Chapter 19
CHAPTER NINETEEN
The sleigh rides would have started thirty minutes ago.
That is, if Leo was actually giving them.
But he wasn’t.
Instead, he stood in the barn, aggressively oiling a harness that was already perfectly conditioned, working the leather with more force than necessary. The familiar smell of saddle soap and hay should have been comforting. Tonight, it just smelled like guilt.
Around him, the reindeer shuffled in their stalls, restless with the energy of animals who knew they should be working.
Comet kept looking toward the barn door, ears swiveling at every distant sound from town.
Even Vixen—perfectly healthy, perfectly fine Vixen—seemed to be judging him from her stall.
Had he done the right thing?
The question had been circling his mind for days now, growing louder with each unanswered text from Jade, each disappointed call from townspeople, each moment of sitting here in self-imposed isolation while the festival happened without him.
He’d protected himself. That was something. Saved himself from the inevitable pain of watching her leave, of Lila getting attached only to be abandoned again, of caring about someone who was just passing through.
Except the protection felt an awful lot like cowardice.
And the pain he’d been trying to avoid had shown up anyway, settling into his chest like a stone.
The barn door crashed open with enough force to make all four reindeer startle. Brice stood silhouetted against the early evening darkness, snow dusting his shoulders and something dangerous in his expression.
“Why aren’t you giving sleigh rides?” His voice was flat, controlled in a way that suggested he was working very hard not to yell.
Leo didn’t look up from the harness. “You know why. Vixen’s leg—”
“Yeah, yeah, I heard about Vixen’s leg.” Brice crossed the barn in three long strides and went directly to Vixen’s stall. The reindeer greeted him with a friendly nuzzle, shifting her weight easily from leg to leg. “Seems fine to me. In fact, she seems downright chipper for an injured animal.”
“It’s a mild strain. She just needs rest—”
“Cut the crap, Leo.” Brice turned to face him, his usual easy-going demeanor completely absent. “There’s nothing wrong with Vixen, and we both know it. So I’m going to ask you again: why aren’t you giving sleigh rides when half the town is counting on them?”
Leo set down the harness, his jaw tight. “That’s my business.”
“Is it? Because from where I’m standing, you made it Jade’s business when you let her set up three cocoa stations that depend entirely on sleigh-ride traffic.” Brice crossed his arms. “You want to be a coward? Fine. But you’re taking her down with you, and that I can’t let slide.”
“She’s selling the bakery anyway,” Leo shot back, the words coming out defensive. “What does it matter?”
“Selling?” Brice stared at him. “Where the hell did you get that idea?”
“She told me. The other day, when the electrical inspection happened. She said, selling was the only option.”
“And you believed her? Just like that? Didn’t think to maybe, I don’t know, check in after a few days?
See if anything had changed?” Brice shook his head in disgust. “Leo, Jade’s not selling.
She’s down there right now at the gazebo booth, serving hot cocoa with a smile on her face even though her whole festival plan is falling apart because you’re too scared to show up. ”
The words hit like a physical blow. “What do you mean she’s not selling?”
“I mean, she’s fighting. Has been all week.
Baking cookies until two in the morning, organizing volunteers, setting up booths, texting you about logistics you were too chickenshit to respond to.
” Brice’s voice was getting louder now. “She set up three stations—three!—spaced for sleigh-ride traffic because that was the plan you made together. And now she’s watching them fail in real time because you decided to protect your feelings instead of keeping your word. ”
Leo felt something crack in his chest. “I thought... she said the numbers were impossible. That there was no way—”
“So you assumed she’d give up? Just pack it in and leave?
” Brice laughed, but there was no humor in it.
“If you didn’t act like a selfish moron, you would know that Jade Bennett doesn’t give up.
She came back here to save something that mattered.
She’s been busting her ass for weeks, learning to fix things and bake things and be part of this community.
And the moment things got hard, you decided she was just like Lisa and bailed on her. ”
“That’s not—”
“That’s exactly what you did.” Brice stepped closer, his voice dropping but somehow becoming more intense.
