Mistletoe Courtship (10 page)

The children headed straight for the jars of hard candy. There were red and green ribbons of spun sugar for Christmas. Virginia had already made mittens for Danny, but she didn't
have Christmas gifts for Patricia and Colter yet. And Christmas Eve was just two days away.

“Annabelle Bliss,” Colter called out as they stepped farther into the store.

The woman was past middle age and had some slight graying in her hair. She wore a freshly ironed white blouse and a gray wool skirt. Virginia had always found Annabelle to be extremely fair-minded—maybe it came from weighing goods so often. Something was always sitting on top of Annabelle's swinging scale. Even the crackers were sold by weight here.

“It's about time you got back in town,” Annabelle said as she stepped around the counter to shake Colter's hand. “I know Virginia has been waiting for you for a long time now.”

Virginia felt herself panic. She didn't want Colter to think she'd hung around like a schoolgirl waiting for him to return home.

“Well, fortunately, I'm back now.” He didn't seem taken aback by Annabelle's remark. “We were hoping that you might have a ready-made dress for my daughter here, Patricia.”

Virginia watched the girl look up and beam. Even Christmas candies couldn't compete.

Annabelle cocked her head and studied Patricia, then she turned back to Colter. “Almost all of our ready-made dresses are for women. Even the smallest dress would be too big to cut down that much. You'd be better just to buy material and start fresh.”

“It's just that school is going to start again soon,” Virginia said. “We were hoping—”

“I understand,” the store clerk said. “You might talk to Elizabeth Hargrove. She bought a length of yellow calico here a week ago for a dress for Spotted Fawn. The two girls look almost the same size. She might let you buy the dress from her. If I know Elizabeth she probably has it almost sewn by now.”

“We're also interested in shirts for boys,” Colter added. “To fit my son here.”

Virginia noticed that those words distracted Danny from the jars of candies as well. The boy was too far away to hear though as Colter quietly asked Annabelle to wrap up a pound of the candies and put it aside for him to pick up later.

“What else do I need?” Colter leaned down and asked. “For the Christmas stockings.”

“Add a pound of those walnuts, too,” Virginia whispered back. “And maybe some hair ribbons for Patricia and a pocketknife for Danny.”

Colter nodded for Annabelle to include those things as well.

As it turned out, there was a blue shirt that fitted Danny and Colter was able to order two more to come in with the next shipment. By then, Patricia was anxious to go to the stagecoach office and see if there had been any mail for her.

The stage office had its own smells, too, Virginia thought as they stepped inside the wood-frame structure. Wet leather seemed to predominate, but she could also smell faint traces of horses and sweat. There was a long counter with a clerk seated behind it and on top of that were various letters. Virginia had never actually received a letter here; Colter had said he would always telegraph anything to her so she hadn't even checked. She hadn't realized that the letters sat out in batches so people could look for any mail that was to go to them.

That's when Virginia noticed a familiar lavender envelope. She didn't even need to read the address to know who it was going to. Lester was getting a message from his beloved sister. Even if he had been difficult lately, Virginia did want him to have reassurance that his sister was all right. At least, she prayed that's what the letter said.

Unfortunately, there was no letter for Patricia even though she looked though the stack twice.

“It's still coming,” Patricia said defiantly. “You'll see.”

“There have been some bad blizzards this time of year,” the clerk behind the counter said. “Some roads are blocked, but I'm sure it'll get here in a couple of days if you're expecting it.”

They thanked the clerk and Colter led them out of the stage office and down the street to home.

The air still smelled of bacon when they got home and the first thing Danny did was to go call his dog from the back of the saloon. Colter went after him. Virginia took off her hat and took it upstairs to her bedroom.

When she came back down, Patricia was sitting alone at one of the tables. Her dark hair was hanging down and hiding her face. Virginia wondered if it wasn't also hiding her tears.

“I'm sorry you didn't get your letter,” Virginia said softly as she went over and put her hand on the girl's back. She could feel a quiver as the girl swallowed back a sob.

“It must be the snow,” Patricia said as she wiped a hand across her face.

Virginia didn't know what to say to that. “It's hard to know what to think when a parent disappoints you.”

Patricia kept her head down.

“With me and my father,” Virginia said, sitting down and making another attempt, “I never did make him happy.”

That made Patricia lift her head. Her cheeks were blotchy and she still had a lone tear trailing down her cheek. But she was listening intently. “What did you do?”

“I just kept trying harder and harder to please him,” Virginia said. “He wanted me to be a special kind of pianist and I made too many mistakes.”

“He shouldn't count mistakes,” Patricia protested, her eyes snapping. “That's not fair.”

