Page 80 of Soldier's Chrismas Hope
When she got back into the living room, John-John was perched on the sofa next to River. Pixie dashed over to join them, snuggling up to her brother.
“Happy Farm, Christmas Farm, Horse Poop Farm,” John-John yelled out, and then melted into helpless laughter.
“Hey, Nora,” River said, smiling up at her. “The kids are helping me with something.”
“He said we can name his farm,” Pixie said reverently. “That way, we’ll know it’s always our home.”
The expression on the little girl’s face told Nora everything she needed to know about whether this change was going to be good for the kids.
Tears burned in her eyes again and she fought them back desperately, not wanting the kids to be confused about how she felt.
“I said they can nameourfarm,” River confirmed, nodding, his dark eyes on Nora’s.
“Bear Haven,” John-John suddenly said with finality.
“Yes,”Pixie shouted.
“I like that a lot,” River said, nodding to the kids. “Great job. Bear Haven it is.”
“Thank you, River,” she told him over the lump in her throat. “That’s beautiful.”
“Everything is beautiful today,” he said, meeting her eyes.
22
RIVER
River headed down the path toward the pasture for the second time on Christmas morning, carrying a wooden crate this time.
The first time, it had still been dark outside, and he’d taken care of the horses on his own, everything except releasing them in the pasture.
This time Pixie, John-John, and Nora were following him, chatting excitedly about what they were all about to do.
River knew he should be tired—he had hardly been able to sleep last night. But instead, he was practically buzzing with energy. His whole life was changing. It was as if the future he had dreamed of for so long was appearing instantly in front of him, fully formed with the perfect family.
But a whisper of guilt kept echoing in the back of his mind, like maybe he hadn’t earned all of this if it had happened so effortlessly.
Sleepless, he’d searched his mind for what to do—how to make himself worthy of the love that had all but landed in his lap.
They had fulfilled all the traditions in theFarmer Bear’s Christmasbook, which meant a lot to the kids. Working on all those activities had brought them together and made them feel enough like a family already that making it official felt like the natural next step.
But it occurred to him that maybe they needed a tradition of their own.
So, he’d fed the horses early, then headed out to the garage to grab a few things, and back into the house for a few more. By the time everyone else was waking up, he had this crate packed with everything they would need to start a tradition all their own.
“We’re going to visit thehorses,” John-John’s bright voice sang out happily.
“And we have a surprise for them,” Pixie said softly. “But we don’t know what it is.”
“That makes it a surprise for us too,” Nora told her.
“AChristmassurprise,” John-John said. “MerryChristmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” they all called back to him.
“Where are the horses?” Pixie asked suddenly.
River smiled. The six-year-old was the most observant of the crew, and she was especially interested in the animals.
