One Tough Christmas Cookie - Lucy McConnell Page 0,13

though necessary, shouldn’t rule her life.

Could Caleb take her flying and give her those feelings? Would he? She could use a moment out of time to get her bearings over the situation with her father. “Are you a pilot?”

Caleb threw the truck in park and climbed out without answering her question.

Rude. Her hopes deflated, and she brushed them away like old tissues.

She fumbled with the door handle as he made his way around the front of the truck. No way was she going to let him open her door and pretend to be a gentleman when he’d ignored her.

A man in a tan felt cowboy hat and a black winter work coat strode out of the barn. He lifted a hand in greeting. His high cheekbones and trimmed beard resembled Caleb’s so much that they had to be brothers. Although this guy had medium brown hair and his beard was tinged with red. Interesting.

“Where’s Stella?” Caleb called to him, looking around the open area as if this woman should be in plain sight.

Faith’s interest perked up. Stella? She thought he’d said he had all brothers. Maybe Stella was someone who helped with the reindeer. Or a girlfriend. The familiarity in Caleb’s voice when he spoke her name made Faith hope Stella was the one who had to clean stalls. She shoved the tiny green-eyed monster away; it wasn’t big enough to put up a fight and disappeared quickly.

Caleb’s brother continued with his report, “She took off this morning.”

“Took off how?” Caleb pushed up his hat and scratched his hair.

“She took Snowflake.” The man’s eyes darted to Faith as they met up.

She went to open her mouth to introduce herself when Caleb dropped a “son of a nutcracker.” He ripped off his hat and slapped it against his thigh before heading toward the barn with long strides.

Faith hurried to keep up, sucked into the drama playing out in front of her. Perhaps all wasn’t well on the Reindeer Wrangler Ranch. The little brother kept up with them, casting an apologetic look to Faith.

“Who authorized that?” Caleb demanded.

“I did.” An older, distinguished version of the two men strode out of the barn. He had on a cream felt hat and a denim coat lined with matching fleece. These wranglers sure loved their cowboy hats. Her own head was cold since she didn’t even have a beanie or anything.

She studied the man she’d once believed turned her father against his family. He was a classic handsome, like George Clooney with a touch of Santa Claus, wider in the shoulders and with bowed legs. What she could see of his hair was gray sprinkled with darker gray. His eyes were kind, and he had this aura of patience about him that made her think he was trustworthy.

She rubbed her arms. She hadn’t had enough sleep last night to challenge her whole set of beliefs about these people and her family today. Exhaustion dogged her every footstep. The sooner she saw this all-important reindeer, the better.

Caleb shook his head. “Why would you let her take an untried and quite frankly a half-crazy reindeer to fl—”

“A-hem.” Mr. Nichollas cut off his son’s tirade. When he focused all his attention on Faith, she had the feeling she was something special. He held out his elbow, expecting her to take it. “Let’s get this little lady inside, where her hands can thaw out. We can catch up later.”

Caleb seemed more upset that this Stella person had taken a reindeer than that she was gone. Wait—she’d taken a reindeer. Were the animals allowed to leave the ranch? As far as she knew, endangered species permits didn’t permit selling the animals to outside individuals. Add that to the way Mr. Nichollas had jumped on Caleb, stopping him from saying anything more in front of her, and the situation was suspicious. She’d have to keep her ears and eyes open for warning signs while she was here. Reporting misconduct to the authorities would ensure the animals were properly taken care of.

If she’d thought the outside of the barn was impressive, she was overwhelmed with the inside. The breezeway was lined with thick pads—the kind they used in horse stalls to save their knees and hips from undue pain. On the left were eight stalls, and on the right was a tack room, a washing area and hitching post, and then four stalls mirroring the ones on the other side. In the wash area was a large open brick fireplace with a