Hung by the Fire (Operation Reindeer Retrieval Book 4) Read online

  Table of Contents

  Prologue

  Hung by the Fire

  Author’s Note

  About the Author

  Teaching the visitors about the holiday stars is fun until a man who burns brighter than the sun enters Vixen’s orbit.

  Vixen chooses life with astronomy, and she ends up as an educator and a researcher for a tiny observatory struggling to make ends meet.

  When Vi arrives, she makes an impression and takes over most of the day-to-day operations, which is fine until an elf comes calling.

  Xander has been sent to bring Vixen home, but he doesn’t know how he will go about convincing her that it is a good idea, until he asks her out and she tells him what she wants.

  Magic and wonder are the hallmarks of Christmas, and these two have it in spades.

  The characters and events in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.

  Copyright © 2015 by Viola Grace

  ISBN: 978-1-987969-07-8

  ©Cover art by Carmen Waters

  All rights reserved. With the exception of review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, is forbidden without the express permission of the publisher.

  Published by Viola Grace

  Look for me online at violagrace.com, amazon, kobo, B&N and other eBook sellers.

  Hung by the Fire

  Operation Reindeer Retrieval Book 4

  By

  Viola Grace

  Prologue

  Ru sat with Vixen in the main living area. “You don’t have to go.”

  “I want to go, need to go. I have dreamed of seeing the stars and feeling warmth on my skin. Those two things are in short supply around here.”

  “Are you interested in a chance at love?”

  Vixen chuckled. “If it happens, it happens. I am not going to make it my entire focus. I want to learn all I can and feel what it’s like to be able to teach those around me about what I love.”

  “You are going to try and spill the secrets of the cosmos?”

  “As much as I am able.” She smiled slightly.

  Ru gave her the small box with the concentrated magic in it. “Well, put this somewhere it won’t melt.”

  “So, I just put it on and think about what I want and I will disappear?”

  “Not disappear, be transported. You will be whisked through time and space to your destination and your life as Violette Xenic will begin, or rather, resume from a point in the timeline that you will remember.”

  “So, Violette Xenic is a real person?”

  “She will be, once Christmas magic kicks in, which it can’t do until you put the snowflake on.”

  Vixen nodded and handed Rudolph her letter to Santa. “I don’t know what good that will do.”

  Ru smiled. “You will be surprised. Now, go, have fun and meet someone who makes you glad you don’t have to wear twelve layers of clothing to fit in.”

  Vixen nodded, hugged her teammate and got to her feet. She focused on Violette Xenic and what she would mean. She focused on the stars, and she hoped for a good time. With her mind made up, she pried the snowflake from the box, lifted her shirt and pressed it at the base of her spine. It was a Christmas magic tramp stamp.

  The world swirled and faded, and she was on her way to somewhere warm.

  Hung by the Fire

  Violette smiled and addressed the assembled donors in the observatory. “We are very lucky to have gained this position, and it is your donations that keep us discovering new phenomenon.”

  The crowd of donors clapped politely, and Dr. Violette Xenic inclined her head with a smile.

  A deep voice boomed out from the rear of those assembled. “Dr. Xenic, what is the newest discovery from the Arbin Observatory?”

  Violette smiled and grabbed her remote, dimming the lights and triggering the projectors. The auditorium lit up with a map of the stars. Just a tiny slice of the heavens and it was a view that Vi never got tired of looking at.

  “The Cor-Tin-Xen meteor was discovered here, and it will be skidding close enough to fill the skies with bright sparks as we approach the holiday season. On December twenty-second, we will be in the full glory of the shower, and it was this observatory that found the incoming wonder.”

  The same man moved forward and raised one very elegant brow. “Wonder? Glory? You are not speaking like a scientist, Doctor.”

  “When you stop looking to the skies and feeling wonder, you may as well be in a coma. If this can’t touch you, nothing can.” She felt her cheeks heat.

  The crowd chuckled at her, and the servers began to circulate through the star-speckled gala.

  Violette set the projector and lights for a more comfortable level and started circulating with the donors. When she had decided that she wanted astronomy as her occupation, fundraising had not been part of her plan.

  Unfortunately, she rapidly discovered that raising money was definitely part of being a researcher.

  Violette took a glass of white wine and circulated with the guests examining the equipment they had paid for. She answered questions, identified constellations and generally toned down her knowledge to what could be described in two-minute sound bites.

  “It seems that our funds are going to good use, Doctor. You certainly put me in my place.” The man who had spoken earlier appeared at her elbow.

  Vi’s mind spun as she tried to place him, but it took an embarrassingly long time before his name came to mind. Colin Zeller.

  “Well, Mr. Zeller, it was never my intention. I simply wished to share my wonder with the cosmos around us.” She inclined her head with a smile.

  “That is abundantly clear. Do you put this much passion into everything you do?”

