Page 49 of The Sound of Sleighbells
Ruth and her daughters had planned a surprise meal to welcome Abner home. The girls had helped with the cooking. Skip would make the delivery. Everything would be waiting in Judd’s kitchen when the two men returned. But they wouldn’t know who had left the food. That was the surprise.
Ruth had been unsure about the surprise at first. She’d already made it clear to Judd that she wasn’t interested in a serious relationship. She didn’t want him thinking she’d changed her mind. But Janeen and Tammy had loved the idea. They’d been so excited that Ruth had relented. Now she was glad she’d given in. The girls had had fun, and the experience had given them a lesson in the joy of service.
Skip sat behind her in the front seat, holding a Crock-Pot wrapped in a thick towel. Ruth had put the meat and vegetables in to cook late last night. By now, the pot roast was done and just needed to be kept warm. In the back seat, Janeen balanced a pan with the cake the girls had helped their mother bake and decorate.
“They’ll be so surprised,” Janeen said. “Do you think they’ll know it was us?”
“They’ll probably know,” Skip said. “But they’ll still be surprised—and hungry.”
“This is fun,” Tammy said. “It’s lots more fun than sitting in church.”
“The reverend said that doing good deeds is more important than church,” Janeen said. “This is a good deed, isn’t it, Mom?”
Ruth laughed. “I certainly hope so.”
The morning sky was clear. Friday night’s snow had melted off the asphalt, but a dusting of white lay over the fields and glittered on the dry weeds along the road. A deer, grazing in the bar ditch, raised its head as they passed.
“Maybe that’s one of Santa’s reindeer,” Tammy said.
“Reindeer have antlers,” Janeen said. “That’s just a deer.”
A few minutes later, they drove through the ranch gate and stopped at the house. Ruth could see Judd’s black pickup in the open shed, but she knew he’d planned to take his spare car, a vintage sedan, to make the ride more comfortable for Abner.
Digger’s Yamaha bike was there as well. A chill crawled up Ruth’s spine as she saw it. She gave herself a mental slap. Digger was a creepy little man who enjoyed getting on her nerves. She’d tried not to let him intimidate her. But he knew about her past, and he’d almost certainly guessed the truth about Skip. That gave him power, and he knew it.
Skip had the key Judd had lent him earlier. Juggling the wrapped Crock-Pot and the cake pan, he mounted the steps, opened the front door, and carried everything inside before closing the door behind him.
It would take him a few minutes to plug in the Crock-Pot and set the table. Ruth had settled in to wait when she heard a tap on the side window. Her heart sank. Even before she turned toward the sound, she knew it would be Digger.
His grinning, unshaven face was inches from the glass. Ruth’s first impulse was to keep the window closed and ignore him. But that would send the message that she was afraid.
The girls had been chatting. They had fallen silent now. Their eyes were wide and scared, but the rear doors were securely locked to protect them.
“It’s all right. Just be still. He won’t hurt us,” Ruth assured them. Then she lowered the window halfway.
“Hello, Digger,” she said. “Is there something you need?”
“Nope. Just came over to say howdy.” He rested his forearms on the side of the door. “Beautiful family you’ve got. I can tell the girls are Ed’s. But that good-looking boy, now, he’s something else. Spittin’ image of his daddy.”
Dread tightened Ruth’s grip on the steering wheel—not for herself but for her innocent daughters, who could hear every word. They knew nothing about her past and wouldn’t understand if they did.
“Skip’s father was my first husband,” she said.
Digger’s tobacco-stained grin widened to show a missing bicuspid. “Sure, lady, I know what you claim. But we know the real story, don’t we? What would you give me to keep quiet?”
So that was his game? Blackmail? It sounded like a joke, but Ruth wasn’t laughing. “If you’re after money, Digger, you’re barking up the wrong tree.”
“We could negotiate—or I could explain the facts of life to those little girls of yours. I’ll bet they don’t even know where babies come from.”
His words ignited a firestorm of motherly rage. Given a gun, she would have shot him without a moment’s hesitation. But she was helpless, and he knew it. If she were to drive off, she’d be leaving Skip. And even that wouldn’t stop him. As long as he remained in Branding Iron, there would always be a next time.
She was about to close the window when something flashed in her memory—something Digger had said moments earlier.
I can tell the girls are Ed’s.
Ruth pounced on the words like a hungry cat.
“You mentioned Ed, Digger. How do you know him?” she demanded. “You were gone when our family moved to Branding Iron. And by the time you came back here, he was already in prison. Where did you know him? Was it in prison? Is that why you’re here?”
