Reindeer James

Chapter 16

James's body throbbed. Nick was making an announcement, but James could only make out scattered words through the sound of Gabe calling his name. He cracked his eyes open, wincing at Ruby's nose glaring off the snow. "What happened?" he muttered.

"Hail, horrible wind, technical issues... Honestly, it would be easier to list what didn't happen." Gabe bent down next to him. "How're you feeling?"

"Like reindeer dung." James brought a hand to his aching head. He wiggled his fingers and toes the same way he did whenever he crashed while sledding with Clarice. Everything hurt, but nothing was broken. "I think I'll be okay."

"Take it slow," Gabe said as he helped him ease onto his feet. "Your mom looks upset enough without seeing you take another fall."

James nearly crashed to the ground as Mrs. Claus rushed over and wrapped him in a hug. "Thank goodness you're okay!"

Gabe quietly excused himself to go help Gloria herd the reindeer back to the stables as Santa sprinted over. James had never seen him move that fast unless there were freshly baked cookies involved. "I knew we should have called the whole thing off," he said between huffs as he caught his breath. "With this blasted storm, it's a miracle nobody crashed into the stands. Imagine the headlines: Reindeer Games Turn Reindeer Maims."

"Chris," Mrs. Claus hissed. She nodded at James, who was still trembling from the shock of the crash. "Not now."

Santa let out a shaky breath. "Right. Of course. I was just really worried, you know?" He patted James on the back. "That was some splendid flying out there, James. I don't think even I would have managed to deliver that last present."

"Ruby did the hard part." James looked around with his eyebrows crinkled together in concern. "Where is she?"

"Over here," Mambo said. He stood beside Ruby with his shoulder pressed against hers, supporting her weight.

"I told you I'm fine," she said. "Just a little lightheaded."

That was one way to put it. One of her antlers lay next to the chunk of hail that had knocked it off.

Mambo shook his head slightly. She didn't know about it yet.

"Ruby," James said, "it looks like you, um..."

"You lost an antler, my dear," Santa said softly. "Don't worry, it'll grow back."

"Yeah, next year." Ruby bowed her head. "Guess maybe they won't call me Twinkle Nose anymore. Now it'll be Twiggy or Splinter or something."

"Or they'll just call you awesome!" James said, "How many other reindeer have you seen fly through something like that?"

"Dasher and Dancer and Prancer and—"

"Not with the FAST, they haven't," James said firmly.

"I never should have let Nick talk me into letting folks use that thing," Santa said with a scowl. "Untested tech has no place in the Games, especially in the middle of a storm."

As if on cue, Nick made his way down from the stands with Clarice close behind him. "Are you okay?" he asked. He looked James up and down, wincing at the patchwork of bruises darkening his skin.

"Nothing a little chocolate can't fix," James said with a reassuring grin. He cringed at the pain that shot through his hand when he tried to give him a thumbs up. "And maybe an icepack. It feels like I wrestled a polar bear."

"We're lucky that landing wasn't even uglier!" Santa wheeled to face Nick with a coldness in his eyes James had never seen before. "I told you the weather was too harsh, but no, you just had to let them go out there, even knowing that James is so...." He gestured vaguely in James's direction.

James fought to swallow the lump forming in his throat. Even after training so hard and finally finding a job he was good at, he still wasn't good enough for his dad.

From the looks of it, not even Nick was.

"You could have called it off, you know," Nick grumbled. His voice was as sharp as an icicle, but there was something buried beneath his anger that James couldn't quite place. "You're Santa, not me!"

"With good reason." Santa sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "You still have a lot to learn. I trusted you to make the right decision today, but we've both made some serious mistakes."

Nick cringed as if he'd been smacked with a snowball hiding a chunk of ice. "And I trusted the FAST, but we should have done more trial runs before using it in such unpredictable conditions."

"Clearly! And who is the elf who invented that blasted contraption anyway?" Santa narrowed his eyes. "I ought to have them shoveling reindeer dung for a year after this stunt."

Clarice bit her lip, refusing to look Santa in the eye. "It was me," she said.

"Clarice, I know you have a soft spot for that Susie girl down in the Playtesting Department, but now isn't the time to try and shield whoever is responsible for this mess."

"The elves had nothing to do with it," Clarice said. She took a deep, shuddering breath. "It's all my fault. I told Nick I could make something that would help the reindeer deal with the weather, but—" Tears ran down Clarice's cheeks in icy rivers.

Santa's eyes widened. "Sweet sleigh bells, you really did invent it, didn't you? Why didn't you tell me sooner? I could have given you your own workshop and a whole team of elves to help you test it."

"It doesn't matter," Clarice said hoarsely. "You saw what happened out there. I knew I should have stuck to wrapping."

"Accidents happen, honey." Mrs. Claus pulled her into a hug. "There's always tomorrow to try again. Now, let's all go grab some hot chocolate, okay?" She squinted through the snow slashing across the arena. "Did Nick already head inside?"

Nick was nowhere to be seen. Even his footprints had been lost to the storm.