“Name it.”
“Invite me to stay for Christmas. I have something I want to give Zo.”
“Martin,” Cooper butted in. “This was not part of the plan that we talked about on the way up here.”
“Not what you planned, maybe,” Reid said with a twinkle in his eye. “But I had something else in mind when I agreed to go for a ride in the snow.”
Cooper cursed. “What makes you think Zoe won’t chase you away with her shotgun again when you show up on her brother’s doorstep?”
“For one thing,” Reid said, “I’m betting she left her shotgun at home.”
“Fer another,” Harvey added, “he’s savin’ the day by haulin’ us all down out of the harrowin’ cold and snow to safety.” He patted Reid’s shoulder. “That there oughta win ya a kiss under the mistletoe from the hard-headed woman.”
“Maybe even two,” I said, feeling lighter than I had since the snow started falling hours ago in Deadwood. I looked over at Cornelius, who was already untying the trident from the top of my rig, while Elvis walked back and forth along the top of the back seat inside.
“What do you say, Reid?” I spread my arms wide. “Would you like to join us for Christmas down at my parents’ place?” I asked officially. “You can bring a guest if you’d like, but he has to promise not to arrest anyone while he’s there.”
Reid’s laughter was swallowed by the wind. “I’d love to come to your family Christmas, Sparky. Thanks for asking.”
I turned to Cooper. “Well, Detective? You think you can stomach a bit of family excitement without pulling out your handcuffs?”
“I left my handcuffs back at Nyce’s place,” he said, looking at Natalie for a moment before giving in with a nod. “Fine, Parker. Let’s get the hell out of here before I end up stuck in that damned snowcat with you for the night.”
“That’s the Christmas spirit, Coop,” I said with a chuckle and gave him a playful punch in the shoulder.
“That’s ‘Cooper’ to you, Parker,” he said and joined Doc and Reid in unloading my SUV.
Natalie watched him walk away. “Well, so much for my relaxing Christmas with your family.”
I scoffed. “Like that was even going to happen with Susan in the picture.”
Harvey chortled next to me. “Yer aunt’s in fer a big Christmas surprise, Sparky.”
He was spot on there. Aunt Zoe was going to pop a gasket when she saw Reid walk in with us, but if I could be nice to Susan, she could play nice with her ex.
I pulled my hat down lower. “Just keep your fingers crossed this whole holiday doesn’t blow up in our faces.”
Chapter Ten
One Hour Until Christmas …
By the time we rumbled into Rapid City, Old Man Winter had covered the prairie in almost a foot of snow. Judging by the thick flurries still coming down, he didn’t look to be taking a break anytime soon.
I texted Aunt Zoe as soon as I had cell service. I couldn’t spring Reid on her without a little warning, but I decided the best course of action was to ease into it: Please tell me Susan went out for milk, got lost in the storm, and won’t be there when I arrive.
You’re not that lucky, Aunt Zoe replied within seconds. Where are you?
Almost there. I glanced up at Reid and winced. Inviting him along was going to win me a night in the doghouse.
How long until you get here?
Maybe ten minutes. How’s Dad?
With any luck, my father would be sleeping when we arrived and not tackle Reid on the front lawn.
There was a slight pause, and then she replied with: Your father is fine. What’s going on?
Nothing.
I’m sure your nose is twitching, baby girl. Cough it up.
I hesitated, looking around at my fellow passengers in turn. Harvey had sprawled out on the bench next to me, snoozing as we bounced along. How he could sleep through the growling engine and periodic lurches was beyond me. Cornelius and Natalie were sitting on the bench across the cab where he was teaching her an old Japanese version of rock-paper-scissors that used a frog, a slug, and a snake instead. The Japanese game’s hand signs were different enough that it had taken Natalie half of the ride and plenty of laughs to get used to them. Up front, Doc was keeping Reid and Cooper company, sitting behind the center console on an army-style footlocker Reid used to store his tools. That left Elvis, who was sleeping in the cat carrier with the cage door open in case she needed to stretch her legs.
Short of singing Christmas carols, a suggestion by Harvey that Cooper shot down in a flash—as in he flashed his Colt .45 and threatened to put a bullet in the ass of the first one to burst into song—we were one jingly song short of a fun sleigh ride while dashing through the snow.
Unfortunately, the relaxed atmosphere inside the cozy cab had a short shelf life. I peered out through the snow-lined window. Very short, actually, as in my parents’ street was less than three miles away.
The trip down the hills had taken longer than Reid had predicted. This blizzard had been one hell of an opponent from the get-go.
After plowing a path through the snow to a nearby side road where I could safely leave my SUV, Reid had ushered us into the snowcat and started the trek through the winter wonderland. He’d been forced to take it slow on the way down out of the hills due to periodic whiteouts making it impossible to see. In a few places, he’d lowered his plow to break through drifts that were stacked up too high for safe passage. Several times, when he couldn’t see the markers lining the sides of bridges and cliff edges, we’d had to stop while Doc and Cooper took turns climbing out to clear snow off the front of the snowcat. But not once throughout the whole white-knuckle ordeal
