by Wendy Knight
“Oh my gosh,” Farrah raced over, her own bright red dress swishing around her feet. “You look amazing!” She and Rose exclaimed over her, touching the dress and the beading and the tulle of the skirts. Cleo’s racing, trembling heart slowed a bit at their excitement, and she let herself forget she had to walk out in front of all those people.
But it didn’t last. Luca, the man Cleo had seen with Kate at the dress shop the other day, came backstage. “Ready everyone? It’s time to start.”
Cleo whimpered under her breath. Rose squeezed her hand. “You’ll be great.”
Luca stepped through to the stage and welcomed the mayor, who all too soon started announcing the court. Cleo had thought there would be small talk or announcements or—or something, but Mayor Chapman got right to the point. Rose and Farrah both sent her one last thumbs up and they were gone, parading out on stage to thunderous applause.
Malen, through it all, had sulked in the corner in her white, calf-length dress with her escort, a man Cleo remembered from high school. He’d played football with Kayne, but neither man made a move to acknowledge the other as Malen pushed away from him and strode over to where they waited. Kayne’s hand rested on the small of Cleo’s back possessively, although his face remained as unreadable as ever.
“It doesn’t matter how pretty your dress is. You’re a nobody in this town and when the winner’s announced, Kayne will be dancing with me.”
A muscle twitched in Kayne’s jaw as his gaze turned stony. “Trust me, Malen, even if you were the only princess out there and we both won, I wouldn’t be caught dead dancing with you. I don’t want to be infected with whatever’s wrong with your soul.”
Malen was announced just then, with no time for a comeback, and her escort tugged her away while she hissed and screeched. She was still fighting him when they disappeared through the curtain.
“We’re next,” Kayne said quietly.
Cleo nodded. “That was impressive, Mr. Popularity.”
Kayne glanced down at her, the darkness leaving his face as he smiled. “Thanks. I try. Ready?”
She raised her chin, tucked her trembling hand in his elbow where no one could see it, and nodded. “Princess Cleo Klauss escorted by Mr. Kayne Frost, our reigning Christmas king,”
“The Christmas Couple!” someone from the audience yelled, and Cleo could hear Red and Greyson both screaming in excitement. The crowd roared, so excited to see their reigning king. Cleo almost froze, her heart in throat, wondering if they would laugh when they realized he was with her.
Kayne squeezed her hand where it rested in the crook of his elbow. Cleo looked up at him and he smiled, enveloping her in his gaze. “Just me and you,” he whispered.
Me and you. She could do this. If she had him, she could do this.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
The court gathered back on the stage, standing side by side with their escorts. Kayne could feel Cleo’s hand trembling on his arm. He would have given anything to take all her nerves and all her fear for her, or protect her, or—or something. He didn’t know. He hated himself for putting her in this situation, but he’d thought at the time that it would show her how much she was loved. But now, he just felt guilt. She was terrified and it was his fault. He’d shoved her into the spotlight where she clearly didn’t want to be.
“And now the moment we’ve all been waiting for,” Mayor Chapman said as Luca handed her a red and green striped envelope with a bright red bow.
Cleo closed her eyes and blew out a breath. “It’s almost over,” she whispered. “Almost over.”
Mayor Chapman slid her finger under the bow, and it snapped and came untied, falling to the ground unnoticed at her feet. She looked up with a wide grin. “Well, no surprise here. For the fifth year running, Kayne Frost is our Christmas king!”
The applause was deafening, and Kayne raised his hand.
“Kayne, come and get your crown,” Mayor Chapman laughed, motioning him over.
Kayne inclined his head, “With all due respect, Mayor Chapman, could you, uh—could you bring it over here?”
The crowd laughed and Luca took the crown as Mayor Chapman regarded him quizzically. Kayne had done this before; he knew the drill. The drill was not to have them bring the crown to him. But he’d promised Cleo he wouldn’t leave her, so he stayed where he was while Luca settled the crown on his head with an amused grin. Cleo clapped, so happy for him she seemed to have momentarily forgotten her fear.
Malen, across from him, winked and blew him a kiss.
