Chapter Seven

 

 

It hadn’t taken long for us to set the temporary fence up, but we almost hadn’t been in time. One of the mother deer and the young deer that had been so excitable earlier today were munching near the fallen trees. Nate made quick work of the task and I enjoyed watching him work. He was fast and efficient, and probably didn’t need any help at all, but I tried anyway.

“Gah!” The snow under my feet crumbled, and I fell off of the log I was perched on, landing flat on my back. The air whooshed out of my lungs and I stared up at the bare branches above my head for a minute.

“I’m starting to think you really are clumsy.” Nate’s face appeared above mine, a large grin splitting his face.

I grabbed a handful of snow and threw it at his head. He ducked, but a little bit of it still caught his head. He lunged down for me and I tried to roll out of the way, but he was too quick. He half landed on me and scooped a handful of snow onto my head.

“Argh!” My hat fell off as I tried to escape, but all that did was allow him better access to my hair. I scooped my own hands full of snow and rubbed them into his cheeks. His face twisted as the snow touched his skin and he scrambled away from me.

Laughing, I sat up and brushed the hair out of my eyes. He scrubbed the snow out of his ears and grinned at me before standing up and holding his hand out for me. “C’mon, Miss Nichols. We have a lot to do before Santa gets here.”

“Lead the way, Senior Elf.”

Shaking his head, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to mine. This time it was a sweet, simple kiss.

“You’ll see. You’ll see.”

When we got back to the barn, we spent the rest of the daylight oiling harnesses and grooming the reindeer.

“It’s weird.”

“What’s weird?” Nate looked at me over Comets back.

“They just seem to know what’s expected of them.” I frowned. “They seem excited. Even the ones that aren’t part of the team.”

“You aren’t going to believe until they are in the air, are you?” Nate stopped brushing the reindeer and shook his head.

“Not really.” I shrugged. “I’m sorry. But reindeer flying?” Comet turned to look at me and I laughed. “Even he looks skeptical.”

“He’s just surprised that a Nichols doesn’t believe.”

“Well, I shouldn’t have long to wait, right?” I looked outside the barn door at the setting sun. “Shouldn’t he have already gotten his start?”

“Magic.” Nate laid his finger beside his nose and I rolled my eyes.

We worked quietly, setting up the reindeer, the jingle of the bells the only sound accompanying our work. Eventually all of the reindeer were dressed and groomed. The deer that weren’t going and the younger ones milled around outside, playing happily. I leaned against the open barn door and watched their antics. There was a great sense of peace in my heart and if I didn’t know better, I would think that my dad was there with me. Nate came up behind me and slid his arms around my waist. It should feel weird, to be this comfortable with a man I barely knew and yet, there was peace there too. As if there really was some kind of magic that had brought me to him.

I leaned my head back against his chest and watched the sky as the stars began to make their appearance. A little part of me was holding my breath, hoping it was all true. The glow I had noticed around Christmas Hill when I was in the clearing earlier began to reappear, glowing brightly above the trees and rooftop.

Nate’s fingers tightened on my hips and he leaned his head close to mine. “The people in Silver Town gather in the city square every year to watch the lights.”

“These lights are only above Christmas Hill?” I was whispering. Sound seemed to have stopped, as if there was a blanket over the entire area.

“Yes. No one can see them the rest of the year, except for the descendant of Santa Claus.”

“Wow.” The reindeer lined up outside, without any coaxing from our parts.

A shadow broke away from the trees and moved in our direction. I started to say something, but Nate shook his head above me. He nodded his head and I realized what he was indicating. My breath caught in my throat and I felt my chest swell. The lights above us seemed to glow brighter, flashing even faster. When the figure was close enough for me to make out the color of his clothes, I felt my knees go wobbly.

“Oh my God.” I couldn’t help the words that slipped out of my mouth. “He is real.”

The man wearing the red suit laughed heartily and when he was close enough for me to make out his features I whirled around and poked Nate in the chest. Fury overwhelmed any awe I felt.

“You jerk! This has been a joke the whole time!”

Nate shook his head and smiled. “No one knows but you and me now.”

“What’s wrong, Molly? Thought I’d be fatter?” Nick Cameron, my rude, sexist neighbor, rested a hand on his belly and laughed again. “Sally has me on a diet.”

