One Tough Christmas Cookie (The Reindeer Wrangler Ranch Christmas Romance Book 1) Read online

  One Tough Christmas Cookie

  The Reindeer Wrangler Ranch Christmas Romance Series Book 1

  Lucy McConnell

  Orchard View Publishing LLC

  Copyright © 2020 by Lucy McConnell

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Created with Vellum

  Contents

  One Tough Christmas Cookie

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Chapter 13

  Chapter 14

  Chapter 15

  Chapter 16

  Chapter 17

  Chapter 18

  Chapter 19

  Chapter 20

  Chapter 21

  Chapter 22

  Chapter 23

  Chapter 24

  Chapter 25

  Chapter 26

  Chapter 27

  Chapter 28

  Chapter 29

  Chapter 30

  Chapter 31

  Chapter 32

  Chapter 33

  Chapter 34

  Chapter 35

  Chapter 36

  Chapter 37

  Epilogue

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  About the Author

  One Tough Christmas Cookie

  The Reindeer Wrangler Ranch Christmas Romance Series Book 1

  Caleb Nichollas has a secret.

  Dunder, one of Santa's premier reindeers, is sick.

  And the vet is laid up in the hospital, leaving his cantankerous--though beautiful--daughter in charge of the practice.

  Getting along with Faith Saintsbury would be easier if Caleb could tell her about Christmas Magic, flying reindeer, or the Nichollas Family's roll in making sure Christmas goes off without a hitch.

  But he can't. The family rules keep the reindeer, and therefore Santa, safe.

  Faith doesn't trust easily and she has a sore spot when it comes to the reindeer that take up so much of her father's time. She's determined to do what she has to and then get out of town. She's not about to let this wrangler have the upper hand--or work his way into her heart.

  Will Faith find a way to celebrate Christmas once again and believe in the Magic; or, will she leave town, Reindeer Ranch, and Caleb in her rearview mirror?

  You'll love this magical Christmas romance!

  Chapter 1

  Faith

  Faith Saintsbury fished a Santa-hat-shaped dog biscuit out of the jar and handed it to her patient. Talking to the owner, she said, “If you put the cream on it every morning and night, her rash should clear up within a couple of days.” She peeled off her plastic gloves and dropped them through the garbage hole in the counter.

  Little Miss Muffins’s nails scraped against the door as she tried to escape the exam room.

  “I’m so sorry.” Mavis, the dog’s owner, scooped her up into her arms and hugged her close. Faith tried not to cringe as Mavis buried her face in the fur and covered the animal in kisses, since she’d just explained that the rash that made Little Miss Muffins whine and scratch was caused by a communicable fungus. Gross.

  “No problem.” Faith opened the door for both of them. “As you can see, that happens a lot.” She smiled as she pointed to the bottom half of the door, which was covered in scratch marks. Every January, she and her partner, Johnathan, had an office makeover weekend and touched things up. But it was the fifth of December, and their hard work a year before had long since been scratched away. Johnathan had other ideas for the office, big ones that meant money and time. She just didn’t have it in her to tackle his projects, and she had put him off until after the holidays.

  Lately, things around the Friendly Pets Veterinary Clinic had been strained. Faith did her best to ignore the chill in the air that had nothing to do with winter and everything to do with a grumpy partner pouting because he didn’t get his way.

  Thank goodness she’d never dated him. Working with a sulking male was hard enough; being married to one would be downright miserable.

  “We love seeing Miss Muffins.” She smiled at the pup and waved to the owner as Mavis stopped at the desk to pay for the cream.

  “Dr. Saintsbury!” called Jenn, the receptionist.

  Faith paused in shutting the door and leaned out. “Yes?” Jenn’s panicked voice had her on alert. They were classified as a pet hospital with emergency services. Which meant she tended some horrifically damaged animals. Adrenaline coursed through her veins, turning on all the parts of her brain that handled crises and shutting off the parts that dealt with billing and other mundane office tasks. She’d be happy if she never had to chart again.

  Jenn pointed at the desk phone. “There’s a call for you—it’s urgent.”

  “I’ll take it in the back.” She shut the door and jogged to the counter on the other side of the exam rooms. Picking up the receiver, she hit the blinking number 2 button. “This is Dr. Saintsbury, how can I help?”

  “Dr. Saintsbury, this is Dr. Calvin from Sleigh Bell County Emergency.”

  Faith felt blindly for the barstool somewhere behind her. Her legs fell out from under her with the mention of the town where she’d been born and where she had few happy memories. “Y-yes?”

  “Your father has had a massive heart attack. He’s stable at the moment, but …”

  It was everything that wasn’t said after the but that had her gripping the front of her scrubs in her free hand. She wasn’t that close to her dad—at all. Didn’t plan to send him a Christmas card. Not that she sent anyone a Christmas cards. Scrooge had it right, as far as she was concerned. “Why are you calling me?”

