“She’s married now, so no flirting with her.” Grandpa poked his ribs.
“You know I don’t flirt.” Ben glowered, but his expressions were no doubt hidden by all that yak hair. Besides, Lacy was four years older than him and treated him like a brat. It was her sister, Brittney, the bookworm who’d been friendly to him. Too bad they hadn’t stayed longer than a summer before they were taken to Wyoming to live in snow hell.
“Might do you some good, buddy. Young buck like you, don’t you have a line of girlfriends?” He tossed another doggy biscuit at Treat who caught it and snapped it up crunchily.
“Girls line up, but who has time?” Ben was already fretting that this eight-hour Santa stint was going to cut into his weightlifting schedule. If he wanted to be ready for the pro football scouting combine in February, he had no time off for Christmas nonsense. He’d know by the end of December if he’d been selected, although his coach told him chances were good. He just needed to bulk up another five or ten pounds without losing his speed and agility.
“All work and no play …” Grandpa grabbed Treat’s leash. “At least be jolly, okay? Can’t let the kids down.”
“Of course, I’ll be jolly. I’m Santa, aren’t I?” He picked up Treat and rubbed the dog’s loose skin.
“Aaahrroooah,” the dog panted his approval.
Yep. If only women were as easily pleased as his Grandpa’s dog. A treat, a belly rub, and a chew toy. Who had time for more?
~ Brittney ~
The barn at my family’s tree farm is stuffy, even with the two large fans near the entrance. That’s because it’s packed with cages and carriers stacked on the bales of hay. The musty smell of animals, and the noise and dust is enough to drive me back to my computer. But my family needs me, and this event draws a lot of people.
Lacy drags me by the hand while I’m busily staring at my cleavage to make sure enough fake fur covers it. Unfortunately, with each step I take, my boobs bounce and jiggle and the strapless elf outfit creeps down.
“Over here are the applications for people wishing to adopt,” Lacy explains. “They’ll list the types of animals they’re interested in and you can help them pick a pet, but make sure to let them know their choices are not guaranteed.”
“What would be the point of taking a picture with the pet if they’re not guaranteed their pick?”
“Fundraising. They pay twenty bucks per photo, and they get to think about the pet while waiting for the adoption process.” Lacy pointed to another folder. “These people have already passed the home inspection but don’t know which pet they want. Your job is to help them find one and get acquainted.”
“How am I supposed to keep this straight?” I flip through the stack of applications. The cacophony of barking dogs and the screeching of one large cockatoo is enough to shrivel the hairs in my ears. I don’t thrive with noise and confusion. When I write code, I wear large noise-cancelling headphones.
“Don’t worry, there are a load of volunteers from the rescue organizations. Your main job is to schmooze with the undecided and help move them along to Santa’s lap for a picture. All monies go toward pet rescue.”
“So, why does Grandpa Powers do this again? His store doesn’t sell any of the pets.”
Lacy rolls her eyes and huffs. “Marketing. Name recognition. A good cause. Besides, that old man loves to be Santa. One year, he got kicked out of an amusement park because people thought he was the real Santa and started asking him for autographs.”
“He does look like Santa. I bet in a lineup, the kids will pick him. What I don’t get is why he wears a beard year round.”
“He loves the role, Brittney. It’s fun. Ever heard of the concept?”
I roll my eyes back at her and turn away, scanning the rows and rows of carriers and cages. The doors haven’t opened yet, and already, I’m getting claustrophobic. Imagine what it’ll be like with hordes of noisy children and their whines to add to the din.
As for fun, who has time? At twenty-one-years old, I’m the youngest CEO of a social media startup. My company, ScrapCloud, recently entered into a partnership with Shopahol, the world’s best social shopping network. With all the new features our customers demand, I’ve had to hire three engineers and one security expert just to keep up. Of course, it means I have to manage them when all I’d rather do is write code.
I pull out my phone to check the software build.
“Put that thing away.” Lacy pops into my visual field. “Elves from the North Pole don’t have cell phones.”
