The Christmas Vow

by Shanna Hatfield

  Captivated, he wondered if the strands would feel as soft and silky now as they did then. Before he voiced his thoughts, Tia pushed open the screen and stepped back, allowing him to enter.

  “Now, tell me what’s got you on my doorstep before the school bell has even rung.” Tia motioned for him to take a seat in the parlor.

  He waited until she sat on the sofa then settled himself in a chair by the fire. The steady increase of his temperature caused by Tia’s lovely presence forced him to shed his coat and scarf. Absently, he wondered if he’d taken ill with some malady. His stomach churned, his throat ached, and if he touched his forehead, he was sure it would be as clammy as his palms.

  Briskly wiping his hands along the legs of his trousers, he inhaled another calming breath and met Tia’s questioning gaze.

  The sight of her smile, of those apple cheeks dusted with a light hue that put him in mind of summer peaches, sucked all the moisture from his mouth. As his tongue cleaved to the roof his mouth, he awkwardly swallowed.

  “Tia, I…” Adam faltered, uncertain how to word his proposition. He cleared his throat and swallowed again. “This might sound a little strange… perhaps entirely daft, but I’ve come to care for Toby a great deal in the short time I’ve been back in town. The thought of his grandfather raising him, of taking him away from you, makes me angry. Toby belongs with you.”

  Tia sniffed and dabbed at the tears that suddenly filled her eyes. “Thank you, Adam. I appreciate your kind words.”

  “It’s not just words I want to offer, Tia. It’s me.”

  Confused, she cocked her head to one side. “You?”

  Adam moved from the chair to sit beside her on the sofa, taking one of her delicate hands in his. “I’m saying this badly, but I’ve done little else than think on what Mr. Carlton said about a marriage being the simplest way to ensure the judge can’t take Toby. Will you marry me, Tia? For Toby’s sake? To keep him safe and here with you?”

  Tia sat back, staring at Adam as if he’d begun speaking gibberish. Her gaze dropped to the hand he held between his. She’d always liked the way he held her hand, so gently, yet possessively. The roughness of his skin against hers felt so familiar and so right.

  The one thing she’d wanted more than anything in her life was for Adam Guthry to ask her to be his wife. In fact, the entire last year they attended school, she hoped every single day would be the day Adam proposed to her.

  When summer arrived with no hint of plans for a future together, Tia grew restless. Tired of waiting for him to get around to asking for her hand and fearful he never would, her grandmother insisted Tia go to Portland to visit her great aunt for a few weeks. Only she never came back.

  Now, all these years later, Adam had finally asked the question she’d longed most of her life to hear.

  And she had to tell him no.

  “I can’t marry you, Adam.” Tia pulled her hand from his and slid back on the sofa, putting space between the two of them.

  “Why?” Adam asked, taking her hand in his again, meshing their fingers together. Memories of all the times they’d sat with their fingers entwined made fresh pain arc through his chest.

  “Because…” Tia scrambled for a reason. She couldn’t verbalize a single one with Adam sitting so close, filling her nose with his manly scent and her heart with his willingness to sacrifice his freedom for her son.

  “That’s not a reason, Queenie.” The teasing smile he gave her did great justice to the dimples in his cheeks while wreaking havoc on her ability to reason. “Please, Tia, will you please marry me?”

  “I can’t.” She pulled her hand away again and rose, turning to stare out the window at the serene, snowy scene of her front yard. Chickadees pecked at the birdseed she’d helped Toby set out in a flat pan. The fluttering of vermilion wings added a splash of color to the blanket of white as two cardinals darted from the fence to another dish holding seeds.

  Finally, she turned to face him. “It wouldn’t be fair to you to accept your proposal of marriage for the sake of getting me out of this predicament.” A sigh escaped her. She glanced down, brushing at a speck of lint clinging to the front of her deep green and navy striped gown. “It’s a mess of my own making and I’ll figure out how to deal with it. I could always take Toby and agree to live with Cedric and Catherine. At least that way, I know we’d be together.”

  “Until they kicked you out or found some other way to torment you.” Adam got to his feet and moved until he stood so close to her, the toes of his boots touched the tips of her shoes beneath the hem of her skirt.

