The Christmas Bargain (36 page)

“That you love me almost as much as I love you,” she whispered, meeting his searching gaze with assurance.

“I’ve waited forever to hear you say those words,” Luke said, kissing her neck.

“I love you, Luke Granger, with all my heart,” Filly said, feeling light-headed from Luke’s thorough attention to her neck, his touch searing her skin.

“I love you, my wild Filly,” Luke said, kissing along her high neckline before taking her lips in a demanding kiss unlike anything Filly had ever experienced or imagined.

He felt Filly stiffen and pulled back his head. “What’s wrong, darlin’?” he asked, concerned he had frightened her with his passion.

“You never finished our kissing lessons,” she said, tilting her head to study his full lips, not looking into his eyes as she spoke. “I hope you don’t mind teaching me because I…I don’t…know exactly where to go from here.”

The heat from Luke’s eyes was enough to make Filly feel hot and cold all at the same time. A shiver swept through her as Luke teased her ear with a kiss. “I’ll be glad to show you,” he said in a husky, deep voice. “But I want to give you something first.”

Walking to the nightstand on his side of the bed, Luke opened the drawer and removed a small box, tied with a green ribbon. Taking Filly’s hand he tugged her down on the settee in front of the fire. Holding the box out to her, he wore a boyish grin. “Go ahead, open it.”

Filly tugged on the ribbon then opened the box to reveal her mother’s little heart-shaped jewelry box. A new hinge had been made with such care it matched the box perfectly. No one would know it wasn’t original to the piece. Swallowing back tears, she took a moment before she could speak. “Thank you for having this repaired. I couldn’t find it the other day and decided I must have left it downstairs, but I’ve been so busy, I forgot to look. You can’t begin to know how much this means to me.”

“Open it, Filly girl,” Luke urged, watching Filly’s face to gauge her pleasure in the gift.

Opening the box, a beautiful emerald ring glistened in the firelight. “Oh, Luke,” was all Filly could manage to say.

Taking the ring from the box, Luke slid off the settee onto one knee, then gently pushed the ring onto her left-hand ring finger, above the gold band that he placed there on their wedding day.

With his forefinger, he lifted her chin and got lost in her eyes. “My grandfather gave this ring to my grandmother the day they wed. He loved her fully and faithfully until death separated them. Grandmama gave me the ring and told me to give it to the girl who captured my heart. Filly, it’s yours. You’ve captured me completely. Will you be my wife? My true wife, forever and always? I promise to love you until my last breath.”

“Yes, Luke. Forever and always. Nothing would make me happier,” Filly said, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. It was almost more than she could fathom to know Luke wanted her as his wife, that he truly loved her.

He picked her up and resumed his seat with her in his lap, holding her close and soaking in her presence, her love.

Filly’s head rested against his chest and she could feel his heart pounding against her cheek. Looking up through lowered lashes, she studied this man she loved. This good, strong man who gave her a home, a name, her self-respect, and his heart. Luke restored something that she hadn’t even realized she’d lost. By marrying her, by loving her, he’d given her back hope, trust, and a sense of self-worth.

Raising her lips, she gently brushed his and he pulled her tighter against him. Luke deepened the kiss until Filly felt dizzy with emotion.

Without saying a word, Luke slowly removed her shoes, then slid his hands inside her skirts, under her layers of petticoats, pushing up the legs of her bloomers until he found the top of her stockings. He first rolled down one, then the other, feeling his passion for his wife multiply at an uncontrollable speed as his hands slowly ran down the smooth skin of her long legs.

His next kiss left them both breathless and filled with a longing that couldn’t be denied or subdued.

Setting her on her feet, Filly squeezed his hands and gave him a trembling smile.

Leaning into Luke when he stood, she kissed the dimple in his chin, surprising herself with her boldness.

“I dreamed about kissing you right there,” she whispered shyly, making Luke’s heart race in double time while he felt like his internal temperature was reaching the boiling point.

“What else did you dream about?” Luke asked, his hands tracing circles on her back as he held her in the circle of his arms.

“About seeing you,” Filly said, slowly tugging off his shirt and letting it fall to the floor. “Just like this.”

“Are you sure, Filly?” he rasped in a voice deep with emotion. At her nod, he gently set her back from him. He carefully removed her mother’s cameo from the high neck of her dress and placed it inside the little jewelry box. His long, calloused fingers then went to work on the buttons running down the front of her dress. He could feel Filly tremble, which made him work all the faster.

Once the dress was undone, he helped her take it off. The speed at which he wished to proceed was hampered by the layers of clothing proper ladies wore.

“Blast, but it is a lot of work getting a woman out of her clothes,” Luke said, his tongue planted in his cheek as he tugged at her petticoats. He considered slicing through the many layers covering Filly with his knife, but knew that wouldn’t sit well with his practical bride.

Filly laughed, which made him chuckle, and they both relaxed. They were, after all, good friends who had learned to like and respect each other before they acknowledged the love that they shared.

