The Christmas Vow (19 page)

Amused, Tia smiled at her husband. “You should have asked. I would have let you. Toby isn’t fond of cinnamon, so I generally make something he prefers, but I’m glad you told me it’s something you enjoy. I recall you used to hog all the cinnamon cookies when Grandma made them.”

“I’d forgotten about her cookies.” Adam’s face held an endearing, imploring grin when he looked at her. “I don’t suppose you have her recipe.”

“I may.” Tia gave him an impish smile. “And if you can behave yourself and not get into any mischief for at least one whole day, I might even make some for you.”

In mock dismay, Adam took a step away from her. “Are you implying I’m anything but good and can’t stay out of trouble?”

Tia pretended to consider his question and tapped her gloved finger against her chin. “Hmm. Let’s review your past week, shall we? You were shot, had a dozen stitches, and taught my son to tie knots in everything including poor Crabby’s tail. You’ve teased me without mercy. And don’t think I don’t know who ate the last piece of the toffee Filly gave us.”

Unaffected by her list of his transgressions, Adam winked at her. “Is that all? I thought you possessed real evidence that I’d been up to no good.”

Tia released a long-suffering sigh and ate the rest of her cake in silence. She’d just taken the last bite when Luke and Filly walked up to them.

“Are you two having a good time?” Filly asked, hugging Tia around the shoulders.

“Yes, we are.” Tia smiled at her friend. “Where’s Maura today?”

“Ginny asked some of the older girls to take turns watching the little ones in the house. Maura didn’t seem to mind all the extra attention and since the girls are taking turns, none of them miss out on all the fun with the rest of us.” Filly winked at Tia and leaned closer to her as Adam and Luke engaged in a conversation about the booming businesses of hauling freight up and down the Columbia River. “I couldn’t help but notice you and Adam seem to be having a wonderful time. You skate together so well, it almost looks like you practiced.”

Tia shook her head and set aside her plate. “No, but we used to skate together when we were younger. Adam, Carl, and I spent a lot of time in the winter sledding, skating, and building snow forts.”

A deep voice spoke beside her, startling her. “While hiding from his dashing and much smarter younger brother.”

Filly and Tia smiled at Arlan. Tia placed a hand on his arm and offered him a sympathetic smile. “We were ornery to you, Arlan. I’m sorry. I never realized how much it must have hurt your feelings to get left behind so frequently.”

Arlan grinned. “Truthfully, if I wanted to come along, I would have. Adam just made it sound like I wanted to go and he wouldn’t let me because I preferred to stay home and study. He didn’t think it would help my already bookish reputation if word got out I’d rather sit by the fire and work through a math equation than tag along with you three rabble-rousers. Anytime I asked to go, Adam never said no.”

The more she learned about Adam, the more she respected, appreciated, and loved him. Despite his teasing ways and reckless tendencies, he had to be the biggest-hearted, kindest man she’d ever encountered.

Esteem for her husband filled Tia’s smile as she looked to his brother. “It’s a relief to know we never purposely ignored you or cheated you out of fun.”

Alex nudged her husband’s side. “To hear Arlan tell it, Adam had to practically drag him out of the house after they moved to town. If it wasn’t for Adam’s insistence he needed outdoor stimulation, this one would have turned into a wrinkled prune and withered away.”

“Now, dear lady, nothing as dire as that would have transpired.” Arlan kissed his wife’s cheek. “You remember how hard it was when Dad died, Tia. Mother didn’t know what to do and took ill. She never was the same after his death. Even though Mother insisted we both finish our schooling, Adam had to grow up quickly and take over many things.”

“I remember,” Tia said with a wistful hint of sorrow. When Mr. Guthry had been killed in a tragic accident, his wife and sons sold their small farm a few miles outside town and moved into Hardman. While they managed well enough, Adam seemingly left behind his childhood overnight to become the responsible adult in the family. Oh, he still tended to be a tease and prankster, but nothing like he was before his father passed away.

Adam noticed Arlan and Alex next to Tia and reached out to thump his brother on the shoulder. “I haven’t seen you out there showing off your footwork on the ice, little brother.”

