Christmas Surprise

by Paisley Kirkpatrick

  Caroline got up and refilled it.

  "I reached Wausau and sent the telegram off to Michel without any trouble. I stayed until the telegrapher sent it, so we'd be sure it got to him."

  "Good, thank you, Jory," Matthias said.

  "I know it was taking a chance, but since we knew Gervais wasn't in Canada, I sent Michel a telegram of my own. I tried to be vague, but I let him know the locations of the warehouses."

  Matthias frowned. "You shouldn't have."

  "Nobody was in the office and after I sent the message, I took the piece of paper I wrote it on and tore it up, so nobody had a copy of what I sent to read."

  "Did anyone follow you from the telegraph office?"

  "No. I headed to the livery next. The information I found there was what we feared. Mrs. Brown bought a ticket to Green Bay, but at the last moment returned it for a refund. From there they had no idea what happened to her."

  Matthias shook his head. "I sure was wrong about that woman."

  Jory continued. "I went into a restaurant on Main Street to grab something to eat. I think it was called The Loggers' something."

  "The Loggers' Jam Restaurant is the place Big Dog and I visited when we were in Wausau a few days ago," Hank said.

  "It was within easy walking distance of the livery. I had a chance to make conversation with the waitress when she took my order. She remembered Mrs. Brown because of the woman's rude attitude."

  "You used your Scottish charm I presume," Caroline said.

  Jory grinned at her. "It does have its advantages." He drank more hot coffee before he went on. "Mrs. Brown asked to sit in a back corner and said she would wait for her husband to order."

  "So, she used the mail order bride ad for her advantage to get inside the post?"

  "I believe so, Hank."

  "Did the waitress know who her husband was?"

  "This is the best part." Jory grinned. "We've got them. She described him as a tall Mountie with a terrible gash on his right cheek."

  Luc jumped up. "I knew it. I'm going to kill that bastard."

  Jory let the bearskin pelt drop to the floor. "So, now we know where Gervais disappeared to after he met up with Farthington on the way to Escanaba."

  Luc shook his fist. "Yup, now we know."

  Hank slapped his good leg. "I'll be damned. You don't think she's actually married to Gervais, do you, Luc?"

  Luc shrugged. "I can't figure any of them out. Gervais and his three Mountie friends, plus Farthington and his three flunkies makes eight law enforcement members involved. This is going to rock the foundation of the bureau."

  "You've left Renald off the list," Matthias said. "We're up to nine that we know of. How deep this corruption goes into the tax collector's office is something we may never learn unless one of them makes a deal and talks to save his own skin."

  "Who hit you?" Tam asked.

  Jory rubbed his forehead. "I'm trying to put the last part of what happened together. I remember the waitress brought my food. I ordered a steak. It was quite good, but not as tender as MacGregor prime beef." He grinned at Tam.

  "Please go on," Hank said.

  "A man came over to my table and asked if he could speak with me for a moment." Jory shrugged. "It never occurred to me he could have overheard my discussion with the waitress and might do me harm. He pulled out the chair across from me and sat. He said he heard me asking about Penelope Brown and wanted to know what kind of business I had with her."

  "Do you think the waitress was in cahoots with the man?" Hank asked.

  "I doubt it. I told him it was none of his concern and asked him to leave. He didn't say another word. He got up and left the table. I never saw him again."

  "When did you get hit then?"

  "I'm fuzzy on that part, Hank. After I finished my meal and paid the bill, I left the restaurant and walked straight to the livery. The snow was falling heavier and I knew I needed to leave immediately to reach the lodge before dark. The next thing I remember is my brother yelling my name and pulling me off my horse."

  Luc got up and walked over to Jory. "Let me see that lump." Jory leaned forward. He winced when Luc ran his fingers through his hair and touched the sore spot.

  "It appears someone whacked you with the handle of a pistol. You're lucky he didn't kill you."

  "Maybe that's why my head hurts."

  "More than likely."

