Twelve Days of Christmas Chaos Read online

  “She’s healing. Almost ready to get up and walk around, I think. It helps that all three of my brothers are like proud uncles who spoil her for every little baby step she takes toward recovery.” Kayne smiled despite himself, thinking of his brothers sneaking her bits of breakfast that morning or Jayden sleeping on the couch next to her all night. His family were all animal lovers thanks to his mom, who was an activist in her own right.

  “Oh good,” she yawned, leaning her head against the cold glass window. Kayne shot her a quick glance, navigating the snowy roads back to town.

  “Rough night?” he asked softly.

  She nodded but said nothing.

  “Well, let’s get these fish back to the sanctuary and you can take a nap.

  Cleo snorted. “Tell that to Mozzie. He doesn’t believe in naps. Or sleeping at all, really.”

  Kayne wondered if that’s where she had been all night. Maybe she’d taken Mozzie somewhere to exhaust him. Red had told him Cleo had picked Mozzie up from the sanctuary at eleven, but he’d driven past her house several times after that and she hadn’t been home. “Why don’t I take Mozzie for a while. You can sleep. He can go back to the sanctuary with me and I’ll work on introducing him to other dogs. He did fine with Glacier, but he was pretty suspicious of everything else.”

  Cleo raised her head. “You would do that?”

  Kayne opened his mouth to respond. I’d do anything for you.

  No, that wouldn’t do at all.

  “You can’t be the only dog whisperer at the sanctuary. I need some glory, too.”

  Cleo showed up at the sanctuary with Mozzie early the next day. Kayne had kept him until late evening, introducing him to different dogs and cats, none of which he cared one way or another for. Then Kayne and his brothers had run him ragged playing snow tag and fetch and frisbee—none of which Mozzie would cooperate with, but they did their best.

  “Cleo, I’m so glad you’re here.” Red and Greyson came out of the office just as Kayne finished feeding the dogs in the west enclosure. Cleo stopped, pulling Mozzie to a stop with her. He had something bright blue in his mouth that he held onto stubbornly.

  “My shoe,” Cleo said flatly, following Kayne’s gaze. “He really likes shoes.”

  Kayne pursed his lips to keep from laughing.

  Cleo let him go, stretching her neck. She hadn’t slept well at all the night before. “So, Cleo, if I’m your escort, my tie should probably match your dress.” Kayne scratched Mozzie’s ears for half a second before the big husky was bounding away, checking out the entire enclosure for any changes.

  “Dress?” Cleo squeaked. “Like, a formal dress, right? Because it’s a ball?”

  Kayne nodded, raising a dark eyebrow.

  Red pulled her aside. “You have a dress, right?”

  “No,” Cleo squeaked. “But I—I have one in mind.”

  Of course, she had one in mind. It had been her dream dress—she’d seen it in a magazine her senior year, but she hadn’t ever had a chance to wear it, given that she’d graduated right after. Ice blue and poufy and shimmery…

  “Cleo, the ball is in six days,” Red hissed. “I’ll take Mozzie. You need to go shopping ASAP.” She pushed her toward the door. “Have fun!”

  Dress shopping by herself.

  Always a blast.

  She went to Dresses by Linda first. It was in Huckleberry Falls and the dresses were all absolutely beautiful. Merry, Linda’s daughter, used to hire Cleo to babysit when she was still in high school, and her son had been an absolute delight. The family was down to earth and kind, despite Linda’s fame in the dress world—she even dressed movie stars and celebrities. A couple of years before, Merry’s husband and father had both been killed in a car accident, and although she was still as kind as ever, Merry had been enshrouded in a protective cover of pain ever since.

  Cleo spent a ridiculous amount of time perusing dresses and talking to Linda, but in the end, her dream dress just wasn’t there. Linda suggested another shop in a town about thirty minutes away, and Cleo headed that way, already exhausted.

  Rescuing animals was so much easier than finding dream dresses.

  She drove through the mountains to the neighboring town, grateful that the weather had held out. The train ran from the bigger cities and stopped at Huckleberry Falls, but it didn’t go the way Cleo needed, and the mountain pass was winding and steep on the best of days. In the winter, it was downright terrifying.

