“Yeah,we.” I close the laptop, already running the checklist in my head. “Snow’s packed enough to run the big sled. I’ll hook up the pull-behind.”
Her brow furrows. “You mean like an actual sleigh?”
I shrug. “More like a metal beast on runners, but close enough.”
She’s still staring, caught between panic and wonder. “You’d really do that for me?”
I pull on my parka and gloves. “Guess I’m invested in your small-business success now.”
“Beckett Tinderwolf,” she says, voice soft, “you might just be my Christmas miracle.”
Ranger perks up at her excitement and Ruby crouches to scratch behind his ears. “You’re staying here, handsome,” she tells him. “Guard the cabin, okay?”
I pour extra food into his dish, double the water. “He’ll manage. He’s tougher than he looks.”
Ruby smiles at me over her shoulder. “So are you.”
Outside, the world is blinding white and quiet except for the rumble of the snowmobile as I haul out the rig. She stands beside me, bundled up to her nose, eyes wide as the sleigh takes shape—a heavy-duty cargo sled strapped and balanced behind the machine.
“Think it’ll hold?” she asks.
I check the lines. “If it doesn’t, we’ll invent the first airborne lingerie delivery service.”
She laughs, the sound bright against the cold. Ruby holds onto me tight as we make out way back to her stranded van. Together, we load as much as we can. When everything’s finally tied down, I pat the seat behind me. “All aboard, Ms. Claus.”
She climbs on, arms sliding around my waist, voice muffled against my jacket. “We’re carrying quite a load. You sure this thing’s safe?”
“Nope.”
“Beckett!”
I grin, gun the throttle, and the sled lurches forward, cutting a clean path through the snow. Her laughter threads through the wind, and I realize I don’t mind where the trail ends … as long as she’s holding on.
♥♥♥