  Lottie came into the room. "I'll have something for you two boys to eat in a few moments." Her gaze settled on all of Jory's wet clothes hanging on the backs of chairs in front of the fireplace. She looked Jory over from head to toe. "Are you dressed decent under those blankets, boy?"

  "Yes, ma'am, my brother brought me dry clothes, and I'm fully dressed."

  "Good. I have a young girl helping me in my kitchen and I don't want you showing her something she shouldn't be seeing."

  Tam pursed his lips to keep from laughing. Lottie had already pulled Amanda into her heart. He was glad to see the young woman in a good place now.

  "If y'all don't need me, I'm going to help get the stable's burned timber outta the way so we can get going on building." Big Dog left the lodge.

  Jory's accounting of his ride to near death tightened Tam's gut. Something must be done before somebody he cared about was killed. He just couldn't figure out what it should be.

  Amanda and Lottie brought plates of food to Tam and Jory.

  Lottie handed Jory his plate. "You stay put where you can stay warm."

  Tam took his plate and dug into the leftover turkey and stuffing.

  Jory grinned at him. "This food tastes even better the second day."

  Amanda brought them each a glass of warm apple cider to drink with their meal. She handed Jory his first. "I'm very glad to have you home again, Jory. We were all worried about you."

  Jory flashed her one of his devilish grins that the girls could never resist back in Paradise Pines. Oh brother, you're going to be just fine, thank God.

  Tam hid his grin when Amanda handed him his glass. "Thank you."

  "You're welcome. I'm glad you found him, Tam."

  THE STABLE HAND, JIMMY, opened the door and poked his head inside the main room. "Hank, Big Dog needs to see only you and Matthias right away at the stable's charred mess."

  Hank glanced at Matthias. "I wonder what's wrong now."

  "Let's go and see."

  Matthias helped Hank to his feet. "The rest of you stay here until we find out what the problem is."

  Caroline helped her father into his warm coat and hat. When his daughter opened the door, Hank stared at the large flakes falling over the quadrant. "It's chilly out here."

  Matthias helped him step off the porch. Maneuvering through the deep snow with the crutches made their trek quite difficult.

  Hank frowned at Matthias. "I hope it's something important to drag me from our warmth into this damnable mess."

  Hank noticed his ranch hands standing under the eaves outside the barn. "What's going on? Why aren't you working?"

  Jimmy shrugged. "We're supposed to wait until you see what's so damned important that Big Dog doesn't want us to know what it is."

  Hank frowned. Why on earth was the man being so cautious? He sighed. He and Matthias reached what was left of the stable and entered what used to be the tack room. Big Dog waited for them inside. "Follow me. I've cleared a walkway for you."

  Hank glanced around at the devastation as they headed toward a section where the roof had caved in.

  "Brace yourself. It's not a pretty sight." Big Dog showed them a charm Spike had worn around his neck for years. "I found this around these remains."

  He moved a couple of boards out of the way. Hank stared at Spike's charred body. The corpse held a moonshine bottle in a death grip.

  "Oh, dear God." Hank grabbed his midsection. He felt sick to his stomach. "I've known that man since I was a young boy. My father considered him a good friend from the time he began dreaming of building this trading post."

&nb
sp; Matthias hunkered down and ripped the booze bottle from his brittle fingers. "Is this where you found him?"

  Big Dog shook his head. "Since you were talking about Spike possibly being in cahoots with Mrs. Brown, I moved him here so nobody else would see the body. I didn't think you'd want the ranch hands to connect him to the fire."

  "Where'd you find him then?"

  He returned the boards in front of the space where the body rested. "You need to see for yourselves."

  With Matthias to help him, Hank followed Big Dog over the unstable floor. "As far as I can figure, he staggered into this section and knocked the lantern into the hay as he fell."

  Hank couldn't believe his eyes. "Are you sure this is what started the fire?"

  "It's the only explanation I can come up with."

  "Thank you, Big Dog. You've done well to keep this quiet."

  "What do you want me to do with the body, boss?"

