He saw LeAnn and Andy working on the food tables. There were large bowls and platters of food of every kind available. Some people were standing and eating. Some were sitting in the chairs at tables. Jess glanced over at the reading room and saw people inside. Don, Russ, Roy and Homer were talking with them and showing them books. He walked over to where Woodson and Jacob were organizing the toys. Woodson stopped and looked at Jess.
“Ah, you’ve come to see the miracle of Christmas, have you?” he said in a jolly voice.
“I don’t know about the miracle, but this sure is a wonderful day,” he said as he looked around. “Look at the children having fun. They have new clothes and shoes and full bellies. This is just perfect.”
“Well, why don’t you make an announcement that we’re ready to hand out the rest of the toys?” suggested Woodson.
“All right,” he said as he saw Holly and Dewey carrying Noel in and setting her in a chair. She went about picking out some clothes for her two children and Sara handed her two nice dresses and a hat for herself, along with a nice pair of women’s shoes. Jess whistled loudly to get everyone’s attention. Everyone became quiet.
“I hope everyone is having a great time,” announced Jess. “Keep eating food and take more clothes with you. I don’t want one item left on those tables even if it means everyone has more than one set of clothes and shoes. If you have what you need and know people who need something but didn’t attend today, take it to them. Now for the children, we have all kinds of toys for you so we need all the children to start lining up here by me and Jacob will hand out the toys.”
All the children quickly lined up in front of Jess. He saw one young boy about seven years old walking with a limp. He noticed the boy had lost his right foot and walked on a leather-covered stump. A lump gathered in his throat as he saw the boy still smiling happily.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jess took a seat near the toys and watched as Jacob seemed to pick out the perfect toy for each child. When the young boy with the missing right foot reached Jacob, he tousled the boy’s hair which made him laugh.
“What is your name?” asked Jacob.
“Toby.”
“Well, Toby, what would you like for Christmas?”
“Do you have any sleds left?”
“As a matter of fact, I do,” he said as he reached behind him and pulled out a sled. Jacob stood it up in front of Toby who wrapped his arms around it.
“This is the best Christmas ever,” he said with glee. He started to leave, but Jacob gently grabbed him by the arm.
“We have another special gift made just for you, Toby.”
“Really? Two gifts for Christmas?”
“Yes, now let me find them,” he said as he rifled around until Woodson produced a pair of boots and handed them to Jacob.
“Ah, here they are,” announced Jacob as he handed the pair of boots to Toby.
Toby looked at them smiling, but he only took the left one. “I can only wear this one on account of my missing right foot,” he said.
“No, you put them both on,” said Jacob.
“But…”
“Please, do it for me,” pushed Jacob.
“Well, all right,” agreed Toby. He put the left boot on and it fit perfectly. When he put the right boot on, he had a look of confusion that turned to a look of surprise and then to a look of wonder.
“It fits perfectly, but how?”
“Never mind, just try to walk in them,” Jacob told him. Toby walked around the room and his steps were perfect and both of the boots reached the floor evenly.
“They work, and it doesn’t hurt my stump!” he said excitedly as he ran to his parents and hugged his mother.
“Look, Mother, I have magic boots!”
“Oh my, how…who?” she asked, wiping tears from her face. She looked over at Jess, who simply shrugged his shoulders and made a funny face, just as confused as anyone. The two parents walked toward Jess and stopped in front of him as he stood up.
“How did you know to make those boots to fit my son so he could walk straight?” she asked.
“I didn’t have anything to do with that. Woodson must have made them,” he told her, still a look of confusion splashed across his face.
“Who is Mr. Woodson?” she asked.
“That man right behind Jacob,” replied Jess as he nodded at Woodson, who simply smiled. The parents walked over to Jacob and Woodson.
“Thank you so much for the boots,” she told Woodson. “But how could you have possibly known? We’ve never met you before.” Woodson smiled at her and winked at Jess.
“It’s the miracle called Christmas,” he told her.
They thanked him repeatedly and then walked away. Woodson smiled at Jess strangely as Jess expressed a questioning look on his face. Woodson simply shrugged his shoulders and went back to helping Jacob hand out the toys. Jess sat back down and Tony walked over with a chicken leg in his hand.
“What was all that about?” asked Tony as he watched Toby walking around with the other children.
“I have no idea,” admitted Jess. “Does Toby live in town?”
“Naw, he and his folks live a good eight miles to the east,” replied Tony as he chewed on the chicken leg.
“Did you see Woodson leave town since he arrived?”
“Not unless he walked, because those wagons haven’t moved except for when we delivered the toys and clothes here and picked up people today,” recalled Tony. “I would’ve known if they were used other than that.”
“That’s strange,” muttered Jess.
Tony finished the chicken leg and headed back over to the food tables. He saw Andy and another man carrying Noel in the chair over to Jacob now that the line was almost empty. Holly and Dewey walked behind them. Holly was wearing a new dress and shoes and she smiled warmly at Jess. Dewey went first and he asked for a ball. Jacob produced one that was plum-shaped and soft. Dewey dropped it on the floor and began kicking it around the room. Other children quickly joined in until the mothers stopped them due to the ball hitting people in the legs.
