They quickly got dressed to go outside for a closer look. James and Clyde were at the scene now too.
The source of the blood was easy to see. Most of the chickens from the henhouse hung from one of the deleafed white ash tree close to the house, necks broken and bodies drained like nightmarish Christmas ornaments.
His first thought was the person didn't have a lick of sense to try to pull this off in the snow as he scanned the ground for footprints, but there were too many tracks to distinguish one over the others.
"How did this happen?" James asked angrily, directing the question to his youngest son.
"I fell asleep," Clyde admitted shamefacedly. "I'm sorry, Dad. Sorry, Sis."
James' face lost some of its red. "Well, there's nothing to be done about it now but help get this mess cleaned up before the children get here and see it."
They all worked to cover the bloody letters with the snow and take the chickens down. Then Kid descended the hill to see if there might be more clues. 3 wagons set at the bottom of the hill now with relatives unloading their families and presents, making the snow at the bottom as spoiled as the snow at the top, but what he could make out in the distance all seemed accounted for, which brought an awful, horrible thought to his mind. He had assumed that it was someone on the outside, but what if it was someone within Ruth's own family?
At the top of the hill, he saw Anna and Mary now standing on the porch. He paid close attention to Ruth's younger sister, her face seemed as pale and shocked as the rest of them, but was it all an act? Sure she put on airs, but was she capable of such terrible destruction and what kind of sister did this? That wasn't a suitable defense though and he knew it. He knew as well as anybody about the bad blood that could be between family. The first murder in history had been between brothers.
But if not Anna then who? He didn't know enough about her brothers to rule them out. Had Clyde really drifted off to sleep? And Robert lived alone in the small cabin that Mary and James had first lived in before their family expanded. Certainly no one could account for where he was at all times. But what would be their motive? Surely they didn't think Ruth had paranormal powers and they both seemed to love her.
Anna's motive was clearer. Her sister was an embarrassment to her and she wanted her gone, but why would she burn down the family barn and cause such hardship to her parents, killing animals that her family depended on as a source of livelihood? And why would she go to such great lengths when her sister would be leaving of her own accord in 2 weeks?
He tried to recall where everyone had been before the fire, but he had been so preoccupied with Mark he couldn't really be sure if everyone had been in the living room. He did know that it bore watching.
Aunts, uncles, and cousins came in droves. There was no way he'd remember names even though he was introduced to them all. There was a flutter of activity and chatter. He knew he'd be drained before the festivities were through, but he didn't have to worry about it as much with Ruth at his side. She carried the conversations for him when he needed her to, and unlike him, her energy seemed to thrive the more people there were. They were perfect complements for each other in that way.
They'd all sat down with presents handed out to open, the children having the most gifts, when the door swung open unannounced and a portly man staggered in; he was full of the spirit, but it wasn't Christmas spirit. "I brought a kissing ball," the sloshed uncle declared as he held the ball of ivy and mistletoe up for all to see.
"Paul McKenzie, do you have any idea what day it is and you're desecrating it with your drunkenness," Fiona McKenzie reprimanded as she stood up and took the middle-aged man by the ear, causing the uncle to drop the ball. "I'll be back after I got this wayward son of mine home to sleep it off." Then they disappeared from the room.
"Might as well hang it up. No sense in letting it go to waste," James said, picking it up off the ground and glancing tenderly at his wife. The couple was affectionate though Kid had never seen them kiss. He'd gathered they weren't fond of public displays of affection and that even the hug she had given James when she'd found that he was safe was a rare display. If he caught her under the kissing ball, it'd be when no one else was around.
The kids had no trouble going back to opening the presents. They began to tear into their stockings and packages.
He and Ruth had made sure all the children had either candy or fruit from them. For her nephews she had gotten something a little extra, blocks for the baby and a magnifying glass for Danny.
"What's this, Aunt Ruth?" Danny asked, his body wiggling in excitement as he jumped over to where she was sitting.
"You can see them little grasshoppers better. See their big bug eyes and pursed little mouth." She made a silly, "grasshopper" face that it threw Danny into a fit of laughter.
"You going to hug my neck?" she asked with a smile. He threw his arms around her and she gave him a big bear hug. "It's from your uncle too," she added.
