by Lola Kidd
Reindeer Games
A Small Town Shifters Holiday Story
Lola Kidd
Copyright 2017 by Lola Kidd
Cover Design: Melody Simmons
All rights reserved.
This book is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is entirely coincidental. Names, characters, businesses, organizations, places, events, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. No part of this work may be copied or reproduced without the express consent of the author.
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About this Story:
This story was previously published in the boxset Home for the Howlidays
Shifter Crosby Geller can’t seem to get a grip on his animal. During a short trip, the reindeer landed and refused to fly again. This has never happened before and Crosby doesn’t know what to do. Normally, this wouldn’t be a problem but the snowstorm moving in means the small town he landed is has shut down. He’s stranded with no clothes, money, identification, or a way to get home.
Holly Yule was enjoying a slow day at her job when a crash outside turns her world upside down. There’s a shifter outside who needs help but she isn’t sure she should trust him. What’s a reindeer doing in her backyard?
She doesn’t want to help but the police are too busy with accidents to get to her anytime soon. She can’t just leave him to freeze outside but she isn’t sure what she should do to help him. While she hatches a plan, Crosby has other things on his mind. Namely, figuring out why his reindeer had to land in this very spot, on this very day. After seeing the lovely Holly, he’s starting to have a very good idea of what his animal had on its mind. The most important thing to any shifter, mate.
Table of Contents
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
A Note from Lola
Other Books by Lola Kidd
Chapter One
The snow was falling steadily outside of Holly Yule's shop. It was going to be another slow day. Her shift had started an hour ago, and after her co-worker had left, she hadn't seen another soul. No one had even driven past. Only five inches had been forecast, but it was the first major snowfall of the season.
She put her arms on the counter and smiled to herself. This was perfect. Her lucky day. This time of year, the shop was usually so busy, she could barely take a bathroom break. When she worked alone, she didn't get to take breaks. It was a total nightmare. Even worse, during the holidays, they were frequented by tourists.
A shiver ran up her spine and her smile vanished as she thought of the last time tourists had dropped in to shop. They were a nice older couple with their three grandchildren. The older people were fine, but the kids were cruel, as usual. They kept pointing at Holly's face and whispering to one another. The older couple hadn't kept an eye on them, and the two older ones had shoved the littlest one to the counter.
Stammering, he'd asked a question she'd heard many times. "That thing on your face. Does it hurt?"
She'd managed to smile even though she was shrinking inside. "Of course not. It's just a birthmark. Do you have a birthmark?"
The little boy had nodded, wide-eyed, and pulled his coat aside to show her his collarbone. There was a small bluish spot on the right side. "Mine is blue."
She smiled. "And does it hurt?"
"Nope. My brothers say my mom dropped me in a blueberry patch, and that's where I got it. Where did yours come from?"
The devil? "I was just born this way. I don't know where it came from."
Some of the lovely people of Lewisburg had ideas where the mark had come from and what it meant.
In the silent shop, she stood up and went to tidy the pristine shelves. That interaction had been fine. When the grandparents had noticed what was happening, they were humiliated. They'd apologized over and over. More than they needed to. She could tell they felt sorry for her.
When she thought of her fellow townspeople, her mind wasn't as quiet. They were so mean to her. Ever since she was a child, she'd been used to people asking her questions and staring. She was different; she knew that. But in a town full of people who turned into animals, she didn't think she was that much of a freak. There was a sphinx in town, for goodness' sake! How was a human with a facial birthmark more freakish than that?
But at this point, the townspeople usually kept their remarks to themselves. Well, at least they used to. There was an uneasy feeling in town now that Holly couldn't put her finger on. It was like people were staring at her wherever she went, and that hadn't been an issue with the regulars since she was a small child. Everyone was used to her by now. This was something new.
At first, she'd thought it was because of her new boyfriend, the strapping Damario. Thinking of him brought a smile to her face again. She raised her arms and spun around in a circle, overjoyed. He wasn't exactly her type, but he was most women's. Most of the women in town would be lucky to have him and would feel so proud to be on his arm. Knowing that people looked at her with envy made Holly like the new relationship even more. She was lucky that someone like Damario wanted to date someone like her.
He'd courted her for months. At first, she'd been sure it was a joke that he was asking her out. But he'd been persistent and had worn her down.
She knew people whispered about them, that they talked about her and said she must be a witch. The only way to explain Damario being so into her was magic. That hurt, but she kept her head high whenever she was in public. She would never let them see her cry—but she did when she was home alone sometimes.
She figured that people would get over her relationship with Damario the longer it went on. She might not be truly, madly, deeply in love with Damario, but he was a good enough man. She wasn't a shifter, so she didn't need to find her mate to be happy in life. She just needed a man who would stand by her side and who wanted to be with her. She was very easygoing in that way.
