Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
The words she had hurled at Pastor Ellis came back to mock her.
Well, she would not lose faith. With determination, she got out the mixing bowls and cake ingredients.
By the time she poured the batter into the pans, her mood had improved. Keeping busy helped. While the cake baked, she got out the broom and dustpan and tidied up the kitchen.
“Wow.” Millie stopped short as she walked into the kitchen. “You’ve been busy.” She sniffed the air. “Something smells wonderful.”
“Wedding cake,” Josie replied, tipping her chin up a bit in defiance and bracing herself for Millie’s response. Though her cousin had been a loyal defender, as Miss Ryan could attest, she also had not uttered a word about wedding preparations in the last week or more. Josie couldn’t blame her. She wasn’t sure how she’d react if the situation was reversed.
“Oh.” Millie took a seat at the table and picked up a fresh cookie from the cooling rack. Josie watched as Millie nibbled the cookie. She already suspected she was being foolish and, if Millie thought so too, well, Josie honestly wasn’t sure how she’d react.
She’d held herself together pretty well, except for that conversation with Pastor Ellis, and, truth be told, she was exhausted, physically and emotionally. Her entire life, all the plans and dreams she had, sat on the edge of a precipice, and the smallest breeze would send it crashing down.
Millie finished the cookie without saying anything then stood up and put on her apron. “Well, we’d best get busy.”
It was December 24th. Christmas Eve. The day before her wedding.
Despite her best efforts at maintaining her faith in Clinton, as the minutes and hours ticked by, her hope dwindled away. The wedding cake was decorated and sitting on her grandmother’s cake plate, one of the few items that had survived the long trip to the West. When she’d finished decorating the cake a couple days ago, she’d admired it and seen it as a symbol of faith, hope, and, well, love.
Now when she saw it sitting on the sideboard with the other baked goods, it mocked her. It was as though the frosted confection embodied all her doubts as well as those of all the naysayers she’d encountered: Miss Ryan, Pastor Ellis, some unidentified young boy in church, to name a few.
When she’d entered the kitchen to make breakfast, Aunt Joyce was waiting for her. “What are you doing up so early?” Josie asked. “Is there something else to be done? Why don’t you go back to rest, or at least put your feet up and let me take care of it.” She moved around the kitchen in a rush, getting out the breakfast fixings and putting the coffee on.
“No, Josie, there’s nothing else to be done. Thank you for offering.” Something in her aunt’s tone gave Josie pause, and she stopped and looked at Aunt Joyce, noting the sadness in her eyes. “Come and sit with me for a minute, Josie.” She patted the seat next to her.
Josie had a feeling she knew what this was about and, though she appreciated her aunt taking the time to get up early to speak to her privately, there was still a pit of dread in Josie’s stomach as she joined her aunt at the table.
Aunt Joyce studied her for a moment, her gaze full of love and kindness. She brushed the hair back from Josie’s temple in a tender gesture. “You know, Josie, I’ve always tried to treat you like you were my own daughter, just as I would treat Millie.”
“I know,” Josie whispered. “You and Uncle Carl have been wonderful to me, and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate it.”
“Hush, now.” Aunt Joyce’s eye glistened with unshed tears. “It has been our honor to care for you.” She paused for a moment and glanced away. “Your mama was my dear sister, and when she wrote and told me your family was headed this way, I couldn’t have been happier. Though we had a good life here in Juniper Junction, I longed to have more of my family, especially my sister, nearby. I knew it would be a difficult trip for your family, but I had faith you’d all arrive safely.”
A cold chill, not from the winter weather, ran through Josie. She’d never once thought about what it had been like for Aunt Joyce and Uncle Carl when her parents had died, other than that they had taken her in.
“As the time went by, I grew excited knowing my sister and her family would arrive soon. I daydreamed about all the good times we would have, raising our daughters together to be as close as sisters, just like we were.” Aunt Joyce smiled wistfully. “But,” she said, a tiny tear dropping from her eye, “that was not how it turned out. Though our daughters did become as close as sisters, it didn’t happen the way I had planned.”
