A Texas Legacy Christmas (14 page)

Saturday afternoon, with the temperatures in the low sixties, Zack escorted his children to the town square where everyone gathered to trim the town’s tree. Morgan and Casey had planted the nineteen-foot fir twenty years ago for this very purpose.

“Poppy, this feels like summer, not winter.” Curly shrugged off his jacket. “I’m gettin’ hot.”

Charlie tugged at her jacket, too. “I’m glad we live where it’s warm.”

Zack took Curly’s jacket and helped Charlie with hers. “Me, too. I don’t know if I could handle slipping on any more ice.”

Their little faces shot up at him, and he laughed. “I’m teasing.”

Young and old crowded around the tree and talked until Mayor George Kahler quieted them.

“Good afternoon,” he said. “And Merry Christmas.”

The crowd echoed back their greeting.

“We have some wonderful folks here today who have volunteered to lead groups for decorating the tree. Miss Scott will take the children over to my right. My lovely wife is assisting a group of our older citizens to the left, and I’ll help the rest of you. Or should I say, the rest of you need to help me.”

Laughter rose from the crowd.

“I promise not to sing. But you folks can sing every Christmas song you know. Some of you already have your storefronts ready for the season, and they look real fine.” He pointed to the new pastor of the Lutheran church. “Pastor Schwamp, I sure like the nativity scene in the front yard of your church.” He gestured to three tables behind him. “Enjoy the fun, and when we’re finished, several of our ladies have cookies and cakes for us. Jacob Barton from the boardinghouse has brought hot apple cider. The town here appreciates his hosting a dinner on Christmas Eve for those in the community who have no family to share Christmas with. Anyone who wants to volunteer at the boardinghouse restaurant that evening, please see Jacob.”

Had Jacob closed the feed store for today’s event? He surely hadn’t closed the boardinghouse so Simeon and Chloe could attend the community tree trimming. Zack shook his head. It was wrong to condemn the man because he shared an interest in Chloe, and she couldn’t be here due to work responsibilities. Jacob is a good man, despite our love for the same woman. Forgive me, Lord.

Gathering up Curly’s and Charlie’s hands, Zack wove his way through the crowd to Miss Scott. He’d already offered to help her with the little ones, and he was beginning to wonder if he’d taken leave of his senses. The twins were hard enough to handle without a dozen more children. He also wanted to take note of what the other folks were doing to trim the tree so he could mention it in an article. Gil was here with his oldest child, while Hank was working hard at the paper with the typesetters.

A glance around the crowd revealed at least fifty Kahler cousins. Uncle George and Aunt Ellen’s children were busy. On the eve of Christmas Day, he and the twins would be at Uncle George and Aunt Ellen’s for a Kahler celebration. Curly and Charlie would be worn out the next day after all the festivities, but Lydia Anne had promised to come early the morning after Christmas so Curly and Charlie could rest while Zack worked.

He missed Chloe. She should be here beside him. He saw Jacob at the edge of the crowd talking to some folks. The man must have sensed Zack’s gaze, for he nodded in his direction. Zack waved and turned back to the task of stringing popcorn. He snatched up a handful of it and a long piece of string that already had a needle attached to it. Bending to the twins’ level, he showed them how to carefully insert the needle into the popcorn kernel without sticking themselves. Each child was to contribute to the decorations and be assured they’d played a vital part in trimming the town’s community tree. Large baskets of fruit, nuts, paper ornaments, and tinsel set on and around the tables for young and old. The adults were in charge of wiring the candles on the evergreen branches, and all hoped the tree didn’t go up in flames. Oh for the day when Kahlerville would have electricity. The Christmas trees in New York looked grand with the lights and trimmings.

“Don’t you wish Grandma and Grandpa were here?” Curly said.

“They are.” Zack pointed to a far group.

“Goodie.” Charlie jumped up and down. “Grandma. Grandpa.”

“We’ll head over there as soon as we’re finished here.”

“Why couldn’t Miss Chloe come?” Charlie tilted her little round head.

“She’s working.”

The little girl frowned. “Next to you, I love her best.”

Zack understood. With Chloe, the four of them were complete, as close to a family as they could be right now. He stood and waved at his aunt Ellen. When he turned his attention back to the twins, he saw Jacob had walked his way.

