White Christmas in Dry Creek

by Janet Tronstad

  Rusty reached to a chair beside him and pulled up the shiny purple robe. “Here.”

  He looked at Renee for a moment and she almost laughed.

  “It’s not so bad,” she murmured, holding back a chuckle.

  “Not if you’re a Vegas showgirl,” Rusty said as he put the robe on. He’d obviously practiced, because he did it very quickly for a man with his arm in a sling.

  When he was finished, he asked, “So, how do I look?”

  “Nice crown,” Mrs. Hargrove said before she hurried away.

  “You look beautiful,” Tessie repeated.

  Renee found herself staring at Rusty. How could a man with so much goodwill and humor steal from anyone?

  Before long, the call came for the angels to line up behind the bleachers, so Renee guided Tessie to the right place. Rusty needed to get set up for the first scene with the wise men. The actors portrayed that encounter while Joseph led the donkey that carried Mary in the background.

  * * *

  Rusty stood behind one set of bleachers. He’d just made a second trip to the coatracks, looking for any signs of an orange parka. The one with an orange lining did belong to a girl, just as Renee had said. While he was standing there, she came in wearing the parka and hung it up on the hooks. Since she had a Christmas brooch on the parka, he figured it couldn’t belong to any man. So he went back to the place where he was to wait behind the bleachers.

  By the time he got back, the wise men were there, too. They were all going to walk out when the narrator started telling the story of the birth of Jesus.

  “Cool crown,” one of the pint-size wise men said a little sarcastically.

  Rusty turned to look at the young teenager. The boy had a maroon velvet robe on with gold piping all around it. A gold-foil-wrapped box was in his hands.

  Rusty gave the boy his mean look. “The crown’s beautiful.”

  The boy looked suitably chastised. “Yes, sir.”

  It was quiet after that for a minute.

  “Did you really try to murder the baby Jesus?” one of the other boys asked. His box was silver and his robe was black, but he looked like the other wise man.

  “I’m an actor,” Rusty said. “Actors don’t murder anyone.”

  Well, that might be an overstatement of fact, Rusty told himself, but it got his point across. At least there were no other remarks.

  The lights dimmed in the barn and instrumental music came from the sound system. The chorus of little angels began singing “Silent Night.” Rusty walked over to the edge of the bleachers so he could see Tessie sing. Her wings were crooked, but her face was full of joy.

  After the song, Joseph started leading the donkey across the stage area. Mary was seated on top of the animal, her blue cotton robe covering her. Rusty noticed his brother was having a hard time getting the donkey to maintain a steady pace. The beast was a little spooked by the lights in the barn and throwing its head around as if it wanted to be free of its burden. Fortunately, Joseph had enough sense to stop and help Mary down from the donkey, then they continued on their way. The plan was that Mary would wait behind the far bleachers while Joseph, or Eric, took the donkey back out to the horse trailer.

  The narrator started and the wise men were on the move.

  Rusty stood in his King Herod robe and faced the audience. He glared at as many of the audience members as he could, being careful not to let his stare rest too long on any one person so that no one would misunderstand and think it was personal.

  Well, he did swing his gaze over to where the shepherds were peeking out from the opposite set of bleachers, but all they did was grin and give him a thumbs-up.

  Before he knew it, the wise men were in front of him, asking their questions and telling their story.

  “Come back to see me,” he finally said, his voice full and strong. “I’d like to visit this child, too, and pay my respects.”

  The wise men left after that and Rusty turned to walk back to the bleachers.

  He heard something that stopped him. He didn’t know how he heard it with all the shuffling of feet as the shepherds prepared to come and be startled by the main angel. But he did.

  It was the ping of a bullet hitting a piece of tin outside. It wasn’t loud. The gun must have had a silencer on it, but he had heard bullets too many times to be mistaken.

  “Everybody stay inside!” Rusty yelled as he started for the door closest to the sound. “Turn the lights off and get behind the bleachers.”

  People were stunned for a moment and then chaos broke loose. Fortunately, the sheriff was running toward the same door as Rusty and they met just before going outside.

  “I’ll go left,” Rusty said.

  “I’ll go right,” the sheriff said as he pulled out a gun from a shoulder holster and handed it to Rusty. He then pulled his service revolver from the holster at his hip. “Don’t shoot the guy if you can help it.”

  Rusty nodded. He didn’t want to think how many permit laws they were breaking, but he was glad the sheriff wasn’t willing to send an unarmed man out to catch someone with a gun.

  When Rusty turned left, the first thing he saw was the donkey standing outside of the horse trailer, tossing its head and getting ready to kick.

  The parked vehicles made good cover as Rusty worked his way over to the trailer. His brother hadn’t answered, but that might be best if someone was looking for a target.

  Father God, help me, Rusty prayed, surprising even himself. The chaplain had shown him how to start and now it was like a flood pouring out of him. Keep my brother safe, God. Just keep him safe.

  Rusty felt his spirit lighten as he drew closer to the donkey. Maybe God did listen to someone like him after all.

  When Rusty passed the last pickup between him and the trailer, he saw a dark shape under the horse trailer. He could tell the figure was wearing a robe and for a moment he thought Eric might have been shot. Then the shape moved.

