Santa's Posse (12 page)

“Oh, sorry!” he exclaimed
with a wince, and then grinned at the absurdity of the scene in front of him. 
He spread his hands in question.

“What?” Kellie
said.  “Never seen a replica of Santa’s Workshop before?”

“Who’s your
friend?” he asked with a laugh, nodding toward the purple bear.

She suddenly
remembered she was presently sitting on the lap of the stuffed animal.  She
could easily envision how ridiculous she looked.  She hurriedly explained her
current predicament and then said testily, “This is all
your
fault, you
know.”

He burst out
laughing.  “
This
is my fault?”   

“You told Dolores
the drill sergeant that I’d make a perfect procurement specialist.”

“Well, I didn’t
say that exactly,” he pointed out.  “As I tried to tell you before, she took me
by surprise as much as she did you.”

“Sure,” she said
dubiously, and suddenly found herself slipping down the Teddy bear’s legs.  She
struggled to pull herself up, but it wasn’t easy.  She clutched at the desk
top, clawing at the hard surface in hopes of stopping her undignified descent
to the floor.

“Careful there,”
Miles cautioned, and then forced back a smile.  “Need any help?”

“I think … I’ve
got it,” she said in a surly tone, as she shifted in the seat and pulled
herself up with a superhuman strength.  Once again, she was balanced
precariously on the bear’s lap.  The stuffed beast suddenly dislodged from the
chair.  This time, it began to slide down the front of the chair, taking her
with it.  “Now, I could use a hand!” she cried. 

Miles took a step
closer to the desk and reached across to take her hand.  He pulled her upright
and then held firm as she high-stepped it over the toys.  When she reached him,
he surprised her by pulling her close to him.  She was startled by the gesture
and pulled back to see his face.  Unfortunately, her sudden movement put him
off balance.  He took an unsteady step back, tripped over a toy, and suddenly, the
twosome toppled over and landed together in a tangled heap. 

As if on cue, Jill
entered the room with Mr. William’s phone number, surprised to see her boss
splayed out on the floor atop the commander.  Wordlessly and gingerly, she kicked
stuffed toys out of her way and placed the phone number on Kellie’s desk.  “Here’s
that number you asked for,” she said softly, and then with a nod, turned and
left the room.

Miles burst out
laughing as Jill struggled to tug the door closed behind her. 

“This isn’t funny!”
Kellie declared. 

He reared up on
his elbow and glanced down into her indignant face.  To her shock, he smoothed
a hand across her brow, and then leaned in and gave her a brief kiss on the
lips.  “Better?” he asked when he pulled back.

“Better?” she
repeated bemusedly, as she struggled to sit upright.  Unfortunately, she
couldn’t manage to gain purchase on the industrial flooring, but instead
grasped a plush toy.  It slid across the floor, as she simultaneously fell back. 
Her head struck the commercial grade carpet with a resounding thunk. 

“Kellie!”

“My head,” she
moaned in response. 

“Ah, shoot,” he
said with a wince.  “That’s gotta hurt.  Don’t move.” 

“I don’t think I
can.”

To her horror, he
began probing the back of her head with his hand, and then sighed.  “You have a
doorknob-sized knot on your head.”

“What else is
new?” she muttered.

He grimaced and
watched her with concern.  “Does anything else hurt?”

“Just my dignity,”
she said with a groan.  “Just my dignity.”

“The bears and
other toys have been evicted from your office,” Miles announced cheerfully as
he dropped into the chair across from Kellie.  She was sitting at a table in
the food court with an ice pack pressed to the back of her head.  Several mall
employees and patrons alike watched her with interest. 

“That’s good,” she
said. 

He raised a
clarifying finger.  “Also, Mr. Williams is deeply sorry for leaving your office
in disarray.  He mentioned something about having received a huge delivery of
new toys and needing the space, so…” 

“Yeah, that’s what
Jill said before,” she murmured.

He spread his
hands wide.  “Anyway, he said he felt he had no choice but to leave the toys in
your office.  He said he hadn’t expected to arrive there and find the place empty,
and was sorry he hadn’t been able to warn you that there were so many toys.”

She nodded.  Her
head was throbbing.  She had a sneaking suspicion the incident with Mr.
Williams purported challenging things to come courtesy of her involvement with
Santa’s Posse. 

