Chapter 26
No-one had noticed Lucas leave the kitchen a few moments earlier so when he walked in through the front door they were all surprised. A crowd of adults and children had gathered in the hallway, looking out through the now open door beyond Grace and Bill to where two horse drawn sleighs were stopped outside. Bells and tinsel hung all around them and warm blankets could be seen stacked on the seats, the drivers up front dressed in green outfits and wearing fur trimmed hats.
Tom, the livery man, climbed down from the first sleigh, handing the reins to the lad who had accompanied him and taking two steps at a time he bounded up onto the porch to stand behind Lucas. Not a sound had been made after Grace's squeals of delight, open mouths greeting him as he peered in. Bill finally found his voice but all he could utter was a brief, "What?", his tongue as tied as everyone else's.
Tom laughed as he called out a greeting, "Merry Christmas to you all. A little bird told me that you were going to miss the Christmas Service as there are too many of you to fit in a wagon. So I thought to myself that there must be a way to sort that out and here it is." He paused to make a show of sweeping his arm around behind him towards the two sleighs, the other men still on them making dramatic bows to their audience. "So hurry up and get yourselves ready while we have a cup of that coffee I know Mrs Winter always keeps brewing on the stove." With another flourish of is arm and added drama to his voice he announced, "Your sleighs await!"
No-one moved, all still surprised by what they were seeing. Finally Lillian made her way to the front and after greeting him asked, "Where on earth did you find these Tom? They're wonderful but I thought they had been gotten rid of years ago."
Tom shook his head, "So did I until just recently. Do you remember old Judge Perkins and his son taking us all out on them when we were little? I believe you had your first kiss with Jimmy Walters on one of those rides!"
Lillian laughed as the memories came flooding back and quickly replied, "He was the one who kissed me and it was horrible!" Then turning back to everyone standing inside she explained, "I was six years old with red hair and freckles when out of nowhere this smelly boy pushed his lips onto mine. I found out after that someone had dared him to do it." Before anyone could make a comment she spun around again to the man standing at the door and said, "and I believe that someone was you Tom Roberts. But where have they been all these years?"
"In the back of the judge's barn, which hadn't been cleared out since the old man died. His son contacted me a few months ago to see if I was interested in any of the horse tack they had there as they wanted to have it emptied by the spring so that the property could be sold. When Mr Bouchard mentioned your transport problem to me yesterday I first thought of just bringing a few wagons out but then I remembered these. So as it was quiet at the livery I rode out to the Perkins place to have a look. They were pretty dusty but once we hauled them out it didn't take much to clean them up. The boys here helped me. Then my wife and some of her friends set about decorating them with what they could find at such short notice."
Bill suddenly spoke, nostalgia in his voice. "Roy Perkins! Now there is a name I haven't heard in a long time. He had retired by the time I became a judge, in fact long before I came to live in Hope Valley. But I was called to give evidence on a few cases he presided over and so got to know him a little. He was the person on whom I moulded my own judicial style, firm but fair was what he used to say. I think I've managed to live up to that."
As he paused, reflecting on what he had achieved, Nathan shouted out from the back, "I heard he was a bit of a curmudgeon so you certainly succeeded with that too Bill!"
When the laughter died down everyone began to move at once, realising that they had to start getting ready if they were going to make it to the service on time. Grace and Lillian looked at each other, not quite sure what to do and wondering how they would explain to the children that they had to wait until later to open their first present.
At that moment Lucas came back into the hallway and when he noticed their looks of concern he walked across to where they were standing. "Ladies, I have just taken the liberty of placing the presents that you had left under the Christmas Tree for opening now into some sacks I had found when fixing up the stalls in the barn. I thought that they could be handed out on the sleigh ride into town." Seeing hesitancy on both faces and thinking he had overstepped the mark he quickly added, "Or I can put them all back straight away if you don't want to do that."
Lillian was quite relieved that the decision had been taken out of their hands so quickly replied, "That was very thoughtful of you Lucas. I am sure we can find a way to make it work."
She spoke out clearly then to everyone, giving instructions on what they each had to do. For a moment she cursed her laziness yesterday in not sorting and hanging all the children's outerwear when they came in from playing in the snow but then noticed Elizabeth had started doing that, reading out the name sewn into each item before handing it over to Allie to place on the correct peg along the wall. Abigail had appeared just as the surprise was revealed so quickly organised Chloe and Megan to help her shepherd the young ones upstairs to get dressed for church, holding Little Jack's hand as he jumped about with excitement at the thought of riding in a sleigh. Meanwhile through in the kitchen Lillian could see that young Joe was already taking mugs of coffee from Mrs Winters and placing them on a tray to be carried out to Tom and his helpers. This is what Christmas is all about, she thought, a family of people being there for each other.
