'Twas the Kiss Before Christmas

by Susan Hatler

  Chapter Twelve

  The weekend passed by in a blur of housecleaning and Christmas shopping. On Monday, I was working late when I got a frantic phone call from Joe, the man in charge of the reindeer up at Santa’s Grotto. One of the younger reindeer, Rudy, had escaped, and nobody could find him. Even though Adam had been working on finishing some figures for his second meeting with Miles Wilson, he hadn’t hesitated to grab his jacket and come with me.

  As we got near to the stables, we saw torchlights as many of Silver Bells’ workers had come out in force to find the missing little reindeer. I grabbed Joe’s sleeve as he rushed past me. “What happened, Joe? It’s not like Rudy to bolt like that.”

  “I know.” Joe nodded. “Something must’ve spooked him. Judging by the tracks in the snow, I reckon a mountain lion came prowling.”

  Adam turned to me. “Rudy? As in Rudolph?”

  I nodded. “Actually, it’s Rudolph the third, but he’s just Rudy to us.”

  “Well, we should find him easily then, right?” Adam pressed his hands together and rubbed his palms. “He has a nose that glows.”

  “I wish,” I said, shaking my head. Maybe he’d been trying to lighten the mood of the volunteers around us, but this wasn’t a missing poodle in a New York building. Little Rudy could get eaten by a wild animal out here and the longer we took to find him the lower his chances were of surviving. “We need Rudy back, Adam. Not only do we love him, but he’s our leading reindeer on the Grotto tours and we have a whole bunch of five-year-olds coming tomorrow, who are expecting to have their sleigh pulled by Santa’s most favorite reindeer.”

  Adam gave me a side-glance. “Can’t you just use another reindeer in his place? I mean, a reindeer is a reindeer, right?”

  The volunteers went so silent you could have heard tinsel drop. Then the protests started.

  “You can’t lie to kids.”

  “It wouldn’t be Rudy.”

  “Are you for real, man?”

  I flinched at that last comment. Clueless or not, Adam was still our boss. “Let’s all just focus on finding Rudy. We need to stay positive,” I said.

  “Sorry, I was trying to think from a business point of view so the kids wouldn’t be disappointed tomorrow.” He placed his hand over his heart in an apologetic way. “I’m new to this, but I want to help. What can I do?”

  Joe allocated sections of terrain to cover to each pair of volunteers. Minutes later, armed with a torch and a whistle, Adam and I set off into the snowy woodland.

  “I thought I was going to get smacked with a torch back there,” Adam said.

  I almost gave him a smart answer back, but I realized he didn’t know and love Silver Bells the way the rest of us did. “You’re lucky you’re our boss, or you would’ve been.”

  He stepped in front of me and stopped, so we were face to face. “Is that how you still see me, Faith? As your boss?”

  I looked into his icy blue eyes, remembering how he had closed them when he kissed me under the mistletoe, his dark lashes laying against his high cheekbones. And remembering how he’d almost kissed me Friday night at the Sugar Plum Inn. I had the sudden urge to kiss him now. But, this wasn’t the time or the place. “You are my boss, Adam.”

  He fell into step beside me as I started walking again. “Okay, yes, but is that all you see me as?”

  “Right now, all I can think about is poor Rudy. I’m scared, Adam. If a mountain lion spooked him, you can bet it’s still around. If it finds little Rudy then he won’t stand a chance.” Tears pricked my eyes as I thought of him out there all alone and scared.

  We walked for a while, calling Rudy’s name and flashing our torches into the darkness.

  “Okay, so tell me about him. About Rudy. He seems to be a very special animal?” he asked, his tone seeming like he genuinely wanted to know.

  “We lost Rudy’s mom in childbirth, and we had to hand rear him. Joe spent night after night sleeping in the stables with him, to make sure he wasn’t alone. We all took turns bottle feeding him until he was twelve weeks old and could sustain on foliage,” I said, and called his name again. I held the torch up, but there was no sign of him so I kept moving. “Joe noticed something was wrong with Rudy, though. He kept walking into things. We had him checked and he was blind on one side, and his vision was compromised on the other. We think the infection that killed his mother must’ve affected his sight. The vet said it was a miracle he survived, so that’s what he is, our little miracle. We all love Rudy, and despite his challenges he’s always gentle and good natured.”

