Robyn- A Christmas Bride

by Jacqui Nelson

  “Aggie’s gonna be there?” Gus’ question loud and clear and right beside them made them jump.

  They exchanged guilty looks as if they’d been plotting a crime.

  “Oui, Grand-père,” Birdie said in a soothing tone. “I suspect she will.”

  Gus crossed his arms stubbornly. “Then I’m not going there.”

  “But you’ve worked so hard to make your secret gifts,” Birdie said.

  “And you were so excited to attend the party,” Robyn added.

  Gus’ gaze plummeted to the floor. “I can’t face Aggie on my own.”

  Robyn grabbed his hand. “You won’t have to. I’ll be with you.”

  “But not all the time. Or even a tiny bit of the time. You’ll be too busy dancin’ with all of yer eager bachelors.”

  “We can’t say for sure if there’ll even be any bachelors there.” If none of them showed up, Robyn would rejoice rather than complain. All she needed was for Max to be there.

  “Of course, they’ll be there.” Gus’ shoulders hunched. “Same as Aggie will.”

  “But how many? Maybe just a few.” She could deal with that.

  “There’ll probably be a hundred!”

  Robyn knew he was exaggerating, but his next comment sounded much too realistic.

  “On yer first day here, you saw maybe only a quarter of ’em at Fina ’n Nacho’s diner.”

  Robyn groaned.

  “That’s the solution,” Bryn announced. “Rob must chaperone Grandpa Gus while I chaperone Rob.”

  “That’s not her job,” Max said in a frustrated tone. “Just like you pointing out that escorting Robyn isn’t mine. I’ll stay by my grandfather’s side tonight. I’ll be the one who won’t leave him alone.”

  “You will?” Gus said in an amazed tone.

  “I’d be my honor. But first—” Max faced her again. “Can I talk to you? Before anyone goes anywhere and does anything else? In private? Out on the porch?”

  “If you do,” Birdie said reluctantly, “there might not be time for us to style Robyn’s hair and assemble her wardrobe.”

  “That’s more important than talking.” Max stepped back, retreating, away from her.

  “No,” she said following him. “It isn’t. Not if—”

  He held his raised palms between them. “But this is what you’ve wanted. This is what made you leave Denver. And if we can’t talk now or even at the party, then....” He released one of the deepest and saddest sounding sighs she’d ever heard. “We’ll talk afterward.”

  Hedd’s breath hissed between his teeth. “That’ll be too late.”

  “It’s already too late. Too much has happened to stay our previous course.” Max strode for the door. “Let’s go, Grandpa.”

  “Not so fast.” Bryn and her brothers stood their ground, blocking his exit.

  Her heart leapt with joy. They wouldn’t let Max leave. They knew what she really wanted.

  “Your grandfather needs to get ready for the party as well,” Griff said.

  His words left her blinking in confusion.

  Gus looked just as bewildered as he said, “I do?”

  “Where’s that fancy shindig shirt of yours?” Hedd stepped aside and creating a break for Gus to pass through.

  “Oh, yeah. It’s in my room. It’ll only take a moment to find.” Gus took off down the hall, mumbling, “I hope.”

  “A moment is all we need.” Bryn motioned for Max to follow him.

  “We can talk fast,” Hedd reminded everyone.

  “Especially if we’re downstairs away from all these—” Griff’s glare swept Robyn and Birdie. “Upstairs distractions.”

  Robyn’s gut rolled with hope and doubt. Her brothers had been behaving as oddly as Max since they all came to Noelle. What would they say to him? What would be his reply?

  She prayed they finally agreed on something that worked in her favor and brought her and Max together.

  Chapter 16

  First his brother and now Robyn’s brothers. What was it with everyone wanting to talk to him when he only wanted to speak with Robyn? Once again, the Llewellyns stood in a row facing him. This time on the porch where the air had gotten a lot frostier since his conversation with Jack.

  “What’re you doing?” Anger and disappointment twisted Bryn’s face. “You’re supposed to be stopping Rob’s transformation not accepting it.”

  “Or worse,” Griff hissed. “Assisting it.”