  When she continued staring at her feet, Adam cupped her chin in his hand and lifted her head. He looked into her face and noticed the gown made her eyes look more green than blue — like the color of the river in deep autumn.

  He’d always been fascinated with the shifting colors of her eyes. The hues ranged from gray to brown and everything in between, depending on her mood and what she wore.

  “Look, Tia, I have no desire to marry anyone for love. Not today, not ever. Originally, I’d planned to remain a bachelor and become the doting, amusing uncle to any children Arlan and Alex may have.”

  A smile hovered on Tia’s mouth and Adam sighed. “You’d actually be doing me a favor by marrying me. There’s a bevy of misguided women trapped in the delusion they’ll one day catch me. If we wed, they’d have to give up trying.” The smirk he gave her followed by a rakish wink was pure male flirtation.

  Pretending to be affronted, she took a step back and he dropped his hand. “It’s nice to see you’re as conceited as ever, Adam Guthry.”

  “Be that as it may, please think of what’s best for your son. He’d be safe under my protection, and so would you. I’m not asking for a traditional marriage, Tia. Think of it as more of a business venture. You’re providing assistance with my problem, and I’m helping with yours. No strings attached. No expectations. A marriage in name only.”

  The two of them stood quietly for several moments, studying each other.

  “Where would you live?” Tia asked unexpectedly.

  The fact she hadn’t refused him again stirred his simmering hope. “Until I return to Portland after Christmas, I can stay at Alex and Arlan’s home, unless you want me to stay here. My presence might deter the judge’s hired thugs. You’ve got a spare room, don’t you?”

  The almost imperceptible nod of her head nearly missed his observation.

  Fretfully, her fingers plucked at the thick green lace on the cuff of her sleeve. “What about after Christmas? You plan to go back to Portland. Would we stay here or go with you?”

  “That’s up to you and Toby. If you choose to stay here in Hardman, I’ll make it a point to visit a few times a year. Not that I care one whit about what people say, but I wouldn’t want anyone to think I’d abandoned you. If you’d rather come with me to Portland, that’s fine, too. I live in a boarding house, but I’ve saved enough money to purchase a home. We could look for something near the river.” Adam took both of her hands in his. “I vowed I’d take care of you, Tia, of you and Toby, and I mean to see it through. If you meet someone and fall in love and decide you want out of our farce marriage, you can always have it annulled.”

  Wounded he’d think she wouldn’t take their marriage vows seriously, she frowned. She’d given him no reason to trust her, to trust she wouldn’t run off and marry the first man who asked her despite how much she loved him. That was the very thing she’d done eleven years ago and it stood to reason he’d be wary of history repeating itself.

  “Why would you do this, Adam? Why would you sacrifice yourself for a woman who doesn’t deserve it? And don’t give me any more nonsense about women chasing after you.”

  Adam looked long and deep into her eyes, wondering if she could see the love he still felt for her shining in his. “I’m not doing this for you. This is about keeping Toby where he belongs, and that’s with you. He’s already lost his father. That little boy deserves to grow up with the one pe
rson who loves him more than anything in this world. There’s not a single thing the judge can say or do to convince me his reasons for wanting Toby are unselfish. From where I stand, this is about him flexing his power and proving he can run roughshod over people.”

  “You never did cater to bullies.” Tia gave him a knowing glance. “If I agree to this, Adam, and that’s a very questionable if at this point, I want you to rest assured I wouldn’t make a vow to you unless I plan to keep it. If we wed, there’ll be no request for an annulment from me.” Not when marriage to Adam was what she’d always wanted. Nearly every girlish dream she’d ever had centered on being Adam’s wife. “That’s why I want you to be sure you won’t regret doing this in a week or month or year from now.”

  “No, Tia. I won’t regret it.” Adam couldn’t help himself. The need to touch her overrode common sense. His thumb traced over her cheek and along her jaw. “I’ll ask one last time: Tiadora Elizabeth Meyer Devereux, will you please marry me?”

  “If you’re absolutely, without a doubt sure you want to be saddled with a wife and four-year-old son, then yes, Adam Gilbert Guthry, I’ll marry you.”

