“We’re lucky we still have family, even if none of us can afford presents this year,” Mark, the Nelsons’ grandson, commented.
Clint asked the children what they would ask for if they could have one present this year.
“No one gets presents this year,” Bo reminded him.
“I know, but I’d still like to hear what everyone would want if they could receive one present.” Clint thought he would get them started by saying, “I’d like to have new martingales for my horses if I could have a present this year.”
“I’d just want Lucy back, even if your ma couldn’t make her beautiful again,” Annie told him.
“Who is Lucy?” Clint asked.
“My doll.”
Until that moment, Clint had forgotten about the doll he’d stuffed in his saddlebag when he’d left his ranch. It was Annie’s doll.
“I’d like a puppy,” Katie shared.
“Have you ever had a dog?” Clint asked.
Katie and Annie both shook their heads. “Casey always said we couldn’t afford to feed one.”
Clint refrained from commenting on what he was thinking. If they were his girls, they’d have a dog no matter what. He wondered if Casey had plans to replace their father.
Clint ruffled Bo’s hair. “And what would you dream about having?”
Bo chewed on his lip for a moment before he responded. “I want a billy goat.”
The girls seemed to like Bo’s response, saying they had never seen a goat before.
Boone agreed with his brother. “I want a goat, too.”
Clint looked at Hannah and Bonnie. “And what about you two pretty little ladies?”
Hannah wanted a new dress and Bonnie wanted a doll.
“Mark, what would you like to have?” Clint asked.
“A new pair of boots. All I ever had was my brother’s hand-me-downs, and they are too small now. Maybe next year we can ask for a present.”
Clint had already noticed the condition of Mark’s well-worn shoes. “My ma always told me that we should always believe in the magic of Christmas.”
Annie furrowed her forehead. “What does that mean?”
“I think the magic of Christmas means many things. It’s having a family who loves you and friends to share a meal. When you are older, you will have fond memories of family and friends and the times you spent together. Sometimes dreaming of things you want is the fun part. It also means that anything is possible at Christmas.”
“But everyone is so sad now,” Katie remarked.
Clint understood how difficult it was to think of anything but what was lost. “That’s true, honey. But you still have people who love you, and you are making more friends now. We all have so much to be thankful for.”
Annie placed her small hand in Clint’s. “Mr. Mitchum, I hope you get the nightingales for your horses.”
Clint chuckled and gave her tiny hand a gentle squeeze. “Martingales. I’ll show you what they are later.”
* * *
During dinner, Clint sat near Amelia and the girls. He listened to Annie and Katie tell Amelia about their conversation that day. To his surprise, they remembered what all the children wanted if they could have one present for Christmas.
“And what did you wish for?” Amelia asked.
“I miss Lucy. All I want is Lucy,” Annie replied.
Amelia touched her daughter’s cheek. “I know you do, honey.”
“I want a puppy,” Katie added.
“A puppy would be nice,” Amelia agreed.
“Mr. Mitchum wants nightingales for his horses.”
“Nightingales?” Amelia glanced at Clint, and he grinned at her.
Katie corrected her sister. “They are martingales, and Mr. Mitchum is going to show us what they are after dinner.”
Amelia patiently listened as Annie and Katie recounted their entire conversation with Clint. Instead of sounding disappointed there would be no presents this year, they seemed content to believe in the magic of Christmas. As the girls prattled on about Clint, Amelia found herself glancing his way. All the boys were now surrounding him, asking him question after question and hanging on his every word. Like the girls, the boys were just as smitten with the tall cowboy. And who could blame them? Clint was the type of man she’d dreamed of meeting one day. Of course, that was before she’d married, before her fanciful dreams had faded away. While she didn’t regret the choices she’d made, she still wished she’d known the love of a man. A man like Clint. Everyone told her that few men would want to marry a woman with a ready-made family. She loved the girls with all her heart, and if she had to spend the remainder of her life without a husband, she would still have her girls.
The magic of Christmas. How nice that sounded. She was thankful that Clint had given the children hope. If she believed in those things now, she’d dream of a man like Clint falling in love with her. A man who could put a smile on the faces of children; a man who encouraged children to dream regardless of the discouraging facts of their situations; a man who made the children feel safe. Clint managed to do this in a short period of time even though he was dealing with his own worries about his mother. Men like Clint were few and far between in her opinion.
Katie and Annie didn’t really know their father. Amelia doubted if he’d ever spent more than five minutes alone with the girls in their lives. It wasn’t his fault; he’d been away at war, and when he came home, he was ill until the day he died. The girls hadn’t known a man like Clint, a man who would take the time to really talk with them. Amelia smiled to herself, thinking about Clint walking back from the lake tonight with Annie sitting on his shoulders, laughing as though she was having the best time of her short life.
* * *
Annie and Katie were helping Amelia clean the pans after dinner when Clint approached them, his saddlebag slung over one shoulder. “Miss Annie, I have something in my saddlebag you need to see.”
Looking up at him, Annie’s eyes widened in surprise. “What is it?”
Clint