“No, it's not.” Virginia was quiet for a minute. “He was nothing like your father though.”

Colter seemed to accept the girl no matter what she could or couldn't do. Virginia envied Patricia because she was facing a life of encouragement rather than scolding.

“I like my father,” Patricia said quietly. “But I still want my mother to write to me.”

Virginia nodded. She hadn't really expected to be able to spare Patricia the rejection she was bound to feel at some point.

Just then Petey knocked on the front door to the saloon. Virginia called out for him to enter.

“The others will be over when they're able,” the older man said as he shifted the mop he carried on his shoulder. “I don't know what we need to use to clean up that burn, but I figure we'll have to mop it up at some point.”

“I expect so,” Virginia said as she stood up.

She decided she didn't want to wait for the other men to get here before she talked to Petey so now was her chance. She looked and saw that Patricia was walking toward the stairs.

She stepped over and quietly asked the older man, “You know about the kerosene can? The one with tracks from Lester's place?”

He nodded.

She didn't know how to do this except to be straightforward. “Do you think someone over there wanted us to think it was Lester who had set the fire?”

“Well, now, I reckon there are several men who'd like you to think that—”

“But why would they want to cause trouble like that? It just makes everyone upset.”

Petey was quiet for a minute. “I know there's no reasoning it out as to why someone loves someone else. I've seen women grieve something fierce for men who are locked up in prison and not likely to live free again. And I've seen men who were desperate in love with women who didn't want them. But it's
a misery. I don't want to see you take up with someone like Lester. He'll break your heart.”

“He doesn't have my heart—” Virginia stopped. “But I still don't want everyone to be unfair to him. His sister clearly thinks he's a man with deep—”

“Lester?” Petey said incredulously. “He doesn't have a sister. At least not one who'd claim him.”

“Sure he does. He's read me parts of the most wonderful letters from her.”

“Letters, huh? Shorty mentioned something about letters he'd seen over there. Purple things.”

“That's them,” Virginia said.

“Humm, we'll see.”

“I wanted to know if anyone knows about that kerosene can.”

Petey got a belligerent look on his face. “Shorty found it in Lester's back room. That's why he rolled it out of there this morning. He wanted Colter to know.”

“But no one really knows?” Virginia asked. “It's all just suspicion.”

“Well, now that depends on how you figure it. I trust Shorty.”

Virginia wanted to say that she trusted Lester. And she did, sort of. It's just that she was no longer sure. Could a man hide his real nature from his sister who had known him his whole life though? Unless the woman wasn't his sister. Still, some things she knew. “Lester would never set a fire when I was in the building.”

“That's just it. Shorty had just remarked that you must be walking down to the store. He saw the back of a gray dress out the window and thought it belonged to you, but I noticed in church that Mrs. Baker has a dress that exact same color, too.”

Virginia only had time to clear her throat, before the other men burst into the room all carrying brooms or hoes or some utensil. At the same time, Colter came back inside, too.

“Well, you're ready to work,” Colter said with satisfaction as he saw everyone.

“You can count on us,” Shorty said.

The older men looked steadfast and honest.
How does a woman know the truth of the matter, though?
Virginia asked herself. Her father would criticize her for being in a muddle like this, but she would give anything if she could ask for his opinion. She felt a surge of sympathy for Patricia. Sometimes even a very imperfect parent could be deeply missed.

C
hristmas was new to him, Colter thought as he sat at the table farthest from the piano. Oh, he'd passed the day of December twenty-fifth before, but usually the only joy to it was a friendly game of poker with whoever happened to be around and, if he was fortunate, a sip of brandy from their not-yet-empty bottle.

And, now, all of the music of Christmas was ringing around him. The two Wells girls were lined up next to the piano and Virginia was demonstrating how to hold the clapper inside the bell to mute a note. She wanted the bells to fade out when they played “Silent Night.”

“Just go soft at the end,” Virginia said as she demonstrated it with a bell.

Patricia was standing on the other side of the piano and ringing one of the bells, too. Colter couldn't have been prouder if he was up there doing it himself. Even from back here, he could see the shine on those brass bells. The Christmas Eve service was tomorrow night and Colter wanted to watch the faces of the townspeople as they heard the music.

He'd never seen bells that rang out songs, but then he hadn't seen many Christmas celebrations. When he was a boy at his
uncle's, he remembered once or twice having a dinner of roast beef and hard potatoes on the day. There were never any presents or decorations though. Or even any kind words passing from one to another.

This Christmas, though, it was going to be different. He was going to celebrate with everything he had in him. He finally understood the miracle that had happened on that night long ago in the manger. He saw just a glimpse of the hope it brought to everyone, including him.

This year his family was going to honor that by celebrating.

