Doc Griffin's Christmas Sleigh: A Wyldhaven Series Christmas Romance Novella Read online

  By

  THE WYLDHAVEN SERIES

  by Lynnette Bonner

  Not a Sparrow Falls - BOOK ONE

  On Eagles’ Wings - BOOK TWO

  Beauty from Ashes - BOOK THREE

  Consider the Lilies - BOOK FOUR

  Novellas Releasing During the 2019 Holiday Season

  Sheriff Reagan’s Christmas Boots - BOOK FIVE (Novella)

  Doc Griffin’s Christmas Sleigh - BOOK SIX (Novella)

  Deputy Joe’s Christmas Saddle - BOOK SEVEN (Novella)

  Marshal Zane’s Christmas Horse - BOOK EIGHT (Novella)

  Washington Nolan’s Christmas Watch - BOOK NINE (Novella)

  Parson Clay’s Christmas Pup - BOOK TEN (Novella)

  Kin Davis’ Christmas Send-Off - BOOK ELEVEN (Novella)

  Songs in the Night - BOOK TWELVE – Coming Soon!

  OTHER HISTORICAL BOOKS

  by Lynnette Bonner

  THE SHEPHERD’S HEART SERIES

  Rocky Mountain Oasis - BOOK ONE

  High Desert Haven - BOOK TWO

  Fair Valley Refuge - BOOK THREE

  Spring Meadow Sanctuary - BOOK FOUR

  Find all other books by Lynnette Bonner at:

  www.lynnettebonner.com

  Doc Griffin’s Christmas Sleigh

  WYLDHAVEN, Book 6

  Published by Serene Lake Publishing

  Copyright © 2019 by Lynnette Bonner. All rights reserved.

  Cover design by Lynnette Bonner of Indie Cover Design, images ©

  www.depositphotos.com, File: # 9226384 - Sleigh

  www.depositphotos.com, File: # 12728132 - Bridge

  www.periodimages.com, File: # 8271 - Cowboy

  Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

  Doc Griffin’s Christmas Sleigh is a work of fiction. References to real people, events, establishments, organizations, or locales are intended only to provide a sense of authenticity and are used fictitiously. All other characters, incidents, and dialogue are drawn from the author’s imagination.

  Chapter 1

  Fat snowflakes drifted lazily against the gray pallor of the winter sky outside Dixie Griffin’s bedroom window. She lounged against the pillows Flynn had propped against the headboard and studied the tiny round face of the newborn cradled in her arms. So much awe and wonder coursed through her. She’d never imagined she could feel a love like this—so protective, so fierce, so all-consuming.

  She reached a tentative finger to caress the chubby cheek. Tiny rosebud lips just above a dimpled chin, and long dark lashes that lay on pink cheeks already had Flynn grumbling about how many times he was going to have to clean his shotgun to keep suitors at bay.

  Dixie smiled. She had a daughter. They had a daughter.

  Dixie looked up at Flynn, wondering if he shared in the feelings of overwhelming love washing over her.

  The look on his face showed he did. He sat on the edge of the bed one arm propped beyond her, his gaze fastened on their two-day-old daughter.

  “I still can’t believe how beautiful she is,” he whispered. “Her face is shaped just like yours.”

  Dixie smirked. “Dr. Griffin! I know that I’ve put on some weight during the last few months, but there’s no need for you to point out such.”

  His eyes widened a little as they darted to hers, but then he noticed her teasing expression and grinned at her. “I meant no such thing, and well you know it, woman.” He leaned close to leave a lingering kiss against her lips.

  Dixie sighed in satisfaction. She nestled her head against the pillows. “What are we going to call her? We really need to decide.”

  This time it was Flynn who reached out to caress one knuckle across the baby’s cheek. “I’ve been pondering. And I like the name Ellery Rose.”

  Dixie smiled. “It’s beautiful. And Rose will like that.” Dixie’s mother-in-law from her first marriage was more like a ma to her. It pleased her to honor the woman in this way.

  He nodded. “It’s a good name.”

  “It is, indeed.”

