by Deb Kastner
Lifting his hat, he combed his fingers through his hair and then jammed it back down again in frustration. Somehow, he had to get Delia Ivers out of his head.
Reaching the end of the block, he turned toward the firehouse, where he’d parked his truck earlier. He wasn’t on call today, but Serendipity’s annual Christmas party was set to take place at the community center that evening and he had planned to change into his costume at the station.
He’d already helped with the decorations at the center and in wrapping presents for the kids, but he had another role to play tonight—the jolly old elf himself.
He’d been Santa for the past couple of years and he loved every second of it—interacting with the children and seeing their faces light up with hope and glee. Just before presents were handed out, Santa traditionally pulled the wide-eyed children into a circle and reverently shared the story of the nativity and the true meaning of Christmas.
What more could a man ask for?
Especially a single man with no children of his own.
“Hey, buddy,” Ben greeted as Zach strode in the door of the station. “What’s up? I thought you were off today.”
Zach grinned. “I am. I’m just here to change into my suit for the Christmas party tonight.”
Ben chuckled and patted his stomach. “Oh, that’s right. The big red suit. Ho, ho, ho.”
“Cut it out,” Zach said, scowling, but he wasn’t really offended. So what if the guys at the station gave him a hard time about playing Santa every year?
“I’m just glad it’s not me,” Ben assured him.
Zach reached into his locker and pulled out the red velvet suit with white trim and held the shirt across his chest as he peered at himself through the small mirror attached to the inside door. The outfit was a good deal too large around the middle, but then it was meant to be. He knew he’d have to stuff a pillow down the front to get the right effect. Fortunately, there were lots of those strewn across the cots in the firemen’s bunkhouse.
He wondered if Delia would attend the annual Christmas celebration; and, if so, what she would think of him all gussied up in his red suit.
She’d be surprised, that was for sure. Not that it mattered what she thought. He scoffed.
“Just remember that if I didn’t volunteer for this gig, you guys would be drawing straws to do the honors,” he reminded his coworker jauntily. “Serendipity has been relying on men from the fire station to play Santa for years. You wouldn’t want to upset their tradition now, would you?”
Ben held up his hands and shook his head. “Red isn’t my color.”
“I didn’t think so.” Zach chuckled. “Are you planning on coming to the party?”
“Are you kidding? I wouldn’t miss it for the world,” Ben assured him. “I get really tired of my own cooking.”
“Tell me about it,” Zach groaned as he slid his legs into the downy costume. Bachelor fare was nothing to rave about on his best days, and, like Ben, he wasn’t much of a cook. Mostly, he ate whatever he could scoop out of a can or pop into the microwave.
“Let me help you with that,” Ben offered when the wide black belt Zach was trying to draw around his waist twisted in the back. It was next to impossible to hold the fluffy feather pillow to his stomach and latch the belt at the same time, so he was grateful for the assistance.
“Well, you definitely look the part,” Ben complimented as he stepped back to view his own handiwork. “All you need is to gray up your eyebrows and put on your beard and you’re good to go.”
“I’m not getting anywhere near that beard until the last possible moment,” Zach said, scratching his cheek at the very thought of it. “It itches something fierce.”
Ben laughed and shook his head. “Why do you torture yourself?”
Zach grinned. The answer to that question was easy.
“For the kids, Ben. Only for the kids.”
Tonight was the night. Her whole life was about to change—not to mention what this would do to Zach and Riley.
It was bad enough running into Zach at the café, but now she had to face him this evening. She couldn’t avoid it any longer. Tonight, Delia would tell Zach the truth about his son.
What other option did she have? She couldn’t turn back now. She’d made the decision to move back to Serendipity to be here for her mother, who was now wheelchair bound with multiple sclerosis. There was no way she could keep Zach from finding out about Riley. So far, she’d managed to keep Riley’s presence a secret from the town, but she couldn’t sequester him at his grandparents’ house forever—and he was bound to put the pieces together sooner or later. Better he learn the truth from her.
If things went well, and she fervently hoped that they would, she might even be able to introduce Riley to his dad.
And if the opposite happened, if Zach was furious with her for keeping Riley a secret from him—or worse, wanted nothing to do with his son at all—at least they would be in a public place where he couldn’t blow up at her and make a scene.
“I understand that Santa Claus visits the party,” she told Riley as they drove the short distance to the community center. They were alone in the car. Her mother’s multiple sclerosis was flaring up again and her father had opted to stay home with her, urging Delia and Riley to go ahead and have a good time.
“Mom,” Riley protested with a mothers-just-don’t-get-it groan. “I’m nine. I don’t believe in Santa anymore.”
Delia chuckled. “Not even if he happens to be handing out presents?”
“Really?” the boy asked, suddenly intrigued. When he turned his head in her direction, a lock of his hair, black like Delia’s but shaggy like his father’s, flopped into his eyes, which were brown and dreamy like Zach’s. Her heart clenched at the sight. Riley looked so very much like his father. She hadn’t realized just how much until she’d returned home and had seen Zach again.
