A Handcarved Christmas

By Cynthia Hickey

Laura Worth answers an advertisement for a bride and leaves Missouri to meet her groom in Montana. When she gets there, she realizes her husband-to-be, Ben Cooper, has no knowledge of having sent for her. She is devastated, even more so when she breaks a precious heirloom.

Ben's heart goes out to the beautiful woman and he marries her in answer to his mother's dying wish. As Christmas approaches, the two wonder whether their marriage will hold the love and intimacy God intended it to have.

Will Ben win the heart of his unexpected gift?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Cynthia Hickey
• Release date: Oct 11, 2023
• ISBN: 9798223889205

Cynthia Hickey

Multi-published and best-selling author, Cynthia Hickey, has taught writing at many conferences and small writing retreats. She and her husband run the publishing press, Winged Publications, which includes some of the CBA's best well-known authors. They live in Arizona and Arkansas, becoming snowbirds with two dogs and one cat. They have ten grandchildren who them busy and tell everyone they know that "Nana is a writer."   

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A HANDCARVED CHRISTMAS

(Christmas Traditions Novella)

By Cynthia Hickey

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www.cynthiahickey.com

Copyright 2013

Written by: Cynthia Hickey

Published by: Forget Me Not Romances, a division of Winged Publications

Cover Design: Cynthia Hickey

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This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

No part of this book may be copied or distributed without the author’s consent.

ISBN: 9798864089545

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1

1880 Montana

Laura Worth wrapped her wool shawl tighter around her shoulders and peered out the train station window. New snow drifted from a slate sky to join the white already blanketing the ground.

She tapped her foot. Where was her ride? Wouldn’t a groom be as excited to see his bride as the bride was to meet him? Being the oldest of ten children, there was little to have kept Laura in Missouri, and in her small town, eligible men were few. The advertisement in her local paper had seemed like an answer to prayer; both her’s and her parents’.

She smoothed the skirt of her green plaid dress and straightened the red bow in her hair. She’d worn her best Christmas dress for the occasion. If her groom wouldn’t come to her, then she would find a way to go to him. There couldn’t be that many Benjamin Coopers in Montana, could there?

She approached the station window and knocked on the glass. Excuse me?

The portly, bespectacled man hovering near a small wood burning stove, turned. Trains are canceled due to the snow.

No, I’m wondering whether I could hire a driver to take me to Benjamin Cooper’s ranch?

I’m not sure. He glanced out the window. It’s a good two hours drive, and the snow is really starting to come down.

Please. Laura refused to be dissuaded. I have a dollar to anyone willing to take me.

I reckon I’ll take ya. I live out thataways. A rail thin man unfolded himself by the stone fireplace. I’ve done enough lounging around for one day.

The station master shook his head. Don’t listen to him. He hangs around waiting for desperate people to pay him a buck. Good thing the man can see through a blizzard.

Then this is my lucky day. My trunks are over there in the corner. Heavens, it was cold. She couldn’t imagine how miserable the ride to the ranch would be. One thing was for certain ... she intended to give her soon-to-be husband a piece of her mind. A true gentleman would not keep a lady waiting.

Oh, what if misfortune had befallen him on his way to the station? What if he were lying in a snow drift, waiting for help. We must hurry. She grabbed her satchel from where it sat on top of the trunks, not trusting her precious porcelain nativity scene to anyone but herself. Where is your wagon?

Right outside. The man hefted a trunk on one shoulder and dragged the other. Looks like you’re planning on staying awhile.

Yes, sir. I’m getting married. She refused to let a wintery date or a missing fiancé dampen her spirits.

Well, good for you. He handed her a buffalo robe that smelled as if it had just come off the animal’s back, then helped her onto the wagon seat. Once he was seated, and the wagon moving though the snowy landscape, he started talking again. If you’re looking to marry one of them Cooper fellas, though, well ... you got your work cut out for you. They is confirmed bachelors. Yes, ma’am.

Obviously, the elderly dear had no idea what he was talking about, and she didn’t feel as if it was her place to correct him. Instead, she peered at the white scenery passing by and tried to envision what her groom would look like. She also thought it wise to look for anything out of the ordinary, such as someone stranded.

She snuggled deeper under the animal skin. While it still reeked, she was grateful for its warmth. What is your name, sir?

Buford Willis. He grinned, revealing a few missing teeth. Don’t worry none. These horses know the way home and we got to pass the Cooper place on the way.

Strangely enough, she wasn’t worried. Not for herself anyway. A niggling of fear teased the back of her mind on behalf of her missing groom. If he wasn’t lying dead in a snowdrift somewhere, he had better have a very good reason for leaving her at the train station. That was not a very good start to a marriage.

Her spirits sank. Maybe answering an advertisement for a bride in the wilds of Montana wasn’t such a good idea. Her soon-to-be husband could be an ogre or a brute. Maybe he enjoyed playing mean games with people. Tears pricked her eyes as snowflakes gathered on her eyelashes. If she weren’t careful, she might turn into an icicle.

She needed to keep the faith that her husband was everything he said he was in his letter. A hardworking rancher with a desire to share his life and fortune with a woman who didn’t mind an isolated life and wasn’t afraid of hard work. Laura could keep her part of the bargain and prayed her husband could, too.

You don’t talk much, do ya? Buford flicked the reins to encourage his draft horses to move faster.

Oh, she talked plenty when she wasn’t afraid of her chattering teeth biting off her tongue.

The wagon wheel sunk deep in a hole, knocking Laura’s satchel to the floor of the wagon. She grabbed the wagon sides to keep from being pitched into the snow. What in the world would the road be like without the thick layer of snow?

Blizzard’s coming, Buford said as Laura rested her satchel once again in her lap. He urged the horses ever faster. Best you hold on. Going to be a fast, bumpy ride.

Laura closed her eyes and braced her feet. No. She snapped her eyes back open. She couldn’t look for her stranded groom