I shoved my hands in my pockets. "You need me to stick around?”
"I think I'll be okay. Most of the donations were during the parade. It should be quieter now."
Sofia placed her hands together. "Can we get a new ornament for our tree now?"
I smiled at her. "Sure."
"You'll want to go to the Christmas Shop. Tell Clara I sent you. She's amazing at finding you the perfect ornament," Eve said.
"I guess we're going to head out then."
Eve waved. "Thanks again. You guys have fun."
I walked with Sofia across the street to Christmas Town. The store itself was on the corner facing the square with the largetree and Santa's workshop. Hopefully I wouldn't have to work a shift as the town Santa.
I was fairly sure I'd give in to whatever Eve needed me to do. I'd never admit that to her though.
Sofia grabbed my hand, pulling me toward the door. I opened it, letting her skip ahead of me. Her eyes widened. "There're so many decorations."
A woman appeared in front of us. "Welcome. I'm Clara."
"Maddox." I threw a hand over my shoulder. "We were helping out at town hall."
Her gaze lowered to the logo on my chest. "I heard the fire department helped with the toy drive."
I nodded. "I was the guy in the Santa suit."
Sofia nodded. "Dad made a good Santa."
"I bet he did." Clara smiled at Sofia, then said to me, "Thanks for stepping in. Natasha was really worried when Ford couldn't make it."
I inclined my head. "Happy to help."
Sofia bounced on her toes. "I helped too."
Clara clapped her hands together. "You two were such great volunteers, I'd love to help you with something. What can I do for you?"
"I want a new ornament," Sofia said.
I thought back to our decorations. Marla had chosen them. Maybe we needed our own. "I think we need a whole new look for our tree. Can you help us with that?"
Clara's eyes lit up. "That's my specialty."
She led the way around the store where there were themed trees. "Let me know if you like anything."
I let Sofia look carefully at each option. There was a wilderness tree with different animals and twigs, then an ocean-inspired one with seashells.
Sofia stopped in front of one that had traditional characters like Rudolph and Frosty. "What about this one?"
"This is a classic tree, with all the characters you know and love. But it's tastefully done," Clara said, holding up a snowflake for me to see.
Sofia picked up the ornaments that were nestled in red buckets under the tree. "What do you think?"
"I love them."
It must have been the right thing to say, because Sofia nodded eagerly.
"Do you want one of everything? Depending on the size of your tree, you could probably go with two." Clara pulled out a container with sections that could hold various ornaments.
