Linda Ford - A Daddy For Christmas

“Sandy red,” Libby said with the degree of certainty only an innocent child could portray.

Eleanor nodded.

Libby got a dreamy look on her face. “He is very handsome, isn’t he?” she asked her mother.

Clara stared. “I’m sure I didn’t notice.” Which wasn’t entirely true. She’d noticed his eyes and had been impressed with his kindness. That was all. “I’m surprised you did.”

Eleanor sighed. “Grandfather said she was precocious.” She stumbled over the word but Clara knew what she meant. Father had said the same thing to her, and he hadn’t meant it as a compliment.

“Your girls should be learning to mind their manners,” he’d growled.

He meant they should be seen and not heard. Seen as pretty things with vacant heads. How well she remembered the frustration of dealing with Father’s disapproval at any sign of the ability to think for herself.

She returned to reading aloud to the girls, but it was soon obvious their minds wandered and she left off.

The afternoon hours dragged. Her stomach lurched at the smell of food coming from the nearby house.

“Mrs. Weston?” Bonnie called from the other side of the door. “Supper will be served in a few minutes.”

“Thank you, but we won’t be coming.”

Bonnie spoke again. “The food is ready. I’ll just have to throw it out if you don’t come.”

Clara closed her eyes. Being independent was so hard. “Thank you, but we’ll manage on our own.”

“Mama!” Eleanor protested in a shocked whisper.

“Hush.” She waited for the woman to depart. “Girls, we can’t accept help from everyone.”

Was she doing the right thing? Was she trying to prove she could manage on her own when she obviously couldn’t? Was she punishing her girls in order to prove something?

God, what is the right thing for me to do?

She thought of the chapters she’d recently read. God told Moses he would deliver His people. He would bring them out. He’d promised to put words in Moses’s mouth. Could He not just as easily put food in her children’s mouths?

But by what means? If she accepted the offered meal, how could she repay the woman’s kindness?

Seemed she was stuck between two failures. If she accepted charity, it would prove that she couldn’t manage. Yet if she didn’t accept help, the girls would suffer and again prove she couldn’t manage.

She had no doubt Father would use either against her.

A knock sounded on the door; then Blue burst in without waiting for an invite.

“Clara Weston, are you so prideful that you would starve rather than accept a meal offered by that good woman out there?”

She stared at him. He thought it was pride that compelled her? Pride meant nothing. At the darkness in his eyes and the tightness around his mouth, she shivered.

What did he intend to do?

Chapter Three

Blue stood stock-still as Clara stared at him, her eyes wide, her lips parted. Her wheat-blond hair had been smoothed back into a tidy knot at the back of her head. He noticed such details with only a portion of his mind as he hovered in the doorway. Did she think he threatened her?

He sucked back air and forced calmness to his voice. “Bonnie said you refused to join them for supper.”

When Bonnie had told him that, Blue had stomped over to the shack and burst in without considering his actions. All he wanted was to see this trio safely taken care of so he could go about his business without worrying about them. How could he do that if she holed up in this tiny shack and starved herself and her girls to death?

“Do you think that gives you the right to burst in here roaring like a madman?” Her voice quivered just enough to confirm that his action had frightened her as much as annoyed her.

The girls peeked out from behind her.

“Do you want us to leave so you can argue?” Eleanor squeaked.

“We aren’t going to argue, are we?” He smiled; he guessed it looked as if it required a bit of effort, which it did. Why must she be so prickly when all he wanted to do was help her so she’d get out of his hair?

Clara sucked in air as though she’d forgotten to breathe for a bit. “That is entirely up to you.”

“Me? I never wanted to argue in the first place. Why don’t you just come along quietly and enjoy the nice meal Bonnie has made?”

“Mama,” Libby began.

“Hush.” Clara held up a hand to silence her little daughter.

Blue’s smile came more easily when he saw Libby tip her head and glance at the ceiling as if seeking patience from someone up there.

“Very well. But after tonight, I must find a way of taking care of us without...without accepting charity.”

“You mean without accepting help.” He thought to say more about the trouble this stubborn pride would cause her, but she hustled the girls into their coats, grabbed her own and gave him a challenging look. “Well?”

“Well, what?” What was wrong with the woman?

“Are you going to stand there blocking the door?”

“Course not.” He stepped aside, feeling as if he’d lost the ability to think rationally. He ground his molars together. The sooner he got this troublesome woman out of his hair, the better.

He followed her across the yard and into the Mortons’ kitchen, then stopped dead as he realized he’d just insisted they sit at the same table as he. He grunted, bringing Eleanor’s attention to him.

“What’s wrong, Mr. Blue? Somethin’ hurting you?”

“No. I’m fine.” He could hardly tell this innocent beauty that what was hurting was his way of life. He was a loner, and she and her sister and mother were tromping all over his plans to remain that way.

He had left the ranch to work at the church so he could be alone and shut his mind to everything but the task at hand. Summer was easier as he always asked Eddie to send him to the farthest line cabin and he spent weeks alone with the cows and wildlife. Winter was harder as he had to be at the ranch, where most of the men were hunkered down for the winter. Too many talkative cowboys. Too many cowboys with wives who liked to talk.

“I’m delighted you chose to join us.” Bonnie took Clara and the girls’ coats, then led Clara to the table. “It really bothered me to think of you cramped up in the crude little shack with nothing to eat.” She chuckled. “Though that’s where Claude and I spent the first few weeks we were here.” She indicated the girls should sit on either side of their mother, then turned to Blue. “Join us.”

He shed his coat and stared at the place Bonnie indicated. Right across from Clara. He shrugged. So what? In an hour or less, he’d return to the church and finally find the solitude he had come in search of.

Claude joined them and said a quick grace. Bonnie passed around a platter of roast pork, a bowl of mashed potatoes, cooked carrots and thick slices of fresh bread.

“Oh, Mama.” Libby stared at her plateful of food. “This is like eating at Grandfather’s.”

“Better,” Eleanor added. “We’re allowed to sit with the grown-ups.”

“Girls, mind your manners.” Clara spoke quietly, and Blue thought she seemed tense.

Libby nodded. “I know we’re not supposed to tell people our business, but that was okay, wasn’t it?”

Clara smiled. It seemed a bit forced to Blue. “Just eat your meal.” She turned to Bonnie. “This is very good, and we’re most grateful.”

Bonnie looked pleased. “I love cooking, but there haven’t been many travelers through here of late. So nice to have you folks with us.” She paused thoughtfully. “Where are you planning to go? Is someone coming for you?”

Clara shot the girls warning looks before she answered. “We’re waiting for someone.”