ROMANCE: Holiday Romance: Her Christmas Surprise (Sweet Clean Holiday Romance) (Holiday Bride Book 1)

by Mercy Levy

  “Oh Andrew, you're wonderful,” Rose said and hugged Andrew.

  “Don't go celebrating yet,” Andrew sighed. “The town I saw was a place called Snow Valley, way up there in Montana.”

  Rose beamed. Andrew stared into her teary eyes. Wiping away her tears, he allowed himself to smile. “Andrew, will you come with me?”

  “Oh no,” Andrew said apologetically. “Ms. Rose, I'm an old man. Winter is rushing in on my bones. My place is here. Ms. Betty may be a bitter woman, but I've been with her for over twenty years. I was with her the night you were born. I can't go off and leave her.”

  The look in Andrew's eyes hurt Rose. “When I leave my mother will be very hurt.”

  “I have to stay to help her,” Andrew explained. Smiling into Rose's beautiful face, he turned and walked away. Stopping at the reading room door, he said: “You better leave before the guest starts arriving. I've already packed your suitcase.”

  Watching Andrew walk away, Rose slowly placed her trembling hands over her heart. “I have to know who my daddy is,” she whispered and then grew silt as the icy winds howled outside.

  *

  Rose threw her hands up to her eyes to shield herself from the screaming winds and fierce snow. “Better get to the hotel,” an old man yelled at her. Standing outside the stagecoach, Rose struggled to see through the heavy snow. All she could see was a small town slowly being turned white.

  “My luggage,” Rose called over the wind.

  The old man shook his head at her. “Don't worry about your luggage. I'll bring it into the hotel shortly. I have to get these horses settled in down at the livery stable. This storm is going to be a mean one. Now go and get inside the hotel like I told you.”

  Rose didn't argue. Hurrying away, she managed to find the hotel. Unable to make out the details of the exterior, she was pleasantly shocked when she opened the front lobby door and walked into a large and warm lobby decorated with simple yet delightful furnishings. A large stone fireplace on the far back wall held an inviting fire that was bravely fighting away the bitter cold. Closing the lobby door, she slowly brushed snow off the white coat she was wearing over a simple green dress. Happy that the white and green bonnet she was wearing had not been ripped away by the wind, Rose quickly straightened the bonnet and collected her thoughts. “Help you?” a short, fat, man asked.

  Slowly walking up to a wooden front counter serving as the front clerk's station of operation, Rose glanced around the lobby. A set of wooden doors leading into a dining room were open, allowing delicious aromas of scrumptious foods to ease into her hungry stomach. “I need a room, please.”

  The short, fat, man, studied Rose. Rose could tell the man was harmless; nosey, but harmless. His face was kind and cheerful and his nearly bald head as round as a ball. “Well now,” the man said brushing crumbs off the brown jacket he was wearing, “what is a pretty young lady like yourself doing alone in a place like this?”

  Rose smiled bravely. “I'm looking for my daddy,” she openly admitted without any form of hesitation. “I've come all the way from St. Louis.”

  “St. Louis, my that is a long way.”

  “Yes, it is,” Rose agreed. She liked the short, fat, man. “What is your name?”

  “Jacob,” Jacob smiled happily. “Renting rooms is my game, but preaching God's Word is my life.”

  “Oh, you're a preacher,” Rose said in a delightful voice.

  Jacob motioned for Rose to lean over the counter. Rose smiled. She leaned over the counter. Jacob whispered in her ear. “I haven't let folks around here now I'm a preacher. When God says it time, I will. Our secret.”

  “Of course,” Rose continued to smile. “So, what about my room?”

  “Dollar a night...but you for you...seventy-five cents,” Jacob winked at Rose.

  “I don't know how long I will be staying,” Rose confessed watching Jacob turn the guest registry book around in order for her to sign.

  “You're my only guest. I'm sure the need for your room will not arise any time soon,” Jacob teased. “Now, go get settled in and I'll let my wife now to keep the kitchen open. We have a few hungry cowhands in the dining room, but I'll make sure watch their manners.”

  Rose began to thank Jacob for his kindness when a tough looking cowboy walked into the lobby from the dining room. Spotting a beautiful woman, he quickly snatched off a brown hat. “Mam,” he said.

