Christmas Surprise Read online

  She set it on the desk. Her first intent was to leave it for Daddy in case he'd been looking for it, but curiosity wouldn't let her leave it alone. She opened the lid and gasped.

  A diamond ring? She looked at it more closely and recognized it as her mother's. It wasn't a large diamond, but holding it in a sunray, it sparkled red, blue, and white. Her mother never took it off.

  Caroline heard the crutches hitting against the floor and knew Daddy was coming. She put the box in the back of the drawer and closed it before he entered the room.

  "What are you doing in my desk, daughter?"

  She held up the envelopes. "I needed these to take care of the letters you told me to write."

  "Oh. Next time ask me first. I have a lot of private stuff in my office."

  "I understand, Daddy. I'm off to get started."

  She hurried upstairs and into her room.

  Danielle laid on her bed reading. When she saw the envelopes in Caroline's hands, she closed the book and sat up. "What happened? I saw you talking with Mrs. Timmons. Did Daddy find out about the mail order bride letter?"

  "Didn't you hear him yelling at me?"

  "Everybody heard him. How angry is he?"

  "I have to apologize to all the ladies who wrote back and any others that may still come." She dropped them onto the desk and pulled the chair out. "I have nobody but myself to blame for this." She sat down and pulled out her stationery. She put a new tip on her pen and opened the inkwell.

  "I think Tam MacGregor likes you—a lot."

  She turned around and frowned at her sister. "I think you're right, Danielle, but he's not going to give up his part in the MacGregor family business to stay here in the Northwoods with me."

  "Are you sure? I've seen the way he watches you."

  "It's getting late. Let me get these done so I can get down to the kitchen to help Lottie." Caroline stared out the window. "I wish I knew what to say."

  "Be humble and as honest as you can be without telling them too much. We have no idea what kind of woman becomes interested in this kind of ad."

  Danielle got up and walked over to the desk. She picked up the first letter in the stack and read through it.

  "You have a point." She set it down and picked up another one. "The ladies sound lonely, and considering what the conditions are where we live, they would have to be quite desperate to venture way up here away from everything familiar."

  Danielle picked up another letter and shook her head. "Did you read this one yet?"

  "No, what does it say?"

  "The writing is bold. I don't think the woman could handle all of us sisters. She sounds more like I'd expect a military man to talk."

  She tossed the letter back on the desk. "Just be careful and don't sign your name. Put Hank Hughes' daughter for your own protection."

  "Good idea."

  Caroline re-read the first letter she'd taken off the stack. It was the one from Clementine Christiansen. The woman's mention of losing two children stopped Caroline. No matter what she wrote, in her heart she knew her letter would crush this woman's hope of starting a new life. Now she understood why Daddy asked her to write the apology letters. He was a lot smarter than she'd given him credit. By forcing her to come up with an appropriate answer to each woman instead of just a quick I'm sorry, she would have to give thought to what they said about themselves. It gave her a new perspective as to what kind of woman would consider being a mail order bride.

  All her life she'd been surrounded by family and people who cared about her. Maybe independence wasn't all she expected it to be.

  Chapter Ten

  Tam's arm hurt like hell. He appreciated Hank letting him take a few days off so he could accept Luc's invitation. So far he'd enjoyed seeing the landscape on the ride to Canada where Luc and his younger brother lived with his foster parents, Pascal and Sabine Martel. They traveled along the familiar trail the Hughes and Martel families had used for many years.

  The country they'd journeyed through was flat and so different from the Sierra Mountain Range he and his brothers lived in. What impressed him the most was how many rivers and small lakes they rode past. Coming from an area where water was sparse during some of the summers, he loved what he observed in Wisconsin.

  Their third full day from the trading post, they'd ridden since sunup without stopping any longer than to rest the horses and sip water from the rivers. Now that darkness had fallen, they made camp for the night. He was tired and his arm throbbed. The air definitely turned colder this far northeast. Luc started a fire and pulled smoked fish and jerky from his pack. It frustrated Tam that he couldn't help. Until his arm healed, he did as much as he could one-handed, but it never seemed enough.

