A Western Christmas by Renee Ryan & Louise M. Gouge

Author:Renee Ryan & Louise M. Gouge [Ryan, Renee & Gouge, Louise M.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2015-09-30T14:00:00+00:00

Chapter Two

Emma listened through the walls to hear whether Jared or Cal snored. Not that she cared, but if they did, it would make it hard to have them sleeping in the next room for over a week. She couldn’t abide snoring and had always been glad Ma and Pa’s bedroom was across the house. Once Pa fell asleep, he sounded like a hog grunting while it dug for grubs.

Now all she could hear was soft scraping and scratching sounds. Ma never let the cats inside the house, so it wasn’t them. The guard dogs were in the sheepfold doing their job. What were Jared and Cal up to? It wasn’t as though they couldn’t be trusted. She was just curious.

Oh, bother. She would not let that little sound trouble her. She had more important things to think about, such as what presents she should give the brothers. With Ma’s invitation for them to stay for Christmas, which delighted Julia but annoyed Emma, manners demanded that they receive gifts. She’d already made presents for her family and now must find time in the next eight days to make two more. Nobody could ever accuse the Sharp family of skimping on hospitality.

At supper Cal had said that since there were no women to bake or decorate at their house, the Mattson men didn’t make much of Christmas. That was why they so eagerly accepted the invite. But not celebrating Christmas? How sad for little Robby. Every child should get at least one present. Maybe she could buy some penny candy for the boy and give it to him on Christmas Eve. Or even make some of Ma’s special taffy. But what to give the two brothers on Christmas morning when her family exchanged gifts?

She recalled earlier watching Jared tug on his leather gloves. While they were a bit stretched, they still had a lot of wear left in them. But they could use a new lining. She could knit a pair with no trouble. She might not care much for the man, but he had come to help, so she’d do the decent thing. And of course Cal would need a pair, too.

Once she had that settled, a yawn took hold of her, and she nestled deeper beneath her quilt. Best get some rest. With or without Jared Mattson in the house, tomorrow would hold more challenges than she’d ever faced in her twenty years. She dozed off and dreamed of cats scratching at the kitchen door.

She awoke before daylight and dressed quickly. Julia wasn’t in her bed, so she was probably already helping in the kitchen. Emma’s body ached from yesterday’s labors, not to mention the night before when they’d all fought the fire. But work on a ranch didn’t stop just because a body ached. She hurried to the kitchen to do her share of the chores.

As always, Ma and Pa had been up for some time and were already busy. Ma turned griddle cakes in a fry pan on the stove while Julia removed a pan of biscuits from the oven.

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