One Tough Christmas Cookie (The Reindeer Wrangler Ranch Christmas Romance Book 1)

by Lucy McConnell

  “You did good.” Caleb patted his neck. “Let’s try some rings.”

  Flying through rings took precision and concentration. When pulling Santa’s sleigh, a reindeer had to concentrate for hours at a time, dodging obstacles like snow, sleet, and even military airplanes.

  “See those two rings?” He pointed at the ones in the middle of the arena. Rudy followed where he pointed and stared. “I want you to fly through one, go to the end of the dirt, turn around, and come back through the other.” This was a simple exercise. Normally, he’d have another reindeer demonstrate, but he didn’t have one today.

  He took the lead rope off Rudy and stepped back. “Go on. Try it out.”

  Rudy stumble-started again. Dang, they’d have to work on that. He shouldn’t be tripping over air. The reindeer kept looking down, like he was afraid he’d drop out of the sky at any moment. Losing his sight had taken away his confidence in his own amazing abilities.

  Caleb rubbed his jaw, wondering if it would come back. The door squeaked open and Jack came in, lifting a gloved hand in greeting even as his eyes glued onto Rudy.

  Rudy made his approach and got through the first loop. He trotted over to Caleb, his tongue hanging out. He’d gotten it half right and was darn proud of himself for that.

  Caleb clapped, and Jack joined in. Positive encouragement mattered to a reindeer. Rudy dipped his head to acknowledge their praise.

  Jack sidled up beside him. “You trying to get him to do the back-and-forth?”

  “I only explained it once. He’d never done it before, so—”

  “Don’t get all defensive.” Jack pounded Caleb’s back. “I was just trying to catch up.”

  “Come on.” Caleb hurried to the stand where the hoops rose up out of the metal base. Rudy hovered over his shoulder. Caleb pointed to the hoop on the right. “One.” He then pointed to Jack, who had jogged to the end of the dirt, already knowing what he had planned. “Two.” Then he pointed to the second loop. “Three.” And finally, he pointed to himself. “Four. Got it?” He went through the numbers and pointing again.

  “If he gets this, then he’s smarter than half the reindeer we’ve sent to Santa,” Jack called from the other end.

  Rudy’s eyes sparked with challenge. He backed up and got into position to go through the first hoop.

  “Ah, no. You gotta start on the ground.” Caleb pointed down.

  Rudy rolled his eyes but lowered himself to the arena floor.

  “Good.” Caleb jogged to the opposite end of the dirt. He cupped his hands around his mouth and called, “On, Rudy!”

  Rudy had his usual rough takeoff, but then he got through the hoop without incident.

  “Come on, Rudy,” Jack called to encourage him to go all the way. Rudy loped down to Jack. “That’s two. Go three, boy.”

  Rudy made it through the correct hoop.

  “Down here!” Caleb waved his arm at the same time Jack yelled, “Four! Four!”

  The reindeer loped to Caleb, circled above his head, and then landed with a grunt. Caleb threw his arms around his neck. “That was beautiful.”

  Jack ran over, his boots kicking up sand behind him. “I can’t believe you got that.” He hip-bumped Rudy’s shoulder. “That was incredible—tell me that was your first time, and I might kiss your shiny red nose.”

  Rudy shuddered and stepped away, eyeing Jack as if he’d gone crazy.

  Caleb belly laughed. “It was his first time, but if you try to kiss him, he’ll run you over.”

  Jack waved off Rudy’s grumpy face. He caught the reindeer’s eye. “Can you do it without me over there?”

  Rudy pushed between the two of them so he was at the starting point and pawed the ground.

  It was Jack’s turn to be surprised. “Where did this attitude come from?”

  “It’s not attitude—it’s determination,” Caleb replied. “On, Rudy!”

  Rudy was off. Not at full speed, but at a clip he could make the hoops and turns. When he came to land in front of them, he kicked up a leg and sprayed sand all over Jack’s legs.

  Caleb laughed. “In case you missed it—that was attitude.”

  Rudy chortled. He trotted over to the water trough.

