Carole didn’t think he was stupid enough to draw down on the sheriff, but she couldn’t risk the lawwoman being injured. Jasper had shot Hap in cold blood. He was capable of any vile thing to get what he wanted.
“I agreed.” But with her eyes, she tried to signal their danger.
K.C. gave her a hard stare. “Fine then. You’ll need a witness. I’ll be happy to oblige.” She looked back at Jasper. “Which brother is the lucky man?”
“Jeb.”
“The big one?”
“Yeah.”
Carole held her tongue.
The sheriff nodded and fell into step beside her.
They neared the white wooden church with a bell tower and cross on the roof. On the far side, a huge, bare-limbed oak spread out in the space between the church and the school, waiting patiently for spring. No children played there today. That’s right, it’s Christmas. They are home safe with their families, celebrating the holiday.
Will Hap and I ever have children to attend the school? Carole shook her head to clear her mind. She refused to give up. Her grandfather would expect her to fight, and Hap would expect no less.
She glanced up at Jasper, looking so smug on her grandfather’s horse. On her horse now.
You won’t look smug for long, cousin. Not for long.
I’ll have my miracle and save Hap, or die trying.
As they approached the parsonage to the back and right of the church, the snow crunched underfoot.
Jeb and Reverend Norton stood waiting on the porch.
The minister’s austere, white-bearded face made him look like an old-testament prophet. Then his smile softened his features. His vivid blue eyes held a question.
Don’t ask, she mentally pleaded.
“Hello, Miss Crispin, sheriff, good to see you both. And this must be your brother, Jasper?” Reverend Norton asked Jeb.
“He’s gonna be my best man.”
“Well, come inside. Come in out of the cold, won’t you?” Rev. Norton invited them into the warmth of his parlor.
A fire burned in the hearth, casting a glow on the lovely furnishings. Obviously, a favorite meeting place for his friends and family.
“My wife will be sorry she missed you, but she’s sitting with an ailing parishioner.”
Jasper rushed in to push for a space next to Carole.
Does he think I will escape out the back door? The idea had merit.
Reverend Norton’s eyebrows drew together. “Jeb says you wish to marry. I know you’re cousins, but have you actually known each other long?”
“Long enough,” Jasper piped in. “They want to get hitched.”
“Yeah. We want to do it now, preacher,” Jeb insisted. “Being cousins makes things convenient. Keeping everything in the family, so to speak.”
The minister glanced at Carole, but his calm expression didn’t change. “I don’t rush into marriage with any couple without having some discussions beforehand, especially, when I know the woman is newly bereaved and a newcomer to our town.”
“You’re cousins?” K.C. asked. “How close? What’s the rule about that, reverend?”
“There’s no law,” Jasper snarled.
“I think there might be,” K.C. replied calmly. “We’ll have to hold off until I can check with a lawyer.”
“We’re third cousins,” Carole replied.
“How does that work? Explain it to me,” K.C. ordered.
“Their great-grandfather was the youngest brother to my great-grandfather. From what I was told, he ran off to Texas and hasn’t been heard from since.” Carole shrugged. “At least, that’s what my cousins told me when I arrived, and they were already at High River.”
“So, we don’t really know if they are who they say they are, do we?” K.C. asked.
Jasper went red in the face.
Jeb’s head swiveled from K.C. to Jasper and back again. He glared at Carole.
“Don’t matter no-how,” Jasper sputtered, pointing at Carole. “One way or another, she agreed to marry my brother.”
The minister frowned. “But I haven’t agreed to perform the ceremony.”
Carole stood quietly between Sheriff Granger and Jasper, but now enough was enough. She’d prolonged this farce so the doctor would have a good start on getting to Hap without being waylaid by her cousins. She needed to follow him. Now.
She swung around, snatching one of K.C.’s pistols from its holster and bringing the gun to bear on her cousin’s mid-section.
“Shut up, Jasper!” she hissed. “I swear I’ll gut-shoot you right where you stand if you utter one more word.”
Everyone froze.
Her aim did not waver.
Jasper snapped his mouth shut.
A loud knock on the heavy entry door sounded, and the door swung open. The sheriff’s husband, blacksmith Chogan Red Wolf, stuck his head in the space.
“There’s a man here says he needs to stop a wedding.”
The door slammed open and hit the wall. Halloran James, left arm in a sling, pushed through, his gun drawn with a bead on Jasper. “Release my betrothed!”
Jasper and Jeb both slapped hands on their weapons.
“Hap!” Carole gasped and partly turned her head to look at him. Her gun wavered.
At that moment, Jasper grabbed her other arm and yanked her close to shield his chest. His drawn gun wedged high on her side. A heart shot.
“Move and I’ll blow her to kingdom come!” He motioned to his brother. “Move it. Keep a bead on the sheriff and that redskin until I get out the door.”
