Christmas Spirit (Cutter's Creek Book 12) Read online

  What a conniving woman Lana had grown up to be! This was just another reason why a rich man had better catch her. Only a man who had the means to keep her busy would be able to lasso her in. She took a deep breath since it was clear she wouldn’t be able to change Lana’s mind right this minute.

  “So, what do you reckon we do, Miss Matchmaker?”

  Lana slapped her hands together, mischief dancing in her eyes again. “We start by teaching you how to make cider.”

  Three

  Josh rode out to where the cattle were penned in a fence near the barn. He leaned over his horse’s neck, watching the herd nuzzle through the dry grass. There were fewer cattle than last year. Not as many calves survived the birthing this summer and a disease had taken out some of the ones who had lived. The ones that remained were not as fat, nor as strong, as he needed them to be.

  The unusually dry summer had made the grass dry up too quickly. New grass came in slowly and there just wasn’t enough to feed the herd. He took a deep breath and let it out in a slow stream, but tension still filled him.

  What was he going to do? He needed to fetch a good profit if he was to continue to support the family, but he barely had enough cattle to make the trip to market worthwhile. There was no way he would end up with enough profit to keep the ranch moving in a positive direction.

  His mother and sister didn’t know this, but his father’s failing health had put a dent into the family’s funds. His old man put up a good front, but the truth was he was struggling. He did as much as he could, but he wasn’t as involved in the ranch these days as Josh would like. His father was experienced and wise. His help would be welcome just about now.

  The sound of hooves made him turn to look over his shoulder. A smile slipped across his face. His long-time friend Nick Jansen rode up on his Palomino. Once near, Nick pulled on the reins and turned to look at Josh’s dwindling herd, before shaking his head and turning to look at him. Deep lines formed between his brows. Josh knew exactly what the man was thinking.

  Nick slapped him on the shoulder. “The Lord will provide.”

  That He might, but Josh was hoping things would turn around sooner rather than later. How could he support a wife, if he couldn’t pay the loan to the bank? It was moments like this that he thought about putting off marriage.

  Jemma had put a bounce in Nick’s step and a perpetual smile on his face. The man was a big proponent of the institution. It was hard to argue that marriage had been a bad idea for his friend.

  If he was honest, the truth was that he was lonely. If he waited too long, he’d be an old man and it would be too late. Too many more years and all the women his age would be taken. How sad would it be to miss out because he procrastinated?

  Procrastination sounded a bit harsh. He really was making sure he was in a better position to support a family before he took on responsibilities that he wasn’t ready to bear. It wouldn’t be fair to a woman to expect her to live with uncertainties. Would it?

  On the other hand, a wife could help him get through the trial he faced. Images of Felicity’s sweet smile and pretty almond-shaped eyes flickered across his mind. Why was it that every time he thought of a wife her image appeared to him? The girl didn’t even like him!

  “What are you woolgathering about?”

  Josh’s gaze snapped back to Nick. The stress had left his face and now mirth danced in his eyes.

  “Oh, just the usual.”

  His friend chuckled, even though the situation wasn’t a funny one. “Have you thought of what you might do?”

  “Not yet. Any ideas?”

  His friend sighed. “A few, but maybe none that will really interest you. Sell up. Join with another rancher.” He shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Maybe you don’t have to decide right this minute. You can put it off until after the festival.”

  The festival. Would Felicity’s cider be the best he’d ever tasted? His sister seemed to think so. He licked his lips just thinking about it. He bet it’d have a unique flavor if it was her grandmother’s recipe.

  The idea that she might win made him snicker. The festival competition was always won by a town matriarch who made the same cider every year. How much uproar would there be if someone new to the contest won? It was time for a change.

  “What are you laughing about? The subject we’re discussing isn’t all that funny.”

  “Truer words have never been spoken. I just had a random, funny thought. No big deal.”

  “All right, then. The reason I came out is that Jemma wanted me to invite you to dinner tonight,” Nick said. “She’s making chicken and dumplings.”