Aunt Joyce wiped away the tear on her cheek. “Sometimes”—she clasped Josie’s hand—“things don’t go the way we plan. As I’ve watched you waiting for Clinton all these months, it reminded me of the time I spent waiting for your family to arrive and how eagerness turned to anxiety and then to heartbreak.”
“D-do you kn-know something I don’t, Aunt Joyce?” Josie could barely get the words out. She feared the answer but had to ask.
“No, nothing official, dear. Nothing about Clinton. I’m just trying to say that maybe things aren’t going to turn out just the way you planned.” She paused again. “I know you are hurting. We all are. I just wanted to say that maybe it’s time to put your plans on hold. Until Clinton gets back,” she added hastily.
By now, both women were crying.
“I know you’re right.” Josie sniffled and blew her nose. “It just feels like I am giving up on Clinton, and I hate that. It makes me feel disloyal. He would never give up on me.”
“No, I’m sure he wouldn’t. But he also wouldn’t want you missing out on your favorite holiday just because circumstances have kept him from being here.”
“I suppose you are right,” Josie agreed.
“Let’s just focus on the meaning of Christmas,” her aunt said, “and the rest will fall into place.”
Though she had expected to feel horrible for postponing the wedding, an odd sense of calm came over Josie. Aunt Joyce offered to tell Pastor Ellis, but Josie did that task herself. She had not spoken privately with the pastor since that scene after the quilting society meeting, and she anticipated eating a large helping of crow, but that was not the case. The pastor was surprisingly kind and understanding. For the first time in a long time, she left the church feeling uplifted.
There were some last-minute shoppers at the general store when she returned, and she hurried to assist them and get them on their way. The store would close at noon that day and not reopen until after Christmas. Traditionally, the closing and locking of the front door had been cause for celebration in their small household. It was a rare indulgence to be closed for a day and a half, since the rest of the year they were open six days every week. On those rare occasions when Christmas fell on a Saturday, they had an entire weekend free of store duties, and it was so decadent, sometimes Josie felt guilty.
Uncle Carl pulled the shade to block the window on the front door, and the entire family paused for a moment. “Merry Christmas!” Uncle Carl said, and they all burst out laughing and wishing each other Merry Christmas. The air buzzed with excitement as they each rushed off to gather the gifts they had been secreting away from the others for the past few weeks.
They spent the afternoon decorating their Christmas tree with strands of popcorn and paper chains. Millie and Aunt Joyce took turns playing Christmas carols on the piano as they prepared to celebrate the holiday.
In the midst of their festivities, there came a pounding on the front door. So loud, it rattled the window.
The piano music paused. “What’s that?” Millie asked.
“Someone’s at the door,” Josie said.
“We’re closed.” Uncle Carl shook his head in disbelief. “Everyone in town knows we close at noon on Christmas Eve. What kind of fool would come pounding on our door now?”
“What if it’s not a customer?” Josie asked, her pulse speeding up. What if it’s Clinton? She glanced at
Millie and wondered if she thought the same thing. “I’ll go see who it is.” She paused to check her reflection in the mirror.
Of course it was Clinton! She knew he’d never let her down. She rushed to the door, fumbled with the lock, and threw it open wide, a smile on her face. “Cli—” her words faded. “Oh, hello, Lydia. Is everything okay?” As Uncle Carl had said, everyone knew they were closed.
“I am so very sorry to disturb you, Josie. I know you are closed, and I’d never in a million years want to interrupt you, but I burned the cake I was making, and it’s a special recipe Rafe’s mother sent me. It’s a Christmas tradition in their family and, since I am going to be part of the family soon, well, I just have to make it perfect.” Josie was positively wild-eyed as she talked about the cake. “I used the last of my flour and...well...I just thought...maybe you could help me out.”