“But what about the ranch?” Jeb whined. ”I’m supposed to get married. We was gonna be rich!”
“You wanna hang?” Jasper moved around, backing behind the sheriff toward the door. “Move along, idjit!”
With his arm secured around Carole’s ribs, he forced her tight to his chest until she thought she’d faint from lack of breath.
As Jasper dragged her toward the door, Carol saw K.C. glance down toward her hand and narrow her eyes in a silent message. She realized she still clutched the sheriff’s pistol. She pointed the gun straight down where she felt Jasper’s fat foot crowding hers and fired.
Jasper screamed, dropping the gun and releasing her. He grabbed his foot and hopped.
Hap holstered his Colt, grasped Carole’s arm, and yanked her protectively behind him. Releasing her, he punched Jasper in the jaw.
Unbalanced, Jasper went down, hitting the floor with a thud and a grunt of protest.
In a lightning move, Chogan restrained Jeb from behind in a choke-hold.
K.C. pulled handcuffs from her coat pocket and tossed a second pair to Chogan, before snapping the cuffs around Jasper’s wrists. “You’re under arrest. Don’t rightly have all the charges yet, but those will come.”
“Oh, my goodness!” Reverend Norton stood, clutching a brass candleholder in his raised hand. “This is quite unfortunate. Miss Crispin, are you all right?” He glanced at the candlestick, looking surprised, as if he didn’t know why he’d picked up the object.
Hap slid his arm around her and pulled her close to his side, pressing a kiss on her head.
Held tight in his embrace, Carole finally felt safe. “I’m fine now.” She glanced at Hap’s sling and frowned. “Or, I will be once Hap’s shoulder is seen to.”
“We’ll take these two to jail. One of the doctors can see to him there.” She reached for the gun Carole held out and slid the weapon back into its holster.
The minister set down the candlestick on a small table and smiled at Carole. “Good thing you didn’t miss that shot. I don’t think Mrs. Norton would have liked a bullet hole in her floor.”
His words relieved the tension, and everyone but her cousins laughed.
Hap tilted his head in the direction of the door. “Doc went to stitch up the other brother, Jerald. I put a knife in him, but the wound isn’t serious.”
“Aren’t there four of these turkeys?” Chogan pushed Jeb over to K.C. and leaned
down to grab Jasper under the arm, pulling him to his feet.
Jasper struggled and howled in pain, but he was no match for the blacksmith’s strength.
“The youngest one hightailed away when he saw us coming,” Hap volunteered. “Probably won’t stop until he gets to Texas. Like a rat out of a burning barn, you might say. Doc Cameron is waiting outside.”
“Good,” Carole said, decisively. “He can see to you before Jasper.”
The sheriff glanced at Jasper’s foot. “That boot’s filling up with blood. We’d best leave before some spills over on Mrs. Norton’s rug. We’ll take these two now and round up the other one later. That work for you, Miss Crispin?” She and Chogan pulled both cousins toward the door.
With every step, Jasper limped and moaned.
“Thank you, Sheriff Granger. And you, too, Mr. Red Wolf,” Carole said, with a sigh of relief.
“Just doin’ our job,” the law replied with a smile. “No thanks needed.”
Both nodded and went out the door, shoving their prisoners ahead of them.
Before the door closed, Carole heard Jeb whining about Jasper being at fault for everything that happened.
Jasper’s reply was cut short by a loud smack and a groan.
Carole didn’t know which cousin received the smack, and she didn’t care. Her cousins got what they deserved.
Meanwhile, she glanced up at her rescuer, her eyes filling with tears. Hap had his good arm wrapped around her, and she rested hers over his heart, reassured by the thump, thump, thump under her palm.
Chapter 18
Rev. Norton rushed to close the heavy oak door. Then he turned to face Hap and Carole, who still stood locked in each other’s embrace.
“Are you both all right? This has been quite an upsetting situation.”
Hap gazed down into Carole’s eyes. He gently thumbed away a tear.
“We’re going to be just fine, aren’t we, beautiful?”
Carole nodded, and a soft smile lifted her lips as she rested her head against Hap’s good arm. She would always feel truly beautiful in this man’s arms. He’d given her that gift, and she would treasure the feeling as long as she lived, no matter what happened from here on.
“But we do need to be married as soon as possible.” Hap smoothed a hand over Carole’s curls.
“Now?” Rev. Norton exclaimed.
Carole straightened and stared up at him. “No, Hap,” she whispered. “You don’t have to do this. I’ll find another way.”
He pressed her back against his side.
“I’m afraid Miss Crispin has hopelessly compromised me,” he said. “She’s spent the last several nights alone with me in a secluded cabin on my land without benefit of a chaperone. The only honorable thing for her to do is to marry me to save my reputation. Wouldn’t you agree, Reverend Norton?”
Carole gasped. Her mouth opened, but no words escaped.