  “You’re acting like you’ve given up on our plan,” Hedd accused.

  “Of course, I have. That plan is over. I should’ve never agreed to it. And the only reason I chose to join you out here, is to talk about a new plan.”

  Bryn’s brow rose disdainfully. “To talk or tell?”

  “There’s only one part to tell. I won’t let—”

  “You’ve never acted like a tyrant before,” Griff growled.

  “Yeah, and today ain’t a good time to start,” Hedd added.

  “I won’t wait for another time.” Max crossed his arms. “I won’t let you sabotage any of Robyn’s plans. Not today or ever again. The rest is open to discussion. You can get onboard or—”

  “Or we can get off.” Hedd gestured toward the porch steps.

  Bryn’s good eye pierced him. “Remember, if Rob stays in Noelle, then all three of us are staying here as well.”

  Frustration made Max’s voice sharper than he intended. “You can’t.”

  “Stone the tyrant,” Hedd hollered.

  Griff roared even louder. “Drag him behind the wagon!”

  Max threw his hands in the air. “If you stay in Noelle, you won’t have enough freight work to support your family. There’s not enough for all four of you.”

  “Are you firing us?” Griff demanded from between clenched teeth.

  “No, I’m doing the opposite. I’m giving you—” He shook his head. “My family are giving you the reins of the Denver office.”

  All three brothers gaped at him in astonishment.

  “The reins…” Hedd’s voice faded, then returned in a disbelieving whisper. “As in control?”

  Max spread his arms wide. “Everything to do with that office is yours to run.”

  “And what will you be doing?” Bryn’s question rumbled with suspicion.

  He shrugged, trying to hide the bleakness that swamped him whenever he thought about being parted from Robyn. “I’m staying in Noelle.”

  Her brothers pressed closer to him and spoke so fast he couldn’t tell who said what.

  “You’re taking over your brother’s office.”

  “So he can work at home with Birdie.”

  “But you’ll be bored in Noelle.”

  He crossed his arms again and held his ground. “I’ll have my work to keep me occupied.”

  Bryn spun away from him and sat on the steps. “Enough for one but not five.”

  His calculation humbled Max. He hadn’t said four. He’d automatically included Max in the tally.

  He took a seat beside Bryn, on the space Robyn’s eldest brother had left for him. I guess I have two big brothers now. He coughed to clear the lump that rose in his throat. “Actually, Jack estimates enough for two. I’ll have to hire someone to watch the Noelle office when I’m really busy.”

  Hedd and Griff leapt off the porch so they could stand at the foot of the steps and glare at him again.

  “But—” Hedd sputtered. “But you love your office work best of all.”

  Griff’s face turned red with outrage. “What did your brother tell you when you two were out here earlier?”

  “I’ve already told you.”

  Bryn grunted. “Stop being stubborn.”

  His chest grew tight as he watched Bryn from the corner of his eye. “I thought I was determined.”

  Bryn smiled sadly. “It’s often the same thing, Dog Bone.”

  The reinstatement of his name made his chest hurt even more.

  “Tell us,” Hedd ordered in a clipped tone. “Everyt
hing.

  “Yes,” Griff growled. “Tell us what your brother said. Exactly.”

  Exactly? The word resurrected a memory. Not from his previous conversation with Jack but with these men. Four days ago, he’d stressed the same word when he’d demanded that they tell him what Robyn had said, exactly, before leaving Denver.

  He inhaled a long slow breath. “Jack suggested that one or two of you take over the Noelle operations while the rest worked with me in Denver. He said the final decision—who stayed in Noelle—should be up to me because I knew you better than he did.”

  The following silence was disturbed only by the wind rustling the treetops and the even more muffled thumping of the silver mine in the distance.

  Bryn released one of his familiar deeply heavy sighs. “But you knew our thoughts on splitting up our family.”

  “We like what we have in Denver,” Griff grumbled.

  “No offense to Noelle,” Hedd explained swiftly, “but it’s too small for us.”

  His urge to defend Robyn’s future, if even from afar, remained strong. “Maybe for you. I wouldn’t be so sure what Robyn prefers anymore.”