  She focused on flirting and smiled. “Well, I do yoga so quickly that I did nine moves while I was talking to you without breaking a sweat.”

  He chuckled. “Talented and quick witted. Add in the intellect and you are a surprise in that amazingly charming package.”

  Colin shifted forward to slide his hand up her arm. Vi was about to back away when a strong, warm arm slid around her waist.

  Whomever it was pressed a kiss to her cheek and whispered, “Sorry I missed your speech, sweetie.”

  Vi glanced up at him but could only see golden skin and dark-bronze hair. Her senses were spinning, and she pasted a bright smile on her face. “You have heard it all before.”

  He gave her a squeeze, and Zeller’s hand fell away from her. “The wonder again?”

  She chuckled and leaned against him. “All the time, every time.”

  Colin looked at them suspiciously. “I didn’t know you were seeing anyone.”

  Her companion smiled a blinding smile. “Xander Ekwin. Pleased to meet you. We haven’t been together long, but Vi makes a great first impression.”

  Vi looked at the men shaking hands and nearly applauded. Xander had provided Colin with an easy out.

  Colin nodded. “She surely does. Excuse me.”

  She waited until they were relatively alone and asked her companion, “Is this a service you offer to every lady getting hit on by a guy who thinks he can leverage a check for sexual favours?”

  Xander smiled, “Only when the woman looks like she is about to get violent. I work in security so that is a concern I moved to address.”

  She chuckled. “Nice. Are you here working with a client?”

  “I have just been hired by the observatory, actually. I am doing a sweep while yo
u have unauthorized folks pawing at your exceptionally expensive equipment.”

  She took in his impeccable tuxedo, the snowy white shirt, jet buttons, gleaming black jacket and polished shoes. His clothing was expensive, so he was blending right in.

  She looked at the golden cascade of her party dress and nodded. “The donors like to be able to see what they have purchased for the observatory. Don’t worry, we get all the fingerprints and semen stains off the equipment before we use it again.”

  He winced. “That’s graphic.”

  She chuckled. “When it comes to the stars, some folks go a little crazy. I am a bit of a lunatic myself.”

  “I would never have guessed.”

  She grinned. “I succumb to the charms of the full moon.”

  One of her assistants brought over another donor, and she excused herself. Her back felt cool, and to her surprise, she realized that he had had his arm around her the entire time and she hadn’t noticed. It felt so natural.

  She pasted an interested smile on her face and continued doing the rounds. It was part of the job that she hadn’t anticipated, but at least she got to do it at night. Changing her schedule for the pleasure of wearing agonizing shoes and a gown that made noise whenever she moved was not her idea of a good time.

  Three hours of weak white wine and explaining until her throat was hoarse and she was happy to see the donors begin to leave, depositing cheques with the director on their way out.

  She bundled her skirt in one hand and climbed the ladder to the outer observation level. The night was firmly in charge, and there was no light pollution to interfere with the sky.

  Green jungle and lava fields were shades of black on the ground, but it was the swirl of light that kept Vi’s attention.

  “It is an amazing view. I can understand why you have made them your life’s pursuit.”

  She looked around, and Xander stepped out of the shadows.

  She chuckled. “I have to pursue them. They can’t come to me.”

  His laugh echoed off the metal walkway that they stood on. “I suppose that is true.”

  The wind tugged at the skirt of her gown, and the crystalline fabric swirled up before settling against her again.

  “What are you doing up here, Xander?”

  “I am just making sure that none of the guests crept out here for a cigarette. We don’t want to lock anyone up here.”

  She looked at his expression as he tilted his head toward the skies. He was just as enthralled with the celestial dance as she was.

  “Well, I am heading downstairs to shake the hands of the last of the donors. I am sure you will have no problem clearing the deck.” Having a witness to her stargazing wasn’t part of her evening’s agenda. She turned and headed to the hatch she had climbed out of.

  She settled on the first step and made her way down to the lower level. Vi knew every inch of the new observatory, and she didn’t like strangers in her territory. She joined the stragglers on the interior deck and spent the next hour coaxing them into leaving while providing the observatory with a hefty donation.

  Two of the men gave her a drunken hug goodbye and grabbed her ass, but there was so much fabric covering her that she simply patted them on the cheek with extra force and tucked them into their cars with their drivers rolling their eyes.

  When they were gone, the director smiled brightly at her and took off with the cheques to record the details of each donation. Fred Anderson was a man with the heart of a calculator, but that is what a research facility needed. Until large grants started running in, donations kept the observatory moving forward.

  Violette went through the facility and made sure that all cups, plates and wine glasses had been collected.

  Xander interrupted her while she was juggling an armload of glassware. “Shouldn’t the caterers be doing that?”

