"Wow, your dad is really set on selling himself as some modern version of Santa Claus. I mean, it's a great marketing gimmick and everything, but is it really worth sounding a bit kooky for it?" Noelle asked as they headed up the elevator toward their final stop on the tour after leaving the basement control center.

After their awkward introduction, Sinter had tried to convince her that he was the head of a global operation responsible for making sure that every child in the world received a present on Christmas Eve, but that unlike in the past, now his job was to coordinate deliveries from other shops and warehouses across the world rather than also overseeing local production and making the drop-offs himself. The animals that used to pull his sleigh—she'd snickered at the image, recalling childhood cartoons with flying contraptions—were now retired, but they were still cherished members of the Klaas family.

Anxious to end the increasingly weird conversation, Noelle asked that a visit to the stables be next on the agenda. It would at least her get back on the ground floor. Nick, however, had a surprising reaction to her skepticism.

"You don't believe him?" he asked, leading the way through the atrium and off into a side hallway.

Noelle laughed uncomfortably at the fact that he was encouraging the delusion. "Oh come on. Why should I? Father Christmas and all of his various incarnations are myths," she said, not even getting into the details of the myriad of cultural peculiarities depending on religions and geographic location involving the Pagan legacy of winter solstice mixed with the Christian lore surrounding Saint Nicholas.

"Many myths are based in reality," he countered. "Plus I would have expected more from a woman whose name literally means Christmas."

Noelle sighed. As if she'd had any choice in what her parents had put on her birth certificate. Nick had also obviously been living with this fantasy for a while, and it was no use to argue. "Fair enough. Let's say your father is Père Noël. Would that make you the heir to this holiday?"

"Not if I can help it," said another man. Turning around, Noelle saw Piet and Avery walking toward them. She was carrying multiple overstuffed paper shopping bags, while he was wearing a mischievous grin.

Noelle was suddenly delighted to see a familiar face. "Where have you been?" she asked, running to Avery and giving her a hug. The women were mutually shocked at the unexpected move, and they quickly let each other go.

Avery held up the bags. "Christmas market. I didn't know I needed a hand-carved, bird shaped whistle until I saw it," she said with a shrug, although it was obvious that she'd either bought two hundred whistles, or there was many more trinkets she definitely needed.

"And what are you doing here, cousin?" Nick asked pointedly in a sudden change of tone, revealing a type of disdain Noelle didn't think was even possible from the (so far) always-cheerful guy.

"I am keeping this lovely lady company while you entertain her friend," Piet said, emphasizing the first word.

"We're not friends," Noelle objected before realizing it was to her advantage that Avery had been kept busy, although her choice of companions was increasingly questionable. While Nick exuded kindness and sincerity, there was an underlying threatening vibe emanating from his cousin. Not in how he looked or what he said, but . . . in his being. Noelle felt ashamed for even thinking it, yet she still couldn't dismiss it. "But thanks. So anyway, you were about to show me the reindeer?"

She grabbed Nick by the arm and pulled him toward the door marked with the silhouette of a pair of antlers. Getting both of them away Piet seemed like a good idea. It worked for about three seconds until the others joined them in the barn.

"They're soooo adorable," Avery cooed like a little girl who just got her first puppy, stopping at the first stall.

Noelle walked further in and smirked. Although she'd been flippant about mentally comparing Rudolph to Fido, now that she thought about it, she could see the resemblance. The reindeer had big, smart eyes and seemed quite domesticated. She'd already seen a pair pull Nick's sleigh and obey basic commands to go and stop, so perhaps they were fairly intelligent animals. If nothing else, they were smarter than Cat Damon. Poor thing, he was the feline equivalent of a bag of rocks. Before she left the room this morning, she'd watched him chase his own tail for a full three minutes before he made himself so dizzy that he collapsed.

"These guys have more space for themselves than my entire apartment," Noelle said, walking closer to a stall on the other side. The animal inside had its muzzle buried deep within a metal bucket. The sound of furious chewing echoed out of the container before it was followed by a loud belch. Noelle giggled. "What do they eat?

