Page 9 of Sleigh Me Baby

Chapter Four

Klaus

Damn, it’s cold. Like super fucking cold. I should probably reschedule the sleigh ride, but the look Natalie had when she walked up and saw the sleigh out in front did me in. I couldn’t take this away from her.

“You ready for your sleigh ride, Ms. Robbins?” I ask, holding out my arm to her.

She rests her gloved hand on my arm and steps into the sleigh. When she sits down, I put a thick blanket over her legs, then go to sit in the front where I can steer the sleigh.

“Wait. I don’t want to sit back here all by myself. Can I sit upfront with you?”

“Of course, you can. Here, let me help you up.” I lift her up to the seat and cover her with the blanket again, then get in on the other side.

“Ready?” I ask her and she smiles up at me.

“Yeah.” She sighs happily.

Using the reigns, I alert my horse, Red, that it’s time to get moving. We’re only riding for about ten minutes when I realize the wind has picked up quite a bit and the temperature has dropped. I check my phone to see that it’s eighteen degrees out. There was already snow on the ground when I woke up this morning and since then it has continued to snow sporadically dropping a couple of inches of snow.

Natalie scoots closer to me so our sides are pressed together. “Do you think we should turn around?” She asks after a couple of minutes.

“That’s probably a good idea.” I signal to Red and get him to turn back the way we came. It takes us twice as long to get back to the barn since it has started snowing heavily. By the time we make it back to the barn, Natalie is practically clinging to me trying to stay warm. I feel like an asshole for not suggesting we reschedule the sleigh ride. Once Red stops in front of the barn, I jump down and unlatch his reigns from the sleigh. I turn back to help Natalie down from the sleigh, but she’s already gotten down by herself. Natalie follows me as I take Red into the barn and get him situated in his stall. I give him a couple of carrots and make sure he has everything he needs.

“He’s such a good boy.” Natalie coos staring at Red.

“Do you like horses?” She shrugs.

“I just like animals. I’m not particular.”

“Do you mind if we check on the rest of the animals before making a run for it?”

“Of course, I don’t mind. Can I help with anything?” She asks.

“I love that you asked, but no. I’m just going to do a quick check. They should have already been fed and should have enough water for a few days at least.”

Natalie walks with me from stall to stall as I check on the horses and then make sure the barn is locked up tight. When I open the door to check the weather it’s only gotten worse. The snow is coming down so heavily that I can’t see more than a few feet ahead of me. I close and lock the door and look back at Natalie.

“It’s bad, isn’t it?” She asks.

I nod my head. “I think we should stay in the barn until the wind lets up. The last thing we want is to get lost out there.”

“At least you have electricity out here. Please tell me you have a heater.”

“There’s a space heater in the tack room, but I don’t know how warm that will keep us.”

“Better than nothing. Where’s the office?”

“It’s over here, come on,” I tell her and lead us to the back of the barn where the tack room is located. Turning on the light, I locate the space heater and plug it in near the couch, positioning it in front of the couch.

Natalie sits on the couch in front of the heater and pulls her gloves off her hands, to warm them near the heater. Sitting beside her I do the same. We sit in silence for a while, doing our best to stay warm.

“I guess the weatherman knew what he was talking about when he predicted this storm.” I muse, trying for conversation.

She nods but is silent.

I nudge her shoulder with mine. “It’s not that bad. Everything is going to be fine. The storm will slow down, and we’ll get out of here.”

“It’s not that. Celeste said she was going out to get a tree. I’m praying she isn’t stuck out in this god-awful storm.”

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