Papa had arrived before them and sat at the table with the newspaper in front of his face. Mama and Ivy gasped as they stepped into the kitchen, remembering Grandad sitting with the paper in the same spot. The story had been told so many times, that everyone felt they walked into the kitchen with Ivy that morning.
“Oh, Papa, for a second I thought Grandad was here again.”
Papa laughed and slapped his leg.
“So did I.” Mama walked over and swatted him playfully before giving him a kiss. “Merry Christmas!”
It was simply a beautiful morning, much like the year before, with sunlight spilling into the windows and the red gingham table cloth on the spacious gathering place. Mama even made the bacon crisp. The twins arrived as soon as the bacon scent drifted throughout the house. The girls set the table with Grandma’s beautiful dishes with the ivy pattern. James had the chores done in short order and Papa reminded everyone what a great family he had.
Papa no longer had to drive to another city for work. He was home full-time once more as the new store opened late summer. The business grew quickly back to the level of sales it had before the fire. Ivy and James both helped out after school and some weekends. The individual college funds were growing for each of them.
Never did a day go by, that the family did not praise and thank God for His provision. Joy returned to daily life for Ivy as she chose to look ahead to good things that were still possible rather than behind at what was lacking. And now, a year later, she rejoiced in God’s blessings.
“Well,” Papa said as they all sat down on the floor, just as they had the Christmas before. “We told the stories from all the previous ornaments while we decorated. Our new tradition is to tell the most recent ones on Christmas morning. So let’s begin with this beautiful orb that has an ivy pattern on it. Ivy...”
“Wait.” Mama giggled. “I have one, first. She stood up and brought out an ornament shaped like a book that she had in her robe pocket. “This is in honor of Ivy writing down our stories of the ornaments. I love that you are doing this, and I wonder if perhaps when you major in fashion design in college, you just might minor in journalism.” Mama hung the ornament on the tree, leaned over to kiss Ivy on her cheek, and sat back down.
Jenny and Jessica clapped. Jenny grabbed Ivy’s hand. “I love this story, Ivy. Tell every detail. We’ll never get tired of hearing it.”
Ivy grinned. “Well, Christmas morning, one year ago today, I woke up sure I had overslept...”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Judy DuCharme is a retired fifth-grade teacher, former Christian radio announcer, Bible study teacher, and mother of two who lives in Wisconsin with her family. A graduate of Michigan State University in Communication Arts, Judy received her teaching degree at the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay. She taught fifth grade for twenty-two years at Gibraltar School in Fish Creek, Wisconsin, with an emphasis in science.
Judy’s passion in all she does is to see people strong in the Lord and the power of His might. Her first published book, The Cheesehead Devotional, Kickoff Edition, published by Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas, is a delightful journey through Green Bay Packer history and events and the Word of God. The book earned her the award for Best New Writer 2013 at the Write to Publish Conference in Wheaton, IL. The Cheesehead Devotional, Hall of Fame Edition, is scheduled for Fall 2017.
Judy was one of twelve winners of the Guideposts 2014 Writers Workshop Contest. Judy has four pieces so far published by Guideposts. Two more are scheduled to be in the Guideposts book, Miracles DO Happen: 101 Glimpses of the Hidden Hand of God.
Society of the L.A.M.B., Judy’s first novel, futuristic and suspenseful, demonstrates how to live strong during times of persecution. Prism Book Group released the book in September 2016.
“Christmas Ivy” won First Place in Short Story at the 2016 Florida Christian Writers Conference and is being published as an ebook by Prism Book Group in November 2016. At the same conference, Judy won Honorable Mention in Speculative Fiction.
Judy’s website is www.judithducharme.com. Contact her at [email protected].
Please enjoy this excerpt from Run With the Wind by Judy DuCharme, available now from Prism Book Group!
Linney Merritt watched the pearly white face emerge from the mother cow. She sighed as she remembered Grammaw’s words: “A pearly face comin’ into life and a pale face goin’ out.”
The cow bellowed. Linney, startled, bellowed too. “Pa, hold her tight. She been thrashin’ mighty hard.”
“I know, Linney. This may be her last calving.” Pa’s eyes were just a couple inches from Nellie, the mama cow. His thin face covered by a salt and pepper beard didn’t hold back the jutting chin, which jutted more when he worked hard. Linney teased him that it grew when he concentrated. Pa’s gnarled hands, strong and scarred from cow hunting and handling since he was a boy, gripped Nellie’s head and forelegs. Nellie settled. Pa sure had a way to calm his animals.
“Can’t believe she’s birthed so many calves.” Linney reached into the slippery canal past the head and grabbed the calf at the shoulder area. “I got a good grip, Pa.”