  Hank was at odds with his answer. If Spike was part of the revenuers who planned to destroy the trading post, he wanted to keep his death quiet for a while. If he wasn't, then Spike should have a proper burial in spite of the near disaster he'd caused.

  "Please make him a wooden coffin. We can't bury him until the ground thaws so find a safe place where the predators can't get to his body. I'd prefer nobody else knows about this except the three of us."

  Big Dog nodded. "You can count on me, boss."

  "Thank you. You've become a trusted friend."

  Big Dog escorted them out of the mess. On his way across the quadrant, Hank stopped for a moment and spoke to his workers. "Thanks for your help today. Please take the rest of the day off. I'll send Matthias out with enough ale to keep you warm."

  By the time they reached the lodge, Hank was exhausted. Matthias helped him inside and out of his coat. He settled on his sofa and Caroline helped him get his leg comfortable.

  Matthias asked Luc for help in carrying a barrel of ale out to the quadrant. They got the job done and returned to the main room. "How would everyone like a round of ale?"

  "What's taking you so long, Matthias?"

  Matthias grinned. "Be patient, my brother." He went to the bar and started filling glasses. "Tam, are you up to helping me out?"

  "Sure thing." He left Caroline's side and passed glasses around. When he returned to his sweetheart, he handed Caroline a half a glass.

  She glanced at Hank. "Is it all right, Daddy?"

  "Yes, you've proven you're an adult."

  "Thank you." She smiled at him. "Please, we all want to know what the big secret Big Dog was impatient to show you."

  Hank looked around at the expectant faces. "Sorry, but I have no intention of divulging his secret for a while."

  Chapter Twenty-Four

  Caroline woke Danielle. "It's fruitcake baking day. We've got to get going so we can put them in the oven right after breakfast."

  Both girls made quick work of making their beds and getting dressed. Everyone loved handing out the small cakes to people who'd done something kind for them during the year. They hadn't baked them since their mother died, and now looked forward to continuing the Hughes tradition.

  By the time they got down to the kitchen, Lottie already had the six small baking pans ready to go. The two sisters pulled all the ingredients they needed off the shelves. They found their mother's recipe book and opened it to the page where she'd handwritten the directions so many years ago.

  "I know you're excited to start, but let's get some proper breakfast into you first." Lottie pointed to the dining room. "It don't taste good cold."

  Caroline kissed her father's cheek as she walked past him to her chair.

  "You're in fine humor this morning, my daughter. I like to see you this way."

  Tam and Jory joined the family. Tam sat next to Caroline and smiled at her. "What are you doing today?"

  "Danielle and I are making fruitcakes."

  His eyes widened. "Fruitcakes? They're one of my favorites at Christmas. Do I get to eat some, too?"

  "You know fruitcakes?"

  "Yes, we had a neighbor in Scotland that was English. She made them for a wedding that our oldest brother forced Jory and me to attend. I hate to admit how many pieces I ate."

  "Yeah, Trevin called us delinquents when he found us under the table with all the empty plates."

  "Shhh, don't give all our secrets away, Jory." Tam rolled his eyes and snickered. "We weren't very old at the time."

  Caroline laughed at his antics. "I'll save you a few pieces, but I'll plan on keeping all the rest under lock and key."

  Tam grabbed his chest. "You wound me, dear lady."

  Caroline shook her head and dug into her food.

  She and Danielle hurried through breakfast and excused themselves as soon Danielle cleaned her plate. "We have baking to do."

  They took turns adding ingredients to the ceramic mixing bowl and stirring. The last of the fixings was the candied fruit. It's what made the holiday cakes so rich and so good. Caroline scooped the batter into the baking pans and Danielle carried them to the oven. Each recipe produced six cakes. Lottie let the oven cool to a lower degree so they would take about three hours to bake. Tomorrow would be another busy morning to bake their second batch.

  They cleaned up the mess and set the ingredients they'd need the next day on the preparation table.

  Danielle left to attend classes and Caroline helped Lottie clean up the breakfast dishes. "I thought Amanda would be in here."

