by Elena Aitken
He lost all track of time, but finally the line of kids changed from the young ones to the older teenagers. Ryan kept up his act anyway, playing along with the teens. As far as he was concerned, you were never too old to believe in Santa. He’d just finished telling a young man that Santa couldn’t promise a Corvette under the tree when he turned to see a familiar girl approach.
Shay plopped down on his lap, obviously not recognizing him under the beard.
“Ho, ho, ho,” Ryan began. “And what would you like for Christmas this year, little girl?”
Shay smiled, but then she turned serious. “It’s not for me,” she said. “And I know you probably can’t do anything about it, but I would really like a Christmas wish for my mom.”
Ryan’s heart skipped a little, but he forced himself to keep up his act. “And what would that be?” he asked in his Santa voice.
“I want her to be happy.” Shay turned and looked out to the crowd. Ryan followed her gaze to where Julie stood alone next to the gingerbread house. “She’s lived her whole life for me and it’s time that she did something for herself. I want her to fall in love.” Shay paused and looked down. “I thought maybe she had. No. I know she did. But I think I screwed it up and now she’s being too stubborn to see past what I did to let herself be happy.”
“What do you mean?”
He was so caught up in what Shay said, Ryan forgot to disguise his voice. A detail Shay noticed right away. She spun around and looked him in the eye.
“Ryan?”
He nodded slightly. “Don’t give me away.”
“I won’t, but—”
“What were you saying about your mom being in love?” It was the only question that mattered. The only thing that mattered. “Do you think that’s true?”
“I do.” Shay nodded. “But she’s stubborn. SO stubborn. But I think she was falling in love with you. Which is crazy because it’s only been a few days and that probably scares you a little, but—”
“No.” He shook his head. “It doesn’t because I feel exactly the same way. I can’t even explain it, Shay, but your mother—”
“Needs to see what she’s throwing away,” Shay finished. “We need to fix it. Now. Tonight.”
“I don’t know if we can.” He hated to be negative about it, and of course he didn’t want to think of the situation as unfixable, but he also had to be realistic. “I mean, of course I was planning on finding her and talking to her tonight. I want to try to fix whatever it is that went wrong, but I just don’t—”
“No.” Shay cut him off. “You can’t just talk to her. It has to be more than that.”
The last thing Ryan wanted to get wrapped up in was another one of Shay’s plots. That’s what had gotten him into all the trouble with Julie in the first place. No. Keeping it simple might be the best approach.
“I know what you’re thinking.”
Ryan couldn’t help but laugh. “I don’t think you do.”
“You’re thinking that I need to stay out of it.”
“Okay, maybe you do know what I’m thinking,” he said. “You should. This needs to be between me and your mother.”
“You’re right.”
Her admission took him so off guard he had to do a quick double take. “What?”
“Don’t look so surprised. I may be a teenager, but I can admit when I’m not right.”
“You mean when you’re wrong.”
She grinned wickedly. “I didn’t say that. But that’s not the point.”
“And what is?” He took a quick look at the line of kids, mostly teenagers, that was growing. Eva gestured to him that he speed it up and keep it moving. He was running out of time.
“The point is, it has to be between you and my mom, definitely. But it also has to be magic. Christmas magic.” Before he could object, Shay continued, “Now listen. I have a plan.”
9
The party was still in full swing, but Julie was almost done. She’d tried to find Ryan before she lost her nerve to talk to him. But after a few circuits of the room, when she still couldn’t find him, she was ready to give up. She went to the bar and got herself a glass of champagne. After Megan said yes, Gage had ordered champagne for everyone and there were servers walking around to fill cups to toast the happy couple. Julie didn’t normally drink by herself, but it was the holidays and Shay was nowhere to be found either, so if she had to—and it started to look more and more like she would—she’d celebrate the festive season on her own.