“Who says?” I eye the build package as I note it had completed without errors.
“Give it over,” Lacy says with her hand out. “You can stand eight hours away from work, can’t you?”
“The weeks leading up to Christmas are critical for my company. Customers are continually updating their wish lists, and we need to make sure their friends and anyone connected to them can see the updates as well as the links to our partner retailers.”
Lacy juts her jaw, not giving in. She never does—never cuts me a break. Ever since I was a baby, Lacy has set the standard. She learned to walk at eleven months; I didn’t until I was almost two. She sang and tap danced at three. I have two left feet and a voice hoarser than a donkey’s bray. She kissed her first boy in preschool. I … uh, well, would rather not say. Having braces all those years hadn’t helped, since I always wondered if I had a piece of salad caught between my teeth.
“Fine, here.” I hand her my phone. “Where’s Grandpa Powers? The Santa throne’s empty.”
“No need to worry. The first twenty minutes, no one is ready. The pre-approved people will be busy picking a pet, and the others are filling out an application. Just look for unsuspecting fathers who have no clue. Match their profile with a pet and lead them to Santa. Ready?”
I heave a breath before realizing my bosom is ready to pop out. Tugging the fur up, I nod. “As ready as I can be.”
“Okay, Dad, open her up.” Lacy waves toward our father who is standing at the barn door.
“Yay!” A cheer rises from the young, happy voices waiting outside, and a stream of kids, from toddlers to high-school age spread out in the barn.
“You got this, Britt.” Lacy squeezes my upper arm encouragingly. “I’ve got to get to the kissing booth.”
“And your husband’s okay with it?”
She wiggles her eyebrows. “Not just okay, he’s manning the booth with me. How about a bet? Kissing booth versus pet pictures. Loser buys winner dinner.”
“Oh, no, that’s too easy. This bet has to hurt,” I counter. Now that I’m a real business leader, I’ve learned how to negotiate.
“Name your price.”
“It’s got to be something you’d never do in a million, billion years.” I chortle, thinking hard about Lacy’s phobias and dislikes.
She narrows her eyes and grimaces, then snorts. “Bring it on. I’m not worried. Kissing booth dominates. With me and Brandon, twenty bucks a pucker, you’re out before we even pass ‘Go.’”
Humpf. So overconfident, that sexy sister of mine. Well, I’ll fix her wagon. A light bulb sparkles in my brain. Ha, ha, she’s going to hate me now.
I lift my chin and say, “Fine, I win and you’re not wearing makeup for a month.”
“And if I win, you’re wearing makeup every day for a month.” She sticks out her hand to shake.
“Ha, ha, gotcha.” I chuckle at how one-track her mind is. “I already wear a little mascara.”
“Oh, no, that’s not all. I win and I will personally put your makeup on like I did today. False eyelashes, eye shadow and liner, even a beauty mark on the side of your cheek.”
“You’re not going to win.” I wiggle my pinkie to shake.
“We’ll see about that.” She hooks her pinkie around mine and tugs, smiling. “May the best woman win. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a lot of kissing to do.”
With that, she saunters from the barn, wiggling her butt and attracting attenti
on even though she’s eight freaking months pregnant and wearing a faux-fur lined Red Riding Hood Christmas outfit with a giant green bow tied over her baby bump.
“Ho, ho, ho,” a loud deep voice booms. It’s Santa, holding a large bag over his shoulder and waving to the kids.
Is it my imagination or has Grandpa Powers grown? The flowing beard covers his face and he walks straight and tall, rather he swaggers like one of the cool dudes in school.
Bad health, my left foot. Lacy loves to exaggerate and she’s always telling tales. That’s marketing for you.
“Santa, Santa!” the children cheer and follow him like he’s the pied piper from the North Pole. Behind him, a fat, out-of-shape monstrosity of a dog waddles, wearing an oversized red Santa outfit that drags on the ground. His Santa hat droops over his eyes, but he trudges forward, oblivious to the children swarming around.