“Afternoon, Zack. Who’s mindin’ the paper?”

He forced a chuckle. “Hank, of course. I wonder why I’m even there.”

Jacob stuffed his hands into his trouser pockets and teetered on his heels. “You’re doing a good job.” He greeted the twins and helped one with a stubborn popcorn kernel. “Miss Weaver would have enjoyed this celebration. It’s a shame I needed her at the boardinghouse. Doesn’t give me much of a choice but to hurry back and tell her all about it. In fact, I’ll take her one of those sugar cookies.”

“Those are her favorite,” Charlie said. “She told us.”

“Wonderful. Then I’ll make her very happy.” He nodded at Zack.

You remind me of a schoolboy trying to make me jealous. Unfortunately, it’s working. “That’s real nice of you. I’m sure she’ll appreciate your thoughtfulness.”

“I’m doing my best, and in my opinion, my effort is working.”

Zack smiled. “But let’s see who makes it to the finish line.”

*****

“I think you and Chloe should take a stroll.” Mama’s eyes sparkled, and Zack knew her matchmaking plans were falling into place. Sunday dinner was eaten, the twins were outside playing, and conversation filled the afternoon. “Travis and I will keep Curly and Charlie busy.”

Zack didn’t want to pass up an opportunity to have Chloe all to himself, even if it meant Mama would claim all the credit if the relationship progressed as he hoped. Yet he refused to take advantage of his parents. “Are you certain? Doesn’t Dad need to rest before services tonight?”

“Shoo. We love having those two to ourselves.”

“All right, but we won’t be gone long.” He caught Chloe’s attention. “I could show you where a tornado nearly whipped up Dad, Michael Paul, Lydia Anne, and me. I was twelve at the time, and it’s where I made some big changes in my life.”

A smile lit up her face. “That’s a story I want to hear. You were twelve, and I was six—not even in school.”

“Good, because I wasn’t the nicest kid around.”

“It’s a good story,” Mama said. “I remember the twister and how fear nearly made me crazy. It was also when I realized how much I loved Travis.”

“Another reason for me to hear this story.”

“Ah, but I was a dashing young man in those days.” Dad chuckled and winked at his wife. “Bonnie couldn’t resist me.”

“That’s not exactly how I remember it,” Zack said. “The tornado happened before you got a haircut and shaved off your wild beard. None of us knew what you looked like—other than a wild mountain man.”

Dad waved away Zack’s statement. “Insignificant detail.”

Zack caught Chloe’s attention. “If we don’t leave, we’re going to be caught here listening to old stories.”

Zack excused himself to find the twins and give them instructions about good behavior. He peered in every direction but didn’t see them. When he called, they didn’t answer. Dread washed over him. They had headed to the barn in search of the kittens. Zack remembered the cat tail-tying incident, but they knew better than to pull that kind of stunt again.

“Curly, Charlie, where are you?”

“Here, Poppy, behind the barn.”

Zack walked behind the barn to discover his twins were covered in cow manure. Curly and Charlie were down on their knees, squashing it between their fingers.

“What on earth are you doing?”

“Making mud pies,” Charlie said. “They smell a little, kind of like Simeon’s coffee, but they’ll get hard in the sun.”

“Get out of there this instant.”

The two peered up at him and then looked at each other.

“Are we in trouble?” Curly said.

“Deep trouble,” Zack said. “Out of there now, and then we’re heading to the watering trough.”

Charlie scratched her nose, spreading the mess over her cheeks. And their clothes? Would he ever be able to get them clean? He didn’t know where to start.

An hour and a half later, Zack and Chloe finally set off down the road toward his favorite fishing hole and the site of special memories.

“You can start the story about you and the tornado any time. Wait a minute. What did you mean by Brother Whitworth looking like a mountain man?”

When he swung a look her way, her eyes appeared to dance. Did she have any idea how those dark pools affected him?

“Dad came to town to take over Piney Woods Church when my grandfather, Reverend Rainer, decided to retire. He’d come from the Ozarks and looked quite the part.”

“I see. Hard for me to picture Brother Whitworth anything but clean shaven.”

Zack laughed. “He was a sight, but it was his heart that everyone loved.”

“Both of your parents are dear. I sincerely appreciate their inclusion of me in family gatherings.”

