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

by Mercy Levy

  Nathan glared at Steven with a deadly poison. “In time, boy, you'll eat those words.”

  Steven nodded his head. “Anytime you think you're man enough.”

  “What about now, then?” Nathan dared Steven.

  “Enough,” Sheriff Tracy barked. Grabbing his rifle, he aimed at Nathan. “Everyone, drop your guns, now or eat lead.”

  Steven stared at Nathan. “We'll settle this later,” he promised and dropped his guns. Simon tossed down his rifle. Reluctantly, Nathan dropped his guns down onto the floor and walked back into the dining room. Sheriff Track walked to the dining room door and watched Nathan sit down at a table and begin shuffling cards. He nodded at Jacob to stand watch for him and then returned back to Simon. “Simon, get your rifle. Steven, grab your guns, son. We're going to keep watch on that killer all night. Sorry, I had to play it like I did, but it was the only way to get that hired gun to drop his guns without a fight.”

  Simon picked up his rifle and then walked over to the fireplace. “He killed those two men,” he said staring into the fire.

  “I second that,” Steven said putting back on his guns.

  Sheriff Tracy picked up Nathan's gun belt and placed it behind the front desk. “Doc Dalton has to dig the bullets out them. Until then, I have nothing to go on but suspicion. It's better to hold him here under guard. I have Old Gary and Melton over at the jail, drunker than a skunk. I sure can't lock a hired killer in with them.”

  Rose stepped closer to Steven. The man was willing to enter into a gun fight with a hired killer—a hired killer who had gun downed numerous men without remorse or regret—on her behalf. Why? “Aren't you afraid of that man?” she asked Steven. “He's killed many men.”

  Steven looked Rose in her scared eyes. “No one threatens you,” he promised her. “That coward in there is nothing without his guns. Even with his guns...there's a man out there that can draw faster than he can.”

  Rose watched Steven's eyes hesitate a second when mentioning a man who could draw faster than Nathan Bedrock. It was clear that Steven knew he wasn't that man. Yet, Rose thought amazed and humbled, her hero was willing to go gun to gun with Nathan Bedrock. Gently, she reached out and touched the man's face. “I never expected to find a hero here.”

  Steven blushed. “I'm not a hero. I'm just a hired cowhand. Shoot fire, my own Ma, and Pa were dirt poor. I never went to school and I barely learned to read and write. I drifted up to Snow Valley after my folks were killed. I was just kinda wondering around and ended up here.”

  Rose listened to Steven make his confession. Keeping her hand on his cheek, she smiled. “I know a man who went to college, speaks without any grammatical error, wears expensive suits, eats the finest foods and smokes the finest cigars...a man who is very wealthy. Yet, he is a coward.”

  Simon glanced over his shoulder at Rose. He watched as she took her hand away from Steven's cheek. “My hero,” she finished, “is a man whose heart is honest and brave.”

  Steven felt a smile touch his eyes. Never before had anyone called him a 'hero', especially a beautiful woman like Rose. And somehow, as he stared into Rose's glowing eyes, he knew he was beginning to see her inner beauty more than her outward beauty. “God gives love,” he told Rose and smiled.

  “Yes, God gives love,” Rose agreed and smiled back. But her smile faded when she saw Simon glancing at her from the fireplace. “You work for an awful man.”

  Simon looked back into the fire. Listening to the pine wood pop and sizzle in the fire, he thought about Betty Watson and his daughter. And then he remembered Nathan Bedrock. “Jacob,” he called out, “I'll stand first watch. You go upstairs to your wife and get some rest.”

  “Is that okay, Sheriff?” Jacob asked.

  Sheriff Tracy nodded his head. Taking a pouch of tobacco out of his coat pocket, he began to roll himself a cigarette. “Yeah, go upstairs and settle down. We've got it covered down here.”

  Jacob walked over to Rose and put his hand on her shoulder. “Upstairs, room 3, is trouble starts. Do you hear me.”

  Rose reached out and hugged Jacob. “Thank you.”

  “I'm be praying,” Jacob whispered into Rose's ear and hurried upstairs.

  Walking away from the fireplace, Simon went to the dining room door and spotted Nathan shuffling cards. “You gave up your guns mighty easy,” he said.