  “Well—” Dr. Calvin seemed taken aback by her question. “Because he asked me to. And quite frankly, ma’am, he might not make it through tomorrow. You’re his only family.”

  Like she needed that reminder. She leaned over, the air knocked right out of her. The thing was, even though they weren’t close, he was her dad. Which meant that she should be there if he died.

  A hundred times that he should have been there for her—and wasn’t—splashed through her head like roadside slush on the highway, cold and dirty.

  She could hang up the phone and go back to work and no one would fault her—not even God. She had every right to be angry and vindictive … okay, maybe not vindictive, but at the very least furious. Was this some kind of deathbed repentance for the old man? Had facing the grave scared him into wanting to be a parent?

  Worst of all, the little girl inside of her who longed for Daddy to play tea party wanted to run to him. She wanted to throw her arms around his neck and sing the silly Santa songs he used to sing her to sleep with—before the divorce.

  She was a successful veterinarian in a thriving office. She didn’t need her daddy’s approval nor his love at this stage in her life. The fact that this phone call proved otherwise made her edgy.

  “It’s Christmas,” said the doctor, his tone laced with disapproval.

  “That’s got nothing to do with it.” She put her ha
nd over her mouth. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.” Reality clicked in. There might only be a few hours of her life where she still had a father. This was no time to drag out the old complaint list. If she wanted to live a regret-free life, it meant being there for Dad. “I’m on my way. It’s a few hours by car.”

  “That’s fine. Ask for me when you get here. If I’m not in surgery, I’ll meet you to explain everything.”

  “Thank you.” She said goodbye and hung up the phone, staring at it. Her dad was dying. The knowledge was so strange—like putting on a brand-new bra. You knew it should fit, but figuring out how to adjust it was a nightmare. There was no adjusting this moment, though. She just had to take the next day as it came. Which was hard and cold and unfair.

  “If we reset the leg, she should be fine.” Johnathan handed an iPad to Betty, one of the vet techs, and folded his arms. “What’s got you thinking so deep?” he asked Faith with a little bite. He’d gotten into a contemptible tone lately.

  Faith rubbed her forehead, tired of being spoken to like she was one cat treat short. “My dad—” Her voice cracked on the title. “—had a heart attack.”

  “Jeez!” Johnathan put a hand to her shoulder to steady her as she weaved on the stool. “Is he going to be okay?” He managed to ask that without making it sound like she was an idiot.

  She couldn’t get her eyes to focus as she stared at the V in his dark blue scrubs. Johnathan was a great guy when he wasn’t acting like the king of the castle, but he wasn’t her guy. They’d figured out their brother/sister relationship in vet school, and Faith adored his wife. But there were times when she wished she had someone to lean on when she lost a patient or the walls echoed her loneliness. “I don’t think so.”

  Johnathan gave her a shake—just hard enough that she came out of the shock and focused on his face. “Can you drive?” he asked.

  Right. She was supposed to go to the hospital. There were things to do. She needed to pack. Her house was twenty minutes the other way. She’d just have to go without clothing. That was what she needed to do: get on the road. She stood up, causing Johnathan’s arms to fall away, and opened the cupboard where she’d stored her purse that morning. “I’ll be fine.”

  “Do you want Sarah to go with you?”

  “Thanks for offering your wife,” she said sarcastically. “But I’ll be all right.” Besides, facing her father was something she wanted to do on her own. Spectators would cause her to clam up and hold things inside. If this really was the end of the road for him, she had a lot to say—and a lot of questions.

  She only hoped she got there in time to ask them.

  Chapter 2

  Caleb

  “Snowflake, get down here.” Caleb stared up at the reindeer walking across the roof of the barn. This was the third time she’d gotten out of her stall in the last week. He’d have to padlock the thing to keep her inside. Raising flying reindeer for Santa was a dream job—until you learned that some reindeer loved to make trouble.

  He held out a bucket of oats and shook it, making the oats rustle. Snowflake’s ears perked up, and she took two leaps before flipping in midair and landing in front of him.

  Caleb chuckled. “Show-off.”

  She shook her antlers like a beautiful woman in a shampoo commercial shaking out her hair before lowering her head to inspect the oats.

  Caleb slipped the harness over her nose and then around her neck. “Come on.” He picked up the bucket. “You can finish these inside.”

  Snowflake looked longingly at the reindeer herd in the west pasture.

  “I can’t leave you out there.” He whispered to her, “Reindeer aren’t supposed to fly.”

  She scowled, making him laugh.

  His family had the only permit in the United States to raise, breed, and care for the endangered reindeer species. All 731 of the animals lived on their ranch in North Dakota. Seven hundred and thirty-one reindeer, and only six of them could fly.

