Kiss of The Christmas Wind (5 page)

“Of course, you can.” Carrie Sue didn’t lengthen the subject by saying it might be a boy. “You rest now and get well real soon.”

“Goodbye, Mrs. Jamison. Thank you.”

“Thank you, Lucy, for being such a polite and special little girl.”

The child was almost asleep before the two women could leave the room. Martha quickly asked, “You’re expecting a baby?”

“Yes,” Carrie Sue whispered in the hallway. “But don’t tell anyone. I haven’t even told T.J. yet. I just realized it was true, and I didn’t want to worry him while he was gone.”

“I understand. Men can be funny creatures about such things. You be real careful riding home, and don’t be doing too much hard work. Take care of yourself over there alone. If you need anything, you can count on me and Tom. I’ll get him to check on you every few days while Thad’s away.”

“Thank you, Martha. That’s very kind of you two.”

“I like having you as a neighbor, Carrie Sue. Horace and Dorothy Carnes were alright, but she wasn’t too friendly. Frail thing, too. Shame she died in childbirth like that.” Recalling the news she had just learned and thinking she had made a careless and cruel slip, Martha flushed. “You don’t have to worry about nothing like that. You’re a strong woman.”

Carrie Sue embraced the woman and smiled. “I know.”

Martha left her to prepare the coffee. Tom asked Carrie Sue to have a seat in their parlor. He sat in a chair, his chores done for a while.

Carrie Sue remarked, “That’s a fine daughter, Tom. T.J. and I were so glad she wasn’t injured badly. T.J. felt terrible about not being around to stop that trouble, but a lawman can’t work all the time.” She had to question one point that troubled her. In fact, the curious matter hadn’t struck her until this morning. “Tom, what was the bank doing open on Sunday evening? Why were you and little Lucy there?”

Tom looked surprised. “Didn’t John tell you when he came to your ranch?” After she shook her head, he added, “Thad didn’t tell you either?”

Carrie Sue shook her head again. “What happened?”

“Lord have mercy, Carrie Sue, it was terrible. We were over to the Maxwells for Sunday supper. Those two outlaws rode in and took us all prisoner. They took Max, me, and Lucy to the bank. They used her to force Max to open the safe. One of those bastards, excuse my language, saw a pistol inside the safe and jumped at Max. His gun went off and he got Lucy in the arm. They grabbed the money and rode off. I feared they were gonna kill us all. I never seen anybody as mean as Sawyer and Reeves. I hope Thad guns them down!” he nearly shouted, his rage renewed.

“Sawyer and Reeves?” she repeated, her voice shaky, her eyes wide, and her face ashen. Tremors swept over her body.

“I see you’ve heard of them. John said the marshal recognized their names and descriptions. I’m a law-abiding man, Carrie Sue, but I hope he kills them instead of bringing them in for trial. Outlaws don’t deserve to live. They go around robbing and terrorizing innocent folk. We all worked hard for that money; Thad has to get it back.”

“I’m sure he will, Tom.” Carrie Sue rose and said, “I best be going.”

Martha entered the room during their conversation. “What about your coffee, Carrie Sue? It’ll be perked soon.”

The redhead winked at the woman and said, “I don’t think my tummy is set on coffee right now, but thank you.” As she donned her outdoor garments, she continued, “I should head back before the weather turns and it gets late. I’ll visit again soon. Take care of Lucy.”

Martha didn’t know if it was truly morning sickness or if the news she’d just learned had her young neighbor upset. But she understood when a woman needed to be alone. “You ride slow and careful. Tom will be coming to check on you in a few days. If you need anything, he’ll get it.”

“Thanks. Goodbye.” Carrie Sue mounted, waved, and departed.

Martha turned to her husband and chided, “Tom Adams, you rag-eared mongrel, you shouldn’t have told her about those outlaws. Carrie Sue don’t need to be worrying about her husband living or dying out there while she’s alone, not in her condition.”

“I didn’t know she didn’t know about everything. What do you mean, in her condition?”

Martha scolded herself, “Aw, husband, I done spilled a secret. She’s expecting a baby, but nobody knows it but me. Don’t you be spilling it, too. She ain’t told Thad yet. Didn’t want him crazy with fretting on the trail after them outlaws. We’ll keep watch over her for him. She’s a good woman. I like her.”

“I like them both,” Tom concurred. “We’ll see to her. Don’t worry.”

Carrie Sue reached the location
where Thad had headed southward yesterday morning and reined in her horse. She stared in that direction again.
Jake Sawyer and Slim Reeves
.
The last she had heard, the two cold-blooded killers were riding in the Arizona and New Mexico territories. She’d never met them, but Darby had. Two years ago, they had tried to get her brother and the Stover Gang to pull off some big jobs with them. As usual, Darby had refused to get connected with vicious men like them.

Now they were cutting a path through this area, and her beloved husband was on their trail. Why hadn’t Thad told her who he was pursuing? For the same reason she hadn’t told him about the baby she was carrying, she decided, to keep her from being afraid.

Thad was an ex-Texas Ranger and Special Agent for the President, so he knew how to handle men like Sawyer and Reeves. He knew how dangerous and evil they are. He would be extra careful tracking them.

But, she fretted, Sawyer and Reeves were smart. That’s how they had eluded the law so long. They had gunned down a Ranger shortly after trying to join up with her brother’s gang, which wasn’t an easy feat. Probably few men were wanted as badly as those two!

Knowing who had robbed the bank and how, Carrie Sue could not understand why those bastards had let Max, Tom, and Lucy live. Those two usually murdered all witnesses. It was strange . . .