  Nathan grinned. “Storm brings in awful things, doesn't it Simon. But don't worry, when this storm ends, the score will be settled.”

  “What is that awful man talking about?” Rose begged Steven.

  Steven could only shrug his shoulders. “I don't know. Boss, is there anything we should know?” he dared to ask.

  “If you value your job, don't ask me any questions,” Simon barked at Steven, which was out of character for the man to do. Simon respected Steven and considered him his top hand.

  “Yes, boss,” Steven answered and looked at Rose. He eyes told her that something was horribly wrong. “Sheriff, will it be alright if me and Rose go into the kitchen and make some coffee? Gonna be a long night and mighty cold.”

  “Good idea,” Sheriff Tracy agreed. “And that fireplace ain't gonna keep alive by itself. Sooner or later one of us is going to have to go out back and fetch some wood.”

  “Sooner or later,” Nathan grinned and continued shuffling his cards.

  Chapter 3

  Love and Danger

  Rose watched Steven put a gray teapot down onto a black wood stove sitting in the corner of a small but cozy kitchen. “Thank you,” she told Steven in a tired voice. “I have always liked hot honey water.”

  Steven watched Rose sit down at a round wooden table covered with a white tablecloth. “I'm glad Jacob's wife had some honey in here. Water shouldn't take too long to boil.”

  Rose grew silent. Outside, the blizzard screamed and howled in vicious, icy, tones. She shivered. “That awful man...”

  “Now don't you go worrying about him,” Steven told Rose. Walking to the kitchen table, he sat down across from Rose. Knowing that Rose needed to be distracted from her worries, Steven decided to begin asking a few questions. “What is St. Louis like? I've never been there.”

  Rose stared across the table into Steven's face. The way Steven was looking at her made her feel beautiful and safe. “I have never liked St. Louis,” she admitted in a low whisper. “I was young when my mother and I left Savannah and...honestly...I don't really know where to call home.”

  Captivated by Rose's glowing beauty—a beauty no man would ever be able to tame with flattering words accompanied with a fat wallet full of money—Steven felt as if he were somehow in another world, speaking with a woman only his deepest dreams could see. “I felt that way for a while myself,” he admitted. “But when I ended up here in Snow Valley, I reckon I just kinda settled into the land the way a..well, the way the water of a snowflake settles into the land when it melts. I reckon we all just kinda got melt into one place or another.”

  “Only if the wind takes us to the place we belong,” Rose said and smiled at Steven. “Maybe...you can show me the land when the storm ends? I'm sure there are many lovely and beautiful places to see.”

  “Hey now,” Steven beamed, “that's a mighty fine idea. I know of some pretty spots that can make a grizzly bear settle down and take notice.” Realizing his statement probably sounded childish compared to the way the man Rose was going to marry spoke, Steven blushed and lowered his head. “What I mean is...there are some nice places to see in this part of the country.”

  “Don't,” Rose begged Steven. Reaching across the table she touched his hand. “Please, speak from who you are, not the way that compares to you other men who speak with plastic tongues.”

  “Plastic tongues?” Steven asked confused.

  “Oh, that's just an expression I always use when I talk about the rich hypocrites in St. Louis. St. Louis has many wonderful people, however—” Rose drew in a deep breath, “money separates and destroys the hearts of men and transforms them
into hollow trees. In time, those men begin to speak with plastic tongues...fake tongues.”

  “What does it help a man if he gains the whole world but loses his soul...” Steven whispered a Bible verse to himself. Looking up into Rose's warm eyes, he smiled. “You don't seem fake to me.”

  “Oh,” Rose corrected Steven, “I'm not so sure? I have been raised in very privileged home. My mother married a wealthy man. I have attended the finest schools and functioned only in the richest social circles St. Louis had to offer. For a time, I came to believe that I was more deserving than the poor...and then I met Jesus. Jesus changed my heart.”

  “Jesus changed my heart, too,” Steven smiled. “I met Jesus right here in Snow Valley. Jacob introduced Jesus to me. He's what I call a silent preacher. I sure wish that man would get behind a pulpit.”

  “When God calls him,” Rose assured Steven. Hearing the teapot begin to scream, she stood up. “You stay seated. I'll fix my honey water. I'll fix us both a nice, hot, cup of honey water.”