“And now, ladies and gentlemen,” Mayor Chapman said, drawing out the tension. Kayne wanted to rip the envelope from her hands and announce the winner himself, and maybe he would have had he not promised Cleo that he would stay by her side.
Which was a good thing. Otherwise he would probably get kicked out of the pageant.
The crown felt too heavy on his head, and his breath was ragged. Hurry up and announce the queen!
“Our Christmas queen is Cleo Klausse!”
Cleo froze, the excited smile she had on her face for Kayne freezing in place as her eyes widened.
Malen shrieked across the stage, but it was barely heard by the thunderous applause.
“What?” Cleo asked quietly. “H—how?”
Kayne bent low so she could hear him. “I told you they love you.” He led her across the stage to the mayor, who hugged her tightly before she placed the tiara on Cleo’s head.
“And what a beautiful queen we have this year,” Mayor Chapman said. “And now we’ll ask our Christmas queen and king to take the dance floor.”
The band started playing a slow version of a Christmas carol Kayne couldn’t quite place, and he took her hand, leading her down the stage steps to the dance floor. “I told you,” he said with a grin.
Cleo stared up at him, eyes still wide. “What just happened?”
Kayne laughed, pulling her closer. She slid her arms up around his neck, the warmth of her body pressed against his. “Our village just proved to you how much we love you.”
We. Did she catch it?
No, of course not. Her eyes were slightly glazed and she’d started to tremble. Now was definitely not the time to be professing his undying love and adoration.
She sucked in a deep breath and released it slowly, laying her head against his chest. Kayne nearly stumbled over his own feet. Did she feel how right it felt to be in his arms? She fit perfectly, like she’d been born to be there. He closed his eyes, for the moment forgetting that they were in the spotlight while hundreds of people watched them. Forgetting that she had no idea he even existed as anything but the pesky kid she’d been stuck with her whole life. For a few seconds, he pretended she already knew he was in love with her and she felt the same way, and she was his.
The song ended too quickly, and they were pulled in different directions. Kayne’s family descended from their table and Cleo was enveloped in conversation by several women Kayne had never seen before. Kayne watched them, his soul cold without Cleo nearby.
Which was ridiculous. Completely ridiculous, he knew it was. But watching her so happy, it was impossible to take his eyes off her. She positively glowed, her huge dark eyes sparkled, and her cheeks were flushed with excitement. “See, Cleo? I told you,” he murmured.
His mother shoved him toward her. “Go dance, Kayne. The next song is starting!”
Kayne straightened his tie and left his family behind, weaving through people congratulating him on his win. He responded, probably, but he wasn’t even sure. All he could see was Cleo. He tapped her on the shoulder, his heart suddenly, stupidly, in his throat again. “Will you dance with me, Cleo?”
She blushed and took his hand. “I’ll talk to you later, Kate.”
Kayne pulled her into his arms again, twirling her around the dance floor. “That was Kate,” she said. “She designed my dress.”
“She’s very talented,” Kayne said, and Cleo nodded.
“Very. She’s from New York, staying at the
Edelweiss for Christmas.”
You’re running out of time, kiddo.
He cleared his throat. There would never be a better time, would there? “Cleo, remember I said I needed to talk to you?”
She nodded, her eyes suddenly serious as she stared up at him. “What’s wrong, Kayne?”
“Nothing. It’s—it’s a good thing. I think.” He stumbled over the words, wanting to get it right but everything tangled together in his throat. Her brow creased in worry.
He was making it worse.
“We’ve been friends for a long time—”
Cleo smiled. “We hated each other, Kayne.”
He shook his head, frustrated. “No, I never. In fact, I—”
Red suddenly appeared at his elbow. Her face was drawn, and she looked less than congratulatory. “I’m so sorry,” she started, and hesitated. “I just… some of the cats were let loose from their cages. They’re out in the hills behind the sanctuary and I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but the storm is really bad.”
Cleo froze in Kayne’s arms. “You need help catching them?”
