LITMIR.BIZ

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rack. Within moments the sound of “Silent Night” filled the room as Joy played with more proficiency than Gideon had expected.

      “All right, you lead off, Gideon, and we’ll all join in,” she said, completing the short introduction.

      Without hesitation Gideon’s baritone voice rose in the opening words, and Grandpa rose from the sofa to join them around the organ. Joy sang a low alto part, harmonizing as her mother had taught her, and even Joseph was caught up in the words, singing along as best he could.

      “I remember that song,” the boy said after they’d sung the first verse. “We sang it at Aunt Rosie’s house back home.”

      “So we did, son,” Gideon replied. “I wasn’t sure you’d remember the words, but you did really well.”

      “How about ‘Joy to the World’ now,” Joy asked, turning the pages to find the carol she’d mentioned.

      “I know that one a little bit, too,” Joseph said with glee. Following his father’s lead, he sang out, not always getting the words correct but following as best he could. Grandpa cut in with his rusty bass and their harmony rose in the small parlor as they sang. The words were a paean of joy and Gideon found himself focusing on the woman who sat before him, her music rising in accompaniment as they sang. She was flushed and excited, her voice melodic and sounding much to him as the angels must have on that first Christmas Eve.

      They sang on, turning pages in the songbook, until finally Joseph’s head began to loll against Gideon’s shoulder. “I think this boy needs to be in bed,” he said quietly as Joy finished the last song.

      “He’ll have a big day tomorrow and he’s about tuckered out right now,” Joy said agreeably. “We’ll be up early. I’ll hold breakfast until the chores are done, Gideon.”

      He nodded and offered her a smile that carried a wealth of feeling. “I’ll sort out some apples in the cellar after I do the chores. Joseph and I will do our apple squeezing in the kitchen, I suspect. It’s too cold for him in the cellar.”

      “We’ll have lots of space. The kitchen is the largest room in the house. We spend most of our time there,” Joy answered.

      Grandpa yawned widely and grinned. “I’m on my way up to bed right now,” he said. “This old body needs a lot of sleep these days.”

      “I’ll come back down and bank the fire as soon as I put this boy of mine into bed,” Gideon offered.

      He left the parlor on Grandpa’s heels and they climbed the stairs to the loft. Joy snuffed the candles on the tree, then went to the kitchen and checked in the pantry to be sure she had enough of everything she needed for the cookie baking. It was there that Gideon found her just a few minutes later. She turned and almost walked into him, stepping back as he took her hands in his.

      “What are you working at now?” he asked, grinning as he saw the look on her face, one of surprise and pleasure, if his guess was right.

      “Just making sure I have everything we need for the big day tomorrow. I’ll mix the cookies in my bread-dough pan. It’ll hold enough to make ten or twelve dozen.”

      Gideon drew her closer, his hands tightening on hers in a firm grip. She stood before him looking like the angel on the Christmas tree, he decided, lifting a hand to brush a lock of hair from her cheek. “Joy, would you think poorly of me if I stole a kiss from you? I wouldn’t do anything to cause you distress, but since the first brush of my lips against your smooth skin, I’ve yearned for another chance to touch you. Perhaps a kiss more suited to a man who has come to care for a woman more quickly than he’d planned.”

      “And what is the difference between the two?” she asked, her eyes sparkling in the dim light within the pantry.

      “I believe I’ll just show you,” Gideon said quietly. He bent a bit, his mouth touching hers gently. And then with a murmur in his throat, he released her lips and scooped her closer to him, his arms wrapping her in a firm embrace. His mouth sought hers once more and this time he began a foray of kisses across her cheeks and forehead, ending up once more at her lips. His tongue touched her upper lip in a caress she had apparently never felt before, for she moved back quickly and opened her eyes to meet his.

      “I haven’t had a lot of experience at kissing, as you’ve probably guessed,” she said quietly, “for aside from a few hasty kisses on my cheek, I’ve never allowed a man to come any closer to me, Gideon. I fear my experience is far overshadowed by yours.”

      He smiled down at her, holding her closely against his big body. She was small and delicate, and though gently rounded, she was all woman and filled his arms. “You’re a woman to be cherished, Joy. I hope you know that I mean only what is right and honest between us. I feel deeply for you, but perhaps that sounds foolish after such a short time.”

      She blushed and touched her forehead against his shirt, there where his heart beat, a bit rapidly, she thought. “I don’t know what to say to you, Gideon. I’ve been sheltered here with Grandpa, and men are beyond my experience for the most part. But I have to admit that I feel something...” She looked up at him. “I don’t even know what I feel, to be honest with you. I just know I’m glad you and your son came to us. I feel like you were put here for a reason, and if that’s nothing more than to be a help to us through this storm, so be it. I’m just happy to tend to Joseph and keep him safe and warm and well fed. And the same goes for you. If you’ll lend a hand with the work here, like you already have, then I’ll be thankful for it.”

      “I’m here for you, Joy. For as long as you need me I’ll be here. You may be right. Perhaps I was sent here for a reason, whether for Joseph’s well-being or my own. I’m happy here with you and your grandfather, and Joseph is tickled pink by everything that’s happened since our arrival.”

      “Well, I think we both need to turn in,” Joy said firmly. “Tomorrow will be a big day for everyone, and I plan on getting up early. And I still have some knitting to do tonight. I’ll sit up in bed and finish Joseph’s cap. Shouldn’t take more than a half hour or so, and I want to begin his scarf early on tomorrow, after the cookie baking is finished.”

      Gideon stepped back from the pantry, then made haste to bank the cookstove after ushering her into the kitchen. She watched him finish his task, then walked into the hallway and toward her bedroom. Gideon made his way to the stairs. “Good night, Joy,” he sang out cheerfully, for he felt he had much to be pleased with, given the events in the pantry and Joy’s response to him.

      “Good night,” she called back, bending to light a lamp on the hallway table to carry with her into her bedroom. She disappeared from his view and he quickly went up the stairs to the loft, where Joseph slept soundly. He undressed, slid beneath the sheet and quilts next to his son and curled his arm around the boy, the better to keep him warm throughout the night. The heat from the stove in the kitchen made its way upstairs and he found himself ready to sleep, even as visions of the woman downstairs drifted through his head. His lips curved in a tender smile as he closed his eyes.

      Chapter Five

      The scent of apples filled the kitchen as Gideon used Joy’s grinder to fill a large pan with juice and pulp from the fruit he’d gathered from the cellar. He’d washed the apples, sorting through them and discarding the ones with bad spots. Although this was a new endeavor for him, he felt confident he would be able to make a decent batch of cider in his own makeshift way.

      The grinder worked well for the job, and he set about straining the apples into another container with Joy’s large strainer. By the time he was finished, he had over a gallon of the fragrant juice, along with a goodly amount of pulp, and had set aside the rest of the pulp and skins for the pigs who lived in a pen with a sheltered lean-to attached to the barn. There were three pigs, all of them ready for butchering, a job Gideon meant to inquire about in town or perhaps with the nearby neighbor once the snow cleared up. Surely there would be someone in the area who specialized in such things.

      Joy worked at the table, mixing the

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