“I’ve never seen anything like them,” Max murmured.
Neither had she. Everything about them was different. No two were the same. Or so she thought until she examined the birds everyone now held. The Llewellyns’ birds all wore red caps, while Max’s had yellow and Lark’s had black.
“The hats match our hair color.” Max voiced her thoughts.
“But not mine.” Gus sounded perplexed but still pleased. “Mine has a red and yellow and black hat.”
“I bet you get all of our colors,” Griff said, “because we all call you grandpa.”
“That’s because he keeps telling us that we must,” Hedd corrected quickly.
“And we are lucky that he does,” Bryn remarked even faster.
“These hats look like…” Max’s gaze met hers as if he was asking if she noticed what he was seeing.
She studied the birds closer. “They look like the wool caps you knitted for me and my brothers last Christmas!”
Birdie and Jack hadn’t joined Gus’ knitting activities as they’d assumed when the doctor mentioned a bed rest project. Instead, the pair had created their own miniature hats and birds to wear them.
“We made more to give out at the party.” Birdie handed her the red bundle.
Why had she given them to her? When Jack set Birdie back on her bed, Robyn’s answer became obvious. Birdie was on bed rest, and Jack wasn’t going anywhere without her.
But Robyn had to keep her hands free and her thoughts focused if she wanted to succeed in getting Max to see all the ways she’d changed at tonight’s party. She’d have to ask Hedd or Griff to give out the birds.
“But there aren’t enough for everyone in town.” Birdie’s chin rose determinedly. “So, we’ll keep making them until everyone who wants one gets one.”
“It’s the least we can do for what they’ve done for us,” Jack said. “We’re blessed to live in this town. Mayor Hardt and the Noelle founders were wise men. Hardt’s also a generous man. He inspired our Christmas ornaments.”
“Dagnabbit.” Gus slapped his knee. “I’d forgotten ’bout last year ’n the twelve ornaments. First the partridge, then the dove, and so on until the drum. They appeared like magic on the tree at the saloon.” Gus grabbed the bundle from Robyn’s hands. “I’ll hand out yer birds at the party.”
“Merci, Grand-père, but won’t you have your hands full giving your own gifts? Surely someone else can do the task.” Birdie’s gaze swept Robyn’s brothers.
Who exchanged odd looks then stared at anything but Birdie.
“Fine,” Robyn muttered when the situation was anything but that. She reclaimed the bundle from Gus. “If Bon-papa is busy and no one else has the heart to volunteer, then I’ll do the job.”
“No! You can’t go to the party. That’s not what we—” Hedd’s gaze darted to his brothers and then Max.
“You what?” she demanded.
“You look exhausted.” Griff raised his palms placatingly when she scowled at him.
She forced her face to relax but couldn’t resurrect her smile. She’d wanted to look her best for the party.
“We’re all tired,” Bryn said with a sigh. “And none of us are at our best when we are.”
His word choice made her stiffen. Was it so obvious that she was failing at her plans?
“You shouldn’t do things when you’re angry, Rob,” Griff muttered. “Believe me, I know.”
“We should stay home for the evening, so we can rest for our trip back to Denver early tomorrow.” Despite his comment about slowing down, Hedd sped up and began pacing. “We’ll have a lot of work when we return.”
“We wouldn’t have so much if you’d done the one thing I asked and stayed in Denver.” Her accusing words made her growl in disappointment. Now she had more to make up for. “Stay here. I’m capable of attending a party on my own.” She hugged Birdie’s gifts to her chest. She might be capable, but she wouldn’t be happy going alone.
“You ain’t goin’ on yer own,” Gus said. “I’ll be with you.”
“And so will I,” Lark declared.
Their support made her throat tight. Since she couldn’t speak, she nodded her thanks.
“It’ll be a fun gathering,” Jack said. “Noelle’s a good place to work and live. While you’re mulling that over, Max and I need to talk about…” He trailed off as his gaze went to the front of house. “What I wanted to discuss earlier. Let’s talk outside.”