  With a mischievous twinkle in his eye, Adam took a step closer and bracketed her face with his hands. “Shouldn’t we seal the deal with a kiss?”

  “I don’t think that’s a…” Whatever words she planned to say were lost when Adam touched his lips to hers in a kiss so sweet and gentle it made tears puddle in her eyes.

  The look on his face as he raised his head and smiled at her made longings she’d forgotten existed swirl to life in her mid-section.

  “Was that so bad?” Adam whispered, brushing his thumb across her lips.

  Tia thought she might die from the bliss of knowing his touch again. Goose bumps broke out over her arms and a shiver of delight started at her head, working its way down to her toes.

  A giggle from the doorway drew their attention to Toby.

  “Hi, there, little man. How are you today?” Adam hunkered down and Toby ran straight into his arms. He lifted him up and gave him a hug.

  “Are you gonna marry my mama?” Toby asked, leaning back in Adam’s arms and staring at him.

  “I sure am. Is that okay with you?”

  “Mmm, hmm.” Toby reached out to Tia. She took his hand in hers, kissing his fingers as the little boy grinned at Adam. “Can I marry you, too?”

  Adam chuckled and tossed Toby into the air. “How about I take you both to the restaurant for breakfast? Have you eaten yet?”

  “As a matter of fact, we have, but I’m more than happy to make you something, Adam.” Tia moved toward the kitchen but looked back over her shoulder with a saucy smile. “Come in here while I fix you something to eat and we can discuss the terms of your surrender.”

  Chapter Nine

  People strolling through town watched Ginny Stratton sprint down the street with her skirts flapping around her knees. Curious if some tragedy had befallen the Granger family, they stared as she made haste toward Luke and Filly’s home.

  By the bright smile on her face, though, it was evident whatever sent her racing pell-mell from one end of Hardman to the other was a happy occurrence.

  Ginny slid on the ice and almost took a tumble before she regained her balance and ran toward the kitchen door of Granger House.

  Luke’s dog, Bart, lounged across the back porch steps. Ginny nimbly jumped over him and opened the door, slamming it shut behind her.

  Wide-eyed, Filly glanced up at the sound from where she cut a pan of toffee into squares.

  Swiftly removing her outerwear, Ginny walked across the kitchen and snitched a piece of the candy.

  “Mmm. That is so good, Filly. What would we do without you to ply us with delicious treats?” Ginny leaned against the counter.

  Filly grinned. “Not have nearly as many sweets to enjoy. I don’t know how your brother has a tooth left in his head for all the candy and desserts he eats.” Filly returned to cutting the candy. “Admittedly, I’m quite partial to his white-toothed smile.”

  “And the dimple in his chin and the sparkle in his eyes,” Ginny teased. The adoration Luke and Filly shared for each other wasn’t a secret to anyone in town.

  “What brings you noisily into my house in the middle of the afternoon?” Filly set aside the knife and began placing pieces of the toffee into small tins.

  Ginny helped herself to another piece of the candy. “I heard the most exciting news a few minutes ago. I’m waiting for Alex to let classes out for the day so we can start making plans.”

  Filly’s hand stilled and she looked to Ginny. “Plans? Plans for what? You’ve already planned the skating party for next week and the week after that is Christmas. Alex has all the committees lined up for the Christmas Carnival on Christmas Eve. We’re all helping with the program at church. What other plans are there? I’m not sure I can handle too many more unexpected activities and still bake all the treats you gluttons have come to expect.”

  Giggling, Ginny motioned for Filly to finish filling the tins as she hurriedly stuffed candy inside the one closest to her. “Blake and I were making furniture deliveries when Adam stopped us. He asked Blake if he could use some of his tools for a special project for Toby Devereux. Casually, Adam mentioned that he and Tia plan to wed. He wants to make something he thought the little boy will love.”

  “What? Adam’s getting married? When did this happen?” Filly wiped her hands on a dishtowel and pushed Ginny toward the kitchen table. Hastily, she poured two cups of tea then sat down beside her. “Start from the beginning.”

