A Grand Teton Sleigh Ride: Four Generations of Wyoming Ranchers Celebrate Love at Christmas (13 page)

Mother and daughter headed toward the house after Emily petted the dogs and gave them a bit more attention. The wind swept down from the mountains, sending a shiver through Emily. But she didn’t mind the crisp, clear sensation.

Mother paused before they entered the house and tugged her shawl around her shoulders. “Anyway, maybe the young Miss Amelia won’t be as hardy as your mother, and she’ll take the next wagon out of here over the pass. Or perhaps another man will catch her eye, because there’s a bit of a shortage of eligible women here. The men are bound to notice her.”

“Maybe.” They stepped through the doorway and Emily let the home’s warmth embrace her as it always did. “Come to think of it, don’t worry about the bath. Sam will complain about helping me take buckets of water to the tub. I think I’ll just read for a while tonight.”

“It will be all right, my dear. Give it time.”

“I will.”

Will met up with Amelia after returning to town and soon found himself sitting across from her at Ma Reed’s hotel, where the Crabtrees had served up a mouthwatering supper in the dining room.

“The food here is quite good.” Amelia popped the last bite of buttered biscuit into her mouth. “And the fresh air here after the trip over the pass has given me quite an appetite. But I can’t help it.”

Will nodded. “The Crabtrees run the best place in town, in my opinion, which is why I recommended you come here. You’ll be well taken care of, although it’s not quite as grand as what you might expect back East.”

“It’s perfectly adequate, and I feel comfortable here in my room already.” Amelia’s face glowed; she truly was a lovely woman. Her small earrings dangled from her ears, the lamplight catching their sparkle.

“They say we’ll have a water-operated electricity plant here within two years.” Will took a bite of his chicken potpie. The generous portion would stick to his ribs tonight, for sure.

“So it’s not quite the wilds here that you made it out to be, after all.” She pushed the vegetables around her plate and frowned. “You made it sound so … so … remote.”

“It was different when I lived here, long ago. Barely a house in the valley. And now there’s a town, and it’s growing.”

“So …”

“You do like that word, Amelia.” Here they went again. He could feel the discussion coming on. As a lawyer, he’d had practice in appearing before judges, but he didn’t practice courtroom law, per se.

“I do.” She set her fork down. “William, I want to be frank with you. I miss you. I miss us, as a pair. You don’t have to work for my father. You can practice here. I’d prefer living back East, but I want to show you, by staying in Jackson, that I’m open to the possibility of a life with you. Here.”

“Oh, Amelia.” There was a time when he’d have welcomed those words. Had his opinion changed in but a few months?

“I’m planning to stay the remainder of the winter, to show you I can do it. I can stay here.”

“But still, it’s difficult.” He knew she’d be in for a challenge without a number of conveniences she was accustomed to. But a well-heeled young woman with stars in her eyes over the “Wild West” would be in for a rude awakening.

She tapped the table with her hand, not loud but enough to make her spoon jump. “I’m tired of hearing it’s difficult. My family didn’t want me to come here. Father nearly threatened to cut me off from my funds. Mother intervened, saying he needed to give me the opportunity, no matter how ‘difficult’ it would be for me. What is it with you men, anyway?”

He didn’t like the turn of conversation. Tonight, he wasn’t trying to woo Amelia but wanted to show her how being here, unprepared, could be a disaster for her.

“Amelia, right now it seems fun and novel to you. All the things you’ve heard of in the dime-store novels, cowboys, ranchers, women fighting the odds. I’m sure it sounds very romantic, but when the days are short, the snow is high, and the pass is closed, you’ll have no choice but to stay.”

“Here’s your pie.” An older woman stood beside their elbows. She held two plates of berry pie, each graced with a dollop of ice cream.

“Thank you,” Will said, welcoming the diversion.

Amelia nodded. “This looks delicious. I’m beginning to get full, but I do have room for pie.”

“I’ll top off your coffee as well.” The woman glided away, returned with a coffeepot, and refilled their cups to the brims.

