Part 40
Maria studied Michael's sleeping features in the early morning light. He was relaxed and for once he had slept through the night. It was rare for him to stay down after going to bed. He usually got up multiple times throughout the night to check the windows and door, and on a couple of occasions she knew he had left the cabin to prowl around the perimeter. She shifted closer, draping herself over him and stacking her hands on his chest. She rested her chin on them and let her eyes lazily map his expression as he started to wake.
Her breathing had fallen in sync with his and she held her breath when she recognized the telltale signs of him mentally waking his slumbering senses. She smiled at the frown that pulled his eyebrows down as he focused all of his senses on his surroundings. His features became mobile as one by one he ticked off his mental checklist and determined that nothing was amiss. He stretched his arms high above his head, his expression nearly a grimace as his muscles protested the movement.
His arms came down, pushing the blanket out of the way to slide around her warm body. "Hey," he rasped as his eyes opened to meet her amused gaze.
"Hey," she said softly.
His sleepy gaze traveled over her face, enjoying the feeling of pride that rolled through him at her satisfied expression. "That was some bath, huh?"
She laughed into his chest in response. "And now I need a shower."
"There's room for two in – "
A knock at the door interrupted him and he expelled a harsh breath as he fought the urge to curse. He shot an annoyed glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand. 8:45am. His gaze went back to the door when the knock sounded again, patient and unhurried.
Maria lifted herself up to kiss him, making sure her naked body brushed against his chest. She pulled away when he groaned quietly, her hands cradling his face as she smiled at him. "Shush. It's probably just Liz."
"Then she can wait," he said as he rolled them over to pin her beneath him.
"We're not leaving her standing on our front step, Michael. It's cold out there!"
"Yeah, but it's warmin' up in here," he said with a teasing nudge.
"Down, boy," she said with a laugh and pushed against his chest. "Lemme have your shirt."
Michael growled but let her wiggle out from under him. "It's in my chair," he grumbled and flopped over on his back. His eyes followed her as she crossed the room and leaned over the back of the chair to snatch up his shirt and pull it on. "Why are there always people at the door?" He groaned when she turned to face him, slowly buttoning the oversized shirt.
"Is red plaid flannel a good look for me or what?" she asked as she started to move to the door.
The shirt was long on her but it still showed off a nice length of leg. "Works for me." He got up and pulled on a pair of jeans and a tee shirt, intercepting her before she could get to the door. He used the side of his foot to kick the chair out from under the doorknob and caught the back of it before it could tip over.
"Michael, I'll get it," Maria said as she reached around him for the door.
He slapped her hand away as it made contact with the knob. "That's not the way it works," he said with a glare at her. "To make sure you stay safe, I answer the door."
She shook her head in exasperation. "It's just Liz."
Michael held his hand up as he shot a look at her, refusing to budge until she moved back away from the door. He yanked the door open and his eyebrows lifted when he saw Isabel standing there, exercising an unusual amount of patience and calm considering how long they had left her out in the cold. He made a show of leaning to the side to look around her. "I don't see your shadow."
Maria snorted. "Worried that means six more weeks of winter?"
He glared at her. "Not funny."
She just laughed and shook her head at him. "Kyle may be short, but he's not furry."
"How would you know?"
She rolled her eyes at him. "Maybe we should just ask Isabel why she's here," she suggested.
"Maybe she came to get the rest of that stupid suit. I don't know why she took the coat and left the pants anyway."
Maria poked him and gave him a warning look that told him to drop it.
Isabel was biting her tongue in an effort to avoid saying something scathing. For nearly 10 minutes she had been standing outside in the cold, and the last couple she had been listening as they debated over who should answer the door and now they were discussing… nonsense. Her sharp gaze moved from Michael to Maria, one perfect eyebrow arching at their appearance. "Looks like you two had a good night," she said and instantly regretted it when the two of them exchanged a smirk. "I just knew this wasn't gonna be easy," she mumbled. "May I come in please? I'd like to talk to Maria."
