CHAPTER 21
A va was out of breath when she finally found Justin by the park’s live nativity scene.
He was looking for Stormy around the wooden stable display where fresh hay was scattered on the ground.
The two people playing Mary and Joseph were dressed in period costumes, kneeling beside a manger.
There were also three wise men standing nearby, next to some sheep and a donkey.
“There you are,” Ava said, relieved. “Any luck here?”
“Not yet,” Justin said. “I thought he might like being around other animals, but no.”
“Why did you take off like that?” Ava asked.
Justin shot her a surprised look. “You’re the one who asked me to go.”
“I just meant for you to give me a minute, not to disappear.”
“Did you see the look on your duke’s face? He looked like he wanted to duel.”
“He’s not my duke, and he only duels at dawn.”
Justin’s eyes widened. “Seriously?”
Ava met his questioning stare. “What do you think?”
“Honestly, I have no idea what you royal types do or don’t do. You’re living in a whole different world,” Justin said. “I just know he was upset, and I didn’t want to cause any trouble.”
“Henry was just worried about me.”
Justin laughed. “Oh, I’m sure he was.”
Ava’s eyes narrowed. “What is that supposed to mean?”
“Can we just get back to looking for Stormy? Or do you need to go back with your duke?”
Ava crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I told you he’s not my duke.”
“Aren’t you two engaged?”
Ava blinked several times, caught off guard. “Where did you hear that?”
“Does it matter?” Justin asked as he looked into her eyes.
“We’re not engaged,” Ava quickly corrected him.
Justin smiled. “Really?”
“Not officially. That’s supposed to happen at the Christmas party.”
Justin’s smile faded. As he turned away from Ava, he backed into the donkey, and it started chewing on his jacket. “What the—!” When he tried to pull his jacket away from the donkey, it took another big bite. “Stop that,” Justin said as he tugged on his jacket, looking freaked out.
The donkey took another bite.
“Fine, take it!” Justin exclaimed as he yanked off his jacket and ran away from the furry, four-legged thief.
Ava laughed. “You’re afraid of donkeys, too?”
“Wow!” Justin shot back. “You really know how to kick a guy when he’s down.”
“I’m sorry,” Ava offered. And she really was. She marched up to the donkey. “You’re going to give me that coat right now!”
The donkey ignored her and kept chewing on the sleeve.
She leaned closer. “Do you know who I am?” She lifted her sunglasses and looked into the donkey’s big brown eyes. “Drop it.”
The donkey immediately dropped Justin’s jacket.
“Thank you,” Ava said as she picked up the jacket. She brushed off the snow and held it up. “Here you go.”
Justin made his way back over to her, avoiding the donkey. “Thank you,” he said as he put it back on. “But now it has donkey slobber on it.”
Ava laughed. “I don’t think that’s a real thing.”
“Hey, I’m the vet,” Justin said, playfully puffing up his chest. “It’s real if I say it’s real.”
All Ava could do was laugh more.
Justin joined in. “Thank you for coming to my rescue.”
“Anytime,” Ava said without thinking. When she saw Justin’s raised eyebrows, she continued. “Anytime, while we’re doing this search. Together. Now. Today…You know what I mean.”
Justin grinned. “No, but okay.”
When Ava’s phone buzzed with a text, her face lit up when she saw it was from Lydia.
Stormy’s at Skylight Restaurant!
Ava sent a text back.
Lock him in a room!
Another text from Lydia popped right up.
They already did!
“Yes, yes, yes!” Ava exclaimed as she did her version of a victory dance, spinning around and then shimmying her shoulders, pumping her fist into the air.
Justin laughed, shocked. “What are you doing?”
“Celebrating, because we found Stormy, and this time, he can’t get away!”
“Are you serious?”
“Yes! He’s at the Skylight Restaurant.”
“In the village?” Justin asked.
“No, but it’s only a couple of miles away, and this time, I’m driving!”
“Wait, what? Why?” Justin asked, confused.
But Ava was already rushing ahead, and Justin had to run to catch up with her.
? ? ?
In a snow-covered forest, by a sign that said Skylight Trailhead , Justin and Lydia stood next to a shiny, candy-apple-red, pro-level, top-of-the-line, snowmobile. Its high-performance suspension and reinforced skis were built for speed and control.
It was a beast.
Ava was sitting in the driver’s seat, wearing a red snowmobile suit that matched Justin’s. “Come on, Justin, get on!” she called out to him before she gripped the handlebars and revved the engine.
VROOM!
She smiled ear to ear as the growling sound cut through the frosty air and the snowmobile rumbled to life beneath her. She loved feeling in control of all this horsepower.
Justin clutched his helmet to his chest, looking nervous. “Are you sure this is the only way to get there?”
“This or the restaurant’s sleigh, but it only runs a few times a day,” Lydia said.
“And this will be much faster,” Ava chimed in as she revved the engine again.
VROOM! VROOM!
Lydia turned to Justin. “Don’t worry. She knows what she’s doing. She grew up snowmobiling. She knows all the trails around here like the back of her hand.”
Ava grinned back at them. “I sure do, now come on. Hurry up.” She patted the seat behind her. “Get on. Lydia can’t hold Edgar off much longer.”
Justin checked a weather app on his phone. “We’re supposed to get a snowstorm tonight.”
“Right,” Ava said. “And that’s why we need to move. Now.”
Justin walked over to the snowmobile to check out the pet carrier that was attached to the back. “And you’re sure this thing will hold Stormy?”
“Yes,” Ava said. “I told you. I made it for Edgar’s golden retriever, and it works great. Would you stop worrying about everything? Trust me that I know what I’m doing.”
“She does,” Lydia agreed as she handed Ava a helmet. “And I know you’ll be careful.”
“Always,” Ava said, giving Lydia a bright smile. “Thank you for helping to set this up so fast.”
“You’ve always been one of Bobby’s best customers. He was happy to help,” Lydia said.
“Who’s Bobby?” Justin asked.
“He owns the snowmobile store in Skydovia,” Lydia answered.
“We’ve been getting our snowmobiles from him for years,” Ava added. “And this one’s a beauty.” Ava revved the engine again.
VROOM! VROOM! VROOM!
“Let’s go!” Ava shouted as she put on her helmet, adjusting the fit.
Justin reluctantly put on his helmet as well and tentatively sat down behind Ava.
Ava tested the helmet’s built-in microphone. “Can you hear me?” she asked Justin.
“Yes,” he answered. “But I didn’t touch anything. How do I turn this on and off?”
“You don’t have to worry about it,” she explained. “The mic’s voice-activated. Just talk normally, and it picks up everything.”
“Testing one, two, three,” he tried.
“Perfect,” Ava replied. “Ready to go?”
Justin hesitated. “I don’t know…”
“You can’t be afraid of snowmobiles, too.”
“Snowmobiles, no,” Justin said. “You on the other hand—”
VROOM! VROOM! VROOM! VROOM!
Ava drowned out anything else he was going to say. She gripped the handlebars. “Ready?”
Justin gave Lydia a worried look.
Lydia smiled and gave him two thumbs up.
Justin took a deep breath. “Are you sure I can’t drive? I’ve done a lot of snowmobiling, and I’d feel more comfortable if I was driving—”
VROOM! VROOM! VROOM! VROOM! VROOM!
Ava drowned him out again.
He finally gave up. “Okay, I’m ready. Let’s go.”
“Then hold on!” It was the last thing she said before she gunned the throttle.
The snowmobile roared to life, kicking up a cloud of snow as it rocketed forward.