The Alien Reindeer’s Bounty (A Winter Starr Book 6)

by Nancey Cummings

  His body remembered how to move on the ice. The moment his skate made contact, he pushed off and glided across it. How was the bracing cold against his face pointless? Or the subtle burn in his thighs? Or the exhilaration of speeding over the ice?

  Odessa moved slowly with Ruby holding her hand. When they hit the ice, Ruby gave a little yelp and squeezed tighter.

  Mads came to a stop before them. “Would you like some pointers?” Ruby nodded. He squared her shoulders, moved her feet a good distance apart, and had her bend her knees slightly.

  “This is like roller skating in a lot of ways and you’re pretty good at roller skating,” Odessa said. “Push your foot out to the side to move forward.”

  “Like this.” Ruby gave a push with her right foot and moved forward. Her arms flailed and grabbed her mother.

  “Just like that. Hold my hand and try it again.”

  Slowly, mother and daughter completed a lap around the rink. By their second lap, Ruby moved with confidence and no longer clutched Odessa’s hand.

  “Want to see something cool?” Odessa left Ruby at the side of the rink and took off, pushing to gain speed. She held her arms out at her sides and raised her back leg, moving in a spiral.

  Her skate wobbled and her back leg dropped. She gave a cry of distress and fell on her bottom, legs splayed out before her.

  Odessa tilted her head back and laughed, then picked herself up. “Pretty cool, right?”

  After her mother’s spill, Ruby moved with more confidence. She laughed off her falls and clambered back to her feet. When the beginner’s class started, he and Odessa watched from the sidelines.

  “Don’t tell Ruby, but every part of me hurts,” she said, sitting on a bench.

  “You took that fall on purpose.”

  She nodded. “Can’t be scared of falling.”

  He knew this to be true. Fear would keep a body stiff and tense; flexibility helped avoid injury when taking a tumble. It was one of the first lessons he learned from his father, albeit an unintentional lesson.

  That realization soured in his gut. Arne never bothered to impart knowledge or wisdom to his son. What Mads learned had been delivered with fists and bruises.

  Ruby grabbed onto a female child near her and they both toppled to the ice in laughter. The calf’s aura was a mellow gold with a shifting rainbow of colors, much like her mother’s. Human eyes were not capable of viewing the same light spectrum as reilendeer eyes, but he knew humans could sense auras. Moods were contagious, yes? Joy and laughter could spread uncontrollably, and fear and dread could move a crowd to panic. He hated for anything to diminish Ruby’s aura.

  “Tell me about Ruby’s father,” he said.

  “I wondered when you were going to ask.” Odessa unlaced her skates and eased them off. Her shoes sat on the ground, waiting. “Her dad is Jamie Becker.”

  “That guy?” He remembered the male from school as affable and athletic. He also remembered Jamie flirting with Odessa. The top of his head ached from the pressure of his antlers, needing to display for his mate. “The resemblance is unmistakable.”

  “Oh, yeah. Couldn’t hide that red hair if I tried.”

  “How often does she see her father?” Mads did not like that his mate had a calf with another male, but it was a fact that he could not change or ignore. Once bonded, his body only felt attraction to hers. Humans were different in that regard. It would be petty and mean-spirited to hold his mate accountable for a bond she did not feel or even knew existed.

  Didn’t mean he liked it, though.

  Odessa wiggled her feet into her shoes. “He died in Afghanistan. Jamie never knew Ruby, or even knew about her.” She spoke bluntly, having delivered the same information time and time again.

  “I apologize.”

  “You didn’t know.” She raised one shoulder in a shrug and her gaze drifted to the ice and a red-headed child. “Ruby was a surprise but she’s the best thing that’s ever happened to me. My absolute favorite person in the world.”

  The gold in her aura deepened and threads of blue and violet wove through. She glowed with love and Mads wished that she could witness her own breathtaking splendor.

  “How about you? Any kids?”

  He shook his head. “No. Impossible.”

  “Hardly. Do you see all the hot moms checking you out?”

