forefront of her mind as she stared down the reindeer that seemed perfectly content to nap in the middle of the airport runway. A reindeer that apparently did belong to her, after all.
What was she doing? She’d thought she could power through this situation and solve the problem on her own. She’d even insisted that Clementine and Anya stay and finish their pedicures. She was accustomed to taking care of herself. She’d been doing it nearly half her life.
Clearly this time she was in over her head. But having Alec Wynn laugh at her was more than she could take. She’d reached the tipping point.
I should fire him, she thought as she tramped through the snow behind him. I really should. Was being mean grounds for termination? If not, it should be.
But the closer they got to Palmer, the less Zoey fantasized about ridding herself of Alec. The reindeer looked a lot bigger now that they were bearing down on him. Huge. And wooly. Zoey had seen reindeer up close and personal at Aurora’s Reindeer Run every spring. But those reindeer looked smaller and sleeker, somehow. Maybe they were girls. Or just wimpy reindeer. Who knew?
Had she really thought she could get this massive, hairy thing to budge all on her own? Maybe she would fire Alec after they moved Palmer out of the way.
“Scared?” Alec asked, as they stood a mere five feet away from the animal.
A little. “No,” she said, doing her best to avoid his penetrating blue gaze.
He lifted a dubious brow. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. Reindeer are more afraid of you than you are of them. If this was any other member of your herd, you could have come out here, waved your arms and yelled shoo and the problem would have been solved.”
She wondered if it was the truth or if he was just trying to be nice. Then she remembered who was doing the talking. “So my strategy wasn’t too far off the mark, then?”
“No, it wasn’t.” The corner of his mouth lifted into a half grin.
Zoey half relaxed. “Why won’t that technique work on Palmer?”
“Because he’s stubborn as a mule.” His grin deepened, revealing a hint of a dimple on the right side of his face. “Just like someone else I’ve recently met.”
“I’m not stubborn. I’m self-sufficient.”
He pinned her with a sardonic look. “Keep telling yourself that, sweetheart.”
Zoey’s face grew warm, despite the flurry of snowflakes landing against her skin. She wished he’d quit calling her sweetheart...not that it sounded in any way complimentary. “So, what do we do now?”
“I have a secret weapon.” He pulled a carrot from the pocket of his parka.
Zoey laughed. “Do you always run around with vegetables in your pockets?”
“On my one and only afternoon off?” He tossed the carrot in the air and caught it. “No, not usually. I stopped by the hotel kitchen just now. It was a necessary diversion.”
“I wondered how you’d ended up out here.” Guilt pricked her consciousness. He wasn’t even on the clock. He’d probably been sitting inside drinking coffee or something when he’d heard about Palmer.
And here he was, with a pocketful of carrots.
Like it or not, I’m all you’ve got.
Something told her Alec Wynn might not be quite as dangerous as he looked.
“Hey there, bud,” he called to Palmer. “What are you doing all the way out here?”
It was probably the sweetest tone she’d ever heard come out of his mouth. His voice could melt an ice floe.
Dangerous. Without a doubt.
Palmer rose to his feet—hooves?—with a grunt. He gave a shake like a dog after a bath, and snow flew anywhere and everywhere. He took a step closer to Alec and craned his neck toward the carrot.
Alec snapped the carrot in two and presented half of it to Palmer with an open palm. The reindeer appeared to inhale it.
While Palmer was crunching away, Alec offered the other half to Zoey. “Do you want to give it a try?”
“Yes! Please.”
“Hold it in the palm of your hand and show it to him. Remember to keep your palm flat and your fingers together.” He winked, and for some reason that word—sweetheart—floated around in Zoey’s head. “Carrots look a lot like fingers.”
She gulped as she stripped off one of her gloves. “Oh.”
She might as well get used to it. Her reindeer weren’t going anywhere, unless running wild through town counted. She was stuck with them.
You could still sell them, you know.
She pushed the thought away. While she was hand-feeding him, it seemed cruel to even contemplate the notion of Palmer turning up on a menu somewhere.
The carrot rested on her open but somewhat shaky palm. Alec wrapped his fingers around her wrist and guided her hand to Palmer’s head. The reindeer pressed his muzzle against her palm. It felt like velvet against her bare skin.
She laughed. “It tickles.”
“Yeah, I guess it does.” Alec met her gaze for a split second then looked away and released her wrist.
Zoey cleared her throat and shoved her hand back in her glove. “Now what?”
“Now we take the escape artist for a walk.” He produced another carrot from his pocket and showed it to Palmer. “Come on, bud. There’s more where the other one came from, but you’ve got to get out of the way first.”
And just like that, Alec led Palmer off the runway and out of harm’s way.
He made it look so simple.
A cheer rose from the crowd of pilots, airport personnel and other onlookers who’d gathered around the frozen lake to witness the spectacle. Zoey had been so caught up in the drama, she hadn’t even noticed that half of Aurora had turned out to watch.
“Tell me that’s not a news crew,” she muttered under her breath.
“It’s not a news crew.” Alec chuckled. “Except that it is.”
She was mortified. How was she supposed to gain any credibility as a brand-new charter pilot when one of her reindeer had shut down the entire airport?
You won’t be a charter pilot if you can’t make the down payment on that plane...
Five days. More like four, now that the sun was setting. A full moon had already risen high in the pink Alaskan sky. The horizon was bathed in a soft lavender glow that made the mountains resemble icing on a cake. How lovely it would have looked from the cockpit of a plane.
Zoey’s eyes grew misty. What was she going to do? Palmer was under control for the time being, but it was a hollow victory. She still owed Alec a thousand dollars, and she still had thirty other reindeer to worry about. How was she ever going to afford all that, plus her airplane?
“You okay?”
Zoey glanced up at Alec, still leading Palmer around with a very literal dangling carrot. “A little overwhelmed, that’s all. It’s been a long day.”
“Keep your chin up. Everyone will forget about this in a day or two.” He kept his gaze glued to Palmer.
Zoey wasn’t sure if he was worried about the reindeer bolting, or if he felt as uncomfortable delivering a pep talk as she did to be on the receiving end of it. “Just so we’re clear, you’re officially un-fired.”
He let out a laugh. “You never fired me.”
Hadn’t she? She’d certainly meant to. “Yes, I did.”
“No, you didn’t.” He