  As the official supplier of reindeer to the North Pole for generations, the Nichollas family felt a sacred obligation to the animals and their wellbeing. Keeping the fliers indoors was as much for their protection as it was to protect Santa.

  In order for the fliers to get their exercise and train to pull the big sleigh one day, they were taken to the indoor arena for reindeer games. Snowflake had already had her workout, but she enjoyed being free.

  The sound of sleigh bells came from overhead. Caleb broke into a grin. That noise meant one thing: a Kringle—or two—had come to visit Reindeer Wrangler Ranch. Visits from the famous, though reclusive Christmas family in December were rare. Five days into December usually meant that the Kringles were tinsel deep in Christmas preparations. Something was either very right or catastrophically wrong. He picked up his pace, dumping the oats in Snowflake’s pen and sliding the lock on her stall door.

  He made it out of the barn just in time to see single reindeer with two riders tumble into a snowbank.

  “Dunder!” he cried, recognizing the old guy by his broad shoulders and heavy antlers. His landing was off-balance and out of sync. In other words, completely unlike the Dunder who’d become a legend on the ranch before taking his place in Santa’s harness.

  As he drew closer, Caleb saw Stella Kringle wrapped around a guy he’d never seen before. Not shocked in the least—this was Stella, after all—he studied Dunder. “Oh no.”

  The reindeer breathed heavily, his side rising and falling fast as he lay there, his legs stretched out and his head down. Dunder was an amazing specimen of a reindeer and strong as an ox. If he lay down after a flight, it was bad news.

  Caleb walked over and tapped the guy flirting with Stella on the shoulder. “If you two are done making out in my snowbank, I’d like to take a look at your reindeer.” He’d need help and had a lot of questions.

  Stella froze as if she’d been caught by the man in red himself. “Caleb? H-hey.”

  Funny things happened inside of him right then. A half a cup of jealousy sloshed about. He and Stella had dated when he was in high school. A long time ago, to be sure, but there was always a part of him that wondered if they were meant to be together. By the way she gazed adoringly at her companion, he didn’t stand a chance of ever winning a sleigh ride to the North Pole.

  Pity.

  The second emotion that popped up was relief. Stella was a handful on her good days. The idea of being married to her was exhausting. More power to this guy if he could keep up with her.

  More than anxious to take care of Dunder, he grabbed the back of the guy’s coat and hauled him to his feet. The guy brushed himself off and gave Caleb the once-over.

  Caleb did the same. They were about the same height and build. The stranger had a couple days’ beard and an easygoing feel about him. Except that he seemed confused and guarded in the unfamiliar situation. That was understandable. Riding a flying reindeer wasn’t an everyday occurrence—for some people.

  Stella threw a hug his direction, and Caleb picked her up, drawing in her lemon-and-chocolate scent. Kringles were magical, and being near one of Santa’s daughters could put Scrooge in a good mood.

  “It’s good to see you again,” she said.

  “You too, sugar bee.” Caleb wrapped her up snug as a gift on Christmas Eve. Some of his best childhood memories and pranks involved this woman and her four magical sisters. Being part of the Christmas legend of Santa Claus had brought so much goodness into his life. The Kringles were the best kind of people, and he was grateful to call them all friends.

  Of course, knowing Santa’s family wasn’t something he could brag about at the local diner on a Saturday morning as the old-timers traded stories.

  “You wanted to look at Dunder,” the stranger ground out as he glared at the two of them hugging away.

  Touchy, touchy. The man’s obvious discomfort wouldn’t go over well with Caleb’s brothers. They’d latch on to his insecurities and tease until he threw a punch or stormed off.

&nb
sp; Stella blinked and came to herself. Shoving off Caleb’s broad shoulders, she hurried over to the hurt reindeer. “We can’t figure out what’s wrong. He barely made it here.”

  “I saw the landing.” Caleb took off his leather work gloves and palpitated Dunder’s belly. “Where did you learn to fly like that?” He tossed a cocky smile over his shoulder at Stella. They rarely rode the reindeer, because carrying a passenger threw off their aerodynamics. That wasn’t to say it couldn’t be done, as Stella had proven today. But the animals were better suited to pull sleighs than give joyrides. Although if Stella was flying the sleigh, then the ride could be compared to a roller coaster.

  Stella hugged herself in that way women did when they were pleased. “You know where.”

  He’d been the one to teach her, back when she was a skinny little thing with an attitude. “Yeah, but that was a long time ago.”

  She flipped her hair. “Some of us still got it.”

  “Sure you do.” Caleb continued his exam, enjoying the way he got under her boyfriend’s skin so easily. He tipped his head toward the guy. “He looked as terrified as a prairie dog in a hayfield on utting’ day. She keep you on your toes?” he asked.