Cowboy Creek Christmas

by Cheryl St. John

  “I’m sorry, too,” Eric added, his face suffused with color. “The stuff seemed harmless. Eugene gave us the idea to hit her with a snowball.”

  Mr. Schuyler fisted his hand over his mouth and cleared his throat. “I’ll speak with Eugene’s father. He needs to be apprised of the situation.”

  The mood somber, the three of them filed out, leaving Beatrix alone with Colton.

  “Now you know,” he said. “Now you know who I really am.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Colton took a shuddering breath and waited for her reaction.

  Beatrix squeezed his hands. “I already knew who you were, and I already loved you.”

  Her complete acceptance stunned him into momentary silence. “But I’m no different than those boys.”

  “Yes, you are. You’re different because you’ve grown and learned from your mistakes. You’ve punished yourself long enough. It’s time to let go.”

  “I hurt people.” But even as he argued, relief coursed through him. For the first time since Joseph’s death, he felt as though he could take a full breath, as though the band around his chest had loosened. “I tore our family apart.”

  “An accident tore your family apart. And then you kept punishing yourself until you tore yourself apart. That accident was not your fault. When you stole those apples, you should have been punished. Your neighbor started the war by retaliating instead of forgiving.”

  “I needed to give meaning to the suffering.”

  She traced the rigid scar on the back of his hand. “My grandfather once said that our souls emerge stronger for suffering. He said that the strongest souls are riddled with scars.”

  Colton desperately wanted to believe he could be happy, that he didn’t need to carry the burden any longer. “How does that make up for what happened?”

  “We can never change the past,” she replied sadly. “We’ve all made decisions we regret. I regret the foolish girl who put her trust in the wrong man. But I cannot wish it undone. Even with all the pain I suffered, I’m grateful. I’m grateful for Joseph. I’m grateful for the wisdom that experience gave me. I’m grateful because that heartache led me to you. I know you’re a good man. I know the difference now. I didn’t before.”

  Her words filled the empty spaces between the scars in his soul. “I love you, Beatrix. And I want you to be happy. But you’re so far away from home, from your family.”

  “I am happy. You make me happy. This is my home, and you are my family.”

  “Are you certain?”

  “I’ve never been more certain.”

  He glanced at the baby sleeping in the bassinet. He’d come full circle. He’d buried his brother, and he’d seen this new life enter the world. Joseph. The beloved. There’d never be any reason for what had happened to his brother, but along the way, he’d forgotten there was hope. With each new generation, there was life and loss, joy and sorrow. All that had happened before had made him the man he was today. He’d been broken and repaired, he’d been scarred and healed, he’d loved and he was loved in return.

  His parents had died unforgiving, shattered over the loss. Their grief had been more important to them than their living son. Yet their bitterness had not changed the past.

  Colton knelt before the bassinet. The baby cooed and kicked at his swaddling. Tears sprang in his eyes, and he didn’t fight them away.

  He lifted his eyes heavenward. “I will honor you with my joy. I will honor you with the love I share.”

  Beatrix came to stand beside him. Colton stood and swept her into his arms. Of all the kisses they’d shared, this one was the sweetest, because this was their first kiss without guilt to taint it, or obstacles to overcome. This was the first kiss they’d shared that didn’t hold the pall of sorrow for the past.

  This was the kiss that started his new life, and he refused to let anything interrupt them.

  * * *

  Beatrix glanced down the pew and smiled. Colton’s grandparents had arrived, and their reunion had been a heartwarming combination of tears and hugs. Mrs. Werner, who’d ordered Beatrix to call her Angie, held Joseph during the service.

  Her beautiful linzertorte had been set in the place of honor for the gathering after the service. Best of all, the sorrow had finally gone from Colton’s eyes, replaced by joy and wonder.

  He squeezed her hand. “I love you.”

  “I love you, too,” she whispered back.

  Reverend Taggart stood before the congregation. “Please, rise for the singing of the Christmas hymn.”

  Skirts rustled, voices murmured, and everyone stood.

  The piano began a familiar tune, and the congregation sang along.

  The words brought tears to her eyes, and she gazed at Colton in wonder. “They’re singing in German.”

  “I know,” he whispered back. “They practiced last week after the service was over. I wanted to surprise you.”

  Beatrix added her voice to the chorus. “Stille Nacht, Heil’ge Nacht, Alles schläft; einsam wacht Nur das traute hoch heilige Paar. Holder Knab’ im lockigen Haar, Schlafe in immlischer Ruh.”

  Silent night, holy night, All is calm, all is bright. Round yon Virgin, Mother and Child.

  Holy infant so tender and mild, Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.

  Her heart swelled, and she gazed at the row of faces singing beside her. She’d finally come home.

