Sleighed by the Farmer’s Daughter (Sweet Christmas Kisses)

Chapter Two

Mackenzie Adams adjusted her elf hat once more, the bells jingling with every movement. She fought against the gale, trying to tuck the last of the photo props into the plastic tub before the wind ripped the lid out of her hand. She could barely feel her fingers, even through her gloves. She prayed the last family made it home safely. No picture was worth dying over, and they had stayed out in this storm too long.

The massive reindeer, harnessed to her family’s antique sled, stamped her hooves impatiently.

“Just a minute, Dasher,” she muttered as she tucked the box under the bench seat. “I know, I know. We’re almost done here.”

Racing off across the tiny square, she started knocking the supports out of the facades of Santa’s Village, laying them flat so the gusts wouldn’t break them to pieces. The nor’easter was blowing in with a vengeance, and she was bone-tired from fighting against the wind by the time the last little storefront fell. Thankfully, her brothers had spent the last ten years making the little village buildings real full-size structures, so she didn’t have many of the fake ones to take down.

Finally, she turned Dasher towards the barn, eagerly anticipating its warmth and safety. She couldn’t believe she had forgotten her snow boots. There was a really good chance she had frostbite on her toes from the stupid elf slippers.

Dasher was just lining up with the red barn doors when a strange glow in the distance caught her eye. She squinted through the snow. It looked like car hazard lights.

“Great, just what I need,” she sighed, gently tugging Dasher’s reins. “Come on, girl. Let’s go check it out. Adding a human popsicle to my list of troubles won’t be as much fun as it sounds.”

She guided the sled down the long drive, the antique runners cutting through the snow effortlessly. As she got closer, she could make out a large truck and trailer tipped over in the ditch.

“Bet that was a fun ride,” she smirked, climbing down from the sled to approach the vehicle. “Hello?” she called out, banging on the driver’s door, her voice fading quickly on the wind. “Is anyone in there?”

She tried to scramble up onto the running board to peek inside, but her elf slippers weren’t made for that kind of climbing, and not finding a good enough purchase, she slipped. She quickly wiped the window with her gloved hand, trying to see inside. Suddenly, a face appeared, causing her to jump back with a yelp, landing on her rear end in the snow with a thud.

The window rolled down, revealing a very startled, very tall man. Seth was having a difficult time making sense of what he was seeing. Was he really about to be rescued by a cute, very annoyed elf in Santa’s sleigh? Was that a real reindeer? He must have hit his head. “Sorry about that. I didn’t mean to scare you. It took me a minute to get into position to roll down the window.”

“Who are you? Why are you on our private road and in our ditch?” she demanded, her breath visible in the cold air as she got to her feet and brushed the snow from her behind. Her mamma would give her an earful if she heard her tone, but Mackenzie was too tired to care.

The man, who she now noticed was ridiculously handsome even in this predicament, answered with a sarcastic grin. “Seth Stoll. Happy to meet you,” he said, reaching his hand out the window that was easily three feet above her head. She glared at him, not about to jump up in an effort to reach it. “I heard Santa’s elves were throwing a huge party, so I figured I’d crash it. Guess I took the crashing part a little too far.”

Adjusting her elf hat, yet again, Mackenzie couldn’t help but laugh despite the situation. “A comedian, huh? Not sure I’m in need of one of those.” She rested her hands on her hips as she evaluated the situation and made a decision. Bringing home a large, handsome man while her family was away was a terrible idea, but under the circumstances, it was that or be responsible for his death. She would have to take her chances on him being a decent guy. “This storm is supposed to be record-breaking, and no one will be able to help you for days. You should probably come with me if you don’t want to freeze to death.”

“Thank you, Tinkerbell. I appreciate the offer. Give me a minute to climb down.” Seth quickly grabbed his backpack of gear and awkwardly pushed open the driver’s door. Trying to exit a ridiculously angled truck in the middle of a gusting snowstorm is no easy task and very hard to do gracefully, which Seth did not. He no sooner pulled himself up on the frozen running board, preparing to jump down, than the wind pressed the door into his outstretched arm, pushing him sideways.

He slipped off the runner, careening face first towards the ground, landing on his side in the snow with a thump, snow bursting up in a cloud around him.

The tiny elf stood over him, fists on hips, gauging his level of injury before nodding her head, satisfied that he would likely live. “Tinkerbell is a fairy. I’m Peppermint, one of Santa’s elves. Get your stories straight. I would say it’s nice to meet you, but I’m about to lose my toes, and Dasher might dash to the barn soon if we don’t get going. It’s been a very long day. Need help standing, or do you think you can make your way to the sleigh on your own?”

A grin lifted his lips at the thought of this little lady trying to help him to his feet. He had to be twice her size. “I’ve got this,” he assured her. With some effort, Seth managed to push to his feet and clamber up the side of the truck long enough to secure the door and lock it. Dasher gave Seth’s back a nibble, and he stumbled slightly when he tried to scoot away but caught himself on the sled.

When he climbed in and settled, Mackenzie draped a pile of blankets over his lap. “Wow, I can’t believe I’m about to be rescued by Santa’s elf in a real sleigh,” he said, shaking his head in disbelief.

Mackenzie lifted the reigns and called, “On Dasher!” before turning sparkling brown eyes on him. “Stick around. It gets better. Welcome to the North Pole.”