On Christmas Hill (7 page)

“
To prove what?”

“
That you’re meant for
Christmas Hill.” He ran his thumb over my bottom lip and I
shivered. “That you’re meant for me.”

I stared into his eyes, lost for a
minute while I thought over what he said. There was magic to this
place. Whether it was the kind out of storybooks, or the kind that
came from being happy, there was magic. Something bubbled in my
chest and I acknowledged it for what it was-- longing. I wanted it
to be real, to be part of this world. I wanted Nate.

“
Okay. Prove it.”

He lifted me off the rock in a
heartbeat and spun me in a circle before covering my mouth with
his. My heart almost exploded from his eager kisses, the taste of
him filling my senses. When his hands slid under my jacket to grip
my waist, I shivered in anticipation. This felt right. Like I had
found the place I belonged. Right there in Nate’s arms.

“
We have to hurry. I need to
get the fence set up and then we need to get the reindeer ready.”
He set me down carefully and kissed my forehead.

“
You’re serious, aren’t you?
Santa Claus is really going to come here for his
reindeer?”

“
Just you wait.”

Chapter Seven

It hadn’t taken long for us to set the
temporary fence up, but we almost hadn’t been in time. One of the
mother deer and the young deer that had been so excitable earlier
today were munching near the fallen trees. Nate made quick work of
the task and I enjoyed watching him work. He was fast and
efficient, and probably didn’t need any help at all, but I tried
anyway.

“
Gah!” The snow under my
feet crumbled, and I fell off of the log I was perched on, landing
flat on my back. The air whooshed out of my lungs and I stared up
at the bare branches above my head for a minute.

“
I’m starting to think you
really are clumsy.” Nate’s face appeared above mine, a large grin
splitting his face.

I grabbed a handful of snow and threw
it at his head. He ducked, but a little bit of it still caught his
head. He lunged down for me and I tried to roll out of the way, but
he was too quick. He half landed on me and scooped a handful of
snow onto my head.

“
Argh!” My hat fell off as I
tried to escape, but all that did was allow him better access to my
hair. I scooped my own hands full of snow and rubbed them into his
cheeks. His face twisted as the snow touched his skin and he
scrambled away from me.

Laughing, I sat up and brushed the hair
out of my eyes. He scrubbed the snow out of his ears and grinned at
me before standing up and holding his hand out for me. “C’mon, Miss
Nichols. We have a lot to do before Santa gets here.”

“
Lead the way, Senior
Elf.”

Shaking his head, he leaned forward and
pressed his lips to mine. This time it was a sweet, simple
kiss.

“
You’ll see. You’ll
see.”

When we got back to the barn, we spent
the rest of the daylight oiling harnesses and grooming the
reindeer.

“
It’s weird.”

“
What’s weird?” Nate looked
at me over Comets back.

“
They just seem to know
what’s expected of them.” I frowned. “They seem excited. Even the
ones that aren’t part of the team.”

“
You aren’t going to believe
until they are in the air, are you?” Nate stopped brushing the
reindeer and shook his head.

“
Not really.” I shrugged.
“I’m sorry. But reindeer flying?” Comet turned to look at me and I
laughed. “Even he looks skeptical.”

“
He’s just surprised that a
Nichols doesn’t believe.”

“
Well, I shouldn’t have long
to wait, right?” I looked outside the barn door at the setting sun.
“Shouldn’t he have already gotten his start?”

“
Magic.” Nate laid his
finger beside his nose and I rolled my eyes.

We worked quietly, setting up the
reindeer, the jingle of the bells the only sound accompanying our
work. Eventually all of the reindeer were dressed and groomed. The
deer that weren’t going and the younger ones milled around outside,
playing happily. I leaned against the open barn door and watched
their antics. There was a great sense of peace in my heart and if I
didn’t know better, I would think that my dad was there with me.
Nate came up behind me and slid his arms around my waist. It should
feel weird, to be this comfortable with a man I barely knew and
yet, there was peace there too. As if there really was some kind of
magic that had brought me to him.

I leaned my head back against his chest
and watched the sky as the stars began to make their appearance. A
little part of me was holding my breath, hoping it was all true.
The glow I had noticed around Christmas Hill when I was in the
clearing earlier began to reappear, glowing brightly above the
trees and rooftop.

Nate’s fingers tightened on my hips and
he leaned his head close to mine. “The people in Silver Town gather
in the city square every year to watch the lights.”

“
These lights are only above
Christmas Hill?” I was whispering. Sound seemed to have stopped, as
if there was a blanket over the entire area.

“
Yes. No one can see them
the rest of the year, except for the descendant of Santa
Claus.”

“
Wow.” The reindeer lined up
outside, without any coaxing from our parts.

A shadow broke away from the trees and
moved in our direction. I started to say something, but Nate shook
his head above me. He nodded his head and I realized what he was
indicating. My breath caught in my throat and I felt my chest
swell. The lights above us seemed to glow brighter, flashing even
faster. When the figure was close enough for me to make out the
color of his clothes, I felt my knees go wobbly.

“
Oh my God.” I couldn’t help
the words that slipped out of my mouth. “He is real.”

