Chapter 3

3

Dashing through the storm,

without a freakn’ sleigh.

Trying to save Santa,

but crashed along the way.

Of all the bad luck. How could Dancer have ended up so off course? And smashing into a mountain? A good thing the other reindeer weren’t there to see or she’d have been mocked for sure. She could practically hear the snarky Vixen say, Rudolph wouldn’t have gotten lost.

Things to be thankful for? At least she’d not frozen to death. Even better, she had food and shelter and company, of sorts. A certain grouchy ice bear made it clear he wanted her gone; however, his daughters seemed delighted by her presence.

A good thing Sesi and Siku—which were Inuit for Snow and Ice—had insisted on giving her shelter, even as their dad had grumbled and scowled. Jerk. And not just because of his attitude. Who didn’t tell his kids about Santa?!

Given Dancer couldn’t go anywhere in the blizzard, she kept herself distracted by teaching the adorable girls the joy of Bingo. The twins took after their Dada, their hair just as white as his, their eyes an icy blue. Talkative and outgoing, the twins kept a steady chatter going, unlike their recalcitrant father.

How did such a grumpy bear create such happy daughters? She wondered even more about his hatred of Christmas. Who banned it from their home and denied their children the joy of believing in the jolly fat man who gifted presents around the world?

“Where do you live?” Sesi asked as they progressed from Bingo to a puzzle of Canada that had images of the animal species in each province and territory.

At Father Bear’s warning glare, she kept it vague. “I have a cabin in the North Pole.”

“What’s transport logistics?” Siku’s query.

“I help to bring stuff to places.” Technically accurate.

“Do you have kids?” The interrogation continued.

“No.”

“Do you want some?” Siku bluntly inquired.

“Eventually.”

“Girls,” Nanook grumbled, but his daughters turned beaming smiles on him and cooed, “Yes, Dada dearest?”

“Stop pestering our visitor. Get ready for dinner.” As they scooted off to wash their hands, she commented, “Cute kids.”

“I’m aware. Although I could do without the million questions.”

“They’re curious.” She was too. Why live out here all alone?

She followed him to the kitchen cave where he began ladling his fragrant stew. “Have you lived here long?”

“Long enough.”

The girls returned and fought over who would sit beside Dancer. They both did, and Dada Bear stood, since there were only three stools.

“Do you like seal soup?” Sesi asked, slurping a spoonful.

“Yes.”

“What’s your favorite food?” Siku’s turn.

“Right now, your dad’s stew. This is delicious.” While many reindeer stuck to an herbivore diet, Dancer leaned toward an omnivore palate.

“Dessert?” The questions kept coming.

“Apple pie with cinnamon crumble on top.”

“Ooh, Aunt Kira made an apple pie once. It was yummy,” Sesi exclaimed.

“I like chocolate,” the other twin confided.

After dinner, they went back to their puzzle until Dada Bear announced, “Time for bed.”

“Do we have to?” the pair whined.

“Yes.” He crossed his arms.

The twins turned to Dancer. “Will you read us a story?”

Flattered, she smiled. “Of course.”

The girls took her each by a hand and led her to their room, a cave bigger than their father’s, with water trickling down the back wall into a basin that didn’t overflow. Their bed was girly to the extreme. Covered in a pink comforter, with all kinds of pillows and stuffies. Apparently, Nanook didn’t mind toys, just Christmas.

Dancer was told to sit between them as she read, a story about a princess who taught a dragon a lesson. The twins leaned against her and exclaimed each time she changed her voice to match a character. When she finished and did the awkward crawl out, their arms lifted as they pleaded, “Tuck us in.”

As Dancer leaned over to draw the covers over them and place a soft kiss on their foreheads, Nanook entered and grumbled, “Not happening, my darling hellions.”

What wasn’t happening?

The twins grinned and murmured, “We’ll see about that.”

Must be some kind of family joke.

Dancer left and headed for the main living area as their father said goodnight. The storm still blew hard outside, meaning she’d be stuck here until it cleared.

Nanook joined her but appeared intent on ignoring Dancer. As if she’d allow that.

“Your girls are adorable.”

“I’m aware.”

“Their mother…” She hesitated to ask but also didn’t want or need a wife to suddenly find Dancer alone with her husband and freak out.

“Isn’t in the picture.”

“Oh. I’m sorry to hear that.”

“Don’t be. She made her choice.”

By his tone, he didn’t approve, and it still bothered. She changed the subject.

“I know you said no phone, but surely you have a way of contacting people in case of emergency?”

“No.”

“Isn’t that dangerous considering you have two young kids?”

“None of your business.” The frown aimed in her direction didn’t have the expected effect. She’d been subject to Santa’s stern glare, and he was much scarier.

“What if something happened to you?” she insisted.

“Nothing has.”

“But it could.”

“I’m a polar bear. Ain’t much that can harm me,” his dry reply.

“Hunters with long rifles can. Wolves. Walrus.”

“Wolves know better than to come inside my territory. As for the fat wallies… I’d like to see them try.” He bared his teeth.

Must be nice to have such confidence. A reindeer had ten times the threats.

