Chapter 23 #2
I gesture to him with a flourish, and he lifts his head as if he knows exactly what’s happening.
The crowd erupts, kids calling him by his name.
Corn Dog turns to look at them and makes a loud, proud bleating sound that echoes across the square.
The children completely lose their minds.
I move to stand with him in front of the Christmas tree at the edge of the stage so everyone has a clear view. I position myself on his far side so he’s between me and the audience. Tonight he’s the star, not me.
“Are you all ready?” I call out.
“YES!”
The music starts again, softer now, a gentle instrumental holiday song.
“Let’s count down together! Starting at three!”
The crowd joins in immediately, hundreds of voices in unison.
“THREE!” I urge Corn Dog forward, guiding him closer to the tree with a hand on his harness.
“TWO!” I slip a small treat from my pocket, the moss he loves, and hold it near a special ornament we placed at his eye level. It’s a large, sparkly bauble that glitters more than any other, designed specifically to catch his attention.
“ONE!” I show him the treat right against the bauble, and Corn Dog, bless his food-motivated heart, pushes his muzzle hard against my hand and directly into the ornament.
The moment he makes contact, the lights explode to life.
They start at the bottom of the tree and climb upward in a wave of brilliance, thousands of lights in warm white and gold racing toward the sky, spiraling around the massive trunk, illuminating every branch until the entire tree is blazing with magic.
The star at the very top bursts into light last, a beacon I’m sure that’s visible for miles.
I glance at Chris, who winks at me and subtly pockets the controller. The crowd erupts into the loudest cheering I’ve ever heard.
Applause, screaming children, the choir launching into a triumphant carol. People are hugging each other, taking photos, pointing at the magnificent tree with wonder on their faces.
I pat Corn Dog’s neck, tears streaming down my face now. “Good boy. Such a good boy.”
He nuzzles me, probably looking for more treats, and I give him another piece of moss because he absolutely earned it.
“Everyone, have a very merry Christmas!” I say into the microphone, and the crowd responds with another wave of cheers.
I switch off the microphone, and suddenly the official part is over and I can breathe again.
Chris appears at my side immediately, pulling me into a hug. “You were incredible. Absolutely knocked it out of the park.”
“I couldn’t have done it without—”
“Hannah.”
I turn to see Margaret from the council approaching, and my stomach tightens with fresh nerves. So I step off the stage quickly to meet her.
“You surprised me tonight, Hannah.” Her voice is measured, giving nothing away. “I was genuinely worried there for a bit. When the ceremony was delayed, when we weren’t sure what was happening… I thought you might let us all down.”
I swallow hard. “I understand. There were some unexpected complications.”
“But you handled them with grace.” A small, genuine smile appears on her face. “That moment with the reindeer was superb. The children will be talking about this Christmas for years. Well done. Truly.”
Relief floods through me. “Thank you. That means everything to me.”
“Merry Christmas, Hannah.” She gives me a brief nod, then turns and walks back toward the other council members.
I can’t be certain if that means we’ll get the five-year contract, but right now, in this moment, I did my absolute best. That’s all anyone can do.
Kane and Noel materialize at my side, and before I can say anything, they’re both kissing me, Kane on my lips, lingering and warm, Noel on my neck, just below my ear, in a way that makes me shiver.
“That was the sexiest thing I’ve ever watched,” Kane murmurs against my mouth. “You commanding that stage and the crowd… I’m going to be thinking about it for weeks.”
“Couldn’t take my eyes off you,” Noel adds. “Every person in this square was completely captivated.”
My cheeks flush. “I couldn’t have done any of it without you two. Whatever you went through to get Corn Dog here…”
They trade one of those loaded looks that tells me whatever they went through was probably illegal, violent, or deeply stupid.
“We’ll tell you everything,” Kane promises. “But it requires alcohol.”
“I can’t wait,” I say, and I mean it.
We stand there for a few minutes, all four of us tucked close to the edge of the square.
The choir has moved into the softer carols now, voices floating up with the snow, families clustered under the glow of the tree.
Kids are still lined up for photos with the tree and Corn Dog on the stage, who is posing, seeming to love the attention.
Chris is close by, keeping an eye on him.
And for the first time in weeks, my chest doesn’t feel like it is being crushed.
The rest of the evening goes smoothly. The crowd lingers, enjoying hot cocoa and surrounding stalls, and soon enough, the team handles the breakdown exactly as I trained them to.
Eventually the line thins out, and Corn Dog is officially off duty.
Chris comes down from the little stage, hand on Corn Dog’s halter, the reindeer trotting proudly beside him like he just won an award.
“We should probably get him home before he decides to break something,” he says, stopping beside me. “He’s got that look.”
