by Regina Scott
The house certainly wasn’t silent. Rina and John were praising the actors while Ma served up generous slices of her famous apple bread and spiced apple cider she’d kept simmering on the stove. Beth, still dressed in her flowing white robe, beamed at them all, and even Mr. Hennessy was flushed with happiness.
Nora sat beside Simon at the table and leaned her head against his shoulder. “What a lovely evening.”
Simon’s arm slipped around her waist. He told himself it was only for stability. With her leaning so close, they might easily topple the old wood bench. But there was something right and good about holding her this way.
“You made a marvelous Mary,” John was telling Catherine, who was sitting next to Drew across from them.
She smiled at his older brother. “That’s because I was paired with a magnificent Joseph.”
Drew snorted, then popped a piece of apple bread into his mouth.
Standing near the head of the table, Rina clapped her hands. “Attention! May I have everyone’s attention, please?”
Voices quieted. Gazes turned her way. Though she was a schoolteacher, Simon knew that at least some of her considerable presence came from being brought up to believe she would one day rule a small European nation.
As Nora snuggled closer, Rina nodded to them all. “Thank you. I just wanted to say how proud I am of our thespians this evening. You recited your lines accurately and with great feeling. You brought your audience with you into the scene. No seasoned actor or actress could have done better. I give each of you a grade of excellent for your work.”
“Huzzah!” Mr. Borden cried, raising a fist into the air.
“Huzzah!” James and John chorused.
Rina smiled. “Congratulations on your accomplishments. Enjoy your time off for Christmas. Class will resume the first Monday after New Year’s. Merry Christmas to you all.”
“Merry Christmas, ma’am,” Mr. Borden declared.
Mr. Hennessy went one further. He lumbered up to Rina and enfolded her in a hug that lifted her off her feet.
James strolled over and tapped him on the shoulder. “My turn,” he said as Mr. Hennessy lowered her to the floor. The giant smiled and hurried back to his cider.
Simon watched as James murmured something to Rina, and she blushed and smiled. Across the table, Drew and Catherine likewise had their heads together. Ma and Mrs. Paul were discussing how she kept the apples so moist in her bread. Levi, John and Scout were arguing over sleeping arrangements, for the boy and his father, like the rest of their guests, would be spending the night. Mr. Paul and Mr. Rankin were joking with each other, Scout’s usually quarrelsome father looking decidedly happy for a change.
Everyone seemed so contented. Simon let the feeling bathe him, lifting his spirits. But his enjoyment of the moment was nothing compared to the feeling of holding Nora. He shifted her closer, and she glanced up, looking surprised. All he could do was smile at her. As if she understood things were changing between them, her smile blossomed.
She was right. It was a lovely night.
The party broke up an hour later. Levi asked for his help to rearrange the pallets in the loft for him, Scout and Mr. Rankin. Mr. and Mrs. Paul would be sleeping in Ma’s bed while she bunked with Beth. When Simon came back downstairs, Nora was nowhere in sight. Disappointment threatened his good mood, but he shook it off. Likely, she’d been worried about the dog and gone to check on him. He’d find them both warming themselves before the fire in the cabin.
His mother and Beth were putting away the last of the bread as he strode for the door.
“Good night, Simon,” his mother called.
“Sweet dreams,” Beth added.
“You too,” Simon said before leaving.
And he thought he might just have sweet dreams that night. Always before, he had struggled to find the joy his family so easily grasped. Sometimes he felt as if he lived at the bottom of a well, with only glimmers of light reaching down into the dark shaft.
Then he’d met Nora. When she was near, it was easier to relax, to think of possibilities, to see the light. Beth might have played the angel tonight, but Nora was the star in his Christmas. He could only be thankful she had chosen him to wed.
When he opened the door of the cabin, the fire was glowing in the hearth. Fleet raised his head from his blanket on the floor, his tail waving in welcome. Simon glanced up at the loft and smiled.
“Already in bed?” he called up.
Mr. Hennessy’s head popped into the opening. “Just about.”
Simon shoved the door shut behind him and strode into the house. “What are you doing here?”
Hennessy’s meaty grin faded. “Mrs. Nora said I could stay here. There wasn’t room for me at the big house.”
Nor at Drew and Catherine’s, Simon realized. And Mr. Borden was staying with James and Rina. “Where’s Nora?”
Hennessy frowned. “I thought she was with you. She’s your wife, isn’t she?”
Not in the ways that mattered. But Hennessy had no way of knowing that.
Simon turned for the door. “Gather your things. There’s a better place for you to sleep. I’ll be back for you shortly.”
With a yip, Fleet leaped to his feet to follow.
Simon’s pulse was unnaturally rapid as he stalked back to the main house, Fleet running along beside him. One of the things everyone loved about Nora was her kindness, her willingness to put others first. But by putting them first, she put herself last. She seemed to think that was her lot, but he was no longer willing to see her treated so shabbily.
“She deserves better,” he told Fleet, who bobbed his head as if agreeing wholeheartedly.
Ma was just heading for the stairs when Simon poked his head in the door.
“Tell Nora to come home,” he called.
