“Now there’s a Christmas miracle.”
“You know, this morning, I met this adorable little girl and her mother at the café. Dotty—the little girl—said something very curious. She said she saw a bear wearing makeup chasing a man screaming about mints not being food. Do you have any idea what that might have been about?”
Ace side-eyed him. “Yeah, okay. I got distracted and didn’t feed Fitz. He went feral, and it all went downhill after that. But baby, I got stuck up a tree and was attacked by a squirrel on steroids.”
“I don’t know what to make of that sentence, yet I’m not surprised.”
“It definitely did not want to knit me a sweater,” Ace grumbled.
“I’m so confused. Who didn’t want to knit you a sweater?” Colton shook his head. “Never mind. You had one job. Get a tree. Preferably without injuring yourself.” He hadn’t sent the Boyfriend Collective with Ace so Ace could keep an eye on them, rather the other way around. He’d hoped that between the four of them, they would have been able to keep Ace from doing something like…climbing up a tree in search of furry creatures with the intent of chopping down said tree with an ax he had no business wielding.
“Correction. I had one job and one impossible feat.” Ace planted his hands on the floor. “I think I can stand now.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes. You have things to do.”
As if Colton wouldn’t drop whatever he was doing to help his husband, no matter what he’d done. “Since everyone is still out, why don’t you come upstairs with me? You can nap on the bed or watch TV, and I’ll keep working. I’ll even let you have some snacks in bed. You can snuggle up with Chip.” Colton carefully helped Ace get on his feet.
Ace eyed Chip. “He’s going to try and steal my snacks.”
“I’ll put a few treats in his puzzle ball.”
With three big dogs in one place, their people had brought plenty of enrichment toys, regular toys, and treats. After grabbing Chip’s puzzle ball and his bag of treats, plus some snacks for Ace, Colton followed Ace upstairs.
Chip darted into the room and dove onto the bed, making Colton and Ace laugh. His tail thumped against the mattress happily as Ace climbed up next to him. Colton fluffed the pillows and placed them behind Ace’s back so he could get comfortable. Treats provided and TV on, Colton sat in the armchair near the bed with his laptop and phone. He propped his feet on the footrest and took a moment to soak everything in.
The view outside the huge windows across the room was stunning—nothing but snowy hills, trees, and mountains. The sun was starting to set, and a light snow flurry fell. In bed, his husband, who he adored with his heart, body, and soul, discussed snacks with his friend’s dog while a Christmas movie played in the background.
Chip lost interest in what Ace was saying the moment Ace placed the puzzle ball on the bed.
“Fine. Pick treats over a riveting conversation with me,” Ace teased.
Chip’s ears twitched at the word “treat,” but he ignored Ace in favor of his puzzle ball.
This moment, right here, was everything, and Colton allowed himself a few minutes to enjoy it. Then he got back to work. He had several contacts at tech companies and made several calls regarding the items Jack needed to get the Ice Castle up and running. Apparently, more than one panel, or whatever it was called, was required. After about half an hour of calling different people, he finally had everything Jack had asked for, and it would arrive by tomorrow afternoon.
“Thanks so much, Harold. I appreciate it.” Colton hung up and let out a sigh of relief.
“That sounded like a good sigh,” Ace said.
“Yep. The pieces Jack needs will arrive tomorrow. Before you got here, I’d also made arrangements for all the materials Lucky and Mason need to fix the roof of the Ice Castle. Thankfully, the damage isn’t structural. The Ice Castle supplies will also arrive tomorrow, so they can start immediately. I’ll review the invoices Clara gave me and put in some orders.” That reminded him. “Did you know Clara is married to the mayor?”
“Really?”
“Yep. His name is Christopher Snow.”
Ace stared at him. “Clara and Christopher Snow.”
“And they have a reindeer farm.”
“You’re shitting me,” Ace said, his smile huge. “Does Leo know?”
Colton shrugged. “I have no idea. I haven’t seen him all day.”
“He probably knows by now since that’s the reason he left. To find Santa, I mean, not the reindeer farm. It was right after he got a text.”
“I wonder what he’s up to,” Colton said. “He hasn’t mentioned anything to Fitz either, and usually, he tells Fitz everything.”
