have a fry?”
Hunter hesitated then nodded. He watched carefully to ensure she didn’t sprinkle any poison glitter on his food. She stuck the fry in her pocket then grabbed a handful. Those went into her pocket, too.
“Where is your mother?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” The sad look returned. Her lower lip trembled.
“Don’t,” he warned. “I can legally trade you to the gingerbread people for ginger spice. You don’t want that. I don’t want that. But if you cry, I’ll do it. Understand?”
She swallowed her tears with a nod. “Can I wear your hat?”
He heard a faint jingle, the sound of an incoming text message. Pulse quickening, Hunter pulled out his phone to see a note from the dispatcher at the North Pole.
Santa’s on his way. Estimated time of arrival to your location: 12:39.
“I can’t let a civilian wear part of my official uniform,” Hunter said to the girl.
“Okay. Will you help me find my mama?”
Thus far, she wasn’t acting like an operative of Cupid. There was one more test, though, before he could be certain.
“Yes,” he said slowly. “I will. Come with me.”
Hunter stood. He’d left the food court before he realized she wasn’t following. He retraced his steps. The girl was standing in front of the Christmas tree in the center of the food court, fascinated by the lights and sparkling tinsel.
“Do you know what happens if you don’t listen to an elf?” he asked, arms crossed.
She turned to look up at him. “Gingerbread people?”
“Exactly. Come on.”
He started away. This time, he glanced back as he reached the edge of the food court. Her legs were too small to keep up with him, and she’d fallen behind. Irritated, Hunter retreated one more time.
He picked her up. At once, he noticed her skin was softer than the downy fur of a baby reindeer. She smelled like fresh snow, and her eyes were the color of the summer sky at the North Pole. She seemed as delicate as the winter lilies that bloomed behind Santa’s workshop.
She pulled on one of his ears.
“Don’t do that,” he growled.
Her smile was as sweet as the icing on a sugar cookie. It made him feel funny inside, like icicles melting in spring. He shook the sensation off and strode through the mall, focused on testing her. The girl was quiet, her gaze lingering on anything sparkly, glittering or bright.
When he entered the candy shop, he waited for her reaction. Cupid’s foot soldiers lived off a steady diet of chocolate and candy and viewed things like reindeer food as treats. They had the same reaction to salad that normal human kids did to sweets.
“Candy!” the little girl squealed.
Hunter grimaced. Okay, so she wasn’t an enemy operative. That meant she was probably telling the truth about everything, including not knowing where her mom was. He walked out of the store and saw the tears gather in her eyes. He raised an eyebrow in silent warning.
She took a deep breath but didn’t cry.
“Where’s your father?” he asked.
“Mama says he ran away with a witch.”
“A witch!” he exclaimed. “They’re worse than gingerbread people. You’re lucky she didn’t hex you.”
She nodded solemnly.
“Your mother is here somewhere?”
“Yes,” the girl sighed. “She says there is no Santa, because she is Santa.”
“I might know where she is. Does she have eyes like caramel candy and hair the color of chocolate?”
“Yes.”
The faint jingle again. A quick look at Hunter’s phone confirmed Santa was waiting.
Workshop. Now.
He glanced at the girl in his arms. Before he met his fate, he could at least show her there was a Santa. Maybe then, the sadness in her eyes would be gone. She rested her head on his shoulder, and his grip around her tightened instinctively. Her soft scent and skin made him think he might not mind if Santa fired him. He could hang around at the mall with her instead.
Maybe even see her pretty mother again. More icicles melted inside him.
He smelled Santa’s peppermint glitter before he reached the break room. Hunter took a deep breath and opened the door.
“Hello, Boss,” he said.
The girl gasped at the sight of the man in red. Santa’s dazzling presence took up the whole room, spreading glitter and cheer to every corner. The large man looked from Hunter to the girl.
“Who’s this?” Santa asked, smiling.
“Megan.” There was a hushed note of awe in her voice.
“Megan only wants to ask for one thing for Christmas. Right?” Hunter looked at her hard.
She nodded.
“What can I bring you?” Santa asked.
“I want my mama to smile again,” she whispered.
Hunter felt worse that moment than when he killed the innocent snowman. When had he become so jaded that he suspected every little girl of trying to kill him?
