Robyn- A Christmas Bride

by Jacqui Nelson

  Another hand clasped her shoulder. She looked up into Heddwyn’s eyes, blue as the sky above him. She’d never been so happy that he hadn’t kept his word, that he hadn’t caught the train and returned to Denver.

  He swallowed hard. “Is it her baby?”

  She felt his fear. Shared it. Their mother had died after giving birth to her. “I don’t know.” All her worries about losing someone came to a head. She crumpled to her knees.

  Max knelt with her. His hands cupped her cheeks and guided her gaze to meet his. “Whatever happens, we can face it together.” He’d lost family as well. In the war, he’d dug for hours trying to save his father and brother. He’d only saved Jack. “We’re going to help Birdie and Jack.”

  His resolve strengthened her. He must have sensed the change in her because he immediately stood and reached down to her. She seized his hand and scrambled to her feet. His unwavering grasp kept her upright. He didn’t let go.

  He held her hand all the way back to the office.

  Chapter 10

  Max sat close to Robyn, her hand clasped firmly in his. He hadn’t been able to let go since they returned to the office and clustered around Jack who’d clutched Birdie’s hands. While Birdie lay on the carpentry shop floor, murmuring reassurances to her husband and everyone. His tiny sister-in-law’s steadfast bravery humbled him.

  When Doctor Deane had arrived and instructed Jack to carry Birdie up to her bedroom, they’d followed them to the foot of the stairs, then taken up this vigil, sitting on the closest workbench.

  Everything upstairs remained silent. He glanced at Robyn. Her focus didn’t waver from the staircase, but Heddwyn’s gaze met his and seemed to ask the question he couldn’t stop thinking.

  What should we do next?

  It was just the three of them now. Robyn kept them together. She held not only his hand but her brother’s.

  The Noelle ladies, who’d earned his eternal gratitude for their assistance today, had gone home. And he’d closed Peregrines’ Post. Locked the front door. A first, for this early in the day. The office didn’t matter. What mattered were the people in it and, as he’d grown to realize, in Noelle as well.

  This town was an exceptional one.

  Behind Heddwyn, a blur of movement outside the carpentry shop’s window snared his attention. The silhouette of a big man walking fast. The back door, which they hadn’t locked, opened just as fast.

  Their visitor hadn’t bothered to knock because he’d also heard the stories about not needing to. Robyn’s youngest brother, and the largest, filled the doorway.

  “What’s wrong?” Griffin demanded. “Why is your front door locked?”

  Robyn released his hand, and Hedd’s too, and ran to Griff. She threw her arms around him and hugged him tight.

  Griff shot Hedd and Max a worried look as he patted his sister’s back awkwardly, but his words flowed easily. “I missed you as well, Little Red.”

  Footsteps echoed in the hall upstairs. The doctor descended the steps.

  Max and Hedd rose from their seats. Their voices joined Robyn’s as they asked, “Is she—?”

  “She’s going to be fine,” Doctor Deane interrupted.

  A round of cheers went up. Robyn hugged the doctor which made him smile. He’d probably seen it all in his line of work.

  “However…” Deane set his medical case on a bench and rubbed his eyes wearily. “Birdie still needs a lot of rest.”

  “We shouldn’t have been so loud.” Hedd froze as if he were afraid he’d step on a squeaky floorboard.

  “We weren’t thinking,” Robyn whispered.

  “We’re sorry we—”

  The doctor cut him off again. “No need to apologize. Birdie wasn’t asleep when I left her, but I hope she will be soon. I’ve prescribed complete bed rest for several days. Maybe more.”

  Max released a lengthy sigh, relieved there was a way for Birdie to get better while unsure of its chances of success. “That’ll be difficult for her.”

  Deane’s gaze went to the second floor. “Jack seems to have a plan. He told Birdie they could work on some secret project. When I objected, he assured me it was only handwork that could be done in bed. He said he couldn’t say more.”

  “It’s one of Gus’ surprises.” Max turned toward door and the barn beyond. “I’d better hitch a team and get him from Ezra’s ranch.”

