Santa' Wayward Elf (24 page)

That explained why Mendike had said the things he had. Sosie
studied the wadded up tissue in her hands. “Does my mother still live in South
Dakota with my father?”

Santa let out a heavy sigh. “Sosie dear, your mother left
the North Pole to be with your father almost sixty years ago. They’ve both
passed on now.”

“Passed on?” She shook her head. “I don’t understand.”

“As soon as your mother left the North Pole and gave up her
elfin life to be with your father, she started aging as a human ages.” He
reached out to cover her hand with his big mitten-covered one. “But she and
your father had a long, happy life together, Sosie, and she never regretted
what she had to give up.”

Sosie nodded, but the tears came all the same. Learning her
mother was gone on top of losing Derek was almost too much to deal with.

Santa slipped his fingers beneath her chin and gently lifted
her chin. “Would you do that for this man Derek, Sosie? Would you be willing to
grow old and die with him? Would you give up all the things that make you an
elf?” He reached up to brush the hair back from her ears. “Like these cute
pointed ears of yours.”

“Of course, I would,” she said. “I would give anything to
spend one more hour with him. But it doesn’t matter what I’d give. Derek is so
badly hurt, and though the doctors haven’t said anything to me, I know he’s not
going to make it.”

Just saying the words out loud brought fresh tears to her
eyes. One trickled down her cheek and Santa lifted his hand to tenderly wipe it
away.

“I wouldn’t be too sure of that,” he said.

“W-what do you mean?”

Santa didn’t answer. Instead, he leaned forward to kiss her
on the forehead. Then he put his finger to the side of his nose and gave her a
wink. “Elfin magic, Sosie. Don’t ever forget it.” He stood up, getting to his
feet faster and more nimbly than he should have been able to for a man his
size. “I’ll miss you up there in the workshop.”

Sosie looked up at him, bewildered by his words. “I don’t
understand.”

But Santa was already walking down the hallway.

She would have chased after him, but right then the door to
the operating room swung open and one of the doctors came out. Even though she
feared the worst, Sosie hurried over to stand with Aaron and Tony so she could
hear what the man had to say.

“How is he?” she asked.

“It was touch-and-go in there for a while considering he
lost a tremendous amount of blood, but we’ve got bullet out and the bleeding
stopped.” The doctor’s mouth curved into a tired smile. “He’s not out of the
woods yet, and he has a long recovery ahead of him, but I think he’s going to
make it. It’s nothing short of a miracle.”

Sosie didn’t know why, especially since she was so
incredibly happy, but at the man’s words, she burst into tears again. After all
the crying she’d done, she wouldn’t have thought there were any left. Suddenly
remembering what Santa said about elfin magic, she turned to see if he was
still around so she could thank him, but he was nowhere to be seen.

Chapter Thirteen

Sosie had to restrain herself from jumping on the bed and
smothering Derek with kisses when he finally woke up the next day. She knew he was
still too weak for that, so instead she hurried over to the side of his
hospital bed and took his hand in hers.

He blinked up at her with sleep-laden eyes. “Sosie.”

Even dry and hoarse, his voice was the most beautiful sound
she’d ever heard. Tears of happiness stung her eyes and she blinked them back
as she gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m right here, sweetheart.”

He looked around, his eyes clouding with confusion as he
took in the drab walls and dingy curtains. “Where am I?”

“You’re in a medical facility.” She sat down on the side of the
bed. “You were shot.”

His frown deepened as if trying to recall what had happened
the night before. “By the captain, right?”

She nodded. “You don’t remember?”

“I remember hearing him admit to being a dirty cop and
trying to kill you, but I don’t remember much after shooting him. Not much of
anything that makes sense, anyway.” He shook his head. “I remember someone
saying something about elves, of all things. Elves and the North Pole. I must
have been hallucinating, I guess.”

The way Derek was looking at her made Sosie think he was
silently asking her to tell him he wasn’t crazy. She could have agreed with
him, told him he’d been delusional because of the gunshot wound. He would have
laughed and that would have been the end of it. But not telling him the truth
when she’d had the chance earlier had almost cost her everything. She wasn’t
going to make that mistake again.

“Sosie, honey, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing’s wrong.” She tried to give him a reassuring smile,
but couldn’t quite manage it, so she caught her lower lip between her teeth
instead. “I need to tell you something, but I’m afraid.”

