On Christmas Hill by Nichole Chase Read Free Book Online Page B

on my back. The air whooshed out of my lungs and I stared up
at the bare branches above my head for a minute.
    “ I’m starting to think you
really are clumsy.” Nate’s face appeared above mine, a large grin
splitting his face.
    I grabbed a handful of snow and threw
it at his head. He ducked, but a little bit of it still caught his
head. He lunged down for me and I tried to roll out of the way, but
he was too quick. He half landed on me and scooped a handful of
snow onto my head.
    “ Argh!” My hat fell off as I
tried to escape, but all that did was allow him better access to my
hair. I scooped my own hands full of snow and rubbed them into his
cheeks. His face twisted as the snow touched his skin and he
scrambled away from me.
    Laughing, I sat up and brushed the hair
out of my eyes. He scrubbed the snow out of his ears and grinned at
me before standing up and holding his hand out for me. “C’mon, Miss
Nichols. We have a lot to do before Santa gets here.”
    “ Lead the way, Senior
Elf.”
    Shaking his head, he leaned forward and
pressed his lips to mine. This time it was a sweet, simple
kiss.
    “ You’ll see. You’ll
see.”
    When we got back to the barn, we spent
the rest of the daylight oiling harnesses and grooming the
reindeer.
    “ It’s weird.”
    “ What’s weird?” Nate looked
at me over Comets back.
    “ They just seem to know
what’s expected of them.” I frowned. “They seem excited. Even the
ones that aren’t part of the team.”
    “ You aren’t going to believe
until they are in the air, are you?” Nate stopped brushing the
reindeer and shook his head.
    “ Not really.” I shrugged.
“I’m sorry. But reindeer flying?” Comet turned to look at me and I
laughed. “Even he looks skeptical.”
    “ He’s just surprised that a
Nichols doesn’t believe.”
    “ Well, I shouldn’t have long
to wait, right?” I looked outside the barn door at the setting sun.
“Shouldn’t he have already gotten his start?”
    “ Magic.” Nate laid his
finger beside his nose and I rolled my eyes.
    We worked quietly, setting up the
reindeer, the jingle of the bells the only sound accompanying our
work. Eventually all of the reindeer were dressed and groomed. The
deer that weren’t going and the younger ones milled around outside,
playing happily. I leaned against the open barn door and watched
their antics. There was a great sense of peace in my heart and if I
didn’t know better, I would think that my dad was there with me.
Nate came up behind me and slid his arms around my waist. It should
feel weird, to be this comfortable with a man I barely knew and
yet, there was peace there too. As if there really was some kind of
magic that had brought me to him.
    I leaned my head back against his chest
and watched the sky as the stars began to make their appearance. A
little part of me was holding my breath, hoping it was all true.
The glow I had noticed around Christmas Hill when I was in the
clearing earlier began to reappear, glowing brightly above the
trees and rooftop.
    Nate’s fingers tightened on my hips and
he leaned his head close to mine. “The people in Silver Town gather
in the city square every year to watch the lights.”
    “ These lights are only above
Christmas Hill?” I was whispering. Sound seemed to have stopped, as
if there was a blanket over the entire area.
    “ Yes. No one can see them
the rest of the year, except for the descendant of Santa
Claus.”
    “ Wow.” The reindeer lined up
outside, without any coaxing from our parts.
    A shadow broke away from the trees and
moved in our direction. I started to say something, but Nate shook
his head above me. He nodded his head and I realized what he was
indicating. My breath caught in my throat and I felt my chest
swell. The lights above us seemed to glow brighter, flashing even
faster. When the figure was close enough for me to make out the
color of his clothes, I felt my knees go wobbly.
    “ Oh my God.” I couldn’t help
the words