelf, she carried it to Lydia.
“Oh, Josie, you are a lifesaver! I can’t thank you enough. How much do I owe you?” She reached into her pocket.
“Not a thing,” Josie replied. “Merry Christmas!”
Lydia gathered up the flour and headed for the door then paused and turned back to Josie. “I heard you decided to postpone the wedding,” she said, her gaze full of compassion. “I am so sorry.”
“Thank you.” Josie opened the door for Lydia. “But it is a postponement, not a cancellation.”
“Of course. We’ll all celebrate when Clinton returns.”
“Yes,” Josie said, before closing and locking the door. “I sure hope so.”
That night, Millie and Josie hung their stockings from the mantel, just as they had done every year since they were little girls.
“Just think.” Aunt Joyce looked at the stockings wistfully. “This is the last year my two girls will be home for Christmas. This time next year, you’ll both have husbands and homes of your own.”
Oh please, let it be so.
The final thing they did before retiring for the night was to put the star on top of the tree. Josie managed to hold back the tears as she remembered the day Clinton had given her the star necklace and told her it was a reminder of the star they’d put on their Christmas tree.
Aunt Joyce and Uncle Carl kissed the girls good night, and off they went to their room.
Josie pretended to fall asleep right away, and when she heard the gentle sounds that indicated Millie was sound asleep, she buried her face in her pillow and cried.
Chapter 10
Christmas Day
Josie dabbed cold water around her eyes, hoping to alleviate the puffiness. As if she wasn’t already making this the worst Christmas ever, she didn’t need to let everyone know she’d spent most of the night crying.
The cold water wasn’t working.
She needed something colder.
Tying her robe around her waist, she put on her slippers and tiptoed down the stairs and outside. She paused for a moment to take in the scene—the entire town was covered in a fresh layer of snow. Picking up a handful of the cold powder, she dabbed it around her closed eyes, appreciating the soothing sensation.
It was Christmas. Her favorite day of the year. She was going to enjoy herself, but if she couldn’t manage that, she’d at least make sure she didn’t ruin the day for everyone else.
She took a deep breath of the cold December air then lowered her hands from her eyes.
“Merry Christmas, Josie.”
Great. Now she was hallucinating. The frigid snow must have affected her vision. And somehow, her ears, too.
But, those strong arms around her and the lips on hers. That was no hallucination.
“Clinton!” she shouted once the kiss ended. “You’re home!”
“I’m a bit later than I planned, but I’m here. Just like I promised.”
Josie let out a whoop of joy then flung her arms around Clinton who picked her up and swung her in a circle as they both shouted with happiness.
Soon windows and doors flew open along Main Street. “What the blazes is going on?” Uncle Carl said, rushing from the store, shotgun in hand.
“Put that down, Carl,” Aunt Joyce said, coming up behind him. “We’ve got to get ready for a wedding.”
Word traveled fast in Juniper Junction, and in a couple of hours all the necessary parties were gathered in the living room at Aunt Joyce and Uncle Carl’s home behind the general store.
Clinton, freshly bathed and shaved after long weeks on the trail, stood next to the fireplace. Travis, his best man on his right. Pastor Ellis to his left.
At the head of the stairs, Uncle Carl held his arm out to Josie. “Are you ready to get married?”
“Yes! Oh, a million times yes!” Josie said, happy tears threatening at the corners of her eyes.
Aunt Joyce played the piano and Millie served as maid of honor.
And in a few brief, beautiful, heartfelt minutes, she became Mrs. Clinton Ramsey.
It was the best Christmas ever.
“Darlin’, I hate to leave you so soon, but I must go and find Mr. Kent and take care of the house. There’s only a few hours left.”
In all the excitement of the day, Josie had completely forgotten about the house. “I’m going with you.” After all these months, she wasn’t about to let him out of her sight.
He studied her for a moment. “All right, but you need to bundle up. It’s cold outside. I don’t want my new wife catching a cold. I’ve got plans for you.” He whispered the last part in her ear, and a delicious shiver ran down her spine.
“Well, we’d better hurry, then.”
Still wearing her wedding dress, Josie wrapped her cloak around herself and donned a hat and mittens. Clinton tucked a blanket around her knees and climbed into the carriage next to her. They took off down the street, but Clinton turned instead of heading out of town to Mr. Kent’s spread and stopped the carriage.
She turned to look at her handsome new husband. “What’s wrong?”
“Not one darn thing, sweetheart. I just wanted a minute or two alone with my wife.” His dark gaze heated and a slow sexy smile spread over his mouth. The same mouth he lowered to cover hers in a long and lingering kiss. It felt so good to have her arms around him, to know he was safe and real and not some figment of her imagination.