  But the day was mild, with nary a snowflake to be seen in the sky, and the roads were clear, for which she was grateful. She made the drive in just over thirty minutes, which left her lots of time to peruse the dresses.

  Unfortunately, she still didn’t find her dress.

  Sighing, she made her way up to the counter, fingers trailing across all the different fabrics. “Excuse me,” she said to the woman behind the counter, “Do you have anything in the back that isn’t already on display? I’m looking for this—this blue poufy dress, the color of ice. I need it for the royalty crowning ceremony.”

  “No, I’m sorry, Ms. Klausse. Everything we have is already on display,” the woman did look genuinely apologetic, even though Cleo had no idea how she knew her name. Through the disappointment, she couldn’t find it in her to ask.

  “Thanks anyway. I’ll just find something else.” She wandered away, hesitating in front of a beautiful gold sheath-like dress. A stylishly dressed woman stood in front of it with a notepad and a pencil, watching Cleo curiously.

  “It’s beautiful,” the woman said.

  “It is. I just—I have this stupid vision in my head, you know? Nothing else is working.” Cleo turned to her, feeling like an idiot. “I sound crazy.”

  “No, not at all. I totally get it.”

  “I’m Cleo. Love love love your dress, by the way. It’s amazing. Where’d you get it? —if you don’t mind my asking.”

  “Actually, I designed it,” she said, her cheeks coloring, “I’m Kate. Nice to meet you.”

  “You’re a designer? That’s so cool!” Cleo smiled and she glanced over her shoulder for a second, before whispering conspiratorially, “If there’s one thing this place is lacking, it’s a designer.”

  Kate smiled and turned back to the gold dress, but Cleo, for whatever reason, couldn’t stop talking. “I’m participating in the Christmas royalty pageant in Huckleberry Falls. I waited too long and now I’m having a difficult time finding a dress. I have a picture of what I want in my mind, but nothing here is quite right.”

  Kate scanned the room, her green eyes narrowed. “What about that one?” She gestured toward the glacier blue fabric peeking out between a red mermaid gown and a more brilliant red A-line. “Is that the color you were thinking of?”

  Cleo’s gaze followed Kate’s finger to the rack on their left. The moment she found what Kate was showing her, her whole face lit up with excitement.

  “Yes! Yes! That is the exact color!” In three long strides she was at the rack, pulling the two red dresses to each side so she could maneuver the blue gown to the front.

  It was a gorgeous shade of blue. It had a long waist and a bouffant skirt. It was beautiful. Just not quite what she’d been dreaming of, but close enough. She couldn’t be so picky at the last minute.

  “It is the perfect color. And I do like the way the bodice and skirt are.” Cleo’s eyebrows drew together in a pensive scowl. “It’s probably the closest I’m going to get to the image I have in my head.”

  “What if—” Kate hesitated, and the little bell above the front door jingled, interrupting her.

  A handsome man came in, all piercing blue eyes and brown tousled hair. He worked at the Eidelweiss Resort and had a stunning accent, but it took Cleo several seconds to remember his name. Luca, probably? “So, Roald said there was another seamstress in Huckleberry Falls, but she retired two years ago.” He nodded a silent greeting at Cleo, then fixed his gaze on Kate. “I know it’s not ideal, but if it helps, I can track down any tools or machi
nes, or whatever you need to do the alterations.”

  Cleo admired her dress, trying to convince herself it was what she was looking for. Oddly enough, she caught herself wondering if Kayne would like it.

  Which was ridiculous. Kayne hardly knew she existed beyond her animal capturing capabilities.

  Deflated, Kate shook her head. “I appreciate it, but there is no way Mrs. Hall will give me that kind of uninterrupted time.”

  “Even if she knew what it was for?” the man asked her.

  Cleo felt slightly uncomfortable eavesdropping, but there was nowhere she could go, trapped as she was between the two of them and the dress rack.

  “Are you kidding me? Mrs. Hall would never allow me to design something for her. I’m untried as far as she’s concerned. An unacceptable risk. No. She couldn’t know. She probably thinks I’m asking Paige to overnight her one of her new gowns.”