Red sucked in a breath. “Well, that’s not all. I… They were let loose, Cleo. Someone opened their cages and let them out. We—we checked the cameras. It was Mozzie. Mozzie let the cats out and he let Glacier out and they all—they all escaped. Mozzie and Glacier are out in the storm.”
Cleo’s face lost all color and Kayne felt something cold wrap tight around his chest. Glacier wasn’t well enough to be out in the storm. Cleo looked up at him, and he nodded. “Let’s go.”
Cleo didn’t even change when they stopped at her house. She grabbed a coat from the hook by the door and raced back out to her jeep. Every second counted, and changing would take too long, she told him tersely. Kayne climbed in the passenger seat, already resigned to the fact that he was not getting the deposit back on his tux. She roared out of her driveway like visibility wasn’t next to zero, like the snow wasn’t coming down so heavily it was already burying the roads. It had been years since they’d had a storm like this, the year before the sanctuary had opened. Cleo roared down the road and all Kayne could do was hang on and hope for the best.
Luckily, Cleo had grown up in these mountains and knew the roads without even being able to see them. She navigated the curves almost blind, the headlights from the jeep barely illuminating the road in front of them. When they got to the sanctuary, she drove around back and slammed the jeep into park, jumping out with her tiara still crowning her head.
Forgotten.
“Mozzie!” she screamed into the wind, but her voice barely carried. Kayne grabbed the flashlights and the lead, and they started for the hills behind the sanctuary. Red, Dustin, Jayden, and Grey fanned out around them, flashlights wavering in the fierce storm. Mrs. Stradley stood at the sanctuary doors, watching worriedly and waiting for any of the animals to make their way back.
“Mozzie!” Cleo yelled again, coughing as wind and sleet pelted her in the face. She lifted her skirts high, trying in vain to keep them out of the snow, peering at the ground for prints, but the snow was coming down too heavily, obliterating any trace of the escape.
The walkie-talkie in Kayne’s hand beeped and Mrs. Stradley’s voice came through. “I found three of them. The babies came to the door.”
“How many more?” Kayne asked.
“Mozzie and Glacier and six cats. Big Mama is out here,” Red said, barely heard through the walkie talkie. Big Mama was their very inexplicably pregnant cat. The kitten season was late spring. It was rare for a cat to have kittens in the winter, and yet there she was, hugely pregnant and now on the run.
Kayne’s heart sank.
Cleo tramped ahead, unmindful of the snow filling her boots and soaking the bottom of her dress. Her eyes swung wildly left and right, looking for any sign of the animals.
“Found another one,” Grey said. “I’ve got Junior.”
Junior was their little black kitten, so named because he looked exactly like one of their biggest, older cats, Chatterbox, who had been at the sanctuary for a couple of years now. If they’d found Junior, Chatter had to be nearby.
Minutes later, Red confirmed it.
They looked for over an hour, but the storm only got progressively worse and there were no signs of any of the other animals. Cleo finally stopped, tears frozen to her cheeks.
“Hey,” Kayne said, yelling to be heard over the storm. “You’re the dog whisperer, remember?”
She searched his face, her eyes more terrified than when she’d been standing on stage. And then she nodded and let her lids fall shut, like she’d suddenly decided going to sleep in the middle of a storm was a fantastic idea. Suddenly, she tore off to the left of where they’d been headed. “Mozzie wouldn’t have tried to push Glacier far,” Cleo yelled. “He knew she was in bad shape. They would stay close once he realized this was not a fun little jaunt to the outside world. Once we find Mozzie, he can help us find the cats.”
Kayne nodded, grabbing her elbow as she slid sideways, the heavy skirts dragging her down. They helped each other through the storm, searching through the nearby thicket of trees.
Mozzie barked and bounded out, ears back and tail low as if he realized he’d done a naughty thing. Cleo sobbed and caught him as he jumped for her. “Good boy,” she said over and over. “Good boy. Take us to Glacier, Moz. We need to get Glacier home.”
