This was bad. He shouldn’t be here. Tim took a quick step back and bumped into something hard, and when he turned around, he was stunned to find Noel there.
“What are you doing here?”
Noel grabbed his arm and pushed him roughly up against the wall. “I came to make sure you didn’t botch up the coal delivery. What mess have you gotten yourself into this time?”
“You mean besides the one you created for me?” Tim jerked his arm out of Noel’s grasp. “Don’t touch me.”
Noel was clearly ready to chastise him, but Tim had no intention of sticking around. Whatever reprimand Noel had for him, it could wait until Tim was on the clock. He attempted to get around Noel, who stubbornly tried to block his path, and in the process knocked over a trashcan. It crashed noisily to the ground, echoing all around them and bringing the three elves spinning toward them, their hands snapping to their coats. Holy holly, they were going to shoot! Apparently, this night could get worse.
Chapter Two
Not wasting another moment, Tim grabbed Noel’s wrist and bolted. He ran as fast as he could with Noel at his side, cursing all the way.
“What are you doing?” Noel spat out. “You’re going to get us killed!”
“No, those hoods are going to get us killed!”
“Hey, you two! Stop right there, in the name of the Frost King! Halt!”
Like holly he would. Tim wasn’t about to halt and end up full of holes, yet he had no idea where he was running to. They were miles away from any of Jack Frost’s toy departments and at this time of night, everyone was either at a candy-cane club or gingerbread bar. No one would hear them get run down by toy soldiers. A few strategically placed zaps and Tim’s immortality would cease to be, and without his immortality, well… he’d grown rather fond of not dying.
In a moment of panic, he sped around the next corner with Noel in tow and ended up down a darkened alley behind some gingerbread house. Feeling his way through, he saw the faint glow of a lamp at the end and darted toward it, the crunching of snowy footsteps not far behind. As they drew closer to the light, Tim spotted a door, and praise Santa, it was open. They dashed into a dimly lit corridor painted a deep red with elegant, silver wall sconces every three feet. There were many doors, all with red velvet curtains in front, some parted, most closed. He wondered what sort of magical creatures lived here. It was all very… mysterious.
“Wonderful. You’ve trapped us.”
“I didn’t see you coming up with any twinkling ideas.” Tim hoped the lengthy red corridor led somewhere. Suddenly he could smell cinnamon, and the farther along they went, the stronger the scent became. “Can you smell that?”
“What is it?” Noel asked, staying close behind Tim.
Tim rolled his eyes. There wasn’t an elf in the North Pole who didn’t recognize the smell of cinnamon, which meant Noel was doing his absolute best not to help. Well, it was good to know that even when faced with mortal danger, Noel was consistently a jerk. “You don’t smell it?”
“I must be too busy keeping an eye out for the toy soldiers on our tail,” Noel growled, giving Tim a small shove forward. “Hurry up!”
“It’s cinnamon. That means someone’s home. If we can just find the door it’s coming from…” Tim followed his nose, edging close to doors as he tried to find the one with the heavenly smell. Surely the toy soldiers would think twice about zapping them in front of witnesses. Tim glanced over his shoulder to find Noel looking around and doing little else.
“For Kringle’s sake, will you help me?” When Noel just glowered at him, Tim let out a frustrated huff and continued the search on his own. “Unbelievable.”
“There they are!”
Tim took off with Noel on his heels, making a sharp turn at the end of the hall and smacking into something so hard, he bounced off and fell back into Noel, who lost his footing and hit the wall behind him. They both groaned. What had they run into? Tim lifted his eyes and he couldn’t keep from gaping. His gaze met the lightest blue eyes he had ever seen, and his mouth opened, but instead of words, a yelp came out when a hand wrapped around his neck and he was slammed against the wall by one of the toy soldiers.
“Get your hands off him!” Noel demanded, only to have a gloved hand clamped over his mouth.
The taller toy soldier sneered at them. “Be quiet or you’ll upset the residents.”
“What’s going on here?”
