Christmas With Hover Hill (14 page)

From the kitchen came a loud, vexed drone.

Chapter 11

Elizabeth gave a negative shake of her head as she
looked down at the blue sweater and gray wool slacks combo.

“
I sense that something is wrong,” Hover
stated.

“
I just don't think this sweater is going to
work with these slacks. I'm going to change into a different
sweater. One that is more festive,” Elizabeth said as she rushed
down the hall.

“
Now! Farmer will be here any minute,” Hover
warned.

Elizabeth stopped. “I'll hurry. Are you sure you
don't want to go with us?”

“
I am sure. I will power down and wait for you
to come back,” Hover assured her.

“
Fine. Fix some sandwiches for Bud and me to
eat before he goes home. We probably won't be very hungry. He tells
me his sister goes all out to fix a big spread for holiday
meals.”

While Elizabeth changed, Hover stood watch at the
window. In a few minutes, he called, “Farmer is here.”

“
From her room, Elizabeth yelled, “I'm coming.
Let him in for me.”

“
Beth, you should check out the hundred years
old conveyance he's driving before you say you want to ride any
where with that crazy man.” Hover answered the knock on the door.
He glanced over Bud's shoulder. “Did your truck break
down?”

“
No, it didn't,” Bud said tersely.

“
You must have run out of gas if you are
desperate enough to drive that.” Hover nodded toward the
driveway.

“
Hover, let Bud in. It's cold out there,”
Elizabeth scolded, still worrying about her clothes. She hoped her
bright pink, turtle neck sweater went better with the gray slacks.
She didn't have time to change again.

Hover came close and whispered, “I'm telling you
Farmer expects you to ride in this cold weather in a hundred years
old conveyance. Now I know for sure I will not go with you. You
should think about your safety before you leave here.”

“
Hover, I don't know what you're talking
about.” Elizabeth walked to the door. In the yard was a two seat
red sleigh with a white pin stripe running along the middle. Golden
bells dangled from the sleigh. Harnessed to the sleigh were two
glossy black horses. “A sleigh! Bud, did you come in
that?”

“
Yip, you like it?”

“
I like it very much. Hover, I think this is
the perfect way to travel on Christmas day,” Elizabeth said
joyously, slipping on her winter garb.

“
I hope you dressed warm enough. You might get
sick if you get chilled in the open air,” Hover worried.

“
I've taken care of that,” Bud assured him. “I
brought a bunch of blankets.”

“
Besides, the sun is shining, and this will be
a short ride. You know it isn't far to Wickenburg,” Elizabeth added
to humor Hover.

He headed for his stand down spot. “I'm going to
power down now. Beth, just be careful in that thing.”

Bud let Elizabeth go down the steps ahead of him. He
whispered in her ear, “Does Robot want to go with us?”

Elizabeth giggled. “He said he didn't. After he saw
your conveyance, as he called it, he was adamant that he was
staying home. He even cautioned me to be careful.”

Bud helped her into the sleigh before going behind
the sleigh and climbing in. He reached into the back seat for two
blankets. He handed them to Elizabeth. “Spread these over our laps.
If you need more, help yourself. There is plenty stacked behind us.
Robot will never let me hear the end of it if I let you get
sick.”

For awhile, silence hung between them as they enjoyed
the ride. The brisk wind tumbled the snow over the road. The sleigh
bells tinkled in rhythm with the clopping of horse hooves, and the
runners crunched on the snow packed ground.

When they reached the highway, Bud turned the horses
onto the shoulder so the sleigh could slide along in the packed
snow. The brisk breeze whipped Elizabeth's hair, causing her to
shiver. Goose bumps popped up on her legs as she tucked the
blankets tighter around her lap.

“
You're sure quiet,” Bud said. “Don't you like
the ride?”

“
I do. This is fun. I'm worried that maybe I'm
doing the wrong thing by coming with you to your family's holiday
celebration. I'm not so sure Susie likes me. My presence may spoil
the festive mood for all of you.”