  Flynn stood then and gathered up the dishes from the soup Rose had brought a while ago. “I’ll just run these down and set them to soaking.”

  Dixie felt her face heat. Cleaning up was women’s work, even if Flynn was a doctor who’d likely done many more menial tasks for his patients. “I can do that later.”

  Flynn shook his head. “You just worry about taking care of that little one.”

  With that he left the room.

  Dixie returned her focus to the baby. This time she stroked the dimple in the pudgy chin. She bent to whisper conspiratorially into the infant’s ear. “So Ellery Rose, you have no idea what your early arrival has done to my Christmas plans for your papa.”

  Dixie settled more comfortably into the pillows and turned her focus toward the ceiling.

  The babe hadn’t been expected for nigh on three weeks.

  Earlier in the season, Dixie had convinced Flynn to allow her to take a quick trip to Seattle to do some Christmas shopping. She was supposed to leave the day after tomorrow. In reality the trip was not to do Christmas shopping, for she had already done her shopping. The trip was to pick up the new sleigh that she had purchased for Flynn from the sleigh maker in Seattle. She’d planned to make sure it was loaded properly on the train, and escort it on the return trip. Kin Davis had promised to meet her at the station with a horse and drive her to the Nolan’s place, since they had agreed to keep the sleigh until Christmas day. She had planned everything so perfectly, and the snows had even arrived right on time this year, much to her delight. Everything would have been perfect. Except those kids had broken into the kitchen and held her at gunpoint, which sent her into early labor, and now here she was.

  She blew out a breath. With the bitterly cold winds and potential for more snow any day now, she could not take the baby on such a trip, no matter that most of it would have been on the train.

  Yes indeed, Miss Ellery’s arrival had put a kink in her plans.

  She tried to think what she ought to do. She would just have to send a wire. She would ask the sleigh maker if she could pick up the gift later in the spring.

  But that presented her with another problem. She had hoped to give the sleigh to Flynn for this winter season. Well, for what remained of it. And not having the sleigh to give him meant that she would need to come up with some other gift. And she had no idea what that would be.

  She spoke once more to the baby. “What are we going to do about papa’s Christmas present, little one?”

  Ellery Rose’s only response was to slurp on her fist.

  Dixie chuckled.

  Dixie had hoped to get right over to the telegram office the next morning. Flynn normally left on his rounds, first thing. But today he had dawdled and fussed over the baby until Dixie was practically ready to shoo him out the door. Then it had been time to help Susan and Belle with the boardinghouse breakfast, which she had somehow managed between bouts of feeding and changing Ellery. But the morning had slipped away and now it was almost noon! If she didn’t go immediately, Flynn would be back from his rounds!

  “You’re sure you’ll be all right with her for a few minutes?” she asked Rose.

  Rose sank into the rocking chair by their living room’s wood stove and stretched out her arms. “Of course, we’ll be fine. We’ll just sit here by the fire and have ourselves a little woman to woman chat.”

  Dixie smiled. She wasn’t sure why she was so rel
uctant to leave the infant to simply walk across the street. She bent and laid the baby in Rose’s arms. “All right. I’ll be back just as soon as I can.” She tapped the baby on her nose. “You be good for Grandma.”

  With that, she hurried down to the front door. She only felt a little guilty as she searched the street to make sure Flynn hadn’t returned earlier than expected. After all, what was the Christmas season without a few secrets? And that man was a hard one to keep secrets from since he knew everyone and talked to so many people every day. It was why she’d purposely ordered his gift all the way from Seattle, so that no one would accidentally let something slip.

  Seeing he wasn’t in sight, she dashed across the street. The bell above the post office door jangled as she opened it.

  Ben King looked up from where he stood sorting mail into the delivery pouches. “Mrs. Griffin. Good morning, ma’am. I hear congratulations are in order and that she’s a real peach of a gal.”

  Dixie clutched her shawl closer at her throat and turned to give the street one more searching look before she closed the door and stepped fully into the room. “She is that. All that and more.” She smiled at him, knowing how much wistfulness his congratulations must contain since he and his wife, Ethel, had tried for the last several years to have children without success. “Flynn says it will be fine for us to bring Ellery to church on Sunday so you should be able to see her then.”