Michael looked between the two of them, picking up on the underlying tension and wondering what was going on. He knew the night before when he had gotten back the girls had been talking quietly and Isabel had been mysteriously absent but Maria hadn't offered up an explanation. He was pulled out of his musings when a burst of cold air pushed through the open door and Maria danced backwards to use him as a windbreak. He pushed the door closed and glanced between the girls again. One of them was going to start talking at any minute, he was sure of it. And once that happened he was at risk of being dragged into whatever female topic was on the menu.
Maria grinned when she saw the look of discomfort on his face. He was trying to find an escape before he could be faced with whatever female crisis was looming on the horizon. Sometimes he was easier to read than the proverbial book. "Michael," she said, giving him a smile, "would you be a dear and make some coffee for us?"
He grunted and gave her a short nod. "Just coffee, she's not stayin' long."
"I love you too, Michael," Isabel said as she watched him retreat to the little kitchen. Even though he would rather do just about anything other than be involved in a 'girl talk' she knew he would be listening in, trying to figure out what was going on. "Um, Maria, last night I said some things," she started, her voice low.
"C'mon, let's go to the bathroom, it has a door."
Isabel looked around the small room, trying to determine if it was larger than the one she was sharing with Kyle. Her eyes fell on the bathtub and she nodded to herself. It was larger. She shook herself out of her thoughts and turned to sit on the rim of the tub. "Okay, last night…" she trailed off when Maria stopped her by holding her index finger to her lips in a bid for silence. She frowned when the other girl moved to the door and leaned into it, pressing her ear to it for a moment before moving around her to get to the faucet in the bathtub. She turned to watch as Maria turned the water on before shifting back to lean against the sink.
"So, go ahead."
"Right." She nodded. "Maria, I said some things last night…"
Maria stopped her again, this time with a shake of her head. "I kick myself every single day for leaving Michael, so I understand where you were coming from with that. But what you said to Liz… that was just…"
"Just get it out."
Isabel glanced to the side, looking at Alex when he spoke up. He was perched on the tank at the back of the toilet, elbows resting on his knees as he watched them. "It was inexcusable."
"Before all of this happened, me, Liz, and Alex, we were like the three musketeers. We were like that from early on in grade school, Isabel. We loved Alex and losing him…" Her throat closed up and she had to swallow hard. "We still love him and we're always gonna miss him."
The tall blonde sniffed as tears began to well up in her eyes and she nodded. "I miss him too." She leaned forward to grab a tissue from the small decorative box on the edge of the sink. "I'm sorry."
Maria could see the pain in Isabel's eyes and she straightened up. "It wasn't your fault either, Isabel." No, it was that bitch Tess's fault, she thought. She navigated around those thoughts and changed the subject, as much for Isabel as for her. "So, Kyle said something last night about coffee and donuts this morning."
Isabel smiled when Maria moved the conversation to a subject free of landmines. "Yeah, they're gonna have it set up over in Mr. Tony's barn." She watched as the other girl moved to the door, once again pressing her ear to it and nodding to herself. She reached behind herself when Maria motioned for her to turn the faucet off. As the water stopped rushing through the faucet Maria turned the knob and jerked the door open.
Michael stood on the other side, obviously caught in the act of eavesdropping though he tried to cover by pointing at the counter where two steaming mugs of coffee sat waiting. "Coffee's ready."
She rolled her eyes and followed Maria out of the bathroom. Did he really think anyone was falling for that?
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Kyle rolled over after the door closed behind Isabel, punching his pillow in frustration and rubbing his gritty eyes. He hadn't slept well, waking repeatedly throughout the night. He should have slept like a rock after the work he had done the day before but his night hadn't been restful at all. The only thing he could think of that could be responsible for his lack of sleep was the unexpected underwear encounter the night before.
