Santa's Posse

by Rosemarie Naramore

  “Come to my house!” Jill said, smiling broadly. “George and I would love to have you. It’ll be fun!”

  She studied her friend’s face. On one hand, she really did like the idea of staying home, but then, she’d never been alone on Thanksgiving. Perhaps she could have the best of both worlds—part of the day at Jill’s, with the remainder at her own place.

  “Are you sure you don’t mind?”

  “Of course not! The more the merrier.”

  “What can I bring?”

  “Nothing! I have everything. Besides, you probably didn’t do any shopping for the holiday, being as you had planned to leave town. And you definitely don’t want to drive to the store tonight in this weather.”

  She conceded the point with a nod. Suddenly, she remembered that she didn’t like driving in the snow, regardless of the distance. “I just thought of something. I’m not comfortable driving in the snow at all.”

  “Who’s planning on driving in the snow?”

  Kellie and Jill turned to Miles, who stood in the doorway. “Lots are clearing out fast,” he remarked, and then gave a relieved smile. “No cars, no theft of cars, or contents of said cars,” he said, weighing the remark with a side to side shake of his head.

  “Well, that’s good news,” Jill commented, and then perked up even more. “Miles, this weather’s going to keep you from going to your sister’s tomorrow, isn’t it?”

  He nodded. “Yep, it’s too dangerous to be on the roads—even with four-wheel drive.”

  “Come to my place!” she said eagerly. “You can drive Kellie over with you.”

  He turned to Kellie. “Does that work for you?”

  She nodded. “If it works for you.”

  “Are you sure you’re up for additional guests?” he asked Jill.

  “Absolutely. I always buy more food than we’ll ever eat. I have plenty.”

  He ventured a glance at Kellie. “Can I drive you over then?”

  “That would be great,” she told him. “I really don’t like driving in the snow.”

  “You?” he said, feigning surprise. “I half-expected to see you out in the parking lot, doing cookies in the snow.”

  “Why would you say that?” she said, laughing with surprise.

  “Oh, I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “Maybe it’s your daredevil tendencies.”

  “I don’t have daredevil tendencies,” she declared with a huff. “I have never done a ‘cookie’ in my life. Just so you know, I take driving very seriously. It’s a privilege, not a right.”

  He chuckled good naturedly. “Well, that’s something, anyway.”

  Kellie wasn’t sure what he meant by the remark, but didn’t have time to ask, since he turned back to Jill. “Thanks for the invitation. We’ll be there. What time do you want us?”

  She paused in thought. “We’ll eat at five, so why don’t you come by around three so we can visit for awhile before the meal. George’s daughter and her family are coming then.”

  ***

  “Brrrrrrr,” Kellie said as she climbed into the cab of Miles’ truck the next day.

  He closed the door behind her and climbed into the driver’s seat. “It’ll warm up in just a second or two,” he assured her. “You probably should have brought a warmer coat.”

  “Couldn’t find it, or my other coats,” she said. “I was fortunate I found this one a few weeks ago.”

  “Other coats still in boxes?” he asked with surprise.

  “Maybe,” she said honestly. “But I can’t find the boxes.”

  He gave her a sideways glance, chuckled, and started up the truck. Shifting into four-wheel drive, he carefully steered out of the condo parking lot. Once on the roadway, Kellie noted that the roads were practically devoid of cars. In fact, they didn’t see another vehicle until they pulled onto a major thoroughfare.

  Miles adjusted the heat, sending the vents toward her. Despite the heaters, her teeth chattered. “Scoot over here,” he told her, watching her with concern.

  “Oh, I’ll be fine,” she told him.

  “Really, you’re going to catch a cold.”

  She gave him a hesitant glance. Should she scoot closer to him? She knew from experience that having his arm around her wasn’t without its perks, and she was freezing. She hoped she wasn’t fighting a cold. The thought took her by surprise. She desperately hoped she wasn’t coming down with something, because she was about to expose a room full of people to it. Heck, she was currently exposing him to it.

