The Captain's Christmas Homecoming, page 8
“Fine, thank you,” she said even though her breath was caught somewhere between her lungs and mouth. Why did it feel like she hadn’t seen him in years? Moreover, why did she wish she could give him a hug like all the others in the room had? Pushing the air from her lungs, she added, “And you?”
He gestured to his black-and-red plaid shirt, dark wool pants held up by suspenders over his shoulders and brown work boots. “Other than in need of a few minutes to become more presentable, I’m well, thank you.”
Emma thought he looked very presentable, and handsome. More so than she remembered.
Nellie released his hand, grasped hers and looked up at her with a glow on her face that made the tiny row of freckles across her nose shimmer. “Miss Ellis works in the library in our school.”
The children had been as surprised as she had been when she and Beverly had arrived at the house. She had thought that she’d been prepared to see him when they’d arrived, but the way her heart was pounding right now, said she hadn’t been prepared, then or now. She pressed her heels deeper into the thick rug in front of the sofa to stay put. Thoughts of escaping, or hugging him, were intermingling in her mind.
George tugged on one of Nellie’s long, rust-colored braids. “Does she?”
“Yes, she does, and she was reading to us,” Nathaniel replied. He was six, two years younger than his sister, and had his own set of freckles over the bridge of his nose.
“I saw she was reading to you.” George ruffled Nathaniel’s thick, curly rust-colored hair. “You three can finish the story while I go change my clothes.” He kneeled in front of Nathaniel. “But you have to promise to set up the checkerboard so we can play a game before we eat.”
Excitement made Nathaniel jump up and down. “I promise! I promise! But you have to promise to be fast!”
“All right then.” George nodded at Emma. “I’ll be back in a wink and a nod. I promise.”
Emma’s knees felt so weak, she lowered herself onto the sofa as soon as his back was turned, and attempted to draw in a deep, stabilizing breath. She knew he wasn’t promising her anything, yet she had to wonder, if they’d have met under different circumstances, would they have taken a shine to each other? Which was the silliest thought she’d ever had. He had no reason to take a shine to her, and the circumstances couldn’t be different. Ever.
“Can you read faster?” Nathaniel asked while climbing up on the sofa beside her.
His honesty made her chuckle. She picked up the book. “I will try.”
* * *
The story was completed and the checkerboard set out on a small table by the time George returned wearing a light gray suit, white shirt and black tie. His hair was still damp from being washed and the stubble that had been on his cheeks and chin was gone. Emma couldn’t stop herself from looking at him and tried to do so unnoticed. His smile never faded—in fact, it grew when they made eye contact, which caused her to quickly look away.
She sincerely hoped he didn’t think that she had finagled an invitation to his family’s Thanksgiving, even though she wasn’t overly confident that Beverly hadn’t done exactly that. Beverly claimed the invitation had shown up out of the blue, but that was a little unbelievable. There was no reason for his family to invite her and Beverly to the meal. No reason at all.
Right from the start of the checkers game, it was evident who would win. However, George wasn’t just letting Nathaniel win, he was teaching him how to win. With each move he’d point out how Nathaniel needed to examine the pieces around the one he was about to move, both the red and black pieces and how each move would change the pathway to the other side of the board. She was impressed with George’s patience and by how he explained everything in a way that Nathaniel, only six, could understand, his excitement and pride growing with each move.
There was a round of applause by all over Nathaniel’s win at the end of the game, which was quickly followed by the announcement that the meal was ready to be served.
Emma wasn’t sure if it was by chance or direction that George ended up at her side, to escort her to the dining room. Either way, he gently held her elbow as they followed the rest of the group out of the room.
The home was the largest and most beautiful one she’d seen. The soles of her shoes sank into the deep, lush carpet that covered the glossy floors at intervals in the large front room. The windows, with lacy, sheer curtains that were pulled back, filled the entire room with bright sunshine and provided a view of a yard that sloped down to the Mohawk River. Clusters of large hardwood and fir trees, along with several flowerbeds, were also visible out the windows. An old and deep longing had filled her as soon as she’d gotten her first glance out the windows. It had always been her deepest wish to live in a house, with grass and trees and flowers she could tend. Her entire life, all that had ever been outside of her windows had been buildings and streets. And people. The streets had always been full of people, day and night.
“I’m glad you and Beverly were able to join us today,” George said as they entered the long, wide hallway that had tall wooden walls and numerous doors, some open, some closed. “But I do hope you weren’t coerced into being here.”
“I hope your family wasn’t coerced into inviting us,” she said, looking at the back of Beverly’s head. Her friend was walking with George’s parents several steps ahead of everyone else.
He chuckled. “Beverly endeared herself to my mother at the party, and knowing my mother as I do, she willingly sent the invite and wouldn’t have taken no for an answer.”
“Beverly can be an endearing soul.”
“Yes, she can, and seeing both of you here was a very pleasant surprise to me.”
Why did everything he said or did make her breathless? “Your—” She forced herself to breathe. “Your mother mentioned you were out of town.”
