One Tough Christmas Cookie - Lucy McConnell Page 0,50

some of that joy she’d been missing. Yawning, she turned on the television to listen to the morning news while she clicked on the hot chocolate maker.

“… witnesses are saying the reindeer races cars like a dog, but flies next to their vehicle,” said the reporter standing in front of a sign that said “Old Faithful.” “I’ve got Ranger Charles here with me to shed some light on the mysterious happenings in Yellowstone National Park…”

“The whole world’s gone reindeer crazy,” Faith mumbled. Dad didn’t drink coffee, but he had the world’s largest selection of cocoa packets to pick from. She grabbed one at random, having never met a cup of cocoa she didn’t like. Dumping the powder into the machine, she plodded out to the clinic to check on Rudy.

He should be awake any time now. Though she didn’t want to startle him—his eyes were still bandaged—having him alert would be a good thing. Also, the bandages were an issue. It wasn’t like she could put a cone on a reindeer to keep him from scraping against the edge of the cage in an effort to get them off. So, she needed to make sure he kept them on for a while longer.

Just in case he had rubbed them off in the night, she turned the lights on in the lobby but didn’t turn them on in the recovery room. She crept in and glanced down to find the cage empty.

Panic shot through her like ice down her bathrobe. “Rudy,” she whispered as she dropped to her knees and grabbed the cage wire.

A clang brought her eyes up, and she screamed. Rudy hung upside down like a bat. His bandaged eyes turned to her as if he could see through the gauze and right into her heart, and his red nose let off a glow.

The sight was terrifying—a Christmas nightmare.

Rudy snorted loud, the sound echoing off the walls

Scrambling back from the kennel, she used the wall to climb to her feet and run for the house. “Caleb!” She threw open the door and charged down the hallway. “Caleb?!”

Banging on his door, she looked over her shoulder, afraid Rudy had figured out how to escape and was coming after her. The door flew open, and she lost all the air in her lungs. Caleb shirtless and in flannel pajama bottoms was startling in a whole other way than finding a reindeer hanging from the ceiling of his kennel.

She gulped, doing her best to work up moisture in her suddenly dry and uncoordinated mouth. “Rudy.” She pointed toward the clinic.

Caleb put his hands on her shoulders and moved her out of the way even as he kicked into a whole other gear, leaving her by herself in the hall. She leaned against the wall opposite his open door. It was a good thing she hadn’t had all that bare chest to think about last night—she wouldn’t have gotten any sleep.

Running her hand through her hair, she gathered her courage and made her way to the clinic. The doors were open, and she could hear Caleb talking to Rudy. “You scared her. What are you doing in here?”

“He—” She paused just inside the door. He what? Levitated? Was there even an explanation for what she’d seen? “He was upside down.” She moved into the room, finding Rudy settled into the corner of his kennel. His nose was the same red it had been the day before, and he hung his head like a scolded child.

Caleb measured the kennel with his arms. “I guess he could roll over in here. Forest welded the cage to be large enough for him to stay in it comfortably for a couple days.”

“No. I mean …” She slapped her hand to her forehead. “He was hanging upside down.”

Caleb stared at her. “Are you sure?”

“Yes?” That sounded convincing. “No?” Even better. She tossed her hands up and headed back to the house. Obviously, Rudy was fine and could wait ten minutes for her to put on clothes and drink her cocoa.

Caleb followed behind her. She had to work hard not to watch his every step through the room and on his way to his bedroom. A commercial for fried chicken came on the television, and she stared at it as she ran through what had just happened. Her heart was tired, like it had run a thousand miles in ten minutes.

The cocoa was minty and helped clear her thoughts. She had seen Rudy upside down, his ears facing the