“How do you feel?”
Miles asked.

 “I’ll live,” she told
him.  “Where’d you put the toys?”

“We have a large
conference room at the precinct.  We put them in there.”

“What if you
should need the space?”

“We’ll cross that
bridge when we come to it.”  He glanced at his watch.  “It’s nearly quitting
time for you, isn’t it?”

She nodded. 
“Praise the Lord.”

“Any plans for the
evening?” he inquired, watching her hopefully.

She shrugged. 
“Not that I can remember.” 

His eyes widened
in concern.  “How many fingers am I holding up?”

She only shrugged
in response.  Frankly, she didn’t care how many fingers he was holding up.

“Kellie!” he said,
straightening in the chair.  “What day is it?”

She waved a
dismissive hand.  “I’m fine!  Just tired.”

“I was going to
ask you to dinner, but maybe you should go home and get some rest.  You don’t
look so good.”

“A concussion
takes a lot out of a person,” she said drolly.

“That’s it!  We’re
heading to the hospital.”

She shook her
head, mustering a chuckle.  “I’m fine.  Tired, but fine.”

“But your head…”

“I’ve had worse…” 
She furrowed her brows in thought, and then roused herself.  “One time…”

“Don’t remind me,”
he groaned.

“I’m not talking
about
that
time,” she assured him, and then stood up.  “I need to get
back to work.”

“You’re not going
home…?”

“Just a few loose
ends to tie up at the workshop, and then I’ll head on home.”

He chuckled. 
“Would it be all right if…?”

“Yes?”

“May I stop by
later and check on you?  I can pick up a pizza.”

“That sounds
great,” she said, meaning it.  She had no interest in trying to figure out what
to cook for dinner.    

“Good,” he said
with a grin.  “See you later.”

The two headed to
their respective offices, but she hadn’t yet made it back when Dolores
approached, harried and obviously excited.  “Kellie, good news!” she declared. 
“We have hams!”

She shook her head
confusedly.  “We have … hams?”

“That’s right,”
the woman said delightedly.  “Typically, Santa’s Posse delivers turkeys to our
needy families, but this year…”

“Yes?”

“This year, we
have hams too!”

“Okaaay, good,” she
said, and then resumed walking toward her office.

Dolores fell into
step beside her.  “Of course, as our procurement specialist, you’ll have to
pick them up and find a place to keep them until delivery day.  We’ll need a
refrigerator.”  She spread her arms wide.  “A big refrigerator.” 

Kellie came to an
abrupt halt and shook her head confusedly.  “Um, who has the hams?”

“A market over on
Fifth.  I’m sure you know the place,” she said.  “O’Callahan’s.”

“I think I know the
place.  But … can’t they store the hams for us until delivery day.”  She shook
her head.  “How many hams did you say they have for us?”

Dolores grinned. 
“They’re donating one hundred fifty.  Can you believe it?  We already have over
two hundred turkeys, so we’ll be able to provide holiday meals to at least
three hundred fifty families.”

She emitted a long
breath.  “Wow!” she said finally. 

“Unfortunately,
the store is unable to store the hams for us, since they just don’t have the
shelf space.  You’ll need to pick them up day after tomorrow.  Before five, of
course.  That’s when the manager goes home for the day.”

Kellie shook her
head, attempting to process what Dolores was telling her.  Perhaps the blow to
the back of her head had dulled her senses.  Had she just said she needed to
pick up one hundred fifty hams and find a place to store them by the day after
next?

“Dolores, I’m not
sure if…”

Before she could
finish her sentence, the woman thrust a piece of paper at her.  “Now, you’ll
find all the information you need on this piece of paper.  Don’t forget to add
it to the packet of information I’ve already given you.”  She paused and gave her
a speculative glance.  “You have gone over all the information…?”

With all the hours
she was spending at work, she hadn’t actually finished going through the
information as yet.  “Well…”

“Look,” Dolores
said with authority.  “Santa’s Posse is serious business.  You volunteered to
be our procurement specialist.  The commander assured me you’re the right woman
for the job.  If you can’t handle it…”

Volunteered
? 
Kellie was about to argue that point, when another thought struck her.  Oh,
praise the Lord, she thought. 
An out
.  Dolores had just given her an
out.