Even with the snowfall, she knew he'd be in later to keep her company. He worried about her so much. It was sweet. No one other than her parents had ever looked out for her like that. It was a welcome change.
She tidied the front of the store and then decided to go to the back room and check inventory. They had gotten in a new antique table and chairs set that needed to be restored, and Holly was sure she could get a big chunk of the chair reupholstering done that night. No one was going to come in, and she wanted to make the most of her shift. Plus, this way she wouldn't be bored out of her mind.
As she left the front room, a giant boom shattered the calm and the floor under her feet shook. She clutched the wall next to her and put her hand to her chest. What in the world?
***
Crosby Geller hit the snow hard. One minute he was cruising, and the next, he was headed for the earth. He tried to fight his animal, but the damn thing wouldn't listen. It had to land here, whether he wanted to or not, and Crosby definitely did not want to be in this town. He was going to make a pass over his home town one more time before Christmas.
He didn't hate his new digs, but he didn't love them, either. That place would never be Overland, his home town. He was almost there when this silly detour happened. It was only a hop, skip, and a jump away from Lewisburg, yet here he was. He recog
nized the antique shop even through the snow. It had the worst knick-knacks. He hated that clutter shit. It was owned by a real piece of work, too.
Once he had his bearings, he tried to take flight again, but nope. His animal wasn't having it. It didn't want to fly at all.
This wasn't great. He tried to change back to a human, but his reindeer fought that too. Instead, it made a beeline for the back door of the shop.
A woman's face appeared in the back door window. He couldn't make out her features, but his reindeer was positively giddy.
Seriously?
Crosby fought with all his might and managed to start the transformation. He'd had just about enough of his animal's misbehaving. It had been a long time since he'd been with a woman, but that didn't mean he had to throw himself at every gorgeous girl who crossed his path. If he couldn't fly out of here, he was going to try to find a bus or an Uber or something. He'd wanted to do a drive-by of home, but clearly, that wasn't going to happen.
He knocked on the door until the woman's face appeared again. She really was gorgeous. He could only see the top half of her face, but she had the most stunning green eyes.
"Hi," he said.
"What do you want? Did you make that noise?"
"I didn't realize it was so loud, but yes. Sorry if I scared you." He was a naked man trying to get into her business. He hoped she was friendly to shifters. "I'm stranded, and I was wondering if I could come in and use your phone."
"Who doesn't have a cellphone?"
He held up his hands and turned around. "As you can see, I don't have much of anything. It's very cold out here now that I'm a human again. Could I at least come inside?"
She rolled her eyes. "No. I'm not letting you in here so you can rob me."
"Why would I rob you? If I was going to do that, I could have just charged in and attacked you." He shifted one foot off the ground and then the other. "Seriously, it's cold out here. Are you a shifter? Surely you've been in this situation before."
"Ask the local shifter police for help."
The eyes disappeared, and Crosby cursed. He was going to freeze to death.
He walked around to the front of the store and walked in the front door. He didn't bother covering himself with his hands, either.
She wasn't being very nice. He wasn't a robber or some other kind of criminal, just a regular shifter with a misbehaving animal. She must be a human, from the way she'd reacted. He had no idea where the town shifter police were, and he wasn't about to try to find the station in this snowstorm.
The front of the store was as crowded as he'd expected. This place was a real mess. Furniture, small toys, mirrors, clocks, and just about anything else that would clutter a surface in a home. He hated it.
The woman wasn't in the front. He rang the bell next to the register and waited. She emerged a moment later and gasped when she saw him.
Crosby beamed. "Now, about that phone?"
Chapter Two
Holly gaped at the man. He was certainly good-looking. Must be a shifter. No human man would dare come into a business naked and not even bother to cover himself. Even if he was nice to look at, it made her blood boil. Who did he think he was?
"You need to leave." She did her best to keep her eyes trained on his face.
He leaned forward and extended his hand to her. "I'm Crosby. I was flying, and my animal touched down out back and won't take to the sky again. I need some kind of assistance, unless you want me to hang out here with you."
As he said that last part, he raised an eyebrow, and his gaze traveled up and down her body slowly before settling once again on her face. The smirk he gave her sent shivers up her spine and a zing between her legs. It was wrong. She shouldn't enjoy the way he was looking at her. She had a boyfriend, for goodness' sake! And she didn't even know this man. He was being a colossal jerk, too.
"You can wait outside. No shoes, no shirt, no service." She crossed her arms over her rapidly beating heart. She wondered if he could hear the hammering against her ribcage. Shifters had notoriously great hearing.
He looked around the store, his hand still extended to her. "I don't see any sign saying that. Is that a rule you made up? And I didn't catch your name. Like I said, I'm Crosby."