  “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Tell me about it.” Kate turned back to the gold gown and slid the fabric between her thumb and forefinger sadly.

  A seamstress who was retired? “Wait… Are you talking about Mrs. Stradley?”

  “That’s right. Do you know her?” Luca raised his eyebrows.

  “Yeah! She does a lot of volunteering at the animal sanctuary. I see her all the time.”

  A spark of hope flared in Kate’s eyes. “Do you think she would be willing to work with me? I mean… does she have the time?”

  “I’m almost certain she’d do it. In fact, I’ll call her right now.” Cleo smiled encouragingly, pulling her phone out of her pocket.

  Mrs. Stradley answered on the second ring. “Hello, Cleo, honey. Having trouble today?”

  “Not yet.” Cleo laughed. “But I have someone who needs your help. She’s a designer from out of town and she’s looking for a seamstress. Would you be interested in talking to her?”

  “Of course!” Mrs. Stradley said. “I have too much time on my hands. I’d love a project to distract me!” She was a widow, all alone except for when she got to babysit grandkids. Cleo knew how hard these days were on her.

  “Thanks! I’ll let her know and give her your number!” Cleo turned back to Kate. “She would love to! She said she has too much time on her hands and would love a project.”

  ‪”That’s fantastic!” Kate said.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

  ‪”Here. I’ll give you her number.” Cleo glanced back to her phone, where a message from Red flashed across her screen.‬‬‬‬‬‬‬

  “Sorry to drag you back, but I need help ASAP.”

  “Oh crap! I have to go!” She scribbled down the phone number on a piece of paper and thrust it toward Kate. “I’m so sorry to rush out like this. Mrs. Stradley is expecting to hear from you. Just tell her Cleo gave you her number.” She hung the ice blue gown back on the rack and tucked it in deep between two others. “I’ll have to come back for this.” Cleo waved at Kate and headed for the door. “It was nice to meet you!”

  Praying no one found her dress before she could get back to try it on, Cleo raced from the store.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “We have a hoarder situation that needs assistance,” Red said slowly. “I—uh—it’s going to take a group of us, I think. If you’re up for it.”

  Cleo glanced at Kayne, who shrugged. “Sure.”

  “Good. Good, I have your word now. There’s no going back on it,” Red said quickly. “Let me just grab my stuff.”

  “Uh—” Kayne started, but Red was already escaping back into the building.

  “Grey, what’s going on?” Cleo straightened, abandoning all efforts to rescue her shoe from Mozzie.

  Grey rubbed the back of his neck and looked away. “We have several animals trapped in a hoarder situation,” he said vaguely. “This is what we do, right? We rescue. All animals, great and small and fluffy and scaly and smelly and claw-y.”

  Kayne shot Cleo a look. “I’m suspicious.”

  Cleo nodded, raising an eyebrow at Grey. “What kind of animals, Grey?”

  “I don’t think Red told me specifically.”

  Cleo brightened, despite the lack of answers to the question. “Are there six of them?”

  “Are there—what?” Grey stuttered. “Why?”

  “It’s the sixth day of Christmas!” Cleo said. Mozzie bounced on his front paws, sharing her excitement.

  Luca looked to Kayne in confusion, but Kayne could only smile. “It’s the sixth day of Christmas,” he said.

  Cleo grinned.

  “Ready!” Red said, emerging from the office with her pack and a straight leash. “Let’s go before anyone changes their mind.”

  Cleo left Mozzie in one of the sanctuary rooms and joined them at Red’s van. “I need answers before we get in,” she said firmly, planting her hands on her hips. She looked like quite the little warrior goddess, standing in the snow in knee-high boots and her big winter parka, her long blond curls tamed into a braid that fell past the middle of her back. Her golden eyes narrowed suspiciously at Red. “What are we rescuing? Is it birds? It’s birds, isn’t it.”

  “Skunks,” Red said sheepishly. “A whole bunch of skunks.”

  Kayne froze in the middle of buckling his seatbelt.

  Cleo hesitated, nodded, and climbed into the van. “Okay,” she said as she slid into the seat next to him. “At least it’s not birds.”

