Soft white flakes fell against the black night sky as the lone rider and horse plodded down the main thoroughfare of the buttoned up town. Vin Tanner pulled up in front of the only building still dimly lit from within. Knowing he would find warmth inside for both body and soul, he flipped the reins over the hitching post and entered the saloon to find his friends surrounding a table in wait.
"Vin!" You're back," called JD Dunne in surprised relief. "We were worried you wouldn't make it back in time."
Chris Larabee pushed out a chair with his foot in welcome for his buckskin-clothed friend.
Tanner shook the light snow from his coat and sat down amidst his fellow peacekeepers.
"It was a mite slow goin' once the snow started, but slow ‘n steady wins the race," he said giving the young sheriff a wink.
"I was afraid you'd be late and miss…"
"What, JD? Santy Claus? Huh? You afraid Santy Claus would miss Vin iffen he was on the trail?" Buck Wilmington teased.
"Now, Mr. Wilmington, our young friend may be naïve in some areas of our existence here, but do give him credit for being smart enough to realize that Santa Claus is just a myth," added Ezra Standish, exposing a glint of his golden tooth.
"Actually Santa Claus refers to Saint Nicholas, who was not a myth. Nor did he fill children's stockings on Christmas Eve; however, that is the myth," Josiah expounded.
"We ain't believed in Santa as kids," said Nathan. "Nothin' was ever left for us."
"Nobody ever believed in Santa Claus? I did… when I was little," JD was quick to add. "He always filled my stocking with an orange and a toy." He nodded his head vigorously as if that would make it true. "Come on, Chris, you believed in Santa, didn't you?" the sheriff asked.
Larabee shook his head. "Can't say as I did, JD. Could of been your mama fillin' your sock. You ever think of that?" Sometimes he knew he was a killjoy, but there was truth and there was fiction, and the boy would be better off if he knew the difference in the two out in these parts.
"I can't believe you guys. No one believes in Santa?" JD half squawked and then swallowed hard, as a childhood memory was in jeopardy of being quashed.
The bar was as silent as a trip down the snow covered Main Street on this Christmas Eve night.
"I do," said a soft Texan voice.
All six peacekeepers turned towards the recent arrival and watched him drain a shot glass of whiskey. They almost wondered if he had said anything at all.
"You believed in Santa as a kid, Vin?" asked Wilmington, at the ready with some teasing words on the tip of his tongue.
Vin leaned forward to claim the bottle to pour himself another glass of rotgut and quietly affirmed, "Still do."
Ezra pushed his feet off of the table and sat up straight in his chair. Chris raised his eyebrows and sipped from his glass to cover his grin. Nathan and Josiah leaned forward so as not to miss anything that should or could happen as a result of their tracker's confession.
"See. Vin did!" exclaimed JD triumphantly and then stopped and turned towards his long-haired friend. "You still do?"
"Boy," Buck said looking at Tanner, "There're a few things in this world that just do not exist, like an honest gambler – no offense, Ezra…"
"None taken," replied Ezra in step, giving Buck a nod and then downing his drink.
"…a faithful woman, when she's exposed to yours truly and most of all, there's no Santa Claus." Buck clamped his hand down on Vin's shoulder and squeezed apologetically. "Sorry to be the one to shatter a dream, Pard."
Vin eased back in his chair and sipped slowly from his glass. A grin crept onto his face and he glanced around the table at his friends.
"He's as real as you and me. I run into him one night," he said with a soft chuckle.
JD bounced from his chair and slapped the table. "See! I told ya! I told all of you and you didn't believe me, but Vin's met him." The young man did a double take towards Tanner. "You did? Where?"
Josiah poured him and Nathan another round. They toasted each other and slid back in their seat to see what would ensue. Buck laughed out loud throwing his arms and legs up in the air while precariously balancing himself on his butt in his chair. Ezra and Chris shared a quizzical look and waited for Vin to enlighten them.
The tracker emptied the bottle into his glass and took a sip to coat his throat and the tale began…
"'Twas a few years back when I was buffalo huntin'. The beasts were gettin' scarce, so I decided to head for untouched territory. One night on a Christmas Eve, Peso and I got caught in a mountain pass during a snow storm. We hunkered down under a ledge…"
Vin had gathered as much wood as he could find before the snow accumulation made it impossible to search for kindling. He lit a fire and tended to Peso as best he could. With the ledge overhead and the mountain face against the wind, it was almost cozy. He cooked a sparse meal and decided to catch some shut eye while he could.
