The Christmas Bride - A Western Romance Novella (Book 4, Burnett Brides Series) (17 page)

Beth smiled. “It’s the same with us. Tanner may be the husband, but we’re a team, and we make decisions together that will affect our family.”

Tanner reached over and kissed her on the cheek. “My wife is my life, and I couldn’t imagine making a major decision without her support and love.”

Sarah glanced down at the baby in her arms. “Since the day we married, we made a vow to each other to always work out our problems. Tucker helps me make decisions about my medical practice, and he knows I don’t want him to take any unnecessary risks in his job. We’re a family, and he may be the head, but I’m the neck, and I support the head.”

Eugenia laughed at the way her medical doctor daughter-in-law phrased her response.

Tucker smiled at his wife and kissed the top of their baby’s head. “I just do what my wife tells me to do because it makes her happy.”

They all laughed, and Eugenia felt a piercing in her chest. Her children had done so much better than she had at this love thing. They were happy, and they had good spouses that she’d helped pick. They were married couples who worked together. What did she have?

“Mom, did you and Dad work together like us?” Tanner asked.

She laughed at the idea of her and Thomas working together. Their life had been good, but they’d never been a team. “No. If he were still alive, our marriage would be different. But I think the reason I can say that is because I’m not the woman he married. I’m so much stronger. I look around at my daughters-in-law, and I’m so grateful you married my sons. You’re strong, vibrant women who won’t let my boys get away with not working as a family, and I admire that in all of you.”

Rose stared at Eugenia. “You could have that, too.”

Eugenia stopped and considered her words.

“I think if you gave Wyatt even half a chance, he would give you the world, but not insist on his way all the time. As long as he was by your side, he’d be happy,” Rose said quietly.

Eugenia loved this girl who’d never had a family life of her own until Travis.

Rose looked at her. “Or would you rather spend the rest of your life alone? Never experiencing the love you obviously wanted for your children?”

Eugenia stopped. Was that true?

Why wasn’t she taking this chance? Did she want to live the rest of her life alone? Why couldn’t she let go of the past and give Wyatt a chance? Why was she letting Thomas keep her from finding love again?

They said people died from broken hearts. Now she understood why. Now she knew the true meaning of love. She put her head in her hands.

“Mom?” Travis asked and put his hand on her shoulder.

“I’m the biggest damn fool. I let a good man get away from me.”

#

Christmas morning Wyatt sat drinking coffee, reading a book while he waited for the men to gather for Christmas lunch. Since his wife’s death, they gathered in the barn to celebrate, and the cook made lunch for everyone.

This morning he sat wondering what Eugenia was doing, his heart filled with sadness that she’d refused to see how their life together would have been good. That was the past, and he’d made the decision to move on, though it would take awhile to get back to normal. He doubted he could look at Eugenia again and not feel sadness that she’d thrown away his love.

He took a sip of coffee, hearing his hounds howling. The sun was shining bright, but the temperature was cold outside. This wasn’t a simple alert to warn off a varmint. No this was a warning. He stood and glanced out the window and saw two buggies coming down the lane.

Burnett buggies. His heart started beating wildly, but his mind refused to give hope. What the hell was going on?

He strode to the door and threw it open. The preacher was with them? Travis Burnett pulled the brake on the wagon and then helped his mother down. She reached back into the wagon and pulled something out.

A casserole dish.

For a moment, his heart stopped, and then she came to the door where he stood waiting while her family remained in the buggy.

She stopped before him. “Merry Christmas, Wyatt.”

“Merry Christmas, Eugenia,” he said, looking down at the dish, wondering if his old heart could take the disappointment if this didn’t mean what he hoped it meant.

She stared at him, her blue eyes misty with tears.

“What’s that?”

“The last casserole any woman’s bringing you.”

His heart was pounding so hard he almost felt faint. “That’s a great Christmas present, Eugenia. The best.”

She held up her hand. “Let me say my piece.” She took a deep breath. “Sometimes I’m a stubborn woman who doesn’t know what she wants until she’s lost it. I had to learn to let go of the past and remember that I’m a different woman today than I was twenty-five years ago. I’m stronger. I’m better.”

He nodded but didn’t say anything. She had to tell him. She had to say the words or there could be nothing.

“If you promise me that our marriage would be a partnership with both of us making the decisions-neither one answering for the other-then I want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Oh, Eugenia,” he said, gathering her up in his arms and hugging her to his chest. “God, I never thought you would come to your damn senses.”

Against his chest she said, “I love you, Wyatt Jones, and these last few days without you have been hard. I’ve missed you more than my next breath. Please tell me you still want to marry me.”

He pushed her arms out and looked into her eyes. “Right now. Right this minute,” he said, kissing her on the lips.

