Janette scoffed, and Raven squeezed her tighter.
“Besides, I don’t want Ben blaming me if you move out.”
“He won’t. I’ll tell him.”
Raven sighed, releasing her from the hug. “You’re not bloody moving out. There’s plenty of room for the three of us here.”
“You want me to stay as a third wheel.”
Raven looked her in the eyes. “I want you to stay as my mom.”
“Oh.” Janette’s eyes welled with tears. “Oh.”
Raven got up and embraced Janette. There was a noise behind her, and she turned to see Ben.
“Mom, are you crying? I was worried the fires might be too much,” said Ben.
Janette quickly stepped back and used the edge of her tea towel she was holding to wipe the corners of her eyes. “Raven just made me very happy.”
Ben strode over to Raven and hugged her. “She has a way of doing that.”
Raven secretly grinned to herself, nestling into Ben. She had finally rendered Janette speechless.
Christmas Day
Wednesday, December 25th
The shared Christmas lunch had been a success. The sun shone hot and high in the cloudless sky, making everyone drowsy from overeating.
Brumbie had given Raven a detailed outline of the timeline he’d already worked out to get Old Marg up and running and back to her former glory. She was glad a simple idea had helped him to connect with life and not despair after losing so much in the fire. Who knew if there would be any money in printing her own cards, but it meant that she was getting to know a local, and the idea was giving him a reason to live. That’s all that really mattered to her. Raven felt like she was beginning to be part of this community. The loneliness still lingered, but now it was under the surface, and it didn’t haunt her as it had only days ago. She knew it was something she could handle. Now and in the future.
“How do you like your first Christmas on the farm?” asked Ben coming up to her with his gift in hand. She lay on the little section of grass that hadn’t been burned by the fire.
“It’s perfect.” She sat up.
“High standards for next year, then?” he said as he sat next to her. It felt good to have him close to her again and not in danger fighting the fire.
“Yes.”
His grin broadened. “You mean you’re happy to be here for another year?”
“And even more than that.” She winked at him.
“I think hearing that is the best Christmas gift I could ever hope for.”
“I’m just glad you’re not on the harvester.”
“I’ll stop for Christmas, and with you here, I can make it a break for the entire day.”
“A farmer’s Christmas, then?”
“Well, some jobs still need to be done like feeding the alpacas. They like the extra bit of feed they get for Christmas, you know, especially Evie.”
“She does like her food.”
“So, do you.”
“Hey.” She playfully slapped him on the arm. He laughed.
