Read Online Christmas With Hover Hill by Fay Risner - Free Book Online

her?”
    Bud nodded. “Just a glance when he peeked out the
window. He dresses like a city dude.”
    Susie placed a plate of bacon, toast and eggs in
front of her brother. “They are a strange couple is all I've got to
say.”
    Thinking about that, Bud put the toast to his mouth
before he asked, “They probably think us country hicks are strange,
too. Why do you think they are strange?” Then he took a bite.
    “ It was right after the lunch hour when they
got to town. The guy sat in the car while the woman came in. She
ordered a maidrite. I asked if she didn't want to get one for the
man in the car. She looked flustered, said no and changed her
answer to yes. She wanted one for him. Wouldn't you think it would
be a given that he'd want to eat when she did?”
    “ Maybe he wasn't that hungry. Who knows.” Bud
turned his attention to his breakfast.
    Early that morning, Elizabeth decided to go for a
walk while she waited for the farmer. The trees surrounding the
house seemed like a city park. She wanted to explore her
surroundings and get some fresh air. She paused to look back to
make sure Hover had followed her order to stay away from the
windows. She couldn't see him.
    She inhaled a smoky smell and sneezed. When she
looked up at the house roof, she saw gray smoke curling out of the
fireplace chimney and down over her. One of those country scents,
she probably could do without. Elizabeth moved on along the trail
until she came to a fence line with a barbed wire gate in it.
    A steady, loud rumble came from the direction of the
road. Bud, in a green tractor, was coming to check his cattle. He
had a large bale of hay attached to the back of the tractor. He
waved at her when he hopped out of the cab to open the gate. Once
he drove the tractor through, he released the bale in the pasture,
drove back out and closed the gate.
    “ Morning, Lizzy. It sure is chipper out here
this morning. Do you want a ride back to the house?” Bud pointed at
the tractor cab's open door.
    Elizabeth paused. Do I
look like a Lizzy? She thought better of making that
cryptic comment out loud. She gave this farmer a hard enough time
yesterday. While he was still speaking to her, she needed to get
the wood billing explained to him. His overly friendly nature might
stop if they got into an argument over her name. “I think I'd like
that. I've never ridden in a tractor before,” she said as she put
her foot on the step. Bud grabbed her by the waist and hoisted her
inside. She perched on a narrow ledge beside the seat.
    When he came through the driver's door, Bud grinned.
“Glad I'm your first time.” His breath came in rhythmic white
plumes as he talked.
    The way he said it made her blush, but she couldn't
tell from his friendly grin if he'd meant to embarrass her or not.
She hated feeling uneasy around this man, but she didn't know how
to take him. She looked out the window, hoping her face would
quickly lose its flushed color.
    The cab and the farmer smelled faintly of an
unpleasant mixture of scents, diesel fumes from the tractor
exhaust, manure on his boots, and a whiff of wood smoke. Though
maybe the wood smoke was coming off her from walking in the
downdraft from the fireplace.
    “ Where's the big dog this morning?” She
asked.
    “ I don't usually let him ride in the tractor.
He doesn't mind me well enough. Makes it hard for me to drive while
I'm trying to keep him out of my way. Buster does better in the
back of the pickup when he has the whole area to
himself.”
    The cab's heater worked well. Sitting that close to
the farmer, heat radiated off Bud's heavy coat. Elizabeth
unbuttoned her coat. “It's warmer in here than I thought it would
be.”
    “ Most tractors have cabs with heaters and air
conditioners now. Modern farming equipment has come a long way.
Years ago, farmers had to freeze all winter while they did chores
in the elements.”
    “ Chores?”
    “ Like feeding the cattle hay. I come every
morning if you ever want another