Page 15 of Soldier's Chrismas Hope
Nora felt a pang of gratitude. He had anticipated that the kids might feel a little scared sleeping away from home. The adjoining room would help a lot if they did get scared in the night.
“Come on through,” River said.
They walked through Nora’s room, which was a very nice room too, with a bed and dresser, and a door back out into the hallway. Directly across the hall was the bathroom.
“The sink isblue,” John-John said with a big smile.
Blue was John-John’s favorite color, and the sink, toilet,andbathtub were all blue in this bathroom.
“Wow, look at that,” Nora said with a smile.
An hour later,baths were finished, teeth were brushed, pajamas were on, and Nora was finishing up readingFarmer Bear’s Christmasto two awake-but-sleepy kids.
River sat on the floor beside the bed, listening to the story with them.
“The end,” Nora read.
“What a great story,” River said, his deep voice expressing genuine appreciation. “I can see why you guys like it so much.”
“It’s our favorite,” Pixie said, her voice soft.
“I’m going to head downstairs,” River told them. “You guys just holler if you need anything, okay?”
“Okay.” John-John yawned as the sound of River’s footsteps disappeared down the hallway.
“I’m going to go downstairs for just a bit and make a plan with River about what to do tomorrow,” Nora told them. “But I’ll come up to bed soon, and I’ll open the door between our rooms when I do, so you’ll know if the door is open that I’m right there and you can come find me anytime.”
“Love you, Aunt Nora,” Pixie said, pressing a kiss to Nora’s cheek.
“I love you both,” Nora told them. “To the moon and back.”
She climbed out of bed and headed out, leaving the door to the hallway open so it would be easier to hear the kids if they needed her. She would close it when she came up to bed and leave the door to her room open, as she had promised.
When she got down to the kitchen, she found River putting the kettle on, and something was already warming in the toaster oven.
“I thought you might like some tea and a snack while we chat,” he said, glancing up at her.
He looked so handsome, even in the dim light of the kitchen. She was surprised at herself for noticing, and tore her eyes from his immediately.
“That sounds nice,” she said, pretending to admire the copper pans hanging from the ceiling.
“I don’t keep all that much in the house,” River admitted. “I’ve got stuff for breakfast though, so long as the kidsaren’t picky eaters. We can do eggs, pancakes, that kind of thing.”
“They’re not picky at all,” Nora said proudly. “In fact, they surprise me by asking for things like sweet and sour soup and sushi all the time.”
“I guess that’s the advantage of growing up in the city,” River said thoughtfully. “They get to try lots of different things.”
“Well, they did with their mom,” Nora said. “Sushi isn’t really in the budget for me right now.”
She winced and immediately wished she hadn’t said that. She wasn’t really sure why her guard was down with River, but she made a mental note to be more careful.
He just nodded.
“When I was in the Army I economized a lot,” he told her. “I got teased about it plenty by the other guys.”
“You did?” she asked, moving back to the stove.
“Sure,” he told her. “But it was worth it. I always wanted a place like this. And the Army is one job where you can save most of your salary, if you’re lucky. I even got a little investment advice from a friend.”
