Santa's Posse (22 page)

“Sooo,” she began
tentatively, “what do you think about Miles?”

Kellie forced back
the haggard sigh that very nearly escaped her lips.  Not another one, she
thought.  Here was yet another person bent on putting her nose in where it
didn’t belong.  “He seems like a nice man,” she said neutrally, subconsciously
picking up her pace.

“But…?”  The woman
smiled, a wide grin exposing perfect teeth.  “I mean, I know I’m being nosy,
but do you like him?”

She took a deep
breath and counted to three.  Who was this person?  Indeed,
who
was
this person
?  “How do you know Miles?” she asked, turning the tables on the
pretty brunette.

She laughed
lightly.  “Oh, no worries.  He’s like a brother to me.”

“I wasn’t
worried,” she muttered.

The woman chuckled
uncertainly.  “He and I were hired at the department at the same time and
attended the law enforcement academy together.”

Kellie nodded,
picking up her pace again.

The woman kept
pace with her, but watched her with a bemused expression.  She reached out to
stop her walking.  “Has Miles told you much about his past?”

“I really don’t
know him very well.”

“Oh?” the woman
said, smiling.  “If the rumors are…”

“They aren’t,” she
cut in tiredly.

The humor left the
other woman’s face. “Look, I don’t mean to intrude, but I worry about him.  I
mean, actually, I’m happy for him, but…”

Kellie chewed her
lip nervously.  She felt wholly uncomfortable as she braced to hear more of his
personal business, knowing if he wanted her to know the details of his past, he
would have told her, or perhaps would in the future.  Although, she was fast
coming to the conclusion that she was probably right in her recent
thinking—that she and Miles should probably steer clear of one another all
together.

“Look,” she said,
keeping her voice neutral, “it’s nice having met you, but I really do have to
get back to work.”  She started toward her office again, when again, the woman
restrained her.

“Miles is a good guy. 
He likes you.  I believe
that
particular rumor
is
true.”

She didn’t bother
denying it.  She knew he liked her.  Heck, she liked him. 

“Miles’ wife put
him through hell,” the woman said bluntly.

Kellie opened her
mouth to speak, but the woman held up a hand.        

“Please, hear me
out.  He’s been through a lot.  He’s suffered more loss than most, but he still
manages to keep a smile on his face.  He’s actually a pretty remarkable guy,
and a catch, if you wanna know the truth.  But … I’m afraid…”

“What?” she said,
and then wished she hadn’t prompted the woman to continue.

“I’m afraid he’s
still … fragile.  I’m afraid he never fully dealt with his grief.  Lord knows,
he didn’t talk to us—his friends, that is, about his pain.  I don’t think he’s
dated in the years since his wife died.  So…”  She smiled sadly.  “So, we don’t
want him hurt, if you know what I mean.”

“Yes, I know what
you mean,” she told her.  “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”  She forced a
smile, not wanting to be impolite, but wanting desperately to put some distance
between herself and Miles’ well-meaning friend.

“Hey, is it true
he’s playing Santa Claus for Santa’s Posse this year?” the woman asked, as
Kellie was walking away from her.

She turned and
forced a smile.  “He is.”

“Well, consider
us—his friends that is—his posse.”  She shrugged.  “And as his posse, we can’t
help but have his back.”

Between her work
and her role with Santa’s Posse, Kellie was kept extremely busy.  Christmas was
only a week away, and the date for Santa’s Posse deliveries only a couple days off. 

She hadn’t seen
much of Miles, by choice, frequently ducking into stores when she spotted him
at the mall, or attempting to avoid him at the condominium complex.  She didn’t
miss the puzzled frown on his face each time she gave a mock cheery wave and
dashed off, but then, what else could she do?

After the rumors
that swirled around regarding her supposed “rendezvous” with him behind a
clothing rack, she could hardly bear the embarrassment of speaking to him
anyway.  Had he been confronted with that particular rumor?  And if so, was he
as mortified as she was?  She considered herself fortunate she hadn’t been
called on the carpet by the owners of the mall, particularly since she had been
teased at every turn by nearly everyone she encountered at the mall.

During that
uncomfortable time, she had endeavored to hold her head high, but it hadn’t
been easy.  The mere fact that people had been bold enough to tease her in the
first place had indicated to her that her status as a respected authority
figure had taken a decided hit. 

She
had
spoken to Miles once in a phone conversation, briefly, after she’d gone to the
precinct with her theory about Tony Marks and his involvement with the car
prowls and thefts.  He had been impressed that she had solved the case, and
suggested they have dinner when he was over his flu.  She had avoided him since
that phone call.

