is dying to be a part of Santa’s team, so she never has an issue stepping into a sleigh.”
“Wait.” Faith touched his forearm. She had on a thick pair of gloves stuffed to the fingers with handwarmers, but even then, touching Caleb raised her temperature. “That’s the second time you’ve referred to Santa as a she—what’s up with that?”
“Santa’s daughter took over a few years back. Ginger flies the big sleigh now and runs things at the North Pole.”
Faith stared at him, her mouth agape. Was he serious? “Are you serious?”
He nodded. She’d think he was teasing her, except his eyes held none of the usual sparkle that came when he was trying to pull one over on her. He truly believed Santa’s daughter delivered toys.
“Okay, then.” Who was she to judge? He could believe in whatever kind of Santa he wanted. As they made their way to the front of the sleigh so she could be introduced to the reindeer, she rolled around the idea of Santa’s daughter inheriting the position. Why not? Women were perfectly capable of fulfilling Santa’s duties. She kind of liked the idea, actually.
“This is Lucky. Lucky, this is Faith. She’s going on a ride with us this afternoon.” Caleb motioned for her to address the reindeer. A couple of weeks ago, she would have felt foolish being introduced to a reindeer, but after spending so much time with Rudy, she didn’t have any reservations.
“Hello there, good-looking.” She held out her hand and let him come to her, sniffing. He lipped at her fingers, looking for a treat and making her laugh.
“Sorry,” Caleb jumped in. “No treats until we get where we’re going.”
Lucky grunted and then jerked his head toward the sleigh, telling them to get in already.
Faith laughed. “I guess I passed the test.” She climbed in the sleigh, feeling like she was taking a big step. This was her and Caleb’s first official date. One day, she’d tell her grandchildren about her sleigh ride with a real reindeer. Peeking out of the corner of her eye, she tried to picture life with Caleb. It would be a simple life, on the ranch, no doubt. The man had roots deeper than the poplar trees that populated the forests here. Their white trunks with black markings were beautiful in the winter wonderland.
“On, Lucky!” Caleb called in a deep voice. Lucky strained against the harness for only a moment before the sleigh started cruising easily behind him. He kept his head up and his ears turning every which way. The sleigh bells were beautiful. Not too much, but just loud enough that they created a music of their own.
Faith slid her arm under Caleb’s and hugged his side—for warmth.
He grinned down at her. “There’s blankets.”
She glanced down and found a pile of plaid fleece. When she reached for them, she found that they were warm and hugged them to her chest. “What magic is this?”
He chuckled. “Not magic—bricks. I heated them in the barn’s fireplace before heading your way. There’s a couple in special compartments in the seat too to help us stay warm. I should have told you all this when we got in, but we’re burning daylight.”
She draped the blanket over the two of them, making sure the bricks were covered too. “It’s so cozy.”
“How do you like traveling by sleigh?”
She glanced around at the scenery moving by. “It’s nice. I like being a part of nature while we’re moving. And it’s nice not to be in a hurry for once.”
He nodded, turning in to town. He managed to stick to roads that weren’t plowed, so the runners weren’t scratched up. They waved at people out shoveling their walks or running errands. One woman dropped her grocery bag and stared at them.
Caleb’s ears went dark red and he ducked into his scarf.
“Who was that?” Faith prodded.
He moaned. “Nobody.”
Oh no—he wasn’t getting off that easily. “In my experience, when a man says nobody, it means she used to be his somebody.” Faith turned in her seat and looked at the woman. She had long, blond hair and wore a fitted plaid peacoat with tall boots. Faith hated her. Not really, but a huge surge of competitiveness reared up and made Faith want to throw a snowball in the woman’s face.
“Let’s just say Hazel wanted to be my someone. We went to prom together and everything. It didn’t work out.” He turned them into a park and headed toward a beautiful white gazebo set on the