He had just settled comfortably with his bedroll, the saddle blanket as an extra cushion and the saddle for a pillow, when a clanking… no, tingling sound woke him up fully. He thought it was Peso making a racket with his bridle, but upon inspection of his horse, he realized that was not the case. The black and white animal was as still as his owner, waiting for the sound to occur again.
And then it happened. They were bells. Lots of little bells from the mountain tops. Both human and beast searched the snowcapped peaks. Maybe it was an ice-covered avalanche that was simulating the sound, but the ringing wasn't coming from the mountains, it was coming from the sky.
The increasing snow made it hard to canvas the black velvet heavens above. They looked harder and longer as the bells became louder and closer.
Peso whinnied and snorted while hoofing the ground, causing Vin to stand alert. A wave of his hand silenced the unruly animal, and then Tanner tilted his head to listen more keenly for the origin of the magical sound. The jingling was directly overhead, when a dim glow appeared, revealing a large shadow above them. It finally deposited itself a few yards in front of the secluded travelers.
Vin grabbed his rifle from behind his saddle and inched out from under the overhang.
"'Ho, the camp?"
Vin heard the voice from just ahead. He could now see a person approaching in what looked like a coat similar to Ezra's fancy red one. He stood waiting with his gun shoulder height.
The snow abated a little as a silver cloud moved slowly away from the waxing quarter moon. The orb's glow gave Tanner a clearer vision of his visitors, but what he saw made him blink twice in disbelief.
Just past the red-clad man was a huge, elaborate sleigh that was loaded down with many overstuffed bags. Hitched in front of the sleigh were… deer… reindeer. They were large animals, impatiently hoofing the snow.
Vin shook his head, hoping to clear it and realize this was all just a dream, but the white bearded fellow in front of him smiled and extended a gloved hand.
"You know who I am," he stated, recognizing someone from his ‘nice' list.
Vin slowly lowered his rifle to the ground and nodded apprehensively. If this was a dream, there was no harm in playing along. "Yep," he acknowledged. "You ain't here to fill my stockin' out here?" He grinned for the first time since he woke.
"Ho, ho, ho, ho," the elder man laughed. "No, that's something strictly for the young ones, Mr. Tanner." His face grew serious in the waning light. "One of my team has come up lame, I'm afraid. It's throwing off the balance of the sleigh, making it impossible to steer in this storm."
"Let's get ‘im over by the light of the fire and I'll take a look." Vin carefully made his way to the sled with the merry man right behind. He was briefly unnerved by the fact that he couldn't remember disclosing his name to the old guy. "Which one is hurt?" he asked, finally getting a closer look at the animals. He understood now why they called them coursers as he inspected the heavily muscled reindeer. They looked to be very powerful and swift.
"Blitzen," said the jolly old elf, "one of my anchors." He pointed to the rear of the team where two stocky deer stood, one obviously favoring a leg.
The tracker moved cautiously towards the injured animal, murmuring soothing sounds as he reached out to gently rub behind an ear. Blitzen leaned into the touch from the tender-hearted man, but snorted when Vin felt down his back leg to the swollen fetlock.
Vin ceased his assessment of the leg and unhooked Blitzen from the team. Surprisingly, the reindeer followed his owner quietly to the arc of firelight under the protected ledge. The snow slowed increasingly until only a flurry or two sputtered from the sky every so often.
Tanner knelt and scrutinized the injury. "It's pretty swollen, but in time, I think he'll be alright. Needs some tendin' to… Santa." Vin grinned slightly as he addressed the man.
Claus sighed heavily and massaged his brow. "This is not good news for the children. It would be sad to disappoint so many tonight." Blitzen hung his head seeming to understand the words. "It will be alright, old Boy," soothed the red-suited gentleman, "It wasn't your fault that I took that mountain peak too close."
Vin stood. "Sorry I can't be more help, Santa, but it ain't like there's flying deer around these parts that I could hunt up for ya." He patted Blitzen's flank and Peso whinnied his jealousy.
Santa Claus grinned. "No, that's true, but reindeer do not have an innate ability to pull the sleigh; it is something that comes later."
Tanner arched an eyebrow. "Special feed?" he chuckled in question.
The bearded man laughed, "Ho, ho. No, it is something magical, but a bit more permanent than a meal." He watched as Peso began to stomp the frozen ground for attention from his master. Santa moved close to the horse.
"Watch yer fingers around that mule. He don't take kindly to strangers," warned Vin.
