A Gift for Santa by Beth Carpenter

Author:Beth Carpenter
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2017-01-10T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Christmas Day

THE SCENT OF baking crept into Chris’s dreams. He woke, delighted to discover the aromas of coffee and cinnamon were real. Ursula’s famous cinnamon rolls, no doubt. He was lucky he wasn’t drooling on his pillow. Ursula had driven up from her B and B to spend Christmas with them. She and Dana were in full yuletide mode, towing Chris and Sam along in their wake.

Chris had to admit that Christmas Eve was a lot of fun with Dana in charge. Singing carols, going to midnight mass, even wearing the ridiculous red-and-green-striped sweater Dana insisted he unwrap early. He climbed out of bed, pulled on some jeans and the Christmas sweater, and made his way upstairs. Ursula stood at the kitchen island, frosting the rolls. Sam sprawled in a chair in the living room with Dana curled like a kitten in his lap and Kimmik lying at his feet. Lights flickered on the Christmas tree and carols played in the background.

All they needed to complete the scene was snow. Chris glanced past the holly wreath hanging in the window to brown grass and bare pavement beneath the streetlight, but he noticed a lack of stars in the sky. Snow clouds, maybe?

“Merry Christmas. Coffee’s made.” Ursula smiled at him.

“Merry Christmas, Auntie.” Chris kissed her cheek and dipped his finger in the frosting bowl. She swatted his hand. Ursula had been taking care of Sam since his mother left when he was twelve, and once he and Sam became friends, she’d taken Chris under her wing, as well.

He poured a cup of coffee after licking the cream cheese frosting from his finger. “Yum. Are those almost ready?”

“Earn your keep.” She used a spatula to transfer two rolls to red plates. “Take these to Sam and Dana first, and then you can have one.”

He delivered the rolls, managing to draw Sam and Dana’s attention away from each other long enough to exchange Christmas greetings, and returned to sit at the island.

Ursula plunked a plate with a huge roll in front of him. “I like your reindeer farmers. It’s nice to see such a sweet couple celebrate their anniversary.”

“I know. Oliver and Becky are good people.”

“They have quite a story. Did you know they spent their honeymoon on the Alcan Highway?”

“No, I never heard that.”

“They were engaged, living in Colorado, and wanted to see Alaska, so they both applied for summer jobs at a hotel in Denali. Becky got a job as cook, but they turned Oliver down, so Becky declined. They scheduled their wedding, and then the day before they were to say I do, the hotel offered them both summer work. So right after the reception, they piled into an old camper and drove up. At the end of the summer, they decided they didn’t want to leave.”

“And they never did,” Chris murmured thoughtfully. “Thanks for hosting them. They’re going through some stuff right now, so I’m glad they were able to get away for the weekend and celebrate their anniversary.

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