Free Christmas With Hover Hill by Fay Risner

at the robot, trying to figure out
if that was Hover's idea of a joke. She couldn't tell if he had a
sense of humor or not.
    The next morning, Elizabeth stepped out the back door
and took a deep breath of fresh air. The sun shone brightly which
mistakenly gave the birds the idea that spring was close. The trees
were alive with bird conversations. Sparrows flitted back and forth
from the ground to the trees when they saw Elizabeth coming toward
them. Crows flapped their wings noisily and cawed in quarrelsome
tones. Even a squirrel chattered when he saw her coming. So much
activity always going on that made her walks enjoyable.
    Elizabeth was looking over the fence at the cattle in
the pasture when she heard the tractor. The cows perked up. They
knew what that sound meant. Food! They bellowed to each other to
get a move on as they made their way toward the gate hole.
    The farmer waved at her as he climbed out of the
tractor. “Morning, Lizzy. Want to hop in and ride along while I
feed the cattle this hay bale?”
    “ Sure.”
    As Bud drove slowly into the pasture, Elizabeth
looked behind them at the open gate. “Shouldn't you shut the gate
so your cows don't get out?”
    “ No need. The cows would rather follow me to
get the hay,” he said.
    Lizzy watched Bud lower the bale to the ground and
drive the tractor forward to pull the tine out. Cows mingled all
around the tractor, only moving out of its way when they had to so
the tractor didn't bump them.
    “ Well, how's your stay in the country going so
far?” Bud asked.
    “ Fine. I went to Wickenburg to get groceries.
The checker asked me if where I was staying is the old Carter
house. I told her I didn't know. Would that be relatives of
yours?”
    “ That's my family. I and my sister grew up in
the Winston house. I built a new ranch home on the back side of
this timber. My sister married and moved to Wickenburg. After our
folks died, we sold the acreage to Mr. Winston. Folks tend to stick
with the name of people who lived on a place the longest so this is
still the old Carter place.”
    “ Thank you for clearing that up. Now next time
someone asks, I'll know what to tell them,” Elizabeth
replied.
     
     

Chapter 7
     
    By the next morning, it was snowing. After breakfast,
Elizabeth decided not to get out in the snowstorm for a walk. There
would be better days ahead. Instead from the window, she watched
the winter scene. Tumbling flakes the size of geese down made her
feel like she was on the inside of a snow globe looking out. She
heard the tractor rumble. As Bud drove past the house, he spotted
her watching from the window. He waved at her, and she waved
back.
    By late afternoon, the snow stopped falling. The
country looked so peaceful from the snowed in house. A uniformed
blanket covered the surrounding area, disturbed only by Bud's
tractor tires. The indentions in the snow were deep. It didn't look
like Elizabeth would be able to get out with her car any time soon.
That was all right with her. She reasoned that it worked both ways.
If Steven or Scott came looking for her, they couldn't get down the
road in their cars to where she was at.
    If Elizabeth was in the mood for the Christmas
holiday the scene was just right. Spending the holiday alone had a
dismal feel to it. She couldn't get in the spirit for this strange
Christmas without Scott. This one was the first in a long time
without her brother, and she missed him even though she was mad at
him.
    Oh Joy To The World! Her only companion this holiday
was a bossy robot. It looked like she was safe from discovery by
Scott all right. She couldn't help feeling sorry for herself about
the prospects of not sharing Christmas with her brother.
    Hover came to the kitchen door. “You seem depressed.
Why did you not go for the tractor ride with Farmer this
morning?”
    Elizabeth turned from the window. Was that worry she
heard in Hover's voice? “I didn't feel like going for a walk as
fast as the snow was coming down.