  “Really, move over here. You’re going to get sick.” He winced. “I should have given you one of my coats.”

  “I’m fine,” she assured him.

  He glanced at her briefly. “Move closer.”

  This time, she unbuckled her belt and slid closer to him, hurriedly belting herself in again. He draped an arm over her, pulling her close. Suddenly, prickles of pleasure warmed her skin. There was just something about being close to him that warmed her heart and body.

  Good grief, she thought, what was happening to her? Was she … falling for him? She had decided she wasn’t interested in a relationship, had made the decision to avoid anything and anyone that might lead to one, yet, here she was.

  Did she want to fall for him? she wondered with alarm. But then, he had told her he had feelings for her, and she hadn’t tried to squelch his hopeful declarations that he wanted to get to know her better and spend more time with her. What harm would come from getting to know him better? she wondered. How would she know if she wanted to spend time with him if she didn’t spend time with him?

  “Kellie, are you all right?” he asked. “You look a little…”

  “What?”

  “Confused.”

  “Oh, no, I’m fine,” she assured him. “Just thinking.”

  “Anything you want to talk about?” he asked, pulling her even closer to his side and briskly rubbing her arm to warm her up.

  “Uh…” She couldn’t manage a coherent thought, so she certainly couldn’t manage a coherent sentence.

  “Kellie, are you okay?” he repeated, watching her with concern. To her dismay, he pulled the truck to the side of the road, shifted into park, and then checked her forehead for fever. “You’re burning up!”

  “I am?” she said dazedly. She checked her own forehead. “Are you sure?”

  He felt her forehead again, this time touching her cheeks too. “Your cheeks are purple. You’re on fire!”

  She hurriedly unbuckled the belt and launched herself to the other side of the truck. “Miles, I am so sorry! I didn’t even realize. I thought I was cold because it’s … cold outside.”

  “I know you didn’t know,” he assured her.

  “But what if you catch it?!”

  He gave a rueful chuckle. “I’ll take a day or two off work. Heck, it’ll be like a vacation.”

  She gave him a dubious glance. “Right.” She sighed. “Do you mind taking me home, and then you can drive over to Jill’s. I can’t risk getting her or George’s family sick. I feel bad enough that I’ve exposed you.” She frowned. “I haven’t been sick in so long, I guess I just didn’t even realize I was coming down with something.”

  “It’s going around the mall,” he told her, and pulled out his cell phone from his jacket pocket. “Do you know Jill’s phone number off hand?”

  She recited the number and he dialed, filling her in on Kellie’s illness. “Yes, she has a fever,” he told her. “I’m going to take her home.” He was silent, listening. “Yes, I plan to stay with her. She probably needs a bowl of chicken noodle soup and hot lemon.” He flashed a smile. “Yes, I can heat up a can of soup, Jill.” He laughed. “Okay, see you tomorrow.”

  “Miles!” she cried. “You are not staying with me! You’ll catch it for sure then. I’m not going to risk exposing you further. Besides, I won’t be the reason you miss Jill’s delicious Thanksgiving dinner. I won’t have that on my conscience.” She pulled her coat up over her face and cracked a window.


  “Close that window!” he insisted. “You’re going to catch pneumonia.”

  When she didn’t comply, he simply closed the power window from the driver’s side door panel. She gave him a chagrined glance. “Don’t say I didn’t warn you!”

  “Okay, I’ve been warned,” he said with a chuckle, as he turned the truck around and headed back to her place.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Kellie lay on the couch, wrapped in a blanket, attempting to stave off the chills. She had just eaten a partial bowl of canned chicken soup, and was sipping the hot lemon Miles had made for her. She had implored him to leave, but he had refused to go.

  “You’re going to get sick,” she muttered, for the umpteenth time.

  “I never get sick,” he declared smugly. He reached across the couch, checked her for fever again, and then settled onto the couch with the remote in his hand. “What looks good on TV?”

