“We’re not God,” Elizabeth finally murmured as she patted Mrs. Barker on the back. Elizabeth knew how the other woman felt; guilty for not being able to foresee what would happen to the ones she loved.
God forgive me for trying to be You, Elizabeth prayed silently as she felt her old resentments melt away.
“They’re coming fast,” Tommy yelled.
Both women rushed back to the window. Sure enough, Elizabeth saw, the horses were coming in at a slow gallop.
“Oh, dear, what now?” Elizabeth said as she turned to hurry out onto the porch.
The three horses came stomping up to the porch, tossing their heads and prancing a little. A cheer rose up from the children waiting on the porch. Everyone was home.
Spotted Fawn was sharing a horse with Jake and Elias was riding behind Higgins’s saddle. Colter rode alone, but he wore a grin as big as the other two men did.
“Thank God,” Annabelle said when the cheering died down.
“We thought you might worry once you could see us,” Jake said. “So we hurried up here.”
Elizabeth just looked up at her husband. He wasn’t wearing his hat and his hair was blown this way and that. The cold had made his face pale. And yet he was the most handsome man she’d ever seen. He had her heart.
“Spotted Fawn saved my life,” Elias leaned around Higgins and announced from the back of the horse. “Those Indians were going to scalp me and Spotted Fawn said they had to take her hair first.”
“Oh, dear Lord,” Mrs. Barker gasped.
Elizabeth echoed the sentiment but she was so speechless not even a gasp escaped.
“Of course, they didn’t want hers on account of who she is.” Elias kept going. “She can talk to them and everything.”
“Of course she can talk to them.” Mrs. Barker finally got her breath back. “She’s one of them.”
There was a moment’s silence.
“Not that,” Mrs. Barker added with a reluctant little smile. “Not that she’s not one of us, too, now.”
“She’s just got a brown skin is all,” Anna said decisively from where she was standing along with the other children. “Like Elias has got that red hair of his and I have my blue eyes. It’s all just different colors, but the same underneath.”
“That’s why they wanted my scalp,” Elias said, still excited over his adventure. “That Indians said they’d never seen such red hair. It’d make a good—whatever they use them for.”
Elizabeth stepped off the porch and walked over to Jake’s horse. She put up her arms and Jake lifted Spotted Fawn off the horse and into them. Elizabeth gently set Spotted Fawn on the ground so she could hug the girl properly.
“I love you,” Elizabeth whispered into Spotted Fawn’s ear. The girl stood a little stiffly in Elizabeth’s arms, but she still had a small smile on her face the whole time she was being hugged.
“What happened to the other horses?” Tommy asked as he looked around.
“We traded for them,” Elias explained as he slid off Higgins’s horse. “At first, Spotted Fawn offered our horses for my scalp and they were thinking about it, trying to decide if it was a good deal or not on account of my hair being so special. And then Spotted Fawn opened the saddlebag on my horse and brought out those ornaments—”
“My Christmas ornaments!” Mrs. Barker was aghast. “Don’t tell me you broke those ornaments. They came from Germany.”
“We didn’t break them. Spotted Fawn traded them for my scalp.”
“Well, what would those Indians possibly want with the things. They don’t even celebrate Christmas,” Mrs. Barker snapped. “They’re handblown glass berries and nuts and apples and—my word, don’t tell me they tried to eat the things.”
Elias shook his head. “Spotted Fawn put each of the ornaments on some yarn and the Indians are wearing them around their necks. One of them even had a big grizzly paw around his neck and he took it off to wear a pear. I thought maybe he’d give me the grizzly paw, but he didn’t. Anyway, they like the ornaments. But they said they weren’t enough so they also got the promise of more Christmas presents.”
“What presents?” Mrs. Barker looked around.
“We’re supposed to go leave them presents of food in the ravine by the schoolhouse tomorrow and they’ll leave us our horses back.”
Mrs. Barker looked up at the men. “I thought you were supposed to get everything back.”
“Spotted Fawn had already made the trade when we got there,” Jake said. “It wouldn’t be honorable to back down then.”
“Well, I’ve never heard of such a thing,” Mrs. Barker said.
Over the next few hours, that phrase was repeated often. Elizabeth suspected it was partially because of Elias. The tale of his nearly being scalped got bigger each time he told the story. The band of renegades grew from eight to nearly eighty. The knife grew to the size of a sword. The grizzly paw became a whole leg of the animal. And Spotted Fawn grew from being his rescuer to the one he bravely rescued.
Spotted Fawn didn’t seem to mind. She was busy getting ready to be an angel for the pageant. Since all of the children were still at the schoolhouse and there had been no way to let most of the parents know about the excitement of the afternoon, it was decided they should just go ahead with the pageant.
“You’re quite the angel,” Elizabeth said as she straightened Spotted Fawn’s wings for the tenth time. “I just don’t want you to go riding out like that again.”
Spotted Fawn nodded. “I don’t think Elias will go.”
