Page 46 of Soldier's Chrismas Hope
“Bumpitty-bump,” Pixie echoed, then cracked up.
John-John perked up, looking at his sister.
“It’s funny,” Pixie said, her hair bouncing as the truck bumped up the hill.“Bumpitty-bu-u-u-u-mp.”
John-John laughed suddenly, and Nora had to smile too.
“Bumpitty-bu-u-u-u-mp,”he repeated, letting the bumping of the truck make the nonsense word sound even funnier.
This time Pixie laughed and Josie Williams joined in.
River caught Nora’s eye, and she mouthed the wordsthank youto him.
He nodded back, that same strange expression in his dark eyes that she’d seen yesterday.
The cold breeze picked up, lifting her hair as they entered the fragrant rows of evergreens. Before she knewit, the truck was coming to a stop on its own without anyone having to get out and walk after all.
River jumped out and stood by the back of the bed, helping Jacob to hand everyone down until they were all stretching their legs and drinking in the delicious pine scent.
All around them, rows of trees seemed to stretch in every direction. But the truck had pulled up in front of a small stand. Next to the stand was a canvas-covered table full of saws and a sign that said,Please return.
“Each group can grab a bow saw,” Jacob told them. “Adults only though, please. And if there’s a certain kind of tree you’re looking for, let me know and I’ll help you find it.”
He pointed out a couple of sections, including the balsams, but Nora was too busy watching the kids to pay much attention. She worried that those bow saws might be irresistible to the curious duo.
But being here with River made everything so much easier. While she wrangled the kids, he chatted with Jacob and then grabbed a saw.
“Ready?” he asked as he rejoined them.
The kids locked their gazes onto him, like sunflowers turning toward the dawn, and she watched River transform from a serious soldier to a twinkly-eyed young man, like magic.
“The balsam firs are up this way,” he told them, and they all tromped off among the beautiful trees.
River had announced earlier that the airsmelled like snow, which made the kids and her giggle. How could yousmell snow?
But as they walked, she noticed what looked like a snowflake drifting down, followed by another, and another.
“It’s snowing,” Pixie said, her voice soft with wonder.
“You smelled it,” John-John said, turning to River.
“Told you,” River said, winking at Nora again and tapping his nose. “Now do you believe me?”
She heard herself laugh, even as her cheeks heated.
“Yes,” John-John said solemnly.
“We can’t smell snow in the city,” Pixie said.
“Maybe in the city there are too many other smells for us to notice the one that says snow is coming,” Nora suggested.
“If that’s not a sign that people should live in the country, I don’t know what is,” River teased.
“I like the country,” John-John decided. “It’s like a park.”
“The whole thingiskind oflike a park,” Nora agreed, chuckling a little at the idea.
She tried not to think too hard about how things would be when she had to bring him back to the city after the holidays.
