Christmas Magic (5 page)

“Are you ready for your fourth trip around the world?” she asked with a smile when he let her step away.

Nodding, he answered, “I am. I’ve checked the list twice. Blake reported that the toys are ready to go. All that’s left is the change, and I feel that coming.”

It was true. The tingles up and down his spine had started a few minutes earlier.

Sadie nodded. “All right. I’m going to meet your parents and mine down at the stables. We’ll see you there, yeah?”

He kissed her once more. “Front and center,” he told her, raising an eyebrow. “I want you all where I can see you.”

She grinned, nodding. “You got it.” With one last kiss, she said, “Love you, Luke.”

“Love you too,” he told her before she turned and left the bedroom, closing the door behind her.

Luke finished his hot chocolate, and not ten minutes later, he felt the wash of magic come over him. He closed his eyes, letting the last of the tingles fall away. When he opened them, he looked in the mirror and shook his head.

He’d asked his dad how long it had taken for him to get used to seeing Santa Claus looking back at him instead of Donald Taylor, and he’d said, “You never will, son. That’s part of the magic of Christmas. Every year, it feels brand new and exciting.” So far, he’d been right. It was shocking to not see Luke Taylor when he looked into the mirror, but he was excited and ready to go make all the Christmas wishes come true.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, he realized he needed to hurry so he’d have time to say good-bye to his family before he had to leave with the reindeer. He quickly pulled the red suit on, sliding his feet into the black boots and adding his red cap with the white cotton poof at the end, finally reaching for the spectacles in the back of the top dresser drawer. Outfit complete, he turned and left the house.

When he got to the stables, the reindeer were all hooked up. He took a moment to speak to each one of them. They couldn’t respond, but each gave a nod of understanding and thanks when he wished them a good flight. Then he turned to face the crowd.

He waved, smiling at the cheering elves, and then let his gaze freeze on the most beautiful sight in the world. His parents and Sadie’s were standing on either side of his wife, and in her arms was Ethan, a boisterous, adorable fifteen-month-old.

His family.

With a wink and a wave, he climbed into the sleigh.

Grasping the reins, he whistled and then called out loudly, “Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On, Cupid! On, Donner and Blitzen!”

He could see the reindeer readying themselves, and after a moment, he gave one last cry of, “Lead the way, Rudolph!”

They flew away in a wash of Christmas magic.

“Am I gonna be Santa?”

Luke smiled when the little voice of three-year-old Ethan sounded from near his thigh. He looked down to see his son’s face scrunched up. After setting down the book that contained the list of good children and bad, he scooped Ethan up into his arms and set him on the work table in front of him. Pushing a lock of his son’s red hair off his face, Luke nodded. “Sure are, buddy. Someday, when I’m like PawPaw and decide to spend time with your mommy and not work, then you’ll become Santa.”

Ethan frowned, poked at his pointed ear, and then reached out to touch Luke’s, rubbing his finger across the rounded top. “Why you no have da points?”

Chuckling, Luke explained about the difference between elves and Santa. “So your ears will be like mine in a few years, not like Mama’s.”

His son looked sad. “Mama be aw awone.”

Luke shook his head. “No, she won’t. Remember the baby in Mama’s tummy? Annabeth? She’ll have ears like Mama’s forever.”

Ethan brightened. “Oh yeah! When’s she comin’, Daddy?”

“Soon, kiddo. Just a few days.”

“Otay!” He looked around, kicking his feet. “Down, Daddy! I wanna pway in da snow. Pway snowbaws wif me?”

“You want to have a snowball fight?” Luke smiled, reaching out and poking his son’s belly teasingly. “You think you can take me?”

Ethan nodded frantically. “I beated you tomowwow!”

Luke laughed then, picking Ethan up and swinging him to the floor. “You beat me yesterday, not tomorrow.”

“Yeah. Dat’s what I said. C’mon! I wace you!” Ethan ran out of the room, leaving Luke to shake his head and follow his son out.

“Coat!” Sadie’s voice rang out from the other room. “Ethan Donald Taylor, boots, coat, and gloves before you open that door.”

Luke grinned when his son’s resigned voice reached him. “Otay, Mama.”

By the time he walked into the living room, where Sadie was curled up on the couch in front of the fire, he could see Ethan struggling to pull his snow boots on. “Are my girls feeling okay?” he asked, squatting down beside her and reaching up to tuck a lock of curly red hair behind her ear.

She nodded, smiling. “We’re good. She’s sleeping.”

“Come. On!” Ethan called loudly. “I wanna pway!”

“Go,” Sadie said with a smile. “Our son missed you yesterday.”

Luke leaned in and kissed his wife soundly before pressing a gentle kiss to her rounded belly. “We’ll be right outside if you need me.”

With one last glance at his wife, he turned and made his way to his son. “You ready, buddy?” When Ethan nodded while trying to pull on his second glove, Luke helped him and then slid his feet into his boots and grabbed his own coat and gloves. “Let’s go, kiddo.”

“Yay!” Ethan sprinted off as soon as the door opened, and Sadie’s quiet laughter followed as Luke shut the door behind them.

When the bell above the workshop door chimed, Sadie’s gaze swung to the entrance as everything within her hoped that it was her family. Instead, Blake and Evan came through the door, taking pretend swings at one another and laughing.

“Boys,” Whitney said, rolling her eyes.

When they got a little too rambunctious and bumped into Sadie’s table, making the dollhouse she was working on wobble precariously, Lia put her thumb and pointer finger to her lips. It was funny to watch Whitney, tiny little thing she was, step between the two much larger men. Between that and Lia’s piercing whistle, their roughhousing came to a standstill after one last shove by Evan at Blake over Whitney’s shoulder.

