Until September

by Brenda Jernigan

  “I’ll bring you a few more pieces, but up here it’s cold. You can boil an icicle at this altitude without ever melting it, so warmth is not a commodity.”

  “That’s comforting,” Heath mumbled to Billy after the conductor left. “I feel like an icicle as it is.”

  The train started moving at a very slow pace as the snowplow tossed the snow off the tracks. It took them an hour to go three miles.

  Everybody huddled under their coats and wrapped scarves around their necks. The potbelly stove was no match for the fierce wind blowing against an uninsulated train car.

  “Are you sure Claire is up here?” Billy asked.

  “That’s what the letter said, but how she picked the Godforsaken icebox is beyond me. I hope we live to tell her,” Heath grumbled and snuggled further down in his coat.

  Their Christmas Eve supper was wonderful. Claire, Aunt Ute, and Susie all worked to fix the roasted turkey and stuffing.

  After supper, Aunt Ute and Susie retired to the living room to finish decorating the Christmas tree. The blue spruce filled the room with a wonderful fragrance. It was almost like being outside, only warmer. The one thing that Claire had done to her house was to have a fireplace put in every room and double walls to keep the heat inside. In Fraser you could never be too warm.

  Claire prepared cocoa and brought the steaming mugs into the living room and set them on the table in front of the sofa. “I thought you might like something warm,” she said.

  The fire was crackling and popping in the background as Susie and Ute strung the popcorn garland around the tree.

  “It’s beautiful,” Claire said. “I think the popcorn is just the right touch. Now if I could figure out how to hang the icicles that are clinging to the eaves of the house, we’d have a sparkling tree.”

  Ute glanced over her shoulder. “We could always douse the fire.”

  Claire laughed and then sat down and picked up a bowl of cranberries. “No thanks, I like my fireplace.”

  “Ja, ” Ute agreed. “This one reminds me of our fireplaces back home. See how the flames have a blue tinge?”

  Claire nodded.

  “It means we are going to have good luck.”

  “I like that,” Claire said as she handed Ute a mug of cocoa.

  Susie joined them and they started stringing cranberries as the fire crackled in the background. Claire kept glancing at the blue flames. So far she’d had good luck with her health. She never felt dizzy anymore and she rarely coughed. But luck still hadn’t brought her the one thing she wanted most of all....

  “This blizzard will bring us at least a foot of new snow,” Susie said.

  Claire glanced at the frosty windows. “I would hate to be out there tonight. It’s so cold.”

  “Ja, ”Ute said. “You know, this is one of the best Christmases I’ve ever spent.”

  Claire pricked her finger with the needle. She shook off the pain, then said, “I think it is for me, too. Of course, I’d love to see the rest of my family, but this peace and quiet is very relaxing.”

  Just then someone pounded on the door, and Claire jumped. Then she got up. “I wonder who that can be? It’s too cold for anyone to be outside.”

  She pulled open the door. Henry McPhail stood there, bundled up so that all she could see were his eyes. “Henry,” Claire said.

  “Is Doc Susie here?”

  “Come in,” Claire said. “Get out of the snow.”

  “What’s wrong, Henry?” Susie asked.

  “The train got stuck about a quarter mile outside of town. A small avalanche caught it. We’ve got three sleighs outside, but just in case someone might need medical attention, we came by to get you. Can you come?”

  “Of course. I’ll get my coat,” Susie said.

  Claire stood up. “We’ll all go.”

  “Better bundle up then,” Henry told them and turned toward the door. “I’ll send the other two sleighs ahead. They’ve already started digging people out, and I’ll wait outside for you ladies.”

  As Doc Susie got her coat, she said, “I’ll get my bag. Claire, you get the brandy, and Ute, get some of the warm stones and blankets. These men are going to be very cold. I just hope it isn’t too late.”

  Chapter Twenty-Three

  The horse-drawn sleigh sped through the night, gliding over the snow and ice. A full moon overhead bathed the night with enough light to make everything look like crystal, shimmering in the wind.

  Claire pulled her scarf up over her mouth and nose to keep the frigid air at bay. Then she said a prayer that all the train passengers would be all right. She felt sad when she thought of the men heading home for Christmas Eve now stranded in the snow, perhaps their lives threatened.

  Tonight they would need a Christmas miracle.

  As they neared the locomotive, she could see steam rising into the black night. Everyone was shouting as they ran back and forth to the train.

  The sleigh slid to a stop beside the other sleighs. The town folks had already started carrying out the passengers. A few were walking, but most of the passengers had to be carried out

  Claire, Susie, and Ute wasted little time bounding out of the sleigh. Mr. Loan, the local banker, pointed to the next to last railcar. “There’s still a couple of men in there. See what you can do for the ones we’ve brought out.”

