Holly's Christmas Wish by Marianne Spitzer

Author:Marianne Spitzer [Spitzer, Marianne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2018-12-07T06:00:00+00:00

Chapter Seven

Lydia put her plan into action the following day. Instead of waiting for Holly to arrive at her house, she met Holly outside the café with her horse and wagon.

“Hello,” Lydia greeted. “The snow is beautiful, and I thought we could ride out to my ranch. I want to show it to you and check to see if it was damaged by the storm.”

“We can do that,” Holly agreed. “Just give me a moment.”

Holly hurried back into the café and told Charity about the change in plans and that she’d see her later.

The wagon ride to Lydia’s ranch wasn’t long. Lydia’s ranch was as close to town as Charity’s. Lydia and Holly chatted, and Lydia shared some of the town’s history. They discussed the mystery of the missing bells. Holly smiled knowing she and Lydia could be friends and lived close enough to visit.

Lydia’s house came into view. It was smaller, and a bit rundown but Holly had seen buildings in varying stages of disrepair since arriving in town. Life was probably difficult for Lydia if she ran the ranch alone with just one hired hand.

Stopping the wagon at the rear of the house, Lydia asked, “Would you like a cup of tea to warm up a bit before we walk around? I could use a cup to shake off this chill.”

“Yes, that would be delightful,” Holly answered following Lydia into the house. The home was inviting, and Holly followed Lydia into the small but spotless kitchen.

Lydia stirred up the fire in the stove and put on a water kettle. “While it’s heating, I want to show you something brilliant Joseph helped us build. In summer, we can have dangerous storms that can create twisters. Joseph read an article about a place to seek shelter that can also be used as a root cellar. He added one to his home in town and offered to help father build one before father passed away.” Lydia opened the pantry door and then lifted a trap door in the floor.

Holly looked down into the cellar, but darkness made it difficult to see clearly. “What makes it special?” Holly asked confused.

“It’s hard to explain. You need to see it for yourself.” Lydia lit a lamp and handed it to Holly. “Go on, and I’ll close the door behind us. You get a better sense of the security when we’re all locked in, and you’ll see how comfortable Joseph made it for us.”

Holly thought Lydia’s request was a bit strange but didn’t want to upset her since she was a new friend. Holly walked down the wooden stairs. When she stepped off the bottom stair onto the dirt floor, she turned around to wait for Lydia and nearly dropped the lantern. Lydia sat on the top step holding a gun in her hand.

“Oh, my dear, Holly, you are too gullible. Did you actually believe I had a special root cellar?”

“I wasn’t certain, but I wanted to be polite. What do you want, Lydia?”

“That should be obvious.

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