  “Sooo …” Jack brushed off his pants. They were on a training break, which meant the floor was open for conversation. “What’s going on with you and the vet? Did you kiss her yet?”

  Caleb kicked sand over Jack’s boots too. “That’s none of your business.”

  “Which means you haven’t.” Jack shook out his leg, sand falling like water from his pants. “Is it because she doesn’t believe?”

  Caleb thought back to Faith’s face during the sing-along. The quiet peace. The radiant joy. “She’s coming around. I’m not as worried about all that as I was—it’s the long-distance thing. I don’t think she’d move to town.”

  “You mean you’re falling for her.”

  “I didn’t say that.”

  Jack went on as if he hadn’t denied a thing. “Better you than me. I’m not looking to settle down yet.”

  “We aren’t getting any younger.” Caleb walked over and glanced in the trough. It was half empty.

  Rudy’s sides went in and out quickly. He was tiring but determined. This was the end of their workout today. Caleb wasn’t going to push the animal harder than was good for him so soon after a surgery. Though his eyes seemed to work just fine, the anesthesia had slowed his body down.

  “I’ll always be younger than you,” Jack quipped. A statement that hadn’t held much weight while they were growing up. In fact, at every birthday, Caleb took great joy in reminding his brother that he was the oldest.

  “Seriously, though.” Jack stared down at the dirt and kicked a clod. “Are you going to marry her?”

  Caleb copied his posture. Not because he was trying to make fun of his twin, but because they had a lot of the same mannerisms. “We’re a ways out from that, but everything in my heart says she’d the one for me.”

  Jack lifted his gaze, a lazy half grin on his face. “Then it’s time to take her on a sleigh ride.”

  A sleigh ride was a huge deal at the reindeer ranch. It meant commitment and revealing all their secrets and inviting someone into their world—forever. Once a person stepped into a flying sleigh, they were never the same. Caleb shook his head, rubbing the back of his neck. “We don’t have a flying reindeer who can pull a sleigh.”

  “Right, well, we have a lot who can pull a sleigh on the ground. Start there.” He reached for the lead rope and attached it to Rudy’s harness. “I’ll take him back and brush him down.”

  “Thanks.” Caleb went to the bench and sat down so he could change out his running shoes. He dumped a half cup of sand out before putting them on the rack. When he was alone in the arena, he called Faith. She answered, and he asked, “What are you doing?”

  “I’m cleaning Muffins’s teeth.”

  He jerked, not expecting that answer. “Sounds fun.”

  “It’s a laugh a minute. Is Rudy okay?” She asked the last part quickly, as if she’d just realized what time it was and that he would be working with the reindeer.

  “He just finished his workout, and he did better than I expected—better than Jack expected. And that’s saying something. Don’t worry, we took it easy on him.”

  “I don’t worry at all. You treat those reindeer like princes. And Dunder? Has he gotten a workout yet?”

  Caleb’s shoulders fell. “He’s still moving slow. The virus really took it out of him.”

  “A reindeer his age may not get back to his old self. Sometimes they just … don’t.”

  “That’s depressing.” He paused and straightened his back. “But not why I called.”

  “Oh?”

  He looked at the hoops, remembering Rudy’s determination. If the reindeer could face a challenge head-on, so could he. “Will you go on a sleigh ride with me?” His hands grew slick and he rubbed one on his leg, traded the phone hands, and rubbed the othe
r one clean.

  “Sure. It sounds like a merry event.”

  “Did you just make a Christmas pun?”

  She hesitated. “I think I did.”

  “Wow. I’m impressed.”

  She giggled.

  He pressed on, encouraged by her lightness. “I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon for a sunset ride.”

  “Now I’m impressed.”

  “It’s a date.” He wanted to make sure she knew that his intentions were for courting and romance.

  “It is—darn it.”

  He was on his feet in a blink. “What?” Did she not want romance? Had he jumped from friends to more too fast?

  “Well, if it’s a date, I gotta dress up, and I have nothing to wear for a sleigh ride.”