After a quick visit to the cookie bar where she filled up a plate full of sweet treats, she found a table with a few empty chairs and slid into one of them to enjoy her drink and dessert. She was halfway through a very decadent sugar cookie and mostly done with her glass of champagne when Shay slid into the seat next to her.
“Mom. I’ve been looking for you everywhere.”
“Well, obviously not very hard.” Julie gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “Are you having fun?”
Shay nodded. “Yup, but I was looking for you.”
“You found me now.” Julie picked up a chocolate macaroon and examined it. “And I have cookies.”
Shay gave her plate of cookies a once-over. “You have a lot of cookies, Mom. Are they all for you?” There was no point denying they weren’t. Shay knew full well that Julie was an emotional eater, and sweets were her poison of choice.
She shrugged. “I’ll share if you’re nice. Besides. I’m celebrating.” She lifted her glass of champagne. “Did you hear that Gage Mitchell is here?”
“What? Here? At the Lodge?” Shay spun her head around wildly searching for the celebrity.
“It get’s better,” Julie said. “He proposed to his girlfriend right in front of me. And she said yes.”
“Really? That’s so cool. Right here? On Christmas Eve?”
Julie nodded and put another bite of cookie in her mouth. She held it out to Shay, who finished it off.
“That’s so good.”
“Right?” She picked up her champagne and washed down the snack. The bubbles instantly went to her head. She should have known better than to drink it so quickly.
“I told you there was magic here at Christmas.” Shay bubbled over with excitement and Julie instantly regretted telling her about the engagement. No doubt now she’d be on her even more to fall in love and allow the magic of the Lodge, whatever that was, work for her, too. Not that the thought hadn’t occurred to her. It had. But if Ryan wasn’t even around, there was no point in dwelling on it. Besides, just because she’d felt a connection with him didn’t mean he was the one. Best to distract herself. At least until she could do something about it.
“We should try this one next.” She selected a chocolate truffle from her plate and held it up in an effort to distract Shay.
“Are you planning on eating yourself into a sugar coma tonight?”
Julie shrugged. She hadn’t. But the plans she did have weren’t panning out so she might as well change tacks, and a sugar coma seemed like as solid of a plan as any. “You don’t want any more? I said I’d share.”
Shay shook her head, but then took a cookie of her own. Julie laughed. “I told you it was a good idea.”
“It is.” Shay then shook her head. “No. It’s not.” She dropped the cookie back on the plate. “Not right now.” She took a deep breath as if she was building up the courage to do something, the way she did when she was a little girl and had to get a shot. “Mom, I want you to do something for me.”
Julie tipped her head and took another bite of cookie while she waited.
“I think you should go ask Santa for your Christmas wish.”
She almost choked on her cookie. “You want me to what?”
“You should go make your Christmas wish,” Shay repeated. “With Santa. He’s right over there.”
Julie shook her head and didn’t bother to look in the direction Shay pointed. She’d seen Santa earlier, and the snaking line of children waiting to see him. The key word t
here was children. Sitting on Santa’s lap was not something adults did. “I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
Julie blinked hard at Shay’s whiny tone. It wasn’t like her daughter to be so petulant. “Because I’m a grown woman, that’s why, and I don’t think I need to remind you that Santa isn’t real.” She whispered the last part in case any smaller ears overheard. “I thought we had that discussion when you were twelve.”
“We did.” Shay waved her away. “And I know. But—”
“Try this one.” Julie handed her a piece of shortbread. “It will melt in your mouth. Seriously, it’s the best shortbread I’ve had since my grandmother’s.” A server walked by; Julie held up her glass and it was filled for her. With a nod of thanks, she took another deep drink.
“How much of that have you had, Mom?”
Julie narrowed her eyes at her daughter. “Relax. This is only my second glass. Besides, it’s Christmas.”
“Right. Which is why I want you to go talk to Santa. It’s Christmas, Mom.”
Julie shook her head again as a reflex. “Shay, it’s silly.”