  Adam offered to take the torch. “But if he’s almost blind, how can he be the lead reindeer?”

  “Because he knows these woods inside and out,” I said, the corner of my mouth lifting. But then my vision blurred again as I worried we might not find him. “He spent hours following us around when he was young, like a family dog or something. He got so used to the place he could literally walk it blindfolded.”

  “He sounds pretty special.” He put a hand around my back and gave my shoulder a quick squeeze as we both stopped. “Don’t worry. We’ll find him, Faith.

  I sank against him for a moment before a strong feeling of irritation came over me and I pulled back. “I can’t believe you want to sell this place, Adam. You have no idea how special it is to so many people, including me.”

  His blue eyes locked on mine, with so many emotions going through them. Then he opened his mouth—

  Just then my walkie-talkie crackled to life and I sprang away from Adam.

  “Hello? Joe? Have you found him?” I asked.

  “Negative, Faith. Just checking in to see if you had any sightings.”

  I sighed. “Negative. We’ll keep looking.”

  “Over and out,” Joe said.

  “We have to find him, Adam,” I said, hooking the radio back onto my belt while Adam waved the torch into the darkness. “Rudy represents everything that’s good about Silver Bells. He represents hope, magic, acceptance, miracles, belief . . . and when I look into that little reindeer’s eyes, do you know what I see?”

  “What?” he asked, his voice soft.

  “I see your dad’s spirit and all of his goodness that lives on in Rudy.” I blinked rapidly, holding back the tears that were threatening to spill over.

  He was silent for several minutes. “We’ll find him,” he said, his voice resolute.

  “We will.” I nodded, forcing a weak smile. “Tell me something to distract me from the thought of anything happening to that sweet little reindeer. Tell me about New York. Tell me about your job. You work in PR.”

  “Yes,” he said, stepping over a large root in our path. He held his arm out to help me but I easily hopped over it. He opened his mouth to speak, but then closed it again, obviously changing his mind about what he had been about to say. After a moment he spoke again. “When we first moved to the city I was in awe of the hustle of business people I saw, hurrying along the sidewalks with their briefcases.”

  “You mean you like crowds?” I asked, surprised.

  “All that hustle and bustle? You bet.” He laughed, shaking his head. “I wanted to be one of those businessmen. After I graduated college I joined a PR firm.”

  “Sounds . . . busy,” I said.

  He nodded. “But working for someone else isn’t enough. I want more. I want to own my business, be a partner.”

  “You sound very motivated,” I said, peering into the darkness and looking at him. He wore such a determined expression that I had no doubt he’d get what he wanted. My belly churned. Unfortunately, what he wanted wasn’t Silver Bells. “I’m sure you’ll be successful.”

  “Thanks, Faith,” he said, smiling over at me. “Part of the reason I didn’t come back to Christmas Mountain to visit my dad was because I was working so many hours. I’ve worked hard to get ahead and rarely take a day off. I wish . . .”

  I heard the ache in his voice. “What?”

  “I always thought there would be more time t
o come back and visit here,” he said, his face sobering. “I guess I feel more at home in suits than stirrups.”

  Reflexively, I glanced at the suit he was wearing under the winter coat he’d thrown on. “You look just as fine in denim, city boy.”

  The corner of his mouth lifted. “You think so?”

  “I know so,” I said, meeting his eye.

  We hit a thick cluster of trees and he kept his gaze on mine as he held a branch back so I could go through first. As I passed him, my hip brushed his leg and my belly danced. Something was happening here between us. Even though it had to be thirty-five degrees out, I felt warm all over. I bent to clear the lower hanging branches and then noticed something in the snow.

  “Look, Adam.” My heart leapt and I pointed to the uniform steps in the snow on the ground. “Reindeer tracks.”

  “I thought you said Rudy was young. These prints are huge.”

  “You really are a city boy.” I laughed and nudged his arm. “Haven’t you ever walked on snow shoes? The bigger the ‘feet’, the easier it is to walk. Reindeer have special hooves so they don’t sink in the snow. Don’t worry. We’ll make a mountain man out of you yet. Oh, no!”

