by Lola Kidd
His reindeer thought she was his mate, but he had no idea how the animal knew that. It must have had a sixth sense or something, because he'd never seen this woman before.
Holly. Her first name was Holly.
There were so many questions he wanted to ask her, but she wasn't falling for his usual shtick. He'd tried flirting and making innuendos, but she hadn't taken the bait. He'd try being direct next. He wouldn't be able to leave until he'd gotten her number and she'd agreed to a date, at least. Okay, a week before Christmas wasn't exactly the best time to start dating, but he didn't care. She was his mate.
He couldn't let his lack of confidence stop him from getting the girl this time. He didn't care if he made a fool of himself or got arrested. She had to know he was serious. That was step one. He could worry about the rest later.
And that was a lot. He didn't have much to offer. He had recently moved, and even the name of the town was going to be a mark against him. Celebration, a shifter town that had almost no humans. But if Holly was really his mate, he could get an exception for her to live with him.
If she wanted that. And she had to, because he couldn't live in a human town anymore. Not after what had happened at Overland.
There was a knock at the door. "I have the clothes."
He opened the door a crack and took the clothes. "Thank you."
Gray sweatpants and a t-shirt. He would have preferred jeans, but he did want her to see his body, and he could rock the hell out of a pair of sweatpants, so he slid them on. The t-shirt was obviously too small for his muscular upper body, so he folded it back up and carried it out.
As he exited the bathroom, he couldn't miss how her eyes went straight to the outline of his cock.
He held the t-shirt out to her. "This doesn't fit, but thanks for the pants."
She was turning red again, and the color was nice on her. She took the shirt from him and smiled weakly. "Now that you're dressed, we can wait in the front for the police."
"Do you have the number of a taxi service or something?" he asked as they walked to the front.
She shook her head. "There are no taxis here. Even if there were, I doubt anyone would be out today. The snow has gotten worse even while we've been talking."
Crosby went to the front window. His footsteps from just fifteen minutes ago were already covered. The snow was falling fast, faster than he'd expected. Good thing his animal had made him set down here. He would have been trapped in Overland if he hadn't stopped flying. He should have paid better attention to the weather reports.
The light snow he'd expected was supposed to cover his tracks and make flying easier. Humans didn't notice him when there was light snow. His animal even liked to fly when it was snowing a little. Heavy snow, on the other hand, annoyed his animal. The reindeer wanted nothing more than to be inside and warm when there was heavy snow, and he didn't blame the animal for that.
Humans were terrible drivers in the snow. He suspected that was what was keeping the police busy.
"It's really coming down out there," he said. "Lucky for you I crash-landed here, or you would have had a very boring work day."
"Maybe. But maybe I like when it's slow."
He turned to look at her. "Why? Don't you get bored?"
She shrugged. "Not really. I like when there's nobody to bother me. I was going to work on a new piece we got in while I waited for my shift to end."
"What piece?"
"It's a table and chairs. The chairs need to be reupholstered. It wouldn't take me long to change everything out."
"Wow, that's a lot of work. I tried to reupholster a stool for my mom once, and it took me three days."
She laughed. "The first few times, it's pretty hard, but once you get used to the process, it goes much faster."
"How many times have you done it?"
"A few dozen. I've worked here since I was in high school, and we get a few of those a month."
"High school? So, what, you're twenty, twenty-one?"
"Come on. I'm obviously thirty-three."
He laughed. "Nice try. How old are you, really?"
"Thirty-three. Why would I lie?"
She was the perfect age. Only a year younger than he was. That was a relief. She did look like she was in her early twenties, and from his experience, humans weren't fans of men in their mid-thirties dating barely legal women.
"You look much younger. Is that a compliment for a woman your age?"
"My age?" She frowned and put her head down. "And please stop staring."
"Am I staring? Sorry."
"It's fine." She tucked a flaxen curl behind her ear. "Everyone stares."
"Can't blame them."
"Of course not." She stepped away from the counter and began to tidy the store.
He stayed next to the counter, confused. He had insulted her with a simple question. Clearly, she was a special kind of girl. He had no idea how he was supposed to seduce her.
He went into the aisles to find her. "I'm sorry. Did I offend you somehow?"
"No." She sighed. "Sometimes I forget how different I am. I can be a little sensitive. Sorry."
He cocked his head. "Different, how? Because you're not a shifter? I thought this was a mixed town."
"It is. And no. I mean the birthmark. I know it's unsightly. I'm sure you have a million questions."
"The mark on your face?" It was barely noticeable, a light red that splashed across one of her cheeks. When she blushed, he couldn't even see it. But he could see how other people might find it ugly. "Sorry. I've barely even noticed it. Honest."
She laughed. "Sure. You can't really miss it."
"Why would I lie?" He took her chin in his hand and guided her head until they were looking each other in the eye. "I was staring because you're beautiful. The most beautiful woman I've ever seen, actually. I find it hard to keep my eyes off your face."
"Shut up." She was smiling, but she grabbed his wrist and moved his hand. Then she looked away. "I'm already helping you. There's no need to sweet-talk me."
