whole lot to say on the subject. “Girls, there’s not a man I know who wouldn’t be happy to have two girls like you.”
“I guess Ma could always marry Casey,” Annie mused.
Casey. Clint remembered that was the man at Amelia’s ranch.
“We’ll talk to our pa. I’m sure he’ll want your ma,” Boone offered.
Clint didn’t like the sound of that. “You children need to leave things like this up to the adults.”
Boone looked up at Clint. “You don’t think Pa would like their ma?”
Clint couldn’t lie to the boy. “That’s not what I’m saying. But in situations like this, women like to make up their own minds if they want to marry again.” Clint questioned his own motives for objecting to a hypothetical union between Amelia and Whitt.
“Do you have a wife, Mr. Mitchum?” Boone asked.
“No, I don’t.”
“Then why don’t you marry their ma?” Bo asked.
Chapter 4
Throughout dinner, Clint thought about Bo’s question. Thankfully, the Nelsons’ grandchildren joined them at the creek and the conversation turned from marriage to Christmas. The children reminisced about past Christmases, when times were not so dire. Clint could hear the excitement in their voices as they recalled happier times in their homes on Christmas morning.
“Ma told us we’ll celebrate this year having dinner with good friends,” Katie stated.
“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