“Jacob!” she scolded, but he had already disappeared.
“You’ll have to worry about that later. It’s time to get this show on the road,” I told her and took my seat. Right on cue, Ranger and Jacob pulled the front doors open and secured them, revealing our version of Santa’s living room.
“Mommy! Mommy! It’s Santa!” a little boy screamed and started to run toward us.
“Freeze, little man!” his father bellowed, causing the child to do just that. The man quickly scooped him up and carried him over to see us. I immediately recognized him as John Wayne “Duke” Jackson, a member of the Blackwings MC.
“Hello, little James,” I said in a tone much deeper than my regular voice. James turned his head to me with a look of pure shock on his face.
“You know my name?”
“Of course, I do,” I laughed. “Santa knows if you’ve been naughty or nice.”
“I’m sorry, Daddy. I didn’t mean to run away. I just wanted to see Santa!” he cried.
“Just don’t let it happen again,” Duke said and put James on his feet. “Go tell Santa what you want for Christmas.” As James ran over, Duke looked at me and mouthed, “Well played.”
Seconds after James’s impromptu announcement of my arrival, a lengthy line of kids waiting to see Santa had formed. And for the next three hours, child after child climbed into my chair and told me what they wanted for Christmas. Surprisingly, none threw up on me and only a handful burst into tears at the sight of me. My absolute favorite was the little girl who kept coming back to bring me cookies because something was wrong with my belly.
At one point, I was concerned that the line would never end, but as it got later, the line began to dwindle. Thirty minutes before closing, Jacob went to the podium and announced that the line for Santa would be closing in fifteen minutes, which was a brilliant idea. I saw the last child of the night exactly three minutes before ten o’clock.
I stood from the chair, stretched, and promptly coated myself in hand sanitizer while Jacquelyn laughed. “Oh, it wasn’t that bad, was it?”
“No, but I’m not taking any chances. Little kids are cute, but they are also riddled with germs. Which reminds me, we need to pick up a case or two of disinfectant spray.”
“We have plenty of cleaning products in the storage shed,” Jacquelyn reminded me.
“That’s for Tinsel Town. I want more just to fumigate my Santa suit,” I said seriously.
She gave me a sly grin and her eyes filled with desire. “We definitely want to make sure nothing happens to that suit.”
“Is that right?” I asked and stalked toward her. Gripping her hips firmly, I pulled her close and pressed my lips against the shell of her ear. “Maybe I’ll let you help me take it off later.” Capturing her lips with mine, I didn’t give her a chance to respond.
A throat clearing interrupted our heated moment. Jacquelyn dropped her head against my chest while I turned my head and glared at the intruder. “I saw Mommy kissing Santa Claus,” Jacob sang.
“Jacob Kingsley Marks, do you want me to show your biker friends the pictures I have of you playing dress up in my makeup?” Jacquelyn asked with an arched eyebrow.
“Nope, I sure don’t,” he said and cleared his throat.
“But I do!” Keegan laughed.
“Wifey,” Jacob growled, causing Keegan to laugh even harder.
“Did you need something?” Jacquelyn asked.
“I was just coming to let you know all the guests are gone. Keegan and I will close up if you want to go on back to the house,” he offered.
“We would love that. Thank you,” I answered for her.
“Where’s Gabby?” I asked.
“She fell asleep in Ranger’s arms about an hour ago, so he went back to the house with her,” Keegan said.
“You’re sure you don’t mind?” Jacquelyn asked.
“They wouldn’t have offered if they did. We need to take them up on this offer while we have the chance,” I said. They were going home in two days, leaving the responsibility of running Tinsel Town completely on Jacquelyn’s shoulders.
“Well, I think I will take you up on that offer. Thank you.”
