Like a shock of cold water pouring over her, Marian realized for the last hours she hadn’t been mourning. How could I allow myself to feel happy when Juliana is gone? To be eager for the love of another man instead of dear Harold’s? She clutched her grief tight, as if to hold her beloved ones close.
Marian tilted up her face to keep the tears from spilling and sniffed once, twice, but to no avail. The wave built, and she had to choke down a silent sob.
But she must have made a noise, for Elias glanced at her. His eyes narrowed in concern, and he slid an arm around her. “Come.” He discretely ushered her toward the back of the lobby, through the people who were so absorbed in the glorious singing that they barely glanced at the pair. He led her through a door into a conservatory where the windows were decorated in pine boughs. Faint moonlight spilled through the glass ceiling, illuminating a hanging kissing ball.
She set her velvet bag on a nearby wicker and glass table.
Elias gathered her into his arms.
Marian burrowed her face into his shoulder.
“Go ahead and cry, dearest.”
The comforting feel of his arms around her provided a reassuring feeling of safety, and Marian released the sobs she’d been trying to hold back.
With one hand, he rubbed circles along her back, holding her until the grief ebbed. “Is it Juliana?” Elias paused. “And Harold? You must be missing them.”
“Yes. No. I don’t know.” She pulled away a few inches to look at him.
He brushed a thumb under her eye, wiping away a tear. “That’s quite an answer.”
A wobbling laugh escaped her. “I was happy and that felt wrong.” She let out a shuddering sigh and shook her head. “Foolish, I know.”
Elias leaned over and kissed the tip of her nose. “Your daughter loved you very much. I’m sure she’d want you to be happy. As for Harold, what man likes to think of his wife with another?”
“A dying man,” Marian answered. “Harold didn’t like the thought of leaving me alone. He encouraged me to marry again. Although he did use the word wisely,” she said wryly.
Elias laughed, tossing back his head, and enticed a chuckle from her.
Leaning against his shoulder, Marian sniffed back her tears and fished a handkerchief from her sleeve. She mopped her eyes and blew her nose. “I must look a fright.”
“Yes,” Elias said playfully. “I’m about to run from you in horror.” His arms tightened around her back.
She wrinkled her nose and realized they were standing in a compromising position. Good thing the program was still going on, or surely someone would have discovered us. I would die of embarrassment! Marian motioned toward two side-by-side wicker chairs.
Elias released her, only to take hold of her hand and lead her to them. Hooking the leg of one chair with his foot, he dragged it closer to the other so he wouldn’t have to let her go. Still holding hands, they sat down, gazing into each other’s eyes.
Marian inhaled the scent of pine and then asked the question she’d been wondering for so many years. “Why, Elias? Why did you turn away from the world? Deny yourself companionship and pleasure?”
“I guess…I was punishing myself.”
Marian tilted her head in askance.
“When you ended our engagement, I told myself that it was for the best. Since I’d wanted a frugal life…indeed, I turned my back on you after we’d parted to have what I thought I wanted…” He gave a curt nod. “Then, by golly, I’d better live that miserable life to the very last squeezed penny.”
“But why did you even want that kind of life?”
“I’ve given that question a lot of thought lately…. The day he died of a heart attack, my father yelled at me for buying candy and a slingshot at the store without first asking permission. I thought it was my fault—”
“He died because you bought the candy,” Marian finished for him and squeezed his hand. “Oh, Elias, if only you’d told me.”
He hesitated. “I don’t think I would have held out long if you hadn’t married Harold so soon.”
Guilt seized her. “You could have stopped me.”
“Biggest mistake of my life,” Elias said with a wry quirk of his mouth. “I promise you, I’ve learned my lesson. Remember, even Ebenezer Scrooge changed at the end. And he didn’t have the incentive of pretty Marian Hutchinson Williams.”
She lifted her chin and met his gaze. “I intend to remain in charge of my own money.”
He grinned and squeezed her hand. “That sounds like an excellent idea.”
Taken aback, Marian stared at him. Harold had left her comfortably provided for, and she’d have thought Elias would assume she was still a spendthrift and want to include her money with his own in order to manage their funds.
“We’ll make a visit to Crenshaw and see a lawyer,” Elias said. “He can draw up documents so you legally keep your money and your house and any other assets you may have.”
“That wouldn’t bother you?”
“I wouldn’t have made the suggestion if it did.”
She relaxed. “Such an arrangement would ease my mind.”
“Will you be patient with me if I momentarily fall into bad habits?” His eyes shadowed with old pain. “Not…not leave?”
She placed her palm over his heart, feeling the rapid beat under her fingers. “I promise.”
Elias grinned. He raised her hand to his lips and pressed a kiss on her fingertips. “Then I’m satisfied.”
