Page 30 of North

Mazzy rolls her eyes but blushes, her happiness evident.

Farren turns to Willa. “And how’s our favorite doctor?”

King elbows Willa. “Tell them about the Santa attack.”

“Santa attack?” Mazzy snorts. “What in the hell?”

Willa shakes her head, chuckling. “So, we had this guy come in—middle-aged, wearing a full Santa suit, beard and all. He’s stumbling through the doors, shouting, ‘I need a doctor! I’ve been attacked!’ Naturally, we’re all concerned, thinking he’s been mugged or something, right? As I approach, I see he’s clutching his chest, and I’m worried he’s having a heart attack. But as he gets closer, I see brown fur nestled inside the fur trim and realize it’s alive squirrel.”

Mazzy gasps, her hand flying to her mouth. “A squirrel? What?!”

“Yep, a squirrel.” Willa laughs. “Apparently, this guy thought it would be fun to surprise his family by climbing up a tree in his Santa suit to ‘deliver presents.’”

“And a wild squirrel attacked him?” I ask incredulously. They always seem so cute and docile.

“Not entirely wild. The family has been feeding it fora few years and it will come take food from their hands. It’s pretty tame, I guess.” Willa ducks her head and snorts. “Except when Santa climbs up its tree. Apparently, it freaked out and launched itself at him.”

Foster is already laughing, his shoulders shaking. “No way. How do you eventreata guy for that?”

Willa smirks. “First, we had to get the squirrel off him, which was a team effort. This little guy waspissed. It took three of us, a towel, and a bag of peanuts to coax it out of the fur trim on the suit. Then we realized the squirrel had scratched Santa pretty good, so he needed a tetanus shot and some stitches.”

“But what if that squirrel had rabies?” Mazzy asks.

“That was a concern and normally, the squirrel would get sent off for testing, which means killing the poor thing and testing its brain.”

Mazzy’s hand covers her mouth.

“But even as pissed as Santa was, he couldn’t kill the little squirrel, so he opted for the rabies vaccination series and took the live rodent home in a box to release it back into its tree.”

“That’s so sweet,” Mazzy says, hand pressed over her heart.

Farren is nearly crying with laughter. “Oh my God, did he even get to finish delivering the presents?”

“Nope,” Willa says, grinning. “The guy’s family showed up while we were treating him, and his kids weremortified. Apparently, it’snotthe first time he’s done something like this. His wife looked me dead in the eye and said, ‘This is why I told him we’re sticking with Amazon next year.’”

The table erupts into laughter, and Willa raises her glass. “So, here’s to Santa, squirrels and keeping the holiday spirit alive—even in the ER.”

The conversation shifts to horror stories from Willa’s job, Mazzy’s upcoming gigs, and King’s eternal struggles with helping coach youth hockey. Farren plays along perfectly, her teasing remarks fitting seamlessly into the group dynamic.

But under the table, her foot slides higher up my leg, and I shoot her a look that’s equal parts warning and amusement. She smirks, her expression completely innocent, and I know she’s enjoying every second of this game.

When the others finally decide to call it a night, I offer to give Farren a ride home.

“We’ll stay for another beer,” I say casually, waving off the rest of the group.

As they leave, the tension between Farren and me feels like it might snap. Moving closer, I keep my voice low. “What do you want to do after this?”

I half expect her to suggest heading back to my place. But instead, she tilts her head, a playful glint in her eye. “Let’s go to a nightclub.”

“A nightclub?” I echo, surprised.

“Yeah,” she says, twirling the straw in her drink. “It’s dark, no one will notice us, and I want to check it out for job potential.”

I narrow my eyes. “Job potential?”

She shrugs. “I’ve been thinking about trying something new. Bartending at a nightclub seems interesting.”

I hesitate, then down the rest of my beer. “All right. Let’s go.”

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