Mozzie bounded forward and then hesitated, looking over his shoulder. It was probably not because Cleo had told him to and more likely that he knew his friend was in trouble, but he was quick to lead them through the trees. They followed Mozzie into the thicket to where Glacier lay, curled and shivering and mostly buried under the heavy snow. Mozzie looked up at them helplessly, but Glacier could barely raise her head. Kayne dropped to his knees and scooped Glacier to his chest.
“Take her back to the sanctuary,” Cleo yelled. “We’ll keep looking for the cats.”
Kayne couldn’t leave her out there by herself, but he couldn’t keep Glacier in the storm. She needed Stacey and the warmth of the shelter. “Jayden, where are you?” he asked into the walkie talkie, struggling to juggle it and Glacier without dropping either.
“I just took Jinx in. I’m heading back out now.”
“Can you come get Glacier? We found both dogs.” He probably should have let the group know that already, now that he thought about it.
“Oh, thank goodness,” Red came back.
“I’ll start for Jayden, and catch up with you when I can,” Kayne said. Impulsively, he leaned over and pressed his lips to Cleo’s forehead.
She blinked owlishly up at him and then squeezed his arm. “Be careful.”
Kayne fought his way back out of the thicket while Cleo and Mozzie continued on, mostly against Mozzie’s will. He struggled to follow Glacier, but Cleo murmured something about cleaning up his mess, and they both disappeared from sight.
Jayden met him outside the thicket, eyes full of relief. “Baby girl,” he crooned, taking the husky from Kayne’s arms. “I’ve got you. I’ve got you.”
“I’m going after Cleo. Are you okay?” Kayne asked.
Jayden nodded, and suddenly he didn’t look like the great big teenager he was, but a small boy in a huge storm struggling to save his dog. “The sanctuary’s right there,” Jayden said. “I’ll be fine.”
Kayne hated to leave him, even though he had total faith in his brother’s strength and determination. But Cleo was in a ball gown in the middle of a storm with a half-wild dog who weighed nearly as much as she did. She needed him more than Jayden did.
Running through the storm was practically impossible. The snow came up past his shins now and showed no sign of slowing. He hurried as quickly as possible, but it still took him too long to find her, and even then he almost missed her. She was crouched in front of a fallen tree, digging in the snow with Mozzie frantically digging next to her. “Kayne!” she yelled when he got close, the wind howling angrily, trying to drown out her words. “H
elp me dig!”
He didn’t question it, just dropped to his knees. He could hear the faint meow from inside. “They found everyone but Big Mama,” Cleo said. “I’m sure she’s in here.”
Mozzie’s paws flew through the snow, faster than either human. Finally, enough of a gap appeared and Kayne thrust his hands inside, hoping against hope that the furry thing on the other side was a cat and not a skunk.
Or worse.
Big Mama fought her way through the snow, yowling and hissing. Cleo unzipped the backpack carrier, her hands trembling and fingers stiff. Big Mama almost escaped twice before they were able to get it open and the cat safely inside.
Cleo struggled to her feet, her dress soaked and heavy. Mozzie fought his way through the deep snow, cold and worn out. Kayne carried Big Mama and tried to keep Cleo from collapsing. Red met them halfway, taking the cat so Kayne could help Cleo, and Dustin and Grey caught up with them right before they made it to the sanctuary gates. Mrs. Stradley and Jayden met them at the door, ushering everyone inside.
“Glacier’s already in with Stacey,” Jayden said.
Cleo stood in the office, staring down at her once-beautiful dress. Her lip quivered.
“I would just like to point out,” Grey said slowly, his teeth chattering. “That we just rescued eleven animals. On the eleventh day of Christmas with…” He checked his watch. “…Twenty minutes to spare.”
Cleo’s head jerked up, her eyes widening, and she laughed. “Twe—twelve D-d-days of Christmas l-li-ives on!”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
“There’s no way we can drive in this,” Grey said, staring out at the storm from the front office. Cleo peeked over his shoulder. The storm had somehow impossibly gotten worse since they’d come inside. Her jeep was buried, and it was the tallest car in the parking lot. They were up near the mountains, so the snow accumulated more here than it did right in the village, but still, it was nowhere near the eight to ten inches the weather channel forecasted. “We’re all going to have to stay here tonight.”