“Do you want to leave a return date on the board?” Trevor asked, pointing to a corkboard where cards and notices for locals hung. “If you’re not back in time, we’ll send in search and rescue.”
He shook his head. “I’ll be fine. Besides, I’ll be taking a different route home. Merry Christmas.”
“Merry Christmas,” they chorused, making him smile. Small towns like this, with little coffee shops that encouraged children to color pictures of Santa and his elves, were full of holiday spirit. He’d drunk it up faster than his cup of caramel cocoa.
He walked out the same door as Clove had just a few minutes before. Her snowmobile was nowhere to be seen, but the tracks she’d left behind were as obvious as the Christmas lights hanging from the store’s gutters, and he followed them.
He found Clove’s rig at the supermarket. From there, all he had to do was wait for her to reappear. He pulled out his copy ofA Christmas Caroland settled in to read. He’d reread the story every December since he was nine years old. His hardback copy was covered in worn red fabric with gold lettering. The edges had once been gold and shiny as well, but they’d tarnished over time and with use.
The cold air tried to creep into his cab, but he kept the motor running to ward off the chill.
Clove was a fast shopper and had her groceries loaded and covered in the sled before he’d gotten through a chapter. He grunted in admiration. Mom would take four hours at the grocery shop because she couldn’t see a neighbor and not stop to talk. As kids, he and his brothers would play rock, paper, scissors to see who had to go with her to the store. As he got older, Drake started volunteering, because he figured out that when Mom was distracted, she’d say yes to a box of doughnuts. He could eat half of them all by himself as they walked through the store, and no older brother could stop him.
He let Clove get a good head start and then followed her tracks to a trailhead he would have missed if he hadn’t been watching so closely.
He parked at the bottom. Better to leave his truck here and travel on foot–er, snowshoe–than get stuck part way up.
He snagged his gear from the camper section of the trailer and readied himself to hike in, hopefully undetected. Today was about gathering information and forming a plan. If he had a chance to take Felix, he would.
Clove, her name whispered through his mind like an admonition. She wasn’t the type of woman he wanted to tangle with. Not that there was a type of woman he was fond of locking horns with on a regular basis. He much preferred locking lips, but it wasn’t like that was going to happen with Clove, either.
It’d been a while since it’d happened with anyone. He frowned. Part of being a confirmed bachelor meant dating was pointless. He wasn’t the type to use a woman when he felt lonely and then drop her when he didn’t.
Maybe that was why he’d noticed Clove on such a deep level. He was lonely in a life full of just himself. His brothers made being married look inviting. Always having someone to talk to would be a bonus; although not having to talk to someone when he didn’t feel like it was good, too.
The daylight was almost gone, and the snow-covered trees were cast in pink and salmon hues. If he wasn’t here on such a nefarious errand, he’d take a minute to enjoy the scenery. For now, he needed to get the lay of the land and determine if Felix really could fly. It didn’t escape him that he could be on a wild reindeer chase, and this whole thing could be for naught.
Twenty minutes into his hike, he saw lights from the cabin ahead and slowed his steps. If Felix was nearby, he’d hear him calling softly. He pulled a fresh carrot with a green top from his pocket. Reindeer liked gifts, and they really liked carrots. “Felix,” he called quietly.
There was a snort over his head. He looked up to see the underside of a reindeer lounging on a fat limb. Felix’s brown body blended in with the tree bark and, with his head down, he looked like any other large branch. Nice camouflage. Not to mention, a reindeer that high up had to fly. He broke into a grin as relief rushed through his veins like peppermint cocoa on a cold winter’s day. “Well, I guess that answers that question.” He chuckled.
Taking a large bite of the carrot, he chewed with his mouth open.
Felix’s head appeared:Carrot?
Drake continued to munch. “Oh? Do you like carrots?” He waved the end around as he talked. “I guess I could share.”
Felix glanced at the ground and then at him as if he was calculating the risk of flying in front of Drake.
“I know you can fly.” Drake solved the mystery for him. “My family has a ranch of flying reindeer. You can probably smell them on my clothes.” This whole thing would be a lot easier if Felix trusted him enough to come willingly.
Felix sniffed the air. His eyes flew open all the way, and he scrambled out of the tree, sprinkling twigs and pine needles across the virgin snow. He landed softly a few feet away and approached without caution. Drake held his ground, aware that he could become an antler kabob if this went south.
Felix stopped short and turned to look at him from the side.
Drake held his arms out. “Come and sniff me, friend.”
Felix lowered his nose to Drake’s feet and traveled up one pant leg, up his stomach, and across his chest. His lips twitched:You smell like a female. . . She’s the good kind of trouble.
Drake laughed and then checked himself for being too loud. “That would be Sparkle.” She’d needed a good brushing a couple of days ago–a fact that she didn’t let him forget throughout their training session. Sparkle was a celebrity, but she’d been a diva long before she appeared in movies. It was just her personality–adorably self-centered. She was also kind and tender, especially when it came to children.
Felix continued to sniff him like a starving man walking into a banquet hall. Maybe he was lonely as a bachelor, too. Reindeer were herd animals. Perhaps the promise of a new family would be enough to get Felix on board with this plan.
“Sparkle is this tall.” He held up his hand. “She’s also single.” He pumped his eyebrows.
Felix stepped back abruptly and shook his antlers.
Drake laughed. “I had the same reaction the last time Mitzi offered to set me up with someone.” He offered the carrot. Felix reached for the carrot with his lips, stretching them out and looking ridiculous.
