The cold raced right down her top and up her sleeves, but she didn’t pull herself inside. “What are you doing?” she asked, a note of derision in her voice. “That’s not going to hold him.”
Drake stopped and tipped his head up to see her. The street light cut across his square jaw and made his shoulders look broader. His hat hid his deep brown, soulful eyes from her.
“It’s not about holding him in, but keeping people out.” He went back to work.
Clove came back inside and slammed the window on his good answer. He wasn't supposed to be smart. Felix did fine with people. People didn’t always do fine with Felix. Especially teens. They were too aggressive in their admirations and had no idea how much muscle and power a reindeer had in his enormous body. Not to mention, one quick swing of his neck and his antlers could take them down.
“Hmm,” Grandma said from the bed. “It’s almost like he knows what he’s doing.” She turned off her light and faced the door.
Clove folded her arms. She watched as Drake finished putting up the panels. Using the side of the house as one side of the pen gave him an extra panel to enlarge the area that Felix would have to rest. He could fly out if he wanted–he could sleep on the roof if he wanted. He would behave, though. Over the years, he’d learned what was appropriate behavior in front of people and what would make them jump out of their skin.
Drake disappeared and came back a minute later with two large buckets stacked together and Felix trailing behind him. He set the one bucket inside of the pen and Felix stuck his face in and came up with oats dripping from his eager lips. Drake laughed, sending happy puffs of air up around his head. Felix leaned into him, and Drake rubbed his neck and jaw. The scene made Clove's heart expand.
Felix didn’t have a lot of people in this world, and Drake treated him like he was important and worth something–not just another reindeer or animal in a herd. He left and came back with a bucket of water. Speaking to Felix as he set it down, he gestured up to the window. Felix turned and looked, and she waved out of reflex. Her face heated with embarrassment at being caught watching them.
Drake had put Felix outside her window so he would feel close to her and Grandma. That was . . . thoughtful.
She wasn’t sure how she felt about Drake doing something nice, because he wasn’t supposed to be a good guy. Felix was an excellent judge of character, and the fact that he palled around with this reindeer thief had her reconsidering her initial judgment.
She shook off the doubts. He was still a thief.
Which made him a bad guy. That’s how it worked, right? There were bad guys and good guys in the world. Her dad? Bad guy. Allen? Good guy, but not made for her. Pastor Tom? Great guy–great man who worked to spread glad tidings throughout his sphere of influence.
Drake?
She tipped her head side-to-side, weighing him and not being able to put him on one end or the other. Ugh! She hated that she couldn’t put him in a box. Maybe he was a bad guy, but a good reindeer wrangler. Her brain felt itchy trying to work it out.
Sleep. She needed sleep.
Knowing Felix had food, water, and as much protection as they could give him in this situation, she turned off the lamp and crawled into bed. Grandma snored softly, the sound familiar and comforting.
Clove rolled from one side to the other and back again, not feeling at all comfortable. “Get over it,” she whispered into the dark. “You’re here. You can’t go home without Grandma and Felix, so buckle down and deal.”
A few minutes later her lids grew heavy, and she felt herself falling into the mattress as if she’d held herself stiffly above it before that. As she fell asleep, the image of a man with a square jaw and dark hat filled her head and she felt oddly safe knowing he slept under the same roof.
CHAPTERNINE
“I’ll make you a deal.”
Drake tried not to look anxious as Otis scratched under his chest-length beard. What was it with this town and beards? He hadn’t passed a man who didn’t have facial hair in some stage of growth or another. No wonder they stared at him–he’d shaved before leaving the bathroom this morning. NOT because Clove might be right outside the door. That was just plain silly. He always shaved in the morning so knowing he would see her at some point in the day had nothing to do with it.
He shoved his hands into his coat pockets and questioned his sanity. Every thought went back to her–even Otis’s beard. That wasn’t normal behavior and he needed to be his normal, clever, resourceful self if they were ever going to leave Windy Plains, because the other alternative–calling his brothers for help–wasn’t something he wanted to do
No less than five huskies made circles around him and Otis, the tags on their collars jingling, as if rounding up him and Otis. They were beautiful dogs, with strong shoulders and traditional markings. He’d guess they all came from the same litter and that the dog with the darkest fur was the alpha.
The apple cinnamon pancakes Judy served this morning were incredible. She paired them with a butter pecan syrup, maple bacon, and whipped cream. He hadn’t eaten so well since leaving home and told her as much. She’d preened even as she’d swatted away the praise with a, “Just an old family recipe, that’s all.”
Clove didn’t say much over the meal. She’d twirled her fork through the syrup, making snowflake designs that disappeared seconds later.
Grandma chatted with Judy as if they were old friends. The two went to work on dishes and Clove went to feed Felix while he came down to talk Otis into getting to work.
“What do you have in mind?” he prompted the overall clad man to get on with making his offer. Any silence was immediately filled with Clove and the pillow creases on her cheek.
“You help me fix up this old dog sled, and I’ll let you use the welder free of charge.” He grinned as if he’d come up with the perfect solution.
Drake stared down at the sled in question. It looked like it was two days away from turning to dust. “Two things.” He held up two fingers.
Otis nodded.