  Steven watched Rose almost float across the kitchen, fetch two brown coffee mugs, and begin preparing the honey water. As he watched Rose, something deep in his heart began to tug at him. He heard a small voice in his heart tell him he was meant to love Rose. But how? He was only a cowhand that could barely read. Rose was an educated, incredible, beautiful and amazing woman. How could a woman like Rose love a simple cowhand?

  “Hot,” Rose warned Steven sitting the brown coffee cup down in front of him. Retaking her seat, she carefully sipped her honey water. “Very nice,” she smiled.

  Steven took a sip of his honey water. “Hey, that's good,” he said and took another sip. “I've never had hot honey water before. Is this some kind of drink they serve in St. Louis.”

  “No,” Rose said and then became very sad. “My daddy...he used to drink hot honey water. I remember that from when I was a child.”

  “I'm sorry...I didn't mean to--”

  “It's not your fault. You didn't walk out on your daughter,” Rose sighed. “My father left when I was very young. One day...he...vanished into thin air, leaving my mother and me all alone. My mother has never forgiven my daddy for deserting us.”

  Steven leaned back in his chair. “It just doesn't make since. I've known Simon for a few years now. He's a good man. It just doesn't seem fitting that he would up and leave his family without cause.”

  Rose looked down at her cup of honey water. “My daddy wanted to know me...but that man in there...he pretends that he isn't my daddy when I know he is. Why?” she asked confused. Raising her head, she stared into Steven's caring eyes. She saw loneliness and sadness. “You're all alone, too,” she said.

  “Man gets use to being alone,” Steven explained. “After my folks died, I didn't have another family to turn to. It's not so bad. You get use to the trail and after a while, being alone becomes a part of who you are.”

  “I don't want to be alone,” Rose told Steven as a tear dripped from her eye.

  “You're not alone. You have your mother back in St. Louis and that fella you're going to marry.”

  Rose wiped her tear away. “I love my mother, but her heart is lost from Jesus. And the man I'm agreed to marry...I don't love him. I agreed to marriage because my mother forced me to with words that pushed me into a suffocating corner. When I return to St. Louis, I may return to my mother and a future husband, but I will still be alone.”

  “Then why go back?” Steven asked Rose. “You're a grown woman. You can go anywhere and meet all sorts of folk.”

  “All I want is my family,” Rose confessed to Steven. “I love my mother. I love my daddy. And someday, I want to marry and love a good man and create a family of my own with him. I am a woman that enjoys sitting in her reading room knitting and reading. I enjoy baking pies and taking walks in the park. I love to sit by a cozy fire on a winter's night and sip honey water and tell stories. The world cannot offer me what I already have in my heart.”

  “But you're alone.”

  “I would still remain alone if I traveled the world,” Rose explained. “You could travel, as well, yet you remain in Snow Valley. There must be something in this place that touches your heart.”

  “The land,” Steven admitted. “I love the land.” Taking a sip of his honey water, he grew silent and listened to the blizzard cry outside. “I reckon I just figured no woman could ever want to love a simple cowhand like me. I mean, there are some women in Snow Valley who have tried to throw a rope around me, but they only did that because everyone thinks Simon is going to leave me his ranch when he dies...he doesn't have a son, you see. Before that silly rumor started spreading like wildfire, no woman gave me a wink and smile like they do now.”

  Rose appreciated Steven's honesty. A man with an honest heart was certainly a hero to her sad heart. “The men back in St. Louis only wanted to marry me the money they think I have. And I, in return, agreed to marry a man for the money his own family has. The heart can be very silly and childish, losing any hope of real love.”

  “Real love,” Steven smiled into Rose's glowing eyes. “Say, when this storm is over, I would like to take you to a spot on Blue Diamond River. It's a mighty pretty spot. Now, we might freeze our noses off getting there, but I reckon it'll be worth it.”

  “It sounds wonderful,” Rose smiled back. “Perhaps we can pack a picnic...oh, picnics in the snow are some of my favorite things.”

  “Never had a picnic in the snow,” Steven admitted. “Frozen chicken and frozen biscuits,” he teased rose.

