Page 31 of Christmas Wishes
He gripped her bottom in one hand, holding her tight. With the other, he sifted it through her hair, made a fist, and tugged lightly. “I’m glad you’re here, Blix. And whatever happens, I don’t want you to ever forget this, or me.”
“I…I won’t.” She gasped when he rolled them over.
“Legs around my hips. I have a very naughty present to give you…”
* * * * *
The knocked on the door startled Rand out of a deep sleep. Blix was plastered top of him from head to shin. Her weight was a welcome warmth and comfort. He didn’t know what he’d do when she had to go back and it was inevitable she’d have to go. She wasn’t supposed to be in the wilderness with him. She —
The knock sounded again, this time harder, more insistent and Rand finally extricated himself from the sleeping elf, trying not to wake her, and doing a miserable job of it.
“Rand? What is that? Is someone at the door?”
Her sleepy voice nearly did him, but when she sat up, her disheveled, sexy appearance had him wishing for coal in the stocking of whoever had woken them. “Yeah,” he said, reluctantly. “I’ll take care of it.”
Only, he wasn’t prepared for the person on the other side and the likely implications to his happiness.
“Rand,” his father greeted him, his name stiff, almost forced. But the older man’s countenance softened when movement behind Rand made him smile. “Miss Silverberry.”
“Hi Santa.,” she said softly.
“Kringle,” Rand replied in the same stiff tone as he’d been greeted It earned him a nudge in the ribs from Blix.
Santa Claus’ bright eyes refocused on him. “I dislike when you call me that.”
“And I dislike that you sent me into the middle of nowhere, in the middle of the night, in the middle of a decision that hadn’t been made yet.” Rand crossed his arms over his chest. “We’re even.”
“I hardly think this is a competition.”
Rand took a deep breath. Like it or not, his father was right. It wasn’t a competition. Being with Blix had been wonderful, easy, and more real than any other part of his life. Seeing their visitor on the front porch brought everything back, even the old, hot head attitude. “What are you doing here, Father?” he asked with a voice devoid of hostility. “It’s Christmas Eve. You’ve got a million things to do and visiting me isn’t on the list.”
“Actually, visiting you is and was the first item on my list.IfI want to sleep inside my own house and not in the sleigh. Again, that is.”
“Why? And sleeping in the sleigh? Again? What are you talking about?”
“Rand, please…” His father seemed at a loss for words.
Rand narrowed his gaze and didn’t try to hide the smirk twitching at his lips. “Mother’s mad at you, isn’t she?”
“Like you wouldn’t believe. She knows you’re all right.” He smiled at Blix, who’d come to stand beside Rand. “She knows you’re not alone, but you have to understand, son, I couldn’t show you special treatment.”
“You didn’t show me special treatment. You didn’t show me consideration. You didn’t show me anything. I had one doubt. In all the years I’ve been alive…” His father gave him a skeptical look. “Okay, fine. More than one. But it was the only one I ever voiced. You can’t tell me you haven’t done the same thing at some point in your life. There are small pockets of humanity that are good, I agree with that. I’ve seen some of it here inSnows Fall. Humanity at large, though? They’re greedy. No one is happy with even the smallest gift, the smallest gesture. They want free. The one with the most toys, the most money, wins. That’s not what I grew up believing, but it’s what the last few years on the sleigh team has shown me. It’s what the last few months reading letters and cataloging the Christmas wishes has shown me. So, yes I have doubts that what we work so hard for each year is worth it. But you sent me out here without… I don’t understand why you did it that way. I’m your son.”
“It was precisely because you’re my son. We can’t cancel Christmas, Rand. That’s not up to us. What we can do is affect the lives we touch. We can spread good cheer and good will. We can make a difference.”
“Rand?” Blix took his hand and squeezed. “Think about Bernie. Think about the small gestures you’ve told me about, like the ones he made toward you. Things like that go a long way.”
“A long way toward what?”
“Toward hope and happiness,” Santa said.
“What are you talking about?”
“Field work. We’ve sent our people out into the world, in small areas where despair reigned, but not to the larger, more populated places where a different kind of despair touches lives. Your mother has been putting together this outreach program for a long, long time, but she wasn’t sure how to implement it on a larger scale or who to put in place to head it up.”
“O-kay. What does any of that have to do with you booting me out of the North Pole in the middle of the night?”
“Everything. Your mother says you’re the perfect one for this.”
