by Emma Savant
I printed the new roster and clipped it up behind the desk. The header, Alpine View Animal Shelter, still filled me with a sense of pride that felt like it could make me burst.
This had all come together faster than I could have imagined, and now, just under a year since Santa had dropped me off at my apartment late Christmas Eve, we had a building, a small board of trustees, a few generous donors, and as many pets as we could care for.
It wasn’t a full-time job, of course, but knowing I’d be here every Wednesday and Saturday did make stocking shelves s little bit easier. I was still in my terrible apartment, I still hadn’t met a special someone, and my student loans still made me feel trapped if I thought about them too long. Sometimes animals got sick, or couldn’t find homes, or were unlucky enough to be surrendered by the kind of humans who never should have been allowed to adopt them in the first place.
But I had worked and begged and risked to create this place, and today, I had sent Coco home with a girl who loved her.
I pulled the antler necklace out from under my shirt. My reindeer would be proud.
The doorbell rang, and a gust of cool November air swept into the room with the smell of decaying leaves. I looked up, ready to accept a pet or find one a home, then froze.
“Hey,” he said.
It took a few seconds for the world to get back to speed, and then I clambered out from behind the desk and threw my arms around him.
“Felix!”
He looked ridiculous in skinny jeans and a hoodie, but there was no mistaking that sharp face or those mischievous eyes. I squeezed him as hard as I could, only giving him space to breathe when he coughed dramatically.
“What are you doing here?”
“Pre-Christmas sweeps,” he said. “Updating the sleigh’s maps, making sure it’s tuned up for long distances, running over innocent grocers…”
It was a sunny, blue-sky morning outside. I craned my neck to look through the glass door.
“Where are the reindeer?”
He laughed. “They’re hiding in the forest with Avery for the day.”
“Avery?”
“New driver,” Felix said. “Just started at the Workshop. She’s good, but we’re taking it slow.”
“But, like, where in the forest?”
He rolled his sparkling eyes at me. “Don’t worry, you’ll get to see them. When are you free?”
“At three,” I said. “I get off here and then I promised I’d get lunch with my neighbor.”
“Ooh,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows. “Lunch, huh?”
“Her name’s Eloise and she’s eighty-three. Speaking of old people, how’s Santa?”
“Jolly.”
“Mary?”
“Obsessed with Downton Abbey.”
“You?”
“Really happy to see you.”
“Come meet my critters.”
I took his hand and pulled him toward the cat room. He stopped and spun me around, his eyes darting around and taking in every inch of my face.
“What?”
A slow grin spread across his features, awakening dimples at the corners of his lips.
“She’s not relentlessly negative about everything all the time,” he said.
I gently slapped his cheek, winked, and dragged him back to see my world.
Also by Emma Savant
The Glimmers Series:
Glimmers of Glass (#1: Cinderella)
Glimmers of Scales (#2: The Little Mermaid)
Glimmers of Thorns (#3: Beauty and the Beast)
Glimmers of Garlands (#3.5: The Elves and the Shoemaker)
The Glimmers Universe:
Spinning Into Gold (#1: Rumpelstiltskin)
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A Note from Emma
Reviews help other readers find books, and are invaluable to me as an indie author. If you’ve enjoyed this or any of the Glimmers novels, please consider leaving a review on Amazon or Goodreads. I welcome all feedback, positive and negative, and am deeply grateful to you for taking the time to share your thoughts.
Thanks for being part of the Glimmering world!
About the Author
Emma Savant lives with her husband and cat in a small town in Oregon, where she spends most of her time watching Star Trek and eating nachos. She loves fairy tales and once took an archery class in the hopes of becoming more Narnian.
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