  He nodded. “Ethel will look forward to it. As will I.” Complete sincerity shone in his gaze.

  “Yes, well…” Dixie took another step into the room. She fiddled with the hem of her shawl, trying to figure out exactly how she should word her message to quickly sort out this mess with the sleigh.

  Ben King leaned his elbows on the board and tilted his head. “What is it I can do for you this morning, Mrs. Griffin?”

  Through the window, Dixie gave the street one last glance before she stepped all the way to the counter and forced herself to focus on the task at hand. She clenched her fingers together. “I need to send a wire to Seattle.”

  Ben nodded, licked his forefinger, and lifted a telegram form from the stack. He took up a fountain pen and held it at the ready for her message.

  “It’s to Mr. Fordham of Stewart Street Sleighs.”

  Mr. King nodded and jotted the pertinent details in the form’s correlating boxes. “And the message is?”

  Dixie hesitated. “Well you see… It’s just that… I’m not quite sure how to proceed.”

  Ben King’s blond brows slumped over his eyes. “Perhaps you should tell me what the problem is and then maybe I can help you figure out how to word your request.”

  Dixie nodded. “I ordered a sleigh for Flynn. And I was scheduled to pick it up later this week. But with the arrival of Ellery there’s no possible way for me to make the trip. So, I suppose I need to ask them if I can pick up the sleigh at a later date. But I’m not sure when that will be. After the snows clear in the spring, maybe? Once the weather is a bit warmer.”

  Mr. King nodded. “Yes. Yes. I see. So how about something like this…” He jotted words on the paper as he spoke them. “Early arrival of infant daughter prevents travel. Still want sleigh. Possible to pick up in March or April?”

  Dixie felt relieved. “Yes. That conveys everything. Thank you.” She reached for her reticule. “What do I owe you?”

  Mr. King deposited his pen in the jar next to his cash register and counted the words on the telegram. “Eighteen cents.”

  Dixie clamped her teeth against the tip of her tongue to keep from grumbling about the dear price of telegrams these days. She extracted the coins and handed them over.

  He gathered them into his palm and gave her a nod. “I’ll send this straight away. And will get you the reply as soon as it arrives. Likely, early this evening.”

  “Thank you I appreciate that very much. Oh, and Mr. King?”

  Mr. King lifted his brows and met her gaze.

  “The sleigh was supposed to be a Christmas gift for Flynn. And I would like to keep it a surprise if at all possible. So, if we could keep this just between you and me?”

  Behind them the bell over the door rang as someone stepped into the room.

  Mr. King shot her a wink. “I’ll keep it our little secret. We wouldn’t want word getting back to Flynn.”

  “Thank you.” Dixie clutched her shawl tight and turned to make her exit. She stopped.

  Mrs. Pricilla Hines stood in the doorway, brows almost buried beneath her feathered, purple hat. She glanced back and forth between Ben and Dixie.

  Dixie wanted to moan. How much of their conversation had the town’s biggest gossip overheard? After all her trouble to keep this a secret, if word got back to Flynn… She gritted her teeth and forced a smile. “Good day, Mrs. Hines.”

  “And to you, Mrs. Griffin.” Mrs. Hines gave her a minimal curtsy and Dixie could feel the woman’s chilly curiosity like a palpable presence in the room.

  She stepped toward her. “Listen, if you could please keep what you may have overheard to yourself, I’d really appreciate it. We don’t want to ruin anyone’s Christmas.”

  Pricilla’s lips rounded into a small, tight O.

  Reassured that the woman seemed to have caught on, Dixie gave her an encouraging nod.

  Pricilla snapped open her fan and flapped it so rapidly that it wasn’t much more than a blur before her face. “Of course. You don’t want Flynn to know.” She made a little motion as though locking her mouth. “My lips are sealed.”

  Dixie puffed out a breath. “Thank you. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I better get back home to Ellery before Flynn catches me over here.”