  The house was unlike anything Cleo had ever seen. Boxes, clothing, dishes, junk mail—it was like nothing had ever been thrown away. The smell hit her first, and it wasn’t even the skunk spray that was the problem, although there was a hint of that as well.

  “Remember when I said our sanctuary would be for domestic pets?” Red asked Greyson under her breath as they picked their way up to the sagging front porch. The walk hadn’t been shoveled, and animal waste was everywhere.

  “They domesticated them, didn’t they?” Kayne asked. “So, they’re pets?”

  “They caught them and kept them in the house, from what we’ve been told,” Grey said, his gloved hands fisting and un-fisting at his sides, maybe in an attempt to keep his fingers warm or maybe so he didn’t punch something, Cleo didn’t know. “So they’re not exactly pets.”

  “So, we can just release them into the wild when we get them out?” Cleo asked.

  Red, leading the way, stepped carefully onto the porch. It creaked and groaned, protesting more weight when it was already buried under what looked to be the last several months of garbage.

  “We’ll have Stacey check them over first.” Red grimaced. “She’s going to kill me for this.”

  “I think Stacey has seen worse,” Grey said, and they all nodded in agreement. Stacey had definitely seen worse.

  Cleo covered her mouth and nose with her scarf, the acrid smell of skunk spray and urine and who knew what else nearly making her gag. Red knocked on the door, waited patiently for five whole seconds, and banged on it again.

  The door swung open and a small man in jeans and a sweatshirt stood in the entryway. He was barefooted but had a winter hat on and only opened the door wide enough to fit himself out. “Yes?”

  “We were called by the city to come remove your skunks,” Red said gently. “We’re told these aren’t safe conditions, and it’s also illegal to own skunks as pets in the state of Wyoming.”

  “They were cold,” he said quietly. “I didn’t want them to be cold.”

  Red nodded sympathetically. “I know, and that was very noble of you. Unfortunately, they aren’t suited to live in houses, and it’s hard on their little skunk selves to be out of their element.”

  “But if you release them now, they won’t have dens to burrow in. They’ll freeze. They should probably stay until summer.” He looked pleadingly at their whole group like anyone had the power to agree with him. The State of Wyoming did not agree and nothing Red said could change that.

  Luckily, Red had a connection at the wildlife rehabilitation center who took all the non-domestic animals they rescued.

 
The man, defeated, let his head fall to his chest and backed away from the door. Red had worried that they would have to call local law enforcement for help, but he let them in and stood out of the way, wordlessly pointing toward the back of the house.

  Inside was worse than outside, with things piled everywhere clear up to the ceiling. There were trails through it all leading to the fridge and the sink and to the back of the house. Grey bravely led the way through it, following the smell mostly. The skunks had been spraying something inside and the smell was burning Cleo’s nose, throat, and eyes.

  Grey stopped abruptly in the doorway at the very back of the house. “Oh my,” Red breathed, standing on her tiptoes to peer over his shoulder.

  “What’s wrong?” Kayne asked. He and Cleo stood too far back to see inside the room.

  “There are… multiple skunks,” Grey said.

  “Are there six?” Cleo asked through her scarf. “There are six, right?”

  Grey glanced back at her, eyebrows furrowed. “How’d you know?”

  Kayne snorted and Cleo grinned, not that Grey could see it through the scarf. “She thinks we’ve been blessed with an animal Twelve Days of Christmas.”

  “Little known fact,” Grey started, “The twelve days of Christmas is actually the twelve days after Christmas—”

  “Not this year,” Cleo said cheerfully. “This year it’s before, and we’re on day six, and abracadabra, we have six skunks to rescue.”

  Red raised a perfectly arched eyebrow. “Yes. And we should probably get to rescuing.”

  “What’s the plan?” Grey asked. Kayne stood in the doorway, watching the six skunks—large, chubby, furry skunks—waddle around what had once been a bedroom. Now it was a skunk pen with barely enough room for the six skunks and their food and water bowls. Every other square inch was covered in boxes and old blankets and clothes and—worst of all—animal waste. There was a litterbox, but the skunks didn’t seem to like using the litterbox.

  Probably because they were wild animals and not pets.