Christmas Eve at Old Ft. Bowie, Flash Fiction
Dear blog friends, Here’s my Christmas Gift to you. Flash Fiction is a very short story. I hope you enjoy~~
Christmas Eve at Old Ft. Bowie by Lyn Cote
Gazing out at the scrub-covered mountains, Emmeline dabbed her eyes. In spite of her efforts, her husband had sensed her unhappiness at breakfast.
“What’s wrong, dearest?” he’d asked.
She’d forced a smile. “Homesickness. I doubt we’ll have a Christmas tree.”
Yes, Fort Bowie, Arizona, was nothing like pine-forested Wisconsin. But six months ago, she’d chosen to trust God to lead her to a good man. He had through a letter sent to the Milwaukee newspaper, asking if any brave woman would take a chance on marrying a lonely soldier in the West. After many letters and an arduous railroad journey, she’d married Captain Gardner Winslow, becoming an army wife with all its worries.
Their fort guarded a natural spring, life itself here in the desert. With Geronimo on the loose, her husband was again out keeping the stage route safe. And that’s why I’m foolish to be sniffling over a Christmas tree. Gardner is protecting lives.
Emmeline hurried to her kitchen. She’d have a tasty meal waiting for whenever her captain returned tonight!
Much later dozing in the chair, she awoke in near darkness.
Gardner stood before her with—
“I know it’s the sorriest excuse for a Christmas tree ever.”
The tree was a scraggly scrub all right. Rising, she hugged him with the fragrant pine between them, pressing against his firm chest. “I’m sorry I even brought it up.”
“Emmeline, you gave up a fine life for me.”
“I gave up a fine life for a finer man.”
copyright Lyn Cote 2014
If you’ve enjoyed this, please wish me a Merry Christmas in the comments section. If you’d like to read three more Christmas short stories, click here and subscribe on the Facebook page or click here on the blog to the Sweet Romance Reads enewsletter. And I WISH YOU A VERY MERRY CHRISTMAS!–Lyn