The man wearing the red suit laughed
heartily and when he was close enough for me to make out his
features I whirled around and poked Nate in the chest. Fury
overwhelmed any awe I felt.

“
You jerk! This has been a
joke the whole time!”

Nate shook his head and smiled. “No one
knows but you and me now.”

“
What’s wrong, Molly?
Thought I’d be fatter?” Nick Cameron, my rude, sexist neighbor,
rested a hand on his belly and laughed again. “Sally has me on a
diet.”

“
This is…” Ridiculous.
Crazy. A cruel joke. “You’re messing with me, aren’t
you?”

“
It’s real, youngin’. Real
as real can be.” He winked at me before walking over to the
reindeer and producing some carrots from his pockets. I blinked
when I realized the reindeer were no longer standing in a line, but
attached to a large sleigh.

“
Holy shit.” I covered my
mouth with my hand. I had just cussed in front of Santa
Claus.

“
Aye. It is a bit of a
shock, isn’t it?” Nick winked at me. “But, you’ll get used to it.”
He climbed into the sleigh and turned to look at me. “You are going
to stay, aren’t you? I like having family nearby.”

I felt Nate tense beside me, waiting
for my answer. Was I going to stay? Make my life on Christmas Hill?
Next to Santa Claus. I almost laughed. Remy sat next to me, resting
his shoulder against my leg. I looked down at my little buddy and
then back at Nick. My eyes travelled to Nate and his carefully
blank expression. I could see my life here, taking care of reindeer
and writing books. I could be happy in a place like this. Some
people upped and moved to places they had never been to, and made
their lives happily ever after. Why couldn’t I do it?

“
Yes. I’m staying.” I made
the declaration while looking at Nate, so I saw when he let go of
the breath he was holding. He reached up and cupped my cheek in his
hand, his eyes speaking volumes.

“
I thought you might say
that.” Nick laughed as he sat down in his sleigh.
“Here.”

I almost didn’t catch the package he
threw my way. The paper crinkled in my grasp, and my fingers
squeezed the squishy object inside. Without thought I yanked open
the package and stared at the hotdog buns in my hands. Nate laughed
and I just shook my head.

“
Don’t act like you’re
disappointed. You just got a whole house for goodness sake!” Nick
winked at me and I couldn’t help myself. I ran across the clearing
and kissed his cheek.

“
Thank you,
Santa.”

“
Tomorrow I go back to being
Grumpy Nick, you know. Don’t get too excited.” Santa hugged me with
one arm and I laughed into his red coat. “Alright, get. I’ve got
work to do!”

I hopped down from the sled and backed
up to Nate. With a loud crack, the sleigh jerked forward, the
reindeer running full speed. In the flash of an eye, the reindeer
and sleigh were airborne.

I had been right. If I hadn’t seen it
myself, I never would have believed it. As the lights spun above
our heads, Santa swung through the sky. I could hear his laugh as
he made his way out of sight. I watched until I couldn’t see him
anymore. And even then I strained for a few minutes
more.

“
You’re staying.” Nate’s
voice was quiet and I turned to look up at him.

“
I’m staying.” I stepped
closer to him, letting the hotdog buns hang by my side. “I think
you’ve proven your point.”

“
Not quite yet.” Nate
stepped closer, pulling me against his chest. “But I
will.”

I tilted my head up, ready for his
kiss. I sighed into his mouth, grateful to know he wasn’t crazy; to
know I wasn’t crazy for feeling this way about him after only a
day. His hands slid up my arms to tangle in the hair at my neck. I
could have stayed like that for the rest of the night, wrapped in
Nate’s arms on Christmas Hill. The package of buns being snatched
out of my hand was the only thing that could have distracted
me.

“
Hey!” I broke away from
Nate and looked around the clearing. “Remy!” The little black and
white dog ran toward the house, the hotdog buns clutched between
his teeth. Nate laughed as I ran after Remy, hollering for him to
drop my buns. Just as I reached the house, I watched as a dog door
appeared at the bottom of the front door. The little monster dove
through before I could reach him.

“
I’m going to rename you
Grinch!”

Strong arms lifted me off of my feet
and tucked me against Nate’s warm chest before jogging up the
stairs. I squealed in surprise and then laughed at the joy on his
face.

“
What are you
doing?”

“
We’re going to roast
hotdogs, and then I’m going to finish proving my point.” His smile
turned into something much hotter and I felt my body
respond.

“
Let’s switch the order.” I
reached up and kissed his jaw while he fumbled with the door
handle. He growled hungrily when I wrapped my lips around
his.

“
Good plan.” The door to the
house slammed open and he headed for the couch, but tripped on
something, sending us sprawling on the floor. Thankfully there was
a thick rug in front of the fireplace to cushion our
fall.

Laughter spilled out of my mouth when
Nate held up the offending piece of plastic for me to see. “So much
for the hotdog buns.”

“
We’ll make do.” He rolled
over so his body was covering mine. “Merry Christmas,
Molly.”

“
Merry Christmas,
Nate.”

“
Welcome home.”

Epilogue