A Christmas Promise

by Wendy Lindstrom

“You going to do it?” Adam asked, hoping that Leo would become his neighbor and make it easier to continue their new friendship.

  Leo shook his head. “If we move in with Mr. and Mrs. Darling, Benny won’t have anyone to play with.”

  Adam’s gut knotted. It would have been a perfect solution for them. Even though Leo and Benny had a real dad and couldn’t be legally adopted without the man’s approval, they would sort of be Adam’s cousins if they lived with Cyrus and Tansy. They would have a warm, loving home with his aunt and uncle and still be close enough for Leo and Adam to hike the creek and hunt and work the mill together.

  But Leo apparently thought it best for Benny to stay with Cora, which meant they would never leave.

  Chapter Four

  The next day Leo attended church with them looking disgustingly mature and handsome in the clothes Faith had somehow acquired for him. The jacket looked familiar, and Adam thought it might be one of his Uncle Boyd’s suits, cut down for Leo.

  Dressed in his Sunday best, Adam felt like a boy standing beside Leo. He ran his hand through his unruly hair, wondering how Leo got his to stay combed back like the Grayson men kept theirs. Every girl in church spent the entire service peeking at Leo.

  Disgusted, Adam changed into work clothes the minute he got home. He pulled his lucky hat over his mop of hair and headed outside.

  Leo found him a few minutes later and helped Adam split firewood in their side yard.

  Adam wanted to talk with Leo about moving, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. Each time he opened his mouth, he thought about Benny and Cora, who were in the kitchen playing with her doll under a small table that Faith used when canning.

  So he badgered Leo about other things. “We need to start sawing those blocks for Benny and Cora.”

  With a powerful swing, Leo brought his ax down through a small oak stump, splitting it into three pieces. “When can we start?” he asked.

  Adam pushed the chunks aside and hoisted another stump onto the splitting block. “As soon as I can get Uncle Cyrus to drop the slabs at the greenhouse,” he said, gathering the split wood and stacking it on the wood pile.

  Leo took a mighty swing that split the stump. “If I had a carving knife I’d make Benny a little wagon for Christmas. He could push that around instead of playing with Cora’s doll.”

  Adam laughed. “When he gets his blocks he’ll forget all about the doll.”

  “I hope so. How much you think a carving knife would cost?”

  Adam tossed the split wood onto the mounting pile. “I don’t know, but my uncle Boyd uses a lot more than a knife to carve stuff. I saw some chisels and gouges and a mess of other tools on his bench.”

  “I would just need to make a small box with wooden wheels. A carving knife would be enough.” Leo lowered the ax and wiped his forehead on his sleeve. “Don’t matter. It’ll be a long time before I can afford one.”

  “I could ask my uncle if you can borrow one of his knives.”

  Leo shook his head. “I’ll only borrow what I can afford to replace.”

  Adam wanted to encourage him, but he didn’t know anything about carving knives. The only knife he ever used was his hunting knife.

  Together they wrestled a heavy stump onto the block and worked throughout the afternoon. When they finished, Adam picked up a small hand ax they used for chopping kindling. “Time to eat.”

  Leo arched his back. “Good, I’m starving.” He carried the long-handled ax like a guitar, playing his fingers over imaginary strings.

  Adam rolled his eyes and entered the back shed where they left the axes and their boots.

  Tansy and Cyrus were already there. Faith had invited them over that morning at church. Adam suspected it was so they could spend more time with Leo and Benny.

  Cyrus brought his guitar, which drew Leo like a carpenter bee to dead wood.

  After supper, everyone gathered in the parlor and began to settle in.

  Cyrus sat on a cushioned ottoman and rested the guitar on his lap. “I’ll play some Christmas songs for everyone then I’ll give you another lesson,” he said to Leo. “If you want one.”

  “Yes, sir!” Leo dropped into the chair closest to Cyrus. “I think I forgot the chorus part already.”

  Adam was glad to know he wasn’t the only one who regressed to a five-year-old when excited. It was sort of nice to see good things coming to Leo. But even better was the connection forming between him and Cyrus. That guitar might convince Leo to accept their offer after all.

