Page 74 of The Hockey Grump Saves Christmas

Natalie looks up at me, unsmiling, not finding me even remotely funny. “Look how happy everyone is.”

And I do.

There is not one unsmiling face anywhere to be found.

Oh, apart from that kid who’s just dropped his pig-shaped cake pop.

As the cheers die down, Lou takes to the microphone again. “Once you’ve added any decorations you’ve brought for the pig, Frankie and Sam from the donkey sanctuary are over there to take you on a sleigh ride home.”

She points to the street side of thesquare where donkeys wearing red coats and antlers—of course they are—are harnessed to a line of two-seater sleighs.

“Well, they’ll take you home if you live within a four-block radius,” Lou continues. “Otherwise you’ll go around the square a couple of times, then make your own way back. And don’t forget to donate generously. The sanctuary needs your support more than ever.”

“Come on.” Natalie tips her pig ears toward the street and the already growing line for the sleigh rides.

“No way.” I fold my arms across my chest. “Haven’t I tolerated enough festive stuff? You’ve flung more Christmas at me than I’ve ever had, even if you put all my twenty-eight Christmases together and strangled them with tinsel.”

“You can’t come to the pig lighting and not have a sleigh ride. It’s tradition.” She turns and starts to move with the flow of people.

“Oh, I think you’ll find I can.”

She stops and looks at me over her shoulder, the playful gleam in her eye heightened by the surrounding plethora of sparkling lights. “Your parents still think you’re at an exclusive rehab retreat for special sportspeople, don’t they?”

I close my eyes and sigh. She’s shaming me. And she’s right. It is shameful that I’m deceiving them.

“It’s just a white lie, Nat. And they’re having the best time on the cruise. Yesterday they took an onshore excursion to Antigua and did a Segway beach tour.”

She furrows her brow. “A what?”

“Yeah, I thought they must have got the words confused until they sent me photos of them on actual Segways on an actual Antiguan beach. But, you know, I’vealso just attended an annual pig lighting ceremony so I’m starting to believe anything is possible.”

“Anythingispossible.” She hooks her hand into the crook of my elbow and tugs. “Including you coming on a donkey sleigh ride. If you had your photo taken with one of the donkeys it might help Frankie and her grandpa’s fundraising efforts. Please do it for them.”

The grip of her hand reminds me of the way her fingers dug into my shoulders when I was inside her just three nights ago. And I’m overwhelmed by the feeling that that cannot be the last time that happens.

Anyway, I can do a donkey selfie if it’ll help them raise money. That’s all about doing the right thing for the animals. Nothing to do with wanting to peel off Natalie’s jeans again at all.

“Okay, okay.” I take a step in the same direction as every other Warm Springs resident. “I surrender. You’ve drowned me in so much community spirit that, yes, okay, I’ll have my photo taken with a donkey wearing antlers.”

“That one has a red nose too.” Natalie pulls me toward the beast. “Let’s do that one.”

CHAPTER 24

GABE

“So kind of you to be in a photo with Mabel,” Frankie says, tucking a blanket over our legs as Natalie and I squish into the two-person sleigh. Or one-and-a-half person, if one of them is me.

The bonus is that the entire left side of my body is pressed against the entire right side of hers, and I’ll take that any day.

“Is this okay on your shoulder?” Natalie asks, reaching up to touch it.

“Yeah, it’s actually felt a lot better lately.”

“All thatspecialized rehabmust have done it some good.” She raises her eyebrows.

“That’s the kind of rehab I can get on board with.” Christ, I want to kiss her. “And I should not have mocked your qualifications.”

“What’s this?” she asks, elbowing the bulge at my chest that’s probably pressing into her right boob.

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