“Yes, investigating options for expanding our lumber company,” he replied. “I’d promised I’d be home for dinner today, but had I known you and Beverly would be here, I would have come home last night so I was here when you arrived.”
“There would have been no need for that.” A wave of frustration washed over her. Beverly had said that she needed to tell him the truth about the letters, and she’d said she couldn’t. That she couldn’t ever explain why she’d written to him. It would cause even more problems.
“It sounds like your attendance was a wonderful surprise for Nellie and Nathaniel,” he said.
“It was for me, too,” she admitted. “They are adorable, and very well behaved.”
“They are, and they grew a lot while I was overseas.” He chuckled. “The first thing Nathaniel told me when I got home that first night was that he’d quit biting the checker pieces.”
His expression was filled with humor, and she covered her giggle with one hand. “Biting the checker pieces?”
“Yes. If you don’t believe me, look at them. Every wooden disc has his teeth marks on them. He just couldn’t seem to help himself.”
“I believe you, and you did a very good job teaching him how to play.”
“Well, I had a very smart teacher who taught me.”
She assumed he meant his father and wanted to ask why he’d never mentioned any of them in his letters, yet couldn’t. Actually, neither of them had mentioned family in their letters.
“I hope you’re hungry,” he said as they approached the long table surrounded by chairs and laden with food, including a golden-brown turkey. “Miss Maybelle is an outstanding cook, and I swear, she outdoes herself each and every year.”
“It certainly smells and looks delicious.”
He pulled out a chair for her to sit. “I’d tell you to leave room for dessert, but there’s no reason to. We’ll have that later this afternoon, after the meal settles, and then this evening, we’ll have leftovers.”
Emma held her response as he sat in the chair next to her, for no other reason than she planned on leaving right after dinner. She’d made Beverly promise that they would.
Chapter Six
The conversation around the dinner table was lively and joyful. His father’s prayer of thanks had included his homecoming and the impending return of Bill, Janice’s husband, before Christmas. It also included having Beverly and Emma join them for the day. George wholeheartedly agreed with each part.
Before he’d gone upstairs to quickly bathe, shave and put on clean clothes, his mother had explained that she’d invited Beverly and Emma, knowing that he wouldn’t mind.
He had wondered if he should mind, considering he’d worked so hard to get Emma off his mind the last several days, but figured he would simply enjoy her company instead. Her participation in the conversations that flowed as they ate demonstrated that she was far more comfortable today than she had been at his party. She’d been quiet and subdued then, but today her laughter was light and lifting, and to everyone’s delight, she knew the answers to several of Uncle Walt’s jokes but would whisper the answer to Nellie, who sat on her other side and would promptly announce it, overly excited to have an answer for her grandfather.
That thrilled Walt and made him work harder at coming up with jokes and riddles that no one would know the answers to, which kept everyone laughing.
When the meal ended, George knew what would happen next. Although he’d been gone for Thanksgiving last year, things hadn’t changed all that much. The entire family would move back to the front room, where his father and uncle would soon fall asleep in the armed chairs and his mother, Aunt Adelle and Janice would sit together to discuss what the children would like for Christmas and who would buy what so that there weren’t any duplicates.
In the past, he and Bill had taken the children outside so they could burn off some energy and not hear the conversation about Christmas gifts. With Bill still overseas, he would take that job on himself.
Or perhaps not entirely by himself...
“Would you care to walk down to the river?” he asked Emma as they exited the dining room.
Her hesitation had him nodding toward the children, who stood in the hallway with Janice and were looking at him expectantly. “It’s tradition.”
Janice, knowing full well what the children expected, shook her head. “George, please don’t feel obligated to—”
“Take these carpet crawlers outside?” he interrupted. “That’s the best part of Thanksgiving.”
“Yippie!” Nate exclaimed, right before he frowned. “Why do you call us carpet crawlers?”
“Because that’s what you did when you were babies—crawled across the carpets—and you still do.” George tickled his tummy then patted his head. “Go get your coats.”
The kids shot down the hallway and Janice stepped closer. “Really, you don’t have to keep them entertained.”
“I don’t mind,” he said. “Besides, the older they get, the bigger their ears get.”
Beverly was making her way out of the dining room with his mother, and said, “Emma, dear, I must sit down and rest my stomach for a while. I haven’t eaten that much in ages.”
George took advantage of that to ask her again. This time he said, “Would you care to join the children and me?”
Emma watched Beverly walk down the hall in the opposite direction before she turned to him. “Yes, I would.”
“Thank you both,” Janice said sincerely. “Last year was so hard without—” She pinched her lips together and shook her head.
A head shorter than him, and like his mother and hers, Janice had blond hair and blue eyes, and was as close to him as any sister ever would have been. He gave her a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. “Bill will be home soon, and everything will be back to normal.”
She nodded and patted his back before tightening the hug again. “I know. It’s just—” She sniffled. “The waiting is so hard. It was so hard with both of you gone.”
