Page 18 of Holiday with the Aliens

She wasalmostcertain this walk wouldn’t end in murder.

But as the sky got darker, she found herself casting backward glances down the trail as it got more and more dense with foliage.

“If this is some elaborate serial killer plot, I will find a way to make sure I’m avenged.” It was a joke. Mostly.

Dash laughed and came to a stop. “I’d never kill you,” he promised.

That was probably something a serial killer said right before he struck.

“I said I can get you to Minnesota, and I can.” Dash rolled his shoulders as if he was about to start a race. “But it’s a bit unconventional. Please don’t freak out.”

Famous last words. Ro didn’t know what to say, so she nodded and waited for him to do whatever he was about to do.

For some reason Dash took off his clothes and then stuffed them in his pack. Ro enjoyed the view, but it only made her more curious.

Nothing happened for a moment until the air seemed to shimmer. Ro squinted, as if that would put everything to rights. But it only got worse. For a blink, Dash disappeared completely, and then something else filled his space. A reindeer?

No. What? No.

Ro blinked, shaking her head all the while. Dash was areindeer? That wasn’t possible.

But what came out of her mouth was: “How are your antlers glowing?”

In a flash, the naked man was back and he was beaming. He scooped her in his arms and swung her around with awhoopbefore setting her back down and kissing the daylights out of her. Ro clung on and sank into the kiss, even if most of her mind was still stuck on the reindeer thing.

She should be freaking out more. And probably upset. But mostly she was just confused.

Dash finally let her go and Ro stepped back. “You’re an alien.” She’d been sure he was human, and yet, humans didn’t shapeshift.

“We’re called reilendeer,” he replied with a nod. He grinned as he touched his forehead, rubbing where his antlers—antlers!—would have been. “We spread good cheer and shift into reindeer.”

“Good cheer? Like… are you telling me that you’re one of Santa’s reindeer?” That was a kid’s story, and it grew less and less believable the farther away from Earth that humans strayed.

He laughed. “Not quite, but maybe that’s where the myth comes from?”

“Those reindeer can fly.” It felt a little strange to be breaking down the specifics of a child’s story, but Ro was clinging to sense by the tips of her fingers.

“Why do you think I brought you here? I said I could get us across the country.”

“You canfly?” She’d had a mental breakdown somewhere along the way. There was no way the man she was halfway in love with was a magical alien reindeer who said he could fly her across the country. Nope. Not a chance. “And so are the glowing horns where the red nose thing comes from? They light your way.”

He opened his mouth and clicked it shut, taking a moment to think. “No, they’re something else. But it’s a lot to explain, and we’ve got a lot of sky to cover. So are you with me?”

Well, she might be going crazy, but she was definitely on Earth. “Take me home, reindeer man.”

Chapter Nine

Flying on her magical reindeer boyfriend was not comfortable. And from the way Dash shifted beneath her, she didn’t think he was enjoying it too much either. Wind whipped by, but for some reason she wasn’t cold. And she couldn’t track the ground beneath them, as if they were moving faster than should have been possible. Because, clearly, a man who could shift into a reindeer had to obey the laws of physics. Or not. The stars streaked by overhead as if they were running in the opposite direction, and Ro wished she knew where they were. And she wished she could talk to Dash. But all she could do was keep her hands buried in his fur, her legs clenched tight, and hope she didn’t fall.

She was sure he wouldn’t let that happen.

She wore the pack he’d carried to their take off destination and it was surprisingly light, as if he didn’t think they’d need to camp for the night. Was it really possible that they’d make it to May’s before morning?

Dash’s glowing antlers said that anything was possible.

Hours into their flight her hands hurt and her legs burned, and she knew Dash had to be feeling it too, though she wasn’tsure what was making him soar. It wasn’t like he had wings. Maybe there was no pain for him at all. The wind rustled in her hair as they took a dive downward, and before Ro knew it, they were on the ground. And suddenly she wasfreezing.There must have been some sort of magic keeping her warm when she was on top of Dash, but now the cold northern air bit at her and made her shiver.

The air shimmered around reindeer Dash, and after a moment the human version stood in front of her, naked and cold. She shoved the bag towards him and he ripped at it, throwing on his clothes as quickly as possible. He fell back as he pulled on his boots and cursed. Ro would have helped if there was anything she could do, but Dash seemed to have a system for getting his clothing on as quickly as possible and she was concerned she’d just slow him down. Instead, she reached for the pack, since Dash had cast it aside, and said a silentthankswhen she found a jacket. The material was almost thin enough to see through, but it somehow warmed her up and she wasn’t about to complain. Winter in Minnesota wascold.

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