Mitzi leaned against the door, reliving their time together. Forest was a find—even rarer than a reindeer. As much as she didn’t want to, she was losing her heart to him. She should know better. She should guard herself against him. But being with him was just wonderful. Was it so bad that she wanted that for herself, even if it was just until Christmas?
Christmas.
How would she ever be able to let the two of them leave? First Snowflake and now Forest brought so much laughter into her otherwise gray existence. She was probably the only person on the planet who didn’t want Christmas to come this year. If she could just hold on to these days, she might not have to let go.
Chapter Nineteen
“Iwish you’d tell me what happened last night.” Forest kicked a log into the small clearing he used to train Snowflake. He was spitting mad someone had broken into the barn, and he was perplexed that they hadn’t taken Snowflake. If she’d been flying, he could understand her escape, but she wouldn’t so much as get a hoof off the ground.
On top of that, he hated—hated!—leaving Mitzi and Billy alone. Yeah, she could wield a tire iron like a warrior princess, but that didn’t mean he liked the idea of her having to.
He glared at the reindeer. “Your silence says there’s more to this than I know.”
Snowflake looked the other way.I took care of it. Stop worrying.
“It’s part of my job to worry about you.” He shoved once more and the log was in place. Twice as tall as his pack, it would give Snowflake a new challenge to overcome. “The whole family’s worried about you. I get at least four texts a day asking how you’re doing.” He swiped his brow. “No one asks about me, in case you were wondering.”
Snowflake chortled.Well, I am their favorite.
“Make running circles your favorite.” He hooked the lead rope in place.
She trotted off, sniffing the stump and then giving him the stink eye.I know what you’re trying to do, and it’s not going to work.
“I’m trying to get your furry behind in shape. Christmas is coming fast.”
She swished her tail.It’s none of my never mind when Christmas comes.
“We’ll see about that.” He pulled out his phone and sent a text off to one of his oldest friends. It was time to call in the big dogs. If Snowflake thought she knew what she was giving up by staying here, she had another thing coming. His friend responded with a reindeer emoji and a Christmas tree—whatever that meant. With a shrug, he settled into the rhythm of Snowflake’s hoofbeats.
Where’s my Bublé?she asked.
“I want to see if you can run steady without music.”
She blew out her lips.
He chuckled. “If you can, I’ll play it on the way back to the barn.”
Fine.
Her first few times over the stump were clumsy. She pinned her ears back and cleared it easily on the third try. Forest watched, trying to determine if she was working on staying low or needed to concentrate to get the height.
Billy came into the circle on his way home from school. He stood by Forest and took in everything he did. Forest remembered doing the same thing with his dad and thought he just might burst with pride. “How was school?”
“Same old.”
He chuckled at Billy’s answer. He was about to ask how things were with Jordan when he heard the distant sound of sleigh bells.
Snowflake’s ears turned and she slowed down.You didn’t.
He gave her a wicked grin.
Glancing down at Billy, Forest debated sending him off on an errand so he wouldn’t see their visitor. But in the end, he decided that the kid could use all the magic in his life Forest had to offer. And this was certainly going to be full of magic.
“Hey.” He elbowed Billy. “Check it out.” He pointed north.
Billy followed his gesture. Instead of looking at the sky, Forest watched Billy. He knew the moment Ginger cleared the clouds, because Billy’s face went slack. Holding in the laughter was too difficult, and Forest burst out a loud guffaw. He dropped the lead rope and waved to Ginger and then to Cocoa, who pulled the sleigh.
Standing in her one-woman sleigh, wearing a red riding suit trimmed in white, Ginger Kringle waved back. “Whoa!” she called to Cocoa, pulling the reins to the right. Circling the clearing once, they landed and Ginger hopped out of the sleigh. “Ho Ho Ho. Merry Christmas, Forest!”