And he was her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Ramsey. It was a Christmas miracle.
She couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t get her arms around him tight enough. They clung to each other in the carriage on the cold street, finally able to touch and whisper the words of love that they hadn’t been able to share for the last six months.
“Oh, darlin’, I missed you so much. I promise never to be gone so long again. Ever.”
“You’d better no!” Josie scolded.
“I don’t think I could face it again.”
Reluctantly, Clinton disengaged from her and took up the reins. “We’d best be finding Mr. Kent. We need a house to be alone in.” There was no mistaking his meaning and she agreed wholeheartedly.
It took longer to track down Mr. Kent than expected. When they arrived at his home and knocked on the door, no one responded. All the warnings about Mr Kent being a sharp businessman echoed in her head, and anxiety started to set in. What if he had heard Clinton was back in town and had purposely left in order to make it harder for Clinton to complete the deal?
Fortunately, they found a neighbor boy who told them Mr. Kent was spending Christmas with his cousin
“Cousin? I didn’t know Mr. Kent had any family around.”
The boy insisted that Mr. Kent did, in fact, have a cousin and gave them detailed instructions on how to get there. “Sometimes Mr. Kent pays me to do chores for her.” Based on that, they gave him some credibility and hurried off to find Mr. Kent and buy their house.
“That kid did a good job with the directions,” Clinton remarked as they pulled into the drive of a house just as it had been described to them.
“I feel kind of bad interrupting their Christmas dinner,” Josie said, as they approached.
“I do, too, but it can’t be helped.” Clinton rapped on the door, and the two of them held their breath waiting for someone to answer. The sun was starting to set, and they absolutely had to find Mr. Kent before the day was over.
The door swung open, and a woman scowled at them. Josie got a sinking feeling in her stomach. Miss Ryan glared at them from the doorway.
Of all the people who could be Mr. Kent’s cousin, it had to be Miss Ryan.
“Afternoon, ma’am.” Clinton removed his hat. “I understand Mr. Kent is here, and I have urgent business with him.”
“It’s Christmas Day. Your business can wait until tomorrow.” She went to shut the door, but Josie stuck her foot in the way.
“Miss Ryan, this here is Clinton. We’re married now. And you know good and well that he needs to pay Mr. Kent today or we’ll not be able to buy our house. So I would appreciate it if you would go and find your cousin, right now.”
Miss Ryan narrowed her eyes on Josie, pinched her lips together then turned on her heel, closing the door behind her.
“I have a feeling a few things happened around here while I was gone.” Clinton gave Josie a knowing look that made her bottom clench.”We’ll have a chat about that later.”
When we are married, you’ll get your punishments on the bare.
Uh oh.
As if she wasn’t anxious enough wondering if Mr. Kent would come to the door or if Miss Ryan would return with a shotgun.
Fortunately, it was Mr. Kent, though he did not appear happy to see Clinton, and he did not invite them in, despite the cold temperatures.
“Merry Christmas, Mr. Kent,” Clinton said. “I’m here to exercise my option and buy that house on Main Street.” Clinton reached into his pocket and pulled out a pouch of money as well as his copy of the contract.
Mr. Kent pursed his lips and studied Clinton then Josie before staring hard at Clinton again. “It’s Christmas Day, Clinton. I don’t have time to do business.”
Josie gasped. What did he mean by that?
“If you didn’t mean to do business on Christmas Day, then you ought not to have put that date on the contract.” Clinton held Mr. Kent’s gaze then took a step toward him. “Now, I didn’t just complete two cattle drives and leave my fiancée back home for six months in order for you to go back on your word. We have a contract. I have the money. I intend to buy that house today. So, you can either invite us in where it’s warm, or we can take care of this outside. But I’m not leaving without the deed to that house.”
Josie didn’t care much for violence, but after all Clinton had been through, and her, too, well, if Clinton didn’t punch him in the nose, she would.
“Why don’t you come on inside.” Mr. Kent opened the door, and they entered Miss Ryan’s house.
The house was as austere as its owner. Josie nodded to Miss Ryan, but the Christmas spirit had not thawed her any. Josie didn’t want to take the chance of upsetting Miss Ryan or Mr. Kent, so she waited quietly while the transaction was completed.
Within minutes, they were outside.
“Let’s go home, Josie.”
Josie could hardly believe all that had happened that day, though of course, it was Christmas. Clinton returned, they got married and bought a house. And now, it was her wedding night. Everything had happened so quickly, it wasn’t until they turned down the street toward their house that she remembered that the house was empty. Sleeping on the hard wooden floor was hardly a proper wedding night.