  Luc handed him a stick of beef jerky. He broke off a piece with his teeth and chewed. "How much farther until we cross the border?"

  Luc grinned. "If we leave at sunrise, we should reach the folks' place by mid-afternoon, barring any unexpected occurrences. They live not far across the United States/Canadian border near Sault Ste. Marie. It's a thriving port, so we'll ride around the outskirts and cross in a more private place. No use drawing attention to our arrival."

  "What or who are we trying to avoid?"

  "Let me think—smugglers, wild animals, and the worst possible danger—Captain Farthington." Luc crossed his eyes at the mention of the hated revenuer's name.

  "Dare I ask why he's the worst?"

  "Captain Lee Farthington is head of the tax collectors in that area. They are determined to find and lock up smugglers because they lose a lot of taxes with the underground community we have set up. The captain is a most persistent kind of pest who thinks I'm involved in smuggling."

  Tam frowned. "How would he get a notion like that? Someone must be spying on you for the captain."

  "I am a smuggler. Most of the men in the Great Lakes area are involved one way or another." He grabbed another piece of jerky from the pack.

  "Including Hank?"

  "That's Hank's tale to tell, Tam."

  "When we arrived at the lodge, were you in hiding?"

  "In a way I was. I got hurt a few days before you got there and my foster brother, Michel, took me to Hank where he knew I would have the best chance to heal."

  "Why are you telling me? You don't know me well."

  "My gut says I can trust you and tomorrow you'll probably hear stuff. It's best you understand and don't ask questions. Not all my brothers, and definitely not my foster parents, know about the smuggling business we run."

  "How many brothers do you have?"

  "Sometimes I think too many. Of course, Josef is my true brother and we have six Martel foster brothers. Gervais is a Mountie and Renald is an official at the Revenue Office overseeing our entire region. I'm telling you about these particular brothers because we never discuss our exploits around either of them. I think Gervais may still be visiting the farm. Two foster sisters live with their husbands on the east coast. And, of course, there was another sister, Isabella, who was married to Hank. She died two years ago."

  "Yes, I heard about her accident. Caroline seems to be taking her mother's death harder than the rest of the girls."

  "It was probably the circumstances of the accident. Maybe someday she'll open up and tell you about it. I wasn't down there at the time, so don't know all the facts. Sabine and Pascal have their own ideas on how she died, but they've never seemed right to me."

  "Jory and I are the youngest of five brothers. Our parents brought us to Paradise Pines when we were almost in our teens. Memories of Scotland are fading. Someday I'd like to go back and visit our village and the few family members who still live."

  "You're lucky. My parents were afraid of what was happening in the Lakota Nation. They sent us north because they thought our lives would be safer here."

  "Are they?"

  "The Martels are good people. They accepted my brother and me into their family several years ago because Chase asked Hank for help. We cannot complain. We can
only accept and do as our father desired."

  "I suppose—" Tam stopped talking when Luc motioned him not to move. Luc slid a treacherous-looking blade from the sheath wrapped high on his thigh. He rose without a sound and vanished into the dark.

  Tam sat still until he heard rustling of the leaves on the other side of the campfire.

  "It's me," Luc said. He pushed an older gent forward with the blade of his knife held against the neck of the scruffy, bearded man. He didn't stop until they reached the campfire. Luc pushed his prisoner to his knees in the light of the flames.

  The man's gaze flicked around their camp, but he didn't move a muscle until Luc sheathed the knife. "What you doin' here?"

  The man spit on the ground. Luc kicked him in the buttocks. "I asked what you doin' here, old man?"

  "He must be deaf." Tam scratched his chin. "Doesn't a Sioux brave scalp their enemies?"

  Luc snapped his fingers. "You do have a point." He pulled his knife again and leaned toward the fire. "First I think I shall brand him with my initials like my brother and I marked trees."

