Page 51 of Soldier's Chrismas Hope
River kissed Pixie’s forehead when it was done, and left her to snuggle with her aunt for a minute.
Pull it together,he told himself as he started the kettle downstairs.
He knew he should probably just have an early night, and avoid this time alone with Nora when he might be tempted to beg her for things she couldn’t give him.
But instead of heading back to his cottage for bed, he set out two mugs and placed the teabags in them. As he was pouring the hot water, he heard her soft tread on the steps.
He turned and there she was, looking sleepy and lovely, a faint smile on her face, content from a day well-spent.
“Hi,” he said, feeling like an idiot the moment the word left his mouth.
“Hi,” she replied, her smile growing.
They moved to the table once again, and he placed a mug in front of her before sitting across from her, wishing he could curl up on the bench with her instead, pull her into his arms…
“This has been wonderful, River,” she said softly, her eyes on her mug as her delicate fingers toyed with the string of the teabag. “It’s so good to see them happy.”
River nodded, his heart aching all over again for the children. Somehow, they managed to live in the present, if only for each other.
If they can do it, I can do it too.
“I’m having fun too,” Nora admitted after a moment, glancing up at him, her dimples popping as she smiled.
“I’ve never been this happy,” he heard himself tell her, his voice husky.
Her eyes widened slightly, and he braced himself for her to warn him off.
Instead, he heard a cell phone buzzing.
“Oh,” she said, sliding her phone from her pocket. “Wow, it’s my friend, Leslie. I should take it.”
He nodded to her, and she smiled a different kind of smile. He didn’t want to read her expression as relief, but it was hard not to see it that way.
Stop trying to make this into something it isn’t,he begged himself inwardly.She needs a friend, not a lovesick schoolboy.
River had honed his discipline in the Army. He could march for miles, going without sleep and food. He had trained himself to ignore his own fears and needs, and use his body as a tool to protect others.
But this was different. Nora and the kids had slipped past his defenses and found their way into his soul somehow.
How can I fight my own heart?
13
NORA
Nora fled upstairs with her phone, her heart still pounding in her chest as she slid her finger across the screen to accept the call.
“Leslie?” she whispered as she closed her bedroom door behind her.
“Hey,” Leslie’s familiar voice said. “How’s it going?”
Nora took a deep breath and tried to focus. But all she could hear in her mind were River’s words.
I’ve never been this happy.
“I… don’t know,” Nora told her. “Things are going well.”
“Where are you guys?” Leslie asked. “I tried stopping by.”
