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A Crooked Arrow Christmas

By Jenna Hendricks

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“What’s with that pig?” Marnie Gallagher, the newest Crooked Arrow Ranch resident, pointed to a miniature pot-bellied pig with a black spot over one eye that looked more like a pirate patch than a spot.
Megan, the ranch’s counselor, smiled and waved at the pig and his owner. “That’s Pirate Spot, and Malachi McKinley. Pirate is a sort of mascot.” She giggled. “You should see the Fourth of July parade. He sits on a float with a patriotic pirate costume and looks out at everyone as though he knows he is the cutest thing around. It’s a lot of fun.”
Unsure about this new town, Marnie didn’t say much. She grunted her understanding and turned away. But the pig had sensed her attention and since he rarely walked around with a leash, veered off from his current path and headed directly towards the two women.
A sound caught Marnie’s attention and she turned her head to see what, or who, was making it. A totally off-key song was being sung by a group of three teenaged boys. “Jingle bells, Batman smells, Robin laid an egg.”
She shook her head and wondered if she had fallen down the rabbit hole, or was sucked up in a vortex and transported to a completely different plane of existence. Who sang Christmas songs in the middle of November? And half the town already had their festive Christmas lights and décor up. This was one strange place.
“Megan, it’s good to see you again. I guess Pirate Spot wanted to come and say hi.” Malachi grinned at Megan, then turned to smile at the tall woman standing next to her. “Are you going to introduce me to your friend?”
“Of course.” Megan motioned toward Marnie. “Marnie, this is Malachi. He’s in school to become a veterinarian. And in case you haven’t figured it out yet, he’s a big fan of little pigs with giant personalities.” She then turned to Malachi and waved at Megan. “And this is Megan, she’s new to town and the ranch. Recently she served in the Air Force.”
Malachi put his hand out to shake, then hesitated when he noticed her right hand was resting on a cane to help keep herself upright. “It’s nice to meet you. How long have you been here?”
Marnie moved the cane from her right hand to her left, then reached out to shake his hand. She paid close attention to his face, but he didn’t seem disgusted or put off by her handicap. Instead, he just seemed unsure if she would shake his hand. “Nice to meet you, as well. I’ve only been here long enough to see the Christmas lights begin to go up. What’s with all the Christmas? It’s not even Thanksgiving yet.”
Both Megan and Malachi laughed and nodded.
If there had been any tension when he realized her use of a cane, it was gone when they began talking about Christmas.
“Yeah, we go a little crazy here in Frenchtown for Christmas. I think a few years ago someone put out a petition to rename us ‘Christmas Town’. Did you know that Santa Claus and his wife live here?” Before Malachi could say anymore, Pirate Spot snorted. “Forgive me, and this here is my trusty sidekick, Pirate Spot.” He motioned toward the pink pig with black spots. That day, the pig was sporting a red ugly Christmas sweater with a little pirate and the words “Pirates love Christmas” crocheted in green lettering.
“He’s so adorable.” Marnie gushed. “Does he like wearing clothes?” She tilted her head and considered how a pig must feel about wearing a sweater. She herself enjoyed wearing sweaters when it was cold, which it was. In Montana during November the weather could shift from sunny and in the low sixties, all the way down to below zero with a horrible blizzard.
Luckily, that day, it was a cool forty-one degrees with billowy clouds in the sky and blue patches breaking through quite a bit. All in all, a good day to be out and about. As long as a human was wearing a sweater, jacket, gloves, and possibly a hat. And apparently, a pig, too.
Then she noticed what Malachi was wearing. He wasn’t very tall, for a man. A bit shorter than she was. And she was five feet eight inches tall. However, he was good looking with a boyish smile. But what really caught her attention was the fact that he wasn’t wearing a jacket or even a beanie. He had on a cowboy hat, like most men did. Instead of being all bundled up like she was, he only wore a light blue and gray checked flannel shirt with blue jeans and cowboy boots.
Marnie figured he was accustomed to the weather for when she finally noticed the other men in town, they were dressed similarly. In fact, she was one of only a few women who were all bundled up for the cold - which brought her back to the little pig. When her eyes looked back down at the pig, she could have sworn he smiled and waggled his tiny, curly tail, almost like a dog.
“Yes,” Malachi nodded. “Pirate loves a good costume. Plus, it’s a bit cold for a small pig like him, to be out without something to warm him up.”
Marnie expected Malachi would lean down and pick up the pig, but he didn’t. Instead, Malachi waved and said he’d catch them later. Then the two left and began walking toward a group of teenagers who ended up gushing over the cute pig.
“Are there a lot of barnyard animals wearing costumes and masquerading as pets through town?” Marnie arched a brow and watched the rest of the people meandering through the sidewalks and even across the street.
Megan took a moment to think about the question. “Well, Pirate is the only pot-bellied pig that’s a pet. But, there are quite a few horses, ponies, sheep, and other animals that have become pets. I think in a rural farm and ranching town like Frenchtown, you should expect to see things you wouldn’t see normally in a city.”
She didn’t say much, only nodded and looked around. “So, where is the wonderful coffee bar you told me so much about?”
“Ah, yes.” Megan waggled her brows and smiled from ear to ear. “The Frenchtown Roasting Company is just a few doors down. Follow me.”
Marnie was grateful she didn’t see a bull running around all wild and free, like the pig. While she wasn’t accustomed to farm animals, she knew enough to know to stay away from bears and bulls. That thought pulled her up short when Megan opened the door.
“There aren’t bears in town, are there?” With trepidation, Marnie looked around and prayed she wouldn’t lose the toes on her other foot, or her entire foot, to a wild animal. Or a feisty barnyard animal. “Do I need to carry some sort of animal deterrent?”
Not wanting to scare the newest resident to the ranch, Megan stayed quiet. Instead, she decided to change the subject. “What is your favorite kind of coffee?”
“Bear-free coffee.” Agitation was a new feeling for Marnie. Before her Air Force accident she had been a happy and carefree sort of person. Even having to spend almost an entire year at the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, California, studying Russian hadn’t caused anxiety. Well, nothing more than the normal pre-test jitters most students had. She had seemed to have a way with languages, and it usually showed in her test scores.
Megan laughed. “Good one. But not to worry, bears don’t come into town. And with it being so close to winter, you won’t have to worry about them anywhere. Just don’t go wandering around the forest on your own and you’ll be fine.”

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