  Just ahead the tracks changed, the tracks further apart in each print.

  “He must be running. Oh, Adam, what’s he running from? We’ve got to find him.” I shouted our coordinates into the walkie-talkie, letting Joe know I’d picked up Rudy’s tracks.

  I started to move forward again when Adam took my gloved hand, stopping me. I turned to him and he put a finger to his lips and then pointed to his left. In the snowy clearing stood Rudy, happily munching away at some lichen moss. My heart filled with joy as I whispered his name. He lifted his head, turned toward me and I swear that furry animal smiled!

  Then he returned to the moss as if he hadn’t a care in the world, never mind the large search party out looking for him.

  “We found him,” I said, into the walkie-talkie. “Rudy is safe. Repeat, we found him.”

  “I told you we would,” Adam said, his blue eyes crinkling at the sides.

  “Yes, you did!” I exclaimed, joy surging through my chest as I threw my arms around him. “Thank you for helping me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.”

  “Anytime, Faith. Anytime,” he said, and then lifted me off the ground and squeezed me hard as he twirled me around.

  I laughed aloud, my feet flying as he spun me around in the snow. Then he set me down on my feet, his arm still tight around me as his eyes locked onto mine. For the longest time he just looked into my eyes as my heart pounded.

  Then his gaze lowered to my lips. He gave one last look into my eyes before dipping his head and pressing his lips to mine. Electricity coursed through my veins as he kissed me. This wasn’t a chaste under-the-mistletoe kiss, either. This was an all encompassing, soul-searching kiss that heated every pore in my body.

  We’d searched the woods here on Christmas Mountain and found Rudy, together. As we kissed again and again, my hood slipped off my head and Adam tangled his hands in my hair. I opened my mouth and his tongue-explored mine, filling me completely in a way I’d never felt before. I tasted him over and over, unable to believe this was happening. That I was connecting with this man who might be taking the job I knew and loved away from me.

  At the thought, reality hit me and I pulled back. I lifted my lashes to find him looking at me through hooded eyes. He smoothed my hair away from my face and whispered my name, making my belly dance again.

  In the distance I could hear the shouts of other rescuers and then their whistles. The sounds grew louder and louder, telling me they’d be here any minute. With a quick glance at Rudy, who gave me that silly smile again, I did the only thing I could do before the others arrived. The branch of a fir tree bowed under the weight of the snow above our heads as I lifted onto my tippy-toes and kissed Adam again—the cold mist swirling around us and the warmth of his kiss making my heart melt and open up to him.

  Chapter Thirteen

  After the stresses and strains of the past couple weeks, I decided that Adam and I needed a little fun. The hunt for Rudy had left me exhausted and once the adrenaline had worn off I felt like I could’ve slept for a week. But sleep eluded me, because those kisses in the forest kept playing over and over in my head at all hours, never stopping. Between my need for sleep and my kiss-induced insomnia, I was a bit of a wreck.

  Once we’d gotten Rudy safely locked into his stable, and with a promise from Joe that he would reinforce the gate so that even Houdini himself wouldn’t be able to escape, Adam had walked me home, where we had shared another kiss at my front door.

  “So, do you want to show me what this town has to offer?” Adam had asked, playing the shy boy very well, his dimple seeming to get deeper every time he smiled.

  “You mean, apart from runaway reindeer, a dog sled, carriage ride, and Santa’s actual village?” I’d teased.

  “Yes, apart from those things. Seriously, if we were going on a date, where would you take me? I’m the new kid in town, don’t forget.”

  “The new-old kid, you mean?”

  He’d picked up a handful of snow and threw it at me. “I’m twenty-nine, so less of the old, if you don’t mind.”

  I thought for a moment. “Are you asking me out on a date?”

  “Yes, I am.” He put his hands behind his back and looked up at me from under his eyelashes. “Would you like to go out with me? Tomorrow night?”

  Well, how could I refuse? With a chaste kiss on the cheek, I had closed my front door, with instructions to Adam to dress up for our date after work on Tuesday.

