Page 33 of His Christmas Star
“Bout damn time for that,” Heaven said sadly. “Twelve years is too long to harbor that much animosity.”
I nodded as she spoke but didn't know how to answer her. “It was time I stopped blaming Joe for something entirely not his fault. He said he accepted my anger all these years because I needed someone to blame.”
“I could see him doing that,” she said. “Especially for you. It's obvious that he cares about you and wants to protect you, even from your own emotions.”
“I’m glad we came to an understanding about it, considering Daddy Nash passed the next day. He didn’t need the weight of both deaths on his shoulders. That’s all it was, Heaven.”
“Well, from what Saul said, you’re a liar.” Heaven had thrown down the gauntlet and waited for me to pick it up.
“Doesn’t Saul have better things to do than creep on people in the middle of the night?”
“Saul was doing his midnight check of the property. That’s his job. I can’t help it that you were standing in the driveway playing kissy-face with the sheriff.”
“I wasn’t playing kissy-face with the sheriff!”
“Not what we heard,” she said in an annoying sing-song voice.
“I’m going to have words with Saul.” I grumped as I leaned back against the seat and folded my arms over my chest. “Fine. He kissed me. It wasn’t a big deal. Just let it go.”
“It is about damn time,” she said, swinging her head in a shake of annoyance. “Listen, I’m going to give you a little piece of advice. I played the frenemies song and dance with Blaze for five years, and those are years I’ll never get back now. You and Joe have already doubled those years.”
“I’m still waiting for the advice,” I said deadpan, and she side-eyed me.
“Stop wasting time!” she exclaimed as though I should have figured that out. “Ask anyone on the street in Wellspring who Sheriff Nash is in love with, and they won’t blink before they say Tobi Star. Just stop.” This time her head shake was sad as she pulled into the driveway of Bison Ridge and parked by the barn. “Let the past go. Take a chance. Open your heart again.” I held up my hands and opened my mouth, but she stopped me. “No, do not tell me that he’s not going to love you because of your hands. That’s such nonsense. You’ve had those hands all your life, and we can all see he loves you. Stop using those hands as the excuse for why you don’t find love. I almost let that happen with this,” she said, motioning at her sling, “only to find out that Blaze was humbled by my fortitude to keep going in the face of the pain I dealt with every day. Just think about it.”
She opened her door and then turned back to me. “Besides, Saul said he saw Joe holding your hands, so your excuse is invalid.”
She jumped out of the truck with laughter and slammed the door, motioning for me to follow her out. I groaned but climbed out of the truck to follow her into the barn. Two steps in, and I stopped in my tracks. Sitting in the center of the barn was the most beautiful sleigh I’d ever seen.
“Heaven, it’s—”
“Gorgeous,” she finished, running her hand over the gold filigree pattern on the front of the sleigh.
The sleigh had two bench seats with a smaller seat in the front for the driver. The seats were plush with red velvet and easily could sit three people in each seat. The runners were intricate and red, with wheels that flipped up out of the way when you didn’t need them for transport. It was the beautiful gold holly design on the front and sides that caught your eye, though. It screamed Christmas in the country, and I couldn’t stop staring at it.
“Okay, even I want to take a ride on this sleigh.”
Heaven did a fist pump, and her laughter filled the barn. “I knew you had some Christmas spirit hiding in there somewhere!”
I grinned as I climbed up into the driver’s seat and took a minute to picture myself driving people over the river and through the woods. My grin just got bigger. I hopped down and checked out the entire sleigh. When I made it back to the front, Heaven wasn’t alone. Dawn, Cece, and Amity had joined us, and I hadn’t even noticed.
“What do you think?” Dawn asked as I ran my hand over a smooth runner.
“I think this is going to be so much fun to drive,” I said with a head nod.
“Will the horses pull it?” Heaven asked, her voice holding a touch of concern.
“Easily,” I assured her. “We probably only need Dolly, but since we’re going to be doing the rides for an extended period of time, I’ll use Dolly and Jolene. That will distribute the effort a bit for them both so they won’t tire as quickly.”
“You said we needed three,” Heaven reminded me.
“That was before I saw it. It won’t be a problem, but ask Caleb if you don’t trust me. He’ll tell you the same thing.”
“I trust you,” Heaven said immediately. “I just want everything to be perfect.”
“It will be,” I promised. “Leave the horses and sleigh to me and worry about all the rest.” I motioned everyone over. “Into the sleigh!”
“Why?” Cece asked with laughter.