He frowned again. “Afraid? Why?”

Tears clogged her throat and she swallowed hard. “I’m afraid
if I tell you, it will ruin everything between us, and I couldn’t handle that.
Not after almost losing you.”

He reached up to cup her cheek. “Honey, you could never ruin
what we have together. I love you.”

A tear escaped to trickle down her cheek at the tenderness
in his voice. “I love you, too. That’s why I’m so afraid.”

“Honey, please. I hate to see you cry.” He wiped away the
wetness on her cheek with his thumb. “You can tell me anything, you know that.
I don’t care what that guy said about you in Saldino’s restaurant. I don’t care
what crimes you’ve committed or who you worked for before you met me. All that’s
in the past. What matters is what we have right now.”

Sosie chewed on her lower lip. He thought she was a
criminal. It’d be so much simpler to go ahead and admit to that. Certainly a
lot easier for him to believe. But she couldn’t lie to him anymore.

“I’m an elf.”

The words were out before she realized she’d said them. She
held her breath, waiting for him to say something, but he only looked confused.
Then he chuckled.

“An elf? Right. That’s a good one.”

Sosie frowned. He thought she was joking. “Derek, I’m being
serious. I’m an elf. As in one of Santa’s elves. From the North Pole.”

Derek grinned. “Like the kind of elves I hallucinated about
in the alley, right? Aaron and Tony heard me talking in my sleep and put you up
to this, didn’t they?”

Figgy. He still didn’t believe her.

“You weren’t hallucinating, Derek. I’m an elf. A real
honest-to-goodness elf from Santa’s workshop. I was on my way to the South Pole
when the transport sled broke down across from the club where you were working.
I heard the music and decided to do some exploring while they were fixing the
transport. I was having such a good time dancing that I forgot all about my
fellow elves and by the time I ran outside, the transport had left. I fully
intended to go back home when they sent a rescue party for me, but then I met
you and I fell in love, and I didn’t want to go back anymore.”

Derek laughed again. “Okay, babe, I like a good joke as much
as the next guy, but you can stop now. You can tell Aaron and Tony that they
got me.”

Sosie had known he’d be skeptical, but she hadn’t expected
him to think she was playing a practical joke on him. There was only one thing
to do. Reaching up, she pushed her hair back to reveal her pointed ears.

Derek didn’t seem shocked by them, or even surprised. “Okay,
you have pointed ears.”

“Elves have pointed ears.”

He shrugged. “So do a lot of people.”

“No, they don’t. Only elves have pointed ears.” She sighed,
frustrated. “Derek, don’t you remember when you first met me, and how I said
and did all those strange things, like talk to the horses in Central Park? I
didn’t know what a nightclub or a cab or a hotel were. I’d never been on a
subway before and I had no idea what you were talking about when you told me
you were a detective. Figgy, I didn’t know what any of the food at the
Christmas party was, or what beer and soda were. Derek, I didn’t know anything
about your world, except what I learned on
The Polar Evening News
, and
most of that wasn’t accurate.”

Derek didn’t say anything. He didn’t have to. The range of
emotions that crossed his face spoke volumes. Amusement was slowly replaced by
confusion, which gave way to amazement and finally realization.

“You’re not joking, are you?”

She shook her head.

“You’re really an elf?”

She nodded.

“I’ll be damned.” There was awe in his voice. “When I saw
your ears the other night, I never dreamed you were an elf. Hell, I didn’t know
elves existed.”

She covered her ears with her hair again, suddenly
self-conscious. “You saw my ears?”

“When you fell asleep on the couch waiting for me to come
home the other night. I pushed your hair back to kiss you and saw them.”

“They didn’t disgust you?”

“Of course not.” His mouth curved. “I think they’re cute.”

She blushed. “I was afraid you’d think they were ugly. I’m
glad you don’t. Not that it matters, since they won’t be pointy for much
longer.”

“What do you mean? You’re not planning to get plastic
surgery or something, are you?”

“No, of course not. Why would anyone get surgery done with
plastic? Santa said if I stay here with you, I’ll have to give up everything
that makes me an elf, including my pointy ears. After a while, they’ll be as
round as everyone else’s.”

