Page 42 of Rebel Without a Claus
“Ahhhh. The escape artist with the attitude problem. Follow the trail of candy canes and I bet we’ll find her.”
Luke gives me a scathing look that’s only softened by the slight upturn of his quirked mouth. “Thanks to you.”
A bloodcurdling scream startles both of us followed by the screaming cries of a child. “That was my candy cane!”
“Dammit, Blitzen!” Luke shouts as he rushes toward the noise, dodging through the crowd with me, following right at his heels.
Sure enough, Blitzen, that little bugger is prancing around the candy station, with a telltale red and white peppermint candy sticking out of her mouth.
She catches sight of us and makes a beeline to the candy table, stealing a full bag before running toward a snowman.
“Oh no you don’t!” I mutter, barely sidestepping a cluster of toddlers in reindeer antlers. We make a sharp turn, almost colliding with the popcorn machine, and close in on the wildly zigzagging reindeer.
Blitzen veers for the road but I’m right ahead of her, arms outstretched as if I have any hope in corralling this giant creature with sheer willpower alone. Shockingly, though, it works. “Got her!” I yell as the reindeer whips around, right into Luke’s grasp.
Leaving the bag of candy behind, Blitzen tries to dart between us, but Luke is faster and grabs hold of the reins, digging his heels into the snow to halt Blitzen from further chaos. “Gotcha, you candy-coated monster,” he grunts, giving Blitzen a stern look as the reindeer licks remnants of candy from her snout.
I rush forward, catching my breath as I give the mischievous reindeer a pat on her neck.
Luke looks at me and shakes his head. “You created this monster.”
“I did not!”
“Youtaught her to eat candy canes.”
Blitzen looks so smug that I swear she smirks at me.
“Well… everyone likes candy canes. Besides, she’s spirited,” I say. “Like me.”
“Like trouble,” he says, but I can see he’s fighting back a smile. It’s a pretty fair bet as to who is more trouble between me and the reindeer. I think it’s me, but I suspect Luke would agree. As we drag Blitzen back toward the pen, I have to stifle a laugh.
As we lead her back through the crowd, dodging kids and cocoa spills, something soft and insistent unfolds in my chest. Luke’s hand brushes mine, and even through our gloves, it sparks. We laugh, bump shoulders, and I can’t help it—I lookover at him and realize: I’m falling for this grumpy, stubborn, infuriating man.
Falling in love was not on my Bingo card this year.
Then again, neither was losing my job.
Or taking it upon myself to save my parent’s inn.
And they think I have a plan. But I don’t. Not really. Not beyond getting through the next contest and securing a goddamn win.
And maybe… maybe that’s okay.
Maybe falling for Luke doesn’t have to be a disaster. Maybe it really can be me doing what I want for once because, for the first time in years, I’m not operating on a tight plan. For the first time, I’m actually listening to my heart.
How did I go from desperately trying to win this festival to falling head over heels for the guy who lives and breathes Christmas disdain? And why am I not even mad about it?
Because he’s good to me.
Because he makes me feel like I have something here I never knew I needed.
Because maybe, just maybe, he’s the missing piece in my life.
Luke’s voice breaks through my spiral, reeling me back to the here and now. “Do you think we’ll make it through the rest of the festival without her escaping again?”
“Unlikely,” I say, breathless as we approach the pen.
I hold open the curtain for them as Luke guides Blitzen back inside her pen with Prancer.