  The women visited each man, wrapping them in blankets and giving them a sip of brandy. For some reason Claire kept looking toward the railcar. The next thing she knew she was wading through the snow toward the car as if something were pulling her. Ute followed.

  Claire climbed up into the railcar where two men sat, their heads slumped over.

  “They have hypothermia,” Ute said from behind her.

  “Let’s see if we can get some brandy in them, and get them on their feet,” Claire said.

  She shook the first man. His eyes barely fluttered open. “You’re going to have to help us get you out of here,” she spoke in a loud voice, “Drink this.” She unwrapped the scarf from around his neck so he could drink. The first thing she saw was a stubborn jaw.

  “Heath!” Claire screamed. “Hurry, drink this.”

  Ute supported Heath’s head while Claire held the bottle to his lips. He took several sips. Finally he looked at her and mumbled, “We found you.”

  “What are you doing here? Never mind, I can ask you later,” Claire said, wanting to hug him but knowing time was of the essence. She and Ute pulled Heath to his feet, then Ute helped him off the train while Claire looked at the other man.

  She rubbed the man’s cheeks. “You need to wake up, sir. I must get you out of here.” She took off his scarf, too, revealing long brown hair.

  “Billy?”

  Billy was babbling incoherently as Claire forced him to drink the brandy. Finally, as the liquor warmed him, he began to focus.

  “Here, drink some more,” she insisted.

  After Billy had taken another swig, he said, “I’m dead, aren’t I?”

  “No but you will be if I don’t get you out of here,” she said, feeling her tears freezing. With a strength she didn’t know she possessed, she pulled Billy to his feet and threw his arm around her shoulder.

  “You left me,” Billy murmured.

  Claire ignored him. “Come on, you’re going to have to help me. Take a step.”

  “You left me,” Billy said as they slowly moved out of the train and into the snow.

  “Yes, I did. But I’m not leaving you now,” Claire said. “We’ll talk about this as soon as you get warm.”

  They managed to get the men into the sleigh, then wrapped them in quilts and warm bricks. Billy and Heath were the last two men off the train. The rest had already been taken someplace warm.

  Soon they were racing toward home.

  Two hours later, after hot baths and a couple of hot toddies, Billy and Heath sat by the fire wrapped in blankets. Finally their teeth had stopped chattering so they were able to carry on a conversation. The color had returned
to their faces.

  Heath held a warm cup of cocoa between his hands as he looked up and asked, “So, Claire, how are you?”

  “For once in my life I can say better than you,” she said with a smile as she settled on the couch. “I’m so glad to see you both. It’s an unexpected surprise. But how did you find me? Uncle Ben, right?”

  “No.” Heath shook his head. “It was Aunt Ute.”

  Claire swung around to her aunt. “You wrote him.”

  “Ja. It is my Christmas present to you,” Ute said with a smile.

  “Thank you,” Claire said and then she asked Heath, “How is everyone back home?”

  As her brother began talking Claire noticed that Billy had yet to say anything. He just stared at her. She wondered what he was thinking. Had he made the trip because he missed her? Or just to find out why she left? They really needed to talk, but not until they could be alone.

  Doc Susie came out of the kitchen and placed her black bag by the door. “Let’s take your temperature one more time, and then I’m going home,” she said.

  “You’re welcome to stay here,” Claire offered.

  “I don’t take up much room,” Heath offered with a smile.

  “Heath,” Claire exclaimed with a shocked look.

  “Here” Susie placed the thermometer into Heath’s mouth. “You’re in no condition to be making passes, young man.”

  Claire could not believe how forward her brother was.

  Finally, Claire turned her attention to Billy. “How are you?” she asked, feeling as if they were absolute strangers. This wasn’t how she’d pictured their reunion. And then it dawned on her that maybe Billy was acting so strange because Heath had told him of her condition. She sighed. It was happening again.

  “I’m fine, Claire,” Billy said.

  Heath took the thermometer out of his mouth, and said. “He isn’t fine. He’s miserable.”

  “Shut up, Heath,” Billy warned.

  “See this fat lip he gave me?” Heath pointed to his lip. “Just proves how miserable he is.”

  “You didn’t bother to tell her that you gave me the black eye first,” Billy pointed out.

  “Why were you two fighting?” Claire asked. “Over you,” Heath said.

  “Oh,” Claire murmured, not knowing what to say.

  Finally Doc Susie had managed to take both men’s temperatures. “They are both normal,” she said as she shook down the thermometer. “I think I’ll call it a night. Unless you need me to referee these two?”

  “If they don’t straighten up,” Ute said, “I’ll take them both on.” She looked at each man. “And I won’t be kind.”

  Heath smiled. “It’s Billy, Aunt Ute. He’s hard to get along with.”

