Page 13 of Make You Mine This Christmas
I put my coat back on and beat a quick path over to the workshop. Stomping snow off my boots, I realize just how close I cut my arrival today. My eyes immediately search out Austin as I sit down in the Santa chair and snag onto his back where he stands talking to one of the other elves by the front door. Guess he really did ask to switch assignments. Is it only because he’s leaving early today? Or will he try to make it permanent, keeping himself far away from me?
“Ready, Santa?” Minh, the switched elf in question asks with a kind smile on his face. Time to stop my moping and get into character.
I put on what I hope is my jolliest smile and nod. “Let’s make some magic.” Austin pulls open the front door, and it’s go time.
* * *
We’re on our break around six when I see Austin getting his coat on. “I have to go grab Cassidy from her grandma’s and take her home. Melody came down with something on the way home from Springfield yesterday.” The elf he’s talking to has their back to me, so I can’t hear their response. Austin must feel my gaze because his eyes shoot to mine, locking for a quick second, before he looks away. “Yeah, well, anything I can do to help, you know? Have a good evening, Monty. I’ll see you all tomorrow.”
A moment later, Austin’s out the door, and I’m left staring behind him.
“So, what happened with you and Mr. Austin?” I jump slightly, finding Jimmy standing next to me.
“You sneak up on everyone like that?” I say, hoping to avoid his question.
He shrugs. “It happens more often than you think. So, what happened with you and Mr. Austin? At the beginning of the week, it was all tense, but in like a hot way. Now, it’s all tense, but in a sad way.”
I blink at the kid, a little dumbfounded he picked up on any energy between us at all, let alone the change. “Does everyone...” I trail off, too embarrassed to finish my sentence.
Jimmy shakes his head. “Nah, just me. Like I told Mr. Austin on Tuesday, it’s part of what makes me so good at this. I can read people.”
I nod and decide there’s really no use in denying it, especially if he’s mentioned something to Austin too. Jimmy’s from Winterberry Glen; maybe he knows something about Austin’s life I don’t know.
“So, it sounded like Austin needed to leave early to pick someone up?” I try to sound innocent and nonchalant, but the look on Jimmy’s face tells me how badly I failed.
“Like I told him, you need to ask. Even if I knew—which this time I do—I’m not going to tell you.”
“You told him to ask me something?”
Jimmy rolls his eyes, and I get the vibe telling grown men how to deal with their feelings is not what he signed on for. “Yeah, he asked me if I knew why you weren’t a lawyer anymore. Is that what you talked about to make the vibes all sad between you two?”
“Uh, no,” I say. “He asked why I left ten years ago without saying goodbye. I think I did a really bad job explaining it, since you know, now he won’t talk to me.”
“You just packed up and left?” Jimmy asks. “Damn Santa, that’s cold.”
Even though he’s calling me out on my terrible decision-making and even more terrible emotion handling, my lips curl up in a smile. “It’s not Mister Santa then?”
Jimmy shakes his head. “Nah, I think we’re on a first name basis now.”
“So, are you going to tell me what to do next?”
He shakes his head. “I think you know what you need to do. Now you gotta figure out how to make it happen. So, if you’re done being all sad, now that Mr. Austin is gone, do you want to take a look at the database I built after we close up tonight?”
I can’t help but laugh at the abrupt subject change. “Yeah, sure. I’m sorry I wasn’t here early enough to do it before. We can head to Jitters, and I’ll buy you a drink?” His eyes widen. “A hot cocoa-type drink—Santa can’t buy his elf a beer, even if he may or may not be of age.”
Chapter 9
Austin
I pull into Cole and Blaire’s driveway, leaving the engine idling while I take a deep breath. After feeling suffocated by the day with Brody, I’m happy I had an excuse to bail out a little early today. It’s not the time to dwell on it though. With precious cargo in the back seat, it’s too cold not to get out of the car immediately once the heat is off. Even with the dramatics of Melody throwing up in their minivan on the way home from photos in Springfield yesterday, all while Blaire is away from the girls overnight for the first time, my mind can’t stop replaying Brody saying, “I couldn’t let you come with me” over and over again.
Cassidy coos in the backseat, bringing me back to the present. “All right, little miss. Let’s get you inside to Daddy and see how he and your sister have fared today after your day with Grandma.” We hustle through the cold to the front door, which opens for us as we hit the porch.
“Get in, get in, it’s freezing,” my best friend says, like he’s not the one who hasn’t left the house all day.
“Oh really? I hadn’t noticed.” My snark dies on my lips as I take in the state of the living room behind Cole. “Melody didn’t suddenly learn how to walk, did she?”
Cole rakes his hand through his hair. “No, but this is the first time all day she’s let me put her down and stayed asleep. Her fever finally broke, so I think she’s feeling better.” He reaches for Cassidy, and I hand her over, using my free hands to start picking up bottles and burp cloths.