  “That’s all I know. Adam said he and Tia had, and this is his phrasing, ‘come to an understanding,’ and they planned to wed this Thursday.”

  “This Thursday?” Filly rocked back in her chair, shocked by the sudden nuptials. “Well, good gracious! That doesn’t give us much time to pull everything together.”

  She hurried across the room to a drawer, extracted a paper tablet and pencil then returned to the table. “Let’s make a list.”

  “You can do the cake,” Ginny suggested. “Put that at the top of the list.”

  Filly rolled her holly green eyes. “Cake, baked by me. What else? Do you suppose Abby has a gown in her shop that would fit Tia? Then again, Tia has so many lovely clothes, she probably already has something suitable.” Filly laid down the pencil and let out a breath of air. “Oh.”

  “Oh? Oh, what?” Ginny nudged Filly’s arm with her elbow. “Keep going.”

  “Well, don’t you think before we get too carried away, we might want to speak with the bride-to-be? See what plans she’s making?”

  “You’re right.” Ginny’s smile melted and her lips formed into the pout she’d perfected as a child. “It sucks all the fun out of it, but you’re right.”

  “Why don’t we round up Alex the minute school is out and visit Tia? The three of us can offer to help and listen to what she already has planned. After all, it is her wedding so we should let her decide what she wants.”

  “I agree.” Ginny glanced at the clock on the wall and jumped to her feet. “I’ll go fetch Alex since school will be out soon. Is Maura sleeping?”

  Filly nodded her head. “She is, but she should awaken any moment. I’ll bundle her up and leave her with her daddy at the bank. Luke won’t mind. I’d ask Mrs. Kellogg to watch her, but she’s gone to visit family for the holidays.”

  “I’m sure she’s having a wonderful time, although that means more work for you around here. Are you finally going to cave to Mother’s insistence you hire ‘full-time domestic help,’ as she puts it.”

  “I am not. I like taking care of my own home and doing my own cooking, although having help with the laundry and some of the other tasks a few days a week is nice. Mrs. Kellogg will be back after Christmas. I can muddle through that long.” Filly carried their cups to the sink and cleaned up the last of the toffee mess. “You hurry to the school to let Alex know, and I’ll see if Abby can join us after I stop by the bank. I’l
l meet you at Tia’s.”

  “See you there.” Ginny yanked on her coat and left in a flurry of swirling skirts.

  Filly washed her hands, removed her apron, and hurried up the back stairs to the expansive room she shared with Luke. With fast movements borne from always being in a rush, Filly changed into a fresh dress and tidied her hair before entering Maura’s nursery and finding the baby sleepily rubbing her eyes.

  “Are you awake, Maura, love?”

  The baby smiled at her mother and waved her hands, wanting picked up.

  Filly changed Maura’s diaper and gown before carrying her downstairs where she dressed them both in warm coats. She tugged a knit hat over Maura’s curls and kissed the baby’s perfect little nose, making her giggle.

  “Shall we go see Daddy?” Filly asked, wrapping a knit blanket around her daughter before picking up a tin of the toffee from the counter and tucking it into a basket along with the tablet and her reticule.

  “Dadda! See Dadda!” Maura bounced in Filly’s arms.

  “Off we go, sweet girl.” Filly sailed out the door. As she stepped over Bart, she cautioned him to stay home and keep an eye on the house while she was gone.

  When she opened the door to the bank, Luke stood and hurried around his desk, taking Maura in his arms while kissing Filly’s cheek.

  “What are my two best girls doing out and about today?” Luke removed Maura’s cap and nuzzled her curls, inhaling the marvelous scent of his baby girl’s head.

  Maura patted a hand against his face, smiling and chattering in her own language.

  “Your sister and I heard about Adam’s upcoming nuptials and wanted to pay a visit to Tia, to offer our assistance with any wedding plans.” Filly smiled at Arlan as he escorted a customer to the door then turned back to join the conversation.

  “Adam stopped by earlier to share the news.” Luke grinned at his wife. “I had a meeting with one of the silver mine supervisors for lunch today, or I’d have told you earlier. It doesn’t surprise me at all that you and Ginny have somehow managed to become privy to the news and deemed yourself in charge of the plans.”