"Or maybe he could not sweet-talk you because you have a boyfriend."
Crosby growled. There was a man standing at the back door. He moved to put himself between the stranger and Holly.
"Damario." Holly moved from behind Crosby to the man's side. "What are you doing here?"
"I thought I'd come and keep you company, but I see you already have someone doing that."
"Who is this?" Crosby asked. "Do you know this man?"
She nodded, her eyes sad. "This is my boyfriend, Damario."
That was going to be a problem.
Chapter Four
Holly put her hand on Damario's chest. "Come on. Let's talk in the back."
She had to get him out of the front area. Tension had filled the whole room. She had no idea why, but these two men hated each other.
"Who's that guy?" Damario asked as soon as they reached the back room. "Why isn't he wearing a shirt?"
"He's a shifter who needed help. I couldn't turn him away in this weather. He'd freeze to death out there."
Damario snorted. "No, he wouldn't. No shifter who couldn't take the cold would go out when a snowstorm was forecast. That guy is grifting you. He was probably going to rob you."
"He was not," Holly said. "I'm not a child, and I'm not naive. He wasn't going to rob me, or he would have already done it. He needs help."
"You have such a good heart." He hugged her. "What would you do without someone like me to protect you? You really are too good for this world. Let me take care of this. I'll get this guy out of here, and you and I can hang out for the rest of your shift. Maybe we can even test out how much weight the bathroom sink can hold."
He kissed her neck, and she shivered, but not from arousal. She was irritated. She wasn't "too good for the world." She was a grown woman who could take care of herself. Damario was always sweet, and she usually loved it, but not this time. This wasn't something she needed help with, and she didn't want to have sex with him in the bathroo
m, either.
"Actually, I have a lot of work I need to do before my shift is done."
He laughed. "Come on. Seriously?"
"Seriously. I think you should go." She stepped away from him. "And I'll take care of the man out front. I've already called the police. They'll be here to help him as soon as they can."
Damario narrowed his eyes. "So, you want me to leave."
"Yes, I want you to leave. Right now."
"Why are you talking to me like this? Treating me like this? Have I done something wrong?" He sounded hurt, but his words couldn't belie his anger. If they had been alone, Holly was sure he'd be yelling.
"No, I don't need your help right now. I have everything under control. You should go home before the snow gets worse."
"I've already come out here for you. It doesn't matter if the roads get worse. I'm already out. You know, you should be more grateful. Any other woman would be glad to see me if they were in your shoes."
"Maybe, but I'm not any other woman. I'm me, and I'm not grateful. I want you to go." She crossed her arms and raised her chin. She hated when he said stuff like that, implying that she was abnormal and she should be happy with whatever he wanted to do. It was like her feelings didn't matter at all. All he seemed to care about was what "other women" would feel in any given situation.
He threw his hands up. "Fine. I guess I'll leave. But if I go now, I don't think you should come to my place later. Or ever, actually. If you want me to leave now, I'll see what your true feelings for me are."
She stood her ground. "If this is something you'd break up with me over, then yes, we should break up. It wasn't like this was that serious, anyway."
His eyes widened. "You want to break up with me. You?"
"Yes, I guess that's what that means. I—yes, me—am breaking up with you. Please leave now."
Her hands were shaking, so she shoved them into her pockets and hoped she looked like she couldn't care less. She was breaking up with him, out of nowhere. If the other people in town weren't talking about her already, they sure were going to now.
He put a finger on her chest. "I don't think so. I'm breaking up with you. I can't believe I was ever nice enough to date you in the first place. I thought you were going to be nice, but I was so wrong. You're just like all the other women. Ungrateful bitch."
There was a roar from the doorway, and Holly snapped her head around to see that Crosby's teeth were bared.
He came to her side. "I think she asked you to leave. Why are you still here?"
"Why are you?" Damario spat. "She's only saying this because you're here. She's going to come crawling back to me tomorrow, begging me to forgive her. I won't, but maybe if she asks nice enough, I won't tell everyone in town what a frigid bitch she is."
Holly slapped Damario square across the face. Then she stumbled back and gasped. What had come over her?
"I'm sorry... I..."
"You should be glad she did that," Crosby said. "Now, are you going to leave, or do you need more incentive?"
Damario's cheek was bright red. "I'm going. I don't want to be anywhere near her. You can have her."
Holly couldn't say anything. She was shaking like a leaf. She'd just hit someone who, a minute earlier, had been her boyfriend. What had just happened?
Damario stopped at the back door. "Oh, and by the way, you know everyone in town thinks you're a curse, right?"
And with that, he left.
Crosby put his hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay?"
She collapsed against him and shuddered. Her tears were distorting her vision. "I don't know what's wrong with me. I can't believe I did that. He was so nice to me, and I just hit him. I'm a monster."
He put his arms around her. "No, you aren't a monster. You apologized, and you can apologize again tomorrow if you still feel bad. He wasn't very nice. He was trying to hurt you. If you hadn't hit him, I would have."
"But he was my boyfriend." She straightened up and wiped her eyes. "I need to go after him. This is wrong. I can't believe I'm being so impulsive."