“He always has that murder look,” Noel mutters.
“Okay,” I say, breathing out as the crowd starts thinning and the choir packs up their sheet music. “Everything went very well. I’m exhausted. Let’s go home.”
Chris nods. “Yeah. Let’s load Corn Dog and get moving.”
Kane and Noel fall into step beside us as we head toward the truck.
“All four of us in the truck with him,” Kane says, shaking his head with a laugh. “This is going to be a fun ride.”
Noel snorts. “Fun is one word for it.”
I narrow my eyes at both of them. “Why are you talking like that?”
Kane lifts his hands. “Nothing. Just… prepare yourself.”
“For what?” I look between them, baffled. “It’s a reindeer, not a demon.”
Both men chuckle.
Corn Dog suddenly shoves his nose into my hip like he wants attention immediately.
Kane laughs harder. “Yeah. Good luck with that.”
Both men just start climbing into the front of the truck, while Chris opens the back door for me. I jump in, and he goes on the other side with Corn Dog, shoving him in alongside me, then he gets in.
“Yeah,” Noel calls from the passenger seat, “and we really do wish you luck.”
Corn Dog lets out a loud, proud grunt, like he absolutely agrees.
I glance at Chris.
He shrugs helplessly. “We’ll figure it out.”
“You two ready back there?” Kane asks from the driver’s seat, grinning into the rearview mirror.
“Ready for what?” I ask, slightly worried.
“The wildest ride of your life.”
The truck pulls away from the curb. For about thirty seconds, everything is fine.
Then Kane takes the first turn, and Corn Dog doesn’t just lurch; he launches sideways into me, hooves scrambling across the seat like he’s trying to scale a cliff.
I shriek. “What the—Corn Dog, sit! Or… whatever the reindeer equivalent of ‘sit’ is!”
He ignores every sound coming out of my mouth and tries to climb over me, his surprisingly strong body shoving me flat against my seat. His tail, which should not be that powerful, starts smacking Chris straight in the jaw.
He’s groaning and trying to shove him down.
“This is what we dealt with on the rescue run!” Noel yells from the front, laughing so hard he can barely breathe. “Welcome to the circus!”
Corn Dog decides the window looks like the most interesting part of the truck and wedges his head between Kane and Noel, his front hooves scraping against the center console. Kane swears as Corn Dog’s nose nearly lands in his ear.
“Back seat!” Chris is trying to haul him by the harness. “Stay. Back. Seat!”
Corn Dog doesn’t care. He now licks Noel’s neck with a wet enthusiasm, which I’m fine with him doing as long as he’s not climbing on me.
“Get your reindeer under control!” Noel snaps, pushing him away.
“He’s not my reindeer!” Chris snaps back, trying to peel Corn Dog off him like he’s a toddler on a sugar high.
That’s when Corn Dog abandons the front altogether and collapses directly onto Chris’s lap. “Off!” he gasps. “Get off! You absolute beast!”
He just settles more firmly, like Chris is his personal throne. His chin rests on his chest.
Then Kane hits another modest turn—but apparently even that is too much—and Corn Dog slides sideways, dragging Chris with him, pinning me against him.
“Drive straighter!” I demand, muffled under a reindeer.
“I am driving straight!” Kane shouts with laughter.
Noel is laughing so hard he has one hand clutching his stomach and the other braced on the seat. “Stop—stop talking—you’re all killing me.”
Corn Dog chooses that moment to grab the bottom hem of Chris’s flannel shirt in his teeth and pull. Hard.
Chris jerks forward, half strangled by his own clothing. “Let GO! I need that shirt! Hey—HEY!”
Corn Dog gives the shirt one last yank, rips off a button, and then immediately loses interest like a tiny, furry criminal.
Noel twists around just in time to film Corn Dog trying to nudge open the rear window with his nose, fogging the glass with dramatic huffs.
“Oh, this is gold,” Noel says, cackling. “Christmas miracle. I am making a montage.”
“I hate all of you,” I wheeze, trying to shove a reindeer thigh off my rib cage. “Every single one.”
Chris sputters. “Can you—Hannah—tell him to stop hitting me with his ass?”
I glare at him. “Yes, let me just reason with the wild forest creature currently using me as a mattress.”
Kane catches my gaze in the rearview mirror, eyes warm and amused. “Welcome to pack life, beautiful.”
And somehow, despite everything—the reindeer squishing us, Chris covered in fur and a slobbered shirt, Noel filming like this is the most fun he’s ever had, and Kane trying to control the truck while snickering—I feel something settle inside me.
Something warm and steady.
My life is never going to be boring again.
And honestly? With these men?
I wouldn’t trade it for anything.