However, while Reid had remained cool, calm, and grinning through it all, I’d been a hot mess. Half of the time I was wringing my hands about the snowcat breaking down and leaving us stranded in the middle of nowhere with nothing left to eat but Elvis the chicken. The rest of the time I was sweating inside and out about how mad Aunt Zoe and my dad were going to be when they found out I’d invited Reid to Christmas.
Now that we’d made it safely down to the prairie, I was beginning to think eating Elvis might have been the better of the two endings.
You still there? Aunt Zoe texted.
I need a favor, I wrote back.
What?
Get Dad drunk really quick.
Why?
I’m not alone.
I know. Your mother told me that Nat, Cornelius, and Willis are tagging along with Doc and you.
Cringing, I typed: There are more.
This time Aunt Zoe took longer to reply. Then one word popped up on my screen in all caps: WHO?
Cooper and one other.
Please tell me Reid Martin is not about to land on my doorstep.
Well, technically, it’s not YOUR doorstep. Her doorstep was in Deadwood buried under several feet of snow by now.
VIOLET LYNN!
Okay, okay. Reid is with us.
Explain.
The snowplow we were following broke down.
What’s that have to do with Reid?
I’ll tell you in about three minutes.
It turned out to be more like five because Reid dropped into a lower gear once we turned into my parents’ neighborhood so the rumbling engine wouldn’t wake up those little ones already dreaming of Santa and his reindeer.
Aunt Zoe was standing alone on the front porch when Reid rolled in behind her pickup and cut the engine. She wore my dad’s black puffy coat and a scowl reminiscent of the Grinch. Her long silver-streaked hair was plaited in a braid that draped down over her shoulder.
“Uh-oh,” Reid said in the sudden silence. “That’s not a happy-to-see-me face.”
Harvey sat up and peered out the window. “Zoe’s got ‘er horns out already. Sparky must have spilled the beans about you joinin’ the roundup.”
“Guilty.” I pocketed my phone. “I wanted her to run interference with Dad. We don’t need a replay of our last family get-together. One barroom brawl played out in the front yard is enough for one month.”
Cooper frowned at Reid and then me. “I told you two this was a bad idea.”
“Yeah, yeah,” Reid said. “I know it’s a long shot with a limb in the way, but I have to try. Zo’s worth it.”
Harvey grunted. “Where do ya figure we can shuck our boots and stretch out for the night?”
“Doc and Vi will stay at her parents’.” Natalie pulled a key ring from her pocket and jingled the keys. “The rest of us can sleep next door at my aunt Deborah’s place. I’m taking care of her house while she’s down in Arizona. It has four bedrooms with beds in each, so we just need to throw on the sheets and blankets.”
“There are five of us,” Cooper pointed out, his gaze holding steady on Natalie.
“Nat can share a bunk with me,” Harvey said.
Cooper’s eyes moved to his uncle. “Why you?”
“Well, we both tend to saw logs in our sleep fer one thing.” Harvey grinned wide. “And I know I can keep my hands to myself all night long.”
Both Natalie and Cooper looked away, no argument from either on that score.
“Zo’s waving us in,” Reid said and pushed open his door. “Might as well go see if she’s in a swinging mood tonight. Anybody bring any mistletoe along?”
Cooper cursed and grumbled before following Reid’s lead.
“Coop must’ve forgotten his Christmas spirit back in Deadwood,” Doc said to me.
I chuckled. “I suspect he filled it full of bullet holes and buried it out back of Harvey’s ranch for the dog to find.”
“Yup. Ol’ Red will dig ‘er up in the spring and leave it on my doormat, same as he has with all the other pieces and parts he’s been findin’ lately.”
We all cringed at the reminder of things we’d come across out at Harvey’s ranch over the last few months. “Pieces and parts” summed it up in the least gruesome way possible.
Cornelius scooted forward on the bench seat. “I’d theorize that the solution for removing the steel rod from the detective’s sphincter is several rounds of mistletoe therapy over the next twenty-four hours.”
I agreed, pointing at Natalie. “Only you can save Christmas.”
She glared back. “Why don’t you try that experiment first and let me know how it turns out.”
A loud snort came from the old man next to me. “Coop will shoot Sparky just for puckerin’ up.”
The back doors opened, the main subject of our teasing ushering us out one by one, while Reid helped Natalie and me down.
I told Reid to leave Santa’s bag of presents in the snowcat for now, wanting to make sure the kids were in bed before sneaking their presents inside and stashing them under the tree.
Doc turned me toward the front door soon after my boots hit the snow. “Go check on the kids. I’ll bring your duffel bag and Elvis.”
I slipped and crunched up the front walk, smiling wide. We’d made it in time. For a moment up there on that snowy road, I’d almost lost hope.
Aunt Zoe hugged me when I joined her on the porch. “I’m glad you’re here,” she said and kissed my forehead.
“Even though I brought Reid?”
“Even though.”
“Please try to be nice to him. Reid saved our bacon. Without him and his snowcat, we’d have had to turn around and slide back down Strawberry Hill with our fingers crossed on making it into Deadwood alive.”
“I’ll keep that in mind while I’m handling any sharp kitchen utensils in his vicinity.”
I lowered my voice. “He has a ‘special something’ just for you.”
Her gaze narrowed. “I’ve seen his ‘special something’ before. If he thinks I’m letting it within ten feet of me, he’s got another think coming.”
I laughed and