  Mads looked in confusion. Parents milled around the rink, some chatted but the majority had their attention fixed on their phones.

  “Doesn’t matter,” he said. He only wanted Odessa’s admiration. Soon she would see she was the only one for him.

  Her hand nudged his on the bench. Carefully, their fingers interlaced. His heart swelled with anticipation at the contact.

  “It’s good to be home,” he said.

  Chapter 12

  Odessa

  Ruby hit the button on the garage door opener when the car turned into the driveway.

  Something was wrong.

  “Stop the car.”

  Mads stopped before entering the garage, frowning. The back of her neck pricked, like she was being watched.

  “Mom, what’s wrong?”

  “Just a minute, goblin. I need to think.” Then, as an afterthought, “Can we back the car up?”

  He put the car into reverse and moved down to the end of the driveway.

  What was wrong? In the fading light of early evening, the house looked the way it always did, safe and cozy with the porchlight on.

  “Stay here,” Mads said, springing out of the car.

  Footprints in the light layer of snow led from the front steps to the garage and then around to the back of the house. He followed those, slipping around the corner.

  The snow had only recently started falling and barely had enough time to coat the ground. Whoever made those footprints was still there, possibly inside the house.

  All the warm, gentle feelings of a day well spent faded away, buried under the snow.

  “Mommy?”

  Odessa shook her head, trying to dispel the prickly unease. She was being silly. Nothing was wrong. Shepherd’s Creek was a safe community. A neighbor probably knocked on the door.

  And then walked around the house? Because those footprints didn’t leave, they just circled around.

  “Hang tight, baby. Mads is just checking something out,” she said.

  All she could think of was Mads’ creepy uncle and how uneasy he made her feel when she was stuck on the side of the road. She knew those were his footprints in the snow, but the part of her conditioned to be nice and give people the benefit of the doubt pushed those concerns away.

  She recognized that if this was a movie, she’d be yelling at the stupid character for ignoring their gut and going back into the house when the killer was obviously hiding inside. Those people always ended up dead and that was the opposite of how Odessa wanted her evening to go.

  Chances are, it was more likely to be a wolf or a lynx prowling around the house than a burglar, but those sure did look like boot prints.

  Swallowing her pride, she reached for her cellphone, prepared to call the cops.

  “Mommy? I don’t like this,” Ruby said, her voice trembling.

  “Everything’s okay, baby.” She climbed out of the car, disgusted at the way she lied to Ruby. Quickly, she opened the back door and unfastened Ruby from her booster seat. Ruby had a growth spurt recently and would soon be too tall for the booster. Her dark eyes held a vulnerable expression, reminding Odessa that her goblin might be physically big but she was still just seven.

  “Don’t let go of my hand, okay?”

  Ruby nodded, holding tight.

  Mads jogged up, took one look at Odessa’s face, then the open garage, and said, “The perimeter is secure. I’ll go inside now.” He crouched down, eye-level with Ruby. “I need you to stay here with your mother.”

  “I don’t like this,” she whispered. “I want to go to Grandma’s.”

  Odessa squeezed Ruby’s hand. “Soon, baby. Mads
will be quick and we’ll have pizza for dinner.”

  Ruby wrapped her arms around her mother’s waist and buried her face against Odessa, hidden by the wool coat. “I don’t want pizza,” she muttered.

  His hand touched Odessa’s shoulder and he paused, unsure if he wanted to hug her or impart words of reassurance. “Stay here,” he said, which did not reassure her at all.

  Mads

  Odessa unlocked the front door and moved back to the driveway, her calf clinging to her the entire time.

  Just inside the doorway, he looked to the left and then the right, and smiled when he saw the baseball bat leaning against the wall. He remembered the bat always kept at the Muller house entrance, kept in case of intruders. The charmingly low-tech home security system made him smile. Humans were inventive.

  He held the bat loosely at his side, ready to strike if needed. He listened but heard nothing out of the ordinary, just the background noises of appliances and the rattle of the heating system. Moving silently, he cleared each room.