“Of course.” Josie opened the door for Lydia to enter. If she couldn’t start her own Christmas traditions, she could at least help a friend to do so. Retrieving a sack of flour from the shelf, she carried it to Lydia.
“Oh, Josie, you are a lifesaver! I can’t thank you enough. How much do I owe you?” She reached into her pocket.
“Not a thing,” Josie replied. “Merry Christmas!”
Lydia gathered up the flour and headed for the door then paused and turned back to Josie. “I heard you decided to postpone the wedding,” she said, her gaze full of compassion. “I am so sorry.”
“Thank you.” Josie opened the door for Lydia. “But it is a postponement, not a cancellation.”
“Of course. We’ll all celebrate when Clinton returns.”
“Yes,” Josie said, before closing and locking the door. “I sure hope so.”
That night, Millie and Josie hung their stockings from the mantel, just as they had done every year since they were little girls.
“Just think.” Aunt Joyce looked at the stockings wistfully. “This is the last year my two girls will be home for Christmas. This time next year, you’ll both have husbands and homes of your own.”
Oh please, let it be so.
The final thing they did before retiring for the night was to put the star on top of the tree. Josie managed to hold back the tears as she remembered the day Clinton had given her the star necklace and told her it was a reminder of the star they’d put on their Christmas tree.
Aunt Joyce and Uncle Carl kissed the girls good night, and off they went to their room.
Josie pretended to fall asleep right away, and when she heard the gentle sounds that indicated Millie was sound asleep, she buried her face in her pillow and cried.
Chapter 10
Christmas Day
Josie dabbed cold water around her eyes, hoping to alleviate the puffiness. As if she wasn’t already making this the worst Christmas ever, she didn’t need to let everyone know she’d spent most of the night crying.
The cold water wasn’t working.
She needed something colder.
Tying her robe around her waist, she put on her slippers and tiptoed down the stairs and outside. She paused for a moment to take in the scene—the entire town was covered in a fresh layer of snow. Picking up a handful of the cold powder, she dabbed it around her closed eyes, appreciating the soothing sensation.
It was Christmas. Her favorite day of the year. She was going to enjoy herself, but if she couldn’t manage that, she’d at least make sure she didn’t ruin the day for everyone else.
She took a deep breath of the cold December air then lowered her hands from her eyes.
“Merry Christmas, Josie.”
Great. Now she was hallucinating. The frigid snow must have affected her vision. And somehow, her ears, too.
But, those strong arms around her and the lips on hers. That was no hallucination.
“Clinton!” she shouted once the kiss ended. “You’re home!”
“I’m a bit later than I planned, but I’m here. Just like I promised.”
Josie let out a whoop of joy then flung her arms around Clinton who picked her up and swung her in a circle as they both shouted with happiness.
Soon windows and doors flew open along Main Street. “What the blazes is going on?” Uncle Carl said, rushing from the store, shotgun in hand.
“Put that down, Carl,” Aunt Joyce said, coming up behind him. “We’ve got to get ready for a wedding.”
Word traveled fast in Juniper Junction, and in a couple of hours all the necessary parties were gathered in the living room at Aunt Joyce and Uncle Carl’s home behind the general store.
Clinton, freshly bathed and shaved after long weeks on the trail, stood next to the fireplace. Travis, his best man on his right. Pastor Ellis to his left.
At the head of the stairs, Uncle Carl held his arm out to Josie. “Are you ready to get married?”
“Yes! Oh, a million times yes!” Josie said, happy tears threatening at the corners of her eyes.
Aunt Joyce played the piano and Millie served as maid of honor.
And in a few brief, beautiful, heartfelt minutes, she became Mrs. Clinton Ramsey.
It was the best Christmas ever.
“Darlin’, I hate to leave you so soon, but I must go and find Mr. Kent and take care of the house. There’s only a few hours left.”
In all the excitement of the day, Josie had completely forgotten about the house. “I’m going with you.” After all these months, she wasn’t about to let him out of her sight.