  Griff gaze rose to the second floor where Robyn was changing again. “She certainly hasn’t enjoyed being with us lately.”

  “She’s been awful chummy with the Noelle woman,” Hedd declared.

  “They’re good friends to have. When you get back to Denver, you must help Robyn make more friends there.”

  “And what about you and Rob?” Bryn asked.

  “Yeah,” Hedd said, “you and her are best friends.”

  “Maybe the only reason we are, or were, so close was because she hadn’t the time to find new friends.” The possibility sent a chill up his spine.

  Griff shook his head violently. “That isn’t true.”

  “How do you know?” Before they could answer he said, “All I know for sure is that I can give Robyn the gift of a better future. Running her own business with her brothers, and not just working for me.”

  Hedd huffed. “We never worked for you.”

  “We worked with you,” Bryn explained. “And that’s why we liked it.”

  Me too. “But we all need jobs. Stable ones. And Robyn, more than anything including dancing, needs a home she won’t have to pack up and leave again any time soon.” He set his jaw. “There’s nothing more to say. So yes, it appears I’m telling you and not talking to you.”

  “There has to be another option,” Bryn muttered. “You could hire someone else to handle all of the Noelle freight.”

  “My brother would never go for that. He’d give up his carpentry and go back to work at the office.”

  “But he was fine with one of us running things,” Hedd objected.

  “Because he trusts you,” Max said.

  “How can he?” Griff’s tone was gruff with exasperation. “We were only in charge of Denver for a few days while you were away. And we failed you by coming here.”

  “Don’t sell your contribution short. You’ve made that office prosper from the start and now you’re like family.” The word came easily even if his relationship with the Llewellyn brothers took effort. But then he’d never known easy. And maybe it was better this way. Their family bond was strong, and now so was his again.

  “If we’re family, we gotta stick together. There must be a way.” Bryn looked to his brothers who shrugged and appeared as unhappy as Max felt.

  The door behind him opened.

  Gus strutted out wearing a fancy shirt with ruffles at the collar and cuffs. “What’re you doing sitting down? You gotta get ready for the party.” Gus tossed him the suit he’d brought from Denver.

  “How did you find—?” He shook his head. “Never mind. We need to get going.”

  “Yessiree, we sure do.” Gus’ smile became a worried frown. “And remember, yer staying by my side all night.”

  He clasped his grandfather shoulder. “While I’m helping you hand out your gifts, can you help me do something for Robyn?”

  Gus straightened his shoulders like a sergeant ready for duty. “For Robyn, I’d do anything.”

  “I want to make sure she gets to dance with lots of partners, so she sees what her life could be and not merely what it has been.”

  Gus’ grin returned. “I can do that.”

  “Good.” He glanced over his shoulder at her brothers and their still unhappy faces. “Because Robyn deserves this opportunity to change, to try new things, and meet new people.”

  “And after the party?” Bryn asked.

  “We all go back to work. You and Robyn in Denver. And me in Noelle.” He forced himself to smile. Tonight, he’d be happy for her. And also to be in the same room with her. There’d be plenty of time to be miserable in the long days and nights that loomed ahead without her.

  Chapter 17

  Inside the Golden Nugget Saloon, Max followed his grandfather with one burlap sack over his shoulder and another held open in front of him. That gave Gus both hands free to pull out secret gifts for every person they passed while saying Merry Christmas in his jolliest voice.

  Gus had achieved his goal. The gift recipients were all surprised. Some so much they could only whisper a startled thank you or nothing at all. Gus took their reactions in stride as he distributed his and Ezra and Jasper’s creations. A single lumpy and misshapen sock.

  Gus’ nonstop advice-giving brought as much wonder as the knitted marvels.

  “Don’t have a wallet? Keep yer money in yer stocking,” Gus suggested as he gave socks to Reverend Hammond and his wife, Felicity. When he turned and handed more to Mayor Hardt and his wife, Penny, he said, “Keep yer feet warm ’n yer heart will be even warmer.”

