Mail-Order Christmas Brides Boxed Set (31 page)

“In a way.” He had no family to buy for. Other than the Christmas Eve church service, it was a holiday he spent alone. “Mind if I ask you a few questions?”

“Not at all. Come on in out of the cold.” The man opened the door and leaned his shovel against the wall. “Would you like some coffee?”

“No, thanks.” Elijah yanked off his gloves and held his hands out to the potbellied stove, puffing heat into the roomy store filled with tidy shelves and product displays. “Did you happen to see yesterday’s accident?”

“No, I was busy with customers, but I heard all about it.” Arthur shoved a lock of salt-and-pepper hair out of his eyes and poured a cup of coffee from the pot on the stove. “Caused quite a ruckus, and near to suppertime, too. I’ve never seen the street backed up like that. Heard a boy was injured. Any news on him?”

“The doc said he’ll be okay. Before the accident, Les from the lumberyard saw the boy running out of this store like a bullet. Did you notice him in your store?”

“Well, I noticed a boy. Guess I didn’t realize it was the same one.” Arthur took a sip of the steaming brew. “Little guy, say around eight or so, scrawny, ragged looking. Eyes were big as saucers when he was looking at all the foodstuffs.”

“That would be the right kid.” Hard to forget how fast Toby had put away an entire plate of food.

“I saw him take a handful of jerky from the container, right there, next to the pickle barrel.” Arthur shook his head. “Oh, I saw him steal, all right. But a kid like that, one who looks as if he hasn’t had a meal in a goodly while, I look the other way. Figure the Lord is good to me and has blessed my business. I can spare a few pieces of beef jerky.”

This was why Elijah loved his job. He spent time dealing with the worst of humanity, but he’d had the privilege of seeing there was so much more to the human heart. “You’re a good man, Arthur.”

“No, I’m a father.” The man set down his cup.

Would Elijah ever be a father one day, he wondered. Christina popped into his mind, her exquisite beauty, her kindness, the way she’d brought him to life. He had to stop tormenting himself with what was out of his reach. Even if she wasn’t promised to another man, he didn’t have to be a genius to know Christina Eberlee would never be his. “If Toby comes back to the store, will you get word to me?”

“Is he in some kind of trouble?”

“That’s what I want to find out.” Elijah pulled on his gloves. “A boy like that is too young to be on his own.”

“He needs family. He needs love,” Arthur agreed. “I’ll keep a sharp eye out.”

The shopkeeper’s promise heartened him as he pushed out the door and into the frigid wind. Signs of Christmas surrounded him, but the shop displays he walked by didn’t put him in the holiday spirit. Garlands and holly, Christmas trees and nativity scenes stared back at him through glass windows but didn’t touch him. His heart had closed up, and he knew why.

He spotted a small gray mustang pulling a sled at the far end of the town, coming in from the east. Sunshine glanced off the drifts which hadn’t been beaten down yet by traffic. Christina was probably in that sled, he guessed.

“Marshal.” Doc Frost swept open his office door, a mug of steaming coffee in hand. “Come in out of the cold and have a cup with me.”

“Can’t say no to that. I scoured the town again this morning. No sign of Toby.”

“Likely he curled up in someone’s stable to ride out the storm. For all we know, he’s still there, warm and safe. But I worry about that lump on his head. He needs to be watched.” Sam ambled over to the row of clean cups on a shelf.

Elijah shut the door behind him and took off his hat, savoring the warmth from the stove. A small fir stood in the front corner of the room, undecorated, stuck in a makeshift tin can stand.

“My daughters insisted I bring it in this morning.” Sam held out a mug, steam curling from the dark brew. “We’ve had our tree up in the parlor for a week, but this one’s stayed in the barn. Keep meaning to bring it in, but something always distracts me.”

“Like medical emergencies?”

“Yes, those tend to crop up.” Sam had the easygoing, relaxed humor of a man with everything—a loving wife, two darling twin girls and a happy home. It was nice to see. “Better have my nurse decorate that tree. Christmas will be here before you know it.”

“It’s a few days away.” Elijah took a sip of coffee—black, strong and bracing. His gaze strayed over the cup’s rim to the window, drawn by an inexplicable force. He saw Christina slide off the seat of Tom Rutger’s sled and step onto the boardwalk. Her gaze caught his through the window.