Jack’s secretive behavior, made her head spin. So did Max’s departure. He turned on his heel and without a word followed his brother down the hall.
Chapter 14
When they reached the porch, Jack sat down heavily on the steps and rubbed his thigh. Odd how his brother’s wooden leg hadn’t appeared to bother him all that much when he’d carried Birdie, but now it did. Or maybe whatever he was about to say was the bigger bother. Jack wasn’t rushing to reveal what he’d previously sounded so eager to tell Max.
He propped his shoulder against a porch post and stared at the sturdy ceiling. I have nothing to say. I only want to speak with Robyn. I— He shoved away from the post and started pacing. I need to get back inside and talk to her.
She was more determined than ever to go to the party. Her brothers had made her unhappy. Guilt pricked his heart. I’ve made her unhappy.
Jack blew out an extended breath. “I know your independence is important to you.”
The unexpected words drained the gumption from Max’s backbone and legs. He took a seat beside Jack on the steps. On the space his brother had left for him. On purpose and with forethought. Darn him.
Jack cleared his throat. “Which means you need to return to Denver. But I need to hand off our Noelle operations to someone.”
Max stiffened, rejecting what had to be coming next. You want me to stay in Noelle and run its office.
“Birdie and I think one of the Llewellyns would be the best candidate to take over the Noelle office.”
Surprise made him pivot on his seat to face his brother. “What?”
Jack raised his palms just as placatingly as Griff had in the kitchen. “I know. Robyn’s brothers messed up by abandoning their posts and coming here, but one misstep shouldn’t negate all the good ones.”
Max rubbed the knot tormenting his brow. “They’d always impressed me with their diligence and initiative in the past.”
“So, our proposal is sound, but it isn’t just our decision. It’s a family one. And you know the Llewellyn family better than anyone. What do you think?” Jack clasped Max’s shoulder. “Which one of the Llewellyns would be the best pick to stay in Noelle while you lead the rest in Denver?”
None of them. You can’t part them. I can’t either. No one can.
A dull ache throbbed behind his eyes. He couldn’t say any of that to Jack when he looked so hopeful that his and Birdie’s idea might work.
The blasted pain in his head swelled to the point where he felt like his world might explode. Kaboom. Like the bridge that’d been blown to smithereens and delayed the arrival of the— “Since the railroad reached town, your freight work has slowed down a lot, hasn’t it?”
“It’ll pick up again.” Jack sighed wearily. “Noelle is growing more rapidly than ever. Folks will require more in-town shipping soon.”
“But right now?”
“At most, it’s a two-person job. Like when we first came to Noelle. One in the office and one on the wagon.”
“Or a three-person job if one, like you, divided their time between the office and carpentry work.”
Jack propped his elbow on his knee and his chin on his palm. “Or if one, like Gus, needed to slow down and enjoyed napping while watching the postal counter.”
“You and him always knew the best way to handle the post.” Max couldn’t hide his grin. Jack always succeeded more than he failed at making sure Gus didn’t work too hard.
“Lately he hasn’t wanted to run the post office.” Jack shrugged. “He’s been interested
in other things. Whatever Gus decides to do day-to-day, right now only two people can earn a steady income running Noelle freight. I wouldn’t want anyone to move here and give up a lucrative position elsewhere. I’d worry less if everyone had a passion project they could fall back on in lean times.”
“Like Gus has with his leather tooling. And you have with your carpentry.”
“And you had as well.” When Max shot him a mystified look, Jack said, “Your knitting.”
Max snorted. “That’s not a job that’ll put food on the table.”
“Don’t be so dismissive.” Jack shook his finger at him. “It might.”
“So might making Birdie’s Christmas ornaments.”
“True. But we’ll never know about them because they’re only a diversion. She’ll want to return to her dressmaking soon.” He glanced over his shoulder as if he might already find his wife creeping down the hall to work in her new dress shop.
“Too bad she couldn’t do both.” When Jack opened his mouth to object, Max added, “I know. Birdie needs to slow down and so do you. Those ornaments, however, might’ve been a great business opportunity.”