Nellie moaned, and Linney pulled. The emerging calf licked her face. “We better hurry, Pa. He just done licked me. Don’t want him thinkin’ I’m his mama.”
“You’ll make a good one someday.”
“That ain’t happenin’. Why would anyone want to go through this?”
Pa looked around Nellie’s bulk. His eyes found Linney’s. “For the likes of you, girl. It’s worth it.”
“Oh, Pa, I’m sorry. I don’t mean to bring you sad remembrances.”
Pa’s chin jutted further. “I see your Ma when I look at ya, Linney, and it brings me joy.”
The calf was out, lying on its side in the grassy area just outside the barn. It struggled to get up. The mama cow turned and faced her calf. She licked the little one. The calf shivered and shook his head, then stilled as his mother wiped every inch of him clean.
Linney leaned against her father’s arm as they stood and watched. She only reached his shoulder. She always wondered how he could be so muscularly strong yet so lean. Most Cracker cowmen were skinny, but never could be found a stronger breed of men.
“Nellie looks right proud, and she should be. He’s a fine bullock.” Pa put his arm around Linney.
“Pa…” Linney looked away for a moment. “Did Ma struggle? Was it hard? Did I hurt her when she birthed me? Did I kill her?”
Pa took one finger and lifted her chin. “Girl, don’t you go blamin’ yourself for nothin’. If anyone was at fault, it was me. I worked her too hard. She was cookin’ and cleanin’ and birthin’ all the cows and whatever else was on the farm right up till you were born. She was plumb wore out. I never shoulda let her work so hard. She tore a little, and Grammaw and I couldn’t stop the bleeding. She was too weak to start with, and she just bled out. ’Twas me to blame iffen anybody. Now, when your time comes, your man is gonna keep life easy right before birthin’ time, and I’ll make sure of it.”
“No, Pa. No man for me. That way there ain’t no birthin’. Ain’t no birthing, ain’t no dying. Another birthin’ might kill Nellie. It’s time to keep her alive.”
“Nellie’s old and tired. Your ma worked too hard and was weak. You’re young and strong, Linney. I do hope you come to change your mind.” Pa winked. “Just past your twentieth birthday. Most young ladies are settin’ their sights—”
“Got work to do, Pa. All kinds of cookin’ for these hungry Crackers.” Linney sauntered back to the house. It was sturdy like Pa. The walls were constructed of cypress logs, and cypress shingles covered the roof. Crackers had hauled the solid trunks from the cypress swamps that populated the wilderness scrub in central Florida, where they lived.
Linney read about fancy cities and fancy clothes in magazines from the supply store in Kissimmee, but truth be told, she loved this life. Raw and real, full of life. Yes, full of death, but that was inevitable. She chose to
live strong. That meant no birthin’ for her, and that meant no marryin’. She was fine with that decision. Besides, in that same supply store, the few women she met always had a story to tell of someone dying in childbirth. Loss of control was not her cup of tea. And a child ought to grow up with a mama. Grammaw had been great, but she had died when Linney was ten.
Linney stepped back to see which way the smoke was moving out of the smokehouse, a building set back from the house. She’d soon have a good supply of smoked hog meat for the cattle drive. Still had to slice it up. But right now, she needed to pick more huckleberries for some pies and was glad to see the smoke rising straight up. That meant good weather for a day or two, plenty of time to finish a good supply of meat and pies for the drive. After the drive, she knew what she needed to stock up on for Christmas. It was the most festive day of the year. Still a long way off, but she liked planning, being in control.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw someone approaching from the west. Pa told her he hired a new Cracker to replace Billy, their hand who’d married and went to work with his wife’s pa. The new guy was Billy’s distant cousin. Raised here in Florida but worked cattle all the way out in the Texas territory. Wanted to come back to Florida.
That must be him riding a marshtackie, the horses the nearby Seminole Indians raised. Spanish soldiers left the small sure-footed horses behind, and the Indians continued the breed. Fast and strong, the marshtackies were known for their endurance and their intelligence. Linney had always wanted one. She stood and admired the muscular lines of the horse. Just like Pa, the horse appeared slight but so strong.
Her eyes shifted to the rider. He appeared to be a few years older’n her. She caught her breath. What was that? His square shoulders and square jaw made him much wider than most Crackers. But there was something else. It made her feel jittery. She must have overeaten, or that new calf licked her too much. Her stomach didn’t normally flop around like a snake hit by a cowman’s whip.
Run With the Wind by Judy DuCharme is available through all major eBook retailers. Also available in print. For more information, visit www.prismbookgroup.com.
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