  “That’s being done for you,” the doctor said. “After Felicity found me, she said her next task was getting your grandfather home.”

  The reverend’s wife’s foresight and generosity left Max at a loss for words.

  When Robyn looped her arm around his, he was even more speechless.

  She touched him so easily, like they stood this way every day. This, however, was another first. He stared at her like he’d been deprived of her presence for months. Seeing her long braid again brightened his mood. Not that he’d been unhappy seeing her with different hair yesterday. He was just happy to see her, no matter how she looked.

  “Wait a minute.” Doctor Deane’s eyebrows arched as if he’d just realized something. He was also pondering Robyn. “My wife met you yesterday at Avis and Liam’s store. You’re Miss Llewellyn. And you and Max are—”

  “We work together in Denver.” Robyn’s arm tightened around his, like she worried he might run away. “Please call me Robyn, and when you see Felicity, thank her for us.”

  Us. The word was also new but felt incredibly right.

  “We thank you as well, Doctor.” Max held out his hand.

  Deane’s handshake was as vigorous as Liam and Culver’s. “Glad to be of assistance and have you back in Noelle.” His smile widened as his gaze went from Max to Robyn and kept moving. “Also, glad to find that neither of you are alone. You must be Robyn’s brothers. And who might you be, miss?”

  A slender woman with eyes as dark as the obsidian hair hanging straight to her waist stood by the door. When had she arrived?

  Griff cleared his throat. “She came with me.”

  And they hadn’t noticed her in the shadow of his bulk or later when they’d been focused on the doctor’s news.

  “Lark.” Robyn’s voice was sharp with accusation.

  Hedd’s usually flippant or flighty tone was firm. “Why is she here?”

  They appeared to know the woman well, but he’d never heard them speak of her. What else hadn’t Robyn shared with him? First coming to Noelle. Now this.

  If she’d hidden things from him in Denver, where he’d thought they’d discussed everything, how could he ever hope she’d share her life with him after they left Noelle?

  “Remember—” Doctor Deane grabbed his medical case and edged toward the door. “No loud conversations down here if you want Birdie to rest uninterrupted upstairs.” He left before they could comment.

  Griff crossed his arms as he muttered, “I had to get her out of Denver before Bryn saw her in trouble again.”

  Robyn glared at the woman who still didn’t react in any way. “Before she caused him to be permanently injured defending her again.”

  The forbidden subject. Brynmor’s eye. Its familiarity should have brought relief, but hearing them speak so openly about it discombobulated him.

  Robyn’s words did a helluva lot worse to the woman who’d previously seemed carved of wood. The color drained from her tawny skin.

  “Will Brynmor follow you to Noelle?” He regretted his question immediately.

  The woman’s expression turned hopeful then horrified.

  “Don’t worry.” Hedd faced Max, but the dart of his eyes toward Lark revealed he was reassuring both of them. Hedd couldn’t stay angry with anyone for long. “Bryn won’t leave your office unattended.”

  “What did you tell him before you left?” Robyn asked.

  “I didn’t—” Griff huffed and stared at the floor. “I’m an idiot.”

  Hedd started pacing the room. “There’s never enough time for talk.”

  Maybe in Griff’s rush to get La
rk out of Denver, but not in Heddwyn’s race to find an adventure in Noelle.

  “Don’t worry.” Robyn repeated Hedd’s words, but she looked only at Max. “You’ve enough worries here in Noelle without us adding to them. My brothers will fix the mess they made. They’ll board the first train to Denver tomorrow.”

  Griff stood tall again. “We’ll work double-time to catch up your freight runs.”

  Hedd’s fist pumped the air. “We’ll drive faster than we ever have!”

  “Shh.” Robyn pressed her finger to her lips. Then she pulled Max out of the carpentry shop and into the office.

  Everyone followed them and Griff carefully closed the door.

  “Right,” Hedd mumbled. “Birdie must sleep, and we must go to Denver. It’s the only thing to do.”

  “Actually, it isn’t.” Max heaved a sigh, having trouble believing what he was about to say. But say it he must. “I’d rather you stayed here.”