“Lift the bells higher on that note,” Virginia said from the piano as she showed with her hand where it needed to be.

He liked that Virginia and Danny had already put some red ribbons around and brought in the little pine tree. Tonight they were all planning to make popcorn strings and hang some shiny pennies on the tree before heading over to the boardinghouse to sleep.

He'd arranged a room for Virginia and the children. He hoped they wouldn't have to stay there for long, but he didn't know. In the meantime, Christmas was coming.

On Christmas Eve, after the service at church, they would light the candles Virginia had saved back for the tree and read the story from the Bible that talked of the blessed baby.

Only after that would they open their presents. He knew Virginia had gifts for the children and he had some, too. For Patricia, he'd bought a hat that was halfway between the boys' hats that she liked and the girls' hats that she needed to wear. Danny had been a little more difficult until Colter saw the picture frame sitting on the shelf in the mercantile. He'd bought the frame and planned to give it with the promise that the two of them would go to a photographer after Christmas and get a photo taken together.

With the two children taken care of, Colter had sat down to
think about Virginia's present. He hoped to find some inspiration by watching her play the bells with the girls. He noticed the way Virginia bent her head down, listening to each of the girls, as though they were the only ones in the room. And when she stopped to rest her hands on Patricia's shoulders, he could hear the murmured words of praise even where he sat. His new daughter glowed after Virginia talked to her.

“Let's do it again,” Virginia said from the front to the girls. “You're doing an excellent job.”

He knew Virginia was convinced Patricia had a special ear for music, but Colter figured some of that was simply Virginia. She knew how to open the world of sounds to the girl. He had caught Patricia yesterday in the workroom, beating a rhythm on the metal tub hanging on the wall. She was listening to hear the sounds as she beat it in different ways. He knew she was adjusting to her life here because she hadn't asked for a drink of whiskey since that first day they got here. And she wore that bird pin from Virginia everywhere she went.

Colter looked down at the paper on the table. None of that gave him any ideas on what to give Virginia for a present though. He knew she liked his piano and he'd wrap that up and give it to her, but it didn't seem personal enough. He wanted a gift that told her she'd become close to his heart.

The music lesson ended and the girls put their bells down on the piano cloth. Colter put his pencil down and started to clap. Which made the girls giggle—and Virginia blush.

Just then Danny banged open the door from the workroom, holding something wrapped in his jacket. His dog trailed in behind him, making sharp quick barks.

“What's the matter?” Colter said as he stood up. He figured Danny wouldn't have given up his jacket on a cold day like today if something wasn't wrong. And he'd never heard the dog as frantic. Virginia was walking across the room to help, too.

Danny laid his bundle down on the nearest table. “The cat's hurt.”

The folds of the jacket fell away and Colter could see the yellow cat had been in a vicious fight. He looked up. “Get the dog away.”

Virginia gasped as she walked up. “Is the poor thing alive?”

“Barely.” Colter reached down and started examining the cat. Then he looked back at Danny. “The dog.”

“The dog didn't do this,” Danny protested. “It was another cat. The dog saved our cat's life.”

Colter figured now wasn't the time to debate the point about who the cat belonged to. It was a stray. “You're sure? Because this dog has been chasing this cat around for the past few days at least.”

“They just like to chase,” Danny protested. “They're really friends.”

Colter had found a deep scratch along the cat's side and a bite along its leg. He turned to Virginia. “Do we have any more of those strips of muslin?”

“I'll get them,” she said as she walked to the workroom.

“And bring that salve, too. The one you used on my burn.”

By now Patricia had walked up to the table and the Wells girls had left to go home.

“Is she going to live?” Danny asked.

“I expect so,” Colter said as he reached out to put his hand on the boy's shoulder. “You did the right thing to bring her here.”

“I could go kick that other cat for you,” Patricia offered as she stood beside Danny.

“No kicking,” Colter said with a smile to the girl. “But I appreciate you offering to help your brother.”

“Well, it won't do any good to talk to the cat,” Patricia muttered. “I know that much.”

Virginia came back into the room with strips of muslin draped over her shoulder and a tin of the ointment in her hands.

“Here,” she said as she laid it all out on the table in front of Colter.

 

Ten minutes later, Virginia was standing at the cookstove heating up some milk for the poor cat. She thought of Danny's words about the dog and the cat really being friends and it appeared to be true. Colter had wrapped the bandaged cat up in a piece of wool blanket and laid her in a warm corner of the workroom. The dog had lain down next to her looking as if he was going to stand guard for the day.

“My days back home were never like this,” Virginia muttered to Colter as he put another stick of wood in the stove.

She sensed him stiffen up at her words, but then he took a deep breath. “You're still planning to go back east then?”