Will remained silent as he ate his dessert, and Amelia kept her focus toward the front window of the hotel’s dining room. He’d made her mad, but good. And he wasn’t about to talk her out of her determination.

“I saw a schoolhouse on the way in. It’s quite nice,” she said. “Two stories, even.”

“Yes. More children here than when I was in school. There’s a bank, two general stores, a thriving newspaper.”

“I noticed the paper. I saw an old issue. There’s a picture of you on the front page. And you never told me.”

“We’ve only now started catching up.” He’d seen the article in the paper, from the town forum where they’d discussed the election and state of the community.

“You and that pants-wearing woman, Emily something, I believe, were shaking hands.”

“We’ve discussed running for office. The ladies believe they can help the town.”

“Isn’t that forward thinking? I knew I’d like it here, as soon as Mr. Tolliver and I reached the top of the pass, and I saw down into the valley.” Amelia smiled, but her eyes held a spark of challenge. “Now, tell me about your friend, Emily.”

“We were in school together as children.” His tie suddenly had the pressure of a noose. “She plans to run for the Jackson City Council in the spring.”

“How unique. I’m all for women voting, but really, it seems a bit difficult to try to run for council and tell the men what to do. But she looks enough like a man, wearing trousers and such.”

“Emily’s a bit unconventional. She can ride as well as any man and I’m sure can shoot as well. She has a sled dog team, too. But I assure you, Emily also carries herself like a lady. I don’t appreciate you speaking of her in such a way.”

“Oh, sled dogs! How adventurous. I wonder if your friend would take me out on a ride with the dogs?”

Interesting, Amelia ignoring his remarks about Emily and focusing on the novelty of the dogs. “Maybe she will. She and those dogs saved my life not too long ago.”

“Tell me more.” She leaned forward, resting her forearms on the table as she did so. Then she straightened her spine.

“I went for a hike on what started as a fine afternoon. I intended only for a short trip into the foothills. Then the clouds covered up the sun, and it started to snow. Somehow I got turned around and couldn’t see the trail. Or whatever trail I found wasn’t taking me back to town. The snow fell harder. So I hunkered down until almost dark. Emily and her dogs found me. What a sight they were. And Emily …”

Amelia remained silent, taking a bite of pie followed by a sip of coffee.

“You and Emily are close, I presume?”

“She was one of my best friends when I left Jackson.” He hadn’t expected this turn of conversation. He also hadn’t liked how he’d explained things to Emily.

Truthfully, until Mother’s letter, he hadn’t really wondered about Amelia. His thoughts and time had been taken by building a life and practice here in Jackson. He hadn’t glanced back.

“Does this mean I have a rival for your affections?”

The lady certainly knew how to pin a man into a corner. He appreciated Amelia’s intelligence and her forthrightness. Now he found himself wishing she weren’t, because he didn’t have an answer she would be happy about. An answer she couldn’t ignore, such as his comments about how she’d spoken of Emily moments ago.

“In a word, Amelia? Yes. Yes, you do. Emily Covington means a great deal to me. More than a friend? I can’t answer that. Not yet.”

“Thank you for your honesty.” Amelia reached for her napkin, dabbed it on her mouth, then folded it and placed it on the table. “And thank you very much for supper. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon, but I must retire for the evening.” She rose from her chair.

Will stood, inclined his head briefly. “Good evening, Amelia.” He watched her gather up her dignity and walk from the dining room.

E
mily stared at the list in front of her then gazed at the sky outside the window. A gray day, with flat, dove-gray clouds to the west. That morning when taking the dogs out for their run, she felt a tinge of ice in the air. She wouldn’t be surprised if they had another snow in the next day or two. However, on the inside, she basked as if under the sun’s glow—Will was coming this afternoon to do business with her father, and staying for supper. Mother sat across from her in the matching chair, working at mending.

Emily dragged her attention back to the list—cookies, fudge, and taffy.

