Holding Out for Christmas (The Christmas Tree Ranch #3)(24)

He checked the horses one more time. Either of the huge beasts could have pulled the sleigh alone, but they had worked side by side all their long lives. They were a superbly trained team, calm and steady, each one supporting the other.

On this, the first run of the season, Conner wanted to make sure there’d be no unpleasant surprises, especially for the horses. Special coverings had been fastened to their massive hooves to keep them from slipping on the ice. Conner inspected all eight to make sure none of them had come loose. The brass jingle bells had been strung over the harness, not under, to ensure that they wouldn’t press against sensitive skin. Conner checked each string to make sure nothing was going to swing or drag. All good.

“Ready?” he called up to Daniel.

“Yes, sir!” Daniel gave him a military salute, probably something he’d learned from a movie. Conner dismissed a tug of misgiving. Maybe he should have refused to let Megan’s brother sit with him on the driver’s bench. But Megan had allowed it. Besides, the kid looked so damned happy.

It will be all right, Conner told himself. Last year, in the Christmas parade, Rush’s little girl had sat beside him, in that very spot. She’d been just fine. Daniel would be fine, too.

Conner rocked the sleigh one more time to make sure the runners were free. Then he clasped the handle and swung up to his place on the bench.

Glancing back over his shoulder, he gave Megan a wink and a smile. She was bundled in the quilt, with one arm around the dog. Her mouth smiled back at him, but he caught a glimpse of worry in her eyes. He would take no chances with the safety of her precious brother, Conner promised himself.

“Ready?” He glanced at Daniel. “Hang on tight. We’re off!”

Conner gave the reins the barest flick against the horses’ broad rumps. Moving as one, Chip and Patch leaned into their heavy collars. With a gentle creak of straps and buckles settling into place, the sleigh glided forward over the snow.

“We’re moving!” Daniel whooped with elation. Conner urged the horses to a brisk, steady walk. Their motion set the bells to jingling. The air was brisk, the sky sapphire blue, the snow a glistening white carpet. A flock of crows swirled above the horizon, then settled somewhere out of sight.

Conner glanced back at Megan, giving her a quick smile. When she smiled back at him, an unaccustomed glow seemed to steal around his heart. It had been a good idea, inviting Megan and her brother to the ranch. Everything was working out exactly as he’d hoped.

Daniel began to sing in a slightly off-key voice. “ ‘Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way . . .’ ” He paused, turning to look back at his sister. “Sing with me, Megan. It always sounds better when we sing together.”

There was a moment of silence from the back of the sleigh. “I’m too cold to sing,” Megan said.

“I’ll sing with you.” Conner didn’t have much of a voice, but he didn’t want to spoil the day’s happy mood. “Come on. From the top. ‘Jingle bells, jingle bells, jingle all the way . . .’”

What they lacked in musicality, they made up in volume. When Bucket began to bark and howl along with them, Daniel could barely contain himself. He doubled over, helpless with laughter.

That was when disaster struck.

The packed snow had covered a low spot on the side of the trail. As the sleigh ran over it, the snow caved in under the weight of one runner. The sleigh lurched sharply to the right and came to a stop. Megan screamed as Daniel flew off his seat and landed out of sight, on the snowy ground below.





Chapter 6


Startled by the sleigh’s sudden weight shift, the horses whinnied and reared. Their massive hooves flailed the air as they strained and twisted in the traces, tilting the sleigh at an even steeper angle. As Conner struggled to control the powerful animals, Megan flung the quilt aside, sprang out of the sleigh, and plunged through the deep snow to where her brother lay.

Daniel had landed in a deep snowdrift, which had cushioned his fall. He lay on his left side, his right arm and his legs thrashing—thank heaven for that, Megan thought. No limbs appeared to be broken, but his expression and his moans of pain told her he’d been hurt.

Bucket had jumped out of the sleigh with Megan. As she knelt beside her brother, the dog nosed in beside her to nudge Daniel and lick his face.

Megan’s most urgent worry had been that the sleigh might tumble over onto Daniel, or that he might be trampled by the horses. But Conner had managed to calm the team. Chip and Patch stood in their traces, sides heaving as he petted and soothed them. The sleigh was still tilted, but it didn’t appear to be in danger of falling over.

“Where does it hurt?” she asked Daniel.

“Shoulder . . .” He grimaced in pain. Megan could see that he’d landed on his left shoulder, which was still under him, partly supported by the snow. Until Conner could safely leave the team and help her, moving Daniel could be risky.

A frigid breeze had sprung up, blowing clouds across the sun. Daniel’s teeth were chattering. His hat had fallen off and was lying in the snow. Megan brushed it off and slipped it back on his head. Then she pulled the quilt out of the sleigh and laid it over him. “It won’t be much longer, Daniel,” she said. “When Conner comes to help, we’ll get you up.”

Bucket seemed to know what to do. He burrowed under the quilt, pressing his body against Daniel, warming and comforting him.