Jack’s worried frown turned confused. “How so?”
“We could’ve distributed them to the shops in Denver.”
Jack huffed in disbelief. “You can see that business opportunity, but you can’t believe those same shops might want your knitting?”
Max stared at the blindingly white but beautiful snowy vista around them. “Until now, I never gave anything but hauling freight my focus. It’d be an easy enough venture to test. We already know the steps after we distributed Birdie’s dresses in Denver this year, and your wooden legs even further afield.”
His brother smiled. “It’s only an easy venture because you’re in Denver. It was the best business decision you ever made, leaving Noelle and opening your office.”
Jack’s praise startled him. “It’s your office as well.” He raised a challenging eyebrow, then couldn’t resist teasing his big brother. “Peregrines’ Post is a family affair, you know.”
Jack laughed and slapped him on the back. “And none of it would work so well if Denver was run by someone I didn’t know and trust so completely.”
“You know,” Max repeated. “It’s not just me making Denver a success.”
“It’s the Llewellyns,” Jack replied without hesitation.
“They joined me during my first days.” And what a gift that had been. He couldn’t imagine not having Robyn in his life.
“So…” Jack climbed easily to his feet. Either the discomfort had faded from his leg or he was ignoring it as he often did. “Assigning our Noelle office to one or two of the Llewellyns makes even more sense.”
It did. And it didn’t. Because Robyn’s brothers had always insisted that their family was staying together. And if there was only work for two in Noelle, then he knew the Llewellyns’ answer. They wouldn’t and couldn’t stay in Noelle.
Unless they were willing to learn new things. Like Jack had learned to make Birdie’s ornaments or Gus was knitting again. All four of the Llewellyns had never expressed an interest in doing anything other than driving wagons. Before, that single-minded interest had worked in Max’s favor.
Now it was a disaster.
Because if the Llewellyns weren’t capable of disbanding or diversifying, then that meant his daily partnerships with them had come to an end. And so had his wish to share his future with Robyn.
His brother held out his hand. When Max grabbed it, Jack hauled him to his feet and said, “Time to see if Robyn and her family have stopped arguing and have time to talk to us. They seemed awfully riled about something.” Jack gave him a knowing look. “Something bigger than a party.”
Max led the way back to the kitchen and the Llewellyns. His stride was determined but his shoulders sagged in defeat. “It’s something I need to fix. In Robyn’s favor.”
Chapter 15
Robyn huffed, trying to blow one of the many curls, that had escaped her braid and hung around her face, off her nose. She didn’t succeed. So, she tried to brush off the dust covering her skirt—her entire skirt—instead. She didn’t succeed there either.
Dandy. Just dandy. Now her hair and her dress were messier than ever. And she was more tired than ever. And probably looked it.
What would Max say if he saw her now? She’d seen him as they’d worked together during the move, but they hadn’t spoken.
But now their group, minus Birdie who was still on bed rest, was almost done moving the last of the upstairs office furniture to the new house. She set Gus’ brass carriage clock on the night table Jack had built for his grandfather and sighed in appreciation. And envy. The Peregrines were so lucky to have a permanent home for themselves and their treasures.
Gus paused his rifling through a trunk in search of what he’d called his best shirt for a shindig and patted her hand. “Why the glum face? Yer strong ’n resourceful ’n have yer whole life ahead of you.” He winked at her. “And yer still my favorite Llewellyn.”
“We heard that,” Hedd said.
“How can we not,” Griff grumbled. “We’re all in the same room.”
“Doing our fair share assisting our not so equal-minded Grandpa set up his palatial new abode.” Bryn’s words and sigh were so melodramatic he made everyone laugh.
“Don’t worry.” Gus’ grin widened with anticipation. “You’ll receive yer rewards at the party.”
“We’re not going.” Hedd’s refusal came fast.
“Of course, you are,” Gus shot back. “How else am I gonna introduce you to the finest bachelors ’n…bachelor ladies in Noelle?”