“Apologize to Sadie,” Lia ordered Blake, who looked sheepish.

“Sorry, Sadie,” he said, and his grin was so infectious, Sadie couldn’t help but chuckle.

“Yeah, sugar, sorry,” Evan echoed.

Sadie shook her head, unable to be upset, especially since the toy was fine. “No worries,” she promised.

They smiled again before turning back to their wives, while her thoughts wandered to her family. She missed being at home with her babies, but such was the life of an elf—even one who was Mrs. Claus. Work was light for the first few months of the year, but in June, they were busy making all the toys for all the boys and girls around the world. She’d been lucky that Annabeth had been born the last day of December, so she’d had a few months that she could actually stay home with her and not feel guilty. Now, though, Sadie had to be at work. Whitney and Lia, whose kids were all grown, had assured her that was normal. Still, it made her anxious to be away from Ethan and Anna.

As if the thoughts of her family conjured them from thin air, the bell chimed again and a mischievous little face peeked around the edge of the door. With red hair and green eyes, much like Sadie’s, their almost-four-year-old was every bit a mama’s boy.

“Mama!” Ethan called, racing over to her and jumping into her arms, hugging her neck tight.

“Hey, baby.” Sadie nuzzled his neck, making him laugh and squirm. “How was your morning with Daddy?” She looked around, not seeing Luke. “Where is Daddy? Did you leave him and Anna at home?”

Ethan giggled. “No. Dey stopped to talk to PawPaw.”

As Ethan chattered on about his morning—“I pwayed wif cwayons, Mama!”—her gaze roamed over his face, and she smoothed his hair back from his forehead. His pointy little elf ears poked out from his head, and she took a moment to savor them. Because of his daddy’s familial line, once he hit puberty, they would reshape themselves almost overnight, becoming much more human-like. She wasn’t looking forward to that day, since it would mean he was growing up.

“Is this a private party, or can anyone join in?” her husband’s smooth voice called softly from behind her.

Ethan laughed. “Daddy, we not havin’ a pawty!”

Luke chuckled, leaning in to kiss Sadie’s cheek before passing her the baby and then scooping their son into his arms, dangling him upside down by his feet. “Sounded like it to me,” he said, swinging Ethan gently and making him squeal.

Sadie turned her focus to Annabeth and smiled as her daughter’s lashes fluttered. If Ethan was a little-boy version of Sadie, Anna was every bit her daddy, with blond curls, blue eyes, and a smile that would melt hearts. Her tiny ears were pointed, and since she was a girl, they would remain so.

Lowering her head, Sadie brushed a kiss across her daughter’s cheek, offering her finger for Anna to grasp on to.

“Down, Daddy!” Ethan squealed, laughing when Luke flipped him to his feet. He took off across the workshop to where Blake and Evan were looking at some of the finished toys in the corner. “Unca Bake! Unca Ewan! I wanna pway!”

Smiling, Sadie shook her head, but she knew Whitney and Lia would keep the toys safe from the three of them.

When Luke stepped up and wrapped his arms around her, Sadie looked back at him over her shoulder. “Hi,” she murmured, accepting his kiss.

“Hi, sweetheart,” he said against her lips, grinning when Anna gave a cry. “I think she’s hungry. I didn’t bring a bottle, since I knew we were coming here and you’d wanna feed her.”

She nodded. “I’ll take her back to the office. We can go eat after.”

Luke smiled and turned to their friends. “Keep an eye on him for us? Sadie needs to feed Annabeth.”

Whitney and Lia smiled.

“Yeah, of course,” Whitney said. “We’ll play with Ethan.”

“Yeah, Aunt Whit!” Ethan called from his position on the floor of the workshop, where he was putting a doll in the kitchen of the dollhouse he was playing with. “Come pway wif us!”

Chuckling, Sadie shook her head and stood, moving immediately to the back of the workshop, to the small, rarely used office.

As she settled onto the couch with Luke at her side and Anna at her breast, she drew in a deep breath, feeling peace settle over her. She had a wonderful husband, two beautiful children, great friends, and an amazing life as one of Santa’s elves, not to mention being Mrs. Claus.

A girl couldn’t ask for anything more.

Acknowledgments

This novella came to life first as a fanfiction story just a couple of weeks before Christmas 2013. The idea of a man suddenly becoming Santa Claus, but only one day a year, intrigued me, and the words just poured out of me from there. The magic of the North Pole, the magic of the idea of Santa Claus, was so much fun to play with because really, there were no limitations. It ended up being something I’m incredibly proud of because it truly gave me back that magical feeling of Christmas that I had when I was a kid.

The book wouldn’t have come about without some special people. First and foremost, without the support, love, and friendship from Deb Rotuno and Cara Wilson, I wouldn’t have found my passion in writing and editing. Thank you, ladies. From being my greatest cheerleaders, to writing beside me, to exchanging thousands of e-mails and messages, you’ve been there for me, and I can’t imagine doing this without you. I love you both!

To the Twilight and Janet Evanovich fandoms… You gave me a home for my creative endeavors and kept me entertained through hospital stays, long nights, and days off. The ladies I’ve met have become friends, and I will always cherish that. Many of these women have read my stories, offered critiques and suggestions, and been a huge support system: Pamela, Amy (Nolebucgrl), Bethy, MsKathy, Tkegl, Mina Rivera, and many more. Thank you to all of you, as well!

And finally, to Coreen, who never hesitates when I ask for help or something beautiful. You’re fantabulous, and I love you.

Santa, his reindeer, elves… All things good and fun and…well, magical. I hope this story takes you back to your childhood and the innocence that comes with Christmas magic.