“Maybe.”
“So why do it? There’s a ton of kids lined up to…” She twisted around in her chair but the words died on her lips as she saw there really wasn’t a line of children anymore.
“See? You should go.”
Julie turned and faced her daughter again. “Why does it mean so much to you that I tell Santa my Christmas wish?” Shay’s eyes shone with unshed tears and Julie reached for her hands. “What? What is it?”
“I just feel bad.” A tear leaked from Shay’s eye and when she made no move to wipe it away, Julie reached out and swiped her daughter’s cheek.
“Don’t feel bad.”
“How can I not?” Shay sniffed. “The whole thing with Ryan—I know you liked him. I should say, like him. He’s a good guy and you deserve to be happy and I couldn’t bear it if you weren’t happy because of me. You’ve done everything for me, Mom. My whole life, you’ve put me first. Everything has always been about me. And don’t think I didn’t appreciate it. I did. I do.” Tears streamed completely unchecked down her face now and all Julie could do was sit in silence, her heart breaking a little as she listened to her daughter. “But it’s your time now, Mom. You need to be happy. You deserve to be happy. And I think you should go tell that to Santa.”
“You think that’s my wish?” Julie reached for Shay’s hand and squeezed. “You really think my Christmas wish is for me to be happy?”
Shay nodded and Julie couldn’t help but laugh a little. “No, kiddo.” She reached out and wiped a tear away. “My greatest wish in life has always been for you to be happy. That’s all I’ve ever wanted.”
Shay sat up, wiped her eyes and fixed her gaze on her mother. “Then you need to go talk to Santa,” she announced. “That will make me happy.”
“Really?” Somehow Julie doubted it, but the two glasses of champagne were clouding her brain, and really, what did it matter? It was harmless and if it would get Shay to settle down, she’d do it. “Fine,” she said before Shay could say anything else. “But as long as you know that Santa isn’t real.”
“I know, Mom. I know.” Shay rolled her eyes, the tears from a moment ago conspicuously dried up. “But remember what you always told me, okay?”
In one gulp, Julie finished the last of her drink and pushed up from the table. She might as well get it over with. “And what’s that?” she asked before she turned away.
“You always said that as long as I believe in the magic of Christmas, it was real. And I believe, Mom. Don’t you?”
Julie paused and looked at her little girl who’d grown up so quickly. But for as grown up as she was, she was still her little girl. She bent and kissed the top of her daughter’s head. “You know what, I do believe.”
* * *
He knew he should be worried about Shay’s plan. Especially considering she hadn’t bothered to tell him the details of what it was. But sitting on his velvet throne, dressed as Jolly Ol’ St. Nick, he didn’t have much of a choice but to trust her. At least for now. She had said something about getting Julie over to him. So far, he couldn’t see how that would happen, but he was willing to be patient. The trail of children lined up to see him and put in their last-minute requests for presents had dwindled as their parents gathered them up to take them home and tuck them into bed.
Ryan had finally spotted Julie sitting at a table, drinking and eating cookies with Shay. He’d kept an eye on her while he visited with a few other teenagers who mostly wanted to put their Christmas request in for money or a boyfriend. If Shay didn’t come through soon with whatever plan she’d concocted, he was just going to go over there and talk to her himself. Be damned if he was supposed to be playing a role. He was about to get up and do just that when a hand on his shoulder stopped him.
“Hey. I thought you could use this.” Eva handed him a bottle of water. “I bet it can get hot in there. Jeff used to complain about it every year.”
Ryan took the bottle of water gratefully. It was warm in the suit. “So now I know the real reason that Jeff claimed to be sick,” he joked and added, “Ho, ho, ho. Seriously. How’s he doing?”
Eva shrugged. “The last I checked, he was lying in bed, moaning. The man-cold is a killer.”
“Agreed.”
“Anyway, I would have brought you champagne,” she said. “Gage Mitchell and his girlfriend Megan Powers, just made it official.”
