Otis followed his progress until the door shut behind him. He patted Clove’s hand where it rested on his forearm. “You are such a sweet little thing that I just have to give you a warning. He has no intention of settling down.”
“Wha-huh?” Clove fumbled. The warning came out of nowhere and hit her like an ice ball to the chest. “He told you that?”
“Straight from his lips. I like you both, but I don’t want to see you get hurt.” The garage door lifted and Otis moved over to the trailer to help Drake hook up, acting like he hadn’t said the very thing that caused her head to spin. Not settle down?
As in, Drake was playing her?
Nah. He wouldn't, would he?
Clove stayed rooted in the spot as she tried to reconcile what Otis said with what she’d felt and the things Drake had done. The heightened emotions, the racing pulse, and the whispers in her ear weren’t her imagination. He felt something, too. She was sure of it.
Not to mention, his family had drawn her in and sucked her up like a vacuum tube at the bank’s drive-up window. Faith wouldn’t allow Drake to play her. Abner would be ashamed.
Unless it was all a show.
Santa wouldn’t allow fakers to raise his reindeer. She snorted. Like she believed Santa had anything to do with this. Santa had to be real, otherwise there would be no Felix, but what if they pulled one over on Santa too? Was that even possible? Wasn’t Santa supposed to have some Naughty/Nice list radar or something?
She cupped her forehead, letting her cool fingers take her temperature down a notch.
There had to be a reasonable explanation for Otis’s warning that didn’t include a mythical—though real—Christmas hero who delivered presents on Christmas Eve.
Maybe he said that to Otis to stop him from interfering with things. She and Drake were in a weird spot. They hadn’t discussed the future. He assumed they would take Felix back to the ranch and she’d let the idea run away with her. Heck, she gave Faith permission to give him a complete vet check when they got there, forthe guysto build him a quarantine shed, and Anna to prepare the guest bedroom for her and Grandma’s arrival.
Although she wasn’t sure when that decision was made and if she’d been a part of it. It just kind of happened that the best place to take Felix was North Dakota, where the wranglers had the legal means to protect him.
“We’re ready.” Drake turned off the truck. “Did you show Otis the sled?” He climbed out.
Clove came to herself. “We didn’t have time. Come, take a look.”
Otis oohed and awed over their work. He swiped at his teary eyes with his sausage thumbs. “It looks just like I remember it.”Sniff. Sniff.“I’m dedicating my run to you two this February.”
“Aww. Otis. That’s the sweetest thing you’ve ever said to me.” Drake grabbed the big-bellied guy in a bear hug and rocked him side to side. Otis pounded him on the back in return.
It sounded painful to Clove, but Drake laughed it off as he stepped back so she could say goodbye. She went in for a hug, too. Otis was a softy, and she was glad that Drake insisted they finish the sled for him. He’d put in the work and not charged them—her—for tool rental, labor, or the space they’d taken up for several days.
“Don’t be a stranger, you hear?” Otis said, his voice grumbly.
“Merry Christmas, Otis.” She hugged him once more, wishing she could pack twenty years of Christmas wishes into that hug. Because if her plan worked, she and Drake wouldn’t ever come back here. They’d be outlaws—or at the very least, suspects.
That was a sobering thought.
What was she worried about? No witnesses and any fingerprints they find could easily be explained by her frequent—documented—visits.
It would be fine. She would be fine. Everything would be fine.
And once she figured out Drake’s motives and feelings for her, it would all be fine.
Just fine.
CHAPTERTWENTY-ONE
Drake stared at Clove as they sat in the cab of his truck; the one place she thought they’d be safe discussing a possibly illegal operation. Who was he kidding? It was totally illegal. As much as he didn’t want to end up in a jail cell on Christmas, he’d do it for her.
She wrapped up her plan for getting Felix out of the animal shelter and waited for his response.
He didn’t hesitate. “That’s kind of brilliant.”
She grinned and half bowed in the passenger seat. “Thank you. If you need help breaking the law in the future, you know where to find me.” She shot him with finger guns and then tucked her hands under her legs and ducked behind her hair.
