Page 73 of Soldier's Chrismas Hope
River wasn’t so sure about that. But he was willing to follow her lead.
He grabbed the presents out of the back, but let her carry the cinnamon buns herself. The way she held them in front of her was almost like a fragrant, friendly shield.
Even her defenses are sweet…
“Hello,” she said softly as he followed her inside to find Edward standing by the living room fireplace.
River could hear the kids talking and laughing with his parents back in the kitchen along with the cheerful sound of the radio on the Christmas station, but none of that holiday cheer made its way into the room where they stood now. And despite the crackling fire, the atmosphere inside seemed even colder than out in the snow-covered fields.
“Hi, Nora,” Edward said. “How are you?”
“We’re doing just fine,” she told him with a gentle smile. “How are you? How’s work?”
How’s workwas exactly the right question for his brother.
River stood by Nora’s side as a cascade of news about business flowed from his brother’s mouth. Though River couldn’t make heads or tails of it, Edward visibly relaxed as he spoke, and when he relaxed, Nora did too. And just like that, her easy smile brought the warmth back into the room.
She knows how to handle all of us,River realized.That’s her gift.
The morning went easily from there. Mom called them all into the kitchen for breakfast, and they had a wonderful meal together, crowded around the old table. The sun was shining outside, glittering in the snow that covered the backyard and frosted the trees.
“We made bird feeders out ofpinecones,” John-John told everyone. “And then the birds came and ate the seedsandthe peanut butter.”
River’s dad caught his eye across the table and winked at him, as if to let him know how much he was enjoying this.
Even Edward had to smile at the little boy’s enthusiasm.
“I have a hummingbird feeder outside the window,” River’s mom said, pointing to the one by the sink. “In the springtime, I fill it up and the hummingbirds come to get a nice meal.”
That launched a whole conversation about birds, the weather, and so much more. The kids held their own, and Nora chimed in here and there.
It was nice to see so many people squeezed around the table. River wondered if his parents had longed for this all these years. Surely, they would have expected that he or Edward would have brought home grandkids by now.
After breakfast, his dad led the kids out to the living room to see the Christmas tree and try to guess which ornaments River and Edward made.
Edward and Nora followed, and River was moving to join them too when his mom wrapped her fingers around his elbow.
“Stick around,” she said softly.
There was an edge to Mom’s voice that sent a chill down his spine.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
But she waited a moment, as if to be sure the others were out of earshot.
“You know I love you, River,” she said after a moment, sighing. “You’re a good person, and I’m proud of that.”
He nodded, slowly, waiting for thebut.
“You’ve always been impulsive,” she went on. “You follow your heart wherever it leads you. Normally that’s fine. You quit tennis lessons after a month, you quit soccer after a season.”
“I was just a kid,” River said, shaking his head. “Kids quit things.”
“Then you went off to college,” she said.
He winced, knowing what was coming next, and that there was no point arguing.
“And then you quit again, to join the service,” she went on. “And when you did, I thought maybe that was really your calling, that maybe you would stay in a while, and make a real career out of it.”