  He grinned. She was flirting with him. “Well, I plan to wear everything I own to ward off the cold, if that helps.”

  “Aaaah. A no-pressure date.” Something clattered in the background.

  “None—come as you are.”

  “You asked for it.”

  “Ha. I can take anything you can dish out.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  They said goodbye, and he hung up. This was good. They were moving in the right direction—together. Maybe she’d go back to the city and her life and they’d have one great date to remember. Or maybe this was the start of something more. He wouldn’t know until he tested the winds.

  His hat knocked forward and Flash blew across his vision, barely clearing his head.

  “Hey!” Caleb yelled at Jack, who was smirking from the door.

  “Have fun with that one. He’s been pent up too long and needs to stretch his legs.”

  Flash zoomed circles around the arena. His speed was his greatest strength, but he had two gears: stop and go.

  “I thought you were going to help with workouts today.” Caleb enjoyed their time together with Rudy. Seemed like now that they were all grown up, he and Jack didn’t hang out as much. There were times when the distance between them was like ringing a gong and feeling the vibrations in his soul—not an entirely pleasant feeling.

  “I changed my mind. I’m off to town to find someone to smooch under the mistletoe.”

  “Good luck with that.” In their small town, he was more likely to find a horse under the mistletoe than he was a girl.

  “You should take some on your date—it’s a guaranteed goodnight kiss.”

  “I don’t need a weed to help me get a kiss. I have my Nichollas charm. Too bad you didn’t get any,” Caleb fired back at him.

  Jack flipped his head. “As if.” They both grinned. “See ya.”

  “Bye.” Caleb put his hands on his hips and turned to watch Flash. He checked his watch. It would be another twenty minutes before the reindeer wore himself out enough to do anything productive. He sat back down and leaned back, thinking about Faith. A no-pressure date. He liked the sound of that. A chance to get to know one another as potential romantic partners sounded … like online dating. He wanted more than exchanging basic info. He wanted to hold her hand, to hold her!

  A normal date wouldn’t do. He’d need to sweep her off her feet without looking like he was trying too hard. That was the trick.

  He rubbed his palms together as a plan began to form.

  Chapter 24

  Faith

  “When you said we were going on a sleigh ride, I didn’t think you’d bring a reindeer to my house.” Faith stared in shock at the gray animal with the green leather harness. “Are those silver bells?”

  “Only the best for you.” Caleb grinned as he swept his arm out to showcase the two-seater black sleigh.

  She had to admit that the color combination was striking—almost royal in appearance. The sleigh itself was made from wood but painted a dark black on the exterior with silver trim and steel runners.

  “Come on, I’ll introduce you to the reindeer so he doesn’t try to throw you out on a tight curve.” Caleb took her elbow, but Faith planted her boots in the snow.

  “Would he do that?”

  “Well …” Caleb scratched the back of his neck. “See, the thing is, there’s an etiquette that’s involved with sleigh rides. Reindeer—our reindeer, at least—are kind of particular about these things.”

  “Oh? Now you have my attention.”

  Caleb pumped his eyebrows suggestively before assuming a serious face. “Reindeer are happy enough to pull a sleigh, but they are picky about who they let in it. Of course, every reindeer in the herd is dying to be a part of Santa’s team, so she never has an issue stepping into a sleigh.”

  “Wait.” Faith touched his forearm. She had on a thick pair of gloves stuffed to the fingers with handwarmers, but even then, touching Caleb raised her temperature. “That’s the second time you’ve referred to Santa as a she—what’s up with that?”

  “Santa’s daughter took over a few years back. Ginger flies the big sleigh now and runs things at the North Pole.”

  Faith stared at him, her mouth agape. Was he serious? “Are you serious?”

  He nodded. She’d think he was teasing her, except his eyes held none of the usual sparkle that came when he was trying to pull one over on her. He truly believed Santa’s daughter delivered toys.

  “Okay, then.” Who was she to judge? He could believe in whatever kind of Santa he wanted. As they made their way to the front of the sleigh so she could be introduced to the reindeer, she rolled around the idea of Santa’s daughter inheriting the position. Why not? Women were perfectly capable of fulfilling Santa’s duties. She kind of liked the idea, actually.