Nick stepped beside her. "When they can't forage grass, berries, and mushrooms for themselves outside, we feed them hay, but their favorite food is lichen so there's always a special treat on hand of that."

"Are they boys or girls?" Avery asked. "I heard that in spite of everyone thinking they're male, Santa's reindeer are all girls because only females have antlers this time of year."

"In the wild it's very likely that males have shed their antlers during the autumn rutting season, but our boys don't need to fight for the girls' attention so they keep theirs until well after Christmas," Nick explained. "This herd is mixed. For example, this one is a girl and her name is Kipinä."

"Does that mean anything?" Noelle asked, recalling how in English the reindeer had silly names mostly related to movement or personality, although how Cupid fit into the same breath as Dasher, Comet, or Vixen, she'd never know.

"I think the best translation would be Spark . . . like a bright light," Nick answered.

"I like that. That's kind of like Blitzen, I guess. So what are the others called?"

Nick turned around and started at the end of the opposite row of stalls. "There's Ailu,

Suivakka, Mutsikki, Valkko, Tikku, Sipsu, and Täpy," he pointed as he recited the names. As if participating in roll call, each animal stuck its head over their own low gate after being identified. Jumping over to the other side, he continued. "And here we have Turpo, Pyry, Kipinä who you just met, Makotti, Sauikki, and Poku."

"What about him?" Noelle asked, pointing to the animal with the most majestic crown of antlers in a stall at the head of the two rows.

"That is our old man Petteri," Nick said as he led her to the reindeer in question. "He has seen more Christmases than all the others combined, so he has a special place in the herd."

Contrary to his seniority, Petteri acted more Gen Z than Boomer in his welcoming attitude as he approached the gate and eagerly stuck out his head. "Ooh, his fur is so thick," Noelle said and she scratched his forehead. The reindeer huffed loudly in appreciation.

"It has to be for him to weather negative fifty degrees Celsius," Nick said.

"Negative fifty? How much is that in Fahrenheit?"

"It's very, very cold," he said with a laugh. "They even have a special antifreeze type material in their bones. They really are the perfect animals for this climate."

"I'm sure the ladies are thrilled by your rendition of 'Wild Kingdom: Lapland,' cousin, but the canal races are about to start, and we're going to miss all the action if we don't go now," Piet spoke up from beside the entry. He had kept his distance from the reindeer, and even upon hearing his voice, Petteri grunted angrily.

Nick looked at Noelle and no doubt saw her reluctance. "I don't know about you, but I have a lot of preparation to do for tomorrow," he said, letting his preference known and giving her an easy out at the same time.

Noelle had no idea what a canal race was, but it sounded like it was outside in the cold and she was in no mood to bundle up just to still be chilled through. Shaking her head, she politely smiled. "Same. Thanks for the invite, but I really need to practice the new music for tomorrow and—"

"Come on, Noelle! You don't even know what you're declining," Avery said. Noelle hoped her colleague wouldn't want to spend any more of her day with bad-vibe Piet, but after he'd explained that canal racing was an ice skating competition between local kids, Avery insisted on seeing the action.

Swallowing her apprehension at another unpleasant afternoon over leaving the pretty and naïve—a dangerous combination—girl alone with Piet, Noelle warily agreed.

"I guess I can procrastinate for another few hours, too," Nick said, suddenly changing his mind. Noelle wondered if it was for her benefit just as she'd done for Avery, but in the end, she was glad that he was also tagging along.

This is my #NaNoWriMo2019 project and while I absolutely love all of my silent readers, I would LOVE to get your encouragement while writing this story. So please, please, please add it to your libraries, vote on the chapters (updates daily!) and leave me comments. <3

Did you know that there are twelve existing subspecies of reindeer that are all found within the Arctic area from North America to Eurasia, and the largest migratory herd can contain up to one million individuals? And their favorite treat really is lichen!