“That’s what I hear.”
“Well, maybe, then.” He didn’t sound convinced.
“You don’t have to visit with Santa if you don’t want to, but I think it would be awesome if you did.”
He tilted his head at her. “Do other moms besides you say awesome? I mean, in Serendipity. Grandma and Grandpa kind of talk like cowboys.”
Delia laughed. “They do, don’t they? I grew up here, so I don’t hear the differences as much as you do. Are you afraid you’re going to find things too different out here from what you’re used to?”
“I dunno.” He looked away, out the passenger-side window. “Maybe, I guess.”
“Well, don’t worry too much about it. I know you aren’t used to Texas accents, but after a while you won’t even notice. I promise.”
“I guess,” the boy said again.
Delia really felt for her son and the changes he’d been so abruptly faced with. It was terrifying to move across the country where you didn’t know anyone.
She should know. She’d done that very thing ten years ago. But knowing wasn’t necessarily helping, and she wasn’t sure how to make things any easier for him.
For what seemed like the millionth time since she’d arrived in town, she questioned the wisdom of her decision to move back home. Would Riley really be better off here in Serendipity, or was she creating more problems than she was solving?
“There are plenty of kids in town. I’m sure you’ll meet many of the boys your age at the party tonight. It’ll be fun to make new friends, don’t you think?”
Riley had always made friends easily, which reassured Delia—a little. She was hopeful that he would have little problem finding new buddies to hang out with. If he could make friends before school resumed in January, so much the better.
“It’ll all work out for the best,” she said, as much for herself as for Riley.
>
The look he gave her was wise beyond his years. “I know, Mom. Don’t worry about it.”
Delia wished it was as easily done as it was said, but she didn’t have any more time to think about it because they’d pulled into the community center parking lot. The place was teeming with cars and trucks—mostly trucks, given that the majority of Serendipity’s population were ranchers. It looked like everyone in town was here, but then, that was what Delia had expected.
The neighborly, unhurried pace of small-town life was nothing like the frantic, high-octane life she’d been living for the past ten years. And she was somewhat surprised to find she’d missed Serendipity, where a function as run-of-the-mill as the annual Christmas party was the biggest news in town.
As Riley stepped out of the car, he hesitated and glanced at Delia for reassurance. She took a deep breath and smiled at him.
She could use a little encouragement herself. Her stomach was churning uncomfortably as her emotions alternated between nervousness about and anticipation of the night ahead.
“Ready?” she asked as she slid her arm around Riley’s shoulders.
He looked up at her and nodded. Her little man. So very brave, putting on a strong game face for his mother’s sake.
“We’ll just stick together, you and I,” she assured him. “We’re a team. Just like we’ve always been.”
They were accosted by Delia’s old friends the moment they walked through the door. The first to see them was Alexis, who was, naturally, already in the company of Mary and Samantha; apparently, they’d been watching for her.
“Delia,” Alexis squealed, darting forward across the crowded room. Her friends flanked her as they approached, making at least as much noise as Alexis.
Delia’s grip tightened on Riley and she leaned down to whisper in his ear. “These are the women I told you about. The Little Chicks. My friends from high school. Don’t let them frighten you with their prattle.”
Riley rolled his eyes.
“Mom,” he protested.
“And who is this?” Alexis asked because she was the first to make it to Delia’s side.
“This,” Delia answered proudly, “is my son, Riley.”
All three women started talking at once, addressing questions and exclamations not only to Delia but to Riley, as well. Delia couldn’t even tell who was asking what, and she could only imagine how Riley felt.
“How old is he?”
“He’s absolutely adorable!”
“He looks just like you, Delia.”
“You’ve been holding out on us. How come you never told anyone that you have a son?”
Delia held up her hands and chuckled. “One question at a time, please. I may be used to your chattering, but you’re going to overwhelm the poor kid.”
A couple of boys around Riley’s age dashed right through the middle of the group, and Riley’s eyes lit up with interest. He fidgeted from one foot to the other and looked longingly across the room to where the boys were now swiping sugar cookies from the buffet table.
“Go,” Delia said, even though Riley hadn’t asked. “Meet some new friends.”
“What about you, Mom?”
It warmed Delia’s heart to see how concerned her boy was for her. “I’ll be fine. These ladies are my friends, remember?”
Riley grinned and took off at about the same speed the other boys had been going, somewhere around Mach 3. Delia smiled as she watched him approach the other children. In moments they were all talking and wrestling together as if they’d known each other for years.
Samantha linked arms with Delia and drew her into a corner where it was a little less crowded.
“Dish, girlfriend,” she ordered. “And don’t leave out any details.”
Mary and Alexis had followed, and they both leaned in to hear Delia’s explanation, which she did owe them. They were her best friends, and she’d said nothing about Riley to them. She felt bad about that, although it had seemed the best solution at the time.