  “This is Lucky. Lucky, this is Faith. She’s going on a ride with us this afternoon.” Caleb motioned for her to address the reindeer. A couple of weeks ago, she would have felt foolish being introduced to a reindeer, but after spending so much time with Rudy, she didn’t have any reservations.

  “Hello there, good-looking.” She held out her hand and let him come to her, sniffing. He lipped at her fingers, looking for a treat and making her laugh.

  “Sorry,” Caleb jumped in. “No treats until we get where we’re going.”

  Lucky grunted and then jerked his head toward the sleigh, telling them to get in already.

  Faith laughed. “I guess I passed the test.” She climbed in the sleigh, feeling like she was taking a big step. This was her and Caleb’s first official date. One day, she’d tell her grandchildren about her sleigh ride with a real reindeer. Peeking out of the corner of her eye, she tried to picture life with Caleb. It would be a simple life, on the ranch, no doubt. The man had roots deeper than the poplar trees that populated the forests here. Their white trunks with black markings were beautiful in the winter wonderland.

  “On, Lucky!” Caleb called in a deep voice. Lucky strained against the harness for only a moment before the sleigh started cruising easily behind him. He kept his head up and his ears turning every which way. The sleigh bells were beautiful. Not too much, but just loud enough that they created a music of their own.

  Faith slid her arm under Caleb’s and hugged his side—for warmth.

  He grinned down at her. “There’s blankets.”

  She glanced down and found a pile of plaid fleece. When she reached for them, she found that they were warm and hugged them to her chest. “What magic is this?”

  He chuckled. “Not magic—bricks. I heated them in the barn’s fireplace before heading your way. There’s a couple in special compartments in the seat too to help us stay warm. I should have told you all this when we got in, but we’re burning daylight.”

  She draped the blanket over the two of them, making sure the bricks were covered too. “It’s so cozy.”

  “How do you like traveling by sleigh?”

  She glanced around at the scenery moving by. “It’s nice. I like being a part of nature while we’re moving. And it’s nice not to be in a hurry for once.”

  He nodded, turning in to town. He managed to stick to roads that weren’t plowed, so the runners weren’t
scratched up. They waved at people out shoveling their walks or running errands. One woman dropped her grocery bag and stared at them.

  Caleb’s ears went dark red and he ducked into his scarf.

  “Who was that?” Faith prodded.

  He moaned. “Nobody.”

  Oh no—he wasn’t getting off that easily. “In my experience, when a man says nobody, it means she used to be his somebody.” Faith turned in her seat and looked at the woman. She had long, blond hair and wore a fitted plaid peacoat with tall boots. Faith hated her. Not really, but a huge surge of competitiveness reared up and made Faith want to throw a snowball in the woman’s face.

  “Let’s just say Hazel wanted to be my someone. We went to prom together and everything. It didn’t work out.” He turned them into a park and headed toward a beautiful white gazebo set on the hill.

  Excitement grew like ice on windows doing a cold front. “Hmm.”

  He glanced down at Faith again. “I can promise you I never took Hazel on a sleigh ride.”

  Faith giggled. Even though it seemed silly, she liked the idea that warm bricks, blankets, and riding in a one-reindeer sleigh was their thing. Her attention was diverted as they drew closer to the gazebo. The steps were lined with bright red poinsettias, and Edison lights hung across the ceiling, creating a soft glow that would be stunning as soon as the sun went down, which would be any minute.

  “I hope you don’t mind an early supper.” Caleb pulled the reindeer to a stop, and they lurched as the runners gained traction.

  “I skipped lunch today, so I don’t mind at all.” She folded the blanket and put it back over the brick to hold in the heat.

  Caleb frowned. “Why?”

  “Because I was in a hurry to get everything done.”

  “I would have waited,” he argued.

  She spun west and opened her arms wide, soaking up the last rays of sunlight. “But this wouldn’t have.” The orange sun was big and softened at the edges as it touched the horizon.