She nodded as she poured the warm milk into a bowl she had sitting close. “The only reason I'm going to Denver is to make enough money to go home again. I have friends there who would help me get started teaching there.”

“How much?” he asked. “What would it cost to go home?”

“Fifty-six dollars for the steamer down to Kansas City. Then eighty-four for the train to Connecticut.”

“One hundred and forty dollars then?” he asked.

She nodded. “When I came out, my brother bought my ticket. Otherwise I don't know what I would have done.”

“Sometimes home can disappoint you,” Colter said as he picked up the bowl of milk and walked over to set it down by the cat.

It wasn't until Colter left the room that Virginia realized she hadn't included Lester in her plans. Even if she were more enthusiastic about him, she probably would not have counted him. She was used to thinking of herself as being alone when
she thought of going back east. Oh, she'd had family back there—her father, her mother and her brother—but she had spent most of her time with the piano. Sometimes she felt she knew the hearts of the composers better than those of the people living around her. Until now she had always considered herself fortunate to have the music. Now, she wondered.

She had been consumed with becoming a pianist worthy of her father. She had never thought how much that quest had cost her. She'd never even had a pet. She glanced over at the cat and dog. She had friends, but not one who felt strongly enough about her to dive into a fight and rescue her if she needed it. Her friends would help her get students and a place to live. But that would be all.

Suddenly, the thought of being in a home like the one where she'd been raised made her feel lonely. She looked a little closer at the cat. Maybe when she went back she would get a kitten.

 

Colter went back to the piece of paper he'd left lying on the table. He didn't need to spend any more effort thinking about what to give Virginia for Christmas. There was one thing she wanted more than anything—a way to go home.

By the time she came out into the main part of the saloon, he had reined in his feelings.

“The floor is looking good,” he said when she glanced over at it. “I think we have one day left with the scrapers and we'll have all the dead wood gone. Then we can replace it with new lumber in the spring.”

“The men are doing a good job,” Virginia said.

“Yeah.”

Virginia just stood there and it suddenly occurred to him that she wanted to tell him something. For a wild sweet moment, he wondered if she was going to say she didn't want to go east after all. That she wanted to stay right here.

“I was wondering,” she started. “About Christmas. I've never cooked a holiday meal, but I was hoping. That is—the men who came to help with the floor…I know most of them. They don't have any Christmas dinner planned and I was thinking maybe we could invite them here.”

“All of them?” Colter did a quick calculation. “That must be twenty men.”

Virginia nodded. “I'm not a good cook. But I was thinking if we did something easy.”

“Of course,” Colter said. He didn't know why he hadn't thought of this. “It's not the food, it's the company anyway.”

“And they love canned peaches,” Virginia said.

“I can make a pretty good biscuit,” he said.

“I can make soup.”

Colter stood there and smiled. A woman who was willing to cook for her friends might just be persuaded to stay with them. He couldn't help checking though.

“Do you have a lot of friends back east?”

Virginia shrugged. “Some of my schoolmates are close enough friends to recommend me as a piano teacher. I was already giving lessons before I left and several of them offered to help me get set up again when I come back.”

“Well, that's good.”

She nodded. But Colter consoled himself that she looked uncertain. If she were going to be happy there, he would let her go and wish her well. If there was any weakness in her resolve to move back though, he intended to find it.

“What kind of soup?” he asked.

“If I can find a chicken, I can make soup with that,” she said and then looked at him anxiously.

“Jake Hargrove told me they have some chickens for sale. I could ride out and get a couple.”

Virginia nodded. “You could pick up that dress for Patricia,
too. We wanted her to have it for the Christmas Eve service when she plays her bell.”

“So she is playing with you for the church service?”

Virginia nodded. “She loves the bells.”

“She loves her teacher,” Colter said softly.

Virginia blushed slightly at that. “I only show her how to play the notes.”

It was quiet for a moment. They just stood there companionably. And then Colter felt his skin break out in a sweat. That was his first clue that he was going to climb up on the cliff and jump off.

“Come with me,” he said. “I can rent a buggy from the livery and we can take a ride out to the Hargroves. It's not a spring day, but it's not freezing. No storms anyway. I have a buffalo robe in the storeroom we can use to keep warm. You'll want to pick out the chicken yourself.”

Come with me, come with me,
his heart sang.

“But what about the children?” Virginia looked bewildered.

“I'll ask Petey to come over here. We'll be back before supper anyway.”

Virginia didn't answer. For a long minute Colter just stood there worrying that the sweat on his face would become obvious. A fair number of grown men would pay to see him sweat, he thought to himself. They'd be surprised, but they'd pay.