Page 36 of Run, Run Rudolph (Fairy Godmothers and Other Fiascos #2)

“There are a lot of restrictions,” Blitzen said in a bored tone. “Hugo is like Prancer. Rule-follower and boring.”

“Well, Santa told him to make one, so we should be good in that regard.” I was feeling a bit steamed that Hugo hadn’t offered to heal Rudolph.

I was certain it would have helped him rebuild his relationship with the herd.

And it would have prevented a lot of other issues as well.

Such as Santa’s concussion and his broken sleigh.

“Do you have any magic that’ll fix the sleigh?”

“Do I look like an elf?” Blitzen said in a tone that suggested I was crazy for even asking.

I huffed in frustration. “Can Hugo fix it? Or Santa? He had a moment of clarity a minute ago.”

“Nope. Have more of that cooler juice?”

I rolled my eyes and headed back inside the barn with Haden.

On Santa’s request, Snarky made us a list of the things he needed, his pencil whizzing across the page of his notebook. It appeared as though any rift between Hugo and Santa had been mended, and I took that as a hopeful sign that the rest of the North Pole problems would soon be resolved.

Moments later, the elf tore the list from the book and handed it to Haden.

Reading the paper around his very broad shoulder, I noticed that it was basically just a bunch of herbs and vitamins.

“And this will fix him up?” I asked, daring myself to place a possessive hand on Haden’s hip and lean into his personal space to read the list a second time. His posture softened, welcoming the contact, and a warm fuzziness flowed through me. “Your magic potion?”

“It’s not magic,” Hugo snapped. It seemed as though his warm mood was reserved for North Pole citizens only.

Although, I guess I did lock him in the trunk for an hour or two…

“It’ll help him heal faster?” I confirmed, trying again for a firm answer on what was what with this weird list of ingredients.

“It’s anti-inflammatory.” Snarky gave a shrug while tipping from side to side, as though mentally weighing out the other technical aspects of the drink he planned to make. I hoped there were no chances of it backfiring.

“And you’re sure it’s safe?” Haden confirmed, as if reading my mind.

“Yes!” Despite his certain tone, Hugo scratched his forehead with the end of his pencil, taking back the list to read it again. “It won’t do any harm, even if it’s off by a few ingredients.”

“Um?” I gave Haden a panicked look.

He shrugged. “It’s just a lot of botanicals.”

Wait. Botanicals .

No.

“You know, vitamins and such,” Haden added. “How is this a potion?”

“How did your x-ray help heal him?” Hugo replied.

“Good point.” Haden turned to me. “Shall we?”

I was already shaking my head back and forth.

No.

Eagle Ridge was a small town. There was only one place where you could buy the ‘botanicals’ on this list.

And all the shops were closed.

That meant we had to call in favours. Big favours. From people I never wanted to speak to again.

No, no, and no.

Haden turned to me as I backed away, almost tripping on a square bale. “What’s wrong? Where are you going?”

“Nope. Not me. We should wait for Mrs. Claus.”

“TM, we need this.”

“Nope.” He couldn’t sway me with that sweet nickname.

I wasn’t budging. “I am not going.” I laid the tip of my index finger on the end of my cold nose, the childhood sign for ‘not it’.

He could call me all the cute names he could think of, but I was not changing my mind.

Not for anything. Not even if he kissed me and asked me out to dinner.

Well, actually for that, I’d cave like a house of cards in a windstorm.

“What are you doing?” Haden asked, his lips quirked as I kept my finger on my nose.

Hugo, watching me with big eyes, slowly repeated my action. Then he turned to Haden to see what would happen next.

“Last person to put their finger on their nose is it,” I explained. “That’s Haden. So he has to do it.”

Snarky snickered. Maybe I liked him after all.

“Do what?” Haden asked, his brow adorably scrunched in confusion.

“There’s only one person in town that sells this stuff, and it’s after midnight. That means we have to call in a favour.”

Well, come to think of it, I didn’t have Jannifer’s number, even if I’d wanted to have a chat with the woman Kade had originally left me for. And since I doubted Haden had her number, since she was a pet-free weirdo, I amended my earlier statement. “Probably two favours.”

I knew someone who had Jannifer’s number, and that someone was related to Haden. A someone I’d already kicked off my property once tonight.

Kade. The last person I wanted to talk to just hours after doing some steamy kissing with his older brother.

I was pretty sure that all added up to me getting a free pass when it came to this situation.

The elf was looking between Haden and me as though following a tennis ball at a Wimbledon match. “What? What?” he squeaked impatiently.

Haden’s face lit up with what I could only describe as a slightly evil smile. “You’re upset because we need Jannifer Eric.”

Yeah, maybe I didn’t like Haden so much after all.