Everyone turned their gazes to the source of the deep, smooth voice, and, despite Tim’s precarious situation, he couldn’t help but melt a little at the sight of Rudy. The pilot was even more handsome in person. His bright red hair was combed back to perfection, his tan, chiseled jaw clean shaven. He looked imposing, dressed in dark gray slacks and a matching vest, his cream-colored shirt made of fine silk and his tie as red as his hair. He also smelled of cinnamon.
The shorter of the toy soldiers gave Rudy a nod. “Nothing to worry about, Mr. Rudy. Just doing our job.”
Rudy glanced at Noel then at Tim, who wished with all his might that the pilot could see the plea in his eyes. Beside him, Noel tried to struggle, but that only earned him a jab in the stomach. Shutting his eyes tight, Tim prayed Rudy wouldn’t let the toy soldiers drag them away. His appearance didn’t inspire much hope considering he undoubtedly looked every bit the undesirable the toy soldiers were making him out to be. Not that there was any reason someone as renowned and beloved as Rudy would get involved with someone like Tim, no matter his wardrobe. He held his breath as Rudy addressed the toy soldiers with a pleasant smile.
“Forgive me. I’ll rephrase the question so you might understand it better. What are you doing with my property?”
Everyone gaped at Rudy, including Tim. His… what?
“Your… your property?” The taller toy soldier looked thoroughly puzzled. Though not as puzzled as Tim and Noel, surely.
“Yes.” Rudy crossed his beefy arms over his expansive chest and arched an eyebrow at them. “Do you mind? I don’t appreciate you manhandling what’s mine.”
“Are you saying they’re your… helpers?” the other toy soldier asked incredulously. When Rudy narrowed his eyes, the soldier stammered. “But they’re… they’re elves.”
“How very astute of you,” Rudy muttered, clearly not impressed by their obtuseness.
“But you can’t—”
In one stride, Rudy was looming over the four of them, his expression one of boredom and irritation. “Are you telling me what I can or cannot do? Maybe I should telephone my dear friend Mayor Kringle and ask him what he thinks?”
The soldiers’ eyes widened, and they released Tim and Noel so quickly, the two of them nearly fell over. With a series of frantic bows, the soldiers apologized and scurried away, leaving Tim and Noel standing there stunned. Tim’s knees turned to jelly all of a sudden and his heart pounded like a drum. Lifting his gaze, he found Rudy studying him with the strangest expression.
“What are your names?”
“Tim,” he replied shakily, followed by Noel volunteering his name in his usual prickly tone.
Rudy turned and walked away. “Keep up. I’m not carrying you two.”
Not bothering to ask himself if that was a good idea, Tim hopped to it, trailing behind Rudy and keeping up with his long strides, all the while sneaking glances back at Noel, who followed silently, a deep frown on his face. Noel’s shoulders were slumped, and he seemed to be lost in thought. When he caught Tim watching him, his frown deepened, and he looked away. No doubt he blamed Tim for all this.
The three of them walked through one of the red doors, the one Tim and Noel had been searching for earlier. Thank Kringle Rudy had been home. Tim stood nervously to one side as Rudy shut the door and unhooked the silver rope, closing the thick, red velvet curtain. Tim took the opportunity to sneak a quick glance around.
Rich hues of deep red and cream with silver accents decorated the entire place, from the red walls to the plush cream-colored carpet to the lavish red furniture. A
cross from the comfy-looking couch was a cream-colored marble hearth with a roaring fire. This had to be Rudy’s home. Now that Tim thought about it, was this where all the Rein Dears lived, considering how many other doors just like Rudy’s he had seen? Dozens of questions floated around Tim’s head, all fighting to be answered first. Yet while Rudy had him locked in his gaze, all Tim could do was stand there like a dope.
“The washroom is down the hall and there are a couple of robes behind the door. Clean yourselves up properly. We’ll discuss what was going on out there when you two stop looking like you’ve been rubbing up against the inside of a chimney.”
Noel looked Rudy over with obvious distaste. “You expect us to stay here?”
“I expect you to do as I say,” Rudy replied calmly, his gaze never leaving Noel’s.
“Like holly we are.” Noel marched up to Tim and grabbed his arm. “Come on, we’re getting out of here.”
“What?” Tim gaped at Noel, unable to believe the absurd demand. He tried to pull himself out of Noel’s grasp to no avail. “Let go of me. I’m not going anywhere with you!”
