“According to Google Maps, it will take just over nine hours to get to Yellowstone.” Jack looked up from his phone. “That’s if there’s no weather or traffic. Caleb and I can hook up a trailer and be on the road in twenty minutes.”
“Hang on there.” Dad motioned for Forest to slow down. He liked to jump into things with both feet and then find a way out of the predicament if needed. Most of the time it worked out for him, which was so annoying. If Caleb ever tried that approach, he’d end up losing a limb or something. “We have the Christmas Eve parade to think about. We can’t let down the children.”
Mom nodded beside him.
The Christmas Eve parade was a huge deal to the kids around here. People decorated their trucks, there was an ice princess float, and the whole thing was done at night. The grand finale was usually Dad dressed as Santa in a sleigh pulled by reindeer—the non-flying kind. Parents were able to hurry their kids home and get them in bed, because Santa was close by and no child wanted to be skipped over for being awake when the big guy came down the chimney.
Dad had decided it was time to turn the reins over to the younger generation and let his sons take turns playing Santa. Caleb was first up to wear the red suit and call out “Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night.”
“Tracking and capturing a flying reindeer could take weeks, even months,” offered Jack.
Snowflake wasn’t the type to come when called. She liked to fly fast and furious, which meant she could be anywhere.
“I can’t go—I have to check the fences this week,” said Drake.
Caleb and Pax exchanged a look. “We can go.”
“What about the work on the sleigh?” asked Mom. They needed a new runner. It wasn’t something they could pick up on Amazon; they had to craft it themselves. Pax was the resident welder of the family.
“I—” Pax started, but he was cut off by Caleb’s ringtone.
He glanced down at the screen, and his heart leapt. Faith. She was calling him—it had to be about Dunder. The sick reindeer was never far from his thoughts. Knowing they were close to an answer had him moving faster than Flash. “Hello?” he answered before he realized that he’d put the phone to his ear.
“Caleb? This is Faith.”
He smiled because he’d seen her name, but it was cute that she still identified herself—kind of old-fashioned. He turned his back to the family but heard Dad say, “Before we decide who is going, let’s see if we can figure out a route she might have taken. Anna, can you get the maps out?”
Focusing on the call, he said, “Hey, Faith. I hope you have some good news for us—we could sure use some.”
“Uh—I’m afraid not.”
His gut sank to the floor.
She cleared her throat. “It appears Dunder has a virus. It’s kicking his butt, and it’s possible he’s transmitted it to the rest of the herd already.”
“Really? He’s been in the barn the whole time.”
“Yes, but the reindeer are in and out of there. At least, they were the other day.”
He pinched the bridge of his nose. Those darn snoopy reindeer. If they’d just stayed in their stalls … “What does this mean?”
“Well, for one, I think we can save Dunder.”
“Really?” He lifted his head and clenched a fist. “That’s great!”
“I’ve ordered the meds and can bring them over as soon as they arrive.”
“Faith, I can’t tell you how good that is to hear. I’ve—we’ve all been so worried about him.” The family had grown quiet, and he spun around to give them a thumbs-up. “Dunder’s gonna make it.”
Mom put her hand over her heart and whispered a prayer of gratitude. Dad patted her arm and mouthed “Amen.” His brothers gave each other fist bumps.
“But the whole herd needs to be inoculated,” Faith added.
Caleb shoved his hand in his pocket. They had over 700 reindeer. The spring inoculations took three days, and it was all hands on deck. “When?”
“I ordered the shots. They should be here in three days.”
He bit back a curse. Three days. That would give them enough time to set up the field and get things ready. There were fences to move, chutes to drag out of storage. Then there’d be takedown too. This was a week of work, minimum. “Great. We’ll plan on it. Just let me know when you’re on your way to give Dunder the meds, and I’ll meet you at the barn, okay? Don’t go in there alone,” he cautioned. She was likely to get a reindeer poop shower from Sparkle if she did.