  A shot rang out on the other side of the parked vehicles, but Rusty bent down to look under the trailer.

  “Stay away from that donkey,” Eric hissed from where he hid. “He almost killed me, kicking at me and carrying on. If I hadn’t gotten under here, I’d be dead.”

  “I suspect someone was shooting at him,” Rusty said as he looked back to where the other shots had come from.

  If it wasn’t for the silencer on the gun, Rusty would think it was vandals having their fun shooting up the vehicles at the church pageant. But a silencer meant it was someone on a more serious mission.

  A second shot sounded, followed by a scream.

  “I got him!” the sheriff shouted.

  Rusty ran back through the parked vehicles until he saw the sheriff standing at the edge of the road, just past where people had parked.

  Rusty saw a man lying on the ground in front of the lawman. He could hear the man cursing, so he knew the sheriff had only wounded him.

  “Look who we have here,” the sheriff said to Rusty as he approached.

  Rusty looked down and saw a man in an orange parka trying to sit up even though he had what looked like a shoulder wound. Then he stepped closer so he could see the man’s face.

  “Otis?” Rusty said in astonishment. His father’s friend. The bank employee. “What are you doing here?”

  No one bothered answering the question and Rusty knew. He’d just never suspected Otis.

  “Well, this sheds more light on this whole thing,” the sheriff said.

  By that time Eric had crawled out from under the trailer and walked over, too.

  “Is this the man?” Rusty asked his brother, still not believing the obvious.

  Eric nodded. “He doesn’t look so scary now.”

  Otis growled and tried harder to stand. Finally, he began to shout, “Don�
�t you turn me in, you little weasel! I can still get you from prison. I know people. I said I’d hurt you if you talked and I will.”

  “Did Eric have anything to do with your rustling?” the sheriff asked.

  Otis snorted. “Who, him? No. The kid is worthless. I’d never partner up with the likes of him.”

  “Who would you partner up with?” Rusty asked.

  Otis clamped his lips tight on that question, but Rusty figured the circle of rustlers was likely to include some connection to Denny Hampton.

  A couple of men from inside the barn had come out by now and the sheriff sent one to call for an ambulance, then told everyone to go inside and finish the pageant. The children had worked hard and it wasn’t fair to hold it up over some thief who should have known better.

  Rusty took his brother inside and was proud when Eric merely went over to wait with Karyn for their next cue as Joseph and Mary. His brother was going to carry on.

  As for himself, Rusty searched the scared faces in the bleachers until he found Renee. He might not be welcome in her life, but he needed to assure her that everything was safe now.

  She was in the back bleachers and she slid over to make a space as soon as she saw him. Few sat up this high and they all leaned against the barn wall.

  “Are you all right?” she whispered. She put her hand on his arm. “You didn’t hurt your shoulder again, did you?”

  He shook his head. “I’m just fine. The sheriff is out there arresting the man in the orange parka.”

  “The one Eric wouldn’t identify?”

  “The very one,” Rusty assured her.

  ‘Who was it?”

  “Otis. From the bank.”

  “So you’re not a suspect?” Renee asked and Rusty could see the change in her eyes.

  “Not anymore.”

  Mrs. Hargrove picked up a microphone and told everyone they were safe and a full report of the happenings outside would be made after the pageant was over. Then the shepherds filed out and began to sing “Hark, the Herald Angels Sing.”

  It was a challenging song for the shepherds, Rusty thought, but they manfully tried to hit the high notes.

  By the second verse, he’d put his arm around Renee. She turned to him and smiled. Hidden as they were back here, he was tempted to kiss her, but he saw the shepherds eyeing him.

  “The sheriff wants to talk to me and Eric after the pageant,” Rusty said as the shepherds struggled with a note. “But I want to ask if I can spend some time tomorrow with you and Tessie.”

  Renee nodded. Her eyes were shining. “That would be good.”

  He had never seen anyone so beautiful. The pearl coloring he’d seen in her when he was practically unconscious was still there. Her skin shimmered. Her eyes sparkled with happiness.

  Rusty forgot about the shepherds. He leaned over and kissed her. A sound swept over him that must have been the shepherds’ astonishment at the angel. Rusty figured he knew how they felt. Some things in life were beyond expression.

  He pulled away finally, wondering if his eyes were as dazed as hers.

  “Tomorrow,” he said with promise.

  Mrs. Hargrove explained what had happened in the parking lot. The rest of the pageant passed in a blur and before he knew it, people were streaming out of the barn and into the parking area. Rusty walked over to Eric, and the brothers went together to meet with the sheriff.

  Tomorrow would be a better day, Rusty promised himself. He’d spend it with Renee without the cloud of suspicion over him. Anything was possible now.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Flurries of snow were falling the next morning. It was barely light as Renee lay in bed and watched the tiny flakes float down from the sky. Frost outlined the windows and the air was cold. It was going to be a white Christmas—a new beginning for her and Tessie.

  She was already humming a song. She planned to put a CD of old-fashioned carols on the Elktons’ surround-sound system when she got up and lit the fireplace in the living room.

