Little Flower Creek, Texas
December 20, 1880

Nothing much had changed in ten years, Chris decided as she accepted the driver’s proffered hand to help her down from the stage coach.  The town still looked dusty and dirty and dingy.  The tinkle of the piano in the saloon blended in with the children’s voices as school let out for the day.  And, there was no one here to meet the stage, not that she’d expected anyone.  Certainly her father wouldn’t come, even if he were still able to make the trip to town, which he wasn’t.  And, it would mean their job if one of the hired hands dared bring a buggy to town to take her out to the ranch.  She squared her slender shoulders.  What had she expected?  Nothing came easy in this world and she knew it better than most.  She accepted the valise the driver handed to her with a polite ‘thank you’, and then turned to walk to the livery.  She would rent a buggy and drive herself to the ranch.  She didn’t travel this far to be thwarted by her Papa’s contrary nature.

Just then a handsome man in a buckboard pulled up beside the stage.  He jumped down, looked around and then spotted her.  “Dr. Peterson?” he asked in a pleasant tone of voice.

“Yes, I am Chris Peterson,” she replied, positive she’d never met the man before.

“Welcome home, Miss.  I’m Drew Quigley, foreman of the Sure Shot Ranch.  Your father sent me to meet your stage.  I’m sorry I’m late; had a bit of trouble with the Gangers on the way in.”  His smile was warm and friendly, and he was also lying through his teeth.

“You needn’t sugarcoat the situation, Mr. Quigley.  I am aware that my father didn’t send you, but thank you for taking it upon yourself to come for me.  I do appreciate it very much.”  She thought him brave for daring to defy her Papa’s wishes.

“Your father needs a swift kick in the pants,” Drew said darkly.  “Where are your trunks?” he asked.  “I’ll get you loaded up and we’ll make the ranch in time for a late supper.”  He looked around him, puzzled when he didn’t see any other baggage.

“This is all I have, Mr. Quigley,” she said as she held up her valise and her black bag, which contained medical supplies.

“What?  I thought your wire said you would be staying for Christmas and into the New Year?”

“I plan to, unless Papa throws a fit and tosses me out the door.”

“That ain’t much in the way of clothes to stay for two weeks,” Drew pointed out the obvious.

“My needs aren’t great, Mr. Quigley.  Doctors don’t make a great deal of money, you know.”  As it was, she’d barely scraped together enough money to pay for her ticket to get here, and she’d skipped a lot of meals on the way.  As if to prove what she said, her stomach growled impatiently.

Drew made a decision, one that would upset the old man further, he supposed, but damned if he cared.  “To tell the truth, ma’am, I missed lunch and we have us a long trip.  Would you mind joining me for a bite to eat before we set out?  It might be after dark by the time we get there, but I give you my word I’m a gentleman.”

She mentally calculated the money in her handbag and nodded.  She didn’t want to faint from hunger and she needed something on her stomach when she faced her cantankerous parent.  “Is Sally still in business?” she asked wistfully.

“She sure is,” Drew said with a smile.  He took her arm and led her down the street and around the corner.  He opened the door and the bell jingled, just as Chris remembered from when she was a girl.

“Christmas Carol Peterson!  Look at you!”  A robust woman with silver streaks in her once black hair came from the kitchen and greeted her with a wide smile.  “Why, you are a beautiful woman, honey!  How long has it been?” Sally asked, giving Chris a hearty hug.

“Ten years, Sally, and I have truly missed your cooking.”

“You just sit down right here and I’ll take care of you, honey.  Drew, it’s good to see you, too.  Abraham send you in to town to fetch Christmas Carol home?”

“Sally, Papa is still cantankerous as ever.  Mr. Quigley will probably lose his job for being so kind to me.”

“Your Papa isn’t in any shape to fire Drew,” Sally said with her usual bluntness.  “I’m glad you came, honey.  It’s time you two made peace with each other.”

“I want that, Sally,” Chris said quietly, knowing in her heart it was the truth.

“You’re a full fledged doctor now, huh?” Sally asked, obviously impressed.

“Yes, I am.”  Chris smiled at the woman.  “Would you like to see my diploma?”  She opened her black bag and produced the document for the older woman’s scrutiny.  “A lot of hard work, but worth it, Sally.  I love being a doctor and helping people.”

“Your Mama, bless her soul, would be so proud of you, honey.”

“Yes, I believe she would be,” Chris agreed with a smile.  Her mother was a midwife and delivered babies and helped nurse others through illnesses, until she took ill herself and wasted away.  She knew her Mama would be proud of her, and thinking of her mother through the years of hard work and study gave her the strength to persevere against all odds.  “Sally, I am famished!” she said with a laugh, “And poor Mr. Quigley missed lunch.  He had some trouble with the Gangers, too.  I guess they are still up to bullying the folks around here…?”

