Sleigh Bells & Mistletoe: A Short Story (The Brides Series 1.5) Read Online Free PDF Page B

sleigh...*
     
    Pop’s fingers flew over the dulcimer strings, and each time he nodded, the boys gave their strand of sleigh bells a hearty shake. Jake and Levi didn’t quite know every word of the song, but whenever they sang the chorus, they gave it their all, singing in full voice.
    A perfect Christmas , Becky thought. Or close enough . A knot of tension loosened in her chest that she hadn’t realized was there until now. The singing brought joy to her heart and a rush of contentment that had everything to do with the sound of music in her home, the sight of her loved ones gathered around her, and the sensation of warmth she felt from being held close by the man she loved.
    Pop paused significantly over the dulcimer strings, holding the instrument balanced across his knees. With a decided glimmer of mischief in his eyes, he nodded his biggest nod yet to the boys. They shook the sleigh bells with the greatest vigor as he finished out the song. The noise was deafening...and beautiful. Becky fell silent, simply unable to sing anymore because a rush of emotion had stolen the words. As she snuggled back against Isaac, he stopped singing as well and together they listened to the joyful noise of their two young boys, to a nearly-tone-deaf, but earnest young man, and to an aging, but much-loved, Western-dime-story hero, strumming away.
    Isaac bent close and nuzzled Becky’s ear, making her squirm and laugh. She swatted him playfully. At the height of the racket, Pop abruptly stopped playing, laying his hands gently over the strings to still the sound. Jem stopped too and waited as the boys trailed off a little more slowly, their faces red with exertion and the heat of the fire.
    They’ll sleep well tonight , Becky thought. As the last few tinkling jangles of the sleigh bells petered out, she let out a sigh.
    They all looked at her with equal expressions of expectation, and she wondered, with a strange rush of power, if they all looked to her for approval. What a heady thought.
    “Perfect,” she said, clapping madly. She pulled free from Isaac’s grasp—giggling like a girl as he released her with a great show of reluctance—and went to kiss Jake and Levi on their rosy cheeks. She kissed Pop’s forehead, making him grin with evident pleasure. Finally, she pressed a sisterly kiss to Jem’s cheek as well. He immediately turned a bright shade of red, somehow managing to look both ridiculously pleased and embarrassed at the same time.
    “Perfect, perfect, perfect.” She returned to Isaac, smiling.
    “Not quite,” he said.
    “What?” she asked, confused. Wasn’t he the one who’d told her how perfect “good enough” was? This was far better than “good enough.”
    Not quite?
    Not quite what? What more was there?
    “This way.”  He jerked his head to one side. For a moment, his eyes met Jem’s, and they exchanged a nearly imperceptible inclination of their heads. A shared look of...anticipation. She could have sworn Isaac’s lips twitched.
    Aha! Just as she suspected. They were up to something.
    The boys looked on with interest. She peered at them. Were they in on it? Probably not. Isaac knew well enough that they couldn’t keep a secret... If she were keeping a secret, she certainly wouldn’t tell them a thing. They’d just turned three, after all. She wasn’t sure about Pop though. He had his head bent over his dulcimer, plucking a few tuneful chords, as if deciding what he was going to play next. He didn’t look up. That in itself was suspicious. Or at least she thought it was. He had known something about Isaac and Jem’s disappearance earlier, and he’d just as certainly pretended they’d gone out to the barn.
    It couldn’t be a present. It was too early for that. They always exchanged their Christmas gifts in the morning. Always.
    “What are you up to?” She narrowed her eyes at Isaac, and he pasted on what she could only describe as an overly innocent