His mother paused to look back at him. “Nora isn’t here. She left with Drew and Catherine.”
Simon thanked her and headed across the clearing. Fleet ran ahead, stopping expectantly at the door of the barn, but Simon called him to follow to the edge of the clearing, where Drew’s cabin lay. He couldn’t imagine where they’d put Nora in his older brother’s cozy cabin. Drew already had plans to enlarge the house next spring after the baby was born.
But when Drew answered Simon’s rap on the door, his brother assured him they had not seen Nora.
Worry sat like an itch on his skin, but he made himself trek to James’s cabin, only to receive the same answer.
“Are you certain she did not stay with your mother and Beth?” Rina asked, peering over James’s shoulder, her hair down for the night.
“Positive,” Simon said, Fleet sniffing about his feet.
James hitched up the suspender that had been hanging over one shoulder. “I’ll come with you.”
“No,” Simon said. “If I don’t find her, I’ll come back for help.”
He set off through the forest once more. Fleet crowded close, as if he thought Simon needed his support. Strange to say, but he did. Where could she be? How had she fared in the sleet? The icy drops felt like darts against his face, chilling him even in his wool suit.
Please, Lord, keep her safe.
A peace slipped over him, a surety, completely out of place with the circumstances. Nora was clever, and she knew the area now. He just had to find her and bring her home. Funny how the Lord seemed closer now that Simon had opened himself up to listen.
He tried the schoolhouse next, but the classroom and teacher’s quarters beyond were dark and empty. That left one other building on the property. Once again, Fleet ran ahead of him to the barn door and sat, waiting for him to catch up.
“Sorry I was so slow,” he told the dog, and he didn’t just mean his footsteps.
Britta mooed a welcome as he slid open the door. With the theatrical
over, the barn had been returned to its normal configuration, and he took a few steps into the pitch blackness. Chickens clucked a scold at being interrupted. The goats, horses and oxen shifted in their stalls.
“Nora?” he called, afraid to hear silence in answer.
“Yes, Simon?”
Something moved in the loft. Going to the wall, where he knew a lantern and flint were stored, he lit the light and raised it.
Nora peered down at him from the haymow.
Simon shook his head. “What are you doing up there?”
She blinked. With her hair tumbled about her and straw sticking in the tresses like feathers, she looked a bit like an owl awakened from its sleep.
“Well,” she said, “Mr. Hennessy needed a place to sleep.”
“And you had to give him your place.” How could he not admire her kindness?
She nodded. “Yes, of course, Simon. I knew you were concerned about the hay, and I am certainly smaller than Mr. Hennessy, so I would likely do it less damage.”
She had a point. As usual. Simon lowered the lantern. “Very considerate of you. But there was no need. Hennessy can sleep in the schoolroom—there’s a teacher’s quarters behind. Rina hasn’t used it since she married James.”
“Oh,” she said. “Well, I suppose that will do. I’m sorry if I inconvenienced you.”
Indeed she inconvenienced him. As well as shook him up, frustrated him and made him see that the world could be a brighter place. “No need to apologize. I’m just glad you’re all right. Come back to the cabin, and I’ll send Hennessy to the school.”
But Nora didn’t move.
Simon sighed. “What is it, Nora? Aren’t the teacher’s quarters good enough for Hennessy? You don’t have to be given the worst portion because that’s all your family would allow. You deserve better.”
“That’s not it.” Her head came up, making the straw in her dark tresses stand at attention. “I was very proud of myself for climbing the ladder in my dinner dress, but I haven’t changed out of it yet, and I’m not entirely sure I can get down.”
“Let me help you.” He hung the lantern from a hook, then climbed the ladder until his face drew level with hers. Those eyes brushed his soul, drew him in, made him feel entirely unworthy.
“Thank you, Simon,” she said.
Any lingering frustration melted away. He reached out a hand and touched her cheek, her skin like satin under his fingers.
“I should thank you,” he said. “I don’t think like you do, Nora, but I find myself wishing I did. You see so much wonder in the world.”
“Because there is so much wonder to see.” Her smile was as soft as a caress. “Can you count the number of stars in the sky? Have you heard a baby laugh? It’s simply amazing!”
Gazing at her, he wanted so badly to agree. “You are amazing.”
The red rose in her cheeks. “Thank you, Simon.”
It was the work of a moment to take the last step, lean in and kiss her. And in that kiss he knew they might have a chance at a true marriage, if only he could open his heart all the way and let her in.
* * *
Oh, that kiss held so much—hope, joy, wonder. Nora was still trembling from it when she woke the next morning.
Please, oh please, Lord! Keep working Your will!
There she went again, praying for herself. Yet she knew the prayer was for more than her own happiness. It was for Simon’s as well. Surely the Lord would honor that.
Christmas Eve had dawned to a cold fog that chilled Nora through her cloak as she trudged down the path of frozen mud to the barn, Fleet trotting at her heels. Simon had left earlier, as usual. Nora pulled the barn door open and spotted Beth gathering eggs.
“You’ll have to wait outside,” Nora told Fleet, knowing the dog’s presence might frighten the chickens. She fluttered her fingers at him, and he happily dashed off across the clearing.