  Being neighbors and friends with Leo would be a lot easier than sharing a house and Adam’s father.

  “Uncle Cyrus!” Cora knelt on the floor at his feet. “Play ‘Jingle Bells,’” she said, bouncing on her knees.

  “All right, princess, but let’s save that one until a little later,” he said, strumming his guitar. “How about ‘Silent Night’ first?”

  She wrinkled her nose and sat back on her heels. “All right.”

  Laughing, he started the song and nodded for everyone to begin the verse.

  Adam and Leo looked at each other, their lips firmly closed as if waiting for the other one to commit. Leo looked as if he wanted to sing along. There wasn’t a chance Adam would join in. The last time he’d tried singing his voice was changing and the wretched sound hurt his own ears.

  Cyrus could handle a team of Percherons like an expert and saw a board straight as a head sawyer, but the one thing that topped all his talents was the way he played his guitar. His combination of finger picking and strumming made every song sound magical.

  Two songs later, Cyrus played “Jingle Bells” for Cora.

  Adam observed the smiles on everyone’s faces as they sang the joyful song.

  Benny camped out beside Leo’s chair, bouncing with his chubby legs, completely absorbed in the music.

  Laughter mingled with the song as they watched Benny’s bouncy dance. Leo grinned and ruffled the boy’s wild hair, the two of them looking as comfortable and happy as if they had always been part of the family.

  Adam felt like an outsider peeking in a window. Even if he could sing, he didn’t feel like it. It was becoming harder and harder for him to feel comfortable with his family while Leo was around. If Leo lived with Cyrus and Tansy, then he wouldn’t be acting like this was his home.

  It wasn’t his home. It was Adam’s and it was going to stay that way.

  “I want to hear Leo play the guitar,” Adam said the minute the song ended. Maybe Leo wouldn’t feel so comfortable while fumbling on the guitar in front of everyone.

  “Want to try the song I’m teaching you?” Cyrus asked, offering the guitar to Leo.

  “Sure.” Leo scooted to the edge of his chair. “If you can all tolerate my fumbling.”

  “I’d love to hear you play,” Faith said, lacing her fingers and sitting forward with eager anticipation.

  Adam’s dad betrayed him with a simple wave of his hand. “Go ahead, son. I’m tired of hearing myself sing.”

  Leo smiled. “Good because I don’t think I can play fast enough for a sing-a-long.”

  “Take your time, dahlin’,” Tansy said, her voice all honey sweetness. “We’ll be happy to listen.”

  Cora patted Adam on the knee. “Is Leo going to play that?”

  “It looks that way,” he said, his lips pursing with irritation. He thought Leo would be too embarrassed to play in front of everyone, but it appeared Adam just gave him center stage.

  For having only one lesson, Leo seemed to remember everything Cyrus taught him yesterday. As he slowly picked his way through “It Came Upon A Midnight Clear,” he fumbled twice, but it didn’t bother him a bit. He just looked at Cyrus for guidance.

  Cyrus coached Leo back into the song, and he played it through, impressing everyone, including Adam.

  Under other circumstances, Adam would have been glad to see his friend shine. But now it was just one more thing that Leo did better than him—and just one more way for Leo to make himself the favo
rite son.

  Walking to school with Rebecca on Monday morning was a balm to Adam’s spirit. He wanted to talk with her, but her younger brothers were hanging around scuffling with Leo.

  He nudged Leo and gestured with his chin to walk ahead of them.

  Leo continued his horseplay without catching any of Adam’s hints to leave them alone.

  Rebecca giggled and rolled her eyes, but Adam wanted to knock the knit cap off Leo’s thick skull.

  As the end of the live-long-boring school day neared, all he could think about was last summer when he and Rebecca would meet at the creek. They would skip stones and talk about their lives and their dreams for their future.

  As their teacher droned on, Adam wrote a note on his slate. Thinking about our visits to the creek last summer... He passed it to Rebecca.

  Surprised, she read it quickly and smiled. At her first opportunity, she jotted a note below and passed it back to him.

  “Is that something you wish to share with us, Mr. Grayson?” the teacher asked, catching Rebecca passing the slate back.

