His shoulders sagged. Running over any grandma was not a viable option. He needed to stop looking to Christmas songs for inspiration and turned away from the house to almost run into the child star’s nanny.
“Excuse me!” She grabbed Raelynn and held her back from being under boot. “Jack!” Her face lit up. “Just the reindeer wrangler we were looking for.” She put smiled softly and then snapped her gum.
Jack did his best to remember her name. Ashley! That was it.
Ashley put a hand on Raelynn’s back and pushed her forward. “Go ahead. Ask him.”
Jack’s attention went to Raelynn. She wore a navy overcoat with large buttons and a matching stocking hat. Her white tights blended in with the snow, while the simple shoes looked like something out of a children’s book. She was ready for filming. Was it that time already?
Raelynn was staring at the ground. She drew up and then looked him right in the eye. “How much for your reindeer?”
Jack considered the little girl. “You want to buy my reindeer?” He knew precisely which naughty-list, attention-grabbing reindeer she was after.
She nodded.
Jack bent towards her and whispered. “I thought you didn’t believe in Santa, reindeer, and all that.” He tipped his head, listening for her answer.
Her little forehead wrinkled with confusion. “I don’t?” she said it more like a question than a pronouncement. “But can’t I keep her as a pet?”
Jack shook his head sadly. “Sorry little elf.” He booped her nose with his gloved finger. “These are protected reindeer because they’re an endangered species. You can’t have one as a pet.”
“But…” she pointed toward the fence where several of the reindeer who had auditioned today preened. He’d have to break it to them that they didn’t get the part. “You taught Apples all those tricks—like a dog. He’s your pet.”
Jack screwed up his face at the thought of what the reindeer would do to him if he called Apples his pet. “He is most certainly not my pet. He has a sweet tooth, though. Don’t even think about eating a candy cane when he’s around.”
She stared at the animals for a minute. The sound of her thoughts turning over practically bulldozing through the crisp winter air. “I can protect them. I’ll build a special barn and everything.”
Jack grinned. “I know you’d take excellent care of a reindeer. But it’s just not possible. My mom,” he pointed to the house, “has to work non-stop to manage our permits, grants, and certifications that allow us to do what we do. It’s a lot of work.”
Raelynn stomped her foot. “I want a reindeer.”
Jack was taken aback by her mini-tantrum. He’d seen a lot worse in the grocery store, though he hadn’t been expecting it from Raelynn.
He half grinned. It was about time she acted like a child. Maybe there was hope for her yet. “You should write a letter to Santa and ask him. He has a whole bunch of reindeer.”
Raelynn considered his suggestion, which he saw as progress. Before she could come up with another argument, he tipped his hat to Ashley and said, “If you’ll excuse me, ladies, I need to get inside.” The smell of cinnamon and sugar wafted toward him and curled its finger in invitation.
He half-jogged up the steps, no closer to having an answer than he’d been ten minutes before.
His phone beeped, and he checked the text from Drake.
Drake: I’ll stay in the barn and keep people out.
Jack: Thanks.
Just because he’d agreed to let Sparkle be in the movie didn’t mean Tinsel Town had free access to her. She was still their reindeer, meaning they had to keep her flying secret safe.
Besides, if they thought Sparkle was remarkable, they’d go nuts over Dunder.
Dunder was the real deal; having flown with Santa’s sleigh for almost a decade, he was now retired. The time spent living at the North Pole with the Kringle family had infused him with so much Christmas magic it infected everyone around him.
Maybe meeting Dunder would be a good thing for Raelynn, though. A way to reinstate the Magic of Christmas in her heart. That girl needed a snowball fight and a Christmas party to loosen her up.
He stopped on the porch to kick the snow off his boots and stepped into the warm vanilla and orange-scented home. He didn’t know how his mom made the housesmelllike Christmas; it was a talent she possessed.
He followed the sound of voices to his parents’ bedroom at the back of the house. The fact that they were all meeting there was a good sign for Dad’s health, a bad sign for him. He hadn’t asked to be the go-to for the movie people, but darn it! The last thing he wanted to do was disappoint Dad. He was the foundation of the whole ranch and an extraordinary man—the kind who built snow forts with his sons and invited Santa’s daughters to spend the summer.
Pax, Caleb and Faith, Forest and Mitzi, and Mom stood in a semi-circle around Dad’s bed. Billy, Mitzi’s son, would be home from school soon. That kid had enough energy to run the North Pole, and Jack adored him for it.
