Free Sleigh of Hope by Wendy Lindstrom Page B

Rebecca would experience those moments he longed for.
    “Are you dreaming about Christmas morning?”
    “No, sir.”
    “No?” His dad leaned to the side to better see his face. “After last year, I thought you would be eager for Christmas.”
    Last year was the first Christmas Adam had received gifts – and he’d received a lot of them. He had gotten his dog Scout and a new gun. But best of all Duke Grayson became his legal father.
    “No Christmas could compare to last year,” he said, remembering the wealth of gifts he had received and the hard journey that brought them all together as a family.
    “Each Christmas brings its own gift, son.”
    “What is the gift?” he asked, hoping to resurrect some of the Christmas spirit he’d felt before ruining his friendship with Leo.
    “It’s something you must find on your own.”
    As Adam tried to solve the puzzle his father had given him they drove into the Cavneys’ small dairy farm.
    “Come on, son. It’s time to build these folks a new kitchen.”
    Kyle was already in the yard with a wagon full of lumber and a crew from their other sawmill, which had once belonged to his wife’s father. Radford and Boyd Grayson rolled in behind them with a wagon full of tools, nails and other supplies. As the four Grayson men rallied their crews to help the Cavney family, Adam stood beside his father and uncles and told himself he would become a man of their caliber.
    The charred ruins of the kitchen and upstairs bedrooms had been cleared away by several mill hands earlier in the week in preparation. As walls, roof and ceilings were framed in the smell of smoke was replaced by the scent of fresh cut wood.
    They worked until dark on Saturday and took Sunday off.
    At first light Monday morning they were back at Cavneys’ farm. The staccato sound of hammers rang through their pasture and apple orchards from first morning light to dusk. By Wednesday evening the kitchen and two upstairs bedrooms were walled and floored. Doors and windows had been installed in all rooms.
    As a special gift to Mrs. Cavney, they had added a pantry and new shed onto her kitchen.
    Mr. Cavney was working in the kitchen with four other men, hauling in a new stove and installing a large sink.
    Mrs. Cavney cried in gratitude while Faith and a slew of other women set up a makeshift table and filled it with baskets of food. Claire and Amelia Grayson were there and so was Anna Levens, but it was Rebecca’s pretty face that captured Adam’s attention each time she came outside to fetch another basket from one of the carriages.
    Someone had built a small fire in the yard to give the crew a place to warm their hands while they finished the job. But the fire reminded Adam of Rebecca and the warmth they would someday share in their own home. Helping rebuild the Cavney house was teaching him how to build his own house.
    Someday, sweet Rebecca, I will build you a house and keep our fire burning day and night.
    The whack-thud of hammers coming from the roof where Adam’s uncles and several mill hands were nailing shingles in place reminded him to focus on the task at hand. He was working on the low shed roof with his dad and Leo and one of the Cavney boys, who was shivering and wiping his wet nose. Little Sam Cavney and his brother Ned had lost most of their clothes when the fire consumed their bedrooms. The fire also destroyed the kitchen and their old attached shed where the family hung their jackets. So now, ten-year-old Sam was trying to stay warm in his father’s oversized flannel shirt and a pair of mismatched mittens. His family would recover eventually, but it would be a hard, uncomfortable road for them.
    Watching Sam turtle into the shirt collar, trying to keep his ears warm, reminded Adam of the miserable existence he had lived before his sister married Duke. Back then he accepted the discomfort because he couldn’t do anything to change it. But then Duke came along and brought warmth and fun to their