Jacob looked at Noel warmly. “And what would you like for Christmas?” he asked her.
“Are you sure every other kid got a toy?”
“Why do you ask?”
“Because I wouldn’t want to take the last one if some other child didn’t get one,” she said in a serious tone.
“You mean you’d give up the last toy and let someone else have it?” queried Woodson from behind Jacob.
“Of course, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes, I certainly would,” admitted Woodson. “But the good news is, we still have plenty of toys left, so what would you like?”
“I’d really like a doll to play with,” she said. Jacob leaned backward and produced a hand-sewn doll with clothes on it. He handed it to her.
“This is a very nice doll,” she said. “Thank you very much and Merry Christmas to you.” Andy and the other man started to take Noel back to her spot, but Woodson stopped them.
“Hold on there, I think we have one more gift for Noel,” chuckled Woodson. They turned her back around and set her down.
“But I already have a gift. How did you know my name?” she asked, hugging the doll.
“I know lots of things,” said Woodson. “And I know you’re a very special little girl and deserving of a very special gift.”
Woodson walked behind the tree and a piece of canvas came flying out. He walked around the other side of the tree and returned pushing a wheelchair that looked like it would fit her perfectly with some room to grow. Holly put both hands to her face and gasped. Jess was so stunned he stood up again. Woodson looked at Andy and smiled through his thick snow-white beard.
“Put her in this chair,” said Woodson.
Andy picked her up and set her down in the wheelchair. The seat was padded. Noel felt the wheels and Andy put her feet in the bottom footrest. She wheeled herself around in a circle and back to Woodson.
�
�Did you make this just for me?” she asked.
“I certainly did,” said Woodson as he winked at Jess again. Noel picked up the doll from her lap and handed it to Woodson.
“You don’t want the doll?” he asked.
“Yes, but I only need one gift,” she said. “And this chair is the most wonderful gift I could ever wish for.” Woodson smiled at her and handed the doll back.
“Since this is a special Christmas, you get to keep both the chair and the doll,” he said. She looked at the doll and smiled happily as she looked up at Woodson.
“Can I touch your beard?” she asked.
“Why, of course you can,” he said and leaned down.
She ran her fingers through his beard and giggled. “It feels kind of strange, like it tickles my fingers,” she said.
“That’s the miracle of Christmas,” he told her as he kissed her on the top of her head.
“Thank you very much,” she told Woodson and Jacob. Woodson pointed to Jess.
“Make sure you thank him too. He paid for all the toys and gifts.”
She wheeled over to Jess and looked up at him. “Thank you, kind sir, for this wonderful gift,” she said, with a smile stuck on her face.
“You’re certainly welcome,” he said as he looked at Holly, who was still overcome with joy and disbelief.
“Did Woodson come out to the house?” he asked her.
Holly shook her head. “No, no one even knew we were out there except you,” she said.
“Then how did he know?”
“It was a Christmas miracle,” said Noel, not looking up from her doll when she said it.
“Something strange is going on here because there never was a wheelchair in that wagon when I bought all the toys,” said Jess as he watched Woodson getting himself something to eat. Jacob walked around handing out the last of the toys to people, asking them to give them to someone in need. Holly put her hand on Jess’s arm.
“I’d like to take you up on your offer to look at the house in town,” she said. “I’ve talked to several of the ladies and they all welcomed us with open arms. Ruth said I could work at her café as a waitress.”
Jess was still in a state of confusion. “Oh, uh, all right,” he said as he waved for Tony to come over. When he did, he saw the puzzled look on Jess’s face.
“Is everything okay?” inquired Tony.
“I’m not sure,” he said, shaking his head slowly. “But can you take Holly and her two children to that two-bedroom house I told you about earlier.”
“Sure, and the ramps that were put up for Dozer will come in handy with this wheelchair,” said Tony as he grabbed the handles. “Are you ready for a little ride, young lady?”
Noel looked up at him and smiled. “Yes, please,” she said. Tony led them out of the town hall and to the house. When he opened the door, the warmth hit them. They walked inside and looked around.
“This is absolutely perfect,” exclaimed Holly, holding back tears of joy. “A few days ago we were living in a cold house with almost nothing to eat and now I have a house for me and my children to live in and people who have accepted us with open arms. I even have a job waiting for me. I just can’t believe this is all happening so fast.”
Tony smiled at her. “Listen, if something needs fixing, you come and get me,” he told her. “I’ll go out to Jess’s place tomorrow and gather up all your things and deliver them here.”
“Thank you so much,” said Holly as Tony left and headed back to the town hall. When he walked in, Jess was still standing and watching Woodson and Jacob eating.
Tony placed his hand on Jess’s shoulder and he flinched. “Whoa, why are you so jumpy?” asked Tony.
“I have no idea, but something strange happened here today and I haven’t a clue as to what it was,” he replied as he kept staring at Woodson and Jacob.
“Why don’t we get us a plate and eat?”
“I thought you already ate.”
