Christmas Comes to Bethlehem, Maine: The Annual Live Nativity Event Becomes a Backdrop for Four Modern Romances by unknow

Author:unknow
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781628368093
Amazon: 1628368098
Publisher: Barbour Books
Published: 2014-09-02T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 2

The sun peeking above the miles of rolling hills had yet to melt the frost off the trees or the grass under his feet. Logan drew a long breath of icy morning air and blew it out slow, like the steam from a locomotive. Funny how, on days like this, he could still be transported to his youth—for a moment, anyway.

His heart clenched, and he lowered his gaze to the pair of yellow eyes watching him curiously. “Right. Let’s get moving. Too cold to stand here gathering wool.”

The wolf’s nose twitched in agreement.

Lifting the latch on a long, metal gate, he pushed through, waited for the wolf, then let it clang shut. On a typical day, feeding the livestock came first, but the wolf made the camels nervous, so Logan veered toward the aviary.

A high, tinny whistle carried on the air, mingling with bird songs. Not surprising. His hired hand, Pete, was an early riser for a college kid—earlier than Logan.

He entered the aviary, the wolf on his heels. Greeted by a blast of warm air, he unwound the scarf from around his neck then directed a sharp glare at the wolf. “No tricks. Sit there and be good.”

As if to say that had been his intention all along, the wolf dropped to his belly at the door and laid his head on his paws with a long-suffering sigh.

Pete rounded the corner. In each hand, he lugged a large bucket brimming with chopped fruits and vegetables, mixed with seed. “Morning, Boss.”

“Morning.”

Logan relieved him of one of the buckets then followed him to the center of the aviary, where they made short, silent work of distributing the food. That was one of the things Logan liked about Pete. He didn’t feel compelled to fill up the quiet.

The two toiled side-by-side for almost an hour—cleaning the aviary, changing the water in the bathing pool, sweeping out leaves and debris. It was menial, mind-numbing work, but these days Logan appreciated the simplicity. It filled his days, leaving him with little time to think.

“I see Wolf’s back.”

Logan cut his gaze to the door, where the wolf’s ears perked at the mention of his name. “Yeah. He was gone longer this time. I was starting to worry.”

Pete shook his head. “Probably got himself a girl up in the woods. That time of year.”

“Uh-huh.” Logan leaned against the broom handle. “Speaking of the time of year, shouldn’t the college be letting you out for Christmas break soon? I assume you’ll be going home?”

Even with Pete’s head lowered, Logan saw the flush coloring his cheeks. The kid hunched deeper into his shoulders and cleared his throat. “Actually…I was kinda thinking about sticking around Bethlehem.”

Logan clenched his jaw and went back to sweeping. “That’d make two years in a row, Pete. I’m sure your parents miss you.”

“My parents won’t mind, if they know I’m needed here,” he blurted, his face reddening.

No, they probably wouldn’t, considering how many prayer-filled cards and letters they’d sent. That still didn’t excuse Logan from claiming their eldest son for a second Christmas.

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