“Someone needs to take a buggy whip to those two miscreants!” Sally huffed.  “You kids just sit put and I’ll feed you in no time at all.”  She bustled back into the kitchen and they heard her giving orders to dish up big helpings of chicken and noodles over mashed potatoes and add extra biscuits and gravy.  Sally came hurrying with glasses of milk and after she put them on the table, she had the grace to blush.  “Oh, maybe you’d rather have coffee, Christmas Carol?  I keep forgetting you’re all grown up now.  Drew, here, likes milk with his meals.”

“I do, too, Sally.  Maybe some coffee with pie after we eat?” Chris said hopefully, not about to hurt Sally’s feelings.  She didn’t often indulge in her love of milk.  The family she boarded with needed the milk from their only cow for their children.

“Of course.”  Sally hurried into the kitchen and returned with their steaming hot food and placed it in front of them with a flourish.  “Now you two eat up.”

“Sally, we was here first!” a man seated at another table complained.

“You didn’t just get off the stage after ten years away, Phineas Turner.  Hold your horses and I’ll get your plates right now.”  Sally was the same Sally Chris remembered and she smiled happily.

“You sure aren’t what I expected,” Drew said, and when her flashing green eyes looked at him disapprovingly, he realized he’d put his foot in his mouth.  “What I mean… I expected you to be… different…” his voice trailed off.  “I sure didn’t say that right, ma’am.  It sounded like an insult and all I wanted to say is that you’re nice as can be and right pretty, too.”

Chris looked at him and could see that he was sincere.  She smiled and said, “Thank you, Mr. Quigley.”

“Please call me Drew.  Mr. Quigley was my Granddad who raised me.”

“I’d like it if you would call me Chris,” she told him shyly.  “Most folks around here will call me Christmas Carol, and to tell the truth, it’s a little embarrassing.  Papa was so excited that I was born on Christmas morning that he named me before Mama could stop him.  He used to love Christmas and he went out of his way to make it special for me since it was my birthday, too.”

“Do you go by Chris back east?” Drew asked curiously, wanting to know more about the woman who had the courage to defy Abraham Peterson and go off on her own to become a doctor against his wishes.  He’d promptly disowned his only child for daring to have a mind of her own.

“My friends call me CC,” she admitted.  “It’s a bit deceptive on my shingle, but most folks are too polite to storm out of the office when they realize that CC is a woman instead of a man.  A few of them even return,” she smiled.

“Why don’t you come back here to live?  Doc Smith died last year and the town needs a doc real bad.”

“Papa would have a fit, that’s why,” she stated, eating another bite of her food.  “This is delicious, Drew.  Sally’s cooking is even better than I remembered.”  She did not wish to discuss her decision not to live and work here…  If her Papa forbade her to do so, no one would dare cross him… Not when he owned half the town, and the other half needed the others to support their endeavors.

Drew nodded politely and tried to hide his amusement as she ate with enthusiasm.  It was as plain as the crooked nose on his face that the redhead hadn’t eaten much of anything since undertaking the trip.  She was almost too thin and needed to fill out some, and he would have a word with the housekeeper and see to it that she fixed plenty of food for the lady doctor.  He also had a few words to say to Abraham about permitting his daughter to live in poverty when he had more than he knew what to do with.

Chris knew her manners were appalling, but she couldn’t help stuffing herself, and when Sally brought her a large piece of pumpkin pie with whipped cream on top, she ate every last sweet bite.  “Oh, Sally, this is the best meal I’ve had in over ten years, and I’m not exaggerating.  You are truly the best.”

“Thank you, honey.  I’m going to send home a pumpkin pie for your Papa.  I miss seeing Abraham come into town.”

“I’m sure Papa would like that, Sally.  He always did have a fondness for your baking,” Chris said politely.

“You are still the same sweet Christmas Carol in spite of that education, honey.”  Sally gave her another hug and whispered.  “Welcome home, and you think about staying here where you belong.  Your Papa needs you now even if he is too stubborn to admit it.”  She glared at Drew.  “Put away your money, young man, before I take a wooden spoon to your backside.  Christmas Carole is like one of my own family and I’ll not take a cent.”

“Thank you, Sally,” Chris said with a laugh of appreciation.  “I feel as though I can face Papa now.”

A few minutes later they were loaded on the buckboard and her valise and medical bag rested in the back beside the covered pie Sally sent with them.  They were only a few minutes out of town when Drew noticed Chris shivering.  He reached under the seat and pulled out a heavy blanket.  “Wrap up in this, Chrissy.  It will keep you warm.”

“I didn’t expect it to be so cold here,” she admitted, trying not to smile at his use of the nickname her Mama always used.

“It is colder than normal,” he agreed.  “Some of the old-timers are predicting snow for Christmas.”

“That would be unusual,” she commented and then changed the subject, “How did you come to work for Papa, Drew?”