“
Stop worrying. I had a talk with my sister.
She is fine with you coming. Fact is, I told her if she didn't
treat you nice we'd leave. If you weren't happy, I wouldn't be,
either.”

Elizabeth's mouth fell open. “You didn't say that to
your poor sister?”

Bud gave a slight nod. “Yip, I did.”

“
Susie might not warm up to me for sure now.
Before we get to Susie's house, tell me about Susie's family so I
know them a little better,” Elizabeth said.

“
Well, let's see. Frank Davidson is a good old
boy. His parents were teachers at Wickenburg High School for years.
Frank is an only child. He was born and raised here. His parents
have passed away so Susie likes to make sure Christmas is special
for him.”

“
What does Frank do for a living?”

“
He's a lawyer and a darn good one, too,” Bud
said. “Susie and Frank have three kids. The oldest is David. He's
ten. Like most kids these days, he's taken a liking to the computer
and all those hand held devices that kids like. I think the boy is
the spitting image of his father. Dark hair and brown serious eyes
and he's built with a thin frame. You know, the kind of guy when
he's grown up will look good in a business suit.”

“
And there is two more children?”

“
Yip, Jimmie is eight. He's more like the
Carter side of the family. He likes outdoor sports like me. Follows
me around in the summer when his mom will let him. He's got some of
his father's looks, but the light hair coloring and blue eyes came
from the Carters.

Little Megan is five, but she will tell you she is
almost six if you ask her age. Already in a hurry to grow up. She
has naturally curly blond hair and pretty blue eyes. Makes me think
of Shirley Temple when she was a kid. Megan's personality is
precocious like Temple's was. I can hardly wait until she gets old
enough to attract the boys like bees to honey. She's going to drive
her parents crazy. Now about Susie.”

Elizabeth interrupted. “No need to tell me about
Susie. She is a loving wife and great mother. She's protective of
her brother. A good business woman with a very industrious nature.
A friendly person with a big heart normally except where I'm
concerned.”

“
That's her, but her bark is worse than her
bite so be patient with her. That about says it for my family,” Bud
said. “You're looking cold. Good thing we're here.”

On the edge of town, he pulled over by the curb in
front of a ranch style home. He hopped out and tied a halter rope
from each horse to a lower limb on the maple tree next to the
sidewalk. By that time, Elizabeth had the covers folded up and
piled on the back seat, ready for the ride home.

Susie and Frank greeted them at the front door. Frank
said, “You two look frozen. Get in here and warm up.”

“
Merry Christmas to you both,” Susie said. One
of the horses nickered causing her to looked past Bud toward the
street. “You came in a sleigh? No wonder you're both cold. The
coffee pot's on. I'll get you a cup of coffee right away. Take your
coats off and give them to Frank to hang up.”

By the time Frank escorted Bud and Elizabeth into the
living room, Susie came back with their coffee. “Sit down and make
yourselves at home. Hope you like parades. That's what the kids
wanted to watch this morning. Now I have to go back to the kitchen
and check on my dinner.”

“
I'll go with you,” Elizabeth offered. “Maybe I
can help.”

“
Come along. Not much we can do until time to
make the salad. I put most of the dishes in the oven.” When they
reached the kitchen, Susie pointed to the bar stools. “Sit down and
drink that coffee while I check the potato casserole and the
turkey. There's more in the pot if you need another
cup.”

She opened the oven door and pulled the bottom rack
out so she could take off the roaster lid. “That sleigh ride sure
looked like it would be fun. My brother surprises me sometimes what
he can come up with.”

“
He certainly surprised me, and the ride was
fun,” Elizabeth agreed.

Susie basted the golden turkey and put the lid back
over it. She peeked under the lid on the potato casserole. After
she shut the oven door and took off her mitts, she poured a cup of
coffee for herself and sat down by Elizabeth. She went directly to
what she had to get off her chest. “I owe you an apology for giving
you a hard time. Bud said you were so upset you walked into the
branch in the timber and nearly froze to death. I'm sorry that
happened to you because of me.”

