LITMIR.BIZ

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involved a few push-ups and crunches plus whatever running or hiking he could fit in wherever he happened to be.

      On the recommendation of the front desk clerk, Scott headed down the coastal trail. Plenty of locals seemed to have the same idea. As he ran, he passed dog walkers, bikers and skaters. Across the inlet, snow clung to the top of a long mountain range. The air smelled of damp earth and sunshine.

      Eventually his stomach reminded him it was getting close to lunchtime. He’d passed a soup and sandwich place that looked promising. After he’d changed and eaten, he would decide what to do with the rest of the day.

      Scott returned to his hotel, showered and pulled on a pair of jeans. He was digging through his suitcase looking for a clean shirt, when he came across a carved wooden elephant. It had been a gift from the husband of a grateful patient after a breech birth.

      He ran a finger over the intricate pattern of the blanket on the elephant’s back carved into the kadam wood. The elephant almost appeared to be smiling. It would be a good toy for a child. And he happened to know a child who was having a birthday today. And she had invited him to her party.

      No, he couldn’t do that. He set the elephant on the desk, pulled on a Henley shirt and headed out for lunch. The soup and sandwich place was packed, so he got his to go and sat on a bench in the town square while he ate it. Empty flower beds lining all the walkways suggested this would be a colorful showcase during the summer. On his way back to the hotel, he passed a gift shop. On impulse, he went inside and bought tissue paper and a gift bag.

      Back at the hotel, the front desk clerk waved when Scott walked in. “Enjoy your run this morning?”

      “I did. Great trail.” Scott paused. “Do you happen to know anything about a reindeer farm?”

      “Oh, sure. It’s one of the big tourist attractions in the area.” He came out from behind the desk, selected a card from a nearby display rack and handed it to Scott. “It’s not far. Just take the highway past Eagle River and then exit and take the road north for a couple of miles.”

      “Is it the only one?”

      “Only one I know of. I took my nephew there once. It was fun.”

      “Thanks.” Scott looked over the brochure. Why not?

      Thirty minutes later, he spotted the welcome sign with a picture of reindeer and a sleigh, made the turn onto a gravel drive and followed it until he reached a parking area near a white farmhouse. He parked, but he didn’t get out. He probably shouldn’t be here. A verbal invitation from an overexcited almost-eight-year-old was hardly a binding contract.

      But he’d been jumpy all morning, thinking about Monday, wondering if Volta would agree to work with him. He had his suspicions she was just humoring him, and that when Monday arrived, she’d tell him no and take off to Boston.

      She was excellent at her job and seemed to enjoy it, and to be on good terms with the people she worked with. She obviously adored her daughter. He sensed a sadness there, too. An emptiness that echoed the empty places in his own life. But she’d been married and then her husband died. Of course, a part of her would be sad.

      And what if she was sad? What did he think he could do about it? It wasn’t as though he was going to recruit her to join him at DEMA. Not when she had a child in elementary school. Still, he would appreciate her help on this study.

      A small SUV pulled up beside him and two little girls hopped out, carrying wrapped packages. They jumped up and down, urging the woman with them to hurry. “Come on. We’re late. We might miss the reindeer.” The woman followed them across the parking area toward a red barn. Beside the barn, a group of reindeer hung their heads over the fence, watching the people arriving.

      Should he or shouldn’t he? Why not? He was here. The worst that could happen is someone would ask him to leave. And the best? He wasn’t even sure.

      He grabbed the gift and headed toward the barn. A chalkboard outside read Happy Birthday, Emma, so he was in the right place. He stepped up to one of the reindeer near the barn. The deer nudged his hand, and so he scratched her forehead, which seemed to please her.

      Scott hadn’t lied when he told Emma he’d never seen a reindeer. He had seen gazelles and wildebeests and oryx in Africa, and barking deer in Indonesia, and pudus, the tiny Peruvian deer, but never reindeer. He had to admit, their antlers were impressive. And they were surprisingly gentle. No wonder Santa Claus chose reindeer as his favorite transportation.

      A bearded man in a red polo stepped out of the barn and greeted Scott as he walked toward the gate. He picked up a couple of halters from a rack nearby and slipped inside the reindeer pen. The reindeer Scott had been petting immediately left him and went to nudge the man, who offered her a treat and slipped the halter over her head, buckling it behind her antlers.

      Scott stepped inside the barn into a whirlwind of activity. A group of children were gathered around one blindfolded child who was attempting to hit a star-shaped piñata with a stick. Someone was raising and lowering the piñata, and the other children were shouting encouragement. “Go, Rafe!”

      After three misses, another boy stepped up for a turn. He settled into a classic batter’s stance and swung wildly at the piñata, his momentum carrying him in a complete circle that sent the other children scattering and almost took out a nearby table. A corgi gave a sharp bark. A man with a weathered face caught the boy by the shoulders and pointed him in the right direction for another try.

      Past the piñata, a group of adults stood watching and laughing. Volta was at the center of the group, snapping pictures of the children. She wore a simple blue shirt over jeans, her hair tucked back from her face. Scott stopped where he was and watched her expression change, so familiar, especially when she laughed. Beautiful.

      “Hi, it’s Scott, right?” Volta’s brother had come up beside him. “Did you need to see Volta for something about work?”

      “Hi. No. Nothing in particular. I hope it’s okay that I came.”

      “Sure, it’s fine. Emma invited you. Help yourself to sodas or water on the table over there.” Beside the drinks table, a grinning boy shook a can of soda. “Oops, excuse me.” Leith hurried over to intervene.

      Scott edged his way toward the group of adults. Volta was tying the blindfold onto Emma now. She handed her the stick and spun her around a couple of times. Another woman in a red polo herded the rest of the children a safe distance away before calling, “Okay, go.”

      Emma took a swing with the pole. Whoever was manipulating the piñata jerked it upward. Emma completely missed but made an impressive whizzing noise as the stick cut through the air. The piñata lowered again in preparation for her next swing, but instead of winding up, Emma immediately swung back in the same arc and knocked a limb off the star, and a few pieces of candy tumbled to the ground.

      The kids squealed and three of them dived on the candy. Someone grabbed the stick from Emma’s hand before she could take another swing and take out a crowd of children while she was at it. She jerked off the blindfold, but the other kids had already grabbed all the candy. She turned to her mother.

      Volta pointed at the piñata. “There’s a lot more stuff inside. Christy, I believe it’s your turn.”

      “Go, Christy,” Emma chanted. “Knock out the candy.”

      Volta blindfolded the girl, spun her around and gave her a little nudge in the direction of the piñata. One good whack and the bottom fell out, sending the rest of the candy flying. This time all the kids made a mad dash for the candy, scooping up handfuls.

      Volta handed out paper bags. “You can put your goodies in here to take home later.” She pointed at a table that held markers and stickers. “Go write your name on the bag and decorate it.”

      Once the kids were convinced they’d found every last piece of candy, they drifted toward the table. An older woman standing in front of Scott chuckled. “I’ve seen bears at Katmai that weren’t that competitive. You’d think they were starving.”

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