Sweetwater Springs Scrooge: A Montana Sky Holiday Short Story (The Montana Sky Series) Read Online Free PDF Page B

Zephaniah who slept at my feet.” As she remembered the loss of her companion, her words trailed off.
    “You must miss your cat.”
    Why is Elias sounding so understanding, especially about a pet? “Zephaniah was a birthday present for Juliana when she turned fourteen. But Edward, her husband, didn’t like cats, so Zephaniah stayed with me when she married.” Marian smiled, remembering the look of delight on her daughter’s face when Harold had placed the kitten in her arms. Losing that cat severed another connection to Juliana. Pain squeezed her chest, robbing her of breath.
    “Your daughter was a fine girl,” Elias said in a gentle voice.
    Surprised, Marian glanced up at him. He’d never even given the slightest sign of acknowledging Juliana’s presence.
    “I bitterly envied Harold fathering her. I couldn’t see Juliana but think she should have been mine.”
    The sentimental picture she conjured up with that statement was so at odds with the morose stranger he’d been throughout the years that she stared at him. “She should have.” Marian echoed him. Then shocked by her response, she shook her head. “What am I saying ? Without Harold as her father, she wouldn’t have been my Juliana.”
    “That’s true. But she was very like you. I imagine she’d have been that way regardless of who her father was.”
    Her eyes filled, blurring her vision. “I had her for twenty-six years. I try to content myself with that. Many mothers aren’t so blessed. And she gave me Noah. Thank God for Noah!” Marian sniffed and fumbled for her handkerchief in her sleeve.
    He stopped and pulled a white scrap of fabric from his pocket and handed it to her.
    “Thank you.” Marian moved to blow her nose, and the brown embroidered initials in the corner caught her eye. She spread out the handkerchief and realized it was one of a set she’d made Elias for his birthday. Her throat tightened. “You still have this?”
    “I carry it only when I go to church.”
    With his free hand, Elias cupped hers, lifting the handkerchief toward her face. “Go on, use it.”
    She blotted her eyes and turned from him to blow her nose.
    The Thompson’s small sleigh flashed by them with Daniel driving. Noah sat on the seat by his side. “Hello, Grandma,” he called as they passed.
    She waved, glad to see her grandson enjoying himself with his friend.
    “He’s a fine boy, Marian,” Elias said, echoing his earlier comment about Juliana.
    “I worry about him…growing up with no man around. Just an old woman.”
    “No! You’re not old,” he said with a frown. “You’re as beautiful as ever.”
    “How can you say so? I have wrinkles.” She slid her palms down her hips, which were wider than they’d once been. “And…”
    “More beautiful.” He injected some humor into his tone. “Back then, you were a mite on the skinny side.”
    In mock displeasure, she stuck her nose in the air and tugged on his arm to get him moving.
    Again they fell quiet, but this time, the silence seemed companionable, almost familiar.
    “I’d like another chance, Marian.”
    The quiet words stunned her, and she pulled away.
    “Please allow me to court you.”
    Why is he asking now? Why not then, when my heart was broken, and I needed him to change? Thirty years of hurt and anger welled up in her, making her speak sharply. “You can’t fool me, Elias Masters!” She waved her hand up and down his body, gesturing at his shabby attire. “A vase before. A kitten now. I won’t fall for your tricks again.” I won’t let you break my heart again. “You can’t fool me into thinking you’ve changed…become generous when you’re…you’re nothing but a Scrooge !”
    Avoiding the hurt in his hazel eyes, Marian turned her back on him. Hot with indignation, her stomach tight with pain, she stormed away as fast as she could manage on the snowy road.
    ~ ~ ~
    Feeling like she’d just stabbed an icicle through his heart, Elias stared after Marian.
    She