Montana Sky Christmas: A Sweetwater Springs Short Story Collection (3 page)

Butterflies danced inside her. Trying not to seem too eager, she paused to the count of three and then opened the door. “Hello, Red.”

He grinned, and her heart turned over.

She stepped back so he could come inside, then shut the door behind him. Today a cheery fire burned in the fireplace, courtesy of the wood Red had brought on each of his visits.
 

He stacked the wood in the box by the fireplace.

She smiled and thanked him.
 

Red followed her into the kitchen, and took off his coat, hat, scarf, and mittens.

She had a pot of coffee boiling on the stove. The coffee was another gift from him. He’d insisted that he needed a cup for fortitude during their lessons and couldn’t put her to the trouble of providing the beverage. He was a courteous as well as a generous man. The fragrance of the brew wafted over to them.

He picked up the nearly completed, misshapen stocking lying on the table and studied the stitches.
 

She joined him, standing close enough to almost touch. “You’ll finish it today.”

Red grimaced. “Not sure it’s wearable.”

“We can take it out and start over.”

“We’ve done that ten times.”

“Nine.”

Pounding on the kitchen window startled them apart.

“My heavens!” Louisa gasped and placed her hand above her heart to still the rapid beating.
 

Donny Addison, wide shoulders hunching under a raccoon skin coat, peered at them through the window, an angry look on his face. He disappeared. A minute later, he thrust himself through the front door without knocking, then slammed it behind him. In his hand he carried a crumpled flyer. “Louisa!” he bellowed. “What in tarnation are you doing?”

Louisa flew into the main room and placed her hands on her hips. “Mr. Addison, how dare you barge in here! Banging on the window, scaring me like that.”

“I saw a man in here, Louisa.”

“Go away, Donny Addison. You have no business spying on me. I won’t have it.”

“It
is
my business, Louisa. We’re getting married in January.”

Louisa hesitated, knowing she stood at a crossroads.
Am I getting married in January?
 

From behind, she heard the jangle of spurs and slow click of boot heels across the wooden floor. With trepidation, she turned to look at Red Macalister, sauntering into the room as if he owned it.

Donny puffed up, appearing even bigger. He towered over Mr. Macalister by three or four inches. “Macalister, what the hell
are you doing here?”

“Watch your language in front of a lady,” Red drawled, but a fierce light darkened his eyes.

“I’ll say whatever the
hell
I want.”

“Donny Addison!” Louisa pretended to be more offended than she felt. “What would your ma say if she heard you speak that way?”

Donny shuffled his feet, looking like an overgrown schoolboy. “I’m sorry, Louisa.”

She raised an eyebrow, trying for the imperious look she’d once seen wealthy Mrs. Sanders use on Mrs. Cobb. “I haven’t given you permission to use my given name,
Mr.
Addison,” she said, hoping that neither man could see her shaking knees under her skirt.

“Ah, Louisa,” Donny half pleaded, half blustered.

She glared and crossed her arms.

He rolled his eyes. “Miss
Cannon
, what is Red Macalister doing in your kitchen?”

 
Louisa paused. She knew Red didn’t want it broadcast that he was taking knitting lessons. Yet she couldn’t come up with an alternative answer. Next to her, Red took a protective stance that made her feel safe.
Not
a feeling Donny Addison inspired.

Donny glowered at Red. “You don’t make it into town often, Red. We’ve had us a drink or two before.”

Red nodded. “We have.”

“Most of the men around here know that Miss Cannon and I are gunna get hitched. Didn’t realize I hadn’t passed the word on to you like I did the rest of ’em.”

“You
wha
t?” Louisa couldn’t believe what she’d just heard.
No wonder no one else wanted to court her.
She wanted to scream and pummel the man.

“Now, Louisa…Miss Cannon, I just put out the word that I was gunna marry you. Had to stake my claim.”

Louisa’s chin lifted. “I am
not
a piece of land. You had
no
right to say such a thing.”