The boy shot him a dirty look, his good humor gone. If the boy had been old enough, he'd have been a prime suspect, Kid thought to himself with a smile.
"What do you say?" Laura prompted her son.
"Thank you," he said barely audible, his eyes cast downward.
"You're welcome," Kid said.
That out of the way, his joy returned as he went to discover the rest of his goodies. Looking through the magnifying glass, he exclaimed. "The candy's huge!" Making the adults laugh.
After the joy of watching the kids open theirs was over, they began to open theirs.
"What could it be? A hat maybe?" Mary asked of her gift from James, the shape of the package having given it away.
"Yep, it's just like Ms. Ethel's," he said.
Ethel Fletcher was the gaudiest dresser this side of the Mississippi. Her hats were always swimming in flowers and lace and feathers and anything else that could be affixed to a hat. Mary quickly pulled the lid off and was relieved to see it was a simple but elegant straw hat. "If you had, I'd've knocked the fool fire out of you."
James laughed. "Well, I had to surprise you somehow."
There were handkerchiefs, food treats, and other handmade goodies exchanged between the adults. Kid received a scarf Ruth had knitted for him, the first thing she had ever made for him, a gift he adored for that reason alone. He put it on even though they were in the house. Kid waited to give his present to Ruth last after Fiona had returned.
Rather than hand her a package, Kid took Ruth's hand and slipped a cool piece of metal onto her left ring finger. "I told you I'd get you a ring."
She breathed deeply as she held it up to the light. It was a simple band, silver and of a Celtic design. "This is my grandmother's ring. Granny, you shouldn't have given us this."
"I want it to stay in the family. Douglas already had a ring for Laura, so I want you and Kid to have it."
It fit like a dream, not too tight and not too large. "We'll treasure it. Thank you, Granny. And thank you, Kid," she said, kissing his cheek. "I couldn't think of a ring I'd want more in the world."
The day went on and Ruth shared stories periodically about what it was like in the land of cowboys and Indians for the children, some of them embellished for their amusement. They loved her for it and were following her around like the pied piper, peppering her for more tales.
He was glad when the kids all went for a romp in the snow. He worked her over to the kissing ball that James had hung.
"The children got all their sweets. You got a sweet leftover for me?" he whispered.
"I'm all out," she said.
"That's not the kind of sweet I wanted." He leaned down and kissed her, a quick one because there were people in the room.
She reached up and pulled one of the white berries off. "Better use those kisses sparingly. They're numbered today."
She went off to help get dinner on the table while he made uncomfortable chitchat with the relatives he didn't know. Luckily, it didn't take them long to get it ready. The Christmas dinner was fit for a king. There were 2 big birds and enough sides of every description to cover the long table and the assortment of pies and other desserts hadn't even made it to the table yet.
He got one side of Ruth and Anna got the other as they sat down to eat, though not at the table because of all the extra guests.
"You ain't told me much about your beau. I hardly even know his name," he heard Ruth say to her.
"Samuel. He's coming tomorrow to help with the barn." She didn't say it, but her eyes begged silently for her sister to be on her best behavior.
"I'll try to be good," she said wryly and didn't try to engage her in further conversation.
Even with a family that had descended on the house like a plague of locusts, there were plenty of leftovers when everyone had ate their fill.
Mary wrapped them up and put the food in a large basket. "Who wants to take these over to Widow Mason's?" she asked, coming out of the kitchen with it.
"I will," Ruth immediately answered.
Mary hesitated, not sure she wanted her away from the house.
"I'll go with her, Mrs. McKenzie," Kid said.
"Well, I guess she don't live too far away. Just be careful and quick," she said, passing the basket off to Ruth.
"You sure about this, Mother?" James asked, sounding less confident.
"What harm can they come to with Kid's skill? I reckon there are times it pays to have a gunfighter for a son-in-law."
Kid risked a hug that Mary didn't decline and he could feel James' eyes radiating heat.
"Aww, get on with you," Mary said, "and I mean what I said about not dawdling."
It was close enough that they were able to go on foot. They knocked on the widow's door and then hid around the corner of the house.
