Enchanted Christmas
Page 32
He could have built himself a palace, of course, but it would have looked absurdly out of place here on the bleak, barren plains of southeastern New Mexico Territory. A wizard as wise as Alexander McMurdo knew better than to overdo things.
“Well, Mr. McMurdo, I must say I appreciate your hospitality. I was quite worried for a while there yesterday after the sun began to set.”
Joshua Horgan’s dark eyes gleamed with jollity. Mac grinned, and was amazed all over again that two human siblings could be as different as Susan Blackworth and Mr. Horgan here. Ah, he did love humans. They could be unpredictable at the strangest times. Irritating, they might be, but they never failed to amuse Mac.
“Aye, well, it’s a big place, the Territory,” he said with a wink. “And I’m right glad ye made your way to us, Mr. Horgan.” He didn’t mention that he, Alexander McMurdo, had drawn him to this house. No one other than Mac needed to know that. Things had worked out well, and that’s what mattered.
Noah and Grace entered his house hand in hand, looking as much in love as any two people Mac had ever seen. Aye, the lad was on his way now. He’d been in such bad shape when he’d ridden into the yard a month and half back that even Mac had wondered for a while if he was too far gone. But he’d come back. He wasn’t whole yet, but he was on the mend. With Grace and Maddie to see to him, and with the new wee bairn on the way, the lad would soon look back on the war as if it had been an especially terrible nightmare.
It amazed Mac how strong some folks were. Take Noah, for instance. Why, the lad had survived against overwhelming odds—and then blamed himself for it. As if he didn’t deserve to live! Och, human beings were such an odd lot sometimes. But the lad might one day learn that his strength, the strength that brought him out of that vile place, wounded and scarred and sick almost to death, had helped hone him into the fine man he truly was.
Grace knew it. Mac was proud of her for recognizing Noah’s sterling qualities underneath his brittle shell.
Maddie knew it too. Now, there was a lass who was worth her weight in diamonds. He watched her run into the parlor to greet her mother and new daddy, and grinned around his pipe stem. She and Priscilla were wearing matching Christmas dresses today. Grace had made them for her, of course.
Noah swung Maddie up and gave her a kiss on the cheek, and Mac blew out a series of satisfied smoke rings. For fun, he made two of them twine into a lover’s knot, then decided he’d best not do too much of that sort of thing.
Anyway, Christmas was magical enough all on its own. It needed no help from Alexander McMurdo.
After breakfast, Gus said he’d be honored to guide Mr. Horgan to his sister’s ranch. He was another good lad, Gus was. And he’d find his own woman one of these days. Grace was meant for Noah. Poor Gus’s heart was aching now, but he was made of resilient stuff, Gus was. Mac knew it, if he didn’t. These disappointments in life helped to strengthen human beings. Mac had noticed it often. So Gus would heal, and he’d toughen up, and he’d grow wiser, and he’d be fine. Just fine.
Grace, Maddie, Noah, and Mac went out to the wagon yard gates to wave Gus and Mr. Horgan off. Cries of “Merry Christmas” rang in the crisp morning air and blended beautifully with the scent of wood smoke and the clean, fresh atmosphere of the Territory.
Mac loved this wild and empty land. It was a strange place, a land full of enchantment and promise. As he watched Grace, Noah, and Maddie shout with laughter as they made angels in the snow, he was glad its enchantment had worked so well on those three. Together, they’d fulfill their own promises.