He snorted out a laugh. "Unexpected underwear encounter," he muttered under his breath. Okay, it wasn't exactly news that he was attracted to Isabel. Well, he amended silently, it might be news to her. Had he imagined her giving him the once over last night? "Pull it together, Valenti," he snapped and rolled to his feet. "Don't start goin' down that road again."
He hefted the mattress back onto the bunk and grabbed a change of clothes before heading into the bathroom for a shower. He stepped under the spray, gritting his teeth against the frigid water. "Well, that's one of the negatives of living with Isabel." He took a shower in record time and jumped out, drying off and getting dressed before heading back out into the main room. He felt a little better as he wandered over to the counter to snag a cup of coffee since Isabel had been kind enough to make it before taking off.
He reached for the piece of paper propped up next to the mugs sitting on the counter, smiling at the note scrawled there. She had gone to see Maria and then she'd be making her way to see Liz to apologize for what was said the night before. "Where else would you go?" he asked with a fond smile.
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Liz was reaching for her rings where they lay on the back of the sink when someone knocked on the door. She turned her head to glance over her shoulder when Max stepped out of the bathroom, toothbrush clamped between his teeth.
"Got it," he mumbled as he made his way over to the door.
His gait was unhurried and she leaned back against the counter just to watch him. She was surprised to see the person on the other side of the door, expecting anyone but her sister-in-law to be standing there. She hid a smirk when he crowded his sister in the doorway as he looked around for Kyle. Isabel's expression was clearly annoyed at the holdup and after a moment she shoved him backwards.
"Do you mind? It's a little bit breezy out here this morning."
"You're tellin' me," he said agreeably, holding his right arm up to show off the gooseflesh that prickled his skin below the sleeve of his tee shirt. "Where's your shadow?" His hands shot up at her glare. "Just askin'. Don't really see one of you without the other anymore."
She drew herself up to her full height. "Make yourself scarce, little brother."
He held his toothbrush up. "Well, I'm kinda in the middle of…" He turned to follow her stare and for a moment his gaze bounced between his wife and his sister. He relented when Liz nodded. "Okay, I guess I can go over and talk to Michael for a – "
"I wouldn't recommend it," she interrupted. "Not unless you intend to stand outside and freeze to death."
"I don't…" His expression was comical as the meaning behind her words sank in. "Oh."
"You can go over to my cabin if you'd like. Just don't wake Kyle if he's still sleeping."
"No one cares if I'm sleeping." He slunk away at her scathing look, gathering his clothes and slipping them on. He continued to grumble but he kept his ramblings quiet. "Don't do anything to offend the Christmas Nazi's secretary," he muttered under his breath.
"Are you finished talking to yourself?" Isabel asked after several minutes of watching him.
"Does it matter?" he shot back.
"Not really, no." She waved an imperious hand at him, smiling in satisfaction when he shoved his feet into his boots and grabbed his coat.
Max crossed the room to stand before Liz, his expression questioning as he searched her features. He knew something had happened between the girls the night before and his sister's early morning appearance solidified in his mind that it was serious. His hands came up to cradle her cheeks, lifting her gaze to meet his. "I don't know what's going on but whatever it is, you don't have to deal with her alone if you don't want to."
She smiled at him and shook her head. "I'm fine, Max. It's between me and Isabel. There's no need for you to be involved in this."
He bit the inside of his cheek to keep from saying that he'd rather be in the middle of whatever was going on between them than spending time with Kyle. "Alright, I'll go find something to occupy myself with until you two are finished."
"Sometime today would be nice, people," Isabel growled. "We have a project that's waiting for us, so the sooner we get this over with the sooner we can get to work."
"Oh, well, there's all the incentive I needed to get moving," Max mumbled, smiling when it brought a smile to his wife's lips. "Feel free to take your time since she's gonna do her best to kill me with this whole Christmas thing," he whispered as he leaned in for a kiss.
Isabel rolled her eyes when the two of them finally broke apart and Max took his time sauntering to the front door. "Keep it up, Max. You're only digging that hole deeper."
