The following day after getting Ely to school, Rebel opened her trunk and took out yards of red satin fabric that she’d saved in hope of using it for a wedding dress one day. Underneath lay yards of red lace. She had no use for either now, but the fabric would make a nice gift for Eleanor Crump. It might bring some joy and put a smile on the woman’s face, and that would be worth everything.
After holding the fabric to her face for a long, wistful moment, she put it away and met Nora and Tally. With snow drifting about them, they dove into decorating the town with streamers and ribbon from the mercantile. Other women joined them, and soon red ribbons and greenery hung from every house, pole, and business. A few of the men rode out and came back with sacks of mistletoe that hung in the mesquite and scrub oak. The women added the clumps of live beauty to the decorations fluttering everywhere, and the place was transformed.
By afternoon, the town looked festive and bright, and the mist in the air that fogged their breath added to the holiday spirit. Rebel almost burst with joy, and laughter bubbled over. She flung her arms wide, her face tilted to the heavens.
Tally nudged her. “I’m glad to see you so happy.”
“I’m alive and raising two orphans, and that’s reason to celebrate.” Rebel’s attention shifted to the children walking from school. Nora took two Truman boys in tow, aiming them toward the windmill with arms full of big, red bows. Then she grabbed her son, Sawyer, and Ely, putting brooms in their hands. They swept off the boardwalk in front of the businesses with hardly a grumble.
“Amazing,” Rebel marveled. “They’re even smiling.”
Tally moved closer to whisper. “Did you see the candy canes she sneaked to them?”
“Good heavens. Whatever works, though, I always say.” Rebel turned to a different subject and told the women about gifting the red satin fabric to Eleanor Crump. “I want to make her life better. She seems to have so little.”
“Your big heart is what I love most about you, Rebel,” Nora answered.
Rebel smiled. “You don’t think it’ll make her retreat further?”
Tally hugged her. “Follow your instincts. Maybe your kindness will make a difference. I’ll make more of an effort myself. But are you certain you want to part with that fabric? Weren’t you saving it for a wedding dress?”
“Yes, but I won’t need it without a groom, and it’s time I faced facts. Travis isn’t coming back.” Rebel took a deep breath to still the unease inside her and changed the subject. “Do either of you know why Eleanor keeps herself apart from us?”
“Clay said she used to be married to an outlaw, but he died in a shoot-out,” Tally volunteered. “That’s all I know.”
“Maybe losing her husband threw her into deep despair.” Nora wound red ribbon around a wooden candy cane. “I’m ashamed that I haven’t reached out.”
“Me too. I’ll bake some apple cinnamon bread to take as well.” Rebel mentally went over the ingredients. She’d need to pick up some sugar.
First, she went to check on the children, who were busy making gifts for each other. Clay was patiently helping ten-year-old Violet paint a spinning top for one of the boys. Rebel admired the blind girl’s courage and attitude. Just then, Jenny dropped her top on her green dress, leaving a streak of blue paint. Rebel sighed and heaped praise on her. It was all right.
Twilight found the rough outlaw town looking like a magical fairyland. Red and green streamers blew gently in the breeze, and juniper branches and mistletoe hung from every corner and over every doorway.
Rebel went to the mercantile for sugar and baked two loaves of apple cinnamon bread. She’d take one to Eleanor Crump after church the next day.
Thoughts of tomorrow’s lighting of the first Advent candle that would kick off the season sent excitement through Rebel. She just knew this was going to be a Christmas to remember.
Maybe it wouldn’t be perfect, but doing things for others filled her heart with such joy, and that was the most important thing.
* * *
Before the Sunday sermon, Rebel and the women gathered the children in the vestibule and let them draw a number from a hat. The child with a number one would light the first candle.
Henry was there on crutches with his leg splinted. He seemed to take no joy in the drawing, standing glumly at the side.