Donny’s eyes narrowed. “I tole you we’re getting married at the end of January,” he said in a threatening voice. “And that’s that!”

~ ~ ~

Annoyed, Red stood his ground. He couldn’t believe the bad luck of Addison discovering him in Louisa Cannon’s kitchen, taking knitting lessons. He resigned himself to the pack of teasing his partners and any other man who heard about the tale were about to heave his way.

The feeling quickly passed when he found out that his pretty knitting teacher had a prior suitor. A stab of disappointment, akin to pain, slashed through his middle.
Donny Addison, of all men
.

Before Red had time to explore his reaction, he realized that Miss Louisa Cannon had far more spunk than he’d given her credit for. This lady might not be making Donny Addison a satisfied groom anytime soon. Although watchful on her behalf, Red prepared to sit back and enjoy the show.

Then Donny narrowed his eyes in a way that had Red tensing up. He clenched his fists.
This is her call,
and I have no right to step in.
 

Although it sure feels like I do.

Louisa took an affronted breath that had her breasts rising in a way Red could appreciate. “I had not given you an answer, Donny Addison,” she said in a colder tone than the temperature outside. “In fact, I told you that I would NOT—” her voice rose “—give you one until the end of January. Since you are pushing the issue, I will give you my answer now. No, I will
not
marry you!”

Donny stepped forward. “You just don’t know your own mind.”

She squared her shoulders. “Not now. Not in January. Not
ever
!”

Donny glowered at Red. “Git out of here, Red, and let me talk to my woman.”

Louisa hissed like an angry cat.

Torn between amusement and anger, Red drawled. “I think the
lady
made it clear that she doesn’t belong to you. Therefore, it’s
you
that needs to
git
goin’.”

An ugly look came into Donny’s eyes that sobered Red as though dashing him with ice water. “We’ll both go,” the man said. The words sounded threatening, and Red had no doubt that once he left town, Louisa wouldn’t be safe. She might find herself a bride by force.

I won’t allow it.

For Donny’s benefit, Red turned to give Louisa a teasing smile, although his eyes warned her to play along. “We weren’t going to announce our good news until after Christmas. But I think, my darling, now’s a good time to tell Donny we’re getting married.”

The startled look in her eyes quickly vanished, replaced by dawning wonder. She slipped her hand into his, squeezed, and faced Donny. “It’s time for you to go.” Her words were quietly given, but strength radiated from them.

Donny’s hand dropped to hover over his hip.

Red tensed and thrust Louisa behind him, then dropped his hand to his Colt. He didn’t draw it. No sense giving Donny a reason to say he had to defend himself. “You’ll be strung up for even trying,” he warned.

“I’ll say that you were trying to rape my woman.”

Louisa gasped. Her hand on Red’s shoulder, she peered around him. “What a vile thing to say, Donny Addison. Gives me a true measure of your character. I’m not your woman. In fact, you’ll have to kill me too, because I’ll tell everyone what you did.”

Brave woman.

The man’s dark expression made Red brace. Many years of practice made him a quick draw. He could shoot Donny before the man got out his gun. Although the last thing Red wanted to do was wound Donny Addison, he’d do anything to protect Louisa.

A semblance of sanity returned to Donny’s eyes, and his arms drifted to his sides. “Louisa, please?” he pleaded.

Red could almost feel sorry for the man.
Almost.
He relaxed but didn’t remove his hand from the gun.

“I love another man, Donny.” Louisa stepped to Red’s side. “Now go. Under the circumstances, I won’t see you to the door.”

The man’s shoulders slumped. Without another word, Donny turned and walked away.

Once the door closed behind him, Louisa dropped the bar across it. She briefly leaned against the frame and closed her eyes. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, then straightened and walked over to Red. “I’m sorry.”