He just snorted. "Yeah, like it can get any worse than it already is." He hurried to pull the door open and make his disappearance when she just smiled in that way that told him yes, it could get worse.
Silence fell over the cabin once Max was gone. Isabel was suddenly at a loss for words as she and Liz stared at each other. After a couple of minutes of the deafening silence Liz glanced down at her hands, her fingers fiddling with her wedding rings. Somehow Maria was a lot more approachable than her sister-in-law, she thought.
"There's really not much you could say to make me feel any more responsible for Alex's death than I already do, Isabel."
She shook her head. "Liz, I didn't mean to say that last night."
"You may not have meant to say it, but you meant it all the same."
Isabel bit her lip as she paced around the main room, her gaze seeking out Alex and finding him sitting in the rocking chair.
"Just be honest with her."
She nodded and took a deep breath. "Okay, yes, at that moment I honestly meant it. But I didn't know I had been thinking it. I must've had it buried down so deeply in my subconscious because rationally I know you're not responsible for his death. We could throw blame around for the rest of our lives and the fact of the matter is we'd only be hurting each other because the fault doesn't rest on your shoulders."
Liz watched Isabel, carefully studying her gestures and breaking down what she was saying. "It doesn't rest on yours either," she said after a few moments. "For all we know, you could be right about what you said last night. Logically, it makes sense. Tess knew Max would never really be hers. She might've had him physically," she swallowed hard, feeling ill all of the sudden, "but she knew that his heart, the part of him that mattered most, she would never have that part of him. Not while he and I were still on the same planet."
Isabel shook her head and gave her a small smile. "It wouldn't matter if you guys were separated by miles or light years, Liz. Tess never would've had that part of him. Max was a goner from the first time he ever saw you and she didn't have to connect with him to know that." She caught the look on Liz's face and she found herself backpedaling. "If she even connected with him in the first place. For all we know that was just a product of her ability to get into people's heads. Whatever it was, it wasn't strong enough to break his connection to you."
She smiled faintly at Isabel's attempt to smooth things over.
"I'm sorry about what I said, Liz." She shrugged. "I suck at apologies and to be honest, in the past most of the time, it's been a matter of formality rather than genuine regret for anything I said or did. But I am sorry because I know Alex didn't die because of what you did."
"I've gone over everything, trying to pinpoint what I could've done differently and the only thing that fits is what you suggested." She sighed and shook her head. "Maybe it was the thing that pushed her into doing what she did to Alex. I don't guess we'll ever know for sure. What I do know is that Alex wouldn't want us to waste time blaming ourselves or each other for something that we can't change."
"If it weren't for you Max and I would probably be dead right now, Zan would be in Khivar's hands, and we never would've known the truth about Alex's death." She sighed. "I talked to Kyle when I got home last night and he says there's only one person to blame for Alex's death… and it's not either one of us."
"Tess," Liz said and nodded. "He's right." She chuckled and shook her head. "I'm not sure we need to let him know that."
Alex snorted at that, drawing Isabel's gaze. "He already knows."
Isabel smiled to herself. "Yeah, well, he already knows."
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Kyle shoved his hands deeper into the pockets of his coat as he walked up the driveway to the barn where everyone else was already gathered. Isabel had been champing at the bit to get the day started when she had come back to the cabin earlier but she hadn't pushed for him to get ready, telling him that she would see him when he got there. He had agreed when Max and Liz had stopped by to walk over to Mr. Tony's with her. Max had looked suspiciously frozen but he had refrained from making a comment. Instead, he had watched them go and then he had taken his time, downing another cup of coffee and watching some old sitcom on TV before shutting it off and getting into his winter gear.
He pushed the door and slipped inside the warmer interior of the barn, turning to shove it closed on the cold wind blowing against his back. He glanced over at the makeshift tables that held the large coffee pot and several trays of fresh donuts. The Stevens' kids were gathered around one of them, munching on donuts and talking. They fell silent for a few seconds, glancing up at his arrival, and greeting him before going back to their breakfast.