  Adam’s ears felt like twin flames shooting from the sides of his head. If MacEnroy read the note they would be in big trouble at school and at home.

  A loud crash from across the room startled everyone.

  Mr. MacEnroy’s head jerked toward the disturbance, his eyebrows slashing downward in a fierce scowl. “What are you about, Mr. Sullivan?”

  Adam scrubbed his forearm across his slate, clearing away the evidence that would cost him and Rebecca a paddling and much embarrassment.

  “Sorry, Mr. MacEnroy,” Leo said, picking his slate off the floor. “I accidentally knocked it off my desk.”

  He had done it on purpose, of course. MacEnroy knew it, but couldn’t prove it, so he let it go. But Adam knew it and silently thanked Leo for saving him a load of trouble.

  MacEnroy held out his hand. “Your slate, Mr. Grayson.”

  Adam presented it as requested.

  MacEnroy’s scowl deepened when he saw the clean slate. “Whatever shenanigans are going on had better cease this instant,” he said to the class at large.

  As MacEnroy strode back to the front of the room, Adam and Rebecca grinned at each other. He may have erased the words she’d written, but they were burned in his mind. I miss those fun days...

  He missed them, too. He wanted more times like that where they could skip stones and talk and just be together.

  Leo leaned back in his chair, catching Adam’s attention. He wiggled his eyebrows and grinned.

  Adam snorted then coughed to cover his half-laugh before MacEnroy got mad enough to switch him.

  The last half hour was a battle for him to keep a grin off his face. When MacEnroy finally released them, Adam bolted into the winter afternoon as if he’d been chained to his desk for a week.

  On the way home, he thanked Leo.

  “I figured I owed you after messing with you this morning,” Leo said.

  “You knew I wanted you to get lost, didn’t you?”

  “Sure did.”

  “And you hung around like a bad cold.”

  “Yup.”

  Adam punched Leo’s shoulder. “You’re right. You did owe me a favor.”

  Leo laughed. “Here’s your chance,” he said, then ran after Rebecca’s brothers with his arms wide. “Who wants to get buried in a snowdrift?”

  The boys took off at a run, giggling and zigzagging down the street to avoid Leo.

  Adam lagged behind with his sweetheart. “He sure makes it hard to stay mad at him,” he said, watching Leo pelt the boys with snowballs and make himself an easy target.

  “Why were you mad at him?”

  He shrugged. “It doesn’t matter.”

  Chapter Five

  Saturday evening Adam and Leo flopped in the parlor, exhausted from a hard day at the mill. Benny toddled around the furniture while Cora crawled after him on her hands and knees barking like a dog. Benny giggled and screeched. Scout barked and darted through the parlor whacking chair legs and the mahogany side tables with his madly wagging tail.

  Leo seemed pleased by Benny’s exuberance. A couple of times he reached around the back of his chair to scare Benny and Cora.

  They screeched.

  Faith and Duke sat on the davenport watching and laughing at the chaos.

  It was cute. For two minutes. Adam groaned. Usually he enjoyed sitting in the parlor reading or playing games with his family. He liked lying on the floor near the woodstove and playing with Scout. But the shrieking and giggling was about to drive him mad.

  In the ruckus Scout knocked Benny down. He tumbled backwards and bumped his head against a wooden chair leg.

  Everyone lunged to their feet as Leo scooped Benny into his arms.

  The boy squalled while Leo held and comforted him.

  Faith and Duke checked Benny’s head and determined it was nothing more than a bump.

  The accident upset Cora and she crawled onto Faith’s lap, watching warily as Leo rocked Benny in his arms and calmed him down.

  Adam glanced at his father to see if the chaos had upset him, too, but he seemed relaxed and happy to have the house in an uproar.

  “The little one is quite attached to you,” Duke said to Leo.

  “I’ve been caring for him from the day he was born.” Leo rubbed Benny’s back. “My mother was sick and died shortly after his birth. There was no one to take care of him, so I did it.”

  A sad look crossed Duke’s face. “You’ve certainly been dealt some hard blows. It can’t be easy taking care of your little brother, but I’m proud of you for doing it.”

