When Levi looked at her that way, Callie found it hard to believe it could be anything but a happy Christmas. He made her dream of the impossible—peace, joy, love. How easy to just bask in the glow, but she had a duty to her brothers. If the twins had disturbed the Christmas presents, they had to be held accountable. Frisco and Sutter had to grow into finer men than their father or brother, men who understood the value of family over riches, men who kept their promises. She couldn’t lose anyone else to the gold fields.
She wasn’t sure what was going to happen after the tree was decorated, but Levi’s family stayed together most of the afternoon playing games and singing carols. Whenever the opportunity arose, Levi cradled her hand in his. He was careful to explain things to her quietly, so she understood the traditions, like the fact that the candles, standing tall and proud among the greenery, remained unlit. That spectacle, Levi told her, was for Christmas Day.
Each of the men slipped out from time to time, often with something bundled under his coat. As they usually returned with more wood for the hearth or a treat for the children, Callie paid them little mind. It was late in the afternoon, as the shadows lengthened, when Beth clapped her hands to get everyone’s attention.
“Time to head for home,” she said, smiling at Peter, who was drowsing in Dottie’s arms. Mica had her head against Callie’s shoulder, as well. “We’ll regroup in the morning for services.”
“And the dance tomorrow night,” James declared, giving Rina a twirl with one hand over her head. His wife smiled at him while Victoria stood watchful. Callie caught Levi’s eye and smiled, as well. A real dance!
As the Wallins gathered up their children and left, Levi led Callie, Mica and the boys across the yard to the parsonage.
He paused at the door, face solemn. He was going to talk to her brothers at last. Callie stood taller.
“Boys, I have some bad news,” he said, looking from face to face. “It seems Father Christmas stored some of his presents in the hall. I understand someone pawed through the pack and mixed things up.”
Frisco and Sutter’s brows shot skyward.
“Who?” Frisco demanded. “He ought to be ashamed of himself.”
“Can we help Father Christmas sort them out?” Sutter wanted to know.
Levi met Callie’s gaze, clearly as confused as she was. She’d been so sure her brothers were the guilty ones, but Frisco and Sutter were simply not that good at acting. Could they be innocent after all?
Levi seemed to think so, for he laid his hands on her brothers’ shoulders. “I believe things have been settled. I just wanted you to be aware in case you found something odd in your stocking.”
The boys nodded and slipped past him into the house.
Levi paused with Callie at his side. “I don’t understand. Did I describe it too vaguely?”
“No,” Callie murmured, watching her brothers take off their coats and hang them beside the door. “They sounded too concerned to be guilty. You’ve seen how Frisco acts when he’s caught, blustering out an excuse. This was something different.”
In her arms, Mica wiggled as if she didn’t understand, either.
Levi shook his head. “Maybe Beth was wrong. Maybe someone else in the family went through the presents looking for something.”
Callie could only hope he was right. If her brothers were innocent, accusing them outright was a sure way to hurt them.
She carried Mica into the parsonage, Levi closing the door behind them. But instead of starting supper, he headed for the side door. Odd. The wood box was full. With a shrug, Callie turned for the stove herself.
A cry from Sutter and Frisco had her whirling. Her brothers were running for the hearth, where all five stockings bulged.
Father Christmas had come earlier than expected.
She set Mica in her chair and hurried for her room.
“Callie!” Sutter called. “Come back! You have to see what you got.”
Callie grabbed the harmonica from where she’d hidden it in her mother’s pack and rushed back to the hearth. The boys had removed their stockings and carried them to the rug to dump them out. She had a feeling there’d be two more socks to darn by the haste in which they’d pulled the socks from the nails. She went to slide the harmonica into Levi’s stocking, then ventured over to her brothers as Mica raised her hand and grunted in her chair, begging to be picked up again.
Though they’d each received an orange and a handkerchief, the other gifts held more interest.
“Look, Callie.” Sutter lifted a steel fishhook. “I’ll catch lots of fish with this, and they won’t wiggle off.”
“Very nice,” she said with a smile.
Frisco held up a pocket knife. “And I can make tinder with this, so you won’t have to work so hard to light the fire.”
Callie put an arm around each of them. “Did any sister ever have such thoughtful brothers?”
Sutter pulled away to hop to his feet. “Let’s see what Mica got.” He ran for her stocking.
Callie straightened to go help him take down the stocking more carefully. Both boys followed her to the table, where Sutter placed the stocking in front of the baby. Mica patted it, smiling at them all.
“You got to open it,” Frisco told her. “Here, I’ll show you.”
“Let me,” Sutter protested, reaching for it, as well.
“I’ll open it,” Callie said, suiting word to action. Inside was a wooden rattle and a rag doll with a sew-on face that smiled as broadly as Mica did.
“Baby stuff,” Frisco said with a sniff.
Sutter frowned. “What did you expect? She’s a baby.”
Mica seemed happy enough with her gifts. She took up the rattle and shook it, giggling at the noise. Then she bonked it down on the rag doll.
Callie picked up the doll. “Maybe we’ll save this for later.”