Noel spun around with a menacing growl. “I’m really not in the mood to argue with you, Tim.”
Tim scoffed at that. “That would be a first.”
“What are you suggesting?”
Well, he’d come this far, he might as well get it all out. If he lost his job… well, he would be in trouble, but he couldn’t back down now. He’d taken about all he could from Noel. Even taffy when stretched enough would snap. “Not suggesting, telling. You’re always in a rotten mood with me. In fact, you’re always treating me like bubblegum stuck to the bottom of your boot.”
To Tim’s irritation, Noel waved a hand in dismissal. “You’re exaggerating.”
“Exaggerating?” Tim fumed. “You think being nearly buried alive by a truckload of coal is exaggerating?” He felt the back of his eyes burning, but he refused to shed one single tear in front of Noel. “Admit it, you did it on purpose! Now that makes two suits you’ve ruined. Did you ever stop to think that maybe some of us can’t afford to have suits replaced on a whim? Every time I have to buy a new suit, it’s a month I have to go without groceries! You didn’t think of that, did you? Or worse yet, you did and don’t care! I’ve never done anything to you. How could you be so heartless?”
Tim was surprised by the stunned expression that came onto Noel’s face, but all too soon it was replaced by anger. With a growl, he released Tim and stormed toward the washroom, slamming the door behind him. Tim let out a shaky breath, doing his best to get his heart back to a steady pace. He hadn’t anticipated his outburst. It had all just built up for so long and coming so close to losing his immortality hadn’t helped matters. Tim turned to Rudy with an apologetic smile.
“Sorry about that.” He still couldn’t believe he was standing in the same room with the most famous and handsome Rein Dear of all.
“Grumpy, isn’t he?” Rudy asked, sounding rather amused.
“If by grumpy you mean arrogant jerk, then yes, he is.” Wonderful. Not only was this night getting worse, but it had to get worse with Noel along for the ride. Why did these things always happen to him?
Rudy cocked his head to one side, studying Tim. “I gather you two aren’t friends?”
“Friends?” Tim let out a humorless laugh. “He’s my supervisor, and he makes my life miserable. I don’t even know why.”
“Ah, I see.” Rudy went over to a silver drink cart and fixed himself a cocktail. “You know, he reminds me a great deal of Jack Frost.”
“Noel reminds you of Jack Frost? The Jack Frost?” Tim shook his head, refusing to believe that. “Jack Frost is a hero.”
“True. He’s also a miserable bastard who made my life a living hell when I was in the academy. He was my flight instructor.”
Once again, Tim found himself gaping. “Jack Frost taught you to fly?”
Rudy chuckled. “Yep. I swear there were days I wanted to run him over with my biplane.”
Tim could certainly relate. “But everyone loves Jack. I doubt there’s anyone who loves Noel.” As soon as the words were out of his mouth, he wished he could take them back. It wasn’t like him to be mean, even to someone like Noel. He feared the evening’s events were starting to take their toll. He was ready to apologize to Rudy for being so ill-mannered when Rudy’s smile faded, his gaze behind Tim.
A lump formed in Tim’s throat as he turned to find Noel standing there in a white robe, his hair wet and mussed. He almost looked… hurt. Was that hurt? Whatever it was, it was gone before Tim could take a second look. Noel straightened and motioned behind him.
“I’m done with the washroom.”
“Noel, I—”
“I really don’t care what you think, Tim,” Noel growled, and stormed past Tim to take a seat at the end of the couch without a glance in his direction. “Go get cleaned up already. You look like day-old fudge.”
Tim didn’t know what to say to that. He was torn between feeling guilty for his terrible words and hurt by Noel’s comment. Recalling all the times Noel had been awful to him—not once apologizing―Tim walked off. If Noel was going to be a jerk, then he shouldn’t be surprised when he was treated as such.