  Leo shrugged. “Benny’s all I got. My dad left us at the orphanage with nothing. Benny needs me.”

  “I’m real sorry about that. You’re an upstanding young man, Leo, and I’d be proud to call you my son.”

  His father’s declaration pierced Adam’s heart like a hard strike from a hunting knife.

  Leo acknowledged the compliment with a nod.

  Adam’s chest ached so bad he could barely draw a breath, but he sucked air through his clenched teeth because he had something to add. “Cyrus feels the same way. He wants Leo to be his son.”

  “I know.” His father nodded. “Cyrus is a smart man. He can see the caliber of Leo’s character. Any decent man would be honored to have a son like Leo.”

  If Adam had the words and the breath to comment, he wouldn’t have known what to say. Duke was his father. Leo knew that, but he just sat there lapping up the praise and doing his best to take Adam’s place.

  Cora and Benny were starting to drift off, and Adam saw his opportunity to escape.

  He stood and opened his arms to Cora. “If you want to go up to bed, I’ll tell you a story about Gordie the goat who gets lost in the snow and is found by that old snowman we made last week.”

  Her eyes widened and she launched herself into his waiting arms.

  Storytelling in their house was an art form that everyone enjoyed and participated in. Adam was a master storyteller and Cora loved when he created a story just for her.

  “Thank you, Adam. I’ll be up shortly,” Faith said, wearing the loving, motherly smile he’d been seeing from his earliest memory.

  Duke stood to kiss Cora. “Goodnight, princess.” He hugged Adam. “Goodnight, son.”

  “Goodnight... Dad,” Adam said, forcing the words from his aching throat. Without a single look or word to Leo, he walked out of the parlor.

  The thudding sound of firewood being stacked in the parlor woodbin woke Adam with a start. He flung back his bedcovers and reached for his pants. He should have filled the bin last night like his dad had asked, but he had fallen asleep while telling Cora a story. When Faith woke him and sent him to bed, he hadn’t argued.

  Now his father was doing the job Adam had left unfinished.

  Yanking on his pants, he hurried downstairs in his bare feet. His coat and boots would keep him warm enough to haul in the wood. Then he would wash up and dress for
church.

  At the bottom of the stairs he stopped in surprise. While his father fed the stove, Leo was loading the woodbin. The tiring job of carting wood, especially on a frigid winter morning, wasn’t fun, but that didn’t mean he wanted Leo taking over.

  “Thank you, Leo.” Duke closed the stove door then stood and brushed his hands off. “I hear you’re getting another guitar lesson this afternoon.”

  “Yes, sir. Mr. Darling is going to help me play through my Christmas song again.”

  “The one you played for us?”

  “Yes, sir.” Leo wrinkled his nose and brushed bark fragments off his coat sleeves. “It sure didn’t sound like his playing, did it?”

  Adam listened to his father’s warm laughter, and he wanted to throttle Leo.

  “Talent like that takes years to develop. You did a fine job.”

  Leo nodded. “I want to play like Mr. Darling someday.”

  “I think he would like to teach you.”

  “Yes, sir.” Leo lifted his chin and spoke directly, man-to-man. “I don’t know if I should stay here or move in with the Darlings.”

  “They are wonderful people and they want to give you and Benny a good home. But the decision is yours. You and Benny are welcome here.”

  “Benny’s never had a playmate like Cora. It would be cruel to take him away from her.”

  “There’s no need to decide anything today.” Duke hooked his arm around Leo’s shoulders. “For now, let’s just fill this woodbin.”

  So this is what it would be like to have Leo as a brother. He would work at the mill. He would eat at their table and sit in their parlor at night. He would help with chores and have private conversations with their father.

  Gritting his teeth, Adam strode to the foyer and shrugged on his coat. He crammed his feet into his boots and slammed out the door without a word to either of them. Outside, he kicked snow away from the woodpile and loaded his arms with split oak. Back inside he dumped the wood into the bin with an inconsiderate crash. On the way out, he passed his father in the foyer and mumbled good morning. Outside, he came face-to-face with Leo.