“A favor? From me? Considering how mad you were yesterday, you must be desperate to ask me for anything.” Desperate was good. It gave him the edge.
“You’re right. And in this case, you are the last possible candidate I can think of. Trust me, if there were anyone else, I wouldn’t be here.”
Damn. That stung. “I believe it. So what do you need? A kidney? My heart?”
“No, just your body.”
Anytime, any place, he thought, but out loud, he simply said, “Count me in.”
“Great.” She pulled her hand from behind her back. A large pile of red wool and white fuzz dangled from her fingers. “Hurry and change. We need to be at the KC hall in twenty-one minutes.”
She waved the red outfit at him. The white fuzz was a fake beard, and the pointy red hat was unmistakable.
“You want me to dress up as Santa Claus?”
“Yep.”
“What happened to the last guy?”
“He slipped on the ice and threw out his back. Please, Kyle. I’m desperate.”
“Hold on a sec. It’s bad enough I was thinking about going out dressed like Joe Country, but this is ludicrous.”
“Don’t make me beg. I’m in a tight spot. If I don’t get a replacement Santa in the next-” she consulted the bedside clock “-nineteen minutes, the festival will lose tons of revenue and the kids will be horribly disappointed.”
“How does Santa bring in revenue?”
“Every year, the festival has a photo booth where parents make a donation in exchange for having their kids’ pictures taken with Santa. They use their own cameras, and most parents send the pictures out as Christmas cards.”
It was a great concept. Families got affordable snapshots, and the community raised money and fostered the Christmas spirit.
“This is important, Kyle,” she insisted. “The money goes to buy Christmas presents for our local foster kids, and no one else can do it at the last minute like this.”
“What about your buddy Danny?”
“He doesn’t fit the costume. Plus, his youngest daughter is competing in the pageant. He needs to be backstage with Tina.” She didn’t fidget and her eyes remained steady on his, but he couldn’t help noticing the slight tremor in her fingers. “Please. I really need your help.”
She sucked her lower lip between her teeth, and he realized she expected him to say no. Lord knew, any rational man would, but the weird thing was, he didn’t want to be just another person who’d disappointed her. How she’d managed to work her way around his normal boundaries he didn’t know, and honestly, at the moment, he didn’t care. Right now, tonight, helping her, finding a way to put the smile back on her face became his number one priority.
“Okay. I’ll do it.” He took the costume from her limp fingers. Actually, after the stress of the past couple of days, playing Santa sounded like a blast. Growing up in and out of foster care himself, he’d developed a natural ease with kids, but lately, he’d been so focused on his career, it had been years since he’d been around anyone under the age of eighteen.
“You will?” The stunned look on her face was priceless. “Really? Just like that? No strings attached?” Obviously, she’d expected him to make her really beg, or worse yet, take advantage of the situation. And honestly, either scenario would have been a better career move, but at the moment, advancing his career took a backseat to raising money for needy kids-and making Shayna happy.
“Sure. Like you said, it’s important.” Since his room didn’t have a bathroom, he tossed the costume on the bed and started unbuttoning his shirt. “Are you going to stay and help me dress, or would you like to wait in the hall?”
The bemused look on her face was the sweetest victory Kyle could remember winning. “Hall,” she mumbled as she backpedaled for the door. “Oh.” She stuck her head back in, her gaze sliding over his exposed chest before quickly becoming fascinated with the room’s rose-patterned rug. “I left the stuffing at the hall. And Kyle-” her eyes meet his, her smile turned to full blast “-thanks.”
Since the clock was ticking, he changed quickly. The suit hung even looser than the coveralls, but this time, the poor fit didn’t bother him in the least. Honestly, this Santa thing actually sounded like fun, and after missing his shift at the soup kitchen Thursday, he felt overdue for a bit of giving back.
Best of all, playing Santa meant Shayna would owe him one, and after the way he’d botched things Thursday night, he needed every advantage he could get.
Several hours later, Shayna finally allowed herself to relax. So far, Kyle seemed to be pulling it off. Amazing.
Getting him to play Santa had taken a lot less arm twisting than Shayna had expected. She’d hoped, deep in the far corner of her heart, that he would step up and help out because it was the decent thing to do. When he did, she’d been unprepared for the joy that tingled through her.
And once he’d agreed, he’d done everything asked of him and done it enthusiastically.
While Kyle was excelling as Santa, Shayna was doing a bang-up job as Ms. Noel. Hostessing the pageant hadn’t been nearly as scary as she’d feared. All the girls-and their parents-had behaved themselves. No major meltdowns, no catfights or upset tummies.
Danny’s daughter Tina followed in her big sister’s footsteps and won this year’s Junior Miss Noel title. Of course, everyone received a trophy and a ribbon. All in all, it was a very successful start to the festival.
Now, with her hostess duties complete, Shayna stood backstage and watched the activity still buzzing around the hall. Several elves, aka the county foster kids, raced through the crowd, expertly avoiding the caseworkers trying to round them up. The Women’s Auxiliary League’s hot chocolate stand was doing a booming business, as was the Girl Scouts’ bake sale.
Someone nudged Shayna’s elbow. Startled, she turned to see Lindy’s grinning face. “We need to talk.” Her friend nodded toward the costumed Kyle.
“I know, but now’s not the time or the place.”
“You’re coming over for brunch tomorrow.” It wasn’t a question or an invitation. It was a command.
“Yes, ma’am. How are Travis and the carnival doing?”
“I don’t know. I was so anxious to talk to you that I haven’t even been out there yet.”
She bumped her hip against Lindy’s. “Go support your husband. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
As Lindy wandered off, Shayna returned to watching the action. This year’s most popular attraction by far was the Santa photo booth. Even though it was after eight, dozens of kids still waited to share their holiday wishes.
All evening, Kyle had sat in the oversized chair, patiently listening to the children’s wishes while frazzled parents called out, “Say cheese!” For the ones who needed extra coaxing, he talked and chatted until they relaxed and began enjoying themselves. After each picture, he’d send the kids off with a candy cane and a jolly “Merry Christmas.”
Seeing Kyle relate so well to the children had been another of the night’s many shocks. She couldn’t help but wonder what piece of his puzzle provided that ease.
Shayna acknowledged the stab of jealousy she felt watching a recently divorced mother of two rub her cheek against Kyle’s, insisting they pose for a second picture, just to be safe. Not that she had any right-or reason-to be jealous. If one of those women wanted an unethical lawyer who would sleep with a gal for the sake of his career, then they were welcome to him.
Now, if she could trust the glimpses of good she’d seen in him, she might not be so quick to throw him to the hordes.
As the crowd began to thin out, Shayna checked to make sure the hair she’d meticulously arranged to look carelessly tousled was still pinned in place. She wanted to help gather together the “Fostered Elves” as they’d dubbed themselves, and make sure they all got their pictures taken with jolly young St. Nick.
She spied Tommy Hunter, looking like a truly mischievous elf, tucked behind a giant Christmas tree. Even though he was only eight, Tommy was a born leader. Once he was corralled, the other kids would be much easier