His brother Billy pushed several of the kids, and Rebel took him aside for a scolding. “Straighten up, Billy, or I’ll be forced to tell your father.”
A grin split the boy’s face. “He’s gone.”
“He’ll be back, and you can bet he’ll get an earful.” Rebel was satisfied to watch the boy squirm.
Before she knew it, Henry was there, his hand on Billy’s arm. “Remember what I told you?”
Billy swallowed hard. “I’m sorry, Miss Rebel.”
Whatever Henry had said had made quite an impression. But then, Martha herself had testified to the change in her oldest.
“That’s fine, Billy. Now get back in line and behave yourself. Act like you have half a lick of sense.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
Henry returned to his place against the wall, and the drawing went smoothly. Pretty little Violet got number one.
“I’ll help you light it, honey,” Tally said, smiling. She glanced out at the sanctuary all aglow. “The holder is beautiful, and the candle is waiting to be lit.”
“I’m so excited, Mama.” Violet fumbled for her mother’s hand and took it.
Rebel worked to swallow the lump in her throat, then took Jenny and Ely to their pew.
She didn’t feel very well. Her face was quite warm, and cold seemed to have invaded deep down into her bones. She pulled her shawl closer around herself, determined to stay.
The heartwarming service was filled with beauty, and Pastor Paul gave a wonderful sermon about forgiveness. It seemed appropriate for a church full of outlaws, yet Rebel saw their misdeeds as justice. When there was little law to be had, a man had to take it for himself.
Her thoughts went to Travis, and she prayed he was warm and fed, not lying dead somewhere.
Tomorrow, Rebel would open the first door of the large wooden Advent calendar, and the children would go to the selected home and collect their treat. The schoolmaster had declared school out until after Christmas, so Ely and Jenny would gather with the other children and resume making gifts for one another.
After cooking lunch, Rebel gathered her loaf of apple cinnamon bread and the red fabric and hurried toward Eleanor Crump’s house. The woman hadn’t attended church, and Rebel hoped she wasn’t ill.
Speaking of that, Rebel felt a bit light-headed, but she pushed it aside and went on. Nothing to make a fuss over.
The house was little more than a lean-to with slanting walls and a grass roof. It blended into the brambles so well that Rebel almost didn’t see it. She didn’t know how anyone could live there.
Eleanor opened the door a crack, looking none too happy. “What do you want?”
“I brought you something and made some bread. I thought you might like a loaf. And I wanted to thank you for volunteering to take Christmas Eve on the Advent calendar. That was really nice of you.”
“I don’t gen’rally welcome visitors.” Eleanor’s gaze was riveted on the apple cinnamon bread. “Maybe just this once.” She held the door open wider.
Rebel handed the fragrant loaf to her and stepped inside. A tiny cot stood next to one wall with a woodstove across from it. Eleanor Crump barely existed. Yet everything was neat.
That surprised her. Taking in Eleanor’s appearance, she’d expected a pigsty.
She nodded to the woman, meeting her sad, mud-brown eyes. Up close, Eleanor didn’t appear that old. Rebel held out the red fabric. “I also brought this. I hope you like it.”
At first, she thought the woman would refuse, but then she accepted it, running her gnarled fingers across the silky length, her eyes shining.
“Thank you, Rebel.”
“I’ve never had an opportunity to get acquainted, and I’m sorry.”
“Thank you for the bread. It smells good.”
“I came here with the Januarys two years ago. I used to live in Cimarron and worked in the Wildcat Saloon.” Rebel watched the woman’s eyes closely but saw no flicker of shock.
“I know.”
The simple statement jolted Rebel. Maybe she was the talk of the town.
“Then you understand that I have no call to think I’m better than you. I’ve done things I’m not proud of. Everyone here in Hope’s Crossing has, but we do our best to live good, decent lives from this point forward.” Rebel gave her a smile and talked about the town’s decorations. “You won’t recognize it. Everything sparkles, and the smell of juniper hangs in the air, filling the town with freshness.” Rebel laughed. “I’ve never seen the children so excited. This is like one of my early Christmases.”