The men had gathered in the dining room, staying out of the way of the pandemonium that organising so many children seemed to entail. "Are you sure you know what you're taking on?" Nathan whispered to Bill who seemed a bit shellshocked by the sudden frenzy of activity. "I'll leave this sort of thing to Abigail" he replied, waving his hand about with little conviction in his voice. It suddenly struck him that this was going to be a big learning curve but he knew that the rewards would be worth the effort.
Gabe was getting ready to head out on his rounds, although the stiffness of his movement as he pulled his serge up over his shoulders showed that he was still not 100% fit after the ordeal he and Nathan had been through. Noticing this Bill moved around behind him, taking the weight of the heavy fabric to make it easier for him to slip his arms into the sleeves. "I'm not much of a church goer," he began to explain, "although I think Abigail has plans to work on that in the future. But today I believe she will be happy for me to come out on rounds with you, just to make sure that nothing goes wrong. We've had enough drama in this place for all of us to deal with." The younger man was about to protest until he saw the nod from Nathan and realised that this was something Bill felt he needed to do. "That sounds good, Bill. Rounds can be fairly lonely at times, especially when you are not at your best, so your company will be very much appreciated."
As they headed out to saddle up the horses Lucas and Nathan were left in the dining room, the saloon owner looking a little nervous as though he didn't quite know what he should do next. Nathan gave his famed raised eyebrow expression just to wind him up a bit before saying, "Come on Lucas, friends shouldn't have a problem speaking to each other." His words stopped Lucas in his tracks, his expression a mix of gratitude and surprise. "Friend? I'm not sure I deserve that accolade yet Nathan but I hope that one day I will".
Nathan gave him a full smile then, knowing how hard these past few days had been on the man. Yes he had his faults, many of them if he was honest, but he also had good qualities that were now coming to the fore. It is always difficult to feel that you don't belong, that you are an outsider, thoughts that he knew Lucas must have had since arriving in Hope Valley. Nathan understood what that was like because he had felt it at times himself. But everyone reacted to such situations in different ways and whilst he had just quietly gotten on with doing his job and looking after Allie, Lucas had tried to prove himself to be bigger and better than those around him. It had taken an unfortunate incident for him to be humbled and then the forgiveness of good people for him to understand that things didn't have to be that way. Now Nathan knew it was up to him to extend the olive branch of friendship and put the past behind them.
"Actually Lucas, I was going to ask you a favour. It is too difficult for me to even try to join everyone else for the Christmas service and there is something that I would like to do while they are all out. As I have never seen you in church on a Sunday morning I can only assume that you would not be concerned about missing it. I don't want Allie or Elizabeth to know what I am doing so perhaps we could explain it as me feeling more comfortable being left here if there is someone else, another man, to assist me should I need help in a physical way."
Lucas was a bit taken aback by Nathan's request. Not the fact that he had asked him, after all he had been helping carry him up and down the stairs for the past day. It was the tone of his voice, the familiarity that had never been there between them before, that made him break out into a smile as he nodded back. "I think that may suit both of us just fine."
Finally everyone was bundled under blankets on the two sleighs, Gabe and Bill astride their horses on either side as they would accompany them into town before heading out into the surrounding areas.
Whilst Christmas Day was a time of joy and being together for many people, for those on their own it could be difficult as memories of lost loved ones brought sadness. And for families that were struggling to just put food on the table there would be no extras to mark the day, not even for the children. How difficult life could be was something that every Mountie who served a community knew. Part of their role was to be that face that made a difference, carry out little tasks that may not be urgent but made the person feel seen and cared for, or offer something that seemed small but in the eyes of the receiver was a precious gift. Therefore in recent years Gabe and Joe Moody had begun a tradition that they believed brought a little joy into the lives of those who found themselves alone or in difficulty at this time.
"We need to stop at the general store," Gabe had told Bill, "I have something to collect from there. The ladies of the village make up little bags of homemade treats, to which Joe adds a tin of something that would not normally be included on the shopping list of these people. Maybe some tinned fruit or a jar of honey. Always with the idea of making them feel special. I take as many as can fit in my saddlebags and drop them off to the people I know need it most. It's a small thing but everyone deserves to have kindness shown to them on this day and when you see the faces when we leave each home then you will learn who really gains the most from it."
Nathan, Lucas and Mrs Winters were watching from the front porch as the sleighs made their way down the drive, bells jingling with each movement of the horses and the sound of the children's laughter ringing out across the white expanse that still surrounded them. Already presents were being lifted out of the sacks and if the named child was in the other sleigh then either Bill or Gabe would deliver it across to them. Just as they disappeared out of view the first lines of O Come All Ye Faithful could be heard, the sweetness of their voices suddenly filling the stillness of the morning. Finally they were gone and Mrs Winters looked at the two men beside her and simply said, "Coffee?", a questioning tone in her voice daring Lucas to ask for tea. Then with a smile when he didn't react she added, "and perhaps a slice of the fruit cake that I have been saving for today?"
As Lucas pushed Nathan's wheelchair along the hallway he asked, "So, now perhaps you could tell me just what is it you would like my assistance with?"