"Mornin'," he called out with a nod at them. He pulled his hands out of his pockets and rubbed them together in anticipation as he headed for the table. "Oh, yeah, Kyle needs the sugar rush this mornin'." Maybe it would do something about the headache he hadn't been able to shake.
Maggie started up a running commentary about how Mr. Tony's good friend Dayna and Mama had gotten up early and helped bake donuts at the bakery in East Tawas. He was only listening with half an ear as he wandered around the table, his eyes feasting on the bounty laid out before him.
"Oooh, Bavarian cream with chocolate frosting. You are sooo mine," he said as he leaned over the table to reach for the tray in the center.
"Kyle!"
His hand froze just above the desired donut and he turned his head slightly to glance at Isabel.
"What are you doing?"
"Oh, boy," he muttered under his breath. Isabel had been replaced by her alter ego, the Christmas Nazi. That crazed gleam had entered her eyes once more and he knew it was going to be a long day. He smiled past the headache that wouldn't let up, doing his best to ignore the spike being drilled between his eyes. "Breakfast," he said as he snatched up the donut before someone else could swipe it. "Kyle never skips breakfast."
She let that go, running full steam ahead with her news as she shot the telltale manic smile at him. "The reindeer will be here any minute." She pointed over to the hay bales stacked up against the far wall. "They have to have food in their pen."
His eyes scanned the barn for Max or Michael, both of whom were mysteriously absent. He started to ask where the latter was but knew from experience that he would just be asking for a rant so he let it go. "Where's the wrangler?"
"Dayna needed to make a few alterations to his costume." She arched an eyebrow as her gaze dropped to the donut in his hand. "Kyle, the reindeer…"
He took a bite of the donut and chewed on it for a moment before nodding. "Relax, I've got it." He leaned over and snagged another donut that he held out to her.
Isabel made a face at the cake donut, covered liberally with purple and pink sprinkles.
"C'mon," he cajoled, "it's a Princess donut…" He waved it back and forth in front of her. "Just for you…"
"Really?" Maggie's ears perked up at that. "There's Princess donuts?"
"Um-hmm, there really are," Kyle said with a grin. He knew that Isabel wouldn't be able to turn it down now.
Isabel picked at the donut, pulling a small piece off and studying it. "Kyle, I've been rethinking your costume for Christmas on the Lake."
"I don't have a costume," he said with a shake of his head as he reached over to fill a cup with coffee.
"I know." She popped the bite in her mouth and chewed it. "That's the part I've been rethinking."
He snorted and took a drink of his coffee. "Keep thinkin'."
Maggie looked down at what was left of her own donut and frowned. It was decorated with plain old red and green sprinkles. Somehow it wasn't as appealing as it had been a few minutes earlier. She grabbed Cindy and slid down off of her chair to go over to stand next to Isabel. "Cindy thinks you're a pretty princess," she said as she tucked the beloved toy up under her chin and looked up at Isabel. "I'm a princess too. Michael calls me Princess Maggie."
Michael, the absent hybrid. "Yes, he does." Isabel glanced around the barn, looking for him and still not seeing him.
Kyle shot a quick look at Maggie, feeling an oh, crap moment settle over him when he caught her gaze locked on the Princess donut. He nodded when he located one more of the special donuts tucked into the center of a bunch of other sprinkle-covered donuts. "Hey, look at that, there's a Princess donut for each of you."
Isabel smirked as she retrieved the special donut and offered it to Maggie with a wink.
"What do we say?" Edward asked as he approached the table.
Maggie looked up and smiled at him before turning to Isabel. "Thank you."
"You're welcome."
Edward grabbed a donut and wolfed down half of it while fixing himself a cup of coffee. "I think I've worked harder than I normally do this time of year." He nodded at Isabel. "You really do know how to pull things together. You and Dayna make quite the team." He shook his head. "I didn't think it was possible for anyone else to be so…"
Julia rolled her eyes when Edward stuck his foot in his mouth. "I know how that sounded, but he meant it as a compliment."