  She sighed. “You would not believe the places that folks jam these. The caterer will give me a count so that I can continue the hunt for the missing tomorrow, but this gives me a head start.”

  “Somehow, I did not think that housekeeping in the observatory was in your job description.”

  “We do what we have to do to make our lives easier.” She tried to move past him and eventually had to clear her throat. “Could you step aside?

  “Of course. You are the last person in the building. Where are you going?”

  “The caterers promised to leave plastic tubs by the front entryway. I am going to put these there.”

  “Won’t you ruin your dress?”

  She chuckled. “Everything I have is wash and wear. I will just soak the gown when I get home. It will be good as new if I need it again.”

  He raised his brows. “That is silk.”

  She shrugged. “I am pretty sure that caterpillars get wet. It will be fine.”

  She didn’t mention that Christmas magic was giving her the clothing she needed at any given time. It was a little odd, even by her standards.

  Xander smiled. “Can I give you a hand?”

  “Sure. Find some stray glassware and herd it to the tubs.”

  He inclined his head and disappeared into the shadows of the observatory.

  She collected everything she could find and set it into the bins. When she was done, she checked out with the security guard at the door for the event and then headed home.

  The small cottage that she lived in was surrounded by cooled lava. She parked her motorcycle and fluffed out her skirt as she headed into the house. Locking up was never an issue. Anyone who ventured across the field of rock was welcome to whatever they wanted.

  She made a cup of tea while unzipping her dress, and she let it drop to the floor in a rush before she gathered it up and took it to hang on her bedroom door.

  When she returned to the kitchen for her tea, she was wearing comfy sweatpants and a loose tee. She enjoyed the feeling of the smooth and warm bamboo floors under her feet.

  She sipped at the tea while she opened her laptop and checked on the latest scans from the observatory. The meteor was on approach, and it would streak across the skies on the twenty-second. She wished that she could stay to help with the analysis of all the information, but she was going to be on her way back to the workshop the day after the shower, so that particular delight was going to be lost to her.

  Violette grinned. She had plenty of memories of the stars already stored up. They would keep her happy while she was stuck in her home for the rest of the year.

  She would miss looking upward and trying to guess what would happen next, but it had been delightful while it lasted.

  She checked on the speed and trajectory of the incoming meteor and its entourage. If she was really lucky, the shower would strike nearby and she would be able to see what happened when pieces of the stars fell to earth.

  Currently, the pieces were destined to land in the ocean, but her luck might be with her, and a small chunk might make landfall near the observatory. She would love to see a rock from space land and cool.

  She climbed into bed with her laptop and looked at image after image of the approaching meteor.

  She snuggled into the sheets with the images in her mind and the laptop closed next to her. Sleeping with technology took on a whole new meaning in her bedroom. Vi loved having the entire world within easy reach. Feeling connected had never been so easy.

  The next afternoon, Vi was back in her normal uniform of a sundress and sandals. The skirt fluttered around her thighs as she drove up to the observatory, but the bike shorts she wore for just that reason kept her nice and decent.

  She parked her bike and hiked up the stairs, entering her temporary domain.

  The researchers and students were all at the terminals and discussing the incoming event with excited tones. The harvest of images from the previous night was giving them plenty of things to do.

  Excitement was going around. The director ran up to her and skidded to a halt.

  “Six years, Xenic. We have enough funding for six years if
no major overhauls of our equipment are necessary.”

  Vi chuckled. “Excellent. Of course, you will need to replace all the computers before then, so there is a few fifty thousands of dollars. Custom builds don’t come cheap.”

  Director Wells scowled. “Don’t harsh my happy with practical information.”

  Violette smirked. “Apologies.”

  “Not a problem. I have been thinking of selling tickets for the night of the meteor shower.”

  “The twenty-second? Who would pay to come to an observatory for that kind of thing?”

  It was Wells’ turn to smirk. “The same folks who came here last night to listen to you talk and explain the universe in terms they could understand. You made quite an impression, Xenic. The donations we got were definitely more than expected.”

  “I am delighted that the researchers will be able to continue their work for the foreseeable future.”

  “That includes you as well.”

  Vi blinked and shook her head. “Right. Of course. By the way, why didn’t you let me know about the added security?”

  “Oh, he was the request of one of the patrons. With all the money they have put into the telescope and the satellite, he was concerned that there was insufficient security here to keep his investment safe. It was fairly last minute, and I forgot to mention it.”

  Vi wrinkled her nose. “It’s fine. Have you seen anymore glassware?”

  “There was some found in the ladies room, but that was it. The caterers picked it up this morning when the cleaning crew was in.”

  “Good. I want to get to work, so if there isn’t anything that needs my immediate attention, I am going to jump into the cosmos.”

  “Go nuts, Xenic. Do what you do best.”

  With that endorsement, Vi headed up to her station and started to go over the data that had been gathered the night before.