“Well, the truth
is,” Kellie said, “I really don’t have a lot of free time right now, having
just started a new job.  And I’ve just moved.  Well, you know how that is.” 
She gave a sad smile, as if it pained her to forfeit her
volunteer
position.  “The truth is, I’m probably not the right person for the job.”

“Nonsense,”
Dolores scoffed.  “You’ll do fine.  You just need to get with the program.” 
With that declaration, she hurried off toward the precinct. 

Kellie stood still
as a statue, watching after her. 
Get with the program?
 
One hundred fifty
hams!
  What was she going to do with all those hams until delivery day? 
And how was she supposed to pick them up.  She didn’t own a truck.  She would
have to rent a truck.  Where in this town did one rent trucks?  And where the
heck did one find trucks with refrigeration units for people who suddenly found
themselves with truckloads of meat?

She was still
pondering the questions when Miles arrived at her condo.  He was dressed in
civilian clothing, and looked great in his jeans and t-shirt.  She accepted the
pizza from him, smiling her distracted thanks, and deposited it on the kitchen
island.

She turned quickly
to pull two sodas from the refrigerator, and then placed them on her newly
purchased dinette table beside two plates she’d already placed there.  After
retrieving the pizza, she urged him to sit.  She followed suit, dropping onto
the chair across from him with a fatigued thud.

He opened the
pizza box and watched her with concern as he passed her a slice of Canadian bacon
and pineapple pizza.  He quickly registered the tautness that sharpened her
features, apparently at the sight of the pizza.  He frowned.  “You don’t like
Canadian bacon?” he inquired. “I’d be happy to call in an order for something
different.”

She glanced at him
with alarm.  “Oh, no, I like it … fine.”

He chuckled
uncertainly.  “That’s hardly a ringing endorsement.  Really, I can get you
something else.”

“No, no,” she
said, shaking her head, and then registering that her odd behavior was
apparently upsetting him.   “No, the pizza is fine,” she assured him.  “It just
… reminded me of … ham.”

He gave her a
quizzical glance.  “You don’t like ham?” 

She shook her
head, and then nodded, realizing she was confusing the poor man.  “No, I mean,
yes, I like ham just fine.  It’s just, well, Dolores…”

“Uh, oh,” he said,
dropping his pizza onto the plate and giving her his undivided attention. 
“This can’t be good.”

“Well, I mean, it
depends on how you look at it.  It is … good—for Santa’s Posse, but not
especially good for … me.”

“Fill me in,” he
urged, his gaze fixed on her face.

She explained her
predicament.  He promptly fell back against the back of the chair.  “Huh,” he
said.

Kellie found
herself watching his face when it became evident he was deep in thought—no
doubt attempting to help her solve her problem.  She stared in fascination at
his crisp blue eyes, and could easily envision the wheels turning behind them. 
When he reached up to stroke his strong, clean-shaven jaw, her eyes lit on his
lips.  They were well-formed, masculine.  Suddenly, she couldn’t help wondering
what it would be like to kiss those lips—not a brief, brush of his lips against
hers like he’d done in the past, but a real kiss.

She nearly
launched out of her chair when he cleared his throat.  Her cheeks flamed red
when she realized he’d noticed her staring at him as if she were … hungry and
he was a … ham.

He had the good
graces to refrain from commenting on her odd behavior, but instead offered a
possible solution to her problem.  “Okay, the first order of business is
finding a way to transport the hams.  I would guess we’ll need a truck with a
refrigeration system, in order to adhere to strict codes relating to the
transport of food.  And then we’ll need to find a place or places to store the
hams…”

He continued after
a long pause, “I’m fairly confident that several of the restaurants in the food
court will allow us to store hams on the premises.  If we store, say ten or
fifteen at each location, then we shouldn’t overwhelm any one location and take
up valuable storage space they might need.”  He met her gaze and winced.  “I
have no clue where we can get a hold of a truck…”  He slid his jaw to the side
briefly, in what she decided was a worried gesture, but then he perked up. 
“You know what, let’s not think about this tonight.  I’ll talk to some people
tomorrow and see what we can figure out.”