Mom paced, getting milk out of the fridge and taking the kettle off the stove to pour water into mugs of cocoa powder. Her face was pinched with worry. Typically, she was the calm one of the family, her thin shoulders carrying more weight than most reindeer could. If she was worried…
“Is it Dad?” Jack asked right off. Better to know what was going on so he could help.
Faith shook her head quickly. “He’s sleeping right now.” The lines around her eyes said that he wasn’t any better.
Both Jack and Drake released the breath they’d been holding.
At least he wasn’t worse.
“I just couldn’t tell her no,” Mom wrung her hands. “She’s such a sweet thing, and it sounded like this mattered to her.”
Jack snagged a cinnamon roll, pausing to blow a raspberry on Ryder’s red cheek and getting a giggle from his nephew before moving away. Caleb poked Jack’s ribs and grinned. Jack handed Ryder a large piece of roll with extra frosting. He smeared it across Caleb’s shirt before he could stop the little elf.
Jack smirked. Caleb laughed easily. His chubby baby could do no wrong.
Forest ran a hand through his sandy brown hair. “I just don’t see how we’re going to do this. Dad was the one who arranged everything, and there’s no way he can take this on now.” Mitzi patted his jean-clad leg.
Jack narrowed his eyes. Chloe’s comment came back to him, and he grunted. “Tell them to go home.” Easiest decision ever. They could hunker down and have a family Christmas while he worked up the nerve to get back out there and date again. Not that there was anyone around to date. He frowned. Perhaps Chloe’s comment about him having a reputation was more warranted than he’d given her credit for.
Mom adjusted the clip in her snowy white hair. She and dad had both gone gray and then white early on–they claimed it was raising five boys that did it to them, and not one of those boys dared to argue. They were a handful–he and Caleb leading the bunch.
“I wouldn’t have cared if we turned that Ralph character out on his backside. Would have served his sleazy used-car-salesman attitude right.”
Forest smothered a snicker with his hand. Jack and Caleb exchanged a look. That was the meanest thing they’d ever heard Anna Nicholas say about another living soul. In her defense, Ralph was a sleazeball. He’d even tried to sneak some things into the contract that Dad caught and had their lawyer take out. Like access to all the buildings and the right to film inside the house. Besides the fact that the flying reindeer stayed inside the barns–and therefore, no one would be allowed inside, the house was their home. No way they were letting cameras in here.
Ralph used the commotion over the contract to open negotiations for having one of their reindeer star in the movie. No one liked that idea, but Dad thought it would work out.
Mom’s hand fluttered to the snowflake necklace she wore. “I let your dad handle this whole thing. He was so excited about it.”
Mitzi stood and put her arm around Mom. Her dark hair was in two braids that hung over her shoulders. “We’ll help.” She glanced from face to face, and when she got to Jack, her eyes lit up. “Jack can do it.”
Jack paused, the cinnamon roll halfway into his mouth. “Wha–?” He chewed, the roll suddenly feeling like a wad of gum.
Forest stood too. “You can oversee the movie.” He swiped a napkin over his face, crumpled it, and tossed it into the garbage can as if that sealed the deal.
Jack held up a hand, working furiously to swallow before his fate was decided.
Drake smirked at him. “I think it’s a great idea. You have nights and weekends free now.”
Jack glared at his brother. He swallowed the lump of sticky bread and grimaced. “Hold on.”
“What do you mean, he’s free?” asked Mitzi, her head whipping back and forth between them.
“Chloe dumped him.” Drake nonchalantly sipped his cocoa. “He’s a free agent now.”
Mom frowned. Caleb exchanged a look with Faith. Jack may not read Faith all that well, but he could read his twin, and the look he tossed his wife said they were both relieved Chloe wouldn’t be joining the family.
Jack pushed off the counter, ready to pummel Drake for broadcasting his relationship failure.
“You’d be perfect for this, Jack.” Faith jumped in, drawing his attention before a wrestling match broke out. She was their resident vet, one of the best large animal vets in North and South Dakota. “You’re a strong personality, so you won’t let them run all over you, and you’re smart, so you can figure out how to keep them from finding our Santa secret.”
For the second time that day, Jack stared at a woman as if she were speaking alien. First, Chloe, and now his sister-in-law.
“I think that’s a wonderful idea,” Mom threw in. She stopped fiddling with her necklace and slowly stirred her hot cocoa. “Caleb and Faith are working on the bloodlines. Forest and Mitzi are taking over the books. Drake is mending fences, and Pax has a barn full of projects that need to get done before the snow melts.”
Jack drew in a breath. Basically, what she was saying, is that he was useless this season.
Oh, he knew that wasn’t true. Because of everyone else’s responsibilities, a lot of the day-to-day work fell to him–like feeding the animals, cleaning stalls, running errands, etc. Not to mention, the flying reindeer needed their daily workouts. Except for Dunder, who retired to the ranch from the North Pole, each one had hopes of joining Santa, and each had their own battles to fight. Training was one of the wrangler’s top priorities.