  She shook her head and yawned. “I have no idea. But whatever you decide to watch, it should be on your own television set.”

  “You are bound and determined to get rid of me,” he said with a bemused expression on his face.

  “I don’t want you catching this,” she declared with frustration.

  “So you’ve said,” he said, ignoring her pointed look. He channel surfed for awhile, finally settling on an old movie Kellie hadn’t seen for some time. “I’ve always liked this movie,” he commented, easing himself back on the couch and settling in to watch.

  She felt her eyelids growing heavy. She wanted nothing more than to sleep, but wasn’t comfortable sleeping in front of him. Her nose was plugging up, her whole body ached, and she was certain she wouldn’t be a pretty sight if she were to fall asleep.

  He apparently noticed her fatigue. “Go to sleep,” he commanded, and to her surprise, reached for her and pulled her close to him. He settled her beside him, checked her forehead again for fever. He was relieved to find that the tablets he’d given her earlier had caused her fever to go down. He tugged a blanket around her. Within moments, she drifted off.

  When she woke a couple hours later, he was watching a ball game. He turned when he felt her stir. “Feeling any better?” he asked.

  She shook her head and glanced at a wall clock in the kitchen. “It’s late,” she said, noticing her throat was sore.

  He nodded.

  “You should go home,” she croaked. “Really, I appreciate your concern, but I’m going to feel horrible if you catch this.”

  He shrugged. “I’ve been exposed already,” he pointed out, but relented. “I know you’d probably like to go to bed.”

  She nodded. “I probably will. And you need to go home, shower, take anything you have in your cabinets that might stave off a bad cold, and then get some sleep yourself. You look awfully tired.”

  “I took a quick nap while you were sleeping,” he told her. “But I will go home. Will you call me if you need me?”

  She smiled softly. “No, but I appreciate the fact that you’d come if I did call.” She reached out to squeeze his arm. “When you catch this in four to seven days, I’ll return the favor and make you soup and hot lemon.”

  “I don’t get sick,” he said again, smugly.

  “Yeah, famous last words,” she said.

  ***

  The next day, Kellie woke early. She still felt miserable and feverish. Her whole body hurt. She wanted nothing more than to stay in bed for the day, but knew she couldn’t. As much as she hated the idea of going to work and spreading her germs around the mall, she knew she could not miss this particular work day. It was Black Friday, the biggest shopping day of the year.

  She hoisted herself out of bed and walked slowly toward the bay window in her bedroom. To her surprise, the snow had melted and the roads were clear. It was raining. Good news for the mall merchants.

  She took a long, hot shower, drank tea, since food of any kind didn’t appeal to her, and then headed off to work. Jill was already in the office when she arrived. She took one look at Kellie, who held a scarf across her nose and mouth, and rose from her desk.

  “Oh, you look awful!”

  “I feel awful,” she said. “But I’ll try to keep my germs to myself.”

  “Go home.”

  “I can’t. It’s Black Friday.”

  “Look,” Jill said, attempting to reason with her. “I promise you I can hold down the fort. Go home. If something comes up that I can’t handle, I’ll call you. You can answer questions from home as well as you can from here.”

  She appeared to be considering the offer, but finally shook her head. “I’ll stick around as long as I can. Jill, I’m sorry about yesterday. I really wanted to make it to your house, but I couldn’t risk infecting you or George’s family.”

  “I know.”

  “And I wouldn’t have brought my germs here, if it wasn’t the…”

  “Biggest shopping day of the year,” Jill interjected. “I know. Well, you just hang in there and we’ll get through this day as best we can.”

  “I’ll keep my door closed,” she said. “And now you’d better grab that can of disinfectant spray from the storage closet, to assure you kill any pesky germs I leave behind.”

  Jill did comply, spraying the office, lest someone stop by and suffer exposure.

  Miles dropped by soon after. “Sorry we couldn’t make it yesterday,” he told her. “Kellie was really sick.”

  “I know. She looks terrible. Poor thing.”

  “She came to work today?” he said, surprised.

