Page 73 of Escape for Christmas
Pete scooped her up in his arms. ‘I don’t think it’s a tiger. Tigers have big paws.’
‘I should hope not,’ Brody said and straightened up. ‘In my professional opinion, it looks very much like a reindeer.’
Sophie longed to capture the expression on Baxter’s face. His little mouth opened and his eyes widened in awe.
‘A reindeer?’ he murmured.
‘I think it must be,’ Brody said. ‘What do you reckon, Pete?’
‘Looks like it to me too, and if Brody says it is, then it is.’
‘ARudolphreindeer?’ Baxter said hopefully.
‘Maybe.’
Pete nodded sagely. ‘The tracks lead to the stable. Shall we go and see what we can find?’
‘What if he’s still in there?’ Baxter said, moving closer to his father.
‘I think it will be perfectly safe,’ Brody promised. ‘But we won’t know until we go inside.’
He caught Sophie’s eye. She smiled briefly.
Brody scratched his chin. ‘You know, IthoughtI heard hooves on the roof last night, but decided I was dreaming … Let’s go and see. Sophie, would you like to come with us?’
This was a direct invitation that Sophie couldn’t refuse. She’d no idea what surprise Brody might have left in the stable, but there was no way she was going to miss the children’s reactions to whatever he’d planned.
‘Do you want to open the door?’ Brody asked Baxter. ‘Wemust be very quiet. We don’t want to scare any creature who might be in there.’
‘Go on,’ Pete urged, still holding Maria.
After a moment’s hesitation, Baxter pushed at the door. The others followed, with Sophie at the rear. The stable was warm with the scent of hay and animals.
Baxter let out a squeal, then shushed himself.
There were no reindeer, but Gabe was in his stall, and the two sheep were in their pen. On the floor were two small baskets, one filled with carrots and parsnips and the other with hay. The donkey snuffled when he saw the visitors.
‘A donkey!’ Baxter cried and then, ‘Where’s Rudolph?’ He looked a little crestfallen.
‘And sheep. Baa!’ Maria started making sheep noises.
‘I think Rudolph must have been and gone,’ Sophie said, playing along. ‘He seems to have left some presents, though.’
‘Dog!’ Maria shouted.
Two fluffy dog toys with red ribbons sat on the hay bales. They had tags around their necks with names on.
Brody walked over to them. ‘I wonder who these are for?’ He checked the labels. ‘This one says “Maria”, so it must be for you.’
Pete lowered Maria to her feet and she grabbed her toy, hugging it against her.
‘What do you think about that?’ Pete said. ‘Rudolph must have left gifts for you and the animals.’
Baxter picked his dog up. ‘Santa did know I was here …’ he said in wonder.
The amazement in the little boy’s eyes made Sophie’s eyes fill with tears. Brody gave a cough.
‘Of course he did,’ Brody said. ‘Now, shall we – er – give the animals their presents? Sophie, can you help us?’
