Convenient Christmas Bride (9781460389034) Read online

  She carried her cup to the sink. “Well, then, I don’t want to be the first to make him, either. It’s too cold out there for him, anyway. You go out and tell him to come inside. I’m going to bed.”

  “What about me? Am I to sleep on the couch tonight because you’re angry with me? After all, I did disobey and come inside.” Josiah followed her to the sink.

  She turned to face him. “I’m not angry with you. And no, you can sleep in our room. On the floor.” Anna Mae left him standing in the kitchen.

  The woman never ceased to amaze him. She’d thought of his reputation as a husband by moving him into her room, but also put him in his place by making him sleep on the floor. A proud grin slipped across his face. Anna Mae Miller was quite the woman. She was his Annie and tonight she’d proved she could hold her own against him or anyone who threatened him or the girls.

  * * *

  Anna Mae quietly cleaned the breakfast crumbs from the table, her mind on the conversation in the front room. She could see Josiah from where she worked, but Grady sat opposite him, hidden by the fireplace that partially divided the two rooms.

  So, trouble had found its way to their little town. Not just mischievous pranks, but ugly, serious trouble that threatened their very livelihood. Someone might be robbed, or even worse, killed. It began to sink into her heart just how dangerous her husband’s job could be.

  It seemed Grady had turned into some kind of a bounty hunter. The older man had been trailing the outlaws for some time. He’d explained earlier that his horse had lost a shoe before he’d arrived in the Granite area and that he’d left it off to make the outlaws think he was just a drifter.

  “So, you don’t think the cow killing is a decoy to throw us off track?”

  Josiah had explained Wade’s theory earlier and Anna Mae felt pretty impressed with the young man’s reasoning. At least Josiah had someone to help him figure things out. But as she listened to Grady, she realized her husband had been trained by one of the best.

  Grady answered as though he’d really given the question some thought. “No, not to my way of thinking. Not a decoy, a weakness. They’re never spotted in town till the day of the robbery and then they have their faces covered. They stake out the area thoroughly, get to know the comings and goings of the locals before they even strike.”

  Anna Mae heard the rocker creak as he set the chair in motion and then continued, “Killing cattle is a slipup, and the thing that’s going to get them caught is their appetite.”

  Josiah nodded. “They like fresh meat.” He ran a hand around the back of his neck.

  “Yep.” Grady answered matter-of-factly. “They’re spoiled, too lazy to hunt, and have no shame at killing or stealing another man’s possessions.”

  Josiah sat quietly for a moment. “I wonder when they will have enough money and quit robbing.”

  Grady barked a laugh. “Never. They will lose their lives over this.”

  Her husband sighed. “Why a man would sell his soul like that beats me.”

  Anna Mae stood looking out the kitchen window toward the barn. She’d been thinking the same thing. What would cause a man to continue a life of destruction?

  “Well, I best be going. Going to get to the boardinghouse early so few people see me.” Grady pushed himself up from the chair, straightened his shoulders and cleared his throat loudly. “Remember the protocol.”

  “Got it.” Josiah followed him to the door.

  “Thank you, Mrs. Miller, for the hearty breakfast.” He patted his stomach. “Nothing like a good meal to start a man’s day.”

  She stepped into the sitting room. “Please, call me Anna Mae.”

  He nodded, then opened the door. Anna Mae watched from the front window as the two men walked to the barn. When Josiah returned to the house she still hadn’t moved.

  “Brrr, it’s cold out there.” He held his hands out to the warmth of the fireplace. “Come away from the window, Annie. The air seeps through and you’ll catch your death of cold.”

  She walked to the couch and settled into the fluffy pillows and quilt, her mind in turmoil as she worked through the morning’s activities. “Josiah, do robbers ever straighten up? You know, get out of that lifestyle?”

  “Sometimes. Depending on the circumstances that got them involved in the first place.” He turned to allow the fire to warm his back.

  “What do you mean?”