“Sure. It’s your animal.” She sounded clipped and offended.
“Faith?” He cradled the phone and lowered his voice. “Thanks. It means a lot to me.”
“You’re welcome.”
The warmth in her answer made him want to put his arms around her—if only she were here.
Forest cleared his throat. “Do you want us to leave?”
Caleb rolled his eyes as his brothers mocked him. “I gotta go. I’ll see you later.”
Faith said goodbye, and they hung up the phone.
Caleb pulled a pillow off the sofa and chucked it at Forest. “Shut up.” His brothers laughed all the harder. He sighed heavily. “I know we need to find Snowflake, but it looks like the bug that got Dunder is contagious. We’re going to have to inoculate the herd.”
They stopped laughing. He could see them figuring out what that meant for each of their schedules and to-do lists over the next couple of days.
Dad stroked his beard. “I can’t see any way around it. We’ll have to put off finding Snowflake.”
“But she could be halfway to China by the time we start looking for her,” Forest bemoaned.
“Or trapped, hurt, captured, or eaten,” added Pax. “Predators are awfully hungry this time of year.”
“Thank goodness she can fly,” said Dad. “We’ll just have to pray for her and do our best here. We can’t risk the whole herd to a virus for one reindeer—not even Snowflake.”
There were no arguments to that logic. Their family motto was one for the family and all for the reindeer. They took care of one another, and as a group, they took care of the reindeer.
“What about the North Pole herd?” asked Mom. “Dunder was with them too.”
Christmas Magic used to keep the reindeer that lived in Santa’s stables healthy. Not once had they had a sick reindeer brought back. Every couple of years they’d bring them down for Doc to give them a checkup, but the food and environment at the North Pole, along with regular exercise, kept them robust. Dunder should have fallen under that umbrella of protection, so it was odd that he’d become ill.
“I don’t see how we can ask Faith without telling her about Santa.” Caleb rubbed his beard.
“Do your best.” Dad stood up. “Let’s get the animals fed before it gets too dark. If you have things to do to clear your schedule for vaccine day, then get ’em done.”
Caleb put on his winter gear and headed out to the barn. He was in charge of feeding the fliers tonight. They’d alternated chores so no one got bored or felt picked on when they were younger. As they’d grown, they’d stuck to the schedule out of habit and a sense of tradition.
As soon as he entered the barn, Rudy bellowed from his stall. “I’m coming.” Caleb grabbed a scoop of food and dropped it into Rudy’s trough. “You’re all belly lately.” Usually, that meant a growth spurt of some kind was coming on. Rudy was coming up on two, so he should be done growing, but stranger things had happened around here—in the last three days alone—than an animal having a late growth spurt. Caleb wasn’t going to rule anything out.
Next was Galen, whose eyes were always just a little too wide and his flight pattern unrecognizable. He was an easy animal to care for, not causing problems in the barn like some reindeer he could name. If only he’d been able to learn the basics of flying a sleigh.
Flash pawed at the door. He was a bundle of energy and too fast of a flier to manage. He got a double scoop of food because his metabolism was so hig
h. When he exercised, they had to clear the other reindeers out of the indoor arena for their own safety.
Caleb dished up quickly with Sparkle and headed into Dunder’s stall, where he checked to make sure the automatic watering trough worked. Dunder was curled up in the corner, his chin resting on his front legs and his lids heavy with exhaustion. He’d had that look since he’d gotten back. He wasn’t getting better, but he wasn’t getting worse either.
Caleb settled into the hay next to him with his back to the wall. “Hey, champ.” He reached out and rubbed Dunder’s neck. “Faith figured out what’s going on. She’d going to bring you some meds tomorrow.”
Dunder breathed out slowly, as if he was saying finally.
“I know. Sorry it’s taken so long. If Doc wasn’t sick, we’d have you fixed up by now. You don’t mind if I talk your antlers off for a few minutes, do ya?” Caleb asked.