  He nodded. “Sure. I’ll come.”

  “Good. Bring your sister and ma. Your dad, too, if he’s up to it.”

  Four

  Josh led his bundled-up sister and mother into the Jansen’s cozy cottage. The scent of chicken and onions wafted to him making his stomach rumble. He greeted his friends, and then turned at the patter of feet, before two bodies slammed into him, almost knocking him to the floor. He righted himself and looked down at Tim and Delilah. He bent down, scooping up the giggling children into his arms.

  After losing their parents and coming to live in a new place with an aunt they barely knew, these children had more to handle than most their age. Top that off with Jemma and Nick’s wedding, things had been touch and go for a while. But here they were today, happy and very well adjusted. He couldn’t help but smile.

  He leaned back to look at them after kissing each of their cherub cheeks. “Now, how are you two?”

  “We’ve heard a secret,” Delilah whispered. Her bright blue eyes filled with excitement as she seemed about to burst with the secret she held inside.

  “A secret? Now what have you heard?” He pinched her cheek, making the girl giggle.

  “You’re going to get married.”

  “Aww, he ain’t gonna to do that. Josh’s a cowboy. Cowboys don’t like girls,” Tim said, folding his arms over his chest.

  “They do, too! I know plenty of cowboys and they’re all married!” Delilah stuck out her tongue.

  The little boy furrowed his brows like he was trying to figure out if she was telling the truth or not.

  “Are you, Uncle Josh?” Delilah asked, tugging on his shirt sleeve.

  Josh straightened. “Now, why would you think I’m getting hitched?”

  Delilah giggled and went to stand beside Lana. She looked up and shrugged while she continued to laugh.

  “Maybe she looked into the future when she saw you mooning over someone in town,” his sister said turning away from him, before giving him a sly smile.

  What was on her mind? Even his mother had a knowing look on her face. Women. Always reading into situations. He couldn’t think of one girl he might have been looking at with dreamy eyes. Women!

  He followed everyone to the dinner table and couldn’t help but smile at the spread of warm buttery biscuits and chicken and dumplings. Steam rose from the pot in the middle of the table spreading the homey fragrance all around.

  He knew Nick had married Jemma for love and not for her cooking, but as he looked over all the food on the table, he couldn’t help but see the wisdom in his friend’s words. It had been a long time since he had a meal that smelled this good. Ma and Lana made sure they didn’t starve, but their food never came out quite as good as this meal promised to be.

  As he took his first bite, the rich buttery flavor of the broth and the dumplings exploded in his mouth. He leaned back and closed his eyes. Yes, he’d have to make sure the woman he married could cook like this.

  “I know who you should marry, Uncle Josh,” Delilah said.

  He opened his eyes and looked at the little girl. Her blonde pigtails were perfectly done with pink bows. She didn’t look like the busy-body she was turning out to be.

  “And who should that be?”

  “Miss Felicity,” she said.

  Josh’s hand flew to his mouth to keep from spewing it all ov
er everyone in front of him. He coughed, jumping to his feet. He swiped his mug off the table and took a long sip of his water, trying to stop choking. He opened his eyes and glanced at his dinner companions.

  Nick and Jemma hid their laughing faces behind their hands. Lana had that smirk on her face again, and his mother just looked down at her bowl, smiling. He sat back down at the table, and picked up his napkin, wiping his mouth.

  “Everyone says she’s sweet on you,” the girl added as if he hadn’t just disrupted the meal by choking like an idiot.

  Sweet on him. Now, why did she think that? Felicity barely would look at him. He always wondered if there was something about him that she didn’t like – other than the fact that he’d hurt her feelings once when they were kids.

  “Sweetie, I don’t know.”

  “Why don’t you know, Josh?” Jemma asked. Her brilliant blue eyes latched onto him, accenting her blonde hair. She lowered her spoon back into her bowl, lightly tapping it against the side. “I do think you and Felicity would make a perfect match.”