He just shoved a donut in his mouth and shrugged, hiding the fact that he was grateful for his wife's interruption.
"Seems to me putting the hay out for the reindeer falls under the duties of the reindeer wrangler," Kyle said as he reached for another donut.
"Nice try," Isabel said with a shake of her head, "but Max is busy right now and those reindeer have to be fed."
Kyle's gaze was locked on the hay stacked against the wall, wondering just how high it was when the door was pushed open and Brian ran inside. The teenager slowed his steps when he realized he had an audience.
"So, the Millers just pulled in the driveway with the reindeer." He moved to stand next to Kyle, following his gaze. "You want some help?"
"Yeah, sure," he answered with a shrug. He was downing the last of his coffee when he saw Michael and Maria come through the door. He just shook his head and grinned when he felt Isabel stand up straighter next to him as her sharp gaze zeroed in on the couple.
Her eyes narrowed slightly as she took in their appearance. Michael's swagger was relaxed and the tips of his shaggy hair were damp. Beside him Maria's gait was unhurried and her hair looked like… She made a face as she stopped her thoughts in their tracks. "What took the two of you so long?"
Michael ignored her as his eyes scanned over the selection of donuts spread out on the table. His stomach rumbled in a not so subtle reminder that he had foregone breakfast to pursue other needs.
Maria was doing her best not to laugh at the look on his face as he eyes the variety of donuts laid out before him. The proverbial starving man at a buffet, she thought with a satisfied smirk.
"Good morning, Maria," Maggie greeted as she ran up to them.
"Hi, Maggie." The little girl was already focused on Michael before the words had even finished leaving her mouth so she left the two of them to grab a cup of coffee and something to eat. She altered her course and grabbed Isabel's hand, pulling her away from the others. "Hey, we were kinda rushed for time." She motioned to her hair. "Think you could help me out?"
Isabel huffed indignantly. "I am not your personal hairdresser," she muttered. Her eyes traced over Maria's hair and after a moment she just sighed. "Fine, but only because you can't walk around all day looking like this," she said and dragged Maria off where they wouldn't be disturbed for a couple of minutes.
"Look, Michael," Maggie said as she held up her royal donut, "me an' Cindy have a Princess donut." She studied the donut for a moment before continuing. "Did you know Isabel's really a princess too?"
He snorted at that, smiling at her as he dropped to his haunches to meet her on her level so he could examine the donut. He watched her as she tipped her head back to look up at Kyle.
"Do they make special donuts for the Captain who protects the princess?"
Kyle shot another glance at the wall of baled hay. "They do," he said after a moment of thought. "Bran muffins."
"Yuck." She made a face at that. "Mama makes Daddy eat them."
"Those reindeer aren't gonna feed themselves," Isabel reminded Kyle as she joined them again. She waved a finger at Michael. "And you? You have a full day ahead of you."
He shrugged carelessly. "Better get movin', hay boy." He reached around Kyle and grabbed a couple of the little round glazed donut holes, shoving them in his friend's hand. "Here, you can substitute for the pair you're missin'."
"Was that a joke, Guerin?" He shoved Michael's shoulder. "I think that was actually a joke. What'd you do to him, Maria?" He just grinned and popped one of the donut holes in his mouth, dodging the look Isabel was shooting at him as he hurried over to get started with his task.
Maria looked up when Eddie ran inside with Max following behind at a more sedate pace. Max was watching something over his shoulder and by the expression on apprehension on his face it was probably the trailer with reindeer coming up the driveway.
"Hi, Maria," the boy said as he came to a stop beside her. "You guys must've slept through your alarm, huh?"
"Um-hmm," she agreed, biting her lips to keep from letting her smile escape. "I hope we didn't miss too much."
"Nah, just Max havin' to try on his costume, Dad getting tangled up in a bunch of garland, and Brian stuffing his face like a pig."
