in with a stack of gaily wrapped packages and a paper sack.
He winked at Joe. “Who wants a present?”
“I do.” Joe lunged for a box.
Griff handed each of the boys a box and watched while they opened them—a wooden train set for Joe and an elaborate puzzle for Caleb—then Carrie gave them her presents. Joe grinned when he saw the brightly painted mechanical bank from Jasper Pruitt’s mercantile, but Caleb seemed less enthusiastic about his shiny penknife. He tested the blade and fingered the smooth wooden case, his expression sober. “Thanks, Aunt Carrie.”
Disappointment welled inside her. “You don’t like it?”
“I like it fine. But I was kinda hoping for a rifle.”
“You’re too young, Caleb,” Mary said. “We talked about this before, remember?”
“Yeah, but that was before Papa left. I’m the man of the family till he gets back. I need a gun for going huntin’. And to protect you in case robbers come around.”
Mary drew Caleb onto her knees and wrapped her arms around him. “I appreciate that, son, but we don’t have to worry about robbers. And Papa will be home soon, just like he promised. You’ll see.”
Caleb shrugged and stared at the floor. Despite everything he had done to vex her, Carrie couldn’t bear the sadness in the boy’s eyes. She patted his arm. “Spring will be here before we know it.”
“Why don’t we sing some carols?” Mary asked. “It is Christmas, after all.” She smiled. “I’m sorry we’re missing the church program this year. I always looked forward to the singing.”
“Me too,” Carrie said. “And the pageant. Deborah asked Mrs. Musgrove to help Jeanne Pruitt sew costumes after Mr. Musgrove passed on. Deborah says they’re absolutely lovely.”
“Maybe we can go next year.” Joe looked up from his new train set and grinned. “Maybe Jimmy D. Washburn will play the part of Joseph. Or maybe he’ll be an angel.”
Caleb snorted and laughed at last. “Jimmy D. an angel? Not likely.”
“Well, at least we can sing about angels,” Carrie said. She led them through “While Shepherds Watched Their Flocks” and “Angels from the Realms of Glory.” Then, when the last note died away, she handed the boys the books Nate had brought for them. Joe immediately curled up before the fire with Peter Parley’s Annual and studied the lavish illustrations, his other presents forgotten. Caleb flipped through Hawthorne’s Tanglewood Tales and set it aside. “I’ll read it later.”
Once the presents were opened, Carrie settled back with a sigh of satisfaction, but Griff had more surprises. He handed out chocolates and oranges and gave each boy a silver whistle. “But don’t go blowing those things inside, boys. You don’t want to give the womenfolk a headache.”
Joe barely looked up from his book. “Thanks, Mr. Rutledge.”
“It was my pleasure, Joe.”
Carrie couldn’t help smiling as she watched Griff with the boys. What a shame he’d chosen a life that precluded his having a family. He handled Joe and especially Caleb with just the right combination of authority, affection, and respect. He would have made a wonderful father.
“Mr. Rutledge?” Mary reached for her Bible on the side table. “Would you mind? Reading the Christmas story is a tradition in our home.”
“I’d be honored, Mrs. Bell.”
Settling next to Joe and Caleb, he fished his spectacles from his pocket. He flipped the thin pages back and forth until he found the right passage and began to read. “And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus that all the world should be taxed. . . . And Joseph also went up from Galilee . . . to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.”
“Like Mama,” Joe said, grinning.
Griff nodded solemnly. “Yes.”
“Don’t interrupt, son,” his mother said. “Go ahead, Mr. Rutledge.”
“And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”
Carrie listened, a familiar tightness in her throat. The story of the coming of the Savior into the world never failed to move her. She thought of Granny Bell, of her lost parents, of Frank, safe now with the Lord, and said a silent prayer for them all.
Closing the Bible, Griff said to Caleb, “Would you put another log on the fire? And excuse your Aunt Carrie and me for a moment?”
Joe looked up from his place on the hearth, his eyes bright with Christmas wonder. “Are you going to kiss her?”
Heat rushed to