  Someone had been in the house. A stench of a heavy cologne lingered in the air. A human nose might not have detected the odor, but it was pungent to him and disguised the intruder’s true scent.

  The backdoor had not been forced but he did find a window ajar. With a frown, he closed the window properly and latched it. Carefully, he checked all the windows but found them secure. Other than the open window, he could not find anything obviously out of place, damaged, or tampered with. It was as if someone had walked through the house just because they could. Finishing his patrol, he exited to the garage.

  “Is this door meant to be unlocked?” he asked.

  “I never bother locking it,” Odessa replied. The color drained from her face. “That’s pretty dumb of me, I guess.”

  “Most garage doors open remotely with devices that use the same frequency. One key can unlock many doors.”

  “Is that what happened?”

  Prepared to explain about the open window in the living room, he saw the distress on Ruby’s face. The calf needed to feel safe in her home and not worry about strangers climbing through windows. “No,” he said, giving what he hoped was a reassuring smile. “I think your arrival scared them off.”

  Odessa’s brow knitted together as if in confusion, but she held her questions. “Will you stay for dinner?”

  Gladly, he accepted the invitation, not wanting to leave Odessa and Ruby alone. He’d stand guard all night if that allowed his mate and calf to rest easier.

  “Ruby, can you help Mads get the pizza from the freezer? I’ll move the car in the garage,” she said, leaving him alone with the calf.

  Ruby grabbed the sleeve of his shirt and tugged him inside.

  Ninety minutes later, Ruby sprawled on the living room floor, on her stomach with her head propped up on her hands, transfixed by the television. Odessa loaded dirty dishes into the dishwasher.

  “Okay,” she said, voice low. “Tell me what you found.”

  “The living room window was ajar.”

  “Nothing was taken, so they didn’t go inside?”

  He shook his head.

  “Cheese and crackers.” She folded her arms over her chest in a defensive posture and leaned against the counter. Unpleasant and offensive colors sparked from her aura, curdling in the air.

  “Tell me what you need,” he said, rubbing his hands along her arms.

  She sighed and leaned into an embrace. “I don’t know. I feel so off-kilter. A stranger was here. In my home. I want to disinfect everything.”

  “All the points of entry have been secured,” he said. “Tomorrow I’ll set up a monitoring system that will send you alerts if someone forces open another window.”

  “That sounds great.” Then, “And expensive. I can’t afford that.”

  “It is not a bother. Consider it a gift.” He had a fortune in Earth currency and would drain his bank accounts if it brought back colorful joy and contentment to her aura.

  “And I can’t accept that kind of gift.”

  “Let me do this. Let me help you.”

  Music played in the living room, indicating that Ruby’s program had ended. Odessa stepped back and smoothed down the front of her shirt. “Let me get Ruby to bed. Don’t go anywhere.”

  She couldn’t get him to leave if she tried.

  Odessa

  Ruby had on her cranky pants and Odessa really couldn’t blame her. Neither of them liked unexpected changes. Odessa tried to roll with it when life required her to be flexible—and she was terrible at it. Running a business depended on reliability and stability. She couldn’t just roll with it when a vendor delivered the day’s fresh fish late, after the fish had been sitting all day in an unrefrigerated truck. Nope. That vendor could take his spoiled fish elsewhere.

  And now that someone broke into her house? She wanted to scream and steam clean anything that potentially came into contact with the creep. But there were no signs of forced entry and nothing was taken. If she called the cops, they’d just tell her to get a security system. She had to roll with the crappy situation because there was no alternative.

  She and Ruby had matching cranky pants, like the matching pajamas set they wore last Christmas, and she just had to keep a smile on her face because she didn’t want Ruby to freak out.

  Wishful thinking on her part. Ruby was an observant kid. She knew something was up. Odessa had never believed in fudging the truth to her kid, but information needed to be presented in a way a seven-year-old could understand. The last thing Odessa wanted was for Ruby to get scared and have nightmares.