“I can do that, Megan,” Santa said softly. “Now let us talk.”
Megan squirmed. Hunter put her down and opened the door, closing it behind her.
“I take it I’m fired,” he said.
“You are. You’re also banned from the North Pole.”
Hunter sighed. He sat down and rubbed his face.
“But, in light of your years of service,” Santa continued. “I’m going to give you one chance to redeem yourself. Will you accept one last mission?”
“Of course.” Hunter looked up, surprised.
“You must fulfill Megan’s wish.”
“But I’m not Santa. I’m just an elf.”
“You are the only elf who can do this.”
Hunter wasn’t convinced this vague mission was better than a quick death. He thought long and hard. He could bury cinna-bomb mines and tinsel traps in the girl’s front yard to deter --
“Hunter,” Santa sighed. “Stop thinking. Just go out there and be happy.”
Hunter rose and obeyed, lost, now that he had no home and no job. As he stepped outside the break room, he heard the woman’s low, urgent voice lecturing Megan about running off.
Megan saw him and darted forward, exclaiming, “Mama, this is my elf!”
Hunter met the gaze of Megan’s mother. Her cider eyes were rimmed with red, as if she’d been crying while searching for her daughter. The vulnerable shimmering around her was stronger. She seemed like someone who might need a highly-skilled Ninja Elf to help her fight off the witch that stole Megan’s father and might come back for the rest of them.
“- and I got to meet Santa and eat French fries!” Megan finished.
Hunter held the woman’s gaze, dwelling on Santa’s words and Megan’s wish.
“Thanks for finding her,” the woman said at last. “I’m sorry for being mean to you earlier.”
“I don’t blame you for being cautious. Megan told me about the witch,” he replied.
The woman’s face turned pink.
“You met Megan already. I’m Dani,” she said and held out her hand.
Hunter hesitated then made his decision. Drawing himself up, he took her hand. The thrill of Christmas Eve flew through him again, making him more aware of the woman before him than he’d ever been of anyone. He heard her breath catch, an indication she felt it, too.
“My name is Hunter.”
They stood there, hands clasped while they gazed at each other for a quiet moment.
“Mama, can I keep my elf?” Megan asked, breaking the spell.
Hunter glanced down at the little girl. “Only if you return the French fries you stole from me, and your mother agrees.”
Megan dug through her pockets and pulled out a mashed mass of what had been French fries. She handed the mess to him. Hunter released Dani to accept the payment.
“Very well. One half of the bargain,” he conceded, looking at Dani.
Her face turned pinker under his gaze. Hunter liked the flush
of her skin and the glow in her eyes.
“You’re for real, aren’t you?” she asked.
“An elf never jokes about such matters,” he replied.
After studying him a moment, she said to Megan, “Okay, baby, we can keep him. I think.”
Hunter didn’t realize he was holding his breath. At her words, he released it, relieved.
“You want to get coffee or something?” Dani asked him.
He held out his hands. Megan snatched one while Dani reached uncertainly for the other. They started forward. Her touch made his blood burn with the thrill of Christmas Eve. He sensed her sorrow ease and glanced down at her. She was gazing at him: curious, puzzled, hopeful.
Hunter felt the sense of thawing again from somewhere deep inside him.
He squeezed her hand. Very slowly, Dani smiled.
From his other side, Megan squealed again, a sound that could shatter crystal ornaments and perhaps even the icicles inside him. This time, he didn’t mind.
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The Rhyn Trilogy
Katie’s Hellion, Book I (May 2011)
Katie’s Hope, Book II (September 2011)
Rhyn’s Redemption, Book III (March 2012)
Rhyn Eternal Series
Gabriel’s Hope (December 2012)
The War of Gods series
Damian’s Oracle (October 2011)
Damian’s Assassin (November 2011)
Damian’s Immortal (December 2011)
The Grey God (May 2012)
The Foretold Trilogy
Elle’s Journey (December 2011)
Shadow Rising (Winter 2013)
Anshan Saga
Kiera’s Moon (June 2011)
Kiera’s Sun (Spring 2013)
Single-titles
A Demon’s Desire
The Warlord’s Secret
Maddy’s Oasis
Rebel Heart
The Witchling Trilogy
Dark