Michael rolled his eyes at the boy's obvious attempt to make every other guy in the vicinity sound like idiots.
"Good, we didn't miss much at all then."
"You want me to get you some coffee?" he offered with a big smile.
"That would be nice, thank you."
"I don't mind."
Michael glared at the boy when he ran to grab a cup and fill it for Maria. "Really?" he growled. "You're encouraging him?"
"He's 12, Michael." She smacked his arm with the back of her hand. "You need to leave him alone. He's being sweet."
"I was 12 once too, ya know," he leaned in to whisper in her ear. "And I can assure you he's not fetching your coffee and making sure you're warm because he's all innocent and sweet."
"Whatever. That might not be why you would've done things like that." She smiled when she saw Liz entering the barn. "Oh, look, Liz is here. I'm gonna go talk to her and you… eat." At least if he was stuffing his face he wouldn't be running his mouth. Well, that wasn't exactly true, but it would distract him for a while.
"Michael, you don't really like bran muffins, do you?" Maggie asked. "'Cause I looked and Mama an' Dayna didn't bring none of them."
"No, I don't like them. Eatin' one of those things is like chewing on a cardboard box."
She laughed at his description. "You're funny, Michael."
He smiled and grabbed a donut. "Looks like Miss Cindy's gonna scarf that donut if you don't eat it pretty soon."
Maggie looked down and giggled when she saw the sprinkles dotting Cindy's white muzzle. She brushed them off and leaned against his side as Max came over to join them. "Are you all excited 'bout the reindeer coming?" she asked him as she picked the donut apart to eat it.
"So excited," he said, trying to muster up a little bit of enthusiasm for the little girl.
"I would be too if I got to be with them like you do. Do you know if Rudolph's gonna be coming too?"
"Um…" He didn't even know how many reindeer his sister had managed to saddle him with although he wouldn't put it past her to bring in all nine of them. Which would be fine if they really were tiny reindeer. But they weren't. He knew what a reindeer looked like and they were anything but tiny. The stupid things were as big as a horse… maybe bigger. And they had horns, antlers, whatever.
"Rudolph, Cupid, Vixen and Prancer," Michael said, taking his cues from Isabel. He licked a smear of chocolate off of his thumb and shrugged. "Santa said the others needed to rest for the big night so they're gonna be at another thing like this closer to home."
Maggie's eyes widened. "But don't they gotta rest too?"
"They'll have time to rest after Christmas on the Lake's over," Max said.
"But they're gonna have to go back to the North Pole and that's far," the little girl countered. "If they're tired they might get lost."
"Really?" Michael growled at Max. He crouched down next to Maggie as he rolled his eyes at his friend. "You know Santa's gonna be here, right?" He smiled when she nodded. "Santa won't let his reindeer get too tired. Y'know, they like stuff like this. And Rudolph, you know how much he enjoys bein' the center of attention. He loves to get out and visit all the kids because he doesn't get a chance to see them on Christmas. Besides, Santa's gonna use his magic to get the reindeer back to the North Pole so they'll be rested up for their trip on Christmas Eve."
The little girl heaved a huge sigh of relief. "Will we get to see Rudolph's red nose?"
"Well," he scratched his jaw as he thought about that one. "He's probably gonna rest it while he's here. That trip around the world's gonna mean he's gotta use it a lot on Christmas Eve."
"Oh." She kicked at several pieces of straw lying on the floor. "I was kinda hoping we'd get to see Rudolph's shiny red nose."
They all looked up when the barn door slid open and several people stepped inside. Two tall men flanked a petite woman who walked with an air of confidence as she walked over to the pen set up in the center of the barn. It was the reindeer walking placidly beside her that immediately had Maggie's attention.
"You know Christmas is all about miracles, right?" Michael asked Maggie quietly.
She looked at him for a moment before she smiled and nodded.
"You just never know when ol' Rudolph might just make his nose blink for you," he said with a wink.