All three of her brothers looked as appalled as she felt whenever Gus brought up the topic.
“I know what yer thinking.” Gus shrugged one shoulder. “There really should be a better word fer an unmarried lady. Spinster ain’t right. Neither is maiden.”
“We’re not attending any party.” Griff’s ill humor was fierce but, like Robyn and her brothers, Gus had learned to either ignore or confront him.
“Why?” Gus’ scowl transformed into wide-eyed incredulity. “Oh, yeah, nearly forgot. You big strong lads need to stay home ’n rest.”
The need for rest, and arguing about it, had grown exponentially since their Christmas feast. The nonstop advice was the most exhausting of all. Do this. Or this and that. But according to her brothers—whatever you do, don’t go to the party.
As if sensing her turmoil, Gus gave her and then each of her brothers a stern look. “Only yer sister has the grit to stay the course ’n see this day through.” Gus squinted at the clock she’d set on his night table. “It’s time. The party has started.”
“It has? But I’m not ready. I’m a mess.” Her entire body went rigid with anxiety. “I haven’t—”
“You’re perfect as always.” Max stood in the doorway of Gus’ room, looking beyond perfect. His thick blond hair and red-blond beard. His richly deep mahogany brown eyes. His smile…even if it looked a bit sad. Which didn’t fit his complimentary words and the certainty in his voice.
“Yes, Rob’s perfect.” Griff planted himself in front of Max. “While you, most definitely, are not.”
“Why are you dragging you heels?” Bryn moved close to Griff.
Hedd did the same, and they formed a row of three facing Max. “Yeah, what happened to Dog Bone?”
“What are you talking about?” she demanded.
“Max?” Birdie’s voice drifted down the hall. “What’s taking you so long to bring Robyn to me?”
Max gestured for her to come with him. She hurried past her brothers and followed him. Inside the next room, Birdie perched on her bed sewing more bird ornaments. Lark sat with her, cutting out fabric pieces, while Jack rearranged furniture.
Lark’s willingness to help along with her recently revealed talents for cooking and dance instruction shattered all of Robyn’s assumptions. If she’d been this wrong about Lark’s character,
what else had she failed to see? Or seen incorrectly?
Birdie and Lark smiled at her and put their ornament making aside.
“We’d better hurry if we are going to get you ready,” Birdie said.
“We?”
“Lark and I.” Birdie’s gaze went to Jack, then Max, and finally over Robyn’s shoulder. “You need to leave the room, gentlemen.”
Her brothers hovered behind her.
Jack kissed Birdie’s cheek. “I’ll be back after you’re done and I get Grandpa organized.” He headed for the door.
“I’ll help you,” Max said, but instead of following his brother, he turned to Robyn. His earnest look stole her breath. “Then I’ll be waiting downstairs to escort you to the party.”
“You can’t do that.” Bryn widened his stance.
When Hedd and Griff mimicked his posture, their row of three became a barricade stopping Max from following Jack out of the room.
“Why can’t he?” Robyn asked. “And this time you’d better answer my question.”
“Because—” Bryn threw his arms in the air. “Escorting you is my job.”
Griff gaped at his brother, then hollered, “Have you lost your mind as well?”
“None of us are going,” Hedd shouted. “We decided this long ago.”
While her brothers argued, Birdie motioned her forward. When they stood close, she handed her red cloth bundle, now sewn into a sack, to Robyn and whispered, “Do you remember me telling you about Agatha Boonesbury?”
She nodded. Birdie had only mentioned Agatha to Robyn but not to her brothers. If they knew, their teasing would’ve been colossal. Gus had almost married the lady on the twelfth day of Christmas last January. In the final minute, the pair had called off their union. No one knew why.
Birdie kept her voice low. “When you see Agatha at the party, introduce yourself and ask her to hand out the birds. I should’ve thought of this sooner. I’d like for her to be included in our family gift giving. And for her and Gus to finally—”
Robyn- A Christmas Bride Page 12