She’d been thinking about anything this afternoon except refreshments for the family’s Christmas caroling night. The family would sing carols together, and sometimes the Olsens and their extended family would join them. Some years, other friends from Jackson would take their sleighs to the ranch.

“We’ve invited William, and his friend, Miss Clark, to the caroling night,” Mother said.

“I don’t want to sound like a poor hostess, but I must say I’m not overly anxious for Miss Clark to visit.” Emily regretted the choice of words. Christmas was the most charitable time of year, and Emily truly bore Amelia Clark no ill will. But that didn’t mean she wanted to spend more time with the young woman than she was required to.

“We must include her as well. She’s likely homesick, especially now. I know I was. My first Christmas here, I welcomed the chance to celebrate with my new friends. And, your father.” Mother looked up from her needlework and stared at the dancing flames in the fireplace.

“They’ve had supper nearly every night together at the hotel.”

“Maybe, maybe not. That bit of information came from Estella Greene, and I don’t trust the reliability of her words. I think it’s her attempt at stirring the pot.” Mother shook her head. “Anyway, don’t trouble yourself about Amelia. Better he decide now who he loves, and if there’s anything we can do to make it happen sooner than later, all the better for both you and Amelia.”

“I don’t like feeling this way.” Emily set the list and pencil down on the end table. “We spoke at church, and he told me how much he’s looking forward to coming today, and having supper, too. He … he said he missed me.”

“Ah, that’s a good sign. Well, I should check on supper. We’re having roast with vegetables. And he’s going to love the pie you made for dessert.” Mother rose from her chair and set her mending on the cushion. Then she tugged on the hem of her shirtwaist. “I’ll be back soon.”

As Mother stepped from the parlor, the clock gonged two, and at the sound, Emily’s heart skipped a beat. She at first resisted the urge to go to the front window and see if Will had ridden into the ranch yard. But no one was there to see her, so she stepped to the window anyway.

The scruffy dark brown horse, ridden by a familiar figure, was in the distance and approaching. Will! He made a good figure on horseback, with his leather satchel bouncing on his hip, his hat slung low over his brow. A gust of wind made both him and the horse duck their heads as they moved forward.

She glanced down at her trousers and everyday shirtwaist that had strands of dog fur on it. Mother hadn’t said anything about her appearance earlier, for which Emily was thankful. Of course she wasn’t a child who needed prompts regarding her wardrobe. She left the window and scurried up the stairs to her bedroom before Will arrived. Pa would leave John and Sam out feeding the cattle today. In fact, the kitchen door creaked below the moment Emily opened her own door.

“How’s my lovely Belle?” her father’s voice echoed up the stairwell.

“Doin’ just fine, Mr. Covington.” Mother’s voice held a teasing tone.

Emily smiled as she closed her bedroom door behind her. Then she marched to her armoire and flung open the door. No, the outfit she’d worn to the town meeting would be too fancy for supper. Trousers weren’t an option, either. She pulled out her favorite skirt of gray-blue. Mother said it made her eyes appear bluer. She chose her Sunday-best white shirtwaist to go with the skirt and lost no time changing.

A murmur of voices—Will’s voice as he stepped into the house then Pa welcoming him.

She descended the stairs just in time to hear Pa say something about Will and him meeting in the study. Pa’s “study.” It sounded stuffy, but it contained a simple desk along with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves, reminders of Pa’s days studying to be a preacher before he moved west.

Ah well, so she didn’t get to see Will before he and Pa went to conduct business. Pa had only said he wanted to file paperwork and needed Will’s assistance. Pa hadn’t bought any more land in the past few years, that she could remember. So perhaps it wasn’t about real estate. Unless he was now enlarging the borders of the ranch because of the general lack of elbow room in his opinion. However, she knew enough about the ranch to know they’d had a hard go of it the past few years but looked ahead to an upswing.

Emily headed for the kitchen, where Mother bustled about. She’d taken the roast from the oven and was slicing a generous chunk off one end.