Strange Bedfellows (Peppermint Twist 3)

Strange Bedfellows (Peppermint Twist)
Julia Talbot
All rights reserved.
Copyright ©2014 Julia Talbot

Henry clung tightly to the reindeer's neck, trying to avoid the pelting snow at this high altitude. Why on earth a reindeer couldn't fly low was a mystery to him. Something about air speed and buoyancy and shit, but Henry had gotten a C in Kringle Physics in school.

The landing lights strung through Krieg's antlers came on, and that was the only warning Henry got before they plummeted toward Earth like a rocket. Henry tried to scream, but it froze in his throat. Kinda literally, it was so damned cold.

He was gonna lose the porridge his boarding house mom had made him for breakfast.

The clatter of hooves on icy snow told him they'd landed, and when Henry opened his eyes and stripped off his frosty goggles, his breath caught in his throat. Heavens, look at all of those trees! The village had plenty of evergreens but these were amazing, so tall and straight and majestic.

A shake of tail and butt sent Henry's dentistry kit splatting into the snow, then Blitzkrieg was off, kicking up and away, lights flashing takeoff signals. Wow, okay. Looked like he was on his own. Henry glanced around, hoping someone would appear through the lonely copse of trees and the huge expanse of unbroken snow to tell him where his patient was and what he needed.

"Oh, hey!" A huge mountain of an elf came trundling through the snow, reaching Henry just before he sank completely in the deep stuff. "I'm Snowflake. I have some cocoa and a nice hot stove back at the mobile headquarters. Monte is waiting for you. He broke a tooth."

Snowflake looked like Paul Bunyan. He wore a heavy plaid flannel shirt and snow pants, as well as a hand-knitted hat in manly colors, all black and red. A long, black beard with frost in it and a pair of twinkling blue eyes completed the picture.

Henry felt small and pale in comparison. "Uh, hi. I'm Henry. Dentist."

"Monte will be so pleased they didn't send a proctologist, eh?" Booming laughter broke out, and snow fell off a couple of trees from the vibrations. "Come on. I'll haul your stuff."

Snowflake yanked him out of the snow and carried both his bag and Henry, one under each arm, into the copse of trees, then into a clearing where several platform tents had been set up, all of them with stovepipes peeking out of the tops, smoke gently puffing out of them.

Thank Santa, they looked really, really warm. "Do you think my hands will thaw?" he asked Snowflake. "They're my stock in trade, after all."

"Ohhh!" Snowflake made a noise that somehow sounded like that old French movie actor, Maurice Chevalier. "They'll be fine. It's magical up here, no?"

They ducked into a tent, and it was huge and comfy, with couches and a wee kitchen set up. Another giant woodsman elf sat at a desk along the back wall, scribbling in some kind of ledger. "That you, Snowy? This tooth thing is gonna put us eight hours behind schedule."

Snowflake plopped Henry and his bag on the wooden platform floor, which had some very fuzzy rugs laid out on it. "Well, I'd best get back to work, then. Your dentist is here. See you when the anesthetic wears off, Monte."

Snowy stomped back out of the tent, singing some kind of lumberjack tune, leaving Henry with the other big guy, who turned to study him. Green eyes shone in a freckly face, a long, red beard dominating Monte's features. He had shoulders wide enough to block the light and arms that bulged with muscle, stretching the seams of his shirt.

Henry felt a tad lightheaded just looking at him. He tried not to be obvious, but the loggers were really doing it for him.

"How soon can you get me back to work?" Monte asked without preamble.

"I have no idea." Henry straightened his back and squared his shoulders. Smokin' hot or not, Monte was his patient. This was his job, and Henry was damned good at it. "I'll need to examine you, see what kind of procedure you need. Is there a place you can be horizontal?"

Something wicked flashed in Monte's eyes, but he didn't say anything naughty or nice. He just nodded. "Come on to my tent. I'll carry your gear."