New
Year’s Kiss
By
Paty Jager
Edda Rae
Bartlett paced the parlor. All day callers had stopped in at her parents’ house
on the edge of town wishing them a prosperous coming new year. What had her in
a thither was the fact Cort Haywood hadn’t been among the callers. He’d more or
less told her at the last church picnic that he had something to tell her
before the end of the year. Well, midnight tonight marked the end of the year and
she was still waiting for him to arrive.
The parlor door
opened and her best friend, Katie Aiden, hurried into the room.
“Gather your
things, Edda Rae, we’re going to Priscilla’s house.” Katie didn’t even remove
her leather gloves as she crossed the room.
“I can’t. I have
to stay…” Amid Edda’s sputters, Katie, placed her hands on Edda’s back and
began forcefully pushing her toward the parlor door. Edda tried to dig in with
her heels but she was no match for her determined friend.
“I have a new
game I discovered while traveling abroad with my aunt and I’m not letting you mope
around here like a spinster waiting for a man.” Katie stopped pushing when they
stood beside the hall tree at the front door.
“I’m not moping
and I’m not a spinster. I’m only twenty
just like you. Who do you think I’m waiting for?” It wasn’t a secret she and Cort
had been sparking. In fact, Edda relished the fact the other eligible women in
Aidenville knew Cort had chosen her.
Katie handed
Edda’s coat to her. “The whole town knows who you’re waiting for. And I happen
to know he is over at Priscilla’s helping her brother set up their barn for the
dance tonight.” She held out a muffler and gloves. “Now hurry up, or we’ll get
there after dark and no one will want to play the game, they’ll all be sneaking
drinks and dancing.”
Edda didn’t know
why it was so important to her friend that they play a game. With Katie’s past there
was reason to believe the game would be something scandalous and make Edda blush.
Her light complexion was prone to turning all shades of red when embarrassed. And
while she loved her friend dearly, Katie was usually the cause of her rosy
cheeks. Knowing it was a game Katie learned while abroad… gave Edda more reason
to believe it was a game her preacher father would not condone.
This knowledge
made the game and the trek with Katie all the more exciting. She loved her
parents and the values they taught her, but she also liked to tempt her fate.
Like the night she and Cort pulled to the side of the road when returning from
a dance and lay in one another’s arms, kissing and touching… Her face heated
and she tamped the memory down for fear Katie would notice and ask questions.
Katie ushered
her out the door and across the yard to one of her father’s buggies. As the
leading stockholder in the town bank, Katie’s father was considered the
wealthiest man in Aidenville. A town named after his family who founded the
fertile Oregon valley. That was one of the reasons Edda’s parents allowed her
to be friends with Katie. Their small church and congregation had been the
benefactor of many generous endowments from the Aiden family.
“Wrap this
around your legs. This last day of 1879 is a bitter cold one.” Katie took up
the reins and the buggy lurched forward, the horse moving into a fluid trot.
“I’m happy you
made it back to help us bring in the New Year.” Edda smiled at her best friend.
She had missed Katie as her friend traveled to places Edda knew she would never
see. She didn’t care to travel. Well, maybe if it was on Cort’s arm. But he
would never leave this valley. His family’s ranching roots went as deep into
the fertile soil as the Aiden family’s money went into the town’s growth.
Katie glanced at
her and smiled. “I’d never miss bringing in the New Year without my best friend
and my family.”
The Thomas ranch
was only a half hour ride from town. Though a short ride, it didn’t keep the cold
from seeping into Edda. To her delight, Priscilla’s brother, Jed, and Cort met
the buggy when it arrived. Cort’s blue eyes and welcoming smile warmed her
heart. His large hands wrapped around her waist and he lifted her out of the
buggy, thawing her bones.
“Have you missed
me?” he asked, still holding onto her waist after her feet touched the ground.
“What do you
think?” she asked, watching little lines crinkle beside his sparkling eyes.
“As much as I’ve
missed you.”
She wanted to
kiss him. Her body started to lean toward him…
“Ahem!”
The sound shook
sense into Edda. It wasn’t proper to kiss in public. Especially someone you
weren’t married to.
Mrs. Thomas
stood on the porch. “You girls get in here and let the boys take care of the
buggy and the horse.” The woman gave her a stern look.
A squeeze on her
waist before Cort’s hands slipped away brought her gaze to his.
“I’ll only be a few
minutes,” he said, following Jed as he led the horse to the barn.
“My, my. It seems
you and Cort are doing more than sparking, you’re throwing sparks,” Katie said,
and nudged her with an elbow before entering the Thomas house laughing.
Edda followed
behind, wondering how she would get through an evening of games before she
could dance around the barn in Cort’s arms. And receive a kiss at midnight.
