One Tough Christmas Cookie - Lucy McConnell Page 0,16

small flashlight, she studied his eyes. “He has cataracts.”

“We know. He developed them a couple months after being born.”

“We can remove them.”

Caleb glanced down at Rudy as if asking permission. “You can?”

She nodded. “I’ve done the surgery on horses before. It’s not bad, but he’d need to come into the clinic. As clean as you guys keep this place, I don’t think it’s sterile enough for surgery.”

“Umm,” Caleb hedged.

“Look, if it’s too expensive, I understand. He will have a good life here, and there’s really no need to fix his sight.”

“There kind of is …” Caleb ran a hand through his hair and blew out his cheeks. “I’ll have to talk it over with the crew. We don’t let the reindeer leave the ranch.”

“But Stella took one,” she argued. Rudy was adorable and lipped at her clothing, tugging as if asking her to play. She suddenly wanted him to be able to see clearly and enjoy this world he’d only stumbled through before.

Caleb cringed. “That’s … different.”

“How?” she pressed.

“It just is.” He pushed Rudy back and then took him to his stall.

Faith followed, incensed. His girlfriend could take a reindeer for a super-vague reason, but she wasn’t allowed to help one see?! “This is a medical condition. Surely your permits would allow the reindeer off the ranch for elective surgeries.” Something fell past her peripheral vision, and she found a piece of straw on her shoulder. She brushed it off.

Caleb unhooked Rudy’s harness and shut the stall door behind him. “Behave for once, will you? We have a guest.” He gestured to Faith while admonishing the reindeer.

Something tickled Faith’s hair, and she brushed pieces of hay out of it. “Where is this coming from?” She looked around. There wasn’t a stick of straw to be seen. She went to tip her chin up and look above; maybe there was a hayloft she’d missed.

Caleb clapped his hands together loudly, startling her. He glanced up and then moved quickly back to Dunder’s stall. “There must be a draft.”

She held her hand up, testing for a breeze. Then she looked up at the ceiling to see if they stored hay in the rafters, but she didn’t see anything.

“Come on, beautiful,” Caleb said a little louder than necessary.

Her heart did a somersault at the nickname. If he continued to call her pretty and beautiful, she might start to expect it from him. He needed to get that under control. If she was going to work with him, they should have a professional relationship. One with all the right boundaries and such.

She turned to him to thank him for the compliment and explain how she felt about not muddying the waters between them, only to see another reindeer. This one was a soft buck color with eyes like Liz Taylor’s—outlined heavily in black and lashes for days. The way she held herself gave off the impression that she was a queen. “Wow.”

Caleb brushed her neck. “This is Sparkle. She’s too uppity for a harness, but as long as we tell her she’s beautiful, she’ll do just about anything we ask.”

Faith’s neck warmed with embarrassment that she’d thought he was talking to her. And that he might have applied the same thought process to her. Well, it wasn’t going to work. She refused to soften because he’d called her pretty. At least she wouldn’t have to make things awkward between them by drawing a line in the snow.

“Will you take your stunning little self into your stall?” Caleb asked in a tone that was so sweet it could cause cavities.

Sparkle closed her eyes briefly—acknowledging his request. Then she turned her back to them and swished her tail like a woman wagged her hips as she made her way into the tall at the end of the row.

Caleb shoved his hands on his hips. “Women.”

Faith laughed.

He grinned back. “They’re growing on you, aren’t they?”

She sobered quickly. “No.” She ducked into the stall and gathered her samples, throwing the garbage into the bag hanging off the handle. “I need to get to Dad’s office. It’s been a long day.”

“Can I have your phone number?”

She fumbled with the tubes. “What?” Was he really asking for her number? Jeez, this guy didn’t know when to quit. Did she want him to have it? She was alone in town, and there was a lot on her plate. It would be nice to have a friend. But she couldn’t afford to encourage anything with this wrangler. They lived in two different towns