“Under those circumstances––” Reverend Norton replied “––I do believe a wedding would be the honorable thing for her to do.” He looked at Carole with a smile spreading across his stark features. “What do you say to these charges, Miss Crispin?’
“I would be glad to satisfy honor in this case, depending on the answer to one question.”
“What question would that be?” Hap asked in a husky voice.
“Do you love me?” she whispered, almost afraid to ask, but determined to be brave enough to know the truth. Her future depended on his answer.
“With my every breath, Christmas. Forever.”
Shivers of joy raced through her body, and she pressed closer, as though they could become one right there.
“And you, Carole? Do you love this man?” the minister asked.
“More than forever.” She rose up on tiptoe to brush his lips with a soft kiss. “I love you, Halloran James.”
“In that case,” said Rev. Norton, “I think we should proceed without delay.” He glanced around the parlor, his forehead wrinkling. “As soon as we round up witnesses.”
Hap grinned down at Carole. “My men are just outside.”
Epilogue
Christmas Eve
Carole snuggled up with her husband on the red-velvet settee in front of the fireplace in the parlor of the Halloran ranch house. The crackling flames and the kerosene lamps on the marble-topped round tables on either side of them cast a cozy glow.
Hap’s arm wrapped around Carole as he read their favorite Christmas poem in front of the evergreen. “
‘Twas the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse.’”
Hap’s deep baritone still gave her shivers.
“This mouse is quite busy.” Carole took her husband’s hand and rested his palm on her rounded belly so he could feel his child stirring inside. Raphael Halloran or Raphaella Hannagh would be born any day now and, boy or girl, was sure to be a rascal.
She glanced around the festive room and inhaled the scent of pine. On this, their second holiday season together, they’d made cherished memories. They’d crafted popcorn and cranberry strands and pine and ribbon garlands. They’d hung decorations throughout the two-story, clapboard house and placed a huge, tinsel-covered Christmas tree in front of the enormous multi-paned window. Tonight’s moonlight gilded the branches.
The Rosses had moved to High River and managed Carole’s ranch. For the first time, Addy had permission to decorate to her heart’s content.
Her grandfather’s portrait looked down from the mantel. Carole often wondered if, somehow, he’d planned on her marrying Happy James. Had he known we were meant to be? Maybe pulled a few strings from heaven? She liked to think so.
She snuggled closer to her husband, cataloguing her good fortune. Her grandmother’s tiny harp held pride of place under the portrait, sending continued blessings to their union and their future family. Her parents, in anticipation of their first grandchild, along with her brother, were on their way. The Kentucky thoroughbreds were safely settled here at the Halloran ranch, where she could oversee their welfare. Rustler would be a proud papa several times over, come spring.
Carole twisted to hug her husband––or at least as much of him as she could reach with her bulging belly. She stared up at his ruggedly handsome face.
Hap stopped reading and smiled down at her, a question in his eyes.
“Are you happy, my love? Really happy?” she whispered.
He chuckled, set down the book, and rubbed a circle on her expanded middle.
“A year ago, I never would have believed such happiness was possible, but you’ve restored my faith. Now I understand the love my parents had for each other. The same love I have for you, darling wife.”
“And I you, husband.”
Hap would always be the Christmas miracle she’d prayed for that day in the snow. A miracle that came true every time she looked into her husband’s eyes.
Hap picked up the slim volume, read the last page, and closed the book. He smiled and gazed down into her eyes. “‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good night.’”
His kiss was the best Christmas gift of all.
About the Author
Alexis Lusonne Montgomery is passionate about romance writing and animals. Whenever possible she combines the two. Equine, canine, and one abusive budgie are among the animal characters you’ll meet in her stories--whether contemporary or historical.
A member of Romance Writers of America, Alexis’s first manuscript Sweet Dreams placed in the Orange County Chapter of RWA’s Orange Rose Contest. Women’s World Magazine published her short story, The Way to a Man’s Heart. Two other short romance stories appeared in the Orange County Chapter Anthology, Romancing the Pages.
In 2015, her first book, Seducing Susan, a contemporary romance novella was released. In December 2019, look for the first two books in the Lovin’ Chocolate Series, Bride by Chocolate and Charmed by Chocolate.
She is currently hard at work on her second Montana Sky Publish
ing novella, Book Two of the Rescued Hearts. His Dreamcatcher is inspired by Alexis’s own Native American Great-grandmother.
When the world drags her out of her imagination, Alexis raises and shows Irish Wolfhounds, two of whom are AKC Grand Champions. She’s also an instructor of patterndrafting and garment construction at a prestigious fashion design college in Southern California.
Be sure to subscribe to her newsletter. A free short story is waiting for you. www.alexislusonnemontgomery.com
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To learn more about the Montana Sky Publishing books, go to: https://montanaskypublishing.com
His Christmas Carole (Rescued Hearts Series Book 1) Page 11