“And you won’t. You know I never learned to skate as well as you. In fact, Toby and Erin do better than I could.” Arlan pointed to where the two youngsters managed to go several feet before landing on their pillows. “That’s a clever idea. I wish someone had thought to tie a cushion on me as a child. It sure would have saved me some lumps and bumps.”

“Come on, Arlan. Bring your lumpy, bumpy behind with me and I’ll show you how to skate,” Alex smiled coquettishly at her husband and playfully batted her dark eyelashes at him.

Arlan winked at Tia. “Be prepared to watch a grown man make a complete fool of himself because a pretty girl flirted with him.”

Tia laughed as Alex tugged on his hand, pulling him onto the pond. Despite Arlan’s statement that he couldn’t skate, he did quite well on the ice. Tia recalled him skating with her, Adam, and Carl several times as children.

She glanced over at Filly. “I adore your skating costume. The green in the plaid sets off your eyes and hair so well.”

Filly smiled. “And I love your outfit, Tia. The red gloves are the perfect accent, especially against this backdrop of unending white.”

“We have had more than our share of snow this year, haven’t we?” Tia observed.

“I’d complain about it, but it is so pretty. I just hope there aren’t any big storms between now and Christmas Eve. Luke’s parents are traveling with Blake’s parents and should be back December twenty-third as long as nothing holds them up.”

“I’m sure everything will be fine,” Tia said, reaching out to squeeze Filly’s hand.

Several members of the community band assembled, including Arlan, to play music for a while, until they grew cold.

“Come on folks! Grab your best gal and take her for a waltz across the ice.” A jolly-faced man led the band in playing
Blue Danube.

“Guess that means you have to dance with me now, Queenie-pie.” Adam took Tia in his arms and swept her around the ice. Several other couples joined in the skating as the youngsters and older folks watched.

“How is it a man as big and brawny as you can be so graceful on the ice?” Tia asked as Adam flawlessly skated across the frozen pond.

“Are you hinting that I’m generally an overgrown oaf?” A mischievous light gleamed in his eyes, made even bluer by the winter sky overhead.

Tia could have easily fallen into the pools she saw there and never found her way out again. Instead, she tipped her head and studied him. “I wasn’t hinting at it, I’ll tell you that to your face.” At his shocked, wounded look, she grinned. “I’m just teasing, sailor. However, I have wondered any number of times in the last few weeks, how a man of your size can move with such elegant ease. You truly are pleasing to watch, Adam.”

As the words left her mouth, Tia wished she could stuff them back in. With no idea what had come over her, what possessed her to speak so openly to Adam, she looked into his face. Relief calmed her racing pulse as he smiled at her and inclined his head in a polite nod.

“Thank you for your kind words, wife. It gladdens my heart to know you think me slightly more civilized than a wild beast turned loose in a tea shop.”

Her laughter chimed around them and Adam drew her closer in his arms, fully aware of how much he’d missed her the last eleven years, how much he still wanted her.

The sounds of the ice beneath their skates blended into the background with the hum of other voices and the music from the band. Obsessed with tasting Tia’s mouth, he neared desperation to savor her sweet lips.

He forgot all about the waltz, about being on the middle of a pond with half the town around them, as he cupped her chin and tipped her head back slightly. With limited self-control, he slowly lowered his head toward hers. Their lips would have connected if Toby and Erin hadn’t chosen that moment to scream as if Beelzebub himself chased them onto the ice.

Adam jerked back and grabbed Tia’s hand, speeding across the pond to the children.

Erin sobbed while Toby’s wide-eyes appeared as if they might pop right out of his head.

Tia placed a comforting hand on Erin while Adam knelt before Toby and held his arms in his hands. “What happened son? What’s wrong?”

“Me and Erin saw tracks in the snow. I thought it was a bunny. We followed them over there.” Toby pointed to a cluster of trees on the far side of the pond. “A bad man tried to grab me. Erin kicked him with her skate. I poked him in the eye when he bent over then we runned back here.”