  * * * * *

  Don’t miss a single installment of

  COWBOY CREEK

  Bringing mail-order brides, and new beginnings,

  to a Kansas boom town.

  WANT AD WEDDING

  by Cheryl St.John

  SPECIAL DELIVERY BABY

  by Sherri Shackelford

  BRIDE BY ARRANGEMENT

  by Karen Kirst

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  Dear Reader,

  When Cheryl St.John and I were invited to work together, we knew we had to revisit Cowboy Creek. We knew the town had many more stories to share, and we had a wonderful time working together on this project. My heroine brings a keepsake from Austria. If you’re interested in hearing how her beautiful armonica sounded, there are numerous videos on the internet. The craftsmanship of these instruments is incredible!

  I hope you enjoy the love story between Colton and Beatrix.

  I love connecting with readers and would enjoy hearing your thoughts on this story! If you’re interested in learning more about this book, or others I’ve written in the Prairie Courtships series, visit my website at sherrishackelford.com, or reach me at sherrishackelford@gmail.com, Facebook.com/SherriShackelfordAuthor, Twitter @smshackelford, or regular old snail mail: PO Box 116, Elkhorn, NE 68022.

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  Sherri Shackelford

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  Mail Order Mommy

  by Christine Johnson

  Chapter One

  December 2, 1870

  Amanda Porter had made her decision, and there was no going back on it now.

  She had sent the letter off on the mail boat at first light. Before she’d left the dock the crew had cast off lines, and the boat now steamed out the river on its way to Chicago.

  The early morning breeze off Lake Michigan stung her cheeks on the walk back to the boardinghouse and made her pull her coat a little tighter. A dusting of snow had fallen overnight. The boardwalks across the soft sand shimmered in the first gleams of sunlight, but she could think only of the painful future that awaited her.

  It would take at least two weeks for that letter to travel to New York City and a response to return to this Michigan lumber town. Singapore. The name had sounded exotic when she’d agreed to join her friend Pearl four months ago. Truthfully, she would have done anything to leave the Chatsworths’ house and the scene of her humiliation.

  She had banked everything on that advertisement for a wife that Pearl had found: “Widower with handsome inheritance seeks wife in booming town soon to rival Chicago. Well-furnished, comfortable house. Inquire at mercantile for Mr. Garrett Decker. Singapore, Michigan.”

  In Singapore, Amanda had expected to begin anew with someone to love and care for. The past could be forgotten in a bright new future, but it had all proved to be a trick. Garrett Decker did not want to marry. He claimed he’d never placed the advertisement. His children had sent it to the newspaper, because they wanted a new mother. That ought to have changed his mind, but he refused to consider marrying Amanda or one of the other two ladies who’d answered the advertisement. That wasn’t the only discrepancy. Located near the mouth of the Kalamazoo River, Singapore was tiny and in no way rivaled bustling Chicago. It boasted just one hotel, one boardinghouse and no church building. Sand constantly drifted off the dunes and onto the streets and boardwalks. Garrett Decker had no inheritance, handsome or not. Once again she’d been misled by a man.

  That’s why she had to return to the only place that would accept her, albeit as a maid rather than a daughter. That, and Pearl’s upcoming wedding. Three and a half weeks were just enough time to finish the wedding dress planned for the special event. Amanda would see her friend married and settled. Then she would depart.

  Pearl would not be pleased with the decision, but it couldn’t be helped. Since Garrett refused to marry and no other prospects loomed, Amanda must take charge of her life.

  She pulled open the back door of the boardinghouse and stomped the snow and sand off her shoes before venturing into the steamy kitchen. The heat made her yank off her mittens and unbutton her coat in a hurry. She unpinned her plum-colored hat, which did nothing to shield her from the cold, and shoved the outerwear onto a hook in the butler’s pantry.

  Platters of ham and poached eggs waited on the stove’s warming shelf, while the teakettle whistled. Since no one was around, she took the kettle off the heat before it boiled dry.

  “Miss Amanda, what are you doing out so early on a Saturday morning?” Mrs. Calloway, the boardinghouse owner, breezed into the kitchen and grabbed a tray of cinnamon rolls out of the oven.

  “I saw the mail boat was in and wanted to post a letter.”

  “Oh, my, I should have had you take the boardinghouse mail.”

  “I took it.”

  “You’re such a fine girl. I don’t know what I’d do without you.” The boardinghouse proprietress whirled out of the kitchen just as quickly as she’d come in.

  Amanda donned one of the aprons that Mrs. Calloway kept in a cupboard and lifted the tray of ham off the stove. Meals were served in a specific order. This time of year, those items that could be eaten cold were served before those that must remain hot. Even with the stoves blazing hot, many of the public rooms remained cool. The bedrooms were icy.