  He shrugged out of his coat and hung it by the door. “Some men are just mean and too lazy to work. They see what another man has and they decide it should be theirs, so they take it.” Josiah sat down on the rocker across from her. “Then you have the young men that fall on hard times and see no other way out. They steal to stay alive. They get sick of it, but once you sign your soul over to the first type of men, the evil ones, you never get it back. They won’t let you stop.”

  Anna Mae felt bad for the young men. Surely some of them got away from that lifestyle. She looked up at Josiah. “But some do, right?”

  He seemed to know what she wanted to hear. “Yes, on occasion one may take the higher road and straighten up his life.”

  She heard the skepticism in his voice. “You think it’s few and far between?”

  “Like I said, it does happen on occasion, but like Grady said, once they get an appetite for the lifestyle—drinking and gambling, women and traveling from town to town—it’s hard to get them to turn away from it.”

  Josiah stood. He walked to the kitchen and put a pot on the stove. She watched as he poured cider into it. “It’s sin, Anna Mae. Sin drags a man down, turns him into a person he never wanted to be. And sin doesn’t stop until it has wrecked and ruined his life. There’s only one thing that can rescue him and pull him up from the muck and the mire.”

  Anna Mae nodded. Her gaze moved to Josiah’s large Bible. “The Lord.”

  He pulled two mugs down from the cabinet. “That’s right. The saving grace of Jesus. It’s a beautiful thing when that happens.”

  He poured them both a steaming mug of cider. Josiah returned to the sitting room and handed her one. Anna Mae wrapped her hands around the warm cup, impressed by her husband’s thoughtfulness.

  They sipped their drinks, each lost in thought. Anna Mae knew that Josiah hoped to catch the outlaws before they could do more harm. She worried about their souls.

  Josiah suddenly snapped his fingers. “I almost forgot. We’ve been invited to a taffy pull at the boardinghouse Saturday evening. Sounds like there will be all kinds of activities and food.”

  Thankful for something else to think about, Anna Mae smiled. “Oh, good. I bet everyone’s excited. When I lived in town and we planned something, the excitement was almost tangible. It lifted everyone’s spirits and made life fulfilling.”

  “Do you miss living in town?” He set his cider on the floor and studied her intently.

  “Some, but...” She knew that he watched her with curious intensity. “My life is completely fulfilled right here with my girls, my animals and my home.”

  “And what about your husband?” His intense blue eyes continued to study her face.

  Anna Mae’s heart pounded in an erratic rhythm. He seemed unsure of his place in her life. She hoped to ease his worry. “Oh, Josiah, when you explain things to me like you just did, I think I’m married to the smartest man in the world. You have such wisdom. And you keep getting me out of scrapes. You’re kind and thoughtful, and I’m so thankful to be married to you. I just hope you aren’t ashamed to be married to me.” She set her cider on the side table and offered him a sweet smile.

  Josiah reached over and took her hands in his. He rubbed the backs with his thumbs. “Don’t ever let me hear you say those words again. I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

  “But I keep messing up.” When his eyebrows rose in question, she continued. “Wit
h the turpentine, and then I chopped the table legs off and you had to saw them to make them even and smooth.”

  His jaw dropped and his thumbs stopped moving against her skin.

  “What? You didn’t think I’d notice the difference? How smooth and even the legs suddenly appeared? So I no longer had to worry about the girls getting splinters from my mess.”

  He burst out laughing and released her. “Now who’s the wise one?”

  Anna Mae missed the warmth of his hands holding hers, and picked her drink back up. “You gave me this beautiful life, Josiah, and I love it. I just wanted you to know that.”

  His eyes were gentle and contemplative. He’d just started to speak when a scream brought them both to their feet and racing to the girls’ room.

  Anna Mae didn’t know whether to laugh or be serious. Ruby’s head was stuck between the rungs of her crib.