Dunder rested his chin on Caleb’s knee, the weight of it comforting.
“I’ll take that as permission to speak.” He absently rubbed behind Dunder’s ear as he talked about Faith. “She doesn’t believe in Christmas.”
Dunder’s back leg twitched.
“I know. It’s unthinkable, champ. I think she was hurt, and I’m not sure how to help her heal. Do I stick my nose in where it’s not wanted, or do I stand back and pray for a miracle?”
Dunder cocked his head, asking why it mattered.
“Because I think she can help us here, but only if we can tell her our secret. If she doesn’t believe in Christmas, then …”
Dunder huffed.
“I know—it’s a conundrum.”
They sat there for a moment in silence, no answers appearing. Eventually, Dunder fell asleep. Caleb carefully slid out from beneath him and locked the stall door to keep the other reindeer out.
He stopped at the doorway, not quite ready to give up the peace that had come while sitting with the patriarch. Lifting his face, he spoke to God. “I just need a sign. Something that points me in the right direction.”
The only answer was the soft snoring from Flash, who sounded like he was racing in his sleep. But he knew his prayer had been heard, because even as he stepped out into the North Dakota cold, the spirit of peace went with him.
Chapter 9
Faith
Faith glanced down at the pair of skinny jeans and flannel shirt she’d picked up at the Feed Emporium that morning. Between visiting Dad and caring for his patients that didn’t have antlers, she was too busy to run back home and pack up some clothes. She’d worn the same scrubs for days on end, washing them each night. By the time she’d pulled into the feed store, she was ready to burn what she had on, she was so sick of seeing it.
There wasn’t much to choose from in the one circular rack of women’s clothing, but beggars couldn’t be choosers and all that. Besides, the clothes were warm and soft, so she wasn’t going to complain.
She bit her lip, wondering what Caleb would think of her new look. Gone was the city vet, and in her places was a country girl. She giggled. The lace-up winter boots did great things for her legs—not. Today wasn’t about fashion anyway, she scolded herself. It was about making sure Dunder got healthy.
She pulled up outside the barn and left the motor running to keep the heater warm. Dad’s truck was old, with a horse blanket thrown across the worn seat to keep the springs from poking her in the butt. She was just pulling out her phone to send Caleb a message that she’d arrived when she saw his tall form coming from the house. She tucked the reindeer medicine inside of her coat to keep it close to her body and therefore warm, before turning off the engine and climbing out.
Caleb’s welcoming smile took her breath away. He wore that dark hat that shaded his eyes and made his jaw look like it belonged on the cover of Hottest Ranchers.
“Hey,” she managed to force out.
“Good morning.” He walked right into her personal space and stared down at her. She grinned up at him, shocked at how happy seeing him made her feel, especially since the two of them didn’t really get along. She’d kicked him, twice, and he’d stood up for her. Her chest still warmed at the sense that he was a knight in worn denim.
“I, uh,” she stuttered, wondering when her brain had headed into daydream territory and praying she hadn’t said anything out loud. “Dunder?”
He blinked like he’d forgotten she’d come for the reindeer. “Yeah—I mean, he’s in there.” He pointed to the barn.
Faith gave herself a solid mental shake. One of them had to rub two brain cells together and start thinking. “Great.” She plowed ahead.
Her movement spurred Caleb into action. “Wait!” He bounded in front of her and turned so he blocked her path. “Let me just make sure everyone is in their stalls. I don’t want you stepping those pretty new boots in reindeer poop.”
Her face heated to a thousand and one degrees. He’d noticed. He noticed her boots and probably her jeans and mostly the fact that she was nervous being out here with him again. She tucked an invisible piece of hair behind her ear and ducked her head. “Thanks.”
He was in and out of the barn in less than ten seconds. “The coast is clear.” He held the door open as she walked by, her shoulder brushing against his body just because the opening was so small and his chest was so big.
