He was surprised to hear himself say it.
Together, they cut the tree and tied it to the wagon. On the way home, Grace collected pinecones, while Samuel gathered a few fallen branches to use as kindling.
When they reached the ranch, Adeline was waiting on the porch with Ruth.
The little girl spotted the tree and began clapping.
“Christmas!”
“Nearly,” Caleb said.
“Christmas tree!”
Ruth hurried toward it, then stopped when she noticed something attached to one of its lower branches.
A small wooden star.
It had been carved from pale scrap wood and sanded smooth, with a hole pierced near the top for a piece of thread. The edges were uneven, but the shape was unmistakable.
Ruth touched it with one finger.
“What's this?”
“A star,” Adeline said.
“Who made it?”
“I did.”
Ruth looked up.
“For the tree?”
“For the tree.”
The little girl carefully took the star from the branch.
“Can I hang it?”
“Of course.”
Caleb watched as Adeline lifted Ruth so she could reach a sturdy branch near the center. Ruth tied the thread around it with painstaking concentration, then stepped back to admire her work.
“Now it can see everything,” she whispered.
Adeline's smile faltered.
“What do you mean, sweetheart?”
Ruth pointed at the star.
“Mama said stars watch over us.”
Caleb felt his throat tighten.
He had forgotten that Sarah had told her that. He had forgotten so many things.
Adeline bent and kissed Ruth's forehead.
“Then I hope this one watches over you very well.”
They carried the tree inside and set it beside the window. There were no glass ornaments, no strings of silver bells, and no bright ribbons except the faded blue one Grace had used for the wreath. But Adeline found a handful of pinecones, Samuel cut strips of cloth from an old flour sack, and the girls fashioned little paper shapes from the pages of an outdated almanac.
Caleb stood back and watched.
The tree was crooked. The decorations were mismatched. One branch sagged beneath the weight of too many pinecones, and Ruth insisted on hanging her wooden spoon from the lowest bough until Samuel convinced her it belonged on the table.
It was the most beautiful Christmas tree Caleb had ever seen.
That afternoon, Adeline made a batch of small cakes from the last of the flour and a spoonful of honey Caleb had been saving. She cut them into stars and hearts, then let the children decorate them with a little sugar left in the pantry.