“You were so scared of being left that you left first. And you know what the worst part is? Those sleigh rides? That festival? That was her best chance to make money to fight this. To actually have a shot at keeping the bakery open. And you destroyed it without even giving her the courtesy of a heads up.”
Each word landed like a hammer blow. Leo looked at Vixen, who was watching him with those dark, knowing eyes. Perfectly healthy. Perfectly able to work.
“She’s really not selling?” His voice came out rough.
“She’s really not selling. She’s fighting like hell, actually. Which you’d know if you’d bothered to answer a single one of her texts.” Brice pulled out his phone, pulled up something, and shoved it at Leo. “This is from Felicity, a while ago.”
Leo read the text: Jade’s at the gazebo station trying to put on a brave face, but hardly anyone’s stopping by. The booths are too far apart for walking. She looks like she’s about to break. Where the heck is Leo?
His hands started shaking. “I need to get these sleigh rides going.”
“Now you figure it out.”
“Not just one.” Leo’s mind was racing, calculating. “Two sleighs. Cover more ground, more people, more traffic to the booths. We can run concurrent routes, double the capacity.” He looked at Brice. “Will you help drive one?”
“You’re seriously asking me that? After I just called you a selfish moron?”
“Yes.”
Brice studied him for a long moment, then his expression softened slightly. “Yeah, I’ll help. But Leo? You better grovel when you see her. And I mean grovel. Flowers, apologies, the whole nine yards.”
“I will.” Leo was already moving, pulling down harnesses, his hands working on autopilot while his mind raced ahead. “I’ll harness Comet and Vixen for the main sleigh. Can you handle Dasher and Maple on the smaller one?”
“I can handle it. But we’re already thirty minutes late. This is going to be a scramble.”
“Then we scramble.” Leo looked at his friend, at the disappointment and anger still simmering in his expression. “Thank you. For coming here. For calling me out.”
“Don’t thank me. Thank me by fixing what you broke.” Brice headed for Dasher’s stall. “And Leo? Next time you think someone’s going to leave? Maybe try asking them instead of assuming. Saves everyone a lot of grief.”
Leo nodded, not trusting his voice. His hands moved quickly, efficiently, muscle memory taking over while his thoughts spun.
Jade wasn’t selling. Jade was fighting.
And he’d left her to fight alone.
The shame was so thick he could taste it, but shame was a luxury he couldn’t afford right now. He had sleigh rides to give, a festival to salvage, and a woman who deserved an apology so profound he wasn’t sure words existed for it.
But first, he had to show up.
The reindeer seemed to sense the urgency. They stood patiently as he worked, checking every buckle, every strap, every connection. No room for error, not now. Not when he was already thirty minutes late and counting.
“How fast can you get your team ready?” he called to Brice.
“Ten minutes. Maybe fifteen.”
“Make it ten. We’ve got time to make up.”
They worked in focused silence, the only sounds being the jingle of harness bells and the soft shuffling of hooves. Leo’s mind kept replaying Brice’s words: Her best chance to make money to fight this. And you destroyed it.
But maybe—maybe—it wasn’t completely destroyed. If they ran two sleighs, if they worked fast, if people still wanted rides despite the late start...
Maybe he could salvage something from the wreckage of his own cowardice.
“Ready,” Brice announced, leading the smaller sleigh out of the barn. Dasher and Maple were already harnessed, their breath fogging in the cold air.
Leo brought out his team, Comet and Vixen pulling the larger sleigh. Both reindeer seemed almost eager, as if they’d been waiting all evening for this.
“I’ll take the church route,” Brice said. “Pick people up from the square, bring them to the church station, loop back. You do the pond run?”
“Agreed. We can coordinate at the gazebo—that’s the main hub.” Leo climbed onto his sleigh, gathering the reins in hands that had finally stopped shaking. “Brice?”
“Yeah?”
“I owe you one.”
“You owe me about a hundred. But we can start with one.” Brice’s expression softened slightly. “Now get going. And when you see Jade? Lead with the apology, not the excuses.”
Leo nodded and urged Comet forward. The sleigh glided smoothly over the packed snow, runners hissing, bells jingling their familiar rhythm.
He was thirty minutes late.
But he was finally doing what he should have done all along.
He was showing up.