  Anna Mae held the bed as Josiah extricated the child, then listened as he softly scolded her, cautioning her to be more careful. Anna Mae took Rose from her crib and set her on the floor.

  Ruby’s lip pushed out and she glanced at her twin to see her reaction. Rose stood, hand on her hip, observing the situation. Then she walked over to her sister. She patted Ruby on the shoulder. “You o’tay, you alwite.” That pronouncement did the trick, for both girls immediately began to play as if nothing had happened.

  Anna Mae brought her hand up to stifle the giggles. She looked up to find teasing laughter in Josiah’s beautiful eyes.

  He shook his head. “That one reminds me of someone else I know. You may not be her birth mother, but we’d never prove it to anyone else.”

  She smacked him playfully on the shoulder. Ruby was a bit of a daredevil. If the child could get into trouble, she did. Did Josiah really see Anna Mae that way, too? She grinned.

  “At least Rose is like me. The voice of mighty wisdom.” He placed his hand on his hip in mock Rose pose and repeated, “You o’tay, you alwite.”

  He and Anna Mae fell against each other, laughing; his arms went around her as hers closed around his waist. He looked down into her face, his eyes alight with pleasure, then fitted her head snugly under his chin. Anna Mae experienced happiness like never before.

  “Annie?” His voice rumbled against her ear.

  “Yes, Josiah?”

  “There’s one other thing we need to fix, if you’re willing.”

  “What would that be?” Intrigued, she leaned back in his arms to see his face.

  “The girls have a mother now. Don’t you think it’s time they called you that?”

  Anna Mae pulled out of his grasp. For a brief moment she’d started to think of them as a family, but at the reminder of Mary, the idea seemed to evaporate like fog on a sunny morning. “No, they have a real mother. Her name is Mary. I know that I can’t replace her in your heart, and I shouldn’t try to replace her in theirs.” Anna Mae returned to the cup of cider he’d poured for her, and sat down on the couch. So much for the fun, loving feelings they’d been sharing. Now she just felt deflated.

  As if she’d ruined the moment for him, too, Josiah walked to the door and pulled his coat on. He turned to her and she saw in his eyes that he knew she spoke the truth. “Well, should you change your mind, you’re welcome to allow them to call you Ma.” The door slammed behind him.

  So much for being wise. Anna Mae knew she’d handled that wrong, but she wasn’t delusional enough to think he loved her and had replaced Mary in his heart with her. She should remember that next time she started feeling all mushy inside.

  Telling herself to remember and being able to do so were two very different things. How much longer would she be able to protect herself from heartbreak? Josiah had said nothing about loving her and she’d do well to remember that.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Saturday arrived with overcast skies, but the road was clear enough for them to drive to town and attend the taffy pull.

  “I’m so glad you all could attend. You must stay with us tonight,” Emily Jane said, smiling at Anna Mae with pleasure.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind us spending the night?” she asked, uncomfortable with the idea of staying at Emily Jane and William’s overnight.

  “Of course I’m sure,” her friend answered. “It will be late when the fun is over and I’d hate to think of you all on the road home. Especially as cold as it is.”

  Beth Winters stood at the stove, making the taffy that would be pulled later. She’d already set several batches in bowls on the counter beside her. Hot water steamed under them to keep the taffy soft and manageable.

  It was just the three of them standing in the kitchen. “Is it supposed to snow again?” Beth asked, measuring sugar, corn syrup, water and salt into a saucepan. She blended it with a wooden spoon while the other two women watched.

  “I hope not,” Emily Jane answered, “I’m sick of snow and cold.” She shivered.

  Anna Mae smiled. She loved the snow, but not the cold so much. “I wouldn’t mind having a white Christmas.”

  “That reminds me, William wanted me to ask if you and Josiah would mind coming into town Christmas Day instead of us going out there. He’s concerned about the baby.” Emily Jane rubbed her swollen belly.

  Beth continued to stir the sugar concoction. “Men are always worried about the first baby.”