Carrie Sue’s mind filled with crazy ideas. She dismissed the one about Max and Tom taking the money and blaming innocent men. Both were good men, and little Lucy had been shot. Besides, no man in his right mind would frame dangerous outlaws like Sawyer and Reeves! Of course, men like those two cutthroats were crazy, so their actions didn’t always make sense. Perhaps little Lucy had been what stayed their deadly hands.

The redhead shivered and her teeth chattered. The sun had vanished behind ominous clouds. The temperature was dropping rapidly. She had to get home, get her chores done, and get out of this frigid and damp air.

Carrie Sue guided her pinto toward the Rocking
J
Ranch. The ground was freezing again and she heard the crunch of warnings beneath her mount’s hooves. It took her longer to return, but she finally made it.

She dismounted, unsaddled her horse, and put away her gear. While she was out, she put up the stock and tended them for the night. Her footsteps were loud in the almost eerie silence in the sheltered valley. She sighed with relief when she was inside with the doors locked. She leaned against the wall, closed her eyes, and was thankful to be home safe. She only wished her husband was here with her.

Sawyer, Reeves, and a possible blizzard in the area . . . Thad out there in the midst of all three . . . “God, protect my love.”

Carrie Sue discarded her outerwear. She fueled the fires with new wood. Her appetite was lagging, but she made hot coffee to warm her. She had to do something to busy her hands and mind.

As she sipped steaming coffee, she stitched cloth ornaments for their first Christmas tree. On one, she put her name and the date. On another, she put Thad’s name and the date. On a third, she put BABY and 1876. She sewed the tiny bells, stars, and assorted shapes she had cut out in secret from material from Dorothy Carnes’s trunk.

Tomorrow, she would dip the pine cones she’d collected into red and white paint she’d found in the barn. They could dry by the fire while Thad was gone. She could melt wax and make the tiny candles to use to light up the momentous tree. She could cut long strips of colorful ribbons found in the trunk. She could place everything in a wooden box when finished. Then when Christmas neared, she and Thad could fetch their first tree and decorate it together. What fun that would be!

If Christmas Eve came and he hadn’t returned, she would decorate the tree alone to have it ready for his arrival. She wanted this first Christmas to be special, all of them to be special. She wanted to begin the traditions that would follow them through their marriage. How could she, if he didn’t make it home in time?

Was sharing such tasks and such days together all-important? Not as important, she decided, as Thad making it home alive whenever he could.

On Friday morning,
December twenty-second, Thad had been gone for four days and nights. Carrie Sue could not imagine what was taking place on the trail, and she fought hard to keep up her faith and optimism. Never had she worried about him more than during this absence.

In the last few days, she had completed the ornaments for their first Christmas tree—the tiny candles, the handmade assortment, the ribbons, the pine cones, and a star for the top painted white. Thad’s shirt was wrapped in a square of
green material. Her menu was decided, and food
would be cooked on the twenty-fourth. Garments in need of repairs had been mended. Washing and ironing were done. Every room in their home was clean, including the porches.

As she was about to head back to the barn to shovel out the milk cow’s stall, Tom Adams arrived on horseback. She went to greet him.

He swept off his hat, nodded, then replaced it. “Howdy, Carrie Sue. You doing all right?” he inquired with concern.

She overlapped her arms and cupped her elbows in her palms. “Everything’s been fine, Tom; thanks. How is Lucy?”

Tom beamed with joy and relief. “Stronger and talkier every day. Doc says she don’t have to stay in bed all the time now. Should be healed in another week, he says.”

“That’s wonderful news. Thad will be happy to hear it.”

Tom shifted nervously. “Heard from him yet?”

Carrie Sue read the caution and worry in Tom’s eyes and voice. She figured he felt partly responsible for her husband being gone and in danger. Too, the four had become good friends and neighbors since their arrival in Gates. Despite her growing fears, she tried to lessen Tom’s. “No, but that’s expected. T.J. doesn’t send word unless he gets near a town. I’d imagine those robbers are staying clear of them for a while. I guess they know by now they’re being pursued.” From past experience on the outlaw trail and from hearing about those two criminals, she knew that was a fact, not a guess. She prayed again her love didn’t fall into an ambush.

“Me and the wife are praying for him. We want that money back bad, but Thad’s safety is more important. I hope he don’t take no chances.”

With confidence, she assured him, “He won’t, Tom, but he’ll keep going until his mission’s over, no matter how long it takes.”

“I sure hope that isn’t much longer, Carrie Sue.” He realized he might be frightening her, so he changed the subject. “Here I stand jawing when I came to see if you need any chores done and to bring you these things from Martha. She made you two one of her special cakes, and sent over more of her canned soup. I grew most of these vegetables myself.” He passed the bundle to the redhead with a smile.

Carrie Sue accepted it. “Thanks, Tom, and thank Martha. She makes the best soup I’ve put in my mouth. It’s even better on a cold day. When our first garden comes in next year, Martha will have to teach me how to make soup. It’s been a long time since I’ve done canning and such.”

“You miss teaching school?”

Tom didn’t know much about her past; he knew she had once worked in a Tucson school, but not that she’d only been using the identity of Carolyn Starns, schoolmarm, as a cover while she fled her outlaw existence. “I haven’t had time since I quit, married, and moved here. With getting the ranch started next spring, I doubt I will.”

“You’re sure good with children. My little Lucy loves you. That was mighty kind of you to make those cookies and that doll. She finished them off in a few days and never lets that doll go for more than a minute or two.”