“Thanks,” Beth said, coming out of the chicken roost, basket on one arm. Her blue eyes twinkled. “Well? Are you ready for Christmas?”
Nora nodded as she sat to milk Britta. The cow’s udder was warm under her hand. “I just need a little time to stitch the two pieces of Simon’s waistcoat together.”
“I don’t know how much time you’ll have today,” Beth confided, twitching her gingham skirts so her pink flannel petticoat peeked out beneath. “We have to bring in the Yule log.”
Nora was about to ask her to explain the custom when the door opened and Simon strode in.
“I’ll finish for you, Nora. Go and have some breakfast.”
Nora would have preferred to stay with him, but Beth skipped to the door. “Oh, good. Come on, Nora. You wanted some time to yourself.”
Nora hurried after Beth before he could ask her why she wanted to be alone.
She managed to finish his waistcoat and return to the main house to be met by the tantalizing smell of spiced cider, thick with cinnamon, drifting from the kitchen. Their guests, Levi, Beth and John crowded around the table. Nora helped Mrs. Wallin finish serving them breakfast. Simon stopped by only long enough to leave the milk bucket before slipping out again.
A little while later Nora stood with his mother and siblings on the porch to wave goodbye as the Pauls and the Rankins set off for their respective homes.
Mr. Hennessy pumped her hand. “You’re a fine lady, Mrs. Simon. You made me look like a king in that costume.”
“Me too,” Mr. Borden put in, smiling to reveal his crooked teeth. “If that lad gives you any trouble, you just send him to me, and I’ll be the making of him.”
“Simon is a fine husband,” Nora assured him as they took their leave.
“Are things going a little better, then?” Mrs. Wallin asked her as they went back into the house.
“Yes,” Nora said, then hid a smile as she realized she was being as economical in her word choice as Simon.
“Good,” his mother said, heading for the kitchen, where Nora knew a pile of dishes waited. “I thought Simon just needed the right encouragement. Where did he head off to, by the way?”
Nora made sure Fleet was settled in his favorite spot looking into the kitchen, then followed Mrs. Wallin to the washtub, where John was even now pouring in steaming water from the kettle.
“Simon is busy for the moment,” she told them. “I’m sure he’ll be along shortly.”
John frowned, lowering the empty kettle as his mother began slipping the dishes in to soak. “Busy? Why would he be busy? We never work alone at logging or clearing, and it’s Christmas Eve.”
Mrs. Wallin nodded. “Go fetch him, John. We should be going for the Yule log shortly.”
John started past, but Nora caught his arm. “I wish you wouldn’t. He must have something very important to do to leave us today.”
John’s eyes, green like his mother’s, were kind as he looked at her. “There is nothing more important than family on Christmas Eve, Nora. I’ll bring him back for you.”
She released him, but she couldn’t help following him to the door. Neither could Fleet. John also collected Levi and Beth, who had been playing chess by the fire, and they put on their winter coats and swept out into the clearing, calling Simon’s name. Drew and Catherine and James and Rina were coming into the clearing from their cabins, and they joined in as well, with Fleet howling an accompaniment. Levi was just heading for the rifle when Simon poked his head out the barn door.
“There you are,” his mother called. “We’re ready to go for the Yule log.”
“Hurry or Yule miss out,” John called.
Beth groaned at the pun.
James smacked his younger brother on the shoulder. “Yule have to do better than that if you want to keep up with me.”
“Enough,” Drew ordered. “Yule have everyone in stitches.”
Despite herself, Nora giggled.
“You don’t need me,” Simon said, but he took a step out of the barn and shut the door carefully behind him. “I have work to do here.”
Beth wagged a finger at him. “Oh, no, you don’t. You know the rules. No extra work on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.”
Nora could see the struggle in him, one foot forward as if he longed to be part of the fun, the other back as if his tasks called to him even now. Perhaps all he needed was encouragement, like his mother had said.
“I’d love for you to join us, Simon,” Nora called.
Something softened in his face. “Give me a moment,” he said, and he turned and slipped into the barn once more. Levi went to fetch the big saw, while James and John each took up an ax.
“Thank you, Nora,” Mrs. Wallin murmured, giving her arm a squeeze. “You are good for him.”
Oh, how she hoped that was true!
Simon came out a moment later, shrugging into his coat, and they all joined together to troop through the woods. The fog was lifting, leaving the trees limed with frost. Their voices echoed in the stillness.
Simon and Nora fell in step behind the family and Fleet.
“Thank you,” she said.
He started, then shook himself. “It was no trouble,” he assured her.
It might not have been trouble, but for a moment she had a feeling he’d expected her to thank him for something else. What was he up to in the barn?
As if he saw questions in her eyes he didn’t want to answer, he hurried on. “Did Ma or Beth explain about the Yule log?”
“I hadn’t had a chance,” his mother said. “You tell the tale, Simon.”
He nodded. “We’ve gone to bring in the Yule log for as long as I can remember. Part of Ma’s family came from England. They always brought in the Yule log on Christmas Eve, so she wanted to continue the tradition in her family.”