Inside, Katie
and Priscilla had their heads bent together. Three other young people she knew
from the area stood in the parlor conversing. Mrs. Thomas took Edda’s coat, gloves,
and muffler and ushered her into the parlor with the others. Within minutes
Cort and Jed returned.
Edda’s insides
fluttered at the proprietary glint in Cort’s eyes as he crossed the room,
barely acknowledging the others and stood by her side.
“Quiet. I’m
going to teach you all a game I learned while abroad with my aunt. It’s simple,
yet so scandalous.” Katie danced on her toes in her excitement.
Priscilla
crossed to the parlor door and closed it snugly. Edda’s heart thumped against
her ribs. How bad must this game be if Priscilla shut them away from her
mother’s hearing and sight? She peered up at Cort, who winked. What was going
on?
“Everyone take a
seat, boy, girl, boy, girl, please.” Katie took a seat and was immediately
flanked by Jed and Toby Hutchins.
Cort held the
chair out next to Jed for her, and then he sat beside her. Did he know how to
play the game? It was as if everyone knew what was happening but her.
Katie tossed a
small fluffy ball of cotton into the middle of the round wood table. “Everyone
clasp your hands in front of you, like this.” Katie put her hands together as
if she were going to pray. “And place
your arms on the table edge, sliding your elbows to meet the person’s on either
side of you.”
Edda glanced at
Jed, but he was too busy making sure the elbow on his other side was touching Katie’s.
Cort’s elbow touched hers and she smiled. She liked this game knowing the rules
allowed them to touch. She glanced from their touching elbows to Cort’s face and
caught him watching her. His lips tipped into a smile.
“The object of
the game is to blow the cotton away from you. If it touches you, you have to
either tell a secret or kiss one of the people next to you.” Katie peered at
everyone around the table, winking at Edda.
Her friend’s
bold antics made Edda’s face flame with heat. Cort chuckled and nudged her with
his elbow. Edda glanced at Cort.
“One, two,
three, blow!” Katie announced and everyone started blowing.
Before Edda
could fathom the game had started everyone stopped blowing and stared at her.
She glanced down.
The cotton ball rested against her arm.
“Tell us a
secret or kiss someone,” Katie said.
Edda’s throat
went dry as all eyes watched her intently. Heat rose up her neck, scalding her
chin, cheeks, and even her scalp. She had to be as red as the Santa suit Mr.
Thomas wore to the Christmas Eve service.
“Do you have a
secret to tell?” Cort’s husky voice next to her ear changed her embarrassment
to smoldering desire.
How could she
want to kiss this man when a table of people sat watching?
“Let me help.”
Cort raised a hand and held her chin. “She’ll take the kiss.”
His lips touched
hers and she forgot where they were and what her parents would think. All that
mattered when he kissed her was the love and warmth that wrapped around her heart
and eased her mind.
“That’s enough. It’s
supposed to be a penalty not a pleasure.”
Katie’s comment
and laughter straightened Edda’s spine. She peered into Cort’s eyes and was
rewarded with a wink. They resumed their places with elbows touching and the
game continued. The cotton landed against Priscilla’s arm.
“Secret or
kiss?” Katie said.
Priscilla studied
the young men on either side of her and said, “Secret. I saw Cort visiting
Reverend Bartlett when Edda was helping Doc Wyland.”
Edda’s head
pivoted on her neck and she searched Cort’s face. He just smiled.
“Resume the
game.” Katie ordered and everyone began blowing at the cotton ball.
Edda’s head was
spinning with why Cort would visit her father and how everyone could keep
pushing the cotton with their breath. Blowing so much made her lightheaded.
She was still
blowing and lost in her thoughts when Katie’s voice stopped her pathetic
attempt at pushing another breath of air from her lungs. “Secret or kiss?”
“Secret.”
The buzzing in
Edda’s head from lack of air took her a minute to register that the voice
saying secret belonged to Cort.
Cort once again
took her chin in his cupped hand. “My secret is I’ve fallen in love with Edda
Rae Barlett and I asked her father for her hand in marriage.”
Her head still buzzed
from the lack of air. Edda shook her head to clear it.
Cort’s face came
into view. He looked crushed.
She placed a
hand on his cheek. “What’s wrong?”
“You don’t want
to marry me?” His whispered voice shook.
“Why would you
think that?” she asked, still trying to grasp the full content of what he’d
said.
“You shook your
head when I said I asked your father for your hand.”
Elation popped
the last of the haze from her mind. “I was shaking my head because all the
blowing made me lightheaded.” She flung her arms around Cort’s neck. “Yes, I’ll
marry you. I love you.”
The whole room
exploded with whoops and whistles as Cort kissed her until she was dizzy again.
HAPPY NEW YEAR!