“I haven’t celebrated the holiday in a very long time. No reason to.” Eleanor’s words dripped with sadness.
“What happened to make you lose your way?” Rebel asked softly.
Eleanor stiffened. “Maybe you’d best go.”
“I’ll be back to visit soon.”
Rebel said goodbye, and as she moved toward the town, her steps got slower and slower. Thoughts of how easily tragedy could strike and steal the ones she loved occupied her. She as well as all the women could certainly attest to the swift changes life could bring, and living in an outlaw town made the possibility even more likely.
Danger continued to surround the town, and the fact that lawmen could swoop in at any given moment kept everyone wary. A bounty hunter had ridden in and taken Travis. Clay had been pardoned by the governor not long ago, but most of the men still had prices on their heads.
Rebel turned her gaze toward the church, and her feet followed. Soon she stood at the front where some prayer candles burned. She picked up a long, thin match and lit a wick for Travis.
Boot heels struck the floor behind her, but she barely heard them so intent was she on her prayer.
A large hand touched her shoulder. A man cleared his throat. “Hello, darlin’.”
Rebel whirled and threw her arms around his neck. Was he real or nothing more than a figment of her imagination? She touched his cheek and jaw, his hair. He seemed real.
“I waited so long.” Tears slid down her face. Nothing had ever felt as good as his arms around her, holding her. “Don’t ever let me go, Travis.”
“Don’t worry. I don’t plan on it.” Travis held Rebel against him, and the wild heartbeat of the woman he’d walk a million miles to claim raced against his chest.
She laughed and tilted her face toward him. So vibrant and alive, she took his breath. He tumbled into the depths of her beautiful green eyes that glittered in the light streaming in through the windows. His breath catching in his throat, he lifted a dark strand of hair curling about her shoulders. How had he gotten so lucky? The husky sound of her voice tethered her to him like strips of rawhide.
He pulled his lady close for a long kiss, and for a moment, everything seemed right in the world.
How long they stood there, wrapped in the warmth of their love, he didn’t know.
Travis thought of nothing but the woman in his arms.
He slanted another kiss across her lips and took a long drink of the sweet nectar he’d missed all these months. God, he loved the taste of her. Loved kissing her. She was everything he wanted.
But she was pale and thinner. Had she caught something?
“I told you to forget me and go on with your life, but I’m mighty glad you waited.”
“I had nothing to go on for.” She laid a hand on his face. “You’re all I wanted.”
He was home, and Rebel was in his arms. She was the woman he’d give up everything he owned to spend one more night with. Two years ago, she’d first captured his attention in the Wildcat Saloon in Cimarron, and he’d been unable to take his eyes off her. Her flashing green eyes and lush, midnight waterfall of dark hair had filled his dreams then, and her bold kisses sent fire to his belly now. She excited him in ways no other woman ever had.
Finally, he raised his head. “Let’s get out of here. I have a lot to tell you.”
He tucked her securely at his side, but they were besieged the moment they stepped outside. It seemed everyone in town had gathered. They clapped, then Clay strode to hug him. “Welcome home, brother.”
When Clay stepped aside, Jack took his place, then Ridge, and one by one, the other men and women told him how worried they’d been, and how nice it was to have him back.
Travis laughed and winked at Rebel. “You’d think I was a prodigal child and had taken off of my own volition to wander aimlessly.”
A child’s yells split the air, and Jenny came running with Ely beside her. “Mr. Travis!”
He scooped Jenny up. The two orphaned siblings had endured more in their short lives than most adults. He wanted to give them everything they’d been denied. Come hell or high water, this Christmas would be the best he could possibly make it.
“God, I’ve missed all of you!” His gaze moved from the children to Rebel, and he reached for her hand. “Let’s find some privacy.”