“Hey, Miss.” Someone taps me. It’s a man, of course, and his eyes are addressing my boobs.
“What can I do for you?” I ask in a pleasant voice.
“Let your puppies come out to play.” He leers at my cleavage and practically has his tongue hanging out.
“Go play with your own,” I pause. “If you can find it.”
I don’t wait for his reaction. That kind of guy doesn’t deserve a dog or cat or bird. I hope he leaves.
A hand taps my bare arm. It’s the sleazebag again.
“I’m pre-approved. Help me pick a puppy.”
“Are you ready to take a picture with Santa?” I ask. “Because I’ll take your donation when you’re ready.”
I flounce around and stalk toward Santa and his throne. Grandpa Powers would never let anyone speak to me so disrespectfully.
“Who are you, anyway?” The douchebag jumps in my path, not giving up. “Last year I was here, and this really nice elf helped me find my kitten.”
“And where’s your cat now?”
“It ran away, so I’m back for a puppy.”
I grab his application and zero in on the question about previous pets. Just as I thought. The slimeball didn’t answer it.
“Sorry, bud, you lied on your application. We can’t have irresponsible people losing cats and dogs.” Without waiting for him to answer, I rip it in two.
“Whatever happened to customer service?” the man exclaims loudly. Several people stop and look toward us to see what the commotion’s about.
“The pets are not being sold, and you’re not a customer. You’re a pet loser.” I ball up the application and toss it at him.
Unfortunately, throwing overhand like a man makes my boobs bounce back and forth, threatening to overflow the fur-lined trim.
That shuts everyone up.
My face boiling hot, I turn quickly and stalk toward Grandpa Powers, ready for a hug and a ho, ho, ho. The only reason I believed in Santa Claus for so long is because of that sweet old man.
Maybe I still believe, because for me, Grandpa Powers is Santa Claus.
~ Ben ~
Ben’s muscles bulged dangerously under the Santa suit. If it wasn’t for the little girl sitting on his lap asking to adopt a black labradoodle, he would have rushed to the rescue of that sexy elf. Whoever she was, she didn’t look like the Lacy he’d remembered. But then again, that was ten years ago.
No woman deserved to be ogled and harassed. Granted her boobs practically spilled from that skimpy elf outfit—one that looked more like a velvety barmaid’s getup, but still, she was here for a good cause.
He couldn’t help his eyes from giving her the once over—more like twice and three times over. She was tall, which was a good thing given his six-foot-five height. Long-legged and very, very blond. Her waist was thin and she had nice round hips. Hey, he couldn’t help ogling, not if everything was clearly outlined by that less-than-nothing tube she was wearing. He let his gaze linger a moment on the bounteous beauties, then moved to her face. Okay, so maybe she’d overdone it on the makeup department. He’d take a closer look later.
“Please, Mr. Santa.” The little girl in his lap tugged at his beard and whispered loudly in his ear. “I want a puppy for Christmas. I promise I’ll take good care of him and walk him every day. I’ll also brush him and make sure his bed is clean and comfy.”
“I’m sure you will.” He tried to grin, but the stiff glue on his face made it difficult. Besides, no one could see his teeth under the thick curly mustache, so why bother?
The photographer told the girl to give him a kiss, and she landed one of the first slobbery kisses on his grandfather’s expensive yak hair beard. Wonder how much it would cost to dry clean this thing.
“Okay, say ‘cheese,’” the photographer said.
“Wait, wait, wait,” the girl’s mother said. “Here’s the puppy. Let Bree hold the puppy.”
“Where’s that elf?” the photographer complained. “She’s supposed to set up the shot.”
He grabbed the squirmy, wiggly labradoodle puppy and placed him in the little girl’s arms. “Don’t forget to look at the camera.”
Ben glanced in the direction of the leering men. The elf seemed to be holding her own. All right! She’d just thrown a crumpled paper ball at the worst offender.
Wow. Look at that overhand throw, like a real tomboy. Gulp. Except he, too, couldn’t take his eyes off those bouncing babies.