“Donny Addison is not your fault.” Red took her hand, led her to the settee, and had her sit down. “At the risk of sounding like Donny, I think we should head over to Reverend Norton’s and have him marry us. It’s not safe here for you anymore,” he said the words in a matter of fact tone that belied the banging of his heart.

Louisa looked at him with wide, fearful eyes. She shook her head.

Disappointed at her reaction, he frowned. “I know it’s not what you wanted.
I’m
not what you wanted. But I promise I’ll make you a good husband. Even if something should happen to me…if Donny came after me, there’s my share of the ranch. My partners would protect you. And there’s Mrs. Dean, our housekeeper. She’ll take good care of you too.”

“Mr. Macalister, I’m not what
you
wanted.”

Hope washed into him.
Maybe…
“I wasn’t with you but ten minutes, Louisa Cannon, when I most definitely wanted you.”

She laughed. “That’s because you wanted me to knit your stockings so you wouldn’t have to.”

Relieved to see color coming back into her cheeks, he reached up and ran his thumb just below her cheekbone. “You’d do that for me? Knit my stockings?”

Her blush deepened, but she didn’t look away. “It’s a wife’s job. But I don’t want you to feel forced to marry me.”

“I
am
forced, darlin’,” he drawled. “And I’m thankin’ the good Lord for it. If it had been up to me, I might be walkin’ ’round in worn-out stockings with a frozen big toe for the next year.”

“Red Macalister, be serious!” Louisa said in an exasperated voice.

“May I?” Leaning over, Red dropped a gentle kiss on her lips. He wanted to linger but didn’t dare scare her off. “How’s that for serious?”
 

Her lips remained slightly pursed, as if reluctant to leave his. She studied his face, obviously searching for his sincerity.

Red let his love show in his eyes.

She straightened, lowering her eyelids and giving him a flirtatious glance from under her eyelashes. “I think I’m prepared, Red Macalister, to make a lifelong commitment to knitting your stockings.”

Red shouted with laugher. He grabbed Louisa off the settee and swung her around until her giggles bubbled through the room. Then he set her down, keeping his arms around her.

Louisa clung to him, her face alive with happiness.
 

Red looked down at her and a wave of love swept through him.
How is it possible to feel this way with someone he’d known less than two weeks?

Does it matter?

Then he remembered his ma’s story of meeting his pa. The two young people had fallen head over heels in love when first they’d met. To the dismay of their families, they’d run off to wed after only knowing each other for a week. According to his mother’s accounts, the couple had been blissfully happy for the three short years they’d had together.

An old familiar grief flooded him, mixing with his joy.

Louisa must have felt the change in him, for her expression sobered. “What is it?”

Red started to lead her back to the settee, then decided to head for the familiar ground of the kitchen. He tucked her hand into the crook of his arm and guided her to the kitchen. “Come. Let’s talk.”

~ ~ ~

With her hand on his arm, Louisa floated into the kitchen.

There, Red stuffed the rest of the wood from the pile in the kitchen into the stove.

When Louisa protested, he calmly told her she needed to warm up.

She tried to suppress a secret thrill about his protectiveness. She placed her hands on her hips. “Even though you’ve been bringing me wood, I still need to be careful not to burn it up too quickly.”

“I reckon we can get married, pack you up, and head out of here all within an hour.”

Louisa sputtered. She wanted to marry this man.
Wed a man who was almost a stranger?
She looked into his beautiful eyes. Red didn’t feel like a stranger. From the first time they’d met, she’d had an instinctive feeling of trust for him. She’d tried not to dwell on her growing feelings for him, afraid to hope their knitting lessons would blossom into a courtship. Now they looked to be skipping courtship entirely.

Red’s opened expression turned grave. “Louisa, if you’re not ready, I’ll buy you more coal or chop some wood. Enough to tide you over until you are. You can visit the ranch, meet my housekeeper, my partners, and get a handle on my character. Then I’ll bring you home, but I’ll have to camp on your doorstep, though, to protect you from Addison. Be mighty cold. Especially with the holes in my stockings.”