A Christmas Promise

by Wendy Lindstrom

  Leo lunged to his feet and crossed the parlor in three long strides. “Thank you,” he said with such gratitude that it made Adam laugh.

  “What shenanigans are you two up to?” Faith asked as they entered the kitchen.

  Adam looked at Leo and they burst out laughing.

  “Since you two rascals are so happy today, I’m going to put you to work in the greenhouse,” she called after them.

  Adam groaned and rolled his eyes.

  Leo shrugged, obviously having no idea that working in the greenhouse meant breaking your back digging, planting, hauling, and watering.

  When they returned to the parlor, Benny whimpered and tugged Leo’s hand.

  Leo knelt in front of the boy. “I’ve got to go to work. You stay with these nice ladies.”

  Knuckling his eyes, Benny tried to climb into Leo’s arms.

  “Bring that boy over here so I can give him some sugar,” Tansy said, patting her lap.

  Concern filled Leo’s face, but he did as she asked.

  When Benny started to fuss Tansy began to sing and bounce him on her knee. “The cow says moo and the dog says ruff; chickens run around sayin’ cluck-cluck-cluck.”

  The surprise and curiosity on Benny’s face made Adam grin. Tansy had been singing that barnyard song to him as long as he could remember. It was a fun song, but what Benny didn’t know is that Tansy was going to put those barnyard critters to bed one-by-one, and with them one little boy who was sitting on her lap entranced.

  He nudged Leo, nodded toward the front door and mouthed let’s go.

  The second floor of the greenhouse was one vast hall where their family and friends would gather for the Christmas celebration that was just three weeks away.

  Adam and Leo knocked down spider webs and swept the floor. They set up tables and chairs then wiped everything clean. They would do a final cleaning on Christmas Eve and hang beribboned fir wreaths around the large room along with vines of ground holly that Adam would collect that morning.

  When they returned to the house an hour later, Faith was at the kitchen stove stirring something in a pot that smelled delicious. Anna had gone home and Cora was down for a nap, but Tansy was sitting in the rocking chair Faith kept near the cook stove, holding Benny who was sound asleep in her arms.

  As if he’d done something wrong, Leo quickly crossed the kitchen. “I’m sorry, ma’am. He’s heavy as a rock when he sleeps. I’ll take him up to bed now.”

  She smiled up at him. “Leave him, dahlin’. Having this little one in my arms is the best feeling in the world.”

  Leo glanced at Adam as if asking what he should do.

  Adam shrugged. Benny seemed content wrapped in Tansy’s arms, and she was obviously not ready to give him up.

  “Don’t wake him,” Faith said, breaking off a sprig of dried thyme from a small cluster of herbs she had bound with twine and hung from the ceiling near the stove. “You boys need to wash up for supper.”

  At dawn on Saturday morning, Adam shivered and rubbed his eyes, still half asleep but eager to show Leo the Grayson sawmill.

  He lengthened his stride to match his father’s, liking the way their boots struck the snowy road in unison. Leo walked beside them in his new jacket and boots, a gift from Adam’s father. Leo was wearing the brown wool hat and scarf that Tansy had knitted.

  “You look pretty all gussied up in your new duds,” Adam said, shoulder bumping Leo, and earning a laugh from his dad.

  Leo palmed Adam’s head and shoved his hat over his eyes. “You look like a ragamuffin in this grungy thing.”

  Adam laughed and danced away. “Don’t mess with my lucky hat,” he said, shoving it back on his head. It was old and worn thin, but he wouldn’t part with it for anything. “This was my dad’s hat,” he said, walk-skipping backward to keep pace with them. “He gave it to me on my first hunt, and I took down a buck that day.”

  “Did not,” Leo said, but Adam could tell he was teasing.

  Putting food on his family’s table last winter was a feeling Adam would never forget. “Mess with my hat and I’ll bury you in the sawdust pile.”

  Leo snorted and made a playful grab for Adam’s hat.

  “Hold up, boys,” his dad said as they arrived at the mill. “Save some of that energy for moving lumber.”

