“So do you mind ducking down and staying out of sight until she leaves?”
“Not at all.” Protecting her reputation was the least he could do. And if she insisted he sleep over, he wasn’t going to complain, because it got him all that closer to Snowflake. Although he wasn’t sure what he’d do with her when he found her. It wasn’t like they could fly home tomorrow.
The night finally caught up to him, and his body sagged with exhaustion. There had to be a way to get Snowflake home before Christmas. If they couldn’t fly, then they’d drive. Either way, they’d be in North Dakota before Santa checked the list—twice.
Chapter Ten
Mitzi slept surprisingly well, considering there was a strange man in the house. She woke up the next morning with a start and a hefty dose of self-reclamation. What was she thinking, bringing Forest home with her last night? She didn’t know the man. He could be a serial killer or a weirdo who wanted to try on her shoes while she slept.
Okay, that was far-fetched, but she’d watchedWhile You Were Sleepinga couple nights ago and Joe Jr. was such a great character—a little off, but all he wanted was someone to love.
She rubbed her eyes. She’d been alone too long if she was considering Joe Jr. a catch.
She brushed her teeth and took an extra moment to arrange the messy bun on her head so it looked messy on purpose instead of an afterthought. She was standing there, contemplating her eyeliner, when she decided she wasnotprimping for Forest Nicholas. Tossing the tube on the counter in disgust, she tromped into the kitchen.
Billy’s alarm had gone off a few minutes before, and she heard the bathroom door shut behind her. Good. She wouldn’t have to rouse him this morning. The kid slept like an elf the day after Christmas. Oh, to be young again.
She glanced through the cupboards, hoping a food fairy had come through the night before and left a bunch of groceries in the fridge, but it was bare as ever. “Oatmeal it is.” She added cinnamon and brown sugar to the pan, as well as a dash of vanilla. Truly, the cheap flavoring was the only way to make oatmeal palatable. She could do many things out of necessity, but eating oatmeal every day tested even her limits. On the bright side, she had great blood pressure and no cholesterol.
She made the mistake of glancing in the front room, where she’d covered an exhausted wrangler with an afghan last night. Forest was sprawled out, taking up every inch of the couch and hanging off the edge. One long leg kicked out from the blanket. He wore thick, wool Christmas socks. Which was adorable in a manly way. He’d tucked his boots near the bottom of the couch and hung his coat on the hook. At least he was tidy. Darn it all if that wasn’t as attractive as the way his chest moved up and down, drawing deep breaths. She missed hearing someone breathe beside her at night. There hadn’t been many tender moments between her and her ex-husband, but in the beginning there’d been some good times.
Little footsteps thundered down the hallway, alerting her to Billy’s presence a full ten seconds before he blurred through the kitchen. “I gotta let Snow—”
She clamped a hand over his mouth and put a finger over her own. Then she took that finger and pointed it at the couch.
Billy’s eyebrows lowered. He pushed her hand away from his mouth. “What’s he doing here?”
“You know him?” She pulled his shoulders, holding him close to her.
“I’ve seen him in the woods. He asked about reindeers. What’s he want?”
She pressed her lips. “He wants his reindeer back.”
Billy threw her arms off and ran out the back door.
She heaved a sigh. As she’d sat in the hard chair in the waiting room last night, she’d come to the conclusion that Snowflake must have escaped the reindeer ranch and made her way to Idaho. It was far-fetched; there were hundreds if not thousands of miles between them. Yet she’d stumbled into their lives, hurt and afraid—and stolen their hearts in the process.
There wasn’t much to be done about it, except return the reindeer and then pick up the pieces of Billy’s heart.
She grabbed her coat and hurried to the barn, where she found Billy huddled in the back of Snowflake’s stall, his arms around her neck. Big, chocolate-drop-sized tears graced his cheeks before landing on her fur.
Snowflake looked up as Mitzi entered the stall.What’s wrong?she asked with a look.
Mitzi’s throat closed off with emotion. “It’s okay,” she told the reindeer. “I’ll talk to him for a minute.”
Snowflake nuzzled Billy and then stepped back, making her way to the stall entrance. She lifted a brow as she passed, telling Mitzi she’d be here if she needed backup. Mitzi patted her side in response.
“Billy?” She opened her arms, and he threw himself against her middle.
“It’s not fair. He lost her. That means he didn’t take care of her. We do!” he yelled into her coat.
“I know. I know. But he came all this way to get her. So he must care about her.” Mitzi ran her hand down the back of his hair. How much longer would he let her do things like that? Time was slipping away from her. “Besides, he has a whole ranch full of reindeer. What if Snowflake has a family?”
Billy sniffed but otherwise remained silent.
Snowflake’s ears perked up and twitched. Mitzi watched in amazement as her eyes grew large and she surged out of the stall, making a noise that could only be called joyful. She and Billy followed her out into the breezeway where Forest stood, his arms open.
“Snowflake!” he yelled in happy surprise.
