Sleigh of Hope Read Free Page A

“We should go now.”
    Anna straightened his hat with a gentle tug that made his ears burn hotter. “Let me send you off with a basket of food for those hungry boys.”
    “Thank you, but Faith made a pot full of stew for supper. She’ll have plenty to fill the boys’ stomachs.”
    “All right then. I’ll stop by tomorrow to see if I can help. Give my best to your families,” she said.
    The frosty air cooled his hot face as he and Rebecca dashed out the door and headed down Main Street.
    With a laugh, she tugged on his hand. “I’m going to run out of my boots if you don’t slow down!”
    “Sorry.” He slowed to a walk beside the girl he would someday marry. He loved her laugh and her willingness to bolt headlong into any adventure. He liked that she skipped stones better than he did and that she enjoyed being surprised by their spontaneous kisses. He hadn’t kissed her in a long time, and had never kissed her the way he wanted to, but he would someday. When they were older, a brief peck on her sweet lips would not be enough. When he and Rebecca were old enough to court he would kiss her and make her as eager to get married as he was.
    As they neared the greenhouse his thoughts crashed back to Leo and Benny and their dire situation. Shame burned through him for being so selfish. He was thinking about kissing Rebecca and keeping his home to himself while Leo must be wondering how he and Benny would survive the night.
    This was not how a Grayson man would think. Duke and his brothers would set aside their own concerns and do whatever necessary to make sure Leo and Benny were sheltered in a warm, safe home.
    That’s what Adam needed to do. He needed to be a better man than the boy who had lived behind the brothel.
    When they reached his house, he and Rebecca shucked their boots at the door and hurried to the parlor where Faith was showing Cora how to work knitting needles.
    “A boy and a baby are in the greenhouse and they need our help,” he blurted before his selfish side could convince him to just sneak into the kitchen and take some food to the boys. “Can you please fix them something to eat while I get a blanket for Benny?”
    “Adam, stop right there,” Faith said, in her serious I-mean-it voice.
    He sighed and jammed his fists into his coat pockets. “The boys are in trouble, Faith. They need help like we did when we first came here.”
    “We will help anyone, Adam. You know that. But slow down and tell me what’s going on.”
    Heavy footsteps sounded on the stairs above him. “Where are you rushing off to, son?”
    Adam turned toward his sister’s husband, his new father, hoping that Duke Grayson would always want him for his son no matter how many boys he and Faith had or acquired. “I was going to my room to get a blanket for the baby in our greenhouse.”
    His Dad’s dark eyebrows seemed to lift an inch as he descended the stairs. “There’s a baby in our greenhouse?”
    “Yes, sir. I saw the door ajar, and when I went in to investigate I found a baby in there with his big brother. They’re cold and hungry, Dad, and I’d wager my boots they don’t have any place to go.”
    His father stopped at the bottom of the stairs, his tall, powerful body dwarfing Adam. “Then we had better bring them home,” he said, giving Adam’s neck an affectionate fatherly squeeze. “After they’re settled, we’ll talk about why you went in the greenhouse alone when it would have been wiser to come get me.” With that he swept Rebecca into a bear hug. “My pretty little niece looks like a snowman all bundled up.”
    Rebecca giggled and kissed his cheek. Adam’s new dad was Rebecca’s uncle. Their family connections were all messed up, but Adam and Rebecca were not related by blood and agreed they were not cousins. They were secret sweethearts who would court as soon as they were old enough.
    “Let’s go see about those boys,” his dad said, shooing them toward the door.
    “Yes, sir.” Adam