“This is…” Ridiculous. Crazy. A cruel joke. “You’re messing with me, aren’t you?”

“It’s real, youngin’. Real as real can be.” He winked at me before walking over to the reindeer and producing some carrots from his pockets. I blinked when I realized the reindeer were no longer standing in a line, but attached to a large sleigh.

“Holy shit.” I covered my mouth with my hand. I had just cussed in front of Santa Claus.

“Aye. It is a bit of a shock, isn’t it?” Nick winked at me. “But, you’ll get used to it.” He climbed into the sleigh and turned to look at me. “You are going to stay, aren’t you? I like having family nearby.”

I felt Nate tense beside me, waiting for my answer. Was I going to stay? Make my life on Christmas Hill? Next to Santa Claus. I almost laughed. Remy sat next to me, resting his shoulder against my leg. I looked down at my little buddy and then back at Nick. My eyes travelled to Nate and his carefully blank expression. I could see my life here, taking care of reindeer and writing books. I could be happy in a place like this. Some people upped and moved to places they had never been to, and made their lives happily ever after. Why couldn’t I do it?

“Yes. I’m staying.” I made the declaration while looking at Nate, so I saw when he let go of the breath he was holding. He reached up and cupped my cheek in his hand, his eyes speaking volumes.

“I thought you might say that.” Nick laughed as he sat down in his sleigh. “Here.”

I almost didn’t catch the package he threw my way. The paper crinkled in my grasp, and my fingers squeezed the squishy object inside. Without thought I yanked open the package and stared at the hotdog buns in my hands. Nate laughed and I just shook my head.

“Don’t act like you’re disappointed. You just got a whole house for goodness sake!” Nick winked at me and I couldn’t help myself. I ran across the clearing and kissed his cheek.

“Thank you, Santa.”

“Tomorrow I go back to being Grumpy Nick, you know. Don’t get too excited.” Santa hugged me with one arm and I laughed into his red coat. “Alright, get. I’ve got work to do!”

I hopped down from the sled and backed up to Nate. With a loud crack, the sleigh jerked forward, the reindeer running full speed. In the flash of an eye, the reindeer and sleigh were airborne.

I had been right. If I hadn’t seen it myself, I never would have believed it. As the lights spun above our heads, Santa swung through the sky. I could hear his laugh as he made his way out of sight. I watched until I couldn’t see him anymore. And even then I strained for a few minutes more.

“You’re staying.” Nate’s voice was quiet and I turned to look up at him.

“I’m staying.” I stepped closer to him, letting the hotdog buns hang by my side. “I think you’ve proven your point.”

“Not quite yet.” Nate stepped closer, pulling me against his chest. “But I will.”

I tilted my head up, ready for his kiss. I sighed into his mouth, grateful to know he wasn’t crazy; to know I wasn’t crazy for feeling this way about him after only a day. His hands slid up my arms to tangle in the hair at my neck. I could have stayed like that for the rest of the night, wrapped in Nate’s arms on Christmas Hill. The package of buns being snatched out of my hand was the only thing that could have distracted me.

“Hey!” I broke away from Nate and looked around the clearing. “Remy!” The little black and white dog ran toward the house, the hotdog buns clutched between his teeth. Nate laughed as I ran after Remy, hollering for him to drop my buns. Just as I reached the house, I watched as a dog door appeared at the bottom of the front door. The little monster dove through before I could reach him.

“I’m going to rename you Grinch!”

Strong arms lifted me off of my feet and tucked me against Nate’s warm chest before jogging up the stairs. I squealed in surprise and then laughed at the joy on his face.

“What are you doing?”

“We’re going to roast hotdogs, and then I’m going to finish proving my point.” His smile turned into something much hotter and I felt my body respond.

“Let’s switch the order.” I reached up and kissed his jaw while he fumbled with the door handle. He growled hungrily when I wrapped my lips around his.

“Good plan.” The door to the house slammed open and he headed for the couch, but tripped on something, sending us sprawling on the floor. Thankfully there was a thick rug in front of the fireplace to cushion our fall.

Laughter spilled out of my mouth when Nate held up the offending piece of plastic for me to see. “So much for the hotdog buns.”

“We’ll make do.” He rolled over so his body was covering mine. “Merry Christmas, Molly.”

“Merry Christmas, Nate.”

“Welcome home.”