  Robyn’s brothers gaped at him like he’d gone crazy.

  “Just for one day, then you must return to Denver and Brynmor.” He placed his palm over Robyn’s hand still griping his arm, not wanting her to go anywhere. “We don’t want him to be alone on Christmas day.”

  “What would we do in Noelle?” Griff asked.

  “Just for one day?” Hedd added.

  Robyn leaned against him. “Make a new home.”

  He smiled at her head almost resting on his chest. She still knew him well, even if he worried he didn’t always understand her so well.

  “If Jack won’t be leaving Birdie’s bedside, he needs—” He shifted closer to Robyn. “I need more hands to finish the house he was building for her.”

  “I’ll help.” Lark spoke swiftly in a rasping but lyrical tone that made Max think she’d be a fine singer. What impressed him most, however, was that her first words were so selfless.

  “What happened to your voice?” Robyn demanded.

  Lark’s shoulders lifted in the smallest of shrugs. “Life.”

  “Thank you,” Robyn said grudgingly. “For offering to help us. This time.”

  “Any help is appreciated,” Max reminded her.

  When Robyn didn’t reply, and neither did her brothers, he strove to say something that might break or at least lighten the tension. “And any friend of the Llewellyns is always welcome to stay with the Peregrines.”

  “She’s not—” Robyn’s glower disappeared when she glanced up at him. Uncertainty flashed in her eyes before she dropped her gaze. “Always friendly. You’ll see.”

  “I can’t afford to be,” Lark whispered as if her words pained her. “And I can’t stay here long. I also have people I need to help.”

  “She came looking for them in Denver.” Griff claimed a seat by the counter and gestured for Lark to do the same.

  Robyn sighed. “You did the right thing bringing her here. Together we can—” She inhaled sharply and for the first time looked at Lark with sympathy. “I’m sorry you won’t be spending your Christmas with your family.”

  Lark slumped on her chair, then just as quickly raised her chin and changed the subject. “You mentioned a house. When do you wish it done?”

  Max hopes weren’t realistic, but he voiced them anyway. “In a day.”

  “That’s—” Hedd waved his hands in the air as if he’d find the end of his sentence there.

  Griff propped his elbow on the counter and his chin on his palm as he contemplated his brother. “I take it there’s still a fair bit to do?”

  “We completed the siding today, but the house needs some flooring, doors, and windows which are stacked in the back of the barn.” Max frowned. “I’ve probably forgotten more that must be done.”

  “You’ve forgotten about this morning’s freight not getting hauled. You’ve forgotten how to—” Hedd paced the freight aisle.

  “Be you.” Despite his swift assessment, Griff looked confounded.

  Hedd halted beside his brother. “And tomorrow, there’ll be even more freight.”

  “And the post office will need minding again,” Robyn reminded them.

  “So, it’s impossible?” Lark asked.

  “No.” Robyn and her two brothers spoke as one, then grinned at each other.

  Max had watched them and Brynmor do this many time. They thrived on talking about and then tackling challenges.

  Robyn grabbed her brothers’ hands. “We’re family. If we stick together, we can do anything.”

  As she said the last word her gaze met his. His disappointment that she wasn’t holding his hand eased, but only a little. He’d have to get used to giving up her touch if he wanted to do what was best for her and everyone inside Peregrines’ Post.

  He had many gifts to organize.

  A move-in-ready house for Jack and Birdie. A safe place for Lark until she was ready to move on. Enough time to get Hedd and Griff home to Bryn. And for Robyn… He knew what she wanted. There was one thing she’d talked about achieving in Noelle and hadn’t yet accomplished. That would be his gift to her.

  But he only had tonight and tomorrow to make it all happen. And then it’d be the 25th. All of his plans had changed, and had essentially become one.

  He was giving Robyn and her family, and his as well, the best Christmas possible.

  Chapter 11

  December 24, 1877

  One day until Christmas and the party

  The midday sun shone through the newly installed windows and into the two front rooms of Jack and Birdie’s new house. Robyn struggled to keep her focus on the task at hand. And not on Max, striding up and down the hall and stairs—and in and out of her line of sight—as he greeted and thanked and organized the workers who kept coming to help with construction.