  He stood a full head taller than either of them and seemed as grand as the mountain of timber behind him. “Leo, this is a busy place. Pay attention at all times and stay away from the powerful saws inside the main building. You work with Adam today. He’ll show you what to do.”

  “Yes, sir,” Leo said, his gaze sweeping the expansive mill with awe.

  Their team of Percherons, driven by Tansy’s husband Cyrus Darling, were already hard at work pulling a drag of timber across the yard. Bursts of steam blew from their nostrils as they labored in the cold December morning.

  Piles of logs and stacks of cut lumber formed small mountains around the mill. The buzzing whine of the circular saw cut through the morning and echoed along Canadaway Creek that ran behind the mill. Adam listened to the long plaintive whine of the saw followed by a breathless pause while the carriage gigged back followed by another long whine. The thud of the team’s hooves and rattle of harness and chains told him the horses were fresh and eager in their labor. The clacking, clanking sound of lumber being stacked or tossed onto the scrap pile added another layer to the noise.

  His chest swelled as he inhaled the scent of pine and fresh cut hardwoods that filled the air. To be part of the Grayson family and the mill still filled him with wonder. When he first came to the mill he had wanted food to eat and a warm place to sleep. He had also wanted a father, and he had gotten the best. In all his daydreams and wishful thinking, he’d never imagined a life this grand.

  “You still asleep, son?” his dad asked, playfully shaking him awake with a one-armed hug.

  “No, sir.” Adam ducked away with a grin. “I was giving Leo a minute to look around.”

  “It’s time for working, not looking,” his dad said, but Adam knew their heckling and banter was all in fun. “You two pay attention and work safe.”

  “We will. Come on, Leo. We got to feed the boiler then move some sawdust.” Proud to be in charge, Adam headed toward the office. “We’ll need some gloves for this job.”

  In the office, he introduced Leo to his uncle Radford and a couple of their mill hands, who were warming their fingers around mugs of steaming coffee.

  “Gloves are over here,” he said, gesturing toward a wooden crate on a counter at the back of the office.

  Leo started to follow, but stopped and stared open-mouthed at a life-size wooden statue of a man.

  “My uncle Boyd made that,” Adam said with a mix of pride and envy.

  Leo shook his head. “I wish I could carve like that. I could make a hundred things... like a horse or a boat for Benny.”

  Radford joined them by the statue. “It took my brother years to make that. You might start with something simpler,” he suggested. “My boys like playing with wood and blocks. With some sawing and sanding you can make some fine blocks for Benny from our scrap pile out there.”

  Leo’s eyes lit up then immediately dimmed. “Thank you, sir, but I can’t afford to purchase any boards just yet.”

  “There’s no charge for our scrap, son. You can help yourself to what you need.”

  Leo glanced at Adam as if he couldn’t believe what he just heard. “Thank you, sir.”

  “Adam will show you where we keep the hand saws and sandpaper.” Radford went to one of the large desks in the office and sat down. “Now you two quit dragging your boot heels and get some work done today.”

  Adam rolled his eyes to let Leo know his uncle was playing with them. Everyone at the mill, including Adam, worked hard without being told to do so. He fished out two pairs of leather gloves and tossed a pair to Leo. “You heard our marching orders. Let’s get to work, lazybones.”

  As they elbow-wrestled each other out the
door, Adam noticed the grin on Radford’s face.

  He and Leo worked hard all morning filling the boiler, shoving and hauling sawdust, and stacking several pallets of lumber. By late morning they were sweating and shedding their heavy jackets despite the thirty-degree temperature outside.

  Leo pulled off his gloves and sat on a pile of timber. “You were right about this being hard work.”

  “You’ll get used to it.” Adam plopped down beside him. “We’re getting a good pile of slabs put aside for making blocks. Uncle Cyrus is going to drop them at the greenhouse for us, so we can cut and sand them there. Figure I’ll make some for Cora, too.”

  “That will be fun for both of them. I’m glad Benny has her to play with.”

  Which is why Adam should keep his mouth shut and let the boys stay. It wasn’t just Benny who was happy. Cora finally had a playmate, and Faith seemed real happy having a baby around. It was sort of nice having Leo around, too. With a sigh, Adam leaned back against the pile of logs, wondering what to do. Should he try to find the boys another home, or step aside and welcome them into his?