~ ~ ~
When Elias halted Prancer at her home, the harness bells stilled, and the hush of the night descended.
Marian turned to check on her grandson, snuggled under a striped Indian blanket, only to see the child had fallen asleep. “Noah,” she called softly, reaching over the seat to shake his knee. “Wake up.”
The boy didn’t move.
“Let me.” Elias grabbed the horse blanket from around their feet. He climbed down from the sleigh, flipped the reins over the hitching post, and flung the blanket over the horse, fastening the front buckle. Next, he walked to the back seat, leaned in, and scooped up Noah, blanket and all.
Marian slid out from under the blanket on her side. She hurried around the back of the sleigh and up the walkway. Opening the door to the cold house, she lit the lamp on a table by the door and carried it before her.
Noah stirred with a sleepy grumble, then raised his head and gave them a heavy-eyed look.
“Come into the kitchen, where hopefully it’s warmer.” Marian led the way there. Once in the room, she took off her muff and dropped it on the table opposite the feast Elias had sent over earlier. She’d left the food out, knowing the kitchen would chill. Not that I could fit the turkey in the icebox, anyway.
Moaning a protest, the boy squirmed to get down.
Elias lowered Noah to his feet, steadying him to make sure he wouldn’t fall against the stove, and rewrapped the blanket around him.
Marian walked over to the stove and stirred up the banked coals, adding more wood.
The noise woke Haggai, who was sleeping in a basket near the stove. The kitten yawned and stretched, then climbed out and stumbled toward Noah.
Noah scooped up the kitten, cuddling him. “You sleepy, too, Haggai?”
Marian waved toward the table. “Thank you for the grand gesture, Elias.” She drew her eyebrows together and pursed her lips in a mock frown. “Not that we needed it.”
He laughed. “Perhaps I needed to send that turkey. I’m Scrooge reborn, after all. I just needed some visits from Master Noah here—” he dropped a hand on the boy’s head “—instead of the three ghosts.”
Noah beamed.
Marian hadn’t seen her grandson look so happy since before his mother died, and her heart rejoiced. She glanced at Elias.
He watched Noah, his gaze tender.
Warmth swirled in her chest, spreading through her. Yes, Marian knew she loved Elias, had always loved him, even if she’d kept that love tucked into a secret compartment
of her heart. But now, seeing him with Noah gave a richness and depth to her feelings that she hadn’t dreamed was possible.
Noah glanced at the clock and grinned. “It’s after twelve.” He wiggled, which made Haggai stretch in protest. “Grandma, I want you to open your present now. I can’t wait until morning. Please?”
I couldn’t possibly receive anything more precious than the gifts I’ve already been given tonight. But Marian couldn’t resist those pleading eyes. “Very well.”
“The gift is in the sleigh,” Elias said to Noah. “I’ll be right back.”
The stove started to warm up, and Marian spread her fingers toward the heat.
Elias returned, carrying a package wrapped in red velvet that he extended to Noah.
The child set down the kitten, took the gift, and walked toward her.
Curious, Marian looked back and forth between the two, sensing some kind of shared secret.
They grinned at her with identical expressions of excitement.
Noah held out the package. “This is from me, Grandma. But Mr. Masters helped.”
Her heart beating in excitement, Marian unwound the material to find a porcelain vase. She stared down at it, noticing the familiar shape and the violet and rose pattern. Her hands shaking, she glanced at them, and then clasped the vase to her chest. “A lovely, lovely gift.”
Noah grinned, then yawned and rubbed his eyes.
“But how?” Marian asked, still clutching the precious vase to her heart. “How did the two of you manage to get together in the first place?”
“I tried to buy the vase, and I didn’t have enough money,” Noah said sheepishly, scuffing his foot, which tangled in the edge of the blanket still wrapped around him. “Mr. Masters was there and gave me some. But he said I had to work it off.”
She placed the vase on the table and stepped back to admire her present. “Perfect. Thank you, gentlemen. I will treasure this.”
Holding the blanket around him, Noah bunny-hopped to the kitchen table and plopped onto a chair. “Can I have some milk, Grandma?”
“Certainly. Let me warm it up. Then off to bed with you, young man. You’ve had quite a day.”
“But what about my stocking?” Noah protested as he covered up a big yawn.
“I’ll hang it up for you,” Marian assured him.
Noah looked up at Elias in appeal. “Will you stay and have some milk, too, Mr. Masters?”
Marian gave Elias a nod of encouragement.
“For a few minutes. I can’t leave the horse out in the cold for too long.”
“Good.” Noah yawned again and leaned over to pick up the kitten.