  The next evening after work, Adam arrived at my house, carrying two takeout cups of hot chocolate and two cinnamon rolls. “Fresh from the oven. Or, so I’m told.” He took a sip of his drink, and then spent the next minute trying to talk through his scalded mouth. “Where are you taking me tonight?”

  A photo that used to hang in Mr. Kline’s office had given me the idea of a young Adam, smiling broadly with a gap in his front teeth, holding his dad’s hand at the skating rink in town. I remembered Mr. Kline telling me about how he used to take his son there every Saturday morning, where they would spend a happy couple of hours gliding around the ice before sharing a hot chocolate and then going home. No matter how busy Mr. Kline had been, he never missed a Saturday morning with his son.

  My front door had a habit of sticking when it was really cold, so I gave it an extra hard slam, dislodging a pile of snow, which had been sitting above the porch. Unluckily for Adam, he was standing right underneath it and the snow landed on his drink with a splash.

  “Well, that’s one way of cooling it down,” I said, laughing as I took his arm and we headed to my car since I’d offered to drive. Following fresh snow last night, I was glad for the studded snow tires on my car as I carefully drove down the hill in the direction of town. Reaching behind the front seat, I handed Adam a bag, from which he pulled a pair of ice skates.

  “Ta-da! I thought we’d go skating.”

  He looked at me, wearing a big grin on his face. “Really? Snowflake Skating Rink is still there? I used to go with my dad all the time.”

  As the car moved forward, I nodded. “Every Saturday without fail. I know.”

  “Don’t tell me, you heard all about it?” he asked.

  I made a mock-serious face. “Yep, and he told me how good you were, so I expect some slick moves from you, young man.”

  Adam groaned. “I fear my skating skills may have been greatly exaggerated. I can stay upright, and that’s about it.”

  I laughed. “We’ll see.”

  Snowflake Skating Rink wasn’t huge, more than about ten people and it would be overcrowded, but it was big enough to at least pick up a decent speed on the ice. As Adam and I laced up our boots, he told me about the time he fell and knocked out his front teeth.

  “Oh, so that’s why you were so gappy in that photo? I figured the tooth fairy had just saved herself a return tri
p and taken two together.”

  He frowned. “Photo?”

  “Yes, he kept it on the wall opposite his desk,” I said, realizing there was so much Adam didn’t know about his dad. “He said that photo always made him smile, because you were so proud of your ‘war wounds’ as he called it.” I stood up and held my hand out to Adam. “Come on, let’s see what you can do on these bad boys.”

  Adam took my hand and we walked to the rink, where I took first one and then another tentative step. Clinging on to the side, I waited while he joined me, and then, once he’d found his legs, we were off. We skated around and around. Okay, I fell once, but having a sweet, handsome man help me up made me want to fall again.

  Seriously, I hadn’t had that much fun in ages, and it was gratifying to see Adam relaxing, his face glowing from the cold and his eyes sparkling. He was a far more competent skater than me, and as he glided around I could see that same happy little boy in him, whose life had been torn apart by his parents’ divorce. My heart ached for him.

  All eyes were on him as he relaxed into it. A group of women, who were worse at skating than I was, all stood still as they watched him go flying past them, adjusting their hair and smiling at him in the hope that he would notice them.

  He swooped towards me, showering me with powdered ice as he turned his blades to stop. “Come on, let me teach you.” He held out both hands, but I hesitated, not wanting to leave the safety of the railings. “Have faith, Faith.”

  “Your one-liners get worse!” I held onto his hands, and as he expertly glided backwards, he pulled me along, counting aloud for me to move first one skate and then the other. As my confidence grew, I began to relax, almost too much because I got the front of my blade caught in the ice and tumbled forward, throwing Adam off balance so I landed in a very undignified heap on top of him. Winded momentarily, I laughed, before pushing myself onto my knees and holding a hand out to help him up.

  “I thought you were going to look after me, not knock me down.” Adam stood and pulled me to my feet, his boot blocking mine to stop me from sliding, but when I stood he didn’t let go, he pulled me in close to him. “I think that fall was just a ploy to get up close and personal.”