Creeping as quietly as possible, he went to the door and leaned out. He gasped—the sound so loud he slapped his hand over his mouth. The slap was loud, too. He felt his eyes go wide.
Santa turned around and put her hands on her hips. “Ho Ho Ho! I’m glad you’re up.”
Colter tried to breathe. Remembering that he had his hand over his mouth, he dropped it and sucked in air. “You are?”
Santa nodded and motioned for him to come closer. “The Reindeer Wranglers called me earlier tonight and said you’d been an extra good kid this year and a big help taking care of Felix.”
He nodded. “I helped them find a sleigh.”
Santa grinned and patted him on the back. “Great job!”
Colter noticed the cookies he and Mom baked hadn’t been touched. Santa saw them at the same time and reached for one, taking a big bite. “Yum. Did you make these?”
He lifted his chest. “With my mom.”
“Your mom. . . hmmm.” Santa took another bite. “I think there’s a special present for her in my bag. Do you want to go get it?”
Colter ran for the sack that looked like it was empty. But he knew things with Santa weren’t always what they seemed. He lifted the white, fur-lined edge to find a large box wrapped in gold paper. It sparkled so pretty. “Mom’s going to love this.”
“Ho Ho Ho. You don’t even know what’s inside there.” Santa’s blue eyes sparkled.
Colter ran his hands over the smooth paper. “She likes pretty things, though. It’s already perfect.” Mom worked all day, and she didn’t eat a lot at dinner. “I made her a decoration at school, and I put as much glitter on it as I could.”
Santa considered him. “In that case, pull out that other gift.”
“There’s nothing else inside.” Colter turned around to point at the sack and it was bulging with a large box. He giggled and pulled it out. “What is it?”
Santa looked scandalized. “I can’t tell you that!”
Colter giggled. He thought about his mom, and a memory tugged the smile off his face. “Did you get my letter?”
Santa reached inside the red coat and pulled out an envelope. Colter’s shoulders fell. That was the letter he’d written in class, the one that asked for a bike and the toys. All the things kids were supposed to ask for for Christmas. “Not that one. The secret one.”
Santa snapped and the letter appeared above Colter’s head, floating down for him to grab. “You mean this one?”
“Yes!” Colter caught it. He stared at the front of the folded paper where he’d drawn a smile and written Santa’s name. “Did you bring it?” His words caught.
Santa winked. “Colter, anytime someone asks for a gift for someone else, it makes Christmas Magic stronger. Your Christmas wish for your mom was so strong, I couldn’t have stopped it from showing up.”
Sparkles flashed from under the tree, and Colter looked to see a large box with a red bow—just like he’d asked. He threw his arms around Santa. “Thank you.”
“Ho Ho Ho! Thank you!” Santa returned his hug, and the world smelled like cookies. “Off to bed with you now. Let your mom sleep in a little tomorrow morning, okay?”
Colter nodded seriously. “I love you, Santa.”
“I love you, too.”
Colter went to his room and pulled the blankets up to his chin.
Jingle. Jingle.
A smile spread across his cheeks, and he fell asleep, knowing that tomorrow morning would be the best Christmas morning of his whole life.
Gabriella stumbled from her bed. Morning light spilled across the floor. “Colter!” she garbled. Clearing her throat, she tried again. He should have been in here hours ago, jumping on the bed and asking to open presents.
Her heart raced with an unnamed worry. Every mother does this, right? They automatically worry that something is wrong. She pressed her cold hand to her forehead in an effort to relax. Just because Colter slept in on Christmas morning didn’t mean something was wrong.
It was just . . . everything went wrong for her lately. Her boss insisted she work all day yesterday, and her plans to make the day special for Colter went down the tube. They didn’t get to make cookies until after nine, and Colter was falling asleep as they rolled cookie dough.