  "Hmm, that sounds like an interesting idea." Tam leaned back and watched Luc scare his prisoner near to death. By the way the man's gaze darted around their camp a second time, Luc finally had his full attention.

  "Me and my boy run our still not far from here through them trees." He nodded toward the dark where he'd come from. "Them revenuers been searchin' these woods for our moonshine operation."

  "What's your name, old timer?"

  "Mulberry."

  Luc flipped the droopy felt hat off the moonshiner's head with the tip of the blade. He leaned close to his ear. "Remember my face, Mulberry. I don't ever want to see you again—you git it?"

  The terrified man nodded. He got to his feet and hurried out of their sight.

  Luc sat in front of the fire and was silent for a while. "We need to move on. Not good news hearing revenuers are in the area. They'd like nothing better than to find me without my brothers and you with a damaged arm. Let's pack up. If we push our mounts, we can reach the farm by sunup."

  Tam couldn't figure out how Luc found his way home in the dark, but as they reached a wooden fence that enclosed an empty field the far sky lightened. They rode along the edge of the property until the fence turned at the corner of a road leading toward a small farmhouse and barn. "Welcome to Josef's and my home." They continued until they reached the front of the barn. Luc dismounted, slid the door open, and motioned for Tam to ride inside. Tam ducked his head and entered. Luc led his horse in behind Tam and closed the door before lighting a lantern.

  The space held wagons, farm tools, a loft stocked high with hay, and tack along one wall. They led their horses to two of the empty stalls and removed saddles and bridles. Luc tossed Tam a brush and they took care of their horses before heading into the house.

  A young man with mussed dark hair met them at the door with a rifle in his hands. He sighed and set the weapon on a small dining table. "What are you doing here this early in the day, brother?"

  "Tam, meet Josef."

  Josef shook his hand. "Pleased ta meet you. Where'd you come from? Luc pick you up on the trail home?"

  "It's a long story," Luc said, heading to the sink. "We need breakfast and lots of hot coffee." He glanced over his shoulder at Tam. "Tell Josef who you are and why you're here while I fix us something to eat."

  Tam spent the next half hour entertaining Josef with the events of the last couple of months. Until he related about the long dusty trails and the country they'd seen on their journey from Paradise Pines to Howling Hank's Trading Post, he'd not realized how much he and Jory had experienced along the way. He expounded on the nasty opinions of Madam Vellechamp, the sweet unselfishness of Genevieve, and the tireless strength of Big Dog.

  Luc set three plates of eggs and toast on the table. While they ate, Tam told Josef about the horses Chase sent. Luc's little brother really perked up at hearing about the gift Chase had sent him.

  Josef pushed his empty plate away and sipped his second cup of coffee. "When do we leave for the trading post? I cannot wait to see the selection of horses I'll choose from."

  Luc picked up the empty plates and placed them in the sink. "We need to visit with Mother and Father for a while and then hopefully leave in the afternoon while the weather is still good." He pulled their medical supplies out and set them on the table. "Put your arm over here, Tam. We might as well make sure it's healing."

  The bandage came off easily. Luc nodded when he saw the scar. "It's much improved. I'll put more of the salve on it and wrap it again. By the time we get home, it should be well on its way to being healed."

  "What did you do, Tam?" Josef asked. "It looks painful."

  Tam gave a brief explanation while he watched Luc re-wrap his injury.

  "Prepare yourself for an unpleasant encounter between Gervais and me at the main house, Luc. He and his two friends are still here. Mother's not happy about the Mounties expecting her to wait on them."

  "Michel hasn't put a stop to their dallying?"

  "He's been avoiding the house since he returned without you. By the way, how are you?"

  Luc jabbed his brother on his shoulder. "It's about time you asked." He put the medical supplies away and sat back at the table. He emptied the coffee pot into his cup. "It took Hank a couple of hours to dig slivers from the insides of my thighs. Hurt like hell. My legs are healing, but enough about me. I want more information on Renald. Is he here, too?"

  "No, haven't seen him for a couple of months. Why?"

