Page 102 of Run, Run Rudolph
“Yes,” I confirmed.
“One moment.” Stacy took a few steps away, speaking into the radio clipped to her lapel. She waited to hear a garbled reply, then said to me, “We’re going to need confirmation from Justin that it’s okay for you to be in here.”
Great. What kind of mood was my cousin in tonight? Hopefully not the kind where he’d find it funny to send us to the clinker.
“But we didn’t break in!” Tamara protested. “Haden knows the security code. Please?”
“I’m sure half the town knows it. We need to ensure you have proper permission, and it doesn’t sound as though you do.” Stacy said to her partner, “You can uncuff him.”
“You sure?” asked the recruit.
“I know where he lives.”
“You know where everyone lives,” the man muttered under his breath as he released me. Man, it felt good to be able to stand up, use my arms, and get my cheek off the grimy floor. I moved to Tamara’s side, wanting to hug her, even though she was clearly okay.
“I sure wish Justin would answer his phone, and let us go,” I said pointedly to Tamara as Stacy waited to hear something through her walkie talkie. “Don’t you wish that?”
Tamara rolled her eyes at me and shook her head. What? What was the point of a fairy godmother if you didn’t use her liberally?
Chapter 29
~ Tamara ~
Once Justin confirmed that it was okay for us to be in his store as long as I baked him one of my chocolate cakes, Stacy and the new officer let us go. But not before watching Haden send payment to Justin. Once again, Haden refused to let me pay.
It was charming, but a bit old-fashioned. Since it was my fiasco, I thought it was unfair that he was the one paying for everything. A small part of me wondered if, deep down, he still saw me as tiny Tamara, in need of rescue.
His remarks about my wishing our way out of our scrape with the police had made me a little grumpy, too. We both knew Justin wasn’t going to send us to jail. And while Haden didn’t understand the complications and cost that came with having a fairy godmother, I was too tired to take it all in stride. Especially since a part of me worried that I was falling too fast, too hard, and by daybreak, I’d somehow be without him in my life. Like this magical night with him was just that—magic.
And magic was dangerous. If I wished this messy night away, what else would I be wishing away? Haden and our kisses? Because if I hadn’t hit Rudolph, there would be no Haden in my barn, and then no kissing. We’d still be avoiding each other like before tonight.
And even if I wished tonight’s mess away, with a plan to woo Haden tomorrow, since I now understood he had feelings for me, would I even remember come morning? Neither of us knew how we got to the hardware store, and yet Haden’s truck had been waiting for us outside. Was that a bit of magic that had placed the vehicle there, or had we driven here without memory of it, thanks to the magical weaving of time to make my wish happen?
Too many questions, too many risks.
Haden drove us away from the store, and down the alley, the truck bouncing and jiggling in the dark gulley between buildings as we went from one snowy pothole to the next.
From above, a blip of red—a glowing cigarette—burned above the insurance agency. Lady MacBeth. Would she remember tonight? How long would it take for the juicy story of Haden and me being busted by the police to circulate?
On the bright side, it might distract people from trying to solve whose stag party we’d been shopping for. In a small town like Eagle Ridge, everyone knew everyone. And the topic of marriage? Well, that would get everyone talking.
Haden’s truck pushed through the deep snow on the unplowed country roads. As we drew closer to my farm—as well as the fight I’d wished us away from—a feeling of dread settled in the pit of my gut.
“Maybe we shouldn’t go back,” I said. When I’d made my wish, what else had been set in motion? What consequences might we face if we returned? And how would Mrs. Claus feel about us slipping from her grasp?
Haden took his foot off the gas pedal, and I felt the truck slow as it got bogged down in the fresh snow.
“You want me to pull a U-ey at the correction line?”
I bit my bottom lip, debating if I wanted him to turn us around at the upcoming T-intersection. A feeling of responsibility crept into my brain, refusing to release its prisoner.
“No. It doesn’t feel right to bail on the reindeer or Santa. Or that poor fixer elf.”
“I guess if things go south, you can always wish us out of there again,” Haden said hesitantly. I could hear the trace of thrill in his voice, like when he’d first met Rudolph. He was loving all this magic stuff. Maybe a little too much.
Again, my brain prodded me with the thought that the magic of tonight might be playing a role in his sudden romantic interest in me. What if he found the everyday, sit-at-home-and-read-a-book version of Tamara boring like his brother had?
“Wishes are a last resort,” I said sternly. “There are always consequences.” I nodded firmly, my decision made. “We’ll go check things out, but keep your keys at the ready in case we have to get out fast.”