“Abraham saved me from hanging.  A Sheriff up by Grayling was shot, and I matched the description of the man who did the shooting.  The posse was riled and wanted to take the law in their own hands.  Abraham came along just in time to tell them the shooter was behind bars.  He rode with me and the posse back to that town, to ‘keep them honest,’ as he tells it.  The Sheriff had regained consciousness by then and was able to clear me.  Abraham delivered the posse a good scold, and then offered me a job.  I was at loose ends and since I owed the man, I signed on.  That was two years ago.  When he had his stroke, he asked me to take over running the place.  I’ve done my best to run it as I would if it was mine.”

“It sounds like you’ve been a good friend to Papa, Drew.  Thank you.”

“I didn’t know about you until the wire came, Chrissy, or I would have written to you myself.  How did you find out?”

“Reverend Hartwell thought I should know.  I came as soon as it was possible.”  She’d sold a few things, quit her job with Doctor Smith, and packed everything she owned into the worn valise, not sure she would even have a place to stay once she got here.  Of course, she knew the good Reverend would offer her shelter if it came to that, but getting back east would be impossible without working to earn the fare.  Whether or not Abraham Peterson liked it, she was here for a visit.

“Not again!” she heard Drew mutter under his breath.  “They never give up.”

“Let me handle it, Drew,” she said softly.

“Absolutely not, young lady.  You stay right here on this seat and keep yourself wrapped in that blanket.  Once I knock their heads together, we’ll be on our way.”

“Don’t be ridiculous.  I can handle the matter without violence of any sort.”

“If you butt into this, Christmas Carol, I will turn you over my knee and spank you after I settle with them.”

“You wouldn’t dare spank me!”

“Want to bet?” he taunted.  “You sure couldn’t stop me, not as tiny as you are.”

“I might be small, but I can take care of myself, and if you even think to try spanking me, you’ll learn that the hard way!”  Her temper was flaring and she didn’t bother trying to check it.

“Haven’t you two boys had enough for one day?” Drew asked in an exaggerated drawl when the two rode right up to his side of the buckboard.

“We figured you need to learn some manners.  And once we learn you, we’ll learn the lady, too.”

“Francis Ganger, you were a bully as a little boy and you are still going around causing trouble for no good reason,” Chris stated.  “Marion, are you still doing everything Francis tells you to do?  How boring.  I would have thought you would grow up by now.”

“That you, Christmas Carol?”  Francis Ganger took his eyes off Drew to look at her closely. 

“You gonna sing for us, Christmas Carol?” Marion taunted.

Chris rolled her eyes.  “That might have been amusing when we were kids, but really, are you so stupid you think you can upset me now?  Get out of our way so we can get home.  It’s cold.”

“I could keep you warm, Christmas Carol.”  Francis leered at her.

“I would get more pleasure from a blanket, thank you very much,” she retorted, and then added, “I’m going to kick your butts if you don’t get out of our way now.”

“You lettin’ a girl fight for you, Quigley?” Marion jeered.

“No, the lady has just earned herself a trip over my knee,” he said with heartfelt emotion.

“She’ll kick your ass if you try that,” Francis predicted, and then laughed at the prospect.  “Old man Peterson taught her to fight dirty.”

“Yeah, we done told ‘er we’d get even someday, and it looks like someday is here right now.”  Marion reached for his gun and leveled it at her.  “Get on down, Christmas Carol, and hike up them skirts.”

“Yeah, your old man ain’t a threat no more.  Reckon we can take what we want and let Quigley here watch before we finish him.”

Drew was stunned when the redhead threw off the blanket and jumped down from the seat.  He was going to raise blisters on her fanny for not keeping her mouth shut like he told her to do.  If he tried to jump Francis, who was the closest, he could very well get himself shot.  Still, he had to do something to protect Chrissy.

“Get off your horse, Marion, and put that gun away.  Surely you aren’t afraid of an unarmed woman, are you?”

“No, I ain’t!”  He puffed out his chest, and then he holstered his gun and dismounted, walking toward Christmas Carol with a cocky strut. 

Drew realized that Francis’ attention was on his brother and Chris and he realized  he wouldn’t get a better chance.  He leapt from the buckboard and knocked Francis from his horse.  It wasn’t much of a fight.  Once punch and Francis was out cold.  He turned to go for Marion, but to his amazement, he was already lying on the ground, puking out his guts.

“You always were a stupid fool, Marion Ganger.  Stay away from me while I’m home or next time I will cut them off and make you eat them.”  Chris didn’t wait for Drew to help her.  She climbed on the buckboard and wrapped the blanket around her once more before sitting down and saying, “Let’s go, Drew.  They’ll both live, which is more than they deserve.  Some people just never grow up.”

Drew climbed up on the buckboard and took his seat.  He couldn’t remember the last time he was so angry with a female, but he clearly wanted to put his hand to Christmas Carol’s backside until she promised never to take such a risk again.  He took up the reins and drove in complete silence for the next hour to give his temper time to cool down.  Once he was sure he was in control of himself, he stopped the horses, set the brake and then looked at her.  “I promised you a spankin’ and you are goin’ to get a spankin’ to remember, little girl.”