“And what would I do without you?” Had life ever been without Chloe?

“Have no one to listen to your stories?”

“Oh, Miss Weaver, you are witty today.”

“I’m just getting ready for the tornado story.”

“I already said I was twelve years old, angry that my father had died, and a bully. In fact, Mama threatened me with military school if I didn’t learn to behave. I picked on Michael Paul and Lydia Anne and anyone else who got in my way. I was ready to run off somewhere. In the meantime, I kept getting into one scrape after another. About that time, Brother Travis came to town. He set out to do all he could for the church and the community. So when he learned about all the trouble I was causing, he offered to take me in.” Zack laughed. “The town’s new preacher had no idea what kind of trouble I could cause, which is why I tend to be a little hard on the twins. I don’t want them to ever get into that kind of trouble.”

“They need so much love, and you are doing a wonderful job as a father.”

“Thanks. I may need you to repeat those words when they have me in a ‘twister,’ like the cow manure.” He caught another of her smiles, and his pulse sped away like a racehorse. “Dad devoted much of his time to me. He schooled me and taught me what it meant to be a godly man. And when false accusations about me sprang up, he defended me. Loved me when I needed a trip to the woodshed. But it took a twister to get my attention.”

Chloe’s face paled, and he wondered where her thoughts had gone.

“Did I say something wrong?” he said.

“Oh no. The boy you’re describing is not the man before me.”

“I’m a miracle of God. Without Him in my life, I’d be behind bars or hung by now.”

“I’m glad you allowed Him to work in your life. If not, I’d probably be with—”

“Jacob Barton?”

She frowned then a slight smile tugged at her lips. “Maybe.” She took a deep breath. “What happened in the twister?”

Zack pointed to the river. “Farther down there and beyond those trees, there’s a clearing at the bottom of the hill. Dad had taken Michael Paul, Lydia Anne, and me fishing. It was one of my better days. Dad’s way of living was starting to sink in. A storm rushed in, and we headed back to the ranch. But we hadn’t gone far before Dad and I saw a funnel cloud. We climbed down from the wagon, let the horse loose, and ran for safety. At the foot of the hill, Dad had us lie down, and he covered us with his body. The roar of the twister echoed in our ears. I thought I was going to die, and I wasn’t proud of the things I’d done. I asked God to save the others but to take me because I didn’t deserve to live. I wanted so badly to live my life for Jesus, but my day of reckoning had come. I asked Jesus to save me, and I acknowledged Him as Savior and Lord. The twister touched all around us, the sound like a roaring train, but we were safe. When it was over, I told Dad and my brother and sister what happened. I apologized for the things I’d said and done to them. Then we hurried back to Mama, afraid she might not have survived. It was a real tearful reunion. A few months later, Dad asked Mama to marry him.”

He heard Chloe sniff.

“Hey, this story has a happy ending.”

“I know. That’s why I’m crying. It’s beautiful and . . .”

He took her hand, and they continued to walk over crackling brush. “Is there something you need to say?”

Silence greeted him, but he chose not to prod her.

“I think my faith needs some help.” She stepped over a fallen log. “When I was six and my mother lay dying, she called me to her side and said it was important for me to love Jesus. She was going to live with Him soon and didn’t want me to cry. She said her new home in heaven was a beautiful place, and she wanted me to one day live with her there. She prayed with me and assured me that I would one day live with her and Jesus in heaven. I thought I knew what she meant, and I loved my mother dearly, so I told Brother Whitworth what Mama told me to say. He baptized me.”

“I remember. The baptismal creek was real warm. August, I think.”

She smiled. “When I was a few years older, Miss Scott and I talked about what happened then. I prayed again, because that time I really understood what it meant to love Jesus and have Him rule my life. I’ve never doubted my faith, but I’ve been angry with God for a long time. I believed He despised me because of my Indian heritage—caused others to ridicule me, my mother to die, and then my father to burn in such a horrible death. Listening to your story and how God brought you peace has touched me. I—I don’t want to feel this way ever again. When we get back to the ranch, I want to talk with Brother Whitworth about getting rid of my bitterness. It’s past time I did something about it.”

Zack lightly squeezed her hand. “I thought you might be hurt, and I certainly understand why. God loves you, Chloe. He doesn’t want you filled with pain.”