  “You two plan on sawing those logs in your sleep?” his uncle Kyle said, dropping several grappling hooks at their feet.

  Startled by the crash, Leo bolted to his feet.

  Adam barely moved. He was used to the clanking, crashing, screeching sounds of the mill.

  Kyle playfully caught him behind the neck and hauled him to his feet. “Come on, young ‘un, before those logs roll you out like Christmas pie crust.”

  Only then did Adam realize how stupid he’d been to sit on a pile of unstable logs. He knew better. Safety was first at the mill because one small mistake could mean death. Not just his own. Anyone working with him could be killed because of his carelessness.

  His uncle could have cuffed his ears for being so foolish. Instead, Kyle had given him a gentle reminder and spared him a red face in front of Leo. But it was Adam’s job to teach Leo how to work safe, and so he needed to handle that responsibility like a man.

  “Sink these hooks in that piece of ash,” his uncle said, pointing to a large log slightly separated from the pile. “Cyrus will be around with the team in a few minutes.”

  “Yes, sir.” Adam turned to Leo. “Before we do that, you need to know I just did something real stupid that could have gotten us both killed.”

  Stunned surprise filled Leo’s face.

  Kyle gave a respectful nod and walked away, leaving him in charge of Leo’s education.

  That small acknowledgment wasn’t what Adam had expected, but he sure appreciated his uncle’s kindness.

  He thumbed toward the timber they had been sitting on and repeated the lessons he’d learned from his father and uncles. “Log piles and stacks of lumber can be unstable. A soaking rain or hard freeze can sink or heave the ground beneath them. One little change down there can make a whole lot of difference up there,” he said, pointing from the bottom to the top of the pile. “Each time we remove one of these logs we affect the whole pile. Don’t ever assume they are secure. Rolling logs are heavy and deadly. If a stack of lumber fell on you it would crush you like a spider between a boot and a hardwood floor.”

  Leo gulped and eyed the stack of timber as if it would break loose and crush them any second.

  “I should have warned you not to sit here, but I was thinking about other things and... being stupid.” Sighing, Adam jammed his hands into his gloves. “I won’t do it again. That’s a promise.”

  Leo blew out a breath and looked at the expansive mill. “There sure is a lot to watch out for.”

  “There is, but I promise to keep you alive long enough to learn to take care of yourself.”

  With a half-laugh, Leo punched Adam’s shoulder. “You better.”

  Adam grinned and punched him back. “Come on. We got to sink these hooks before my uncle Cyrus brings the team around.”

  By the end of the day, Adam was exhausted from working so hard to impress Leo. His back ached, but it had been a good day at the mill and he was eager to tell Rebecca about it.

  On the days he worked the mill she would often wait outside for him if she didn’t have chores to do. She would walk with him to the end of her property, giving them a few minutes to talk, and then she would hurry back to her house while he went on to his. But this evening he wouldn’t see her because he had to stop by his aunt Tansy’s house first to pick up Cora and Benny. Faith had left them there while she went to help Anna finish the quilt they were working on.

  “I’ll see you boys at home,” his father said, continuing on toward Anna’s house so he could walk Faith home.

  Missing Rebecca, Adam dragged his heels while his uncle Cyrus whistled a merry tune and clomped along the snow covered drive leading to his house. It seemed the man was always happy.

  His whistling stopped and he patted Leo’s broad shoulder. “You did a fine job today, son.”

  Adam straightened his aching shoulders, expecting to be praised for being a good boss and for working like a man all day, but his uncle was too focused on Leo.

  “What do you think of the mill?” he asked.

  Leo’s face brightened. “It’s grander than anything I could have imagined.”

  The awe in his voice reminded Adam how he’d felt a year ago when he first began working there, but he didn’t like being left out of the conversation. “My dad says there is a rhythm to the sawing that can make working easier.”

  “That’s right.” Cyrus’s nod of agreement pleased Adam. “Work with that song in your heart and your back will hurt a little less at the end of the day.”

  Leo rolled his shoulders again. “I wish someone would have told me that this morning. I about broke my back trying to keep up with Adam.”