  He looked at his sister, whose smirk seemed to have grown bigger. “She’s right, you know. You two would make a lovely couple,” Lana added.

  “Can she cook?” Nick jumped in.

  Jemma rolled her eyes, shaking her head. “There are more important things than food, darling.”

  “A man needs—”

  “She makes the best cider I’ve ever had,” his sister interrupted.

  Nick raised his brows, before slowly turning to look at Josh. “Well, she is pretty.”

  Jemma stood from the dinner table. “And she’s a kind, Godly young woman, which—” she glared down at her husband, “—is the most important trait a woman should have. Wouldn’t you agree, my love?”

  Nick looked properly chastised and promptly bowed his head as he nodded his agreement.

  Jemma picked up the empty biscuit plate and looked at Josh. “I think, based on your reaction to hearing her name,” she pointed towards the wet stains on his shirt, “you need to do more than give her a chance. I’ll go get some more biscuits.”

  Josh leaned back in his chair, fumbling with his napkin. Give her a chance. Maybe he should. An image of Felicity filled his mind again. When she was about fifteen years old, he had seen just how kind she was. He had found her bent over an injured rabbit, stroking its fur.

  She and Lana had found the rabbit in the back of the garden. One of his legs was bloody and seemed to be broken. Josh had wanted to put the animal out of its misery, thinking it might make a good stew, but Felicity had insisted on nursing it back to health. She had done her best, but a week later the cottontail died.

  He had leaned against the kitchen door and listened to Felicity cry into Lana’s arms. His heart had broken for the sweet girl, wishing he could bring a smile back to her face. He had thought of a few ideas, but soon the demands of the ranch took over, and he forget all about his plans.

  He took another bite of his chicken and dumplings, letting the rich thick broth slip down his throat. Yes, perhaps, he should consider courting his sister’s best friend.

  Five

  Felicity opened the door, and Lana pushed her way into the house with a huge basket full of dark purple and pink sugar plum berries. She went immediately to the kitchen and sat the basket on the table before taking off her mittens and coat.

  “Did you find a recipe? The perfect one? And did I mention that this basket is really heavy?”

  Felicity tilted her head and looked at the aged yellow paper with frayed edges she had found tucked inside her grandmother’s old cookbook. She’d gotten lost in the pages as she searched through it. So many of the recipes were from China and she chuckled that most of the ingredients couldn’t be found in the territories.

  How she wished she’d inherited her grandmother’s skills! The woman had fed her family well, indeed. Or so she’d been told. She’d been fairly young when her grandmother died and her memories were mostly snippets of their times together.

  But she did find a cider recipe. Her mother had told her that there may be some ingredients that could be different than what was normally used by others. Even if she could find all of them, the flavor might not be traditional enough for the competition.

  “Perhaps, we should just come up with our own. It can’t be that hard. Can it?”

  Lana cocked an eyebrow. “Hmm. If you say so. So, what do we do first?”

  Felicity shrugged her shoulders. “I guess we’ve got to cook them down or something. I’ve seen my mother do that to make jams. Isn’t it a similar process?”

  The girls looked at each other and shrugged at the same time. Then Felicity took a deep breath and headed to the table. She looked down at the basket and took another deep breath.

  “Well, let’s get on with it, then,” she said and began sifting through the berries in the basket.

  “Tell me what you want me to do,” said Lana as she came up beside her. “I’ll do whatever you need.”

  “Well, I see some of these are probably almost rotten. I don’t think we want to use those. Let’s take them out and give them to the robins. Or the rabbits. I’ll toss them out in the woods later.”

  The girls plucked out the few berries that were too ripe and soon they had a small bowl ready to set aside for the animals that might want them later.

  “And I think these like this aren’t ripe enough,” said Felicity, holding up a berry that was very pink. She pinched it and it didn’t burst.

  “Yes, those probably won’t taste good.”

