Page 41 of Christmas Secrets

“Oh, aye. I want to go fer a ride, but not on the snowmobile. I have something else in mind.”

Ben picked her up and carried her into their bedroom, then kicked the door shut behind him. “I have just the ride,” he purred into her ear.

“I was hoping ye’d say that.”

Chapter 11

After Christmas lunchat his dad’s, Ben and Dottie, along with Angus and Poppy, were headed across country towards Neamh on snowmobiles. He and Dottie were on her new Polaris and Angus and Poppy were on Angus’s big Artic Cat. It was probably a thirty-minute ride one way. Dottie wanted to show everyone at Neamh her new Christmas present and wish them all a Merry Christmas. They could have dropped by in a truck within 15 minutes to engage in holiday pleasantries, but this was much more fun.

It was a beautiful day out, cold and clear with eight new inches of snow for the runners to purr smoothly through.

“This is so much fun, Ben,” Dottie yelled over her shoulder.

“Aye, it is fun, especially snuggling the crazy driver,” he teased back. “Remember what I said, Dottie, ye need to follow Dad or listen carefully to me. There are several ponds and small lochs around and if ye don’t know the landmarks, ye could end up in one.”

“Aren’t they frozen?”

“Aye, the shallow ones are. And even the bigger ones are frozen on top by this time, but ye don’t know fer sure how deep the freeze goes. These snowmobiles weigh several hundred pounds without our combined weight.”

The world around them was something Ben was used to; he’d been roaming these hills all his life, in all kinds of weather. But Dottie hadn’t been herding sheep like he had and the pitfalls weren’t something she was familiar with. Sometimes landscapes changed in the winter with the amount of snow that fell in the highlands. Things could look different, even to the trained eye. His Dottie was impulsive and that sometimes landed her in unwanted situations. Like paying for the Christmas dishes for the holidays.

“I’m following yer dad, don’t worry so much.” She threw him a grin over her shoulder. Then she suddenly pointed. “Oh look, Ben. A red fox.” She veered a few feet off course in her excitement.

Ben grabbed her elbows. “Easy, honey. Stay in the trail Dad’s leaving.”

“I am,” she insisted, turning back to the right. “I need to get out more than I do. I love seeing the animals. The red fur against the snow is gorgeous. Can ye take some pictures with yer phone?”

“And go tumbling off the back when ye divert directions? No thank ye. Holding onto ye is what keeps me on.”

She shot him a half-lidded look. “Maybe that’s the idea.”

He leaned in close to the back of her neck and whispered, “Ye’ll pay fer that later, missy.”

She giggled. “My name is not Missy.”

As they rounded a stand of trees, the first view of Neamh’s buildings came into view. “Look, honey, there’s Neamh’s beehives,” Ben pointed out.

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