Levi pushed through the door just then. “I told you Father Christmas was all mixed up. Look what he left by the woodpile.”
He held out a sled. The center panel was painted red with gilt outlining a winter scene, the runners made of metal. It was far prettier than the sturdy variety she’d seen prospectors and their mules pull up north.
Sutter and Frisco ran to him as Levi winked at her.
“That must be for me,” Frisco said, holding out his hands.
Sutter elbowed him. “No, me.”
“I’m fairly sure it was meant for all of us,” Levi said. “It’s plenty long to hold you two and Mica. Maybe even Callie.”
Callie moved closer, eyeing the sled. “I’m not getting on that. I’ve seen them tip over too many times.”
“Not this one,” Levi assured her. “See boys, how the runners curve at the front and back? That’s for stability and speed.”
Frisco laid hold of it. “Let’s try it now.”
Sutter nodded, fairly dancing on his feet.
Someone needed to remember what was important. “We should start dinner first,” Callie reminded them.
Her brothers turned on her. “But Callie!” they chorused.
Levi gave her a pleading look. “But Callie.”
How was she to answer that? They were mad, the lot of them. It was cold. It was getting dark. There were chores to be done. They would only come back wet and worn.
But the sled did look like it would go really fast. How fast? Only one way to find out.
“All right,” she said, setting them all to grinning. “But only until the light fades. Now, go bundle up.”
Her brothers ran to comply.
Levi closed the distance between them. “Thank you.”
She jerked her head toward the hearth. “You haven’t looked in your stocking.”
He chuckled. “Very likely it’s coal.”
“You haven’t been that naughty,” Callie said with a smile.
He raised a brow as if he wasn’t too sure about that, but he leaned the sled against the wall and crossed to the hearth. She could hardly stand still as he pulled out the harmonica.
“What’s this?” he asked, face splitting in a grin.
Arms still only half in their coats, Frisco and Sutter skidded across the floor to his side.
“Father Christmas sure got mixed up,” Frisco said. “That was probably meant to be mine.”
“No, mine,” Sutter said, eyes shining.
Callie crossed to Levi. “No, it’s Levi’s,” she told them firmly. “He had one when he was a boy, and he lost it. Father Christmas just brought it back.”
Frisco and Sutter deflated.
Levi had been fingering the silver filigree on the instrument. Now he lifted it to his lips. Music, low and mournful, weaved through the room. It brought back memories of huddling around a fire, knowing she was safe with her mother and father, even as the wolves called from the wood. Once more gooseflesh pimpled her arms.
When he finished, Mica clapped her hands and wiggled as if asking for more. Callie knew just how she felt. She would have requested another tune, but Levi slid the harmonica into his pocket.
“I’ll have to thank Father Christmas when I see him,” he said, glancing at Callie with a smile.
She returned his smile, warm inside.
“Can we go?” Frisco demanded, shrugging into his coat and heading for the door.
Sutter glanced at the hearth. “But Callie hasn’t looked in her stocking.”
Now, that probably did contain coal given how she’d behaved when she’d first arrived at Wallin Landing. “It can wait,” Callie said.
“Nonsense,” Levi said. “We can wait.” His look to her brothers defied them to say otherwise.
“Why don’t you get Mica ready?” Callie told the twins. “That way we won’t be delayed further.”
They hurried to find Mica’s wrap.
Callie approached the stocking. She knew Father Christmas hadn’t filled it. Very likely Levi or one of his brothers had. That must be why they’d kept leaving the hall, to fill all the stockings. Levi’s brothers wouldn’t give her coal, no matter how she’d vexed them. But what would they think to give her?
She took the stocking down carefully and peered inside. Like her brothers, she’d received an orange and a handkerchief with her initials embroidered on one corner. Beth’s work, most likely. But something else pressed against the stocking. She put her hand in and drew out a tiny brass key.
“You find it fits this,” Levi murmured. He went to the cupboard and pulled a box from behind the flour sack. Made of polished wood, it was about the size of her hand. Levi took the key and inserted it in the opening on the front, then twisted it round and round. She could hear something grinding inside with each movement.
Her brothers wandered closer. “What is it?” Sutter asked.
“Open the lid,” Levi told Callie.
A tingle running through her, she did as he asked.
Inside lay a brass cylinder next to a fine-toothed steel comb, all covered with glass. Immediately the cylinder started rotating, and high tinkling music flowed. Callie stared at it in wonder.
“The song is called ‘The Blue Danube,’” Levi told her. “It will keep playing as long as you wind up the box.”
Sutter stuck out his lip as if impressed. Frisco shook his head. “More music?”
As if there could ever be enough! Callie touched the smooth wood, feeling as if the melody was writing itself on her heart.
“Do you like it?” Levi asked.
Callie tore her gaze away. “Like it? I love it! I’ve never heard of anything more marvelous. Don’t you see, Levi? Father Christmas gave me my very own orchestra!”
* * *
The day might have been cold, but Levi felt warm inside as he, Callie, Mica and the boys took the sled for its first run. He wasn’t sure why he was so relieved his presents had been well received. The boys had seemed pleased with the fishhooks, but the way Callie had lit up to the sound of the music box made him want to puff out his chest.