But she couldn’t share the whole truth with her friends. Not yet.
Delia looked around the room, searching for that one familiar face, but she didn’t see Zach anywhere. For the tiniest moment, it occurred to her that he might skip the party because he knew she’d be there, but she didn’t honestly believe that would happen. Zach was too strong willed to let a little thing like having to see an ex-girlfriend whom he happened to dislike stop him from going where he wanted and doing what he wanted.
“I’ll answer all your questions, girls. I promise,” she assured her friends. “But first things first. Have any of you seen Zach around here? His parents greeted me when I first entered the room, but I’ve seen no sign of him.”
“Zach?” Alexis repeated as her eyes suddenly flooded with suspicion. Her glance flitted to Mary and Samantha, and then back to Delia again.
“Yes,” Delia continued. “He’ll be here tonight, right?”
“Of course he will,” Samantha said. “Didn’t anyone tell you? I thought for sure you would already know. Zach is the one playing—”
A deep voice cut off whatever it had been that she was going to say.
“Ho, ho, ho. Merry Christmas!”
Chapter Five
Zach’s ho, ho, ho nearly turned into out-and-out laughter when he saw the surprised look on Delia’s face. Clearly no one had informed her that he’d be the one playing Santa Claus. He immediately decided it had been worth being stuffed into the uncomfortably toasty suit just to be able to see her stunned expression. Her jaw actually dropped.
His eyes met hers and his breath caught in his throat. He wondered if it would always be this way—the current of electricity that zapped him every time he saw her.
Did she feel it, too?
Delia was the first to break away, her gaze flittering somewhere over his left shoulder as if she were looking for someone. Her initial stunned expression vanished as concern worried her brow and set her full, heart shaped lips into a frown.
Curious, he turned in the direction she was looking, but he didn’t see anything or anyone in particular that stood out at him. People of all ages were milling everywhere.
Zach’s Santa laughter had captured the attention of the children in the room and before he knew it, he was surrounded by little ones clamoring for the opportunity to speak with him and tell him what they wanted for Christmas.
A few older boys were wrestling nearby, trying to look like they didn’t have much interest in Santa Claus, but Zach knew better. By the end of the evening they’d all be leaving with one of the gifts he had wrapped and stored in his bag.
Preteen girls huddled in a group and twittered with laughter, reminding him of the Little Chicks, of which Delia had been a part. While the ladies were all grown up now, they were at this moment, with the exception of Delia, clustered together speaking in high tones that still sounded like a flock of birds.
“Ho, ho, ho,” he said again in as deep and rich a booming bass as he was able. Santa Claus had a Texas accent. Well, this Santa surely did. “Who wants to hear a very special story?”
The children knew what to expect next, and they followed Zach to the middle of the large room, where he pulled up a chair and waited for everyone to seat themselves on the floor in a circle around him. The older boys and girls sat among the smaller children, and even the adults drew near to listen to the most holy story of the birth of Christ.
Zach opened the Bible he’d brought with him and silently waited for the ruckus to die down and for the anticipation in the room to build. He wasn’t much of a reader, especially not out loud and to a crowd; but this night was his one exception to the rule.
Unconsciously, his gaze searched for Delia, finding her at the outskirts of the circle with her arm around
a gangly black-haired young boy as she bent her head to whisper in his ear. Zach had never seen the kid before. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.
Or in this case, one and one.
Delia had a son.
He guessed he shouldn’t have been shocked by the revelation, but there it was. Just because he hadn’t had any remarkable relationships with the opposite sex since she’d left town didn’t mean that she’d had the same experience. He was struck once again by the realization of how little he knew about her now.
Was she married? No one in town had said anything about her having a husband, and he figured at least her girlfriends would have known about it. He’d been relatively certain she’d moved back to Serendipity alone, but clearly she had her son with her, and he hadn’t known about that.
What other surprises waited for him?
The room had quieted, so Zach turned his attention to the reading from the Book of Luke. He liked being able to relate the story of Christ’s birth, especially to the wide-eyed children. That it was Santa Claus reading the blessed story only made it that much more meaningful for him and, hopefully, to the kids.
Afterward, the festive crowd turned to the food. Someone had hooked up a computer to a battered old speaker system and traditional hymns and carols pealed through the air, reminding Zach that he had something important to do this evening—other than playing Santa. Nervousness and anticipation flittered at his throat and he swallowed hard.
He looked for Delia in the crowd but he didn’t see her. He wanted to see if he could find her now, but he knew he couldn’t, not with all the kids waiting for him to hand out presents.
“Okay, everyone. Quiet, y’all,” called Jo Murphy, waving her hand in the air. She had the unique ability to be heard over even the noisiest gathering, and people soon silenced. “Time for Santa Claus here to take requests.”
“A new car,” one of the older men shouted, making everyone laugh.