  "We ran into a moonshiner on the way here and he mentioned revenuers patrolling around the border. You have any information on who they're seeking this time?"

  "Michel heard a few rumors in town about a general rousting, but couldn't learn much more than what you already know."

  Luc pushed away from the table and got up. "I need some sleep. How about you, Tam?"

  "A bed sounds in order."

  "You can clean up the kitchen while we grab a couple of hours of sleep, Josef. When you're done pack a bag. I don't know how long it's going to be before we get back here. After our nap, we can visit the parents and let them know we're taking you to Hank's with us."

  "I have lessons."

  "I'll handle Mother. Hank brought in a governess for the girls. You can study with them the time you're away from home."

  "Great! Go get your sleep while I get the kitchen put back to order. I'll finish up my lesson so I can give it to Mother and she'll be more apt to let me go with you."

  "Good. I'm glad you're working at your studies, Josef. Just remember our father's warnings about getting an education so you can be more accepted in the white peoples' world."

  THE ENTIRE MARTEL FAMILY settled around the dining table for their noon meal, questioning Tam on everything from California gold to what he thought of Wisconsin and Canada.

  "From what I've seen since arriving, I'm impressed. I grew up in the Scottish Highlands and then lived in the California Sierra Mountains. The land is so flat here. It beats having to struggle with moving the herds over the volcanic range my brothers and I live on. If I didn't have a family tie in the MacGregor ranch, I'd consider settling back here."

  "I can imagine Hank would like having you join him. He needs good hands to herd his cattle," Pascal Martel said.

  Sabine shook her head at her husband's comment. "Pascal, you know Hank needs sons-in-law more than men to ride his herd."

  She smiled at Tam. “Our son-in-law wants Caroline to get married and she fights him on his demands. You be careful you don't get caught in that contest of wills, Tam."

  "Caroline is very attractive. I can't see why she wouldn't have many suitors."

  Sabine set a bowl of mashed potatoes on the table in front of him. "You must have noticed good men are few and far between in the Northwoods. Most of them are good-for-nothing trappers who aren't dependable or proper husband material for Hank's daughters. He eyes every young man who enters the trad
ing post as a prospective husband for one of his girls."

  Tam didn't know what to think. He hadn't paid attention to Hank's motives. So far, he hadn't noticed Hank pushing either him or Jory toward marriage with one of his girls. Jory spent a lot of time with Luc while he spent time with Caroline. Unease settled in Tam's gut. Was Hank grooming him to be a son-in-law?

  "Tam? Are you all right?" Luc asked.

  "Yeah, I'm just lost in thought."

  Luc chuckled. "I think you're worrying about taking a bride soon."

  "She's a might pretty lass, but Jory and I leave in the spring. Hank asked us to stay and help out until his leg heals. We thought it was the least we could do. Besides, I've been learning a lot from the man."

  "What's wrong with Hank's leg?" Sabine asked.

  "It got broke when he stepped in a deep hole during our fight with wolves."

  "Wolves?" Gervais snorted. "Don't you mean while he was out smuggling goods?"

  "I beg your pardon, sir? I most assuredly do not. My brother and I didn't bring horses across country to lose them to a few hungry predators. A few of us from the trading post fought them off."

  Luc set his fork on his plate. He looked at Sabine. "You should have seen Tam. He grabbed his knife and jumped the wolf about to attack Hank. It was amazing that he dared stab the snarling beast in the neck and kill it."

  Sabine touched her neck and grew wide-eyed. "My goodness young man, your quick action must have saved our son-in-law's life."

  "Anybody would have done the same, ma'am."

  "Is that how you hurt your arm?"

  "Yes, the wolf bit me before I shoved the knife through his neck."

  "I hope it isn't too painful."

  "At times, yes, but it's doing better now."

  She glanced at Luc. "What were you doing while Tam was saving Hank?"

  "Tam's brother and I were on horseback herding the horses inside the post and away from the wolves."

  Tam noticed Gervais kept eyeing him. The man and his Mountie friends made his skin crawl. "You got a problem with me, Gervais?"