Forest shook his head. “It’s harder for grown-ups.” Even as he said the words, his heart tightened in pain. If Mitzi didn’t believe in Santa and flying reindeer and Christmas Magic, then she wasn’t the one for him. As much as he loved her—and make no mistake, he loved her—he couldn’t take her back to the ranch. He’d seen what happened to people who didn’t believe in Santa when they had to live with the Magic.
Doc, their longtime vet, had been married once. His wife didn’t believe, and it’d driven a wedge between them. Seeing a reindeer fly didn’t make a person a believer. The belief had to come first, because it was more than just flying and gifts.
“Let’s find Snowflake.” Forest lifted him into the truck, and he scooted over the seat until he was next to Mitzi.
He pulled around and lined up with Ely’s tracks. This road was even worse than the dirt path into Mitzi’s place, and they all bounced around the cab, doing their best not to knock into one another.
His phone rang, and he answered. “You’re on speakerphone.” He needed both hands on the wheel.
“There’s a lot of light north by northeast from your location,” said Pax. The sound of rushing wind howled in the background.
“How do they know that?” Mitzi asked.
“They’re in the sleigh,” he offered for explanation.
“Can you take a right? You’ll get there faster,” said Jack.
Forest looked at Mitzi.
She squinted out her window. “I think we can. … Yeah. Turn by that big boulder. There’s another four-wheeler path there.”
They turned, bouncing around like popcorn in the microwave. “Can you get in there?” he asked his brothers. In the sleigh, they could land and have Snowflake in no time.
“There’s too many trees. We’ll look for someplace close to park the sled.”
“Ten-four.”
“Kill your lights,” Pax told him.
He did. The light of the moon cast a blue glow over the snow and made it easier to see the dangers. Up ahead, there was a yellow glow. That must be the lights they could see from the sky.
“What is that?” Mitzi scooted to the edge of her seat and stared through the windshield. “It looks like a movie set.”
“Hurry!” Billy slapped his hand on his leg.
Forest pulled into a small clearing crowded with equipment. As soon as Forest cut the engine, the sound of two generators roared through the cab. Plugged into them were outdoor spotlights, the kind people used to work on their yards after dark. There must have been eight of them—all pointed up at the twenty-foot ledge overhead.
They piled out of the truck and looked up. Snowflake’s back end appeared, her hooves dangerously close to the ledge. “He’s going to shove her off the cliff.” Forest gritted his teeth. Ely would scare Snowflake into never flying again.
“And film it,” Mitzi added, pointing to the three cameras set up on tripods.
“That dirty—” Forest’s curse was cut off by Billy breaking into a run toward the bottom of the ledge. There was a small path there that zigzagged its way up to the top. How Ely managed to get Snowflake up there in the first place, he wasn’t sure. All he knew was that it couldn’t have been gentle. Snowflake would have fought him tooth and antler—using both to make her point. Forest was going to be sick. She wasn’t used to being manhandled or roughly treated.
Mitzi took off after Billy.
Forest shifted around, looking for a better way to get up there. If his brothers could get here with the sleigh, they could fly up and get her. He patted his pockets for his phone. Dang! It was in the truck. He sprinted back, hoping they could make it before Ely managed to shove Snowflake off the cliff.
Chapter Twenty-Six
“Billy, come back here.” Mitzi climbed as fast as she could. This wasn’t so much a trail as it was a place to grab a hold of things and drag yourself up. A bare root here, a tree branch there.
Billy was a good ten feet ahead of her and climbing fast. “We have to help her,” he called over his shoulder.
Mitzi couldn’t agree more. She just didn’t want her nine-year-old on the front lines.
He cleared the top and disappeared from view. “Stop!” he screamed.
“Get out of here, kid!” Ely yelled.
