One Tough Christmas Cookie - Lucy McConnell Page 0,4

a sleigh drew a crowd around this ranch. They had visitors, but not many who knew about the reindeer. It was great to be able to just be chill and talk about flying mammals as if it were all normal.

Caleb leaned his head on Dunder’s chest and listened to his lungs. They sounded clear to him. He lifted a couple fingers to the strangers Robyn had brought in her sleigh when Stella said his name in introduction. Besides Robyn and the two girls, Robyn’s husband and her brother-in-law had come along for the trip. Mom was all over the two little girls.

Caleb couldn’t blame her; they were as sweet as gumdrops. Which was why he made a motion for his mom to get them out of here. They needed to move Dunder into the barn and out of the cold. Which was funny, considering Dunder’s home was the North Pole, but he kept blinking at the glaring sun.

Mom took the girls inside, telling everyone else to stay and help. She’d fill the kids with cookies and Santa stories and get her grandma fix for a while.

“Can you get a blanket big enough to hold a reindeer out of that thing?” Caleb nodded to the magical purse hanging over Robyn’s shoulder. Every Kringle girl had one, and they were pretty handy.

“Sure.” She reached inside and pulled out a thick red-and-black plaid blanket.

He grabbed one end and they laid it on the snow next to Dunder, bunching it up so when they rolled him over, he would be all the way on the fabric. Yeah, the reindeer was going to love that one.

“What do you think?” asked Robyn quietly as a mini snowball fight broke out between Stella and her boyfriend. Caleb would be upset that they were horsing around while he was doing all the work, except Stella was always the one who lightened up the situation. Not because she didn’t understand how serious it was, but because she loved those involved and hated to see people sad.

Jack took one look at what Caleb and Robyn were doing and broke into a jog toward the barn.

Robyn looked over at him, her eyebrows lifted.

“He went to get the sled,” Caleb informed her.

“Twin mind meld—I almost forgot.” She dug out some snow by Dunder’s shoulder and shoved the blanket under there. Caleb wished he had the Kringle anti-cold gene, because his hands were numb.

Jack emerged from the barn, pulling the transport sleigh. It had silver runners and a flat top sanded smooth and painted bright red. They didn’t have to use it often, but when an animal was down, it was a huge help. He and Jack had tried to use it for sledding once, and they’d about lost their lives. It was too much sled for the two of them at fifteen. Heck, it was probably too much for them today.

At the sled’s arrival, everyone gathered round to help. Turning a reindeer over wasn’t an easy task, but they managed it with only a low growl from Dunder. It was almost like he’d given up on being angry, which was the worst sign for a curmudgeon like him.

Caleb stepped back and let Jack take charge of getting the sleigh moving. He grabbed his phone out of the inside of his coat and called Doc, the vet. His call went to voicemail. He hung up and tried again. Doc was usually on top of things—especially out here. He was the only one in Sleigh Bell Country who had seen a reindeer fly and not thought he was crazy. That had been over thirty years ago, and he’d never missed a chance to come to the ranch since. Caleb left a message. He didn’t have to think hard about his next step. If anyone was going to help Dunder, it would be the vet. He had skills, medicines, and machines for diagnosis.

“What can I do?” Kris, Stella’s boyfriend, asked, seeming at a loss as to how to make things better.

Caleb shook his head. “I can’t get ahold of Dr. Saintsbury.” He kicked a pile of snow. “I’m going into town to find him.”

“Keep calling,” Jack called over his shoulder. “He may have gotten your message and be on the way. Service can be spotty.”

“Like I don’t know that,” Caleb grumbled as he stormed toward the house. A word kept coming to mind: acidosis. The illness was terminal for reindeer. Even getting the vet here wouldn’t stop it. But he couldn’t wait around to see