I’d love that. Make it happen please. My beast was beyond excited.
I settled Reed into bed and covered him with his aunt’s quilt.
“Thank you for showing me the magic in life.”
I kissed the tip of his nose. “You held the magic in your hand, Reed but when we came along, it blossomed. I thank you for loving me.”
ELEVEN
REED
Christmas Eve at Right as Rain(deer) was different this year than in the previous three.
When I helped Aunt Mollie every winter, I never understood how people left buying a tree until the last minute. But now I was a mate and was pregnant, I had a small insight into how people got overwhelmed. And I didn’t have a nine to five job and gaggle of kids to feed and look after.
But all day since we opened, and even before, families rushed between the trees and children tugged their parents’ hands toward the prettiest specimens. Despite the frenzy, the air was filled with a promise of Christmas magic
I'd been on my feet since dawn, helping customers find their perfect trees while tryingto ignore the nausea that reminded me there was a baby in my belly. And I wept as I said goodbye to Doug who left with his loving family.
“Reed, do you have anything smaller than this Fraser Fir?” Mr. Cumming, a regular buyer of our trees, asked. He was standing beside a six-footer that dwarfed his small vehicle. “I may have overestimated the size of my car.”
I led him toward a section of potted Noble Firs. “These are perfect for apartments. They're just as beautiful, and they'll fit on a tabletop if you want.”
As I helped him choose between two nearly identical trees, Christmas carols drifted across the farm from someone's car radio. “Jingle Bells” gave way tothatone. I’d stopped using its name, fearing my mate would grow antlers and a muzzle around humans. But some customers began to sing along to the music.
Oh no, no no. This wasn’t good. I’d overheard conversations between pack members and customers that told me some of our visitors were shifters but many were human.
Roscoe was across the lot helping a family load their tree, but his head had snapped up at the music. But instead of fur sliding over his skin and his feet becoming hooves, he put on earbuds. Some of the other pack members disappeared into the darkness and Isuspected they’d shifted. There was something urgent in their movements, like they'd been preparing for this exact moment.
“Reed?” Mr. Cumming’s voice brought me back to the present. “The tree?”
And as “Rudolf the Red-Nosed Reindeer” reached the crescendo, wild reindeer emerged from the tree line. Not one or two, but a small herd with thick winter coats—Roscoe had taught me how they protected themselves in winter—and huge antlers. They weaved between the customers and trees as if they belonged there.
Everyone stopped and stared while some held up their phones and snapped photos.
“Daddy, look!” A little boy clapped. “Real reindeer!”
“Are they wild?” his father asked as he pulled out his phone
“They must be passing through,” said another customer as one reindeer sniffed at the tree she’d just bought. “Maybe this is on their migratory route.”
The reindeer weren’t scared of the crowds, though they refused to let anyone touch them. They strode up and down the rows of trees, sniffing at the ones that remained unsold, not that there were many left.
Some of the younger teenagers and the kidsappeared with tubs of carrots. Where did those come from? And who was going to eat all those vegetables? But they handed them to the customers and urged them to feed the reindeer.
The visiting children grabbed a carrot. Some were apprehensive and needed their parents to hold their hand while others went up to the wild beasts and watched as the reindeer munched on the carrots.
“They like vegetables,” one boy shouted.
“Maybe you should remember that next time you tell me you don’t want to eat your carrots.” His dad ruffled the boy’s hair.
I stood transfixed, imagining a Christmas carol and a Christmas card becoming a live action event and unfolding on my tree farm. This was the ultimate Christmas magic and nothing could better this.
“What’s going on?” I asked as my mate appeared beside me. This was a build up to something else.I was sure of it.
He adjusted my scarf and tucked his arm in mine.
“Are these shifters?” I whispered as the reindeer wandered around munching carrots.