"What did he mean at the end, there?" Crosby grabbed her arm and stopped her before she could walk off. "The town thinks you're a curse? What's that about?"
"Shifter stuff. Not the humans, but the shifters. They've said it ever since I was born."
"Why would they say that? I've never heard of that kind of thing before."
"Because I was born a human in a family of shifters. In all of my family’s history, there's never been one like me. And the birthmark—some people say it's a bad sign."
He nodded. "I see. But that's crazy. I can't believe he said that. What an asshole."
"He was, wasn't he?" She hiccupped, and then she laughed. "I can't believe I was going to chase him. I'm so stupid."
"Not stupid." He rubbed her shoulder. "You liked him. I don't think there's anything wrong with giving people a shot."
"I guess. But he isn't getting a second chance."
It would be more like a fifth chance, but she didn't need to tell Crosby that. This was the last straw for her. She wasn't going to let Damario back into her life after what he'd said. So what if everyone else thought she was a curse? He didn't have to bring it up.
"If the police don't make it here in the next hour, I'm going to close the shop, and you're coming home with me," she told Crosby. "I don't want to stick around here and wait. We'll figure something out at my place."
"Sounds good to me. Whatever is easier for you."
This wasn't easier, but it wasn't going to be an easy day. She was ready to roll with the punches, though, and see where the day led her.
Chapter Five
"It's been two hours." Crosby tapped the grandfather clock. "Are we going to leave, or what?"
Holly nodded. "Fine. Let me call the police and let them know that I no longer need help here."
While she made the call, Crosby swept the floor and checked the aisles to make sure no one was in the store.
He couldn't believe how easy it had been to get rid of the "boyfriend." He had expected to have to put up a fight. The guy was big and seemed possessive. Never in a million years would he have thought Holly would just get rid of the guy. It had taken less than ten minutes, and boom, she was single.
Now, he needed to figure out how long she and Damario had been dating. It didn't seem like it had been that serious, since she'd gotten rid of him so easily, but he had to be sure.
"All done. I'll lock up, and we can go out the front. My car is the red one." She looked out the front door. "I guess you can't see it, but it's the car-like lump covered in snow out there."
"Wait here. Give me your keys, and I'll go clean it off and warm it up." Crosby held out his hand.
"You don't have to do that. You don't even have proper shoes."
True, he was only wearing tennis shoes but it was worth the trouble. "My animal gives me a little extra protection against the cold. If I'm fast, it won't be a problem. Come on, let me do this for you."
She handed him her keys slowly. "I'll grab the broom in the back room. You can use it to push most of the snow off my car. My scraper is in the back seat, if you need it."
He nodded and waited for her to retrieve the broom. This wasn't going to be fun, but for his mate, he'd do anything.
"Here you go. Are you sure you don't want me to do this?" She handed him the broom.
"It'll be fine. Just lock everything up and get yourself ready to go outside."
Crosby had to use every muscle in his body to push himself through the snow. It was heavy and thick. After he'd brushed off her car, he took the shovel from the front door and made a path to her car. He had to wait for it to warm up, anyway.
The cold bit at his cheeks and tore through the flimsy jacket he'd borrowed from the store. His animal would have no problem bearing this cold, but in his human form, this was a dangerous situation. He could be outside for a few minutes, but he would eventually get frostbite, just like all other humans.
He
opened the front door to the store. "All done."
Holly locked the front door, and together they got into her car.
"Thank you so much," she said. "I'm sure you're freezing. I think you're going to have to wait out this storm at my place. Every store in town most likely closed at noon today. I won't feel comfortable letting you leave without warm clothes if you can't shift."
"Sounds like a plan. Hey, I'm sorry for putting you out. Thank you for helping me. I don't know what's wrong with my animal, but I really appreciate what you're doing for me."
He knew what was wrong with his animal. It had found its mate, and it wasn't going anywhere until he had sealed the deal—he could feel that deep in his bones. The only way he would be leaving Lewisburg was by human means. Even then, he had a feeling his animal would keep finding its way back here until Holly was his.
She eased out of her parking space and onto the road. "No problem. Truth be told, I don't feel like being alone right now. I appreciate the company."
"Glad I can give something back. Something besides my good looks." He couldn't help himself.
She cracked a small smile. Maybe he was making progress.
"I live just a little ways outside of town, so it's not a long drive, but I think it's going to be slow going today." Her hands were gripping the wheel tightly.
He put his hand on her thigh. "No problem. We're in no rush. We got all night to get back to your place. As long as it takes, it doesn't matter."
She nodded. "I hate driving in the snow like this. I'll be glad to get off the road for the day. Next time they predict snow like this, I'm staying home."
"Well, it was a good thing for me that you decided to come in today. If it hadn't been for you, I might have frozen to death out there."
She smiled again, but this time she shook her head. "No, you would have gotten help. Someone would have stopped for you. This town is very friendly to shifters, and you're a good-looking guy.."
"That means it’s your lucky day then, right?" He turned in his seat to stare at her.
"What?" She looked at him quickly and then turned back to the road. "Well, yes, I guess. But it won't be either of our lucky days if you don't let me focus on the road."