“I’ll come by for you tomorrow morning?” Tom Rutger’s words rumbled faintly through the window. He hadn’t offered her a hand down. “I’ll speak with the minister.”

“No... I mean, I’d rather have a Christmas Eve wedding,” she said to Tom as she tore her gaze away from the window. Elijah tried not to hear her faint words muffled by the window and walls, but his ears strained for the sound. “Remember, I wrote in the letter? I wanted a few days to acclimate and to get to know you first.”

“I don’t remember that.” Tom’s jaw grated, his flat tone loud enough to hear plainly inside the doctor’s office. His gaze shot through the window like a bullet.

Elijah took one step back. This really wasn’t his business. The conversation outside lowered to an indiscernible murmur. His pride took a hit when he spotted sympathy for him on the doc’s face. The man must have guessed that he had feelings for Christina. And if Elijah had been that obvious, then anyone else might be able to guess, too. Even Christina.

“I’d like to see her go to a better man,” Sam said, polishing off the dregs in his cup, looking thoughtful. “She’s a real fine lady. Tenderhearted. You could tell that by the kindness she showed Toby.”

“Well, you heard her.” Elijah grabbed his hat and plopped it onto his head. “I know Christina, and she’s given Tom her word. She’s marrying him.”

“She could always change her mind,” Sam pointed out hopefully.

He was not going to let that hope in. Elijah set down his cup, barricading his heart. “Thanks for the coffee. I’ve got to find Toby. Won’t feel right until I do.”

“I worry about him, too,” Sam said, nodding his approval.

Elijah wished he could avoid Christina as he charged out the door but she spun toward him. His spirit acknowledged her even as he forced his feet to carry him away. Her gaze burned like a brand on his back. “You accepted my proposal.” Tom’s terse words traveled on the inclement wind. “I have it in writing. You said you’d marry me, and you will.”

“On Christmas Eve day.” Her gentle answer held a firm note. Easy to imagine her with her chin up, standing her ground, but Elijah resisted the urge to look. He couldn’t step in to help; likely that would only make matters worse for Christina. “You ain’t changin’ your mind about me, are ya?” Tom’s tone turned plaintive and wounded. The sound of a man manipulating carried on the wind.

Elijah’s stomach turned, trying not to listen. He wanted more for Christina, so much more. But she’d given her word, he knew, and she’d likely made a binding promise in her mail-order agreement, a financial agreement that could not be ignored. He paused at the intersection. It’d be smart to check the nearby alleys one more time. Since it was nearly noon, likely Toby would need to start searching for his next meal. Elijah couldn’t help Christina with her marital situation, but he could help the homeless boy. He could make a difference for Toby.

Chapter Six

L
ord, I don’t know what to do
. Christina sat quietly as the doctor finished putting the new and improved splint on her arm. Her visit with Tom hadn’t gone as well as she’d hoped. There had been no sign of the man she’d been dreaming of. Tom hadn’t bothered to gaze deeply into her eyes, he hadn’t gentled his voice when he spoke to her and he never once mentioned his hope for love between them, as his letter proposing marriage had suggested.

She was disappointed. It wasn’t his neglected farm or the shanty with yellowed curtains and the mud on the floor. Dirt could be scrubbed away, curtains could be washed and garbage could be picked up. It was a man’s heart that mattered. She wanted to find the good in the man she’d promised to marry. She should be excited about their upcoming wedding.

Why couldn’t she be? She’d been dreaming of standing beside her betrothed in the church on Christmas Eve day. Right now she should be having fun planning ways to decorate Tom’s shanty—to take down the limp, yellowing curtains and make fresh ones out of cheerful yellow calico. To clean every inch of the dust and dirt that had accumulated until the floor shone. To piece a patchwork quilt for the bed in the corner and braid cheerful rag rugs for the floors. She wanted more than anything to make a home and a life with Tom. But why didn’t it feel right?

“You remember what I said.” The doctor pinned the end of gauze, his work done. “Don’t overuse this arm. Any swelling or numbness, you come straight to me. I want to see you in two weeks just to check all is well and before you ask, don’t think about the bill.”

“I was hoping I could start working off my debt.” She hopped off the chair, wishing her arm didn’t ache so. “There’s a layer of dust on your bookcases I’m itching to get at.”

“Don’t I know it. I’m so busy these days, I can’t get everything done.” Doc Frost’s smile was inordinately kind. “The dust will keep until your bone is mended.”