  Upon entering the dining room, she found four seated at the table: Pearl, Fiona O’Keefe and two sawmill workers, whose presence reminded her that she’d missed a chance last month to locate her lost brother. Fiona was one of the other ladies who had answered Garrett Decker’s advertisement, and was from all appearances his current favorite. She sat with him at church, and he had attended some of her music recitals on Saturdays. Fiona’s smile grated on Amanda, so she concentrated on her friend, who looked ready to lecture the men for shoving the warm rolls into their mouths without the slightest regard for manners.

  “Good morning.” Amanda set the ham on the table, and the men dug into that next.

  Pearl shifted her attention to Amanda. “There you are. I wondered where you went so early. Mrs. Calloway said the mail boat is in.”

  Naturally, Mrs. Calloway had passed along that bit of information. For all her lovely, good-hearted qualities, the boardinghouse proprietress couldn’t keep the tiniest scrap of information to herself.

  “They’ve left already,” Amanda said. “The captain fears a storm is on its way.”

  “A storm?” Fiona sipped tea from a porcelain teacup, three fingers daintily extended. “There’s not a cloud in the sky.”

  “I suppose we will know in time.” Amanda found it easier to agree with Fiona than to get into a debate. The redhead refused to budge from a single opinion. “Anyway, the mail has arrived. Roland said it’ll be sorted by midmorning.”

  Pearl smiled at the mention of her fiancé, who also happened to be Garrett Decker’s brother. When they’d first met Roland aboard the ship from Chicago, there’d been a terrible mix-up about the brothers. All three women answering the advertisement thought Roland was the man seeking a wife. Once they arrived in Singapore, the misunderstanding got sorted out. Pearl fell in love with Roland, and Amanda had managed to catch Garrett’s attention through his adorable children. But after last month’s fire, everything changed.

  Fiona slid the pastry server under one of the cinnamon rolls that the men hadn’t gobbled up. “I’m expecting my manager to send word of a role in a new production at Niblo’s Garden.”

  “I hope you get the part.” Amanda clapped her mouth shut. Though a booking at the popular theater would be a huge step in Fiona’s career, Amanda had said that a bit too eagerly.

  Fiona noticed. “Want me gone, do you? Well, I’ll have you know that I’m this close to coming to an understanding with Garrett.” She held her thumb and index finger a fraction of an inch apart.

  Amanda’s spirits sank. She had no idea Garrett was that close to proposing to Fiona. She swallowed tears of frustration. Everything had gone wrong here. Everything. It was best she’d decided to leave.

  Pearl, on the other hand, set into Fiona with the tenacity of a guard dog. “Then why hasn’t Roland heard anything about this? As his brother, he should know.”

  “Since when do brothers discuss romance?” Fiona brushed back a red curl that had slipped over her shoulder. “Garrett is a quiet, brooding sort. He requires a lively, vivacious woman to counter his natural disposition.”

  Amanda edged toward the doorway. She would rather fetch the eggs than listen to one more confirmation that she’d lost
all opportunity to win over Garrett Decker. Before she could slip away, Pearl’s teacher’s glare froze her in place.

  Pearl returned her attention to the elegant redhead. “I hope you won’t be disappointed.”

  Fiona’s brow furrowed. “Disappointed? Why should I be disappointed?”

  “A star of the New York stage could never be happy in a lumber town. She must return to the theater at the beckoning of her adoring fans. Garrett doesn’t strike me as a man who cares for the big city.”

  That brought to mind the one thing about Fiona O’Keefe that had perplexed Amanda since they first met. If Fiona was such a star, why would she leave New York to answer a mail-order bride advertisement? It made no sense.

  Fiona smiled coyly. “A man will do almost anything for the woman he loves.”

  Then Fiona is certain. Amanda pressed a hand to her midsection. Her last shreds of hope were rapidly disappearing.

  “He will not go against his nature,” Pearl insisted.

  Amanda could not picture Garrett in evening attire and top hat. Roland, yes. Garrett, never. Not for the first time she marveled at how different the two brothers were. Roland was tall and suave, always dressed in style. The shorter and more powerful Garrett preferred workingman’s clothes. His auburn hair was in direct contrast to Roland’s dark locks. They barely looked like brothers, though they certainly acted that way, often in playful competition.

  Mrs. Calloway entered with the eggs. “Sit, Miss Amanda. Breakfast is served.”

  Amanda did not feel like a guest, especially given the uncomfortable reality that she had a room here only by the charity of Pearl, who paid the cost of the room from her wages as a teacher, and the Calloways, who gave Amanda board in exchange for housekeeping. She could not ask the Calloways to let her stay free of charge once Pearl wed and moved on. Since Amanda had but one dime left to her name and no paying employment, she’d written her foster family asking for a service position in their household.