  She nodded. “Just couldn’t bring herself to miss Black Friday.”

  He groaned with frustration, shook his head, and headed straight for her office. He found her at her desk, her head resting on her arms. She glanced up and offered a half-hearted smile.

  “What are you doing here?” he demanded. “You should be home in bed.”

  She blinked under his riveting gaze and then sneezed. She promptly waved him away. “Get out of this office. I’m a walking germ!”

  “I’ve been exposed,” he said tiredly. “Come on, I’ll drive you home.”

  “Oh, sure, in your free time,” she said, waving off the offer. “What’s on your agenda for today? I’m sure it doesn’t include chauffeuring me home.”

  He waved off the question. “We’re talking about you.”

  “Thanks for trying to nurse me back to health yesterday. I appreciate it. Now, get out.”

  “You’re testy when you’re sick, huh?”

  “Just trying to spare you this misery. Trust me, this misery does not like company.”

  He stretched across the desk to check her forehead. She slapped his hand away. “You just don’t learn, do you?”

  “And you need a nap,” he replied, unaffected by her fit of temper.

  “It’s Black Friday!”

  “And it’ll still be Black Friday after I take you home. Grab your coat. I have just enough time to run you home, and then head over to the station downtown. I’ll be there most of the day.”

  She waved at him. “See you.” Her phone rang. She snatched it up, listened. “I’ll be right there,” she said.

  Miles took the phone from her before she could hang up and said, “No, she actually won’t be there. She’s really sick and you don’t want to catch it.” He listened to whomever was at the end of the phone line. “Yeah, John, it’s me, Miles.” He was quiet again for several seconds. “No, she won’t be on her way.” … “Yeah, she sounds awful.” … He chuckled. “Good call. Run, don’t walk, away from her.”

  “Nice,” she said, when he hung up the phone.

  “I’m trying to be,” he assured her.

  She met his gaze through watery eyes, and finally relented. “I think I’ll go home.”

  “Glad to hear it,” he said with a smile. “Come on.”

  She rose and slipped into her coat. “I’ll drive myself. I don’t want to leave my car here.”

  “Are you sure?”

  “I’m sure.�
��

  “I’ll walk you out.”

  She sighed, shaking her head at his stubbornness. He laughed, but followed her out of her office. “Jill, I’m heading home. Call me if you need me,” she said.

  Jill nodded, and then sent a glance at Miles. “Good job persuading her to go home. She wouldn’t listen to me.”

  He made a mock, frightened face. “She’s scary when she’s sick,” he whispered, prompting Kellie to give him a withering glance.

  The couple stepped out of the executive offices and into the wide corridor beyond. Kellie spotted a deputy walking briskly toward them. “Hey, Commander, can I have a word with you?” Miles paused and turned toward the approaching deputy.

  “I’ll see you,” Kellie said, intending to head for the parking lot. He grasped her arm, bringing her to a halt.

  “Just a second,” he told her, turning his attention to the deputy. “Hey, Mack, what’s up?”

  The deputy turned to Kellie briefly, and Miles made quick work of introductions. The man smiled broadly and extended a hand to her. “So you’re the lady who tackled the convicted felon in the mall lot. Wow! Remind me not to make you angry.”

  She attempted a smile, but couldn’t quite pull it off. She neglected to accept his proffered hand, so as not to spread her germs. “Sorry. I won’t touch your hand, since I currently have the plague,” she told him.

  “Sorry to hear that,” he said, beaming at her. “How are the knees? I hear you got pretty scraped up the other evening.”

  She waved off his concern. “Skinned knees. No biggie.”

  “No biggie! You tackled a known felon!” he said with unconcealed admiration.

  Miles cleared his throat. She turned toward him. “We really should go,” he said. To the deputy, he asked, “What was it you needed to tell me about?”

  “Oh, right. I just took a report from a couple parked in the east lot. They did some shopping and stowed their bags in the back seat of their car, before coming back inside to continue shopping. Anyway…”