Now he led her and her family to the edge of the hill, where the path sloped down to the main clearing. As Callie held a squirming Mica, he positioned the sled, then nodded to Frisco and Sutter to climb on. Once the boys had scrambled into place, he pulled back slightly.
“One, two,” he started.
“Three!” Frisco shouted, and Levi pushed.
They shot down the hill. He had barely straightened before they had reached the bottom and spun to a stop. Leaping off the sled, they looked up at him expectantly.
Levi motioned with his gloved hand. “Well, bring it back up. You ride it, you carry it back. Those are the rules.”
They each grabbed a curved end of a runner to drag the sled back up.
Callie shook her head. “They’re going to wear themselves out.”
Levi shot her a grin. “We should be so fortunate.”
Her chuckle made him feel even warmer.
But while he enjoyed having her beside him, watching the boys’ excitement, he wanted to try something else.
“Care for a turn?” he asked Callie as he positioned the sled for another run.
She shook her head, stepping back. “I’m not putting Mica on that.”
Levi nodded to Frisco and Sutter, who climbed back aboard, then he shoved them to start. Their delighted squeals echoed back up the hill.
Levi straightened. “I wasn’t asking about Mica. I was asking about you.”
Callie eyed her brothers, who were hurrying back up with the sled. “I don’t know. What if it tips over?”
“Then we’ll fall in the snow,” Levi said with a shrug.
She raised a brow. “We?”
“Did you think I was going to wait much longer for a turn?” he teased.
Callie handed Mica to Sutter as he came abreast. “Hold her. I’m going down with Levi.”
Sutter’s eyes widened.
Frisco held the sled in place as Levi helped Callie settle near the front. Then he climbed on behind her, legs straddling hers, chest pressed against her back, arms braced beside her. Her body was tense, but he hoped that meant she was as excited as he was to give it a try.
“Push,” he told Frisco, rocking forward to help the boy.
Frisco shoved, and the sled was away.
Wind whipped past Levi’s cheeks as they flew down the hill. The trees, the snow, everything became a blur, until it was only him and Callie, dashing through the snow. Her laughter tickled his chest as she shouted against the air. He wrapped his arms around her and hung on.
The sled spun to a stop at the bottom of the hill. For a moment, he just held her, resting his cheek against the top of her head. His chest was heaving, but not from any exertion. He didn’t want to move.
But she shifted against him, and he knew he had to get up. Climbing off, he offered her his hand to rise. She scrambled up, eyes shining, cheeks red. There was nothing for it. He pulled her close and kissed her.
And all at once the sled seemed tame. Even the thrill of finding a nugget in the stream was nothing compared to the feel of Callie in his arms. This was what he’d been seeking all his life, this exhilaration, this joy.
Callie pulled back to stare at him, and he couldn’t tell whether she was shocked or delighted.
“Hey!” Frisco’s call echoed down the hill. “You got to bring it back. Those are the rules.”
The rules. The rules said Levi was a minister; Callie was his ward. The rules said he was to treat her like a sister. But there was nothing brotherly about the emotions singing through him. He was only glad his back was turned to the twins so they most likely didn’t know what he and Callie were doing.
“We should go,” he murmured, gathering up the sled.
She didn’t argue with him as he started up the hill. But she didn’t suggest going down the hill again, either. In fact, a short while later, she took Mica and returned to the house. He could only hope he hadn’t offended her.
The boys wanted to keep sledding, and it seemed to Levi to be the wisest course of action. Certainly he needed some time for his blood to cool. He stayed out with the boys until they could barely see each other in the twilight. Sutter heaved a happy sigh as they headed for the parsonage at last.
“Father Christmas sure knows what to get a boy,” Callie’s brother said as he entered the house.
Frisco caught Levi’s arm to keep him from following. His face in the light from the door was troubled.
“Do you think Father Christmas might have gotten mixed up on the sled, Uncle Levi?” he murmured. “Davy told me he wanted one real bad. Maybe this was supposed to be his instead of mine and Sutter’s.”
Levi was fairly sure each of his brothers had purchased a sled for their families, with the possible exception of John, who was capable of making his own when Peter was old enough. “You’ll have to ask Davy tomorrow to be certain,” he told the boy, “but I think this was meant for you.”
“Really?” Hope kindled in Frisco’s blue-gray eyes. “Me and Sutter never had anything so nice. I thought maybe it was a mistake.”
“No mistake,” Levi assured him, throat tightening. “Take the sled around back for safekeeping. I’ll be in in a moment.”
Frisco hefted the sled and carried it through the breezeway.
Levi straightened and walked out into the twilight.
Is that the lesson You’ve been trying to teach me, Lord? Do I believe deep down I don’t deserve anything nice? Have I felt empty so long I can’t accept it’s possible to be full again?
The moon was rising, plump and nearly round. The silver light glowed on the snow, brightening everything. Callie had brightened his world. Like Frisco, he hadn’t expected anything and had been given a priceless gift. He wouldn’t take it for granted.
And that meant he would have to tell her the truth, even if it cost him everything.