  “I’ll have to ask Josiah, but I’m sure it won’t be a problem.” Anna Mae watched Beth’s every movement. She loved taffy but had never gotten the knack of how to make it. If she learned today, maybe she could teach Rose and Ruby when they got older. Hers always came out crystalized. Crystalized candy wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t taffy.

  “Ask me what?”

  Anna Mae recognized her husband’s voice and her heart greeted him. She turned with a smile. “If we’d come to town Christmas Day and save William and Emily Jane the hassle of coming out to our place.”

  “I don’t see why not. Unless we get a white Christmas, and then it will depend on how much and how wet it is.” He walked over and poured himself another cup of coffee. “Beth, is that first batch about ready to pull? We have some young’uns in there who are getting restless.”

  Beth touched the taffy she’d made. “I think it’s cool enough for little hands to pull. Anna Mae, would you get the butter and start greasing palms? Emily Jane, will you make sure the kids stay on the floured sheet out there? I’d really rather not clean up a sticky floor when this party is over.”

  Both women nodded.

  “Here, Josiah, you take the taffy and instruct the children to use only their fingertips to lift the edges of the warm, flowing candy, and then to pull it out about twelve inches from each other. As quick as possible they will need to fold the taffy and then pull it again.”

  Josiah took the big bowl and nodded. “How much should I give each pair of children?” he asked, looking puzzled and as if he regretted coming into the kitchen.

  Anna Mae grabbed up the butter and grinned at him as she walked by. She’d expected the past few days with him to feel strained, but they hadn’t. They’d both acted as if he’d never told her to ask the girls to call her Mother. It was easier to pretend it never happened and continue on with their friendship.

  “Just give them a big hunk of it and let the pulling begin.” Beth waved them all out the door.

  “Line up, everyone. Time to grease your hands so you can pull taffy,” Anna Mae said, as she hurried into the room. Several of her students were present and smiled at her in greeting.

  Sometimes Anna Mae wished she were back in the classroom, but when they started pushing and arguing the way they were now, she didn’t miss it a bit. “If you children don’t settle down I’m not going to give you any butter, and that means no taffy pulling.”

  Immediately the kids formed a nice straight line. She smiled a
t each of them as she scooped out a little bit of butter and told them, “Rub that all over your hands.”

  As soon as they were ready, Emily Jane called them over to the sheet that had been covered in white flour.

  Anna Mae watched with pleasure as Josiah divided the children into teams of two and began giving them taffy to pull. Laughter immediately rang out as the kids began to tug at the sticky candy. The longer they pulled the harder it became to do so.

  “Adults, time to get your hands dirty,” Beth called as she came from the kitchen carrying another big bowl. “Husbands find your wives. Singles find a partner.”

  Levi and Millie stood with Josiah and William. Levi raised his voice for all to hear. “Better do as she says, or no candy for you to take home.”

  Several of the men grunted and the women giggled. It was amusing to watch those same grunting men hurry across the room to their wives. Anna Mae smiled as Josiah came to stand before her. She coated his big hands with butter, very aware of the callused skin that set her fingertips to tingling as she smeared it on.

  She took a glob of butter for herself and then passed the bowl to the woman closest to her. Anna Mae tried to ignore Josiah’s waiting eyes as she applied the butter to her hands as she would lotion.

  Beth came by and gave them a large glob of candy. Together they followed her earlier directions, working the candy between them and laughing as they tried to keep it from oozing to the floor.

  “This is really fun. I’m glad I told Levi we’d come,” Josiah said, glancing at the twins, who sat on the sidelines in high chairs with other children around their age. They all had taffy and were eating it faster than it could harden. “The girls are having a grand ole time.”

  “Yes, and the added sugar will keep them up most of the night, too.” Anna Mae felt the taffy becoming harder. She grunted as they pulled again. When they came together once more she said, “Emily Jane has invited us to spend the night.” She pulled away again.