Chapter Three
Noel woke with a start. He must have dozed off, and judging by the dim lighting around him, it must have been some time ago. He rubbed his hands over his face and tried to get his jumbled thoughts straightened out. Where was he again? Looking down at himself sitting in nothing but his black boxer shorts and a robe, everything came back to him with exceptional clarity. His first instinct was to find Tim, and he did. The tiny elf was fast asleep on the couch beside him, curled up and buried in a mound of dark terrycloth. On Noel, Rudy’s robe fit just about right, but on Tim, the robe was at least three sizes too big, like he was drowning in it or settling in for a long winter like some furry little forest creature.
Carefully, Noel leaned in, getting a good look at the runt for the first time in a long time. Tim’s skin was fair with the faintest sprinkling of freckles across his nose and cheeks, his body was slim but sinewy, his hair a medium hue with lighter strands interspersed. His lips were plump, soft-looking, and slightly parted as he slept. Noel could recall quite well his big, expressive eyes. He also recalled what Tim had said about no one loving him, which was fine with Noel. He didn’t need anyone loving him anyway. Never had, never would.
With a deep frown, Noel sat back and crossed his arms over his chest. Tim had been a pain in his backside from day one, and lately, things had been growing increasingly worse, to the point where being in the same room with Tim frustrated Noel to no end, causing him to lash out at the smaller elf. Maybe it was time to consider a transfer for either Tim or himself before he ended up doing something stupid. He hated who he turned into around Tim. He was tired of feeling so angry, and disappointed, and… everything. He was tired of feeling everything.
“Sweet, isn’t he?”
Noel jolted, startled to find Rudy leaning against the doorframe, his gaze on Tim.
“Annoying is what he is,” Noel grumbled. “And prissy.” He felt himself getting angry just thinking about Tim. “He’s a walking disaster. I bet he’s loving every minute of this.”
“Someone’s out to kill you two. I doubt he’s enjoying that.”
Noel glowered at Rudy. “Except the part where he’s being saved by the great captain of the Rein Dear Squadron.”
To Noel’s frustration, Rudy chuckled. What was so great about Rudy anyway? He was handsome, big deal. Aside from flying for Kringle and delivering happiness to the world, what was really so great about him?
“Seeing as you two are my guests, why don’t you take the bed, and I’ll sleep on the couch.”
Noel’s jaw nearly hit the floor. Share a bed with Tim? “You’re out of your mind. I am not sharing a bed with that… that… elf.”
“All right.” Rudy shrugged and made his way over to Tim. “I’ll share a bed with
him.”
Noel jumped to his feet and stopped Rudy in his tracks. “Absolutely not. I don’t trust you, and if something happens to him, I’ll be the one who ends up taking the fall, so you keep your manicured mitts off.”
Rudy held his hands up in surrender and took a step back. “Okay, tough guy. I’m just going to grab myself a pillow and a blanket. You do what you like.”
As soon as Rudy disappeared down the hall, Noel turned to face Tim, who was out for the count. Swell. “Tim,” Noel grumbled, poking him in the shoulder. Tim didn’t stir, so he tried again. This time he received a little moan, which only further irritated Noel. How could something so small sleep so heavily? With a grunt, Noel reached down and lifted Tim into his arms. He ignored Rudy’s cheerful goodnight as he walked past him and into the bedroom, closing the door behind him with his foot. Then he not-so-gently planted Tim on the right side of the large bed. Incredible. The elf could probably sleep through a volcanic eruption.
Noel chastised himself for being so foolish. He should have left when he had the chance. Instead, he was stuck here with the last two elves in the North Pole he wanted to be stuck with. Throwing the blankets over Tim, he sighed when they ended up covering Tim’s head. Why was the elf so damn small? Giving the blanket a tug, his hand brushed against feathery, soft hair, and against his better judgment, Noel ran his fingers through it.
Tim stirred, letting out a soft sigh, and Noel jerked his hand away. He went to his side of the bed and sat down on the edge of it. Peppermint snaps! That was it. Tomorrow he was out of here. If Tim wanted to stay behind with his hero, then so be it. Noel wasn’t responsible for him. He was better off on his own anyway.
After untying his robe, he dropped it onto the floor at his feet before lying down on top of the blankets on his side of the bed, as far away from Tim as possible. Confident that order would be restored to his world before his conscience got the better of him, he closed his eyes and attempted to get some sleep.
North Pole City Tales: Complete Series Page 2