  “This is Steven Riley,” Jacob explained. “Steven is Simon Landon's top hand.”

  “Simon Landon?” Rose asked confused.

  “Oh,” Jacob said and laughed at his own absent-mindedness. “Simon Landon is the biggest ranch owner in this part of the land. He's a fair and good man...unlike some we've had around here, isn't that right, Steve?”

  Steve was lost in Rose's beauty. Staring into her deep, blue, eyes, he almost felt hypnotized. “Huh...oh, yeah, sure, we've had some rough ones around.”

  Rose blushed. Never in her life had a man looked at her the way Steve was looking at her. “My name is Rose Watson.”

  “Nice to meet you, mam,” Steve smiled. Realizing he was acting like a fish jumping around on a hook, he cleared his throat and looked at Jacob. “Most of the boys are going to head back to the ranch tonight, but I gotta stay and town and wait for the telegram. I'm going to need a room.”

  “Two guests in one night,” Jacob winked at Rose. “Say, maybe Steve can help you in your search?”

  Rose blushed again. “I'm looking for my daddy,” she explained bashfully. “I'm come all the way from St. Louis.”

  Steve stared at Rose. Even though the woman seemed fragile and delicate to the core, he saw in her an inner strength and hope that amazed him. He began to speak but stopped when a tall, thin, man entered the lobby. Wearing a black coat over a black shirt and black pants, he appeared as a spooky shadow, rather than a man, Rose thought. “Help you?” Jacob asked in a voice that came out steady instead of friendly.

  “I need a room for the night,” the man replied, speaking in a low, quiet voice. Looking at Steve, he studied the gun resting on the man's right hip. Steve, in return, studied the stranger with caution. The stranger made Rose feel scared. Perhaps it was the man's thin black hair stringing down over his boney face...but it was more than that: It was his eyes. The stranger had the deadest eyes she had ever seen.

  “Three guests,” Jacob winked at Rose attempting to ease the fear in her eyes.

  “I...need to rest. I'll be down later to eat dinner,” Rose informed Jacob. Focusing on Steve, she offered the man a polite smile and walked away upstairs. Outside, the snowstorm grew stronger.

  Chapter 2

  Blizzard

  The roast beef was delicious. Eating alone at a back table in a dining room decorated with white and blue curtains and table cloths, Rose listened to the storm howl outside. Only Jacob and his wife, Steve and the creepy man remained at the hotel. Gratefully, the creepy man was nowhere in sight.

  Lord, please help me find my daddy,” she silently prayed. “My faith is in You alone.”

  Jacob, watched Rose pray from the dining room door. Smiling, he walked up to her table and asked if could sit down. “May I?”

  “Please,” Rose said happily.

  Jacob pulled out a chair and sat down. Listening to the storm howling outside, he shook his head. “I'm afraid this storm isn't going to be very nice.”

  Rose put down the fork in her hand and picked up a clear glass of water. “I arrived just in time,” she explained. “I was afraid I would be delayed.”

  Jacob thought of the stranger in the hotel. “Maybe a delay would have been a blessing,” he told Rose. “Now, tell me, who is your daddy?”

  Rose frowned. Taking a sip of water she shook her head. “I don't really know who my daddy is?” Rose explained about her mother and how Andrew had managed to salvage a valuable piece of information for her.

  Jacob rubbed his round chin. “I see. Now, this does present a problem, now doesn't it?”

  “I'
m afraid so,” Rose agreed.

  Seeing movement out of the corner of her eye, she spotted Steve walk into the dining room. Approaching her table, he looked down at Jacob with a worried face. “Doesn't look like the New Year that's gonna start in a few days is going to be a good one.”

  “Why do you say that?” Jacob asked.

  “Sheriff just found the stagecoach drivers dead in the livery stable,” Steve explained in a regretful voice. “He's telling everyone to get to their homes and stay shut in until this storm passes.” Steve glanced over his shoulder. “Where's the stranger?”

  “In his room,” Jacob said rubbing his chin again. “I need to go tell my wife to get up to our room and stay put.”

