Cowboy Creek Christmas. Cheryl St.John

you.”

      “Any time is a good time,” Marlys replied. “Come right now if you like.”

      “Well...” Opal glanced around the small boot shop. “Let me just check with Amos.”

      Her husband was pleased to see his wife take time for herself and waved them off. It was a short walk to her office, with Opal carrying the baby, and Marlys let them in and put wood in the stove to heat water. It didn’t take long to fill one of the tubs.

      “I’ve never seen bathing tubs like these,” Opal told her.

      “They’re made deep and yet narrow, so the entire body can be immersed without using as much water as a larger oval tub takes.” Marlys added oils and minerals and dissolved them in the water. “I’ll take the baby and sit just outside. We’ll be fine.” She showed Opal the towels and told her to relax and take her time.

      “Well, Richard, we’re getting to be friends, don’t you think?”

      The bundled baby opened his eyes at her voice but soon closed them again. He squirmed a bit, and instinctively, she bounced him in her arms until he stilled. She’d been around more babies in her short time here than in her whole prior life. It was reassuring that after all the death and sorrow of the brothers’ war that civilization was now replenishing itself. It didn’t take a scholar to understand the psychology of bringing their country back to life with a new generation.

      She felt a grave responsibility to the children, to August and all of these little ones. She had knowledge to share, skills to teach, and she needed to impart as much as she could—to leave her mark on history and make a difference.

      She’d always been a hundred percent confident of her choices. She was still confident she’d been true to herself and her ideals. But a barely discernable question rose in her thoughts. Was she missing out on something? Would she eventually live to regret she had turned her back on relationships, on friendship, on marriage...on Sam?