  The little goblin didn’t want to go to bed and complained mightily as she changed into her pajamas.

  “And brush your teeth, lady,” Odessa said as Ruby went into their shared bathroom.

  “I can’t.”

  “Don’t sass me. Brush your teeth.”

  “I can’t!” Ruby stood in the doorway, holding the empty toothbrush cup.

  Both their toothbrushes were gone. Ruby might have dumped them in the trash can in a petulant fit, but Odessa didn’t have the energy to care too much. She dug out two new toothbrushes, extras from the dentist, and mother and daughter brushed their teeth together.

  Odessa tucked Ruby in and read a story from the green leather-bound book of fairy tales—the same one from Odessa’s childhood.

  “Why did someone break into our house?” Ruby asked, the blanket pulled up to her chin.

  Odessa busied herself with smoothing back Ruby’s curls and placing her stuffed purple pony just so, using the time to think. She wanted to deny that anyone had been in the house and reassure her baby with hugs and kisses. “Mads didn’t find anyone inside,” she said.

  There. An honest response. Crisis averted. Good job parenting. Gold star.

  “Will they come back?”

  Shoot. Give that gold star back.

  “I think we scared them away and Mads is going to keep an eye out for us.” Odessa didn’t expect to get a wink of sleep. Nerves would have her jumping at every creak and groan in the old house. As much as the independent streak in her chafed at having Mads swoop in and play her gallant defender, his presence eased the anxiety squeezing her chest. “Did you have a good day?” she asked, steering the subject to something positive.

  Ruby nodded.

  “Did you like ice skating?”

  Another nod. “I like Mads. Are you dating now? Is he going to be my daddy?”

  Tricky waters, but Odessa would rather talk about her possible love life than dwell on their intruder.

  “We’re not there yet,” she said. “Mads was my best friend when I was your age.”

  “But do you want to kiss him?”

  Yes. Earlier in the day, she felt a connection between them and hoped for some making out on the sofa when they got home, but that mood had been ruined.

  “Definitely not there yet, but would it be okay if we saw more of Mads?”

  Ruby shrugged. “I dunno. I guess. Sally Jean, at s
chool, her mom has a boyfriend and he’s always buying her new toys so Sally Jean will like him. Will Mads buy me a new pony?”

  Odessa swallowed a laugh. “You’re quite the little mercenary, aren’t you?”

  “Take Cotton Fluffybutt with you,” Ruby said, pointing to the floppy-eared bunny sitting on her dresser. “He’ll help you keep watch.”

  “Oh, thank you, goblin, but doesn’t he need to watch over you?”

  “He got a promotion. He’s the regional manager now. He doesn’t like to brag about it.” Then, Ruby added in a whisper. “Sparkles was up for the same promotion, but she didn’t get it.”

  “I think Sparkles will do a good job watching over you while Mr. Fluffybutt helps me.” Odessa planted a sloppy kiss on Ruby’s forehead, causing the girl to wiggle and wipe her hand across her brow as if she could ever possibly clean up her mother’s love. Nope. That crud went deep and could never be wiped away. “Night, goblin.”

  Odessa carried the stuffed bunny downstairs.

  “I have so many questions,” Mads said.

  “Cotton Fluffybutt was recently promoted to regional manager, I’ll have you know,” she said in a lofty tone, “so he’s supervising us tonight.”

  “Because we need supervising?” He grinned, full of mischief.

  That grin had gotten her into so much trouble in the past.

  “I don’t think you’re respecting the bunny’s authority because he’s wearing a bowtie.”

  “He’s a bunny,” Mads said.

  “He’s your boss,” Odessa clarified. “God, I need a drink.”

  She pulled two hard apple ciders from the fridge, twisted the caps off, and handed one to Mads. He had that smartass expression on his mug so she stopped him before he could start. “Don’t. I’m not a big drinker. This is about all that I can handle.”

  “I’m not mocking. The bottles seem fancy.” He accepted the drink and settled on the couch.