“Hey, Santa, eyes over here.” The snarky photographer snapped his fingers. “On the count of three. One, two, three.”
Ben had just enough time to remove his stare from the elf’s chest and fix them on the camera.
Snap.
“Auntie Ella,” the girl on his lap said. “Can I please take Inkie home?”
“Not today, Bree,” the now-identified aunt said, taking the puppy from her. “We have to fill out an application. Let’s play with Inkie a little more and take him back to his foster parent. Then we can watch a video on how to care for a dog.”
“Thank you, Santa.” Bree hung onto his beard as she climbed off his lap. She slipped the rest of the way off, using his coat as a handhold.
Should he have helped her off?
Ben turned away to press on his beard, hoping the little girl hadn’t damaged it.
Footsteps clicked toward the throne, and the photographer said, “It’s about time you got here.”
“Grandpa Powers,” a sweet and very mature female voice said as the very sexy and well-endowed female elf landed on his lap, enveloping him in her flowery scent.
Long, wispy blond hair flew in his face, and Ben couldn’t help inhaling and putting his arms around her. Her bosom squeezed against his chest, all soft and voluptuous, that he couldn’t help holding her tighter.
Oh no. This wasn’t the time or place to get a boner, but what could any healthy, red-blooded Santa Claus do when sex-in-a-pot was overflowing his lap?
[END OF EXCERPT, to read more, please buy Santa’s Pet.]
Meet Rachelle
Rachelle Ayala is a USA Today bestselling author of dramatic romantic suspense and humorous contemporary romances. Her heroines are feisty and her heroes big-hearted. She writes sweet and funny stories, and believes in the power of love and hope. She is the winner of multiple awards, including the 2015 Angie Ovation Award for best Multicultural Romance with Knowing Vera and the 2015 Readers’ Favorite Gold Award for best Christian Romance with A Father for Christmas. In 2016, Christmas Stray won a Readers’ Favorite Gold Award and A Pet for Christmas got an Honorable Mention. Another gold award came in 2017, with Playing for the Save, in Realistic Fiction.
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Reading List
Contemporary Romance: Bad Boys for Hire Series
Bad Boys for Hire - Ryker Terri Martin gets caught in the middle of a m
otorcycle club vendetta when she tries to hire a biker for her birthday date.
Bad Boys for Hire - Ken
After Jolie Becker is left at the altar, her friends secretly hire a hunky beach bum to cheer her up.
Bad Boys for Hire: Nick, This Christmas, paraplegic Carol Cassidy is caught between the naughty and the nice: a hired Santa and a disabled firefighter.
Sweet Romance: Have A Hart Romance Series
Christmas Lovebirds Can two little lovebirds and Christmas cheer open Melisa’s heart to giving Rob another chance?
Valentine Hound Dog A fashion designer and her basset hound puppy convince a burned ex-firefighter that beauty is never skin deep and neither is love.
Spring Fling Kitty A stray cat shows a fire chief and his fiancee’s sister that doing the wrong thing is sometimes right when it comes to love.
Blue Chow Christmas Brian and Cait have been married for twelve years, but their secrets could blow them apart. Can two lost chow dogs and a special boy open their feelings up for true love and commitment?
Valentine Wedding Hound Jenna loses sight of the true meaning of her wedding when she signs up for a reality show full of tricks and dares.
Summer Love Puppy Can love rebuild a ruined past? Grady and Linx share more than a hidden dog and devastating secrets.
Dog Days of Love Nessa has a doctorate. Dale is a dropout. Can a woman looking for Mr. Perfect fall for a happy-go-lucky Mr. Wrong?
Sports Romances
Played by Love, A soccer star dons nerd glasses to score a anime fangirl who won't date jocks.
Playing the Rookie, A rookie pitcher and a sports intern on the rebound connect to get over their exes.
Roaring Hot! A playboy motorcycle racer hires an aspiring actress when he is challenged by his grandmother to bring a real girlfriend to her birthday party.
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