Cheers and applause could be heard coming from the wagons, and Wyatt felt like his soul was rejoicing. He broke the kiss.

“Oh, hell, honey, I’ve been waiting for your casserole for months. Took you long enough.”

“I know, Wyatt. I brought the preacher man along if you’re serious about getting married,” she said, a wistful hesitancy in her voice.

He laughed. “Tell them to come on in and let’s get this wedding started.”

“Can we go back to Tucker and Sarah’s for Christmas lunch? I’d like to spend our first holiday together with my family.”

“If that’s what you want, that’s what we’ll do,” he said, excited enough that he could barely keep from jumping up and down. He thought he’d burst from happiness.

She smiled up at him and caressed the side of his face with her hand. “I woke up this morning and wanted with all my heart to be your Christmas bride.”

“I love you, Eugenia. I would have made you a bride months ago, sweetheart.”

The End

Author Bio

Sylvia McDaniel
is a best-selling, award-winning author of historical romance and contemporary romance novels.  Known for her sweet, funny, family-oriented romances,  Sylvia is the author of The Burnett Brides a western historical western series, The Cuvier Widows, a Louisiana historical series, and several short contemporary romances.

Former President of the Dallas Area Romance Authors, a member of the Romance Writers of America
®,
and a member of Novelists Inc, her novel, A Hero’s Heart was a 1996 Golden Heart Finalist. Several other books have placed or won in the San Antonio Romance Authors Contest, LERA Contest, and she was a Golden Network Finalist.

Married for nearly twenty years to her best friend, they have two dachshunds that are beyond spoiled and a good-looking, grown son who thinks there’s no place like home. She loves gardening, shopping, knitting and football (Cowboys and Bronco’s fan), but not necessarily in that order.

Currently she’s written sixteen novels and is hard at work on number seventeen. Look for her the first Tuesday of every month at the Plotting Princesses blogspot
http://plottingprincesses.blogspot.com/
.

Be sure to sign up for her newsletter to learn about new releases, contests and every month a new subscriber is entered into a drawing for a free book.
http://www.SylviaMcDaniel.com
 
or
www.facebook.com/SylviaMcDanielAuthor

You can write to Sylvia at P.O. Box 2542, Coppell, TX 75019 or visit her web site:
http://www.SylviaMcDaniel.com

If you enjoyed The Christmas Bride check out these previews of three more books in the
Burnett Bride Series
:

Preview The Burnett Brides Series:

The Outlaw Takes A Bride

EXCERPT:

“"I've Waited Years for a Husband."

Beth stopped in front of Tanner, her hazel eyes flashing indignantly. "To have someone who would wake up in my arms each morning, a baby to rock to sleep. Isn't that what all women dream of? So why am I so bad for wanting the same things?"

"You're not as long as you know I'm not good husband material." Tanner took a deep breath and tried not to reflect on what he could see beneath her sheer nightgown. "But you think you can soothe my hurts and make me care about you enough that I'll change my ways."

"I don' t give a fig about your hurts."

Tanner didn't want to stop. "You think that beneath this rough exterior there's a man worth saving, worth turning into a husband. You're wrong."

God, how he wanted her even when she was pushing him, making him feel things he'd long forgotten. He still wanted to feel her arms around him, even while he was trying his best to push her away.

"I have a man waiting for me. Why would I want a coldhearted bastard like you?"

"Because the man waiting for you, doesn't make you feel like this," he said as he pulled her into his arms.

––– end of excerpt –––

Available now on Amazon

The Outlaw Takes A Bride

The Marshal Takes A Bride

EXCERPT:

A RELUCTANT BRIDE

At the sound of the rapid knock, Tucker glanced up from the paperwork on his desk. Why did the sight of Sarah always cause his heart to give a small leap? She stood in the doorway, her face red, her body taut, something was dreadfully wrong.

“Can I come in?” Her voice was polite and brisk.

Tucker jumped up from behind the desk and hurried around to greet her. “What’s wrong? You wouldn’t have come if there wasn’t a problem”

He could see the tension in her body in the way she walked toward him carrying a small tin.

“What’s in there?” he asked, afraid of the answer.

“This is what’s the matter,” she said, laying the tin on the desk and pulling off the lid. Then she reached inside a layer of white tissue paper and pulled out his mother’s bridal veil.

Tucker cringed. “I tried to warn you.”

Sarah watched him, a frustrated expression on her beautiful face. “I was bluntly honest with her, and she didn’t hear me. She had the gall to ask me to wear the thing when I marry you!”

Tucker stared at her, thoughts racing through his mind. How could he honor his plan to help Sarah find another man when his own mother was so determined to see him wed to Sarah? And when all he could think of was the chance to kiss her again.…