  Pricilla stepped to the side and swept her skirts out of the way. “Yes. Don’t forget about the little dear. I’m quite surprised to see you out and”—her gaze swept to Ben—”about, so soon.”

  Dixie smiled and scooted past her. Even though she knew she should pay Pricilla’s words no mind, she felt the need to defend herself. “I haven’t left her for long and she’s with Rose. I just needed to have this little chat with Ben.”

  Pricilla gave a conciliatory bob of her head. “Well, don’t let me keep you.”

  Ben lifted a hand. “See you tonight.”

  Dixie gave a parting wave, checked the street, and then rushed across to the boardinghouse.

  She gave a sigh of relief once she was safely back inside without catching a glimpse of Flynn. At least she wouldn’t have to come up with a plausible explanation about why she’d been “out and about” so soon.

  Chapter 2

  Thankful to have finished his rounds a little early, Flynn left his horse in the livery and walked up the street. He was anxious to get home to cuddle that new little bundle, but he needed to stop by the mercantile first to see if the new cooking pots he’d ordered for Dixie for Christmas had arrived yet.

  However, when he stepped inside, Jerry was not behind the counter and no one seemed to be in the store. Just as he was about to decide to check back later, he heard a shuffling sound from the storeroom behind the mercantile counter.

  A long green curtain cloaked the doorway, so he couldn’t see who it might be, but sometimes Jerry stepped in there to fetch one thing or another. He would probably be right back.

  Not wanting to call out and disturb him, Flynn opened the Seattle newspaper Jerry kept by his register for customers to peruse.

  “Do stop pacing and spit it out, Pricilla. I came over at your insistence. What is it you need to tell me?”

  Flynn lowered the newspaper and frowned. That was Ethel King’s voice. What was Ben’s wife doing in the Hines’ mercantile storeroom? And why would Pricilla have taken her in there?

  He heard footsteps and could see a shadow passing beneath the hem of the curtain. “Oh, Ethel, I’m just not certain how to break the news to you.”

  Flynn’s lips pressed together. With the two women involved he might have known it would be a gossip session. He folded the newspaper and returned it to its place.
Looked like he probably needed to come back later, after all. If Jerry had left Pricilla in charge of the store, she wouldn’t be any help with checking on the order. He knew that from experience. He started for the door.

  “Just spit it out, Pricilla.”

  “Fine. I think your husband might be having an illicit affair with Dixie Griffin.”

  Flynn froze. Blinked. Frowned. Anger surged hot and sure. He spun back to stare at the curtain. What under all of heaven?

  Ethel King gasped. “Pricilla Hines! Of all the tales you’ve told, this might just take the cake!” Ethel’s hand came into view. She was leaving the storeroom and going to catch him here listening!

  “No wait!” Pricilla snapped.

  Ethel stilled, her hand gripping the curtain.

  “I’m telling you, as a friend, Ethel. I don’t know what is going on but Dixie Griffin and Ben King have some sort of secret. I overheard them talking about it!”

  Flynn took a breath. Scrubbed a hand over his face. This was simply another of Pricilla’s tall tales. He should walk away right now. Yet somehow his feet seemed glued to the floor.

  Ethel’s hand disappeared. “My husband is not having an affair with Mrs. Griffin! Whatever would make you say such a thing?”

  Priscilla Hines tsked. “Darling, I’m not saying anything other than what I overheard and saw just a few minutes ago.”

  Flynn felt every hackle on the back of his neck rise. Of all the dirty lies that Priscilla Hines had ever spread, this had to be the worst. He was of a mind to march behind the counter and demand that Pricilla be truthful for once in her life! And yet…though Pricilla was quite a teller of tales, every story he’d ever heard her tell had a small nugget of truth at the center. So…how had Dixie come to be at the center of this one?

  “And just what did you overhear and see?” Ethel snapped.

  Pricilla must have leaned closer to her friend, because her words were much quieter when she said, “I went to the post office because I needed to mail a letter to my mother. But when I stepped inside your husband and Dixie appeared to be in a very intimate conversation. And I distinctly overheard him say ‘I’ll keep it our little secret. We wouldn’t want word getting back to Flynn.’”