  There hadn’t been much hope of finishing until they’d started arriving. The Noelle townsfolk were giving the Peregrines the best gift of all. Their time.

  She sanded the counter faster, resisting the temptation to linger over the beauty of how it matched the counter at Peregrines’ Post in all the best ways while still being shaped to meet Birdie’s specific needs.

  Jack’s newest creation would be the centerpiece of her new dress shop. And on the other side of the hall, visible through a pair of matching double-wide doorways, would be Jack’s new carpentry shop. At first, Robyn had been dumbfounded by the perfection of the layout. Then she remembered Jack didn’t have to guess what would make Birdie the happiest.

  His desires matched his wife’s. Being close to each other in work and in rest.

  More than ever Robyn wanted that closeness with Max. And as soon as she completed this task, she’d have an excuse to talk to him. For the briefest of moments. Then she’d receive her next job and rush to finish it, so she could talk to him again. That had been her routine all day.

  Her arms ached with fatigue and her stomach rumbled with hunger, but she wouldn’t stop. Not when she was doing the most important work imaginable and when she’d be talking to Max in— She scanned the remaining counter that required sanding. In no more than five minutes. Her hands moved faster and her breath grew shorter, but her happiness remained steadfast.

  Until Lark, who was sanding a cabinet in the same room, and who hadn’t said a word all day, murmured, “He’s a good man.”

  The grief Brynmor had suffered at Lark’s hand, made Robyn growl like an overprotective mother bear. “So is my brother.”

  Lark flinched, dropped her sandpaper, retrieved it and went back to sanding. All without a word.

  Robyn pressed her lips tight and silently cursed her temper and then Lark for being so savvy or observant or maybe both. They barely knew each other and judging those you didn’t know, or thought you knew, was unforgivable.

  A sudden realization made her wince as well. That was her only problem with Lark. She couldn’t forgive the woman for hurting her brother physically and emotionally.

  He’d once called Lark a good friend. Had he thought of her as his best friend? She cursed herself again. Of course,
he had. She now saw that Bryn had felt the same way about Lark as Robyn now felt about Max.

  And Lark? What did she feel? In the past, she’d often wondered if the usually calm and collected woman felt anything.

  “I never meant for him to get hurt.” Lark’s voice grew even more raspy as she answered Robyn’s unspoken question.

  What had happened to her voice? It’d always been exceptionally smooth. Her singing had easily earned her many suitors until they learned why she had darker skin. Or accepted what they’d already guessed. Lark was half native. She came from a tribe up north. Or so the man who’d managed her singing troupe had said.

  People often hated others for the most outrageous reasons. Robyn, along with Hedd and Griff, only disliked Lark for hurting Bryn.

  In the silence that descended between them, the previously pleasant sound of sanding grated on Robyn’s nerves.

  As did Lark’s next words. “You mentioned an injury. How bad is it?”

  Bad enough to scar not only his body but his soul. But Bryn never wanted to talk about his eye.

  Robyn didn’t want to either, so she asked her own question. “What did you think would happen when you came looking for him?”

  “Not him. My sisters. I didn’t know he’d settled in Denver.”

  “You must miss them.”

  “Them and—” Lark gulped a breath as if her thoughts as well as her throat hurt her. “Brynmor too.”

  Robyn’s rebuff died on her lips. Somehow, she knew Lark wasn’t lying. Her brother and Lark had formed an instantaneous bond when they first met. Unfortunately, that hadn’t stopped Lark from siding with her sisters when their wellbeing clashed with Robyn’s brother’s. “I miss my brother as well.”

  “You’ll be happy to return to Denver,” Lark replied.

  “Not to the city but to Bryn, yes.”

  “Here in Noelle, you and the Peregrines are blessed with so many friends.” Lark gestured toward the hallway. “More have come.”

  Josefina and an unknown woman with pretty copper-colored curls—and not blazing bright red like hers—stood in the doorway with their arms full of small packages.