Someone was in the barn with him.
“Come out, come out, wherever
you are,” he sang, his hand straying to the holster with the gun he
kept strapped under his leather vest.
A rustle in a bale of hay at
the far end of the barn snared his attention, and he almost drew his
gun, but stayed the motion at the last minute. Good thing, because the
head that popped out belonged to a little girl and not the enemy.
Blonde
hair in fat curls framing chubby cheeks made the giant green eyes
staring at him all the more striking. And freaky. Because she stared.
And stared. Yet she didn’t say a word.
First impulse? Run from the
adorable little girl. Instead, of fleeing from her deadly cuteness, he
channeled his sarge and barked, “Who are you? What are you doing here?”
Her eyes widened, and with a squeak of fear, she dove back into the hay.
Brilliant.
Just brilliant. He’d scared a little girl. As if he didn’t suffer
enough guilt, now he felt like a total seal. Which rhymed with heel. But
seals were dumber than his foot.
And barking at a tiny little girl definitely ranked as dumb.
I should just walk away before I make things worse. But given her age and the fact there wasn’t another adult around…
Sigh.
He gentled his tone. “I’m sorry, sweetie. I didn’t mean to sound so
gruff. You took me by surprise, which, hey, is pretty impressive
considering I used to be in the army.”
Not a creature stirred, not even a child.
How about a promise? “I won’t hurt you.”
Nothing.
“Does anyone know you’re here?” In other words, was there an adult nearby freeing him to escape this uncomfortable situation?
A slight rustle of hay answered him but didn’t clarify the situation.
Another heavy sigh left him. “Come on, sweetie, I can’t leave you here alone. Reid would have my a—um, butt. Talk to me.”
Slowly, the golden curls emerged with bits of straw stuck to them. Big eyes blinked at him.
“Are you lost? “
She shook her head.
“Does you mom or dad know you’re here?”
A negative shake.
“Can I help you?”
She
tilted her head and perused him. What was it with certain members of
the opposite sex? Where did they learn that ability to give you a look?
You know the one. The look that made you want to squirm, knowing you
were probably coming up short in their estimation.
Except, he
didn’t fail this time. As if seeing something that satisfied her, the
little blonde cherub nodded before lisping, “Yes.”
“What can I help you with, sweetie?”
“Not me. Santa.”
A
frown creased his brow. “Santa?” He almost said, “You mean Earl?”
before it occurred to him the little girl might not yet know that the
big, burly geezer was playing the part. She was still of an age where
magic seemed possible and big fat guys on sleighs could and would
deliver presents.
“I heard you talking. You need to find Rudolph. Santa needs him for his sleigh.”
Oh
crap on a stick. The little girl had heard him discussing the whole
Rudolph thing with Crystal, and she’d drawn her own youthful conclusion.
How to explain without revealing anything?
“Sorry, sweetie, I wish I could help.”
You could, chided his conscience.
You’re just choosing not to.
Shut up, he snarled at his own mind. Bad enough when Reid and Crystal guilted him. He didn’t need his own thoughts to add to the pile.
How
could one pair of eyes look so sad? Ack. Kyle almost made the sign of
the cross in front of her because surely she had some kind of magic at
work because he almost said the most ridiculous thing. He almost told
her not worry, that Rudolph would be there.
Never!
“Why don’t you climb out of that pile of hay and come with me? We’ll go find your parents. They’re probably worried.”
She shrank from him.
For
some reason, this caused a painful pang in him. She was too young to
show such fear. Yet he knew that look. He’d borne it when he was a kid
and his father came home in one of his moods. “Oh, sweetie, don’t be
scared. I won’t hurt you.”
“But you’re big.”
“Yes I am. And strong.” Hmm, maybe he shouldn’t have pointed that out.
She nodded. “You are, and scary,” she added.
“Me?” He grabbed at his chest in mock horror. “Is this your way of telling me I’m ugly?”
A small giggle escaped her. “No, silly. But handsome doesn’t mean nice. That’s what my mama says.”
“In some cases, probably, but not this time. Why, I’m the nicest guy you’ll ever meet.”
“Malcolm said he was nice too, but he wasn’t. He was mean to my mama, and me.”
Wouldn’t Kyle love to teach this
Malcolm a
lesson about treating a woman right? “Well, I’m not this Malcolm guy,
and I can tell you right now, I’m never mean to the ladies.” Even
stubborn ones. “And I’ll tell you something else, if that Malcolm dude
were to walk in here right now and try anything, I’d totally kick his
ass.” Whoops on the language.
Thankfully she didn’t seem to notice. “You’re a knight?”
Almost
did he snicker, but she seemed so serious. He held it in. “Knight in
tattooed armor, sweetie. So don’t you worry that pretty little head of
yours. No one will so much as fart in your direction while I’m around.”
She giggled. “Farts don’t hurt.”
“But they sure stink,” he said with a smile and a moue of distaste.
Apparently
it took a bodily function jest for her to decide he was trustworthy.
She emerged from her pile of hay, clutching a ragged stuffed animal in a
chubby fist. When he held out his hand, he expected her to clasp it.
Instead, she tucked into his reach and lifted her arms.
Despite
him not spending much time around children, Kyle recognized the
universal gesture for ‘pick me up’. He did, the little girl’s weight
feather-light even with her jacket and boots.
“Where to, sweetie?”
“Mama’s working on the parade for Santa.”
“Then
let’s go find her.” Maybe he could also get some clues on this Malcolm
fellow, who seemed to think it was cool to threaten women. Kyle wanted
to speak with the guy—with his fists.
Mission #737: Find this Malcolm dude and teach him a lesson. A Christmas gift to the little angel in his arms.
COMING December 16th, 2014
Move over bears, and moose, there’s a new rack in town.
Pre-order @
PLEASE NOTE: This Christmas novella originally appeared in the anthology, A Kiss of Christmas Magic.
Damn
it, a man had his pride and a caribou a certain majestic presence, all
of which could wind up ruined if he abased himself to play a
simple-minded reindeer in the town’s Christmas parade.
No way was he wearing damned tinsel in his antlers.
Like hell was he sporting a red nose and pulling a sleigh.
But he changes his mind when he meets the woman in charge of the event.
Single
mom, Crystal, is doing her best to offer her daughter the best
Christmas ever. It’s their first in Kodiak Point, and she’s not about to
let some vain jerk ruin it for her little girl. If playing dirty is
what it takes…then bring on the Christmas games.
As Crystal and
Kyle butt heads—and lips—they discover more than goodwill this holiday
season.
They’re gifted with a second chance at love.
Born and raised in Toronto, Kali now resides in the
exquisite eastern Ontario countryside where she enjoys the serenity of nature. When she isn't busy being the
married mother of two, certified trainer or counselor extraordinaire, she
shadows worlds of paranormal passion & intrigue.