“I know,” he whispered and kissed the top of her head again before stepping back and releasing her. “Go help your carpet crawlers put on their coats so they are buttoned straight.”
Smiling softly, Janice quietly thanked both him and Emma before heading down the hallway.
“I hope you don’t mind,” he said to Emma.
She studied him thoughtfully for a moment and then shook her head. “No, I don’t mind. You are a very nice person.”
“I’m sure there are people who wouldn’t agree with you.” He winked at her. “But I’m glad you think so, and I think you are a very nice person, too.”
She grinned. “I’m sure there are others who wouldn’t agree with you.”
“Tell me who and I’ll tell them they are wrong.”
A flash of seriousness crossed her face. “They wouldn’t believe you.”
At that moment he wanted to know whom she was referring to, because he would tell them, and not be overly kind because someone hadn’t been kind to her, his gut told him that.
James appeared in the hallway, with coats for both of them, and within minutes, the four of them were outside, with Nellie and Nate running down the hill toward the river. He and Emma weren’t running, but they weren’t strolling, either.
Although he was still thinking about their hallway exchange, he explained the children’s speed, “There’s a sandy area along the bank where the children like to search for treasures.”
“Treasures?”
“Yep. The flatter, the better.”
The scarf over her head and tied beneath her chin was blue, the same shade of blue as her wool coat, and it framed her face perfectly, making her look of confusion all the more apparent. “Flat treasures?”
Teasingly, he shook his head at her. “Please don’t tell me you’ve never searched for flat treasures?”
Her dark eyes were shimmering in the sunlight as she shrugged. “Considering I don’t know what they are, I have to admit that I’ve never searched for flat treasures.”
“Does that mean you’ve never skipped a rock?”
Her smile was captivating as it slowly grew broader. “No, I haven’t.”
He grasped her hand. “Everyone needs to skip rocks at least once in their life.” Then he led her down the hill to where the children were already searching for rocks.
Once on the shoreline, he kneeled and picked up a rock. A nice flat one. “This is a flat treasure. They can’t be too little, or too big. This is the perfect size. And you hold it like this.” He folded one finger and his thumb around the outer circumference of the rock. “Then pull back and pitch it forward with a sidearm throw, keeping it flat so it’ll skip across the water before sinking.” He released the rock, waited as it flew toward the river, then skipped across the top of the water four times before disappearing. “Your turn.”
Her smile was bright as she nodded, then scanned the ground near her feet. She kneeled and picked up a flat rock. “Will this one work?”
“Yes, that’s a good one.”
Carefully following the instructions he’d given her, she gripped the rock and gave it a good sidearm toss at the river. Whether it was beginner’s luck or natural skill, her throw was a success. The rock skipped across the water three times before it sank.
“Oh, my goodness! I did it! Did you see that?”
Excitement echoed in her voice and glowed on her face, and one thought flashed across his mind—kiss her. He’d dreamed about that and imagined kissing her would be as unforgettable as dancing had been.
She was looking at him with an expression that made him wonder if she was thinking the same thing, and that caused his heart to skip more beats than her rocked had skipped over the water.
It felt as if time was standing still, and the only way to make it start up again was to move, so he did, taking a step forward.
Her gaze flitted downward, to his mouth, then back up to his eyes.
Whatever connection was between them was real. More real than anything he’d ever felt before, even though it was also nonexistent. Or should be, because they didn’t know each other well enough for anything to be between them. He’d known Martha his entire life, had known they would marry for years, yet she had never filled his mind like Emma had since the moment they’d met, and that left him questioning reality in ways he never had.
He reached out, touched her hand. “Emma—”
Shouts from the children interrupted whatever he’d been about to say as they arrived, clapping and congratulating her on her throw.
It was probably best, because he wasn’t sure what had been about to leave his mouth. His brain was in some sort of early morning fog, like he’d just woken up and wasn’t sure where he’d spent the night.
He did know that he was touching her hand and gave it a slight squeeze before releasing it. “I agree.” He glanced at Nellie and Nate before turning to Emma again. “That was a perfect toss.”
She blinked and took a step back before looking at the children. “Thank you. I believe it was beginner’s luck.”
George scanned the ground and found another rock. He picked it up and held it out to her. “The only way to know for sure is to throw another one.”
She glanced at the rock as if not sure if she should take it.
“It’s why we are here,” he said. “To skip rocks.”
“Throw another one, Miss Ellis,” Nate said. “I bet you’ll make it skip again.”
With a grin that appeared and disappeared as quick as lightning, she took the rock and stepped closer to the water, giving herself room to throw it sidearm.
It skipped twice before sinking, and they all clapped, congratulating her again before the search for the perfect rock continued and pitching them began in earnest.
The wind was blowing, causing waves in the water, and he was sure the storm that he’d driven through this morning would arrive soon, but he wasn’t about to let any of that stop the children, or Emma, from throwing a number of rocks. Each of them had several successes with their rocks, as well as a few failures.