“No way. That’s fantastic. So why doesn’t Santa get any bubbly?”
She shook her head. “For that very reason. Santa can’t get drunk before he drives the sleigh. It wouldn’t do to have him crashing the reindeer all over the world, now would it?”
Ryan laughed. “I guess not.”
“Well, you only have a few more minutes, anyway,” Eva said. “I’ll make the last call announcement soon and you can get out of here and drink to your heart’s content. Or…” She glanced over to the side, where Shay and Julie were walking, headed directly toward them. “Or maybe you’d rather stay in the suit for a minute or two longer.” She winked at him before she made a quick exit.
Ryan waited a beat or two more while the mother and daughter duo drew closer. It was clear they were headed for him. Shay had made good on her promise to deliver Julie to him. He was just about to stand up and greet her when Shay spoke, loud enough for him to hear. “Look, Mom. Santa doesn’t have anyone right now. Go tell him your Christmas wish.” She winked at him when Julie looked away, and he got the message loud and clear. Shay hadn’t told Julie who was playing the role of Santa and that definitely would work in his favor.
“Ho, ho, ho.” He rubbed his belly for good measure and tried his best to look jolly. “Why don’t you come tell Santa what you would like for Christmas this year?”
Julie stopped short and tried to turn and escape, but Shay caught her by the shoulder and turned her back. “Oh, no, Mom. You promised. Besides, don’t forget, you have to believe in the magic of Christmas for it to work. There’s only magic if you believe. You told me that you believed. Right?”
Julie nodded reluctantly. “Right.”
Ryan waited patiently as Julie walked closer. It was all he could do to not grab her and haul her to his lap but he needed to bide his time and he would.
“This is stupid.” She stopped in front of him, but he wasn’t about to let her off that easy.
Ryan reached out a gloved hand and held her before she could turn away. “Come,” he said, and quickly remembered his character. “Come tell Santa what you would like for Christmas.”
Julie looked back to Shay and then back to him. With a shrug, she moved closer and to his surprise, even came to sit on his lap. The weight of her felt good. It took everything he had in him to keep from wrapping his arms around her, but it wasn’t something Santa would do, so he held back.
“This is stupid,” she said again. “I don’t want anything for Christmas. I have everythin
g I need.”
“Everything? Surely there must be something Santa can bring you.”
She sighed and seemed to think for a minute before she released a deep breath. “Well, if I’m making wishes,” she started, “my Christmas wish is for Shay to have everything she wants.”
“For Christmas?” He forced a jolly laugh. “I’m not sure Santa can deliver on everything.”
“I don’t mean things,” Julie clarified. “I just want her to be happy and healthy. I know it doesn’t seem like much, but it’s all I want.” She turned to look into Santa’s eyes and the love he saw there convinced him that’s all she really did want. At least, it’s all she thought she wanted. He’d convince her otherwise, because whether she knew it yet or not, Julie both wanted and needed love in her life. And he was just the guy to give it to her.
“That’s a very nice Christmas wish,” he said. “But that’s not for you. Tell me, what can Santa bring for you this year?”
She shook her head, but didn’t say anything.
“Surely, there’s something I can bring you,” he said. “Of course, only if you’ve been a good girl this year.”
To his surprise and delight, she laughed. “I think I’ve been pretty good,” she said. “Honestly, I haven’t had much opportunity to be anything but good.”
“Well, maybe it’s time we changed that.” Ryan laughed, shaking his belly in solid Santa style. “If you could have anything at all for a Christmas wish, what would it be?”
“Okay,” Julie said after a moment. “But only because I’ve had a few glasses of champagne.”
Champagne. Perfect.
“If I could have one Christmas wish…” She drifted off into thought. “I guess…given the conversations I’ve had with Shay in the last few days, I’d have to wish for Mr. Wonderful.”
“Mr. Wonderful?”
“Stupid, right?”