“I’m not sure how much time I will have after I’m m-married.” She could hardly say the word. What other sign did she need that she was not ready to become Tom Rutger’s wife?

“If that’s the case, then the bill will be your husband’s responsibility.” The doctor winked, unhooking her coat from the wall peg. “Not sure how good of a duster he is, but beggars can’t be choosers.”

“Sorry, but not even humor can distract me when I’ve made up my mind.” She took the garment from him, the wool soft against her fingers. “I’ll be back with a dust cloth the day after Christmas. Here’s fair warning. Not you or a legion of doctors will be strong enough to stop me.”

“Well, if that’s the case then I’d better stand back when I spot you coming.”

“Good decision.” She stepped into the front waiting area, where she’d spotted Elijah standing not thirty minutes before.

Every kind thing he’d done for her came back in one sweet wave. She needed his friendship right now, and maybe that was the problem. Maybe she found Tom lacking because in the back of her mind, without meaning to, she compared him to Elijah.

What man could measure up to the handsome marshal? That wasn’t fair to Tom, and it wasn’t right. That wasn’t the kind of woman she wanted to be.

She thanked the doctor a final time and said goodbye. The boardwalks teemed with shoppers and errand runners now that the skies were clear. The hustle and bustle filled the street with a feeling of anticipation, and the jingle of bells on passing sleighs served as another reminder of the holiday. Christmas was days away.

So was her wedding.

“Where do you think you’re going?” A rich, deep voice spoke from behind her, layered with friendliness and something that sounded like concern.

“Elijah.” He made the day brighter. He hiked toward her, a brown-paper package in one hand, his capable shoulders broad and with a confident ring to his gait. In a dark Stetson, black coat and denims, he looked like everything good in the world, everything a man ought to be.

Everything a
friend
should be,
she corrected herself. Even if her spirit sighed a little when he was near, he could never be anything more. She had promises to keep and he was not part of them. “I was heading back to my room. How about you?”

“Still on the hunt for Toby.” A dimple dug into his lean cheek. “I can’t get that boy out of my mind.”

“Neither can I. There was something completely sweet about him.” She remembered the boy and how he’d talked of his ma. “I think he was loved by his family, and it has to be hard for him to be alone. I’m glad you’re looking for him, Elijah.”

“Well, I’ve got to take a break for a bit.” He paused, then said, “Speaking of which, I have a proposition for you.”

“Really? I’m not the kind of lady who normally speaks to men with propositions,” she quipped.

“Sure, but this here is an entirely appropriate proposition for an engaged woman.” He held up a package he carried. “Here I have two sandwiches. One for me, and one as payment for a favor. I’m looking at two houses for sale, and I’m no expert on these things. I could use a woman’s opinion.”

“And you would pay me lunch for my opinion?” She so wasn’t fooled. The strip of bacon she’d had for breakfast was long gone, and her stomach had been rumbling for the past hour. Tom hadn’t offered her a meal, but perhaps he would feel more devoted to her once they were wed. She could only pray so. “I’m absolutely certain my opinion is not worth that much.”

“Sorry to disagree with a lady, but you are wrong.” The deep notes of Elijah’s voice rumbled, tugging her one step closer.

She knew what he was doing, helping her the same way he’d helped Toby. Marshal Elijah Gable went around making a difference, helping where he could, committing random kindnesses and never expecting anything in return. It was the man he was.

“I am no good when it comes to comparing one house with another.” Elijah leaned one muscled shoulder against a support pole, handsome enough to make any eligible female in the vicinity go dizzy. “I can run down an outlaw, outshoot and outride any criminal I’ve come across, but give me two kitchens to compare and I’m lost.”

“I have every confidence in you.” She’d like nothing more than to spend time with him, and she suspected her feelings just might go a little deeper than she thought. Really, how could she not care for him? Maybe without ever meaning to, and that was her problem. It was hard to see Tom’s merits when Elijah’s outshone him. She had to do the right thing. “I’d like to help you, really I would, but I have to consider Tom’s feelings. We’re marrying in two days.”

“Sure, I know that.” Elijah winced. “That doesn’t change the fact that I could use help house hunting.”

Oh, she knew exactly what he was up to, trying to feed her when her own fiancé hadn’t given it a passing thought, but a girl had her pride. “You’ll have to find someone else to give you her opinion on kitchens. You know I’m grateful for your friendship. You’ve done so much for me, but I have to think about what Tom would want.”