“Look! Are those runner marks from the sleigh?” Jack asked, rumbling the UTV in toward the small turn-off.
“Yes,” she said. “But the UTV can’t go very far down there.”
“I’ll go on foot, then.” He brought the UTV to a stop and they unbuckled in perfect unison, jumping out and hustling to meet at the front of the vehicle.
“I know this meadow,” Jack said, bracing against the cold. “There’s a steep side of the mountain on the other end. I hope?—”
“Jack. Look!” She put her hand over her mouth, just as something moved well beyond the trees.
He saw it, too, and they both darted in that direction, passing a crumbled remnant of a snow fort and?—
“There they are!” In the distance, two figures huddled in the back seat of the sleigh, both wrapped in Red’s heavy coat. But Copper was gone.
Relief and terror tangled in Cindy’s chest as she scanned the treeline, the ridge, the shadows along the slope for the horse. “He must have gone down the side.”
Swearing under his breath, Jack turned to her, grabbing her shoulders. “Go get Nicole. Bring skis. Hurry. I’ll go get them.”
Her heart slammed against her ribs. “Jack?—”
“Go!”
With that, he took off toward Benny and Red. Cindy pivoted and ran back to the UTV, the engine growling as she gunned it back toward the lodge.
The ride back was a blur. Snow slapped her face, stinging her eyes, but she barely noticed.
What would they have done without Jack? He moved on all cylinders and loved her family as much…as much as she loved him.
How could she doubt him?
She practically flew off the ground as she came up the last hill before the lodge, slipping and sliding toward the shed. Nicole ran out before she turned the engine off.
“Get skis and let’s go!” Cindy hollered.
“Skis?”
“Copper went down the hill on the other side of the meadow.”
“With the sleigh?” she asked, horrified.
“No, no. They unharnessed him and he?—”
Nicole didn’t let her finish. She leaped into action, ready to do whatever she could to help the family she loved.
The UTV rattled like it hated every inch of the climb, tires spinning wildly before catching with a bone-jarring jolt that slammed Nicole’s teeth together. She clung to the cold steel bar above her head, her fingers stiff and cold despite the gloves she wore.
Next to her, Mom hunched over the wheel, jaw set in grim determination, as though she could will the machine into conquering the snow-covered trail. Wind tore through the open sides, sharp as broken glass.
“Jack texted while you got the gear,” Mom shouted over the growling engine. “They’re okay, but Copper’s definitely down the slope. He’s okay, but…far.”
He was not okay, Nicole thought. He was terrified and alone and probably about to panic run and get completely lost.
Nicole grunted and dropped her head back, barely able to breathe.Copper.Her boy. Her partner.
The UTV veered sideways again, tires hunting for a grip on the rutted track. Snow sprayed the windshield in sheets. Nicole pressed a hand hard to her chest, as if she could stop it from bursting out of her.
“Did you know about this Grumpy Santa thing?” Nicole shouted over the engine.
“Did you?” She threw a look. “Jack just told me on the way up here.”
