Page 90 of Run, Run Rudolph
I swallowed hard and shared a look with Haden.
Behind Mrs. Claus, the reindeer were hitched to a rather plain, red sleigh. They pawed the ground and looked at their hooves, avoiding eye contact. Obviously, they had no plans to do anything other than stay clear of Mrs. Claus’s radar.
“Santa’s in the barn,” I whispered, unable to find my voice. I shivered in the freezing late-night temps and Haden tightened his hold. My Christmas sweatshirt was cozy, but no match for the weather.
Haden shuffled us away from the doorway.
“We’ll get out of your way,” he said diplomatically. “As I’m sure the reindeer have brought you up to speed on the…issues we’re facing.”
“They most certainly have.” She gave me a glare, as if I’d intentionally mowed down Rudolph, then flouted all of the rules of her queendom.
I shared a quick look with Haden as Mrs. Claus continued to stare us down.
Maybe I should have made a wish to Estelle and suffered the possible financial woes as a result, because this woman was terrifying. For the first time tonight, I felt the full gravity of what the reindeer and elf had tried to warn me about.
This could be the kind of trouble that was impossible to escape, even with a hefty dose of logic, and a sound argument couched with good intentions.
Haden, who’d released me, was in a bow like he was greeting royalty. He gestured to the open door beside us. “Your…highness?”
“Oh, enough grovelling.” Mrs. Claus pushed past us with an unimpressed huff, muttering something that sounded a lot like “men” as she entered the barn. But I noticed the flicker of pleasure in a tiny smile as she passed Haden.
Soon, the woman’s loud, scolding voice echoed through the structure. She barely paused for breath while scrambling ensued. I’d laugh if she wasn’t so terrifying.
Why did the world believe Santa’s wife was a sweet, rotund, cookie-bearing woman? I suppose nobody got the warm and fuzzies from a tough woman whose personality leaned closer to Snarky’s. Too bad I couldn’t exactly lock her in my trunk when I grew tired of her.
And seriously? Her and Santa? Talk about opposites attract. She was the grumpy to his sunshine. And the black magic to his white. No wonder they were having relationship issues.
Haden and I, hunched as deep into our shirts as we could go to battle off the cold wind, approached the reindeer hitched to the old sleigh.
“What took so long?” I asked them.
The reindeer huffed, but didn’t reply. Had they been forbidden from talking to me?
“It’s a lot smaller,” Haden said, running a hand over the sleigh, “but at least, it’s not smashed, and still flies. Looks pretty good.”
A small face peeked up over the sleigh’s side and I startled. It was a trembling female elf in a green and red stripped hat.
“Is she gone?” she asked in a tiny voice.
“Mrs. Claus is in the barn,” I said gently. “I’m Tamara. This is Haden.”
The elf’s eyes grew very large, and she shrunk down again, disappearing back into the sleigh.
I exchanged a glance with Haden and asked the reindeer, “Should we unhook you?”
They shook their heads furiously.
“So, then, what can we do to help?”
Nobody replied.
“She seems pretty upset,” I offered, gesturing to the barn.
“Very,” one of the reindeer muttered.
“I thought she was going to shoot us.”
“There’s still time,” Donner mumbled.