Dunder lay in his stall, looking forlorn and forgotten. He huffed a hello.
She smiled as she knelt next to him and took his vitals. This time, she’d come prepared with a full vet kit. “Morning, handsome.”
He quirked an eyebrow at her.
“Don’t give me that look. You know you’re a beautiful specimen.” She glanced over his head to see Caleb smirking at her as he leaned against the doorframe, his arms folded. She could have used the same line on him. “What?”
“Nothing. I’m just listening in on your conversation.”
She ducked her head to hide her smile. “I always compliment my patients, believe it or not.”
“What do you say?”
She stuck her temperature reader inside Dunder’s ear. It wasn’t the most accurate way to get his temp, but she only needed to know if he was burning up—which she probably could have determined by other means. This gave her a full minute more with Caleb, though, so she waited for the results. “It depends on the patient. No one minds hearing they’re handsome, though.” She used her free hand to scratch under Dunder’s chin.
“A chipmunk?” he challenged.
She paused to think about her answer. “We don’t get many chipmunks in our office, but I think I’d tell him his cheeks could hold many nuts.”
“A giraffe?”
She giggled at the thought of working with a giraffe. “Even though she looked down on us all, I was impressed with her humility.”
“A parrot?” He lifted an eyebrow in challenge.
She rolled her eyes, telling him it was too easy. “He’s a captivating orator.”
He eked out a laugh and then schooled his face. “A goldfish.”
Dunder’s temp was normal. She cleaned off the orb at the end and then stored it in the bag. “She’s the queen of the bowl, or tank, as the case may be.” She stood up, brushing off her hands.
“How about a wrangler?” he asked.
“Your ego is as big as Texas,” she blurted before thinking.
Caleb laughed. He winked at her, and she broke down and laughed too. At least he didn’t take himself too seriously. That was refreshing.
“Well, it looks like this guy could use a big dose of meds.” She reached into her inside pocket and pulled out the small box with three syringes inside. “He’ll need one a day for the next three days. Do you think you can give them to him?”
Caleb was all business now as he made his way around Dunder to stand next to her. “Do I need to find a vein, or can I put it in the muscle?”
“Muscle is fine.” She knelt down and placed a reassuring hand on Dunder’s neck, just above where she was going to insert the needle.
Dunder turned his head away as if he couldn’t look. Her heart went out to him. He’d been sick for days now. Unlike some animals, he wasn’t taking it out on everyone and everything around him. He soldiered on, silently suffering and hoping the humans around him found a way to relive his pain. She wanted to hug him and tell him she was doing her best. Instead, she gave him the shot and then put the needle in the disposal case in her kit.
She handed the other two to Caleb. He wrapped his hand around hers and held on. “Thank you.”
Her body lit with awareness, and she was drawn into his intense stare like a tractor beam. She worked to come up with a response that would keep things light between them, because she had the feeling that if she let it get serious, she’d be swallowed up by him. Nothing came to mind. Absolutely nothing. “You’re welcome.”
He tucked the medicine in his inside coat pocket and then grinned. “Are you hungry? We have a big breakfast inside.”
She hesitated for only a second. A big family breakfast sounded heavenly. But she’d sworn she wasn’t going to let this place into her heart, and so the less time she spent out here, the better. “I’d better not. I have other things to do today. Will you thank your mom for the food she put in the fridge, though? It’s kept me alive.” That sounded bad. “I mean, it’s delicious, and it’s been a life saver for me not to have to cook.”
“I will.” He stepped back and showed her out.
On the way back to the clinic, she pondered Caleb. He was a cowboy through and through—including the confident swagger that drove her insane. But the tender way he cared for the reindeer was something else. Could there be more to him than a cocky grin? And did she dare find out? Because if she did, her life could get real messy real fast.
One Tough Christmas Cookie (The Reindeer Wrangler Ranch Christmas Romance Book 1) Page 7
