“Merry Christmas to you!” Forest hugged her quickly. “Nice boots.”
She looked down at the shiny, shin-high black boots. “Thanks. They have flat heels—perfect for a working mom.”
He shook his head. “I still can’t believe you have a family. You’re so grown up.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Santa never grows up.”
“Santa?” Billy breathed the name as if he were dreaming. He literally rubbed his mittens over his eyes.
Ginger held her belly and Ho Ho Ho’d. “Billy Edge! You’ve been a good boy this year—taking care of Snowflake isn’t easy.” She reached into her magic purse and pulled out a candy cane and a carrot.
Snowflake approached, her eyebrow arched.Pah-lease. You wish you had me on your crew.
“Don’t sass me, Snowflake,” Ginger warned.
Billy’s head swung back and forth between the two of them. “You know Snowflake?”
“Of course I know Snowflake.” Ginger smiled. “I was there the day she was born.”
“You were?”
“Yep. I was the first one to feed her a carrot.”
Snowflake stepped closer, putting her nose under Ginger’s palm. As tough as she claimed to be, no reindeer could resist Santa; it was in her DNA. Ginger freely gave the reindeer attention and love.
Forest grinned. If the pull of Santa loyalty didn’t work on Snowflake, then he’d use peer pressure. “Hey, Cocoa. Good to see you, girl.”
Cocoa bumped his front.You’re thicker.
Forest chuckled. “I’ve been eating well.” He glanced at Snowflake, who was listening to Billy ask Ginger questions about making toys. “Is that a fourth point on your antlers?”
She shook them excitedly.Do you like it?
“I do.”
Cocoa preened.
Ginger continued, “My younger sister is over toy production. She’s pretty stressed out this year. There’s lots of good boys and girls.”
Forest began unhooking Cocoa. “Do you want to play?”
She pranced in place. He was counting on her competitive side to bring Snowflake out of her non-flying slump.
He chuckled. “Do you want to get out of this harness and play for a minute?” He almost had her out. She nodded.
“I brought some hula hoops from the toy factory,” Ginger called over her shoulder.
“You smell like cookies,” Billy said.
Ginger giggled. “I have a sister that smells like lemons and chocolate too.”
“You do?”
“Yep. Why don’t we sit in the sleigh and watch the games?”
“What games?” Billy asked, following her like a duckling. “Did you fly here from the North Pole? What’s it like up there? How many elves live with you? What’re their names?”
They kept talking while Forest fetched the hoops. The reindeer circled one another happily, sniffing and catching up on all the news.
