Page 58 of Chocolate Cherry Cabin

“I’m not allowed on the roof,” said Kurt.

“Sometimes they land on our lawns,” Hannah said, “and I bet if you put some in the front yard they’ll eat it. They aren’t always hungry, though. But that’s okay, because the birds will eat it.”

“Is glitter safe for birds?” asked Edith, the day care owner, as she glided by. She was like a harbinger of gloom, the way she coasted silently through the room, popping up to make Hannah doubt the wisdom of anything she did. How the woman had ended up running a day care was a mystery. Maybe if Hannah didn’t wind up going back to school she’d look into ways to take over the business.

She looked at the container of glitter, double-checking that this was the stuff she’d bought from the grocery store’s baking aisle. “It’s edible.”

The kids and she set to work on the reindeer food, and by the time they were done Hannah was yawning. She’d been up late painting last night, imagining what it might be like to date Louis Bellmore for real. And the night before she’d been out with him, unable to sleep when she got home as she’d been so dazzled by the life he had and how it was so unlike her own.

“Okay, put your reindeer food in your cubby,” Hannah told the little ones when they were finished. Then find your stuffy to snuggle with. It’s story time!”

Story time. Then nap time. Everything was right on schedule, the only way to keep a roomful of tykes from extreme meltdown.

The children circled around Hannah on the carpet as she opened their afternoon story about a snowman. But then the front door of the day care opened, bringing in a gust of wind. It was Anya’s mom, Naina Elm, the principal of the elementary school. “Guess who I found outside?” she announced loudly.

Hannah did a quick head count, her heart hammering in her chest. None of the children were missing. But before she could ask who she’d found, a man came in dressed in a red-and-white suit.

Santa.

The kids went wild, storming the gate that separated them from the front entry, where Santa stood with Naina. “Santa! Santa!” they shouted. “He came! He’s here! He’s here!”

As Hannah joined the kids, Santa glanced up from the kids and familiar blue eyes greeted her with warmth. Her breath caught in her chest.

Louis.

* * *

Any lingering uncertainty about Louis dissolved, and Hannah could have sworn that her ovaries twitched as she battled the urge to swoon over him. Just a little.

There was something about having a man you kind of liked dress up as Santa to come and save your day. It was a noteworthy item on the mental does-he-check-out list.

Louis let out a booming “Ho, ho, ho!” and the children’s excitement level ratcheted up another notch.

“I saw Louis and his dad at the Longhorn this morning,” Naina whispered in Hannah’s ear. “When he heard you didn’t have a Santa he offered to step in.”

“He has meetings and a practice today,” Hannah said with a frown. Was he skipping work for this? Was he going to scrape in—late, or almost late—because of her?

Naina was beaming at Louis in a way that made jealousy rise inside Hannah. “Naina, you’remarried,” she whispered.

The woman simply smiled.

Hannah supposed ovaries were ovaries, and why wouldn’t hers be twitching, too?

“Seriously,” she muttered to Naina.

Anya bounced over to them, squealing, “Mummy, Santa’s here!”

Naina nodded at her, then continued whispering to Hannah. "Don’t judge me. He’s hot. Successful.Anddressed as Santa.”

True, true and true.

“And he’s doing it foryou.” Naina nudged her.

“Who is this?” Santa asked, coming closer to the baby gate that separated the entry from the play area in order to peer at Hannah. “Hannah Noelle?”

“How do you know my middle name?”

“I’m Santa! You live on Cherry Lane! And my, you’re all grown up. Do you have a boyfriend?” He was watching her with dancing eyes, and she felt heat rise in her face as the children giggled.

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