Page 41 of Soldier's Chrismas Hope
“It has a lot of eggs in it,” Pixie guessed.
“It sure does,” River said. “Sit, Mom. Let me bring you a cup of coffee.”
“We’re making pancakes,” Nora said hopefully. “Should we give River’s mom the first plate, Pixie?”
“Yes,” Pixie said right away.
“No, no,” Mom said at the same time. “I’ve got to run. This was just a stop on my way.”
River knew that wasn’t true. Mom loved to come by and havejust onecup of coffee that almost always turned into two and a snack. And he enjoyed the chance to have the time with her. When he was little, Edward had always been more talkative. And more recently, River had been away for a few years.
But Mom wasn’t staying this time. She was already heading back to the door.
“I’ll walk you out,” he said, jogging over to her before she could respond.
He opened the back door for her, then followed her out onto the porch. He could tell by the pinched set of her lips that she was making an effort to keep her mouth shut.
“Brought you that,” she said, indicating a sack of bird seed on the back porch. “That’s why I came in the back door. Michael said you were building a bird feeder.”
Michael worked at the hardware store, and River hadtold the man what he was up to when he bought those supplies yesterday.
“That was really nice of you, Mom,” River said.
She nodded crisply, but didn’t say anything more.
He managed to wait until they made it around the side of the house and he was certain Nora and the kids couldn’t hear them before he said anything more.
“It’s fine, Ma,” he said, when they reached her car. “I mean, it was a little weird at first. But the kids are having such a great time out here. It’s good to get them out of the city.”
She sighed and then turned to face him. He would never get used to her having to lookupto make eye contact with him. In his mind, she was still the grown-up, and he would always be the kid. But even though he towered over her now, that gaze was as fierce as ever.
“You’re not taking them to the Hometown Holiday celebration, are you?” she asked.
“No,” he said, though the question stung. It was clear that his mom didn’t want him appearing publicly with Nora and the kids at the popular local Christmas fair. “We’re going to get a Christmas tree at Cassidy Farm today.”
Is this why I decided not to bring them into town today? Was I afraid of what people might think?
“And you know your brother is coming home for Christmas,” she said, not even acknowledging his answer.
River had no idea how to answer her non-question. Honestly, he’d been tryingnotto think about the fact that Edward would be home, since he was asking Nora to stay anyway.
He shrugged.
Mom nodded slowly, her lips pressed together, before folding her canvas shopping bag and getting into the car.
River jogged back up onto the front porch, but stayed at the railing, only to watch her back the car up and then drive off without so much as a wave.
He tried hard not to let it get to him, but it hadn’t been a lot of fun growing up in Edward’s shadow, and this was bringing back some unpleasant memories.
And to make matters worse, he really was feeling things for Nora and the kids that had his heart pounding in his chest—things he would have liked to talk to his parents about.
But as usual, all they cared about was how the golden child would feel about it—as if Edward might somehow be mad at them when he found out that his little brother was building a friendship with the woman he had abandoned.
River felt a tiny twinge of guilt, in spite of himself, and then a flash of resentment.
Who cares about Edward’s feelings? He’s being a selfish jerk. Taking care of Nora and the kids is the right thing to do.
He headed back inside to Nora and the children, even more determined than before to make this the best Christmas ever for them.
