Poles Apart (13 page)

She gave him a gentle nudge and grinned.
“Did you call ahead to organize this?”

He shook his head.

“Oh really? I suppose they miraculously
knew we were coming and got ready all by themselves?”

“Almost.”
With a little assistance
from dad’s helpers. Reindeer could never hitch themselves to a sleigh. That’s ludicrous.

Sarah tipped her head back, and her
laughter filled the air. “You’re too funny, Niklas.”

Her giggles subsided, and she glanced at
him. Her smile faded, too. “You’re serious.”

“Sarah, in Korvatunturi, all the secrets
of Christmas are revealed. You’ll see.” He hoped. If she was truly his
soulmate, this place would reveal all to her. If not, all she’d see would be a
beautiful landscape. No secrets whispered. No nothing.

Her eyes widened. “We’re in
Korvatunturi?”

“Yes.”

“Where Santa Claus’s home and workshops
are?”

“Yes.” If you could call their global
toy manufacturing business workshops. More like distribution centers.

“But I thought—” She shook her head. “I
don’t understand. I was told by—”

Change the subject. Quick.

“Would you like to touch a reindeer?”

“Do they bite?”

“Not my reindeer.”

“Your reindeer?”

Oops.
Didn’t matter. Soulmate
or not, Sarah would need to know the truth. Today.

“Yes.” He slid his hand down the first reindeer’s
coat. “This is Ajatusviiva. He’s the fastest, always in a hurry, that’s why
he’s up front, taking the lead. Usually he’s very calm, but sometimes he can be
a little wary of strangers. Come, say hello.”

Hesitant, she reached out and touched
the animal. It stared at her, wide-eyed, not budging.

“Go closer,
Pupu
. Ajatusviiva
loves hugs.”

“I—is it safe?”

“I would never put you in danger.”

Sarah took a step forward and snuggled
into the reindeer’s fur. “He’s so soft.” She glanced back. Ajatusviiva still
stared at her. “And such deep blue eyes.”

“They’re not always that color. They
change to blue in the winter—helps them see in the dim light.”

“What fascinating creatures.”

“Let me introduce you to the others then
we can go.” Niklas walked down the row of reindeer on the right. Sarah
followed. “Next we have Tanssija, Vallaton, and Pyrstötähti. He’s very strong
and stubborn, so he’s positioned at the back to rein him in.” He walked around
the back of the sleigh to the other side, giving the first reindeer’s back a
rub. “This is Naaraskettu, then Amoriini. She’s is a real sweetheart and loves
hugs, too.” Niklas wrapped his arms around the female’s neck. As he moved away,
she stuck out her long tongue and licked his cheek. He laughed, wiping the
reindeer saliva from his face. “Amoriini, that tickles.”

Sarah gave the deer a wide berth.
“Thanks, darling, but I think I’ll pass.”

“You might want to steer clear of the
next one, as well. Ukkonen is rather moody. Could be time to retire him. He is
getting old.”

Niklas patted the last reindeer’s rump.
“Vaalentamiseen. Runs like the wind, too, so he’s paired here up front with
Ajatusviiva.”

“They’re gorgeous. So healthy. What do
they feed on to be in such good condition?”

“Lichens. There sort of a combination of
fungi and algae.”

“Sounds yummy...not.” She made a gagging
gesture causing Niklas to chuckle.

“In autumn, the reindeer love the
abundance of mushrooms.”

“Did you name all your reindeer?”

“No. My father did.”

“They have nice names. You should get
him to take a second look at the puppy name list.”

“I don’t think that’s necessary. I like
the Sarah list.”

She lowered her gaze, her mouth curving
up at the sides. “Thank you. So, the reindeers’ English names...what would they
be?”

“Dasher, Dancer, Prancer, Vixen, Comet,
Cupid, Donner, and Blitzen, of course.”

“Very funny. And I thought you didn’t
have reindeer by those names.”

“I don’t. Just like I don’t have puppies
named, Partridge, Dove, Hen—”

Sarah held up her hands. “Stop. I get
the idea. But, no Rudolph, or his Finnish equivalent?”

“Purely a myth, Sarah. Where would you
ever find a red-nosed reindeer?” He turned Vaalentamiseen’s snout toward them.
White skin eased into dark brown fur. “See. Not a spot of red to be seen, on
any of them.”

“That’s a pity. I like the idea of a
red-nosed reindeer.”

“I’ll bear that in mind for the future.”
Niklas strolled back to the sleigh and climbed inside. He held out his hand to
Sarah, helping her into the seat beside him. Risto scurried into the sleigh,
bulldozing his way from the floorboard onto the seat between them, and then
over to the rear of the sleigh—the gift box.

“Risto!” Would his dog ever learn
manners?

Niklas lifted the reigns and slapped the
leather straps against the reindeer, commanding them to move forward. “
Mennä
.”

Flying over the snow, the reindeer
dodged trees, finally coming to a stop at the top of a hill. Santa’s roller
coaster. He loved it.

Without a word, Niklas stepped out of
the sleigh and walked across the snow to a nearby bush. He yanked a twig from it
then slid his gloves from his hands.
This shouldn’t take long.

From a snow-covered ledge, he gazed
across the landscape below, his fingers working the soft, thin twig. This place
was his heartbeat. All the secrets, dreams and wishes of Christmas—the best of
them all being Jesus. How many hours hadn’t he spent here growing up,
worshipping and communing with his Father?

Hearing Sarah approach with Risto, he
dropped the reshaped twig into his pocket and retrieved his gloves, his hands
finding heat once again.

