Sleigh Bell Sweethearts

Palmer rose to his feet—hooves?—with a grunt. He gave a shake like a dog after a bath, and snow flew anywhere and everywhere. He took a step closer to Alec and craned his neck toward the carrot.

Alec snapped the carrot in two and presented half of it to Palmer with an open palm. The reindeer appeared to inhale it.

While Palmer was crunching away, Alec offered the other half to Zoey. “Do you want to give it a try?”

“Yes! Please.”

“Hold it in the palm of your hand and show it to him. Remember to keep your palm flat and your fingers together.” He winked, and for some reason that word—sweetheart—floated around in Zoey’s head. “Carrots look a lot like fingers.”

She gulped as she stripped off one of her gloves. “Oh.”

She might as well get used to it. Her reindeer weren’t going anywhere, unless running wild through town counted. She was stuck with them.

You could still sell them, you know.

She pushed the thought away. While she was hand-feeding him, it seemed cruel to even contemplate the notion of Palmer turning up on a menu somewhere.

The carrot rested on her open but somewhat shaky palm. Alec wrapped his fingers around her wrist and guided her hand to Palmer’s head. The reindeer pressed his muzzle against her palm. It felt like velvet against her bare skin.

She laughed. “It tickles.”

“Yeah, I guess it does.” Alec met her gaze for a split second then looked away and released her wrist.

Zoey cleared her throat and shoved her hand back in her glove. “Now what?”

“Now we take the escape artist for a walk.” He produced another carrot from his pocket and showed it to Palmer. “Come on, bud. There’s more where the other one came from, but you’ve got to get out of the way first.”

And just like that, Alec led Palmer off the runway and out of harm’s way.

He made it look so simple.

A cheer rose from the crowd of pilots, airport personnel and other onlookers who’d gathered around the frozen lake to witness the spectacle. Zoey had been so caught up in the drama, she hadn’t even noticed that half of Aurora had turned out to watch.

“Tell me that’s not a news crew,” she muttered under her breath.

“It’s not a news crew.” Alec chuckled. “Except that it is.”

She was mortified. How was she supposed to gain any credibility as a brand-new charter pilot when one of her reindeer had shut down the entire airport?

You won’t be a charter pilot if you can’t make the down payment on that plane...

Five days. More like four, now that the sun was setting. A full moon had already risen high in the pink Alaskan sky. The horizon was bathed in a soft lavender glow that made the mountains resemble icing on a cake. How lovely it would have looked from the cockpit of a plane.

Zoey’s eyes grew misty. What was she going to do? Palmer was under control for the time being, but it was a hollow victory. She still owed Alec a thousand dollars, and she still had thirty other reindeer to worry about. How was she ever going to afford all that, plus her airplane?

“You okay?”

Zoey glanced up at Alec, still leading Palmer around with a very literal dangling carrot. “A little overwhelmed, that’s all. It’s been a long day.”

“Keep your chin up. Everyone will forget about this in a day or two.” He kept his gaze glued to Palmer.

Zoey wasn’t sure if he was worried about the reindeer bolting, or if he felt as uncomfortable delivering a pep talk as she did to be on the receiving end of it. “Just so we’re clear, you’re officially un-fired.”

He let out a laugh. “You never fired me.”

Hadn’t she? She’d certainly meant to. “Yes, I did.”

“No, you didn’t.” He glowered at her. “I can take this from here. Don’t you have a pedicure to get back to or something?”

How on earth did he know about the pedicure? “I appreciate the concern, but my toes are fine.”

He gave her another look filled with blue-eyed ire. “Are you walking back with us, or will you be arriving via your private plane?”

Just how had he spent his afternoon off? Investigating her? “It’s not like you think. I’m not a spoiled heiress.”

He shrugged. “So you keep saying.” Zoey braced herself for another sarcastic sweetheart. It never came. She was almost disappointed.

She counted to ten before she did something stupid, like blurting out that he was fired again. Because clearly she needed him, as much as it pained her to admit it. By the time she got to five, they were engulfed in a throng of people. Zoey found herself with two television cameras and half a dozen microphones in her face. Everyone wanted a sound bite, something clever and quirky for the evening news. Because this was Alaska, where things like renegade reindeer made the front page—just one of the myriad reasons why she loved Aurora. She blinked against an assault of flashbulbs.

When her vision cleared, Alec and Palmer were nowhere to be seen.

Chapter Four

Zoey would be lying if she said she’d never fantasized about one day seeing herself on television. As nonsensical as it sounded, those fantasies usually involved winning an Oscar or a Grammy, and she was wearing an evening gown with sequins and maybe even a train. Never in her wildest dreams did she think the lead story on the local news would feature her escorting a reindeer off an airport runway. It seemed almost as ridiculous a notion as winning Best Supporting Actress or Best Female Vocalist.

Yet, there she was. In living color.

“You look lovely, dear.” Kirimi, Anya’s mother, waved the needle and thread in her hand toward the tiny television on the worktable at the church thrift store.

After the fiasco at the airport, Zoey had sought refuge here. She’d hoped going through boxes of newly donated clothes would take her mind off Palmer, the FAA and her rapidly accumulating debt.

And Alec Wynn.

“You sure do. Look how rosy your cheeks are.” Anya nodded. Even standing side by side, it was difficult to see the resemblance between mother and daughter.

“You’re glowing, Zoey. Glowing.” Kirimi slid her needle into a threadbare mitten. The things she could do with a needle and thread were nothing short of amazing.

Zoey’s skills, on the other hand, were limited to organizing inventory and helping customers. She sometimes wondered if her mother would have taught her to sew, had she lived long enough. Then again, Anya wasn’t exactly a whiz with a sewing machine. Up until the past year or so, she and her mom had had a strained relationship. That was difficult to believe seeing them now, volunteering side by side.

“As much as I appreciate your kind words, you two are nuts.” Zoey couldn’t even look at her onscreen self. “The entire experience was mortifying.”

Except...

There’d been a moment out there on the ice—when Alec had delivered his uncomfortable pep talk—that had been sort of sweet.

Zoey swallowed. He said one nice thing. And he couldn’t even look at you when he said it. Get a grip on yourself.

“We’re just trying to put a positive spin on things.” Anya shrugged. “Besides, you really do look good on TV.”