Page 27 of Unruly Kris

Cath tried to school her face into something besides slacked- jawed, and at the same time wondered why she felt so surprised. This was the man who rented an entire theater out for them on their first date, and who apparently knew enough from her PVR to get her a coral necklace that she had yet to take off, even though it would mean a citation from her CO if she got caught wearing it on duty.

“Is this why you were so nervous today?” She tapped a hand against his chest and pulled back to look him in the face. “I thought you were acting off.”

“Oh, you mean like this?” He stepped back, drawing his face into the pensive expression she had seen him wearing earlier. He rubbed the back of his neck and fidgeted, drawing his body up tense and furrowing his brow in apprehension. Taking out his phone, he began to scroll aimlessly, pulling his lip between his teeth. After a moment he totally relaxed with a smile, and it began to sink in that she had been well and thoroughly played all day by a professional.

“Unbelievable.” She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to muster a scowl. Secretly she was impressed, she had always known that he was good at his job and today she had caught a brief glimpse of how good he actually was, he’d had her hooked, as much as she grudgingly had to admit it.

“Totally believable.” He scooped up the case of wine and canted his head, so she knew to follow him. “And that is why they pay me the big bucks, babe. Good thing too, I had to find a way to throw you off so I could finish setting this up.”

“So, dinner reservations, drinks at the condo, that was all a ruse to get us here?” Cath shook her head and tried to wrap her brain around the complexity of it all. “This must have taken a hell of a lot of planning.”

“Some of it did. They just finished filming a Christmas movie on this lot last week, it was scheduled to be scrapped so I called in a ton of favors and got it a reprieve until after the holidays.” Kris gently captured her elbow, steering her in the direction they needed to go in. He reached out and pointed to something in the distance, shuffling the tote in his arms to get a better grip. “And some things kind of fell in my lap.”

“What the…” The surprises kept coming and Cath felt her head spin slightly. On the path in front of her was a horse and carriage with a driver waiting patiently for them to arrive. As they drew closer, a strange sense of familiarity began to take hold and she laughed as she recognized the Shire mare from the farm auction weeks before. Walking up to the bay-colored mare, she immediately got a neigh of recognition. She reached up, stroking the horse’s neck with a smile, getting a head nudge back in return. “Hello again, what on earth are you doing here?”

“Retiring.” Kris stepped up beside her, carefully keeping distance between himself and the horse. “Or she will be in about five minutes once she gets us to where we need to go. She’s the first part of your Christmas gift.”

“You bought her?” Cath thought back to the auction and seeing the horse’s sales tag flipped over. She also remembered that he slipped off while she was looking at motorcycle parts to use the restroom, and apparently bought a horse covertly. “It’s official, I can never leave you unattended again.”

“Excellent, just what I was going for.” Kris stashed the wine in the carriage and gave the horse’s flank a cautious pat, stepping to the side as she gave a warning snort in his direction.

“Does she have a name on her paperwork?” Cath smoothed the mare’s main, getting a contented nicker back. She wondered if Danny would let her use the farm to board her new charge, or if Kris had other ideas.

“No, not yet. I’m awful at naming animals. I always end up naming them after people I know. When I was a kid, I named my dog after my sister Sandrine, and she nearly killed me.” Kris winced and tried to hide a wry grin. “The name stuck though.”

“This horse had better not be named after me.” Cath warned.

“Well, she’s tough, downright ornery at times, stubborn as hell and in the short amount of time I’ve spent with her she’s tried to kick me in the balls at least twice so…” His voice trailed off and refused to meet her eyes as she playfully pushed him away. “Unless of course you can give me a better option.”

“Pandora,” Cath said as the name flew into her head. “A little wild, definitely a troublemaker, and knows how to get exactly what she wants.”

“Yeah, that sounds about right.” Kris offered her a hand in getting in the carriage, settling her in the seat before jumping in beside her. He scooped up a blanket folded next to him and spread it over their legs, before slipping an arm around her shoulders. “Pandora it is.”

“And what about after tonight? What’s the plan for her?” She couldn’t help the concern that crept into her voice.

“That’s up to you.” The carriage started up and Cath cuddled into his shoulder as it took a loop around a small snow-covered courtyard and started down a short “trail” to another section of the set. “I already talked to Danny and he said you could keep her at the farm. I do have another idea though.”

He took out his phone and angled it so she could see the screen, running through several photos of a summer camp and the landscape around it. “Remember I said the hospital runs an art camp in the summer? Trail riding is one of the activities the kids can do. I thought maybe she could board there; you could still ride her when you want, she’d get spoiled rotten and only work for like three weeks a year. The American dream basically.”

“That seems like a perfect solution.” Cath watched as they turned a corner, and a small cabin came into view. “But Iwillhelp with her board and feed costs, no arguments and you have to come riding with me.”

“Baby, I will ride with you any time you want.” Her ire flew as he dropped the nickname she loathed, but she was in a good mood, and it was Christmas, so she decided to throw him a bone and let it slide…for once. With a mental grumble, she halfheartedly promised herself she wasn’t going soft, she was just taking the day into account and trying to enjoy herself.

The carriage pulled to a stop, the whole journey having taken less than ten minutes in total. Kris hopped out, grabbing her around the waist and helping her swing down. While he grabbed the tote with the wine, she walked up front to Pandora and gave her neck a couple strokes. She leaned in close, laying her cheek against the mare’s mane. “I’ll see you soon, I promise.”

She turned and followed Kris to the cabin, taking the keys he was trying to juggle with the wine and unlocking the door.

As it swung open, she was greeted to the sight and smell of Christmas dinner waiting for them on a nearby sideboard. The cabin interior was well laid out; one room consisting of a sectioned off living space with a couch, coffee table, bear skin rug and a fireplace that took up the bulk of the interior. That left just enough room for the sideboard and dining room table as well as sink and wine fridge. Through a doorway she could see a bedroom had been put together and another door led to a small bathroom. Their overnight bags and the bags containing their gifts were stacked neatly on the end of the couch. She queried a half smile, letting her gaze roam around the room as Kris dropped the tote by the sideboard. He flicked a light switch by the table and Christmas lights around the edges of the windows and along the ceiling lit up merrily.

“This is amazing, Kris,” She walked over and wrapped her arms around him. “Does everything here work? Bathroom? Sinks?”

“For the most part. I paid for them to make a few modifications for us. It’s all ours tonight, we don’t have to leave until noon tomorrow.” He spread his hands out in front of him and gestured to the living room. “Home sweet home for the holidays.”

“It’s perfect.” Cath could feel emotion bubbling up, out of her control, and she closed her eyes, resting her face against his chest to hide it.

“Almost.” Kris gently turned her towards the window so she could see outside. In his hand he held a tiny remote, similar in mind to the car starter she had for the Subaru and clicked it gently. Outside it suddenly began to snow, large flakes drifted pasted the windows, coating everything outside in white for as far as they could see. “Now it’s perfect.”

For a few moments, they stood watching the snow fall quietly until Kris kissed the top of her head and pulled her away, back to the sideboard where dinner waited. “Come on, I’ll plate up the food before it gets cold, you open up the wine and pour us each a glass.”

---