  "She's in the laundry room catching up on all the dirty clothes that have been piling up. When we're done here, you might go out and help her hang them on the lines to dry."

  "You mean hang to freeze stiff, don't you?"

  "Don't sass me, young lady. They eventually dry in the wind."

  Caroline placed the last dish into the cabinet and hung the towel by the stove to dry. She grabbed her coat off the hook in the hall, put it on, and buttoned it up as she walked out to the washroom.

  "Good morning, Amanda."

  Amanda wiped a wisp of hair off her brow and smiled at Caroline. "Did you come to help this girl?"

  "I did." She saw a full basket. "I'll take these out and get them taken care of." She grabbed the laundry and headed for the clothesline.

  The cold wind whipped her skirt around her legs. She loved the seasons in Wisconsin, but could well do without the cold for the many long months of snow and ice.

  Tam had been spending a lot of time in the smithy with Big Dog lately. Curiosity was driving her crazy, but he wasn't talking. In the past month there'd been so many changes at the trading post. In a way, it was good to have new people around. She must admit she'd been wrong about Daddy hiring a governess. Genevieve was a great teacher and she could see how much her younger sisters loved spending time with her.

  "This is the end of them." Amanda carried an armful of wet laundry and dropped them into Caroline's almost empty basket.

  They worked together until the lines hung low with all the wet clothes and sheets hanging on them.

  "Thanks for all your help."

  "You're most welcome. Let's go in and see if Lottie has some hot coffee."

  Amanda left the empty baskets in the washroom and they headed for the warm kitchen. The fragrance of baking fruitcakes filled the room. Caroline bent to pull the oven door open.

  Lottie slapped her hand. "No, no, no, you'll change the temperature and the cakes will sink in the middle. You'll get to check on them when the time's right. Go sit at the preparation table and I'll bring you something hot to drink."

  It wasn't long before she brought them hot apple cider and a plate of gingersnaps.

  "Thank you. All the laundry is flapping in the wind."

  Lottie nodded and left to work at the sink.

  "Are you happy here, Amanda?"

  "Yes, I am. Everyone has been kind and it's not so difficult working for Lottie. She's training me to do a better job at my chores."

  "I don't mean to embarrass you, but are
you sweet on Jory already?"

  Amanda's cheeks turned dark pink. "How'd you guess?"

  "It didn't take me long to fall for Tam so I understand. They're a charming pair."

  Amanda nodded. "I understand they'll be leaving for California in a few months. How are you going to let him go?"

  "It's why I held onto my heart for such a long time. He got it in the end, but—"

  "I know, but what if he leaves and takes it with him?"

  Caroline nodded. "Exactly. You watch your heart, too."

  TAM FINISHED SANDING the wooden box for Caroline's Christmas gift. Big Dog handed him a can. "Put a light layer of this stain on the box. Make sure you keep it stirred or it won't be clear when you put it on the wood." He picked the box up and inspected Tam's work. "You've done a wonderful job. If you'd like to write her name or something sweet," his eyes twinkled as he stared into Tam's, "which I highly recommend, do it before you put the stain on."

  "You sly old dog. You're a romantic, aren't you?"

  Big Dog chuckled. "You betcha I am. I've been a driver for years and, trust me, I've seen more than my fair share of men in love who wooed their lady successfully."

  "There's more to you than I thought. What would you suggest?"

  Big Dog tapped him on the chest with his index finger. "Something from your heart."

  Tam sighed. "Come on, you can do better than that. Give me something she'll swoon over."

  "How about something like 'you're nothing short of my everything'?"

  Tam thought about it for a moment. "I like 'you're my everything' better. It's more to the point and less words to misspell."

  Big Dog slapped him on the back. "Yes, I like it, too. Come and let me show you what you can use to write your love quote."

  Tam followed him into the smithy shop where Big Dog searched through a bin of nails. He pulled out several of the same size and laid them across the anvil. "I'll get the tips of these nails very hot and then you hold them with the pincers and press the tip into the wood to burn your words into the wood. It's kinda like branding cattle."

  "Can we do it right now?"