By this time, Chauncy and Abby Dodd as well as several others had gathered around the two distraught youngsters.

Luke and Blake hastily removed the skates from their boots and took off running in the direction of the trees with the sheriff. Chauncy picked up Erin while Adam lifted Toby into his arms.

“You two were very, very brave. I’m proud of you,” Adam said as Toby squeezed his neck in a tight embrace.

“He was a scary man, Daddy. His face looked all smooshie.” Toby leaned back from Adam with tears swimming in his eyes.

Adam turned to Tia to interpret Toby’s description. She reached out and grasped Toby’s hand in hers. “What do you mean by smooshie, sweetheart?”

Toby appeared thoughtful then he looked to his mother. “Member the clown Grandfather bought for me. The one I didn’t like?”

“Yes, baby. I remember.” Tia had hated the toy. It had a creepy face and painted eyes that followed her every move. She didn’t scold Toby when he set it against the stove and ruined it.

“Member when it melted, Mama? When his face went like this?” Toby dragged a hand down one side of his face, mimicking the melted appearance of his clown.

“The bad man had a melted face, is that what you’re saying Toby?” Tia asked as Adam tried to make sense of their conversation.

“Yes! One side of his face was smooshie. The other side had a scar, right here.” He drew a line down from the outer corner of his eye to his cheek. “Do you think I broke his eyeball? It squished when I poked it.”

In spite of the frightening circumstances, Adam held back a chuckle. “I’m sure you didn’t break it, Toby. It’ll probably hurt him for a while, though.”

“Good,” Toby said, seemingly pleased at inflicting some damage to the man. “He scared me and Erin.”

“I’m sorry about that, Toby.”

The little boy stared at Adam. “It wasn’t your fault, Daddy.” The child shrugged. “He’s just a bad man.”

“In light of the current circumstances, it’s probably best if we head home.” Adam glanced at Tia and she nodded in agreement.

The incident put an end to the party as the guests departed. While Tia and Adam removed their skates, Toby stayed close to Erin and her parents. Several of them helped clean up, waiting for Luke, Blake, and the sheriff to return.

 When they finally appeared, they walked over to where Adam and Tia helped Ginny and Filly pack up the refreshment table.

“What happened, Blake?” Ginny asked, placing a hand on her husband’s chest. “Did you find the man?”

Blake shook his head. “No, love. We found a set of tracks where Toby indicated, but we lost them in the trees.”

The sheriff looked to Adam. “For now, let’s all go home.”

Adam offered Tia an encouraging look. “Tia, why don’t you and Toby help Ginny carry those baskets back to the house. I’ll be right there.”

She gave him a slightly perturbed look, aware he wanted to speak to the sheriff without her hearing the conversation. Rather than voice her disapproval, she handed Toby a basket and gave him a nudge toward Ginny’s house.

When she was out of earshot, Adam took a step closer to the sheriff. “Toby said the man’s face looked like it had been melted on one side and he had a scar running from the corner of his eye to his cheek. Without seeing him, I can’t tell you for sure, but there’s a thug for hire who loiters at one of the ports in Portland. He’d as soon slit someone’s throat than give them the time of day. With Tia’s father-in-law intent on taking Toby, it wouldn’t surprise me if he sent another degenerate to steal the boy.”

“I was thinking along those lines, too. I didn’t want to worry you or Tia, but I received word that Mr. Nivens disappeared before he ever made it to the jail in Portland.” The sheriff had contacted a U.S. Marshal to transport the man to Portland to stand trial since they weren’t equipped for anything like that in Hardman. “Somehow, after leaving the train in Portland, the U.S. Marshal ended up dead and Nivens disappeared. No one seems to know if he’s dead or alive. My gut says whoever hired him didn’t want him to talk and made sure his body wouldn’t be found.”

Adam struggled to digest this bit of news. “Maybe I should take Tia and Toby and leave. Just leave without any word about where we’re headed.”

The sheriff shook his head. “You and I both know people like the judge have contacts everywhere. He might not find you tomorrow or next week or even next year, but you can’t live your life looking over your shoulder.”