Western Christmas Brides

Rhett and Wyatt shot from around the blacksmith shop and ran toward them. “Are you going to print the picture, Teddy? Are you?” Rhett asked.

Hannah laughed and leaned a bit closer to say, “I warned them you might not be able to, but if you did, they were to keep it a secret.”

He knelt down as the boys arrived and put on a serious expression as he whispered, “I can’t tell you if you’re going to run around shouting about it.”

“We won’t,” Wyatt assured, casting a glare toward his younger brother.

“I was only shouting ’cause it was you,” Rhett said. “I won’t tell anyone else. I promise.”

“Cross-your-heart promise?” Teddy asked.

Both boys nodded and used a fingertip to draw an X over their chests.

“Then, yes, I’m going to print it, and I’ll make sure you each get your very own copy.”

The giggle from Hannah, and the way she squeezed his arm as he stood up, filled him with more happiness than he might ever have known before.

Fiona and Brett walked around the building just then.

An unusual wave of disappointment washed over him as Hannah let go of his arm.

“Thank you for walking me home,” she said. “I hope you enjoy the pie.”

“I will,” Teddy answered, having totally forgotten about the pie. He graced Fiona with a smile before nodding at Brett.

When the women were several steps away Brett said, “I don’t know what she was etching, but she worked all day on it yesterday.”

Still watching her walk away, and knowing the boys were within hearing distance, Teddy replied, “It’s a secret. That’s all I can tell you.”

The boys giggled before they ran off, and a thought shot across Teddy’s mind. He wondered what Brett would say if he said he wanted to marry Hannah. It wasn’t the first time he’d had that thought, but he was still unsure if that was what his heart truly wanted, or if he was just worried about her like he had been about Becky.

“I wasn’t happy about letting Hannah do all this work for your paper in the beginning, but Fiona insisted it would be good for her,” Brett said. “I guess she was right.”

“She enjoys it,” Teddy replied. “And she is also very good at it.”

“Yes, she is,” Brett replied. “She’ll make some man a wonderful wife.”

Teddy buckled a bit inside. He’d thought he’d kept his thoughts buried too deep for anyone to see. Before he could say anything, Brett slapped his shoulder.

“I got a wagon wheel calling my name,” Brett said. “See you later.”

Teddy nodded, yet his eyes were once again on Hannah as she and Fiona disappeared into the house across the field. “See you later,” he said, after swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat at the idea of Hannah making someone a wonderful wife. And that someone not being him.

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