  That one didn’t work so well because Gus was only giving one sock to each person. He and his team hadn’t had time to make a pair for everyone.

  Max winked at the mayor. “Maybe next Christmas Grandpa will have time to make you another stocking to match.”

  The man laughed as he clasped Max’s shoulder. “Good to have you back with us, Max.” His grip tightened as he pulled Max closer and whispered, “Say you’ll save us all and stay to take over the knitting.”

  He shrugged noncommittally and continued following Gus.

  The socks really weren’t that bad. Not for two absolute beginners and a third who only recently remembered how to knit. At least Gus remembered. For now.

  And maybe Max would take up knitting again. He’d have to do something to fill every waking minute he stayed in Noelle. Otherwise he’d go crazy missing Robyn.

  He didn’t want to discuss his plans until he spoke to her. He’d wanted to tell her first, but the gathering at the new house had made that impossible. Now the crowd in the saloon kept crushing the hope he’d be able to talk to her here.

  A couple he’d never met before, but who introduced themselves as Romeo and Jane, gave Gus a beautiful stained-glass ornament while Gus gave them stockings. Whatever they said to each other was lost on Max when, on the other side of the saloon, a flurry of whispers that rivaled the stir Gus had first created drew Max’s attention. And then made his heart race like a runaway wagon.

  Robyn walked through the saloon door, graceful as a queen with three mighty knights and a fair maiden escorting her.

  He stifled his urge to rush to her. With Bryn by her side and Hedd and Griff trailing close behind with Lark ensconced between them, there was no room for him. He stayed close to Gus. As he’d promised. He couldn’t stop his gaze from continually going Robyn’s way.

  In the candlelight, her hair glowed like a ruby sunset while her feathered hat and silver-blue dress shimmered as beckoningly as stars on the horizon. Modern and regal. Modest and elegant. Birdie had really outdone herself with tailoring this new garment’s fitted waist, wide collar, and only slightly flared skirt to suit not only Robyn’s tall, lean body but her red hair and steel-blue eyes.

  Eyes he longed to see looking at him with the spark that always preceded her smile.

 
; When she scanned the room, his heart thundered even faster, hoping she searched for him. His entire body sagged with disappointment when, before her gaze reached him, she focused on a white-haired lady of Gus’ age and made a beeline for her.

  After a quick exchange of words, Robyn handed Birdie’s red sack to the woman and they shook hands. Then Robyn leaned closer to her new friend and whispered in her ear. The woman immediately pointed in his and Gus’ direction.

  “Dang it,” Gus gasped. “She’s spotted me.”

  “Less of a spotting,” Max remarked, “and more of a knowing exactly where to look even before she was asked.”

  “My Aggie has eagle eyes,” Gus muttered with affection and apprehension.

  He should’ve guessed the woman’s identity, Gus’ one-time fiancée Agatha Boonesbury. He probably would have if he hadn’t been so distracted by Robyn.

  He watched spellbound as after the briefest of glances his way, she turned to her brothers and Lark and said something that made them cluster around Agatha.

  Heaven help them if they teased the lady about Gus. He’d been warned off the subject by Birdie. When Agatha patted her hair and dress as if preening, he suspected they were complimenting her. The Llewellyn men must have learned something during their walk with Robyn and Lark to the saloon.

  He’d truly miss their terrible teasing, but he’d miss the sight finally heading his way a thousand times more. Robyn had set a direct course for him.

  The second she left her escorts’ hulking shadows, Noelle’s bachelors swarmed her. The first barely got in two words before a woman with reddish-brown hair and a determined expression tapped him on the shoulder and engaged him in conversation.

  “Good to see the matchmaker continuing her righteous work,” Gus said.

  “But—” Max shook his head in disbelief. “She stopped that man from talking to Robyn. That’s not good.”

  “Yer right, it’s inspired,” Gus proclaimed. “Genevieve Kinnison is a wise woman who’s made matchmaking her trade. She brought the twelve brides to Noelle last Christmas. Without her, yer brother would’ve never married Birdie.” Gus’ voice turned gruff. “And I’d have never met Aggie.”