"Any particular reason why we're hiding?" he whispered.
"We're living the Word, not letting the right hand know what the left hand is doing, and I don't want them thinking I pulled the food out of my cauldron or some other such nonsense. Too, some folks have a harder time accepting charity from a person, but it's kind of hard to turn down an anonymous basket of food when you've got a house full of hungry children. Saves her pride this way."
The oldest boy answered the door and his face lit up at the gift basket. He gave a quick perusal of the area and then went back inside, basket in hand.
She smiled. "It just wouldn't be Christmas if you didn't give a gift for Jesus."
He could see what she meant. It did feel really good doing something for others. They made a wide arch to avoid being seen and made their way through a clump of trees. There was a rustle from one the branches above them. They both pulled out their guns, Kid a second or two faster. Then saw that it was only a squirrel, looking down as if trying to remember where he'd hid his nuts. They put them away again.
"This stuff's got me jumpy as a bullfrog. I'm going to put this pistol back when I get home."
"You didn't fire, did you?" Kid reasoned.
"No, but I could have."
He took her hand. "Hey, listen, baby, you ain't scared about what happened this morning, are you?"
"Scared for my family and a little angry at their cowardly ways. I'd like to have the person that did it in front of me. I'd have a few choice words for them."
"And they'd all be from the Bible, no doubt."
"Where else?"
He put an arm around her and they walked a little quicker back to the house.
Kid brought out his guitar before the evening was through. "Anybody ready for a little Christmas music?"
There were polite assents along with Ruth's enthusiastic one and he began,
"We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
Good tidings we bring to you and your kin
Good tidings for Christmas and a Happy New Year."
For the first time, the children flocked around him even Danny. He couldn't say that he minded.
"Oh, bring us a figgy pudding
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding
Oh, bring us a figgy pudding and a cup of good cheer
We won't go until we get some
We won't go until we get some
We won't go until we get some, so bring some out here."
Almost everyone joined in on the chorus.
"We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas
We wish you a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year."
"Not bad," Mary commented when it was through. "There's a dance Saturday night. You want to play there? I'll be playing along with a couple of my brothers."
"I'd be honored. Ruth told me how well you could play." Kid couldn't keep from smiling with delight; he really was becoming a part of the family.
There was a slew of Christmas wishes as the kin that lived nearby started off for home. The others who lived over the mountain were staying the night and getting their start at first light. There'd be an army of McKenzies and Shepards, Mary's side of the family, if anyone tried anything tonight.
Ruth's grandma winked at him before she left. "One down, one to go, I see."
"Might stay that way," Kid commented.
"Naw, he's a stubborn one, but he'll see how good you are for his little girl." She patted his cheek kindly and then headed for home.
"Why are you grinning like a possum?" Ruth asked when they were alone in her bedroom.
"There's a gift I ain't given you yet," he said huskily, moving toward her.
"The kissing's got to stop," she quipped even as she put her arms around him. "All the berries were gone last time I checked."
"Not quite. I stole a twig," he said, pulling the plant from his pocket and dangling it over her head. He kissed her soundly and deeply, exploring her lips and the inside of her mouth with fervor.
"I think that one was worth 2 berries," she kidded.
"Not a chance," he said as he pulled one off. "I plan to make each of these berries count."
He sat her on the bed and laid the sprig of mistletoe on one of the pillows, but rather than joining her there right away, he started dragging the furniture in front of the door and window to keep them from being so easily entered.
"Why are you barricading us in here? You think my family's going to come busting in on us or you think the witch hunters are going to try something on me next?"
"I think it pays to be cautious," he said seriously. Then more lightly he said, "And I'm ensuring that we can completely focus on the task at hand." He freed her hair and then wound her soft strands around his wrist before getting on the bed with her.
"Do you realize how many people are under this roof right now?" she asked.
"We'll be extra quiet," he said, as he used his free hand to unbutton and his lips on the sensitive spots of her exposed skin. "A week's too long for newlyweds to be apart."
"Is that so?" she asked, her eyes sparkling.
"That's so, Mrs. Cole."
"Fortunately for you, I happen to agree, Mr. Cole," she said, pulling him closer.