  “Maybe,” Rose teased back and then giggled sweetly. “But I prefer to take hot coffee, cheese, and bread.”

  Steven began to say something, but Sheriff Tracy walked into the kitchen. “We've got trouble.”

  Rose noticed that Sheriff's Tracy coat was covered in snow. “You were outside?” she asked.

  “I went to get some more wood for the fire. No sense in putting off a chore and no sense asking someone to do something you can do yourself.”

  Steven stood up from the table. “What's the trouble.”

  Sheriff Tracy nodded his head toward the kitchen window. “Nathan Bedrock has a man waiting outside. I saw him hurry away when I walked out back to get the wood. There could be more men, too.”

  Rose felt fear and panic grip her chest. And then, she heard a gunshot explode.

  *

  Following behind Sheriff Tracy and Steven, Rose hurried into the dining room. Simon was sitting on the dining floor holding his right hand over his left shoulder. A small amount of blood was soaking through his coat. “Outside...”

  “What happened?” Sheriff Tracy asked, kneeling down next to Simon.

  “He had a gun hidden on him. I turned my back for a second when I heard the lobby door handle rattle...he could have killed me,” Simon explained. “Help me stand up.”

  “Are you...alright?” Rose asked terrified. She had never seen a man shot before. “Is there anything I can do?”

  “I'll live. The bullet went clean through,” Simon told Rose in a voice that suddenly seemed different from the harsh voice he had shown her earlier. “I...I'm sorry. I...didn't have a choice. I had to lie,” he said staring into his daughter's worried face.

  Tears exploded from Rose's eyes. Putting her shaking hands to her lips, she looked at her daddy. “I knew you were my daddy...why did you lie?”

  “To protect you...now I get it,” Steven said as understanding stomped the confusion out of his mind. “Nathan Bedrock...Simon, he's the reason you left your family all them years ago.”

  Simon nodded his head. “Nathan Bedrock and come from the same woman, but not the same man. The man that raised us was the Nathan Bedrock's Pa. He was a mean, vicious man...poison to the core. The man beat my mother like she was a dog. One day, he began beating my mother with his bare fist...drunk on sour whiskey. I took a rifle and ended his miserable life that day. Nathan saw me kill his Pa...he vowed revenge.”

  “What did you do?” Rose asked wanting to run t
o her daddy.

  “My mother urged me to run away to Georgia. I did like she asked. I ended up getting a job and finding my way there. Eventually, I met your mother and we married. Oh, you were a beautiful baby. For a while, Nathan Bedrock seemed far away. Then, one day, he showed up in the wind. I was living under a different name then. Ben Griffith was my name back then...I knew if Nathan found out my fake name, he would be able to track down your and your mother and...hurt you. I was given no other choice...I had to run as far away from you and your mother as I could,” Simon told Rose in a shameful voice. “I ran instead of fighting. I...was afraid for you and your mother. I was a coward.”

  “No, you were a hero,” Rose cried and ran to her daddy and carefully hugged him. Simon put his right arm around Rose's trembling shoulder and hugged her back. “I love you, daddy.”

  “I love you, too,” Simon replied fighting back his own tears.

  Sheriff Tracy looked into the lobby toward the front door. “Nathan Bedrock is free and he has a man with him, Simon. Maybe more than one man, at that. He ain't gonna stand outside in that storm all night. He's come to kill and he'll do that unless we stop him.”

  Hearing footsteps running down the stairs, Steven saw Jacob making his way down toward the lobby with a rifle in his hands. “I heard a gunshot!” he yelled.

  “It's okay,” Steven called out to Jacob. Turning toward Rose, he drew in a deep breath. “I'll go stand watch at the front door.”

  “I'm going with you,” Rose told Steven. Letting go of her daddy she wiped at her tears. He nodded his head at her and understood.

  Before Steven could object, the front door exploded open. Nathan Bedrock appeared. “Now listen to me, Simon,” he yelled as icy winds and snow blew past him into the lobby. “You have ten minutes to come outside with that daughter of yours and face me in a gun fight or I'm going to burn this hotel and this town down to the ground and kill everyone in sight.”

  “Simon can't fight you,” Steven yelled at Nathan. “He's shot, you coward. Are you going to go gun to gun with a wounded man?”