“He did. And from memory. I thought the children should have something of her. You, too.”
Jewel toddled over to him and leaned into his chest. “Jewel miss Mama.”
Jackson scooped her into his arms. “I miss her, too.”
The sun came out after breakfast, and the air was cold but calm, so Caroline bundled the children up and took them outdoors.
Jackson waved at them on his way to do morning chores. He shook his head and chuckled at Ranger bouncing along behind them, ears flopping and tongue hanging out, completelyundeterred by the snow. Maybe he’d make a good farm dog after all.
The animals had fared well in the barn, though they would grow tired of being stabled more and more over the next two months. “Give it another day or two,” he told them as he broke the layer of ice that had formed on the surface of the water troughs. “I’ll be able to turn you out.”
He fed them and went to the cow.
She lowed when he entered her stall, a deep, throaty sound, expressing her discomfort.
“I know,” he said as he poured her feed. “But I have to dry you off for spring.”
He prepared an extra-hearty portion and went to check on Jonah. The horse still shied at the feel of a saddle, but he’d come to accept a blanket. “If you’d quit being so stubborn and settle yourself down, I could put you in the barn.”
Jackson collected a bridle from the tack room that needed repair and took it back with him to the house. The place was empty, and the yard had been, too. He stood by the fire to warm himself then went back out to find Caroline.
A trail of footprints rayed off from a muddle of dirty trampled snow and went in the direction of the hill.
Jackson walked until he found them, but stopped several yards away.
All three were kneeling in various places around Amanda’s grave, scooping aside the snow with their hands.
He doubted they were playing—Caroline would never allow such foolishness on hallowed ground—so he watched from a distance and let them be.
Caroline pulled some sort of envelope from the pocket of her coat. She poured from it into the children’s cupped hands then she spoke to them, and they went back to working the earth.
Several minutes later, she cleaned all their hands with snow then stood and said what must have been a prayer. Noah and Jewel looked so reverent, standing with their arms at their sides and their heads bowed. Even Ranger sat quietly on his haunches next to the group.
It wasn’t until they started back down the hill that Caroline noticed him.
He smiled at her and winged his elbow as she neared.
She accepted his escort with a tentative expression. “We planted some seeds,” she said as she walked with him toward the house. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“It was our Christmas gift to Mama,” Noah piped up before he could respond. “Now she’ll have flowers every spring.”
“Bine,” Jewel blurted.
“We planted red columbine,” Caroline explained. “It was Amanda’s favorite flower.”
He’d seen it embroidered on the edges of the curtains, but he hadn’t paid it any mind. That he’d never made the effort to learn that about her bothered Jackson. He would have planted some for her if he’d known. “It’s an excellent gift.”
Noah’s entire face lit up. “Let’s have a snowball fight!”
“Not until you sit by the fire for a while and warm up,” Jackson said, making him frown.
“I’ll make us some hot chocolate,” Caroline offered as an enticement. “Then, once we’re warm, I’ll help you mold a whole mountain of snowballs.”
“All right,” Noah said, accepting his fate.
Caroline unwrapped a block of chocolate she’d brought from Greenvale. She grated it into a saucepan of water and cream and stirred until it was smooth. Then she finished it off with nutmeg, vanilla, and some sugar.
Noah stood at her elbow and sniffed. “That smells delicious.”