Elizabeth said contritely, “Bud shouldn't have blamed
you. My mishap in the forest was my fault. It had nothing to do
with you at all. I started out for a walk and picked the wrong
place to step, because I wasn't familiar with the area. I'm fine
now so no need to worry about it.”

“
I'm glad you're alright. By the way, which
name do you like to be called? Elizabeth or Lizzy?” Susie
asked.

Elizabeth grinned. “Bud is the only one who calls me
Lizzy, but I don't mind. You can use either name.”

“
Elizabeth is a pretty name. I like that so I'm
going to call you Elizabeth,” Susie said. “Let's go in the living
room. You can meet my kids.”

Bud and Frank had the couch. The three children were
on their knees in front of the television. Susie said, “Kids, we
have company. Say hello to Elizabeth Morris.”

The kids swiveled around on their knees and eyed
Elizabeth, as they sized her up.

Susie said, “The one on the end is David. He's the
oldest. Next is Jimmie, and Megan is the girl on this end.”

“
It's nice to meet all of you. Thank you for
sharing your Christmas with me.” Elizabeth said.

Megan said shyly, “I like your pretty sweater.”

“
Thank you, Megan. That red one you're wearing
is very festive. Just right for today,” Elizabeth
replied.

Looking back over his shoulder, Jimmie said, “We're
missing the floats.”

Elizabeth and Susie squeezed in between the men and
watched the last of the floats.

As Bud predicted, Susie had plenty to eat. The
table was full of bowls and a large platter of turkey. Conversation
flowed around the table and lots of laughter. Elizabeth watched
this family and thought to herself,
So this
is how it is at Christmas in a real family. Warm and loving. How
sad that Scott and I missed all this when we were small.

A football game was on after lunch. The men settled
down to watch the game with the children while the women cleaned
the kitchen. When Susie and Elizabeth went to the living room, the
men scooted over so the women could sit with them. During a
commercial, the children turned around to listen to the men talk
about what went wrong in the last quarter.

Susie said to the children, “Did you know that
Elizabeth lives where Uncle Bud and I did when we were kids?”

“
Really,” Jimmie said with interest. “Sometime,
I'd like to see inside that old house again. I was small the last
time I was there so I don't remember much about it.”

“
You're all welcome to come visit any time and
take a tour,” Elizabeth invited.

Frank said, “You guys were so busy watching the
parade this morning you probably didn't see what Uncle Bud drove to
town in.”

“
Just his old pickup like usual I guess,” David
said.

“
Wrong guess, Buddy,” Bud told him. “Go
look.”

The children ran to the window.

“
Wow! An honest to goodness sleigh,” Jimmie
said.

David exclaimed, “Neat!”

Megan asked with a frown, “Did you steal Santa's
sleigh, Uncle Bud?”

Bud chuckled. “Whoa, little girl. I wouldn't do such
a mean thing as that. Santa would never bring me anything for
Christmas ever again if I did that to him. I rented a sleigh like
Santa's so I could give Lizzy a ride in it for a Christmas
gift.”

“
That's the best present I've ever had. Did you
kids find lots of good gifts from Santa under this pretty Christmas
tree?” Elizabeth asked, pointing to the large tree in the
corner.

“
Wait here,” Megan said as she ran out of the
room.

Not to be out done the boys took off, too.

Susie laughed. “You've done it now. They will keep
you busy checking out all their new stuff.”

“
I don't mind at all,” Elizabeth assured
her.

Megan rushed back, carrying a baby doll wrapped in a
pink blanket. Elizabeth cooed over the baby as if it was real which
delighted Megan.

“
What's her name?” Elizabeth asked.

“
I haven't picked one yet,” Megan said. “But
I'm thinking about it.”

David and Jimmie carried in their new fishing poles
for Bud to inspect. Jimmie wanted to know when Bud would have time
to take them fishing. Bud told him to be patient. He wasn't much
for ice fishing so they had to wait until spring. He looked the
poles over carefully and pronounced them dandies. The boys were
bound to beat him at catching the most fish with those new
poles.