She cleared her throat and was just about to voice her concerns to Clinton when the house came into view. The windows were full of light, as though there was a party inside. She sat up straight. “Clinton, what’s going on?”
“You didn’t think we’d spend our wedding night without a proper bed and some furniture, did you?” He nuzzled her neck and whispered in her ear, “I’ve been dreaming about making love to you for a long, long time, Josie. And I mean for it to be memorable.”
“Clinton!” she gasped, blushing.
The front door of the house flew open, Travis, Millie, Rafe and Lydia all came out onto the front porch to welcome them. Josie hoped they didn’t notice the flush on her cheeks from Clinton’s scandalous statements.
Scandalous or not, his words and closeness had ignited the yearnings she’d been holding in check for so long. Tonight she would finally belong to him.
They joined their friends on the porch where there was much merriment.
“Thank you all so much,” Clinton said. “We hope to spend many happy hours here with our friends. But,” he paused and smiled, “not tonight.”
“We can take a hint,” Rafe laughed, escorting Lydia down the steps followed by Millie and Travis.
Clinton lifted Josie in his arms and carried her over the threshold. “Welcome home, Mrs. Ramsey.” He pulled the door closed and locked it, then lowered his face and covered her mouth in a tender kiss. He moved his lips slowly over hers, as though savoring each second of contact.
When the kiss ended, they looked around their house. Their own house. What a thrill.
It wasn’t large, but it was perfect for them and Josie loved everything about it. Their friends had done a wonderful job of adding furniture and personal touches throughout the house. Somehow they had gotten a proper bed set up, including the quilt from the Juniper Junction Quilting Society. Josie’s hope chest sat at the foot of the bed. She smiled when she saw it. All those years of wishing and hoping for a home of her own had finally come true. She couldn’t wait to open the chest and use the contents to make their house a home.
Their friends had even found and decorated a small Christmas tree that stood in the corner of the living room.
“Oh, Clinton,” Josie said, her heart overflowing with happiness, “what wonderful friends we have. Look, they even thought of a Christmas tree.”
“Didn’t I promise you that we’d put a star on the top of our tree, just like the necklace I gave you?”
“Yes, but…”
Clinton clasped her by the upper arms and looked deep into her eyes. “I know I put you through a hard time, a very hard time. I’m proud of you for getting through it, and to be honest, there were a few times when I wasn’t sure I’d make it back here to you at all, let alone by Christmas. At night, especially after a tough day, I’d look up at the stars and think of you. Of our home and even of putting a star on top of our Christmas tree. Maybe it seems like a silly thing, but for me, it represented our life together and I was determined to get back to you, my sweet Josie.”
By the time he finished talking, tears of happiness ran down Josie’s cheeks. “Oh, Clinton, we’re together now, and that’s all that matters.”
“Look.” Clinton pointed to the ba
se of the Christmas tree. A beautiful silver star. He retrieved it and handed it to her. “Just like I promised.”
Josie set the star on the top of the tree where it fit just right. They stood with their arms around each other admiring it for a moment. The little house seemed bursting with love and happiness.
“There are presents down there too,” Josie said.
Clinton cupped her face in his palms. “Those can wait. I have other things in mind.” Their kiss was filled with love and hope and soon it built to more.
The longing in Josie intensified and the kiss did as well. When the kiss ended, Clinton carried her through the house to their bedroom and set her on her feet.
“Time for me to unwrap my Christmas present.” He unclasped the cloak she wore over her wedding gown and tossed it on a chair. His warm gaze traveled the length of her body. “I know I’m not much for fashion and frills, but this is the most beautiful gown I’ve ever seen. I can tell you put a lot of work into it...and a lot of love.”
“Thank you,” Josie said, happiness welling within her.
“Now,” Clinton began to open the buttons down the back of the dress, his fingers brushing against the delicate skin at the nape of her neck, “I do not want to tear this dress and I’m going to do my best not to, but I can’t make any promises. I want you so bad, Josie.”
Warm tingles moved through Josie’s body from where his fingers grazed the flesh down her spine. She was in such a fever that if he didn’t tear her dress, she thought she might.
“Oh, Clinton, please hurry. I don’t care if you tear it. I’m a seamstress.”
He chuckled. “Don’t worry, darlin’. This is the last button.” The gown loosened and soon it was on the floor around her feet. Clinton picked it up and added it to the pile of her garments on the chair. Now she wore only her underclothes. Just a thin layer of fabric between her and complete nakedness. Her breath came in shallow pants and she could feel her pulse race. Clinton reached out and ran his fingers in a scorching path along the chain of the necklace she wore. Their eyes met. “You’re wearing my necklace.”
Newlywed Christmas (Brides of Juniper Junction Book 4) Page 17