“Yes, well, you shouldn’t go with anyone, unless it’s your uncle, of course. Or some other adult that your uncle and I approve of.”
Spotted Fawn nodded. “Like Mr. Higgins.”
“Yes, it’s safe to ride to school with Mr. Higgins.”
Elizabeth squared the shoulders on Spotted Fawn’s white union suit and decided her daughter did look a little like an angel.
The pageant eventually started with the stars gliding onto the stage area at the front of the room. A dozen coal oil lamps were sitting on shelves and they made the whole inside of the schoolhouse look golden. The stars painted on the front wall even glistened a little. Mrs. Barker had moved the small tree from where it stood at the side of the room to the middle of the stage area, declaring it was a perfect tree for a pageant. The red calico ornaments on the tree stood out brightly since someone had hung a lamp on the ceiling over the tree.
The parents were sitting on the school benches, none of them paying attention to which side of the line they were on. The railroad man was sitting in the front row and he wasn’t frowning, so Elizabeth took that as a good sign. She and Jake were in the back. Jake had brought his shoulder sling so the baby could sleep if she wanted. Elizabeth liked being able to see everyone in her family, even Spotted Fawn, who was standing so close to her friend, Anna, that their wings were probably tangled by now.
The reverend, looking dignified and solemn, walked out onstage with the stars.
“‘In the time of King Herod,’” the reverend started to read from his Bible for the pageant, “wise men came from the East asking ‘Where is the child who has been born king of the Jews? For we observed his star at its rising, and have come—’”
The stars were rising up and dancing while the angels began to sing.
The whole pageant was over in forty minutes. The stars finished their dancing, the shepherds heard the angels, and they all sang together of the holy night long ago. The telling of the story didn’t seem as if it took much time, but Elizabeth knew the families in this community would never be the same.
Part of that was because, before the pageant, everyone had heard the story of how Spotted Fawn had gone to the rescue of Elias Barker, the boy whose mother had tried to make her an outcast. Everyone knew there would be no more talk about heathens in their midst or lines down the floor of the church.
“It’s a new start for us all,” Elizabeth said to Jake. The final child had just walked off the stage area
and people were lining up for the food table. She and Jake were content to sit on the bench in the back of the room.
Jake nodded as he reached over and took her hand that lay on her lap.
“You’re a blessing to me and the girls, Elizabeth O’Brian Hargrove.”
“You’re all right with me being both O’Brian and Hargrove?” Elizabeth looked up him in surprise.
“I figure if Spotted Fawn can make her peace with Elias, I can stop being jealous of a dead man.”
“Oh, you have nothing to be jealous about,” Elizabeth said. “You’re—”
“Yes?” Jake leaned his head closer.
Elizabeth blushed. She looked around to be sure no one was listening. Even then she whispered. “You’re magnificent.”
Jake started to grin. “I hope that look in your eyes means you’re thinking of staying with us past the spring?”
Elizabeth nodded. “It’s just—”
Jake’s grin started to fade. “Whatever it is, we’ll work it out.”
“It’s not a problem,” Elizabeth said. “I’d just like to have a real wedding before—you know—so we can say the words and mean them.”
Jake’s grin spread as his eyes deepened. “Elizabeth, will you marry me?”
Elizabeth nodded. “It would be my pleasure.”
“In that case, I’m going to kiss my fiancée,” Jake said as he proceeded to do just that.
Elizabeth thought she heard clapping in the distance, but that didn’t make any sense. The pageant was already over. And, since it was, there seemed little harm in having another kiss. Or two.
Epilogue
Everyone gathered for the wedding on the first Sunday afternoon in May. Elizabeth had wanted to wait for a day that would be warm enough for them to have the ceremony on the banks of Dry Creek. Besides, it gave Jake time to put up the headstone he’d promised and for her to finish her mourning.
“You’re a beautiful bride,” Virginia said.
Elizabeth smiled over at her friend as they waited by a cottonwood tree. Virginia was her maid of honor. “Thank you. I can’t believe the day is really here.”
The guests were all being seated on the log benches Jake and Higgins had borrowed from the schoolhouse. Dozens of families had come from Miles City as well as some of the soldiers from the fort.
The railroad man had even ridden over. He was making his second inspection of Miles City and had already told everyone things were promising. He said he’d been impressed with the children in the town, particularly Spotted Fawn.
Elizabeth had been proud when she heard the man talk of Spotted Fawn’s bravery. She looked over to where the girls were sitting now with Annabelle and Higgins.
“I can’t get used to calling the baby Mary,” Elizabeth whispered. Spotted Fawn had decided her sister should be named in honor of Christmas. “I always just think of her as my baby.”
Virginia followed her gaze. “She’ll always be your baby, no matter what her name is.”
Elizabeth nodded. “I know.”
They were silent for a few minutes and then Elizabeth smoothed down the folds of her moss-green velvet dress.
“Jake always did want me to have a dress this color,” Elizabeth finally said. “I think he was half-afraid I was going to wear that mourning dress if he didn’t buy me something new.”