  Cyrus laughed and clamped his hard, callused fingers around the back of Adam’s neck, giving him a playful shake. “This young ‘un enjoys making the rest of us look lazy.”

  With a grin, Adam ducked away feeling ten feet tall. He liked his uncle. Cyrus wasn’t tall or wide-shouldered like the Grayson men, but he was as lean and strong as the horses he drove at the mill. Kindness shone from his weathered face and welcomed whoever crossed his path.

  Cyrus opened his front door and waved them inside. “Shuck your boots and I’ll teach you a bit about music while Tansy warms some cider for us.”

  The offer to sit for a while before tending chores at home was too tempting to pass up.

  Cora and Benny were playing on the kitchen floor with some pots and wooden spoons.

  His aunt flitted through the house, nearly giddy being able to fuss over all of them. Adam’s dad said Tansy reminded him of a butterfly. She always appeared a little breathless and anxious, as if the slightest disturbance would make her fly away.

  Adam sank his aching body into one of the comfortable parlor chairs and watched his uncle mesmerize Leo with the music flowing from his guitar.

  An hour later they had savored two cups of cider, and Leo was lit up like a gas lantern. Cyrus was teaching him to play “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear,” one of Adam’s favorite Christmas songs.

  “Would you like to try, Adam?” Cyrus presented the beautiful tobacco brown guitar.

  “No thanks, Uncle Cyrus. My hands are sore from having to cuff Leo in the head all day to keep him moving.”

  Their laughter made him grin despite his best effort to keep a straight face. He was getting good at the heckling and banter they exchanged at the mill all day.

  “If I wasn’t so tired I’d cuff you in the head,” Leo said, snapping Adam’s ear with his fingers. “You nearly worked me to death.”

  Adam scooted away with a laugh.

  “So much for ‘Peace on Earth,’” Cyrus said with a chuckle. “Before you two start roughhousing, Mrs. Darling and I want to talk with Leo.”

  A quizzical expression crossed Leo’s face, but Adam shrugged to let him know he was clueless about his uncle’s business.

  “I’ll get right to the point.” Cyrus set the
gut-stringed Martin guitar on the floor and leaned the neck against the davenport. As Tansy sat beside him, he slipped his hand over hers, his expression serious. “Mrs. Darling and I would be honored to have you and Benny make this your home,” he said to Leo.

  Adam’s jaw dropped in surprise. He hadn’t considered his aunt’s home as a possibility, but it would be perfect for the boys.

  Leo cast a wary look at him then back at Cyrus and Tansy.

  “Mrs. Darling is smitten with you two. I would enjoy having a couple boys to take hunting and teach guitar and... well, son, we think the four of us could make a very nice family.”

  Tansy seemed to be holding her breath waiting for Leo to speak. That she desperately wanted to mother the boys was as obvious as the six string guitar leaning against the davenport.

  “Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Darling,” Leo said, his eyes begging Adam to help him out. “I just... well... do Mr. and Mrs. Grayson know about this?”

  “Yes,” Cyrus said. “We talked with them late last night.”

  Adam’s gut knotted. “What did they say?”

  His aunt frowned as if he had asked a ridiculous question. Instead of answering, she spoke to Leo. “You boys are warmly welcomed in either home. Our house is small, but it’s filled with music and love, and Mr. Darling and I would be very happy to have you boys here.”

  Leo sat speechless, his face turning pink as he fidgeted with the doily on the arm of the chair.

  “No need to fret, son.” Cyrus stood and clapped his hand over Leo’s shoulder. “You don’t have to decide today.”

  “Thank you, sir. I... I’ll think about it.” Leo shot to his feet and hauled Adam from his chair. “We got chores waiting for us.”

  In the flurry of dressing Cora and Benny and dragging on their own coats and boots, they thanked Tansy for the cider and Cyrus for the music.

  Leo scooped up Benny and bolted outside.

  “Slow down,” Adam said, yanking the sleeve of Leo’s new jacket. “Cora can’t walk this fast and I ain’t going to carry her home.”

  Leo slowed down, but looked straight ahead.