Max looked at Michael when he stood up beside him once more. "You know, for someone who doesn't believe in the whole Christmas thing you sure seem to know an awful lot about Santa's reindeer," he muttered quietly so the words wouldn't carry to Maggie.
"I'm not completely lost when it comes to Christmas. You remember what I told you a couple Christmases ago?" Michael asked just as quietly.
He shrugged one shoulder. "Not really."
"Ya gotta hedge your bets, Maxwell. Can't hurt." He looked down when she slipped her tiny hand into his and together they walked over to see what was going on. He shot a glance over his shoulder when Max hung back. "You comin', Evans?"
"I'm just gonna…" he glanced around, looking for something, anything that would allow him to put off meeting his charges for the duration of this insanity. "Have a donut, maybe get a cup of coffee."
"Wuss," Michael muttered under his breath.
Kyle was hefting another bale off of the stack when the baling twine snapped on one side and hay scattered on the floor around him. "That's just freakin'…" he trailed off when he noticed the small pair of feet covered with hay and he lifted his head to suggest their owner move but the words died on his tongue. He made an inarticulate sound as he found himself facing a petite blonde in her early 20s. She was a few inches shorter than him with twinkling blue eyes and a ready smile. Her left hand was raised and wrapped around the cheek strap of the halter worn by the reindeer standing beside her.
"Hi," the woman said with a grin and stuck her right hand out in his direction.
Kyle started to shake her hand before remembering that he had gloves on and he hurriedly jerked it off of his hand before taking hers.
"I'm Stefanie Miller." She pointed to the men on either side of her. "My little brothers, Frankie and Travis."
"Little, huh?" he said as he shook their hands.
She just grinned when the reindeer nudged her. "Oh, where are my manners?" She reached up to pat the animal fondly. "And this big guy here is Rudolph." He shook his head. "Well, I just call him Rudy." She scratched under his chin and looked at the man in front of her. "So, you must be Max, right? You're my wrangler for the next few days?"
Oh, I wish, Kyle thought with a mental groan. "No, I'm Kyle, but I'll be around to give you a hand if you need it." He pointed across the room and motioned for Max to join them. "This guy here," he said when Max reluctantly joined them, "this's your elf, I mean, wrangler, for the next couple days."
Isabel joined them, lifting her eyes from her planner and frowning when she noticed Kyle standing there with his tongue practically hanging out of his mouth. She rolled her eyes. He obviously had too much time on his hands, she thought as her gaze dropped back to the schedule. She introduced herself to Stefanie and the others, slowly insinuating herself between Kyle and the other woman as they discussed the reindeer.
Max jumped back when Rudolph started to paw the ground. "What's it doing?" he asked, eyeing it warily.
Stefanie laughed. "Get used to it, Max. Reindeer paw their feed. He's just interested in the hay on the floor."
"Great."
"Michael, look… it's Rudolph," Maggie whispered reverently.
"Can she pet him?" Michael asked as they approached the others.
"Sure," Stefanie said with a smile.
Michael picked Maggie up and settled her against his side so she could reach out and touch the reindeer.
Isabel watched the two of them for a moment. She wondered if Michael had any idea just how solid the wall he was building around them was. There was no way they were leaving before Christmas. If there were any doubts before now, they had just evaporated into thin air.
"It's scratchy," Maggie said as she rubbed her hand over the animal's coarse coat. "Does he wear jingle bells?"
Stefanie nodded. "He has jingle bells on his harness. He'll be wearing them when he and the others pull Santa in on his sleigh."
Michael frowned at that. As if this wasn't enough of a nightmare! How had Isabel managed to slip that little bit of good news under his radar? He shot a glare at her that she completely ignored and he smirked when she directed the other woman's attention to the pen in an attempt to keep her focus off of Kyle. He snorted when Kyle tried to get in on the conversation and Isabel asked him if he'd mind getting her a cup of coffee. Oh, yeah, Christmas just got a lot more interesting.