A glance around showed objects that had to have been purchased, leading her to say, “How do you trade for supplies? Do you have to drag them back a piece at a time?”

“I have a snowmobile with a sled.”

“And you didn’t mention this before because…?”

“Because I’m not loaning a stranger my only motorized means of transportation,” his retort.

“Fair enough, but you could drive me to civilization.”

“I could.”

“But won’t,” she guessed.

“Don’t need nothing.”

“Surely you care a little bit about the fact Santa and all his workers have been taken hostage?” She tried to rouse his sense of compassion.

And failed.

“Not really.”

“What of the children who will be disappointed Christmas morning?”

“What part of I hate Christmas don’t you grasp?” he snapped.

“Why?”

“None of your business.”

As he studiously ignored her to mend a hole in a sock, she pursed her lips. Something kept nagging her brain. A little worm squirming, insisting she missed something. Nanook. His name seemed familiar and not just because it meant bear in Inuit.

It hit her suddenly. A rumor that floated around a few years ago. A scandal that rocked the elves in the village but the reindeer didn’t pay much mind to.

She dumbly blurted out, “Are you the Nanook whose wife ran off with one of Santa’s elves?”

His head whipped up so fast she almost got whiplash for him. “I’m not discussing this.”

“So it was you.” She paused. “I’m sorry. That must have been devastating.”

“What part of not discussing it do you not get?” He rose and towered over her, looking grim and angry.

“If it helps, what she did was wrong. Especially considering you have kids. It probably doesn’t help you have to see her each time she visits with them.”

“She doesn’t visit.” A blunt admission.

It dropped her jaw. “What? But she’s their mother.”

“Not in her mind.” He moved away from Dancer.

It took her a moment to process. A mother who’d cheated then left and abandoned her children. It roused her ire, and she huffed, “Well, she’s permanently on the naughty list.”

He snorted. “As if she cares. We all know Santa only gifts the young believers.”

True. Santa specialized in toys for children. The expansion that would be required to reward adults who behaved well all year would be… probably not be that bad given many had difficulty staying out of trouble.

“I’m sorry. That must have been rough. In good news, your daughters seem very happy and healthy.”

“They are.”

“But don’t they need friends?” She couldn’t stop putting her hoof in her mouth.

To her surprise, he softly admitted, “They do, which is why we’ll be moving to the FARTZ encampment by spring so they can attend school in the fall.”

“Doesn’t sound you’re like enamored of the idea.”

“Don’t like people.”

Not exactly a surprise. “Surely you don’t hate everyone. I mean, granted, there are some folks that are real rabbit turds, but not everyone is the same.”

“Must you talk incessantly?” He sighed.

“Well, you don’t have internet or cable, and I’m pretty sure you don’t want to play Bingo anymore. Guess you’re my only hope for entertainment.”

At her claim, he reached into a carved cubby in the ice wall and tossed a little box at her. She glanced at it and laughed. He’d given her a deck of cards.

“Is this your way of saying you’d like to play strip poker?”

His jaw dropped. A very square jaw, she should add, the man being all chiseled sharp edges, thick but not fat, and strong she’d guess, given what she’d seen of his body. Handsome. if you liked the rugged, grumpy type.

Her lips quirked. “Guess there’s not much sport in strip poker at this point seeing as how you already saw me in my nude glory.”

“I didn’t gawk, if that’s what you’re insinuating,” he muttered. “Who do you think covered you in a blanket?”

“Speaking of blanket, where should I sleep?” The little girls had a single bed in their room, which they shared. The living room had a large chair carved in stone as well as smaller ones.

He stared at her. “I don’t have a guest room.”

“Guess it will be a chilly night, then.” She grimaced as she eyed the floor. Even with the wolf rug, it would be cold. She’d have to shift shapes, or she’d never sleep.

His head tilted back, and the mightiest sigh exited him as he muttered, “You can sleep with me.”

“Why, Nookie, I thought you weren’t interested,” she teased.

“My bed is large enough we don’t have to touch.”

“What, no cuddling?” She couldn’t help taunting and couldn’t have said why. Maybe because his cheeks turned a ruddy color? He might be a grouch, but he was still a man, and she a woman. A woman who’d not been with someone in a while.

“Don’t make me change my mind,” he warned.

“I’ll be a good reindeer,” she promised, crossing her fingers behind her back.

“Come on, then.” He lumbered into the large bedroom and pulled back the thick fur-lined blanket. Another plush layer sat atop his rock-framed bed.

“You’ll sleep on that side.” He pointed to the left.

She clambered in, keeping on his oversized clothes even though she usually slept nude at home. Then again, in her cabin, she had a woodstove constantly emitting heat.

Despite the blankets, she shivered, the cold radiating through the bottom sheet. The bed didn’t creak or move as Nanook joined her.

Being a man, he quickly fell asleep. Breathing evenly, not snoring as expected. He also emitted heat. She could feel it despite the foot of space between them. It drew her. She scooched closer, basking in the warmth, and fell asleep wondering what she’d do to help Santa and those being held hostage in the village.

Dancer woke in the morning, plastered across a bear.

A bear with a hard-on.

And what did she just have to say? “Is that a pogo stick in your pants, or are you happy to see me?”