  Renee planned to sneak out of bed and bring hot chocolate back for Tessie as a special treat, but she got only one step toward the door before the girl rolled over in bed.

  “Is it Christmas?” Tessie whispered.

  Renee nodded. The girl’s eyes were excited and Renee motioned for her to come.

  They had agreed to wait to open most of their presents until Rusty could be with them. He was coming over at ten o’clock. But Renee had promised her daughter she could go to her stocking on the fireplace and see her present from Santa the very first thing.

  When Tessie stepped into the hall, she raced for her stocking. Renee didn’t even try to keep up.

  “It’s me!” the girl screamed as Renee turned the corner into the room.

  The doll was almost as tall as Tessie, and Renee had picked out the hair and eye colors so they would look like her daughter’s. Then she’d taken some remnants of material from the pajamas she’d sewn for Tessie a month before and made an identical pair for her doll. She’d done the same with the red dress Tessie loved so much.

  The girl would have played with her new Me Doll all morning, but Renee reminded her that they needed to go wish the ranch hands a merry Christmas and feed them breakfast. Tessie clapped her hands and asked what they would eat.

  Before going to bed, Renee had made two large French-toast casseroles and refrigerated them. Then she’d pulled some special brown-sugar-and-peppercorn-crusted bacon from the freezer to go with the casserole. They’d have orange juice and coffee. Then about one o’clock they’d have a ham-and-sweet-potato dinner.

  When they got to the bunkhouse, Renee expected Rusty to be there. She decided he must be getting some extra sleep. But when he still wasn’t around when she brought the hot French toast to the table, she asked Pete.

  “Oh, he went Christmas shopping,” Pete said as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

  “Today?” Renee was dismayed. There wasn’t a store open anywhere in Dry Creek. He would have had to go into Billings, and that would take all day.

  Pete shrugged. “That’s what he said.”

  Renee wished she hadn’t already told Tessie he was coming. It was eight o’clock; there was no way he’d be back by ten.

  Tessie would have been excited to see him any day, but today she would also be impatient to open her presents.

  Renee was finished with the dishes and back at the main house by nine. She’d decided they’d still open presents at ten even though Rusty might not be there.

  The hour passed pleasantly. Renee watched Tessie play with her doll. They took a break and had some hot chocolate. They swung their arms around as they sang “Jingle Bell Rock” together with the CD.

  The doorbell rang at two minutes to ten. Renee hadn’t heard a vehicle drive up, so she thought it must be Pete with a phone message from Rusty saying he wouldn’t be coming after all. She had her fake smile in place so she could assure him that everything was fine.

  But when she opened the door, Rusty stood there. He had a large brown coat draped over his shoulders and the sling he wore on his injured arm seemed to have grown huge.

  Her smile turned to the real thing. “You made it.”

  She stepped aside so he could come in. “I thought you were out Christmas shopping.”

  He grinned as he stomped his feet on the mat in front of the door. “I was.”

  “But nothing’s open!”

  “The best presents don’t come from stores,” Rusty said as he continued to stand, his eyes searching over her shoulder.

  Tessie came running out of the living room and didn’t stop until she was at the feet of her prince.

  “I’ve got presents!” the girl declared gleefully. “Four of them. One from Mommy. One from Grandpa. One from Mrs. Hargrove. And
one from Pete.”

  “She’s read all the labels,” Renee said.

  “I don’t think that can be right,” Rusty said, his voice serious.

  “I counted,” Tessie said firmly and held up four fingers.

  “But you have one more,” Rusty said as he knelt down so he was level with Tessie.

  The girl screeched in excitement as she saw the furry black-and-white head peek out from the front of Rusty’s coat.

  “A puppy! You got me a puppy!”

  Rusty nodded and looked up at Renee. “I know you didn’t have time. And if the two of you want one of the other puppies in the litter instead, you can exchange her. Or we can look for a different puppy altogether.”

  Tessie was already pulling the puppy out of Rusty’s coat and cooing over her as if she was the best puppy she’d ever seen.

  “I better not let Dog see this,” Rusty said to Renee when Tessie raced down the hall chasing her new pet. “He’ll be jealous.”

  “Come sit down,” Renee said. “I don’t think Tessie is going to be ready to open the rest of her presents for some time. I can fix you some coffee or hot chocolate.”

  The snow accumulated on the ground in the next hour as Tessie played with her new puppy and Renee and Rusty sat by the fire talking. He told her that the sheriff had called him this morning to say that he’d talked to the bank in Havre that had held the mortgage on his family farm, the loan that Otis had overseen. Apparently Otis had stolen the money when Rusty’s father had given him enough to pay off the loan. The money had only made Otis greedy, though, and that was when he’d set up the rustling ring. The sheriff said the Calhoun ranch would be given back to the brothers as soon as new documents could be signed.

  “So I’ll have a home again,” Rusty said, his voice taking on a shy note. “Eric will live with me some, but he’s said he wants to go to college next year.”

  “That’s wonderful,” Renee said.

  They both sipped their cups of hot chocolate and were silent for a minute.

  “I have a present for you,” Rusty said then.