Sleigh of Hope (6 page)

“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.

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.

“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

T
he 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.

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 favorite 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.