Everything was running smoothly and we were packed every night. By the end of the second weekend, we had raised more money than I ever expected and we still had two more weekends to go.
After Jacob and his family left, Ronan moved his clothes and toiletries upstairs to my bedroom, where we spent every night wrapped up in each other’s arms. However, the Wednesday after the third weekend, I woke to an empty bed. Grabbing my robe, I slipped it on and made my way downstairs to find Ronan in the kitchen with a grim look on his face.
“Is something wrong?”
“Yes, love, I’m afraid it is. Seth and Ian have come down with the flu and won’t be able to help with Tinsel Town this weekend.”
“Oh, dear. I’m going to go get dressed so I can go check on them.”
“Oh, no, you’re not,” he said sternly. “They’re fine and I’ve made sure they have everything they need. You can’t go over there and risk catching it from them.”
I frowned. I knew he was right, but it was in my nature to help others. “You’re sure they’ll be okay?”
“I promise, love. Now, we have a bigger problem to work on. We need to find two trustworthy people to fill in for Ian and Seth before Friday.”
“What about the two men who fill in for them from time to time?” I asked.
Ronan cocked his head to the side while he thought about it. Finally, he nodded and said, “That might work. It wouldn’t be the usual security gig, but I think they could handle it.”
I left Ronan to make his phone calls and went upstairs to get ready for the day. With Seth and Ian out, Ronan and I would be restocking the townhomes and testing the lights by ourselves.
Ronan entered the bedroom just as I had finished dressing. “Good news, love. I found two replacements to work this weekend.”
* * *
Carl and Benarrived an hour before opening Friday evening. We showed them around while explaining how things ran and what we needed from them. Both readily agreed and assured us they could handle it.
“I thought you got Chris and Ryan to come help out,” I said once we were out of earshot.
“I did, but their wife went into labor this morning. I ended up having to call an agency to find some help on such short notice,” he explained.
“I need to make a note to send a gift to the hospital,” I said aloud. Chris and Ryan were in an unconventional relationship with a woman, but who was I to judge? They all loved each other and were happy, and I was happy for them.
“Come on, love; we don’t have long before it’s time to open, and we still need to get changed.”
The time passed quickly as child after child came to see Santa. Once again, the place was packed. “Another successful night! I can’t believe it!” I exclaimed after the last guest was gone.
Ronan smiled proudly. “Yes, it was,” he said softly and placed a chaste kiss on my lips.
We made quick work of closing down the townhomes and turning off everything except the lights. While Ronan was dismissing the college kids, I went over to the ticket booth to get the lockbox of money. Each night, I took it back to the house and put our earnings in the safe for the weekend.
The ticket booth was set up just in front of where the townhomes began and positioned so that it couldn’t be seen from inside Tinsel Town. With all the lights still on, I didn’t think anything of going to get the box. But, when I turned around, Carl and Ben were standing in front of me, each with a gun pointed directly at me.
“Just give me the money and no one gets hurt,” Carl said.
My grip on the box tightened. If there’s one thing I hated, it’s a thief. And stealing from children, that was a whole other level of low.
“Why are you doing this?” I asked, trying to stall.
Ben snorted. “Are you stupid or just old, lady?”
“Neither,” I hissed.
“Give us the money. Now!” Carl demanded.
“No!” I yelled as loud as I could and swung the metal box at Carl’s hands, sending his gun flying through the air. But I didn’t stop there, I swung the box again, this time bringing it up between his legs.
Just as he hit the ground, two gunshots echoed in the night, followed by Ronan’s enraged bellow. “Jacquelyn!! Are you okay?” he frantically shouted as he ran to me.