The milk in the icebox was almost frozen, and Marian poured the slushy mass from the pitcher into a pot on the stove, using a wooden spoon to stir it. The milk warmed, and she poured the comforting beverage into three cups of her best china. But when she turned, holding two cups and saucers, Marian saw Noah had fallen asleep again, his head pillowed on his arms and Haggai curled on his lap. Smiling, she set the cups on the table.
“I’ll get him.” Elias rose from his seat. He picked up Haggai and handed the kitten to her before scooping up Noah.
Marian motioned Elias to follow her. She picked up the lamp and still carrying the kitten, walked down the hallway to Noah’s room. She set the lamp on his chest of drawers and the kitten on the far side of his pillow, and then yanked back the covers of his bed. “Oh, dear, there isn’t time to heat up a hot brick. The sheets are going to be cold.”
“Leave him in his clothes, take off his shoes, and keep this blanket around him.” As he spoke, Elias laid the boy on the bed. “You can give it back to me tomorrow.”
Marian removed Noah’s shoes and tucked his feet under the covers. Then she pulled the blankets up around his shoulders. “Sweet dreams, dearest,” she whispered to him, kissing her grandson’s forehead.
Straightening, she glanced at Elias and found him watching her, a tender look in his eyes.
Suddenly shy, she looked down at the floor.
Elias pulled her into an embrace.
Marian snuggled against him in the same way she had so many years ago and let out a sigh of satisfaction. Blissful! She’d never thought she’d feel this way again.
Elias held her for a long moment, resting his cheek against her head.
She glanced from her sleeping grandson to Elias. “After all the pain of the last years, I never thought to be happy again—not like this. And now I have the two I love most in the world with me.” With a pang, Marian thought of her beloved daughter. “I think Juliana would approve of us.”
“She’ll always be your daughter, and you’ll never stop being her mother.”
“Thank you for understanding—for not trying to….” She smoothed a hand over the lapel of his coat, right over his generous heart.
“To hurry you out of your grief?”
“Oh, Elias,” Marian said on a grateful breath. “I feel very blessed.”
“I’m the one who’s blessed.” Elias stroked Marian’s cheek. “I love you so, Marian. And Noah, too. God has blessed us every one,” he slightly misquoted Tiny Tim and leaned in to kiss her.
Happy Holidays to my readers! If you want more short Christmas stories, Montana Sky Christmas takes place in 1894—the year before Sweetwater Springs Scrooge. And Sweetwater Springs Christmas has more stories of Christmas in 1895.
Please sign up for my newsletter at http://drdebraholland.com
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
In memory of Tanya Lauralynn Freed,
whom our family lost at age 20
Always loved and never forgotten.
And with love to her mother—
my cousin Mindy Codner Freed, my assistant and friend—
who (without knowing it)
provided some of Marian’s words and emotions.
In gratitude to:
My editors:
Louella Nelson
and
Linda Carroll-Bradd,
who always make my stories better.
To Delle Jacobs, friend and talented cover artist.
To my formatter:
Author E.M.S.,
whom I always trust to do a great job.
To my beta readers:
My mother, Honey Holland
My aunt, Hedy Codner
Kandice Moser
Marlene Larsen
To superfan Ed Millner,
who has rescued my formatting on several occasions.
To all my Facebook friends,
who make suggestions when I ask for help
and are so eager for more Montana Sky Stories,
I’m truly blessed to “know” you!
MONTANA SKY SERIES
1882
Beneath Montana’s Sky
1886
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Trudy
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Lina
Mail-Order Brides of the West: Darcy
1890s
Wild Montana Sky
Starry Montana Sky
Stormy Montana Sky
Montana Sky Christmas: A Sweetwater Springs Short Story Collection
Painted Montana Sky: A Sweetwater Springs Novella
Glorious Montana Sky
Sweetwater Springs Christmas: A Montana Sky Short Story Anthology
Look for future Montana Sky books, novellas, and short stories
ABOUT DEBRA HOLLAND
New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author Debra Holland is a three-time Romance Writers of America Golden Heart finalist and one time winner. She is the author of the Montana Sky Series, sweet, historical Western romances and The Gods’ Dream Trilogy, fantasy romance. In February, 2013, Amazon selected her book Starry Montana Sky as one of the top 50 Greatest Love Stories.
Debra has written a nonfiction book, The Essential Guide to Grief and Grieving from Alpha Books (a subsidiary of Penguin). Sign up for her newsletter and receive a free download of 58 Tips for Getting What You Want From
a Difficult Conversation: http://drdebraholland.com
Also look for her:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/debra.holland.731
Twitter: http://twitter.com/drdebraholland
Blog: http://drdebraholland.blogspot.com
Table of Contents
Sweetwater Springs Scrooge
Happy Holidays
Acknowledgments
The Montana Skies Series
About Debra Holland
Sweetwater Springs Scrooge: A Montana Sky Holiday Short Story (The Montana Sky Series) Page 5