She linked her arm in his and released a
sigh. “This is amazing—like frosting on a cake, dabbed with a palette knife to
form peaks.”

“Shh. Just close your eyes, Sarah, and
listen.”

She obliged, and for a while, all that
could be heard was the gentle wind and their breathing.

Then, without warning, Sarah twisted
toward him. “It was you, wasn’t it?”

“Yes.” Niklas breathed in deep.
Yes.
She could hear the secrets of Korvatunturi. She was the one—his soulmate.

Turning, he pulled Sarah into his
embrace. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t tell you before and that I tried to fool you
into believing it was Santa, not me. Sarah, I would never intentionally hurt
you. I had a good reason, which at the moment doesn’t seem like a reason at
all.”

“Y—you’re the son of Santa.”

“I am.”

“But, how can I know this? That you’re
his son? I’d been so certain you were the man himself, and then convinced
myself that I’d been wrong. How is it possible that I know exactly who you are
now? No doubts?”

“Because you’re in Korvatunturi, that’s
why.”

“Where all the secrets of Christmas can
be found? Where you said I couldn’t go—you couldn’t take me? What changed?”

“I did.” He pulled Sarah closer, bringing
his mouth to hers. “
Minä rakastan sinua
. I love you, Sarah Jones.”

She responded to his kiss—a good sign.

He gazed into her eyes, losing himself
in their pools of blue. “I’m bound by an age-old oath never to reveal who the
real Santa Claus is. I had to keep my word to my father.”

“But if you’re bound, why have you
broken your promise now?”

“Because there
is
one person I
can break that oath with. One place I can do that. Right here, with my spouse.”

“But—”

Placing his finger on her lips, Niklas
silenced her. “I know it’s premature to have brought you here, but I wanted the
slate to be clean when I asked you. And this was the only way I could do that.”

A frown carved small lines into her
forehead. “Ask me what?”

Holding her hands, Niklas went down on
his knees. “Sarah Jones, I know we’ve only known each other a short while, but
time cannot change the way I feel about you. All it can do is make my feelings
grow stronger.”

He pulled the glove from his hand once
more and shoved his hand into his pocket, bringing out the circular band he’d
made from the mistletoe twig. The single white berry still clung tight. “I
don’t have a ring right now, but will this suffice in the meantime?” He held out
the makeshift ring, laying in the center of his palm, to Sarah. “Will you be
the one who’ll stand under the mistletoe with me until I’m old and gray?” He
swallowed hard. “Will you marry me?”

Sarah’s mouth opened but words failed.

Niklas rose to his feet. “Celebrate
Christmas Eve dinner with me and my parents tonight, and you’ll understand
better.”
If you could see the devotion I have toward them and theirs to each
other, you’ll know why I tried to remain faithful to my oath never to tell.

“I—I can’t.”

His heart sank. “Why? Don’t you forgive
me? Don’t you feel the same way about me?”

“I do. And I forgive you. How could I
possibly hold this against you?” Sarah smoothed her fingers through his hair,
her hand coming to rest at the back of his head. “I love you, too, Niklas, but
I can’t meet your parents. Ever.”

“Ever? Why?”

Red tinged her cheeks, and she averted
her gaze. “Because I’ve already met your father. And that meeting did not go
well.”

Why couldn’t he have told her all this
before she’d tried to rip Santa’s beard from his face?

“You did what?” Niklas doubled over, his
laughter echoing through the valley below.

“Are you seriously asking me to relive my
most embarrassing moment while you get a kick out of my
faux pas
? Shame
on you, Niklas.” Stooping, Sarah scooped up a handful of snow, packed it tight
and threw it at him. The cold, powdery ball hit its target and exploded, spraying
millions of tiny snowflakes into the air.

He wiped the snow from the side of his
face. “No, my
pupu
, I’m not. I promise. But I do wish I were a fly on
the wall yesterday. I can just see
Isä—
”

“I did see him. That’s why I can’t face
your father.”

“Sarah, remember that my father is the
creator of ‘ho-ho-ho’. I can assure you he found the whole event amusing.
Besides, he’s used to having his beard tugged by children.” Niklas smoothed his
hand over his jaw. “Ask me, I know.”

“Humph, I doubt it. Kids tugging at his
beard is one thing. Having a crazy woman lunge at him, something entirely
different. Believe me, I’m the last person he’d want to see.”

Niklas’s smile stuck to his face as if
the cold had already frozen it in place. He pulled his cell phone from his
jacket pocket. “Why don’t we ask him?”

“Isn’t he flying around the world on his
sleigh about now…somewhere over Australia perhaps?”

“Another myth,
Pupu
. With Santa’s
Village closing at midday today, Christmas Eve is one of the rare moments he
does get to relax during this busy season.” He dialed a number and put the
phone on speaker. It rang three times before the voice Sarah had heard for the
first time yesterday—and hoped never to hear again—sounded from the phone.

“Niklas, my boy. When are you coming
over? It’s Christmas Eve.
Äiti
, has been baking the entire morning. All
your favorite things. And lots of
pulla
. Ha-ha-ha.”

“
Isä
, I wish I could be there
now, but I’m afraid I’ll only make it home in time for dinner.”

“Why, Son? Where are you?”

“Korvantunturi.”

“Ahh...”

Sarah’s gaze shot from the phone to
Niklas as she mouthed, “What does he mean by ‘Ahh...’?”

“I’m bringing someone special home for
dinner tonight. Do you mind?”