Page 18 of Reindeer in the Headlights
WYNDHAM
I was on the floor playing with Tinsel and Mistletoe when a truck traveling along the road broke the silence of the woods. Glancing up, I caught Ambrose’s eye before he moved to the window.
“That’ll be Jeffrey and his friend.”
I should have been thankful that I was about to go home and sleep in my own bed. I should have. But I wasn’t. Leaving the cabin and my mate because I had an empty house waiting for me wasn’t the Christmas present I was hoping for. But weweremated, and we had the marks to prove it, though we hadn’t figured out what our future looked like.
Ambrose was my present and future, and the strength of the mating bond made it impossible for me to leave him. Not that I wanted to. This wasn’t the universe tugging my chain. It was me being head over heels in love with my reindeer shifter.
I rubbed my hand over the mating mark on the shoulder. It grounded me, reassuring me that no matter where I lay my head this evening, Ambrose and I would be together forever.
“Something bothering you?” Ambrose squatted on the rug, and Mistletoe tried to bite his butt, but he picked her up and held her to his chest.
“It’s just that… This is going to sound weird.”
He smirked. “More weird than meeting a reindeer in the woods at night who turned out to be your one and only?”
Hmmm, when he put it like that, nope. That night trumped everything else.
My mate plonked himself on the floor and skimmed his butt next to mine.
“They’re getting the car out. That’s it.”
“I know. But it’s what that represents.”
Ambrose cocked his head. “Let’s see.” He tapped his lips. “Ummm, you’ll have a vehicle that may or may not be roadworthy.”
I didn’t give a damn about the car.
“No, if the car can be driven, I’ll be behind the wheel, and every yard and every mile I drive will take me away from you.”
My mate placed his lips on my ear, and his warm breath lowered my stress. “Says who? Who’s making those rules?” He kissed the top of my head. “We stick together.”
My breath came out in a rush. In my mind, I imagined the stress that wrapped itself around my insides released with the air.
“You think?” As soon as the words left my mouth, I regretted them. Of course, no one was the boss of me, except my work boss, and I had free will.
A knock at the door interrupted the thoughts tangling in my head, and my mate got up to answer it. I swallowed a whimper or maybe a cry when he moved away.
Two men stood at the door bundled in winter gear. One had to be Ambrose’s brother. They could almost be twins because they were similar in height and build, and they both had dark eyes. I suspected his brother’s reindeer looked much like Ambrose’s.
“It’s out.” Jeffrey didn’t come in, and neither did his friend. “It has a few dings, but you can drive it. But a mechanic should check it over.”
I got up and stood at my mate’s side. Jeffrey narrowed his eyes and sniffed. Oh, maybe he’d picked up the mating bond. There was a lot I didn’t know about shifters.
“Thank you. I appreciate you coming out and helping me in this weather.”
“No problem. Glad we could help.” He glanced between me and Ambrose. “I guess we’ll be seeing a lot of one another.”
There was an awkward silence, and I wondered if I should have paid them. But my mate agreed he would, and with a wave and a wink from Jeffrey, they left.
“I can leave.” I just put it out there.
“You could, or we could get your things and we could spend Christmas together.”
I put up my hand. “I choose that option. The staying-here one.”
He took me in his arms and kissed me. “You’re my mate, and I never want us to be parted.”