  After Susie left, Aunt Ute stood up. “Heath, I think it’s time that you retired for the night.”

  “I’m not tired,” Heath grumbled. “I can stay up a couple more hours at least”

  Billy glared at Heath.

  “All right. All right.” Heath stood, wrapping his blanket around him like a robe. “I know when I’m not wanted. See you in the morning, puss,” Heath said, then nodded toward Billy. “See if you can’t straighten out this ornery cuss. Uncle Ben says he’s been impossible to live with and he’s going to get himself killed.”

  “Go to bed, Heath,” Billy ordered. “You talk too much.”

  Finally, they were alone.

  Claire put a couple of logs on the fire before she sat back down again and looked at Billy. “I’m glad you are here,” she said softly.

  “You left me,” Billy said.

  “I had to leave.”

  “I know,” Billy paused, and she glimpsed his sadness. “Heath told me all about your condition,” Billy said as he shifted in his chair. “What hurts is that you didn’t trust me enough to tell me yourself.”

  “I did it for you,” Claire said. “Don’t you see, we could have gotten married and then a couple months later I would be dead? Accepting the dying was hard enough, but leaving you would even be harder.”

  “But I’d rather have a few months with you than no months at all,” he said, shoving out of his chair.

  Claire stood too, worried that he would fall. “Should you be getting up? You’ve had a rough night”

  “Sweetheart I’ve been through a rough couple of months. But I’ve not been through near as much as you have,” Billy said as he stood in front of the fireplace. He opened his arms, “Come here, Claire.”

  She flew to him.

  Billy wrapped his arms around her, holding her so tight she could hardly breathe. But the comfort she received from him now was worth dying for. This was what she’d longed for. “God, how I have missed you,” she murmured into his shirt.

  He rested his head on top of hers. “When I returned home and found you were gone, I felt like my heart had been ripped out”

  “I’m sorry I hurt you. You must know it wasn’t easy for me to walk away,” Claire said and then pulled back so she could see his face. “I want you to know that I’m much better. This climate has done wonders for my health, but I cannot tell you that I’m completely well. I could take a turn for the worse and die in a couple of months.”

  Billy looked at her with those soft brown eyes of his, and she could see love in them as he said, “None of us know when we’ll die. I could be dead in a month. I just know if that were to happen that I’d want to spend my last month with you.”

  “Oh, Billy,” Claire whispered as she slid her arms around his neck. She didn’t bother to hide the love in her eyes. He captured her lips with a blistering kiss that was much hotter than the fire that was behind them. Lost in the stormy kiss, she barely felt him swing her up into his arms and carry her over to the couch. Gently he placed her down, and then bracing his arm on the back of the couch he said, “You still haven’t answered my question?”

  “What question?” Claire asked.

  “Will you marry me?”

  She smiled. “Do you still want me?”

  Billy touched the side of her face. “Yes.”

  “Do you realize that I need to live here?”

  “I can raise horses here as well as anywhere.” He paused. “Any more questions?”

  She looked at him shyly and asked, “Do you love me?”

  Billy leaned down and just before he kissed her he answered, “With all my heart.”

  “Yes, I will marry you,” Claire said and then pulled him down for a kiss as she told him over and over again how much she loved him. “You know, I once thought that if I could see you one more time and hold you that I would die happy.” She smiled. “But now I know that once would never have been enough. I want forever.”

  Billy rolled to the back of the couch and then positioned Claire in front of him until they both could see the Christmas tree and the big window.

  The wind had stopped blowing and now big snowflakes were falling softly outside as they lay there looking at the Christmas tree.

  The room was bathed in candlelight and warmth. Billy glanced around feeling completely at home. Of course a lot of that had to do with Claire. As long as he had her, he’d be happy. He stared at the beautiful Christmas tree. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d had a tree.

  “You know, I didn’t get you a Christmas present,” Billy murmured.

  “Yes, you did,” Claire said as she snuggled next to him. “You gave me you. That’s the best present of all.”

  Billy smiled. “Merry Christmas, darling.”

  Author’s Note

  I can’t begin to tell you how many letters and e-mails I had on DANCE ON THE WIND. They all said the same thing—we want more—we want to know what happened to all the characters. It seems these people took on life and you really cared about them. That means I did my job.

  Here is book two—Billy’s story. I’ve tried to bring back most of the characters so you’ll get to see all your old friends again. The next book will be Mary’s story.

  I must tell you how much
your comments about the book helped. You even gave me ideas that I never had, so if we’re lucky maybe one day all the characters will have their own book.

  I think that Heath definitely needs his own story.

  May all your dreams come true.

  Brenda K. Jernigan

  e-mail -bkj1608@juno.com

  Table of Contents

  Until September

  Midpoint