Claus winked and pulled a cube of sugar from his pocket.
"He makes friends fast, though," said Vin smiling at his fickle mount.
Peso took the treat gently from the old man and nosed him for more, but didn't mind the rub on the nose instead.
"Would you loan him to me for the night?" came the sudden request in the quiet snow-blanketed night.
"You want Peso to help pull your sleigh?" Vin was dumbfounded. Surely he would wake up soon to find it morning and be on his way through the pass. But if it wasn't… "Yep, if you think he's smart enough to take on the job." He nodded and grinned. "I'll see if I can get some a this swelling down while you're gone," he said indicating Blitzen's enlarged joint."
Before the two men got to hitching Peso next to Vixen at the rear of the team, Santa rummaged in the front of the sleigh and retrieved a small black bag. "Extras," he said to Vin and bent near the horse's right foreleg. He worked at removing the old shoe and carefully fastened a golden horseshoe in its place. "There, now you're ready," he assured Peso and scratched the animal under his chin.
Vin didn't think that this night could get any stranger, but chuckled when this secret was revealed to him. He narrowed his eyes at his horse. "Behave yourself," he threatened the animal. Peso chomped on his bit and snorted his animosity to his owner mischievously.
Santa aligned Peso with the other coursers, leashing him securely and climbed into his sleigh. "I shall return in a fortnight, Mr. Tanner," Claus assured him.
"I trust ya. It's Peso I don't have faith in," he laughed.
"Ho, ho, ho," Santa replied. "Merry Christmas, Mr. Tanner."
"Merry Christmas, Santa," said Vin in return and backed away from the sleigh in order to get a good view of what was sure to be a magical take off.
The reindeer, including their mascot, became restless, hoofing the snow and lightly prancing in place. Vin laughed out loud when he heard the old man call…
"Now, DASHER! Now, DANCER! Now, PRANCER and VIXEN!
On, COMET! On CUPID! On, DONDER and PESO!
To the top of the peak! To the top of the wall!
Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"
Vin poured a final drink from the bottle in front of Chris and sunk further down in his chair, signaling that the story had ended. His mouth was slightly upturned at the corners and he winked at Inez when she walked by to start clearing the tables for the night.
"Well, Mr. Tanner. I thank you for that fitting holiday lore, but I think I shall retire for the night. Good evening, gentlemen," bid Ezra donning his coat and hat before saluting the table's occupants and heading for the stairs.
"Well, Vin, guess you proved that old Santy is real," teased Buck, pulling a clearly astounded JD to his feet. "Come on, Boy; let's do a turn of the town before we hit the hay."
"Wait," said JD gaining his voice. "I mean, you can't end it there… how did Peso do? Did he make it around the world? Did Blitzen get better? What did Santa say when he got back?" Dunne tugged himself away from Buck hoping Vin would continue his tale, but Tanner just pulled his hat down over his eyes and slipped lower in his seat. He sipped from his glass.
"You'll find out soon enough, JD. It's just about Christmas now," said Josiah snapping open his pocket watch. "Which tells me that it's time I say goodnight and Merry Christmas, everyone." The large man stood and smiled widely, leaving a coin on the table for Inez.
Buck hauled JD out of the batwing doors still protested their leaving. Nathan followed with a quick wave and a laugh at the others' antics. Chris looked at Vin and smirked.
"Didn't know you were such a storyteller," he said standing and stretching out the kinks in his back muscles.
Vin shrugged into his coat, looking at Chris from the corner of his eye. Ezra would have been proud of his poker face.
The two men shouldered their way through the swinging doors out into the cold air. Larabee lit a cheroot and both gunmen stood quiet for a few minutes, enjoying the peace. Vin stepped off of the boardwalk.
"Nice thing you did in there," said Chris. Tanner concentrated on unwrapping his horse's reins from the post as his friend continued, "telling that story for JD."
The Texan forced Peso to move back and he looked up at the darkly dressed gunslinger. "Tweren't a tall tale, Cowboy." He smiled and began to head toward the livery.
Larabee pulled the small cigar out of his mouth and grinned. "Merry Christmas, Vin." He watched as his friend walked away, Peso seeming to glide over the snow-covered street. He looked… like he was flying a foot off the ground and that's when Chris saw the gold glint of the shoe on his front leg. His jaw dropped and the cheroot fell from his fingers.
Tanner smirked and tightened his coat around him against the cold wind. "Merry Christmas, Pard."
And to all a good night!
The End