“I’ve been sampling the food all afternoon, but now I want a full meal,” Jess followed Tony to the food tables and they each made a plate. They sat down next to Jim and Sara, who were talking with some of the other folks about how nice the day had turned out.
“Jess, we want to thank you for everything,” said Jim.
“And especially for what you did for Toby and that new girl,” added Sara. “How did you know to do that?”
“Listen, I had nothing to do with any of it,” he said flatly. “It was as much of a surprise to me as anyone else.” He saw Jacob and Woodson standing up. They walked over to where Jess was.
“Well, this has been a long day and we’re plumb tuckered out,” said Woodson. “Thanks for the wonderful food. We’re going to retire for the night.”
“Thank you two for everything,” announced Jim. “We’ll see you for breakfast tomorrow morning at our house.”
“That sounds wonderful,” said Woodson as he and Jacob headed out. Jess watched them leave and he picked at his food for the next few minutes. Don walked out of the reading room and sat down at the long table.
“We handed out over twenty books today and received ten donations to the reading room,” he told everyone. “A grand day this has been for sure.”
Jess looked over at the reading room. Russ, Homer and Roy were all waving at him. He nodded back and took another bite of the food and chewed it, thinking about the boots and wheelchair. He finally put his fork down and stared at his food. Sara noticed it and she put her hand on his.
“What’s bothering you, Jess?” she asked.
“I have to go and speak to Woodson and Jacob,” he said as he stood up and headed for the door. Sara looked at Jim, who had a look of concern on his face.
“What do you think is bothering him so much?”
“I don’t know, but it’s probably nothing to worry about,” he told her.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Jess walked along the boardwalks and crossed the street, heading for the rental house that Woodson and Jacob were using. The snow was falling heavily now and he shuddered at the cold, realizing he had forgotten to get another heavy coat. When he reached the house, he couldn’t help but notice that there were no foot prints in the fresh snow on the front porch. He saw that the lamp inside was set on low. He rapped on the door, but no one answered. He tried the door handle and it opened.
“Woodson? Jacob?” he called out. No answer.
He walked inside and checked the two sleeping rooms, but the beds were neatly made and no one was in them. He walked back to the main room. Everything was in its place. He walked outside, closed the door and headed for the livery. When he arrived, he opened the large door and walked inside. The wagon Woodson and Jacob had driven was gone, along with the two original horses that had pulled it. The other two horses he had purchased were still in their stalls. He walked outside and looked around. He saw foot prints and hoof prints in the snow, but no wagon wheel tracks leaving the livery. He kept looking around with a total look of confusion on his face. He turned his head around to see if the wagon would just reappear somehow, but it was definitely gone with no trace of it ever leaving. There was no sign of Blacky anywhere either.
“I don’t understand,” he whispered to himself. “Where did they go, and why?”
He closed the door and walked to Jim and Sara’s house. They were sitting in the kitchen. There was a box on the table with a bow on it. He poured himself a cup of coffee and sat down, removing his hat and sitting it by the box.
“Where did you go off to?” questioned Sara.
“I went looking for Woodson and Jacob.”
“Did you thank them for us? Because we didn’t get a chance before they left,” said Jim.
“No, I didn’t.”
“Why not?” asked Sara.
“Because they disappeared into thin air.”
“They took their wagon and left at this time of night?” queried Jim.
“That’s the strange thing, the wagon is gone, but there were no tracks l
eaving the livery, and there are two inches of fresh snow by the door,” explained Jess.
“They probably got wiped out from the other horses and wagons leaving town,” advised Jim.
“No, I’m telling you, I know how to track an ant over a rock and there were no marks of a wagon wheel leaving the livery, but Woodson’s wagon is gone, along with him and Jacob. Even Blacky is missing.” Jim and Sara exchanged glances of concern and then shrugged it off.
“I’m sure there must be some kind of explanation,” asserted Sara. “Why don’t you open the gift Woodson left for you?” Jess looked at the box as he took a sip of his coffee.
“He left that for me?”
“Yes, he gave it to me this afternoon and said to make sure you got it,” said Jim.
Jess put his coffee cup down, removed the bow and opened the box. Inside was a beautifully crafted brass spyglass that looked thicker than the one he had in his saddlebags. He picked it up and examined it. There was a note inside the box. He picked it up and read it to himself.
Dear Jess,
I’m sorry we had to leave so soon, but I wanted you to have this. This spyglass is one of the finest you can get. It was made in Germany by a master craftsman. I’m sure it is much better than the one you use now. I know you won’t change what you do for a living and you’ll have to reconcile that with the man upstairs one day. But, I’m sure he’s aware of all the good things you’ve done for people and maybe the scales will tip in your favor. I know you’re a good man at heart and I’m sure he knows that, too. Anyway if you’re still going to hunt men for a living, you might as well have the best tools for the job. I know you said you didn’t believe in miracles, but maybe you’ve changed your mind by now since you experienced a few of them yourself today. Jacob says hi and we have a full load of toys in the wagon and much more work to do yet tonight. I hope you had a very Merry Christmas.
A CHRISTMAS MIRACLE: Forty-Sixth in a Series of Jess Williams Westerns (A Jess Williams Western Book 46) Page 7