  Rose watched Jacob stand up and hurry away. Left alone with Steven, she nervously looked up at the man's rough face. The man had blond hair hanging down over green eyes and a face that had seen plenty of days of hard, difficult, work. He didn't seem like the kind of man who backed down from a fight or who went searching for a fight, either. Instead, Steven seemed brave, honest and decent; a man who was willing to work hard and live an honest life. “Did that awful man kill those poor men?” she asked scared.

  Steven looked down into Rose's beautiful face. “It's possible. May...I sit down?”

  “Please,” Rose answered in a grateful voice. “The last thing she wanted to be left alone in a blizzard with a creepy, deadly, killer.

  “Sheriff Tracy will be over in a few minutes. He'll want to talk to you,” Steven explained.

  “Of course,” Rose replied.

  Steven grew silent. Unsure how to talk to such a beautiful woman, he began to fiddle with his hat. Sure, it was easy to talk to the local women who were always after him. But those women were...well...ordinary, in a sense. Rose was incredible. “You mentioned that you were here looking for your Pa?” he asked.

  “Yes,” Rose sighed. Patiently, she explained how Andrew had managed to extract only a location instead of a name.

  Steve sat his hat down in his lap. “Snow Valley ain't a large town, but there's plenty of people in this part of the land. You might be searching for a long time.”

  “I have time,” Rose assured Steven even though her heart began to feel doubtful. Perhaps, she thought, beginning the search when spring arrived instead of rushing into a blizzard might have been wiser. But of course, she would have been married when spring arrived. “All I know about my daddy is that he left when I three years old. We were living in Savannah, Georgia.”

  “I hear rumors of a war between the south and north stirring,” Steven told Rose.

  “Sadly, those rumors are true,” Rose confirmed. “My father is a Southern man. Do you know any men that might match his description?”

  Before Steven could answer Rose, the creepy man with the black hair and bony face walked into the dining room. Keeping his eyes low, he walked to a table on the far side of the room and sat down with his face toward Steven. Reaching into his coat pocket, the man pulled out a deck of card and began shuffling them. “Stormy night,” he said just loud enough for his voice to carry across the dining room.

  “I reckon it is. Two men have been found shot to death in the livery stable. Sheriff Tracy will be along in a few minutes. He'll want to talk with you,” Steven answered back in a firm voice.

  The creepy man nodded his head and said no more. Rose began to speak when a tall, grizzly bear, of a man, walked into the dining room carrying a rifle. “Mr. Landon,” Steven said surprised. Standing to his feet, he grabbed his hat.

  Rose stared at the large man. Something about the man's face immediately gripped her heart. Allowing her eyes to examine the man's thick gray hair that matched a thick gray beard, she struggled to see into his eyes which were hidden under a brown hat. “Came into town to send you back to the ranch. I can wait for the telegram. The sheriff told me about the murders,” Simon Landon told Steven carefully glancing at the creepy man. “Hello, Nathan.”

  Nathan McCain stopped shuffling the cards in his hand. “Long time, Simon,” he said in a low voice.

  “You know that man?” Steven asked Simon.

  “Storm blew in a bad critter,” Simon told Steven and turned his attention to Rose. “Who are you?” he asked in a voice that came out stern but polite.

  “Rose Watson,” Rose explained. Slowly standing up, she stared at Simon with curious eyes. Even though the man didn't speak with a clear southern tone she detected traces of a Savannah accent.

  Nathan glanced at Rose and then looked at Simon. “Could she be your missing daughter?” he asked in a slithery voice.

  “What are you doing here, Nathan?” Simon asked in an angry voice, looking away from Rose. Gripping the rifle in his hand, he waited for Nathan to go for his gun. Nathan began shuffling the cards in his hands once more.

  “Boss,” Steven began to speak but paused. Looking at Rose, he saw pain, hurt, and fear in the woman's eyes. “Are you okay?” he asked.

  “Are you...my daddy?” Rose asked Simon as tears began to fall from her eyes. “I can hear your accent...you're from the south...and you match the age that my daddy would be.”

  Simon kept his eyes on Nathan. “Little lady, I don't know what you're talking about,” he replied in a tone that struck Rose in her heart. “I ain't anyone's daddy.”

  Unable to control her tears, Rose ran out of the dining room. Steven, torn between his loyalty to Simon and his desire to chase after Rose, hesitated for a few seconds. “Boss...” he said and then ran out of the dining room. Finding Rose crying at the front desk counter, he eased his way over to her. “Mam...are you okay?”

