There was the indoor barn where the flying reindeer lived.
There was the indoor arena they used to train the reindeer for Santa’s sleigh.
There were the pasture lands and grazing fields. There were the chutes and corral where they vaccinated the herd. That garage was for the sleds that the reindeer pulled, tractors, and other farm equipment.
“It’s beautiful,” she whispered. Picturesque. She imagined Mitzi in the kitchen, helping Billy with his homework while making dinner. Faith and Caleb working in their home office, their little Ryder toddling around with a toy in his hand. Abner and Anna were by the fireplace.
“Whoa!” Drake pulled up on the reins. Over the last few days, Felix had gotten a lot better at listening to and feeling their signals. They ran as a well-oiled machine when it came to racing a dog sled. She’d even joked that they should try to enter some kind of back-country race. What a team they would make—and they did all those miles on foot. Imagine what they could do when Felix flew.
She was so proud of her reindeer.
“What’s the matter?” she peered over the top of the sled. When she sat in the cargo area, her head was just above the top, but she couldn’t see much because she was so short.
“We’ve got trouble.” Drake pulled to the right and Felix turned, taking them back down the hill where they were out of sight of the ranch. Drake hopped off the runners. “Do you want to come see?” He held out a hand to help her up.
“Do reindeer fly?” she asked sarcastically. Of course she was going with him. He dug around in the cargo before coming up with the binoculars.
Felix shifted his weight nervously:I’ll just hang back here.
“Good idea.” She patted his rump. They didn’t want the other reindeer to see him and alert everyone that they were back until they were ready to be seen. They climbed up the hill until they could look over the top of it. Laying on their stomachs, they stared out over the ranch.
Drake pulled up the binoculars and focused them. “That’s what I thought.” He handed them to her. “See the blue truck with the logo on the side? It doesn’t belong out here.”
Clove tried her best to make out the words. “It’s animal control–North Dakota.”
He unzipped his coat and pulled out his phone. “I’m calling Caleb and Fatih.” He put the phone on speaker.
Caleb’s voice boomed. “Drake! It’s so good to hear your voice! How’s the honeymoon?”
Drake’s eyebrows shot up. Clove mirrored his shocked expression before going back to the binoculars. “It’s fantastic,” he said sarcastically. “Why do you ask?”
“Just checking in with you. It’s been a few days, but I didn’t expect you to call on your honeymoon.” Caleb stepped out onto his front porch. His red coat was clearly visible against all the snow. “Sorry about that,” he said quietly.
“What is going on?” Drake asked.
“A lot of people have been looking for you and Clove. I guess her grandma told a sheriff in Montana that you two eloped and she didn’t expect to hear from you for a while.”
“Wait.” Clove grabbed Drake’s hand and pulled the phone closer to her. “Grandma told Hoffman that we eloped? Was he harassing her? Is she okay?”
Drake scooted closer to her, wanting to be a support and help. She and Hannah were close–they took care of one another on the homestead. It was a lot like how his family managed things on the ranch—everyone had a job—except, on the homestead, it was just the two of them to do it all. Pretty amazing.
“I don’t think he was harassing her as much as showing up regularly. Hannah seemed annoyed, but I don’t think she’s afraid of him.” He chuckled. “If what Rory says is true, it was the other way around. Something about sharp knitting needles.”
Clove grinned wickedly. “That’s Grandma.”
“Faith talked to her the other night. We were all worried when the blizzard blew over your signal and you didn’t answer the phone.”
“We were well out of service,” Drake said.
“Figured. Anyway, she said she’d told the guy you’d run off together to get married, and that she didn’t expect you back anytime soon. He stopped coming around after that, so it worked.”
“At least there’s that,” Clove smiled, though it was strained. “Why are you keeping up the eloping thing?” She glanced quickly at Drake and then down again.
He wanted to tease her about making it all official, but not in front of Caleb. His brother would have the preacher in Mom’s living room within the hour to call his bluff.
“That’s where things get kind of crazy. Forest was looking into the mayor—said you asked him to find out why he has so much influence.”
“I did,” Drake hoped that hadn’t come back to shoot him in the foot.