“Maybe you should pass the mourning dress along to me now,” Virginia said with a twist to her lips.
“Oh, don’t say that.” Elizabeth put her hand on her friend’s arm. “Colter will come back.”
Virginia shrugged. “I’m not even sure I want him to—”
Colter had left town in January, saying he had business he needed to attend to before he went forward with his life. He’d left the saloon and Danny with Virginia as well as enough money to see them settled while she turned the saloon into a studio for her piano lessons.
Just then the reverend cleared his throat. The guests were seated and Jake was waiting at the front of the aisle formed by the two rows of benches.
“We’ll talk later,” Elizabeth said as the two women walked forward.
“No, we won’t,” Virginia said. “This is your wedding day and there’s a man watching you now who looks like he’s the happiest man alive.”
“He does, doesn’t he?” Elizabeth said as Virginia walked down the aisle ahead of her.
Jake was wearing a suit. Not a suit of buckskin. Not even a flannel shirt and wool pants. No, it was a suit that would do justice to a banker. He thought his mother would be proud, even of the red socks he wore on his feet.
Elizabeth almost floated down the aisle to him. She was beaming and he couldn’t take his eyes off her. She was a vision in that green dress of hers, just as he’d known she would be. His Elizabeth was beautiful. She wore her old wedding ring around her neck on the gold chain he’d given her for Christmas; he had her new ring in his pocket.
When Elizabeth reached his side, she put her hand on his arm.
Jake had insisted on the longest ceremony possible this time. He wanted to promise everything to his wife. That he’d protect her. Comfort her. Provide for her. Love her.
He paused on that one. He especially wanted to promise to love her.
Elizabeth looked up at Jake as she repeated her vows. She almost had to shade her eyes, the sun was so bright behind him. She smiled; he looked all golden around the edges.
“You may now kiss the bride,” Reverend Olson said with such satisfaction in his voice that some of the guests chuckled quietly.
“Finally,” the reverend added with heartfelt enthusiasm.
Elizabeth didn’t care if the whole countryside erupted in joyful laughter. It was no secret that she and Jake had walked a long path to arrive at this place. She reached up and touched his cheek as he bent his head toward her. The kiss was all she’d ever dreamed it could be.
Dear Reader,
I don’t know if you have ever felt like Elizabeth O’Brian, but I suspect we all have. We sit in the ashes of our dreams and wonder why God has abandoned us. I hope Elizabeth’s story gives you comfort the next time it happens to you.
While writing this book, I was struck anew by the fact that our lives take many twists and turns, some of them expected and some of them not. I deliberately picked a time in Montana history when there were a lot of changes—the Indians were leaving, or, more accurately, being forced onto reservations; the railroad was coming, some towns were rising up and others were falling flat.
All too often, it’s when there is great change that we hang on most tightly to our old dreams. This has been true throughout history. We like to be in control of our future, whether or not God wants it that way.
I hope you have enjoyed reading about Elizabeth’s struggle with change. If you have not also read some of my contemporary Dry Creek series, please do. You’ll find that the community that was born in this historical book is alive and kicking in the contemporary series.
I love to hear from my readers. If you get a chance, go to my Web site at www.JanetTronstad.com and you can send me an e-mail. If you don’t have e-mail access, you can always drop me a note in care of the editors at Steeple Hills Books, 233 Brookway, Suite 1001, New York, NY 10279.
God’s blessings on you!
Janet Tronstad
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
Elizabeth O’Brian was mad at God because of the death of her husband and baby. Do you think this is a normal part of grief? Have you ever been that mad at God?
Sometimes anger at God hangs on for a long time. What are some ways to deal with this when it happens to us?
Jake Hargrove was willing to raise his nieces, because there seemed to be no other option for them. He didn’t know how he would do it, though. Can you think of things in your life that God has called you to do and you wonder how you will manage? What happened in those situations?
Elizabeth had a hard time letting go of her old life. What were some of the reasons for this?
Elizabeth wa
s warned about marrying Jake because the store clerk thought he was a wolfer. What is a wolfer? Why were they so despised by people in the West?
The townspeople, under the leadership of Mrs. Barker, refused to welcome Jake and his new family into the church. Why? Did you have some sympathy for the townspeople? Why or why not?
Do similar things happen in your church today? What groups have you struggled to welcome?
Spotted Fawn was teased at school. Have you or a child you know been teased at school? What did you do about it? What can a child do? What can parents do when this happens to their children?
Spotted Fawn struggled to love her enemies at school. Have you ever had to love someone who was not kind to you? What did you do?
Jake had to be patient as he came to love Elizabeth, because she was not ready to love him. From Elizabeth’s viewpoint, what things stood in the way of loving Jake? Have you ever needed someone to be patient with you before you loved them—a parent, husband, God?
ISBN: 978-1-4268-2465-4
CALICO CHRISTMAS AT DRY CREEK
Copyright © 2008 by Janet Tronstad
All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.
This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.
® and TM are trademarks of Steeple Hill Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.
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