  “There isn’t any juice in them yet. I’m thinking that a cider is all about the juice. Right?” Felicity crinkled her nose as she put her theory forward to Lana.

  “What did the recipe say? You may not be going to use it, but can it be a guideline?”

  “I’ve seen my mother do it, but as usual, I didn’t pay attention. I still think we can figure it out. Let’s mash the berries and put them in the water. It should start to boil soon, I think.”

  She thought back to last Christmas when her mother had made a batch of cider for the holiday. She’d meant to pay attention, but she got an idea for a drawing and she’d sat at the table and drawn instead. The drawing of a lovely night sky with a bright star shining over the valley now hung on her bedroom wall.

  She began crushing the berries with a large wooden spoon, smashing them into the big wooden bowl. Her brow furrowed as she surveyed her progress. “I don’t think my mother’s berries looked so mushy.”

  “I think it’s fine. Let’s wait for the water to boil; then we can put them in.”

  “I guess that makes sense. Maybe it needs sugar, too?”

  “Probably. Oh, I forgot to tell you! I heard Sadie Willet in town yesterday at the mercantile. She was talking to Mayor Pershing about the cider contest. She said she’s changed her recipe up and she’s certain she’s going to win. I almost laughed out loud.”

  “I can’t believe she keeps on entering. But then what do I think I’m doing? I’m entering and I’ve never even made any before.”

  “Well, the mayor walked away chuckling. I guess he doesn’t expect her to win, either. As for you—oh! The water’s boiling. Want to pour them in?” Lana asked, pushing a strand of hair out of her face. It had stuck to her cheek where sweat and steam gathered. This cooking thing was intense work.

  Felicity picked up the bowl of crushed berries and walked to the stove slowly pouring them in and stirring. Something wasn’t right, but she didn’t quite know what.

  A loud knock at the door surprised them and one of them let out a startled scream. Neither knew which one screamed. They looked at each other with wide eyes and then they both started laughing.

  “Now who’s here bothering us when we’re busy? Maybe they’ll go away. We’re too busy for interruptions,” huffed Felicity when the knock came again.

  “Just go on and get rid of them.”

  She went to the door and pulled it open. Barely looking up to see who it was, she h
ad to look again when she realized who was there. Felicity took a step back, her hand nervously raising to her hair which she knew was a mess.

  “Hello, Felicity,” Josh said.

  She took it all in. She couldn’t help but stare. Josh was wearing a brown jacket that lay snugly across his broad shoulders. His boots were polished and his trousers were clean. He’d not been working before he came here, that was for sure.

  “Hello, um, Josh,” she said, her gaze dropping to the floor. She noticed a few scuff marks and dirt on the porch that would need to be scrubbed up. Then she wondered why she’d notice the imperfect porch when she had a very perfect Josh standing right there before her.

  A chuckle escaped him. “Do you realize you have a purple streak on your cheek?”

  Felicity’s hand flew to her cheek, and she rubbed it.

  “Here, let me. It’s the other one.” Josh ran a thumb over the other cheek, his finger invoking a sweet sensation in her. “There, much better.”

  Felicity lay her hand against her cheek, where the warmth still burned from his touch. She didn’t know a handful of callouses could feel that good. “Lana’s in the kitchen,” she murmured.

  “I actually came to see you.”

  Felicity took a step back. “Me?”

  “Yes, I thought you might want to take a walk down to the river with me. I think it’s starting to get frozen. But I see you’re busy.” He looked beyond her for a moment at the mess in the kitchen.

  Was he trying to court her? Asking her to take a walk with him? That’s what it sounded like, but it couldn’t be. Why would Josh Garrett, her best friend’s extremely handsome brother, want to spend time with her?

  “Is there a better—”

  “She’s not busy!”

  A hand shoved against her back, pushing her out onto the porch. Her coat ended up around her shoulders and then the door then slammed shut behind her. She spun around, not sure how this all happened so fast.

  “I guess my sister has matters in the kitchen under control.”

  Oh, gosh. If he only knew.