Page 17 of Soldier's Chrismas Hope
“I’m so sorry,” she told him. “I guess it’s been kind of a while since I sat down with another adult.”
River looked down at the tiny toast squares and back up at her, his eyes twinkling as he began to laugh. It was a deep, happy sound that warmed her up from the inside out, and Nora found herself laughing too.
“I prefer it this way,” River said. “I can pretend to be a giant.”
She watched as he demonstrated by putting a square of toast in his mouth whole and couldn’t help chuckling at his imitation of how he thought a giant would chew toast.
He might look big and fierce now, but deep inside he’s still that same lighthearted boy I met all those years ago.
She cut off that line of thought and took a bite of her own toast. It was delicious, the sweet apple spread the perfect counterpoint to the whole grain of the bread.
“So good,” she murmured.
“My mom made the bread,” River said.
“She’s got a gift,” Nora said, eating another piece.
“I’m really glad you’re here,” River said suddenly. “I know it wasn’t easy to just pack the kids up at sundown and come out to the country. But I promise they’re going to have the best weekend ever.”
“Thank you,” Nora said, meeting his dark eyes again.
Maybe it was only because he was touching her heart by offering a taste of happiness to the two most important people in her world, but a wave of something that feltalmost like love crashed through her chest as he gazed at her from across the table.
“Well,” he said, standing and clearing his throat. “I guess I should head out.”
It took a second for his words to land, and by the time they did, he was already gathering up the dishes.
“Where are you going?” she asked him, in complete confusion.
“Oh, there’s a little cottage on the property,” he told her. “I thought it would be better for you and the kids to have this place to yourselves—more like what you’re used to.”
“Oh,” she said.
What he was saying was reasonable, but it also felt a bit like she and the kids were kicking him out of his own house by coming.
“Come on,” he told her. “I’ll show you.”
She followed him to the kitchen window.
“You can just see it,” he told her. “Right there.”
She could just make out the outline of a small cottage on the other side of the driveway.
“If you need anything, you can text me and I’ll be over in a heartbeat,” he told her.
“Thank you,” she said, wishing she had a better way to express the depth of her gratitude.
“It’s my pleasure, Nora,” he said, his deep voice husky as he gazed down at her.
The next thing she knew, he had torn his eyes from hers, grabbed a backpack from the hook on the wall, shoved his feet into his boots, and headed out the back door.
“See you in the morning,” he told her over his shoulder as he closed the door behind him.
Nora moved back to the window and watched his big form moving across the lawn and the driveway. She watched until he was inside and the windows of the cottage lit up, casting a comforting golden glow onto the snow outside.
Then she turned back to the cozy farmhouse he’d been nice enough to give up for them and wondered again why it felt so much like home.
5