  Rose raised her eyes and looked at Steven. With tears streaming down her soft, red, cheeks, she shook her head no. “I know that man is my daddy...I felt it.”

  Stepping closer to Rose, Steven began to wonder if his boss was the woman's Pa. After all, Simon Landon was a mystery to most people. The most anyone knew about the man was that he had come to Montana from the east. But a lot of folks came to from the east, seeking a new life in the west. “I--”

  “And the worst part is, I went against my mother's wishes. Oh, mother was right. I should have listened to her,” Rose cried. “But I so dearly wanted to find my daddy.”

  Steven watched Rose wipe away her upset tears. “Mam, I wish there was something I could do or say to make you feel better,” he said awkwardly.

  “I suppose I'll go back to St. Louis and marry a man I don't love and grow old attending boring gatherings, pretending that I'm more worthy than everyone else simply because my husband is a wealthy banker,” she told Steven in a sad and depressed voice. And then, without understanding why, she asked Steven: “What is love?”

  All the color in Steven's face drained. “What?” he asked as if someone had pulled a gun on him.

  “What is love?” Rose asked in a soft tone as her tears continued to fall.

  “I...uh...I reckon...uh...love is something the Good Lord gives us...I mean, I reckon,” Steven fumbled for a good and right answer.

  Rose stared at Steven. It was obvious a man like Steven understood the depth and secret of love whereas her soon-to-banker husband knew nothing of love. “Yes,” she answered, “love comes from God. But why do we deny such love and settle for...emptiness?”

  Hearing the lobby door open, Steven watched Sheriff Tracy burst in and slam the door shut behind him. Rose was expecting a man quite like Simon Landon. She was shocked to see a man well into his seventies enter the lobby wearing a thick brown coat and brown hat; a man covered with years of law work that had scarred his eyes and soul. “Simon around?” he asked in a curious voice.

  Rose watched Sheriff Tracy shake the snow off his coat and look at her. “In the dining room. Some man...the stranger...named Nathan is in the dining room with him,” Steven answered Sheriff Tracy.

  “Nathan?” Sheriff Tracy said and then felt panic grip his chest. “Nathan Bedford...”

  Steven felt the color drain from his face again. “Yeah, of course...I knew I
heard that name somewhere before.”

  “Who is Nathan Bedford?” Rose asked alarmed.

  “Nathan Bedford is a hired killer, that's who,” Sheriff Tracy informed Rose. “The man is also Simon Landon's half brother. I better get in there.”

  Rose watched Sheriff Tracy rush into the dining room. As she did, a strange, foggy, memory strolled into her mind and whispered hello. Desperately trying to make sense of the memory, she closed her eyes. When she felt Steven touch her shoulder, she opened her eyes and looked up. “Are you okay?”

  “No, I'm not okay,” Rose answered and began to cry. Unable to hold back any longer, Steven gently wrapped his arms around Rose and pulled her to his chest. Rose didn't fight. Instead, she allowed herself to be held and comforted as her heart poured painful tears.

  *

  Rose watched Sheriff Tracy lean against the front desk in the lobby. Carefully watching Nathan Bedrock, he took care to make sure he could reach the gun sitting on his hip of the need arose. “This storm has us locked in,” he spoke. “Jacob, is your wife upstairs?”

  Jacob nodded his head. “Locked in her room with orders to open the room door to no one but me.”

  “So that leaves the young lady here, yourself, Steven, Simon, myself and...him,” Sheriff Tracy explained. “Folks, we're going to stand right here in this lobby until day break. No one leaves, is that clear? Two men have been shot dead and I intend to find the killer.”

  Rose saw Nathan grin under his black hat. “Awful night,” he said in his slithery voice.

  “Shut up,” Simon snapped. “You may be fast on the draw, but you ain't nothing but a coward when it comes to bare fist.”

  Nathan stopped grinning. “I've come here to settle an old score, Simon. It seems like luck has handed me a good draw.” Nathan glanced at Rose. “Watch your mouth with me.”

  Steven noticed Nathan implying that he might hurt Rose. Stepping in front of rose, he threw his hand down onto his gun. “Mister, you touch her and I'll kill you.”