Derek let out a breath. “Santa, huh? Knowing elves are real
is one thing, but knowing he’s real is going to take some getting used to.
That’s who the short guy at Saldino’s restaurant works for, isn’t it?”

“He did.”

“From what he said, Santa doesn’t seem like the jolly, old
elf the stories make him out to be.”

She couldn’t help but smile at the description. Santa wasn’t
an elf, but she didn’t correct Derek. “Actually, he’s as jolly as the stories
make him out to be and more. Mendike—the elf you saw at the restaurant—was
acting on his own. He had reasons for wanting me back that had nothing to do with
Santa.”

At the questioning look on Derek’s face, she explained what
Santa had told her about Mendike and her mother, and how her mother had fallen
in love with her father, then subsequently left the North Pole to be with him.

“You’re more like half-elf then,” Derek said when she’d
finished.

“I suppose so.” She chewed on her lower lip. “Are you sure
you don’t mind?”

“That you’re part elf?” He reached up to cup her cheek
again. “Honey, I love you. I’d love you if you told me you were an alien from
another planet.”

“You’re not just saying that?”

“No, I’m not just saying that. Now, stop being so foolish
and come here.”

Derek didn’t wait for her to obey, but instead pulled her
down on top of him. Sosie opened her mouth to tell him he’d tear his stitches,
but he silenced her with a long, lingering kiss.

“If I wasn’t in this hospital bed, I’d have your clothes off
in ten seconds,” he growled.

She laughed, the words sending a surge of arousal through
her body. “But you are in a hospital bed, which means you need rest. And
sleep.”

“Wait a minute,” he said as she leaned over to adjust his
pillow. “You can’t leave me hanging after dropping that bomb on me.”

She frowned down at him. “I didn’t drop anything on you.”

“It’s a figure of speech. I mean that you can’t announce
you’re an elf, then not tell me about your life in the North Pole.”

“Oh.” She smiled. “That’s a long story and one I promise to
tell you after you get some rest.”

He didn’t look pleased with her decision, but didn’t
protest. He caught his hand in hers. “You’ll be here when I wake up, right?”

“Of course.” She leaned over to kiss him tenderly on the
mouth. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

Chapter Fourteen

Sosie surveyed her reflection in the full-length mirror,
taking in the beautiful, white wedding gown. She’d wanted to wear red and
green, especially since it was Christmas Eve, but Tracee and Linda had insisted
white would be more appropriate. Since the two women were rarely—if ever—appropriate
themselves, she decided she should probably listen to them this time.

It was hard to believe she’d met Derek a year ago on this
very night. So much had happened since then that everything that had come
before it seemed like another lifetime. In a way, she supposed it was.

Things had been crazy since Derek had gotten out of the
hospital. He’d been in there two very long weeks, during which she’d never left
his side. As a result, they’d had lots of time to talk. True to her word, she’d
told him all about her life up in the North Pole. Derek made it seem as if he was
taking it in stride, but she could see the surprise and wonder on his face as
she described how magical Snow City was. She’d fully expected him to ask her to
take him there so he could see it for himself, but he didn’t. As much as she
would have liked to show him around Snow City and Santa’s workshop, there was
no way she could. Outsiders weren’t allowed inside the city—even if they were
married to an elf.

Tracee and Linda had visited Derek in the hospital, along
with everyone else in the apartment building. The women had been thrilled to
hear she was staying, but were upset when she’d told them she’d lose her
elfness—specifically her pointed ears. They’d immediately taken out their cell
phones to take pictures, insisting she should have plenty of photos to remember
them by. Sosie tried to tell them it wasn’t a big deal—they were just ears, for
figgy’s sake—but even Derek wanted to make sure she had pictures.

Derek’s family and friends weren’t the only visitors. Nearly
every cop in the city had stopped by to see him while he’d been recovering.
Aaron and Tony had told her it was to meet her as much as to see Derek.
Apparently, the two men had told everyone how she’d stayed by Derek’s side
after he’d gotten shot, going so far as to use her own body to protect him when
Mendike had been about to kill him. That earned her a lot of points in
everyone’s book. In her opinion, Derek was the hero, and she made sure everyone
knew how he’d gone up against the whole Saldino crime family by himself to
rescue her after the department had turned against him. His superiors had
insisted they’d had his back the whole time, but Derek’s fellow cops didn’t
believe them.