“If you don’t hurry along,” Filly taunted, shooting him an impish grin over her shoulder, “it will be time for me to put all this back on and cook breakfast.”

“Why must you women wear so much frippery? Balloon sleeves, bustles and corsets, tucks and pleats, petticoats and crinolines, and who knows what else. It’s a confounded nuisance, that’s what it is.”

“I haven’t heard you belittling fashion before,” Filly said, stating a fact. Luke often offered compliments on her lovely wardrobe.

Luke, who’s only concern about fashion, up until he met Filly, was how pretty clothes made a girl look, took a great deal of pride in the appearance of his wife. He liked seeing her dressed as a well-heeled banker’s wife. Of course, he also loved it when she wore her riding skirt and boots and accompanied him outside. He was fairly certain he would best love seeing her in nothing at all.

 “That’s because I wasn’t going to get to see you without your clothes on before. It’s like having the most wonderful present in the world and not being able to get the wrappings torn off,” Luke said, finally realizing he could open the corset from the front. He quickly had it off and went to work on removing Filly’s petticoats.

When he was done, she stood before him in her light chemise that just reached the top of her thighs. Luke had envisioned how those long legs would look uncovered and wasn’t disappointed by the sight.

Carefully, he pulled the pins from her hair then buried his hands into the curling mass as it tumbled down her back and over her shoulders. Running his hands through it, he groaned. “I’ve wanted to do that again for so long, Filly. To watch your hair fall around your shoulders. Your hair is one of the first things I noticed about you.”

“You did?” she asked in surprise, pleased by the feel of Luke’s hands entangled in her hair.

“I did. I thought it was beautiful that first meal I shared with you at the parsonage.”

Filly blushed and Luke gave her a wicked grin.

“If that makes you blush, I can’t wait to see what the rest of our lesson does,” Luke said, staring at her with a heated look of wanting.

Filly smacked playfully at his arm.

“You know what else I noticed about you? Your eyes,” Luke said, staring into the emerald depths, glowing from the fire and a light within. “Once you finally looked at me, I think I fell into those emerald pools and have been swimming around in there since.”

“Why didn’t you tell me?” she asked, rubbing her hands across the muscles of his chest and broad shoulders. “I think I’ve been in love with you since the day you walked in the door with Pa.”

“I didn’t want to frighten you, scare you off. Then I was afraid that you didn’t feel the same,” Luke said, nuzzling her neck. “I’m quite pleased that you do, Mrs. Granger.”

He trailed scorching kisses along her shoulder and down her arm to her fingers, kissing the tip of each one.

“Luke,” Filly whispered, overwhelmed by new and strange sensations.

“Hmm?” Luke said, lifting her in his arms and carrying her to the bed.

“I’d like to finish those lessons now, if you don’t mind,” Filly said, kissing the dimple in his chin. “I’ve got a bargain to uphold, you know.”

“My beautiful, spirited, Filly,” Luke said, gently laying her down on the bed. “You are without a doubt the best bargain I’ve ever made. Merry Christmas, darlin’.”

###

Author’s Note

When I decided to write a Victorian Christmas story, I wanted to use a real town from the 1890s. After doing a little research, I settled on Hardman, Oregon.

Located in Eastern Oregon,  about 20 miles from present-day Heppner, Hardman is now a ghost town.

Around twenty to thirty residents still call Hardman home, but for those driving through the town, there isn’t a lot left from the days when it was a thriving community.

I used details from this website for my research about Hardman:

http://www.ghosttowngallery.com/htme/hardman.htm

Although this is a work of fiction and most of the town in
The Christmas Bargain
exists only in my active imagination, the town did boast a skating rink, four churches, a school and newspaper office in the 1880s.

John F. Royse, reportedly one of the most successful farmers in the area, and his brother, were said to be the first permanent settlers in the Hardman country.

Originally named Dairyville, the town was popular as a freighting center and saw promising growth in its early days. Dairyville became known as Raw Dog, while a mile away a rival settlement sprang up, known as Yellow Dog.

Stagecoaches and wagon trains traveling north and south through eastern Oregon and Washington found a convenient stopping point in both Raw Dog and Yellow Dog. The rivalry between the two locations escalated as they competed over which town would secure the stagecoach depot for the area.  When Raw Dog received a permanent stagecoach station, the two towns became one, known as Dogtown.

The town’s name changed to Hardman in 1881 when David N. Hardman, an old pioneer farmer, moved to town and brought the post office with him, by consent of the government, that he operated previously from his farm. The town took the name of the post office and became generally known as Hardman.

It was rumored the railroad would go through Hardman in the late 1880s. When it was routed through Heppner instead, it was a devastating blow to the community, effectively stunting future growth of the town.

By the 1920s, trucks replaced horses, mail routes changed and Hardman began its decline.

The last business in Hardman closed in 1968.

Hardman is a class D ghost town which means it is a semi ghost town with a small resident population and many abandoned buildings.

Sugar Cookies

These soft, delicious cookies are a holiday staple at our house. Enjoy!