"I don't have to tell you my name. Please leave."
He put his hand down. "What would the owner say about you refusing a customer some service? I bet he wouldn't like that very much. Is it because I'm a shifter?"
Holly's mouth fell open. "He'd be happy that I made a naked man leave the store. Our customers are on the conservative side, and they wouldn't appreciate walking in on a naked person. That's not how we run our store. And I don't see how you can be a paying customer if you have no wallet."
"And how do you know I don't?" He arched an eyebrow and gave her that smile again.
She frowned. "I think it's obvious."
He stepped away from the counter and started patting down his body. "Hmm. Maybe you're right. I don't think I have any hiding places."
She couldn't help but follow his hands as they roamed over his muscular form. If those had been her hands, she knew where she would focus her attention: that tight ass of his. It was perfectly round and taut. She could probably bounce a quarter off it if she had the chance to try.
He looked up and met her eyes. "Like the show?"
Holly quickly turned around. "You should go. I'm going to call the police."
"You know what? That would be fine. If you don't want to help me, maybe they'll be willing. Be my guest."
She was taken aback. He wanted her to call the police. That was unusual.
She turned back to face him. He had his arms crossed and wasn't smirking at her anymore. "Are you sure?" she asked.
"Yes. I need help. If you call the police, I think they'll understand my predicament and help me. Unlike you, who've been very unfriendly and unhelpful. Not a model of customer service."
"You aren't my customer," she snapped.
Then she reached under the counter and grabbed her cellphone. She kept an eye on him as she punched in the non-emergency police number. It rang a few times, and then she was promptly put on hold. She tapped her foot to the Christmas jingle as she waited.
The man, Crosby, looked around the store as she waited. He was brazen in his nudity, as only a shifter could be. It was like he didn't even notice how strange the situation was. She wished she had that kind of confidence when she was fully clothed.
"Lewisburg police. How can we be of service today?"
"Hi. This is Holly, at Lewisburg Antiques. I have a man here who needs help. I mean, a shifter. He needs some help."
"Was there a car accident?" the woman at the other end of the line asked.
"No, he has a…a transportation problem."
"Not a car accident? Did he skid off the road?"
"There was no car involved," Holly said. She breathed out slowly and tried to keep her cool. It was like the woman wasn't listening at all.
"Look, if there was no car accident, it's going to be a while before we can help you. This weather has everyone messed up. There are accidents all over town, and I don't have anyone to spare right now. Unless you're in danger, sit tight, and someone will get there eventually. Call 911 if the situation changes."
The line went dead, and Holly stared at her phone.
Crosby materialized in front of the counter again. "When are they going to be here?"
"Not anytime soon." There was no use in lying. "They have accidents that they have to take care of. But they're going to be here. Just sit tight until then."
He groaned. "I'm freezing my backside off, here. Do you have a blanket or something I can borrow until they do get here?"
There was water and dirt on his feet, and he was tracking it around the store. Not a big mess, but if she let him stay like that, it would be. She was so distracted by his good looks, she hadn't even noticed the grime at first.
"Don't try anything funny, and I'll let you come in the back a
nd get cleaned up. I have clothes you can have, too."
Her boss wasn't going to love her giving away his emergency stash, but she could buy him some new clothes. He always kept sweatpants and a t-shirt in the back, just in case he got caught while he was shifted and had to come to the store to change. Damario had a similar setup at his job and in his car. Her parents did, too. She assumed it was a shifter thing, and it came in handy at times like this.
He smiled, but this time it wasn't a smarmy smirk. "Thank you. I could really use them. I like being naked, but this is starting to be ridiculous."
"I'm glad you have some decency." She motioned for him to follow her. "Come on. The bathroom is this way."
"Decency?" He came behind the counter and followed her to the back room.
"It's unseemly to be naked in a store like this."
He shook his head. "You misunderstand. I don't think there's anything wrong with me being naked. It's the fact that you're clothed. Now, if you wanted to shed some of those layers, I think you'd feel the same way I do."
"Excuse me?"
"This is the bathroom, right?" He opened the door behind her.
"Why would I... I mean... I don't even..." She couldn't think of anything to say. He wanted her to be naked too? What was wrong with this man?
"Thank you. And the clothes?" He was obviously going to ignore her discomfort.
"I'll bring them to you."
"Just knock. Or don't." He winked at her before closing the door to the bathroom.
Holly was left with her mouth hanging open once again. Seriously, who was this guy?
Chapter Three
She was perfect.
Crosby splashed water on his feet and cursed his stupid animal. He needed to get out of here, but there was no way his animal was going to take flight again. This was exactly what his reindeer wanted. This woman. This was why he was here.
Mate.