He studied her for a moment. “All right, but you need to bundle up. It’s cold outside. I don’t want my new wife catching cold. I’ve got plans for you.” He whispered the last part in her ear, and a delicious shiver ran down her spine.
“Well, we’d better hurry, then.”
Still wearing her wedding dress, Josie wrapped her cloak around herself and donned a hat and mittens. Clinton tucked a blanket around her knees and climbed into the carriage next to her. They took off down the street, but Clinton turned instead of heading out of town to Mr. Kent’s spread and stopped the carriage.
She turned to look at her handsome new husband. “What’s wrong?”
“Not one darn thing, sweetheart. I just wanted a minute or two alone with my wife.” His dark gaze heated and a slow sexy smile spread over his mouth. The same mouth he lowered to cover hers in a long and lingering kiss. It felt so good to have her arms around him, to know he was safe and real and not some figment of her imagination.
And he was her husband. Mr. and Mrs. Clinton Ramsey. It was a Christmas miracle.
She couldn’t get enough of him, couldn’t get her arms around him tight enough. They clung to each other in the carriage on the cold street, finally able to touch and whisper the words of love that they hadn’t been able to share for the last six months.
“Oh, darlin’, I missed you so much. I promise never to be gone so long again. Ever.”
“You’d better no!” Josie scolded. “I don’t think I could face it again.”
Reluctantly, Clinton disengaged from her and took up the reins. “We’d best be finding Mr. Kent. We need a house to be alone in.” There was no mistaking his meaning and she agreed wholeheartedly.
It took longer to track down Mr. Kent than expected. When they arrived at his home and knocked on the door, no one responded. All the warnings about Mr Kent being a sharp businessman echoed in her head, and anxiety started to set in. What if he had heard Clinton was back in town and had purposely left in order to make it harder for Clinton to complete the deal?
Fortunately, they found a neighbor boy who told them Mr. Kent was spending Christmas with his cousin
“Cousin? I didn’t know Mr. Kent had any family around.”
The boy insisted that Mr. Kent did, in fact, have a cousin and gave them detailed instructions on how to get there. “Sometimes Mr. Kent pays me to do chores for her.” Based on that, they gave him some credibility and hurried off to find Mr. Kent and buy their house.
“That kid did a good job with the directions,” Clinton
remarked as they pulled into the drive of a house just as it had been described to them.
“I feel kind of bad interrupting their Christmas dinner,” Josie said, as they approached.
“I do, too, but it can’t be helped.” Clinton rapped on the door, and the two of them held their breath waiting for someone to answer. The sun was starting to set, and they absolutely had to find Mr. Kent before the day was over.
The door swung open, and a woman scowled at them. Josie got a sinking feeling in her stomach. Miss Ryan glared at the from the doorway.
Of all the people who could be Mr. Kent’s cousin, it had to be Miss Ryan.
“Afternoon, ma’am.” Clinton removed his hat. “I understand Mr. Kent is here, and I have urgent business with him.”
“It’s Christmas Day. Your business can wait until tomorrow.” She went to shut the door, but Josie stuck her foot in the way.
“Miss Ryan, this here is Clinton. We’re married now. And you know good and well that he needs to pay Mr. Kent today or we’ll not be able to buy our house. So I would appreciate it if you would go and find your cousin, right now.”
Miss Ryan narrowed her eyes on Josie, pinched her lips together then turned on her heel, closing the door behind her.
“I have a feeling a few things happened around here while I was gone.” Clinton gave Josie a knowing look that made her bottom clench.”We’ll have a chat about that later.”
When we are married, you’ll get your punishments on the bare.
Uh oh.
As if she wasn’t anxious enough wondering if Mr. Kent would come to the door or if Miss Ryan would return with a shotgun.
Fortunately, it was Mr. Kent, though he did not appear happy to see Clinton, and he did not invite them in, despite the cold temperatures.
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