Now, in her
office, it was nearly quitting time and she was preparing to leave for the
day.  Her evening was clear, with no Santa’s Posse merchandise pickups on the
agenda.  She was relieved to have a real night off and was about to leave when
Jill stepped into her office.

“Kellie,” Jill
implored, for the umpteenth time, “please talk to me.”

“We talk all the
time,” she said with forced cheer.  “Hey, are you ready to head home?”

“Stop changing the
subject,” she said in a fatigued tone.  “You know what I’m talking about, or
rather,
who
I’m talking about.” 

Kellie gave a
dismissive wave.  “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Oh, I think there
is.  I know you pretend not to notice, but when Miles sees you, he gets this
sad, contemplative look on his face.  Frankly, it’s breaking my heart.  The
truth is, I think you’re breaking
his
heart.”

“I am not.  We
hardly know each other.”

“Which he wanted
desperately to remedy,” Jill pointed out.  “Please, cut the man some slack.  I
don’t know what he did but…”

“He didn’t do
anything,” she said with a sigh.

“Okay, we’re
getting somewhere. 
Somebody
did something.  Talk!  Please!”

“I don’t want to,”
she moaned.

“Kellie, really, talk
to me.  Maybe I can help.”

She dropped back
into her chair and shook her head.  “Jill, I have a job to do.”

“Okay.  You have a
job to do.  Go on.”

“I’m in a position
of some authority.  In order to do my job, I need people to respect me.”

“They do respect
you,” she said, perplexed.  “Who doesn’t respect you?”

“Oh, I don’t
know,” she said glumly, “everyone who believed the rumors about Miles and me
supposedly locking lips and doing who knows what else behind that clothing
rack.”

“
That’s
what this is about?” Jill cried, incredulous.

“Well, that, and
the fact that everybody and their mother is convinced I’m some sort of
one-woman wrecking crew, bent on ultimately destroying poor, poor sweet Miles. 
Lord knows, everyone has told me as much.”

Jill shook her
head, but then her eyes widened as understanding dawned.  “Oh, Kellie, I’m so
sorry.  I did that to you too, didn’t I?”

She waved off the
apology.  “It’s all right.  Your heart was in the right place.”

“But is there more
to this story?  I mean, do you have feelings for him?  Because if you don’t,
then it is probably best you keep your distance, but if you do…”  Jill pinned
her with a look.

“I do,” she
groaned, and dropped her head onto her arms.  “I like him, Jill.  I more than
like him…”  She sighed.  “I didn’t want to.  I tried not to.  It’s so hard!   Lord
help me, I’m pathetic.”

“You are not
pathetic.  Honey, you’re in love.  And that being said, why are you letting
people come between the two of you?”  Her eyes widened again.  “Oh, Kellie,
you’re not only concerned about your own job and reputation, you’re worried
about his too.”

“Well, of course,”
she murmured miserably.  “The man works so hard.  He has so much on his plate
as it is, but he never hesitated to drop everything to help me out—with work,
home, Santa’s Posse—whatever.  Heck, if you think about it, I’ve been a royal
pain, and one he could probably do without, if
he
thinks about it.”

“Oh, Kellie.” 
Jill sat heavily in her chair, muttering under her breath.  “Oh, I have to fix
this.”

“What did you say?”
she asked.  “I didn’t hear you just then.”

“Oh, nothing. 
Just talking to myself.  Kellie, talk to him.  Give him a chance.”

“We’ll see,” she
mused.  “We’ll see.”

***

Dolores Angles
stood at the head of one of the tables that ran the length of the mall corridor,
directly in front of the precinct.  Several parallel tables held the finished
baskets to be delivered that evening to needy families.

“I’d like to thank
you all,” she said to the group, which promptly quieted to hear her speak. 
“Thanks to all of you, we’ve reached our goal of filling over four hundred
baskets this year.  And thanks to you, many families in our community will have
food on their tables and presents under their trees this holiday season.”

The group erupted
in applause, which quieted abruptly when she raised a hand.  “It’s nearing
delivery time.  Does everyone have their assignments?  If not, please see me. 
If you have any questions, please follow me into the precinct now.”  After another
round of applause, she headed into the precinct, followed by several people. 

Kelli turned to
Jill beside her.  “Well, the evening’s finally here.”

“What a relief,”
Jill said, but then laughed.  “And I’ll be right back here next year.  How ‘bout
you?”

She nodded,
chuckling.  “I’ll definitely help out, but Dolores may need to find herself a
different procurement specialist.  I’m worn out from procuring.”

“I’m sure you
are.”

“I’m going to head
home, I think.  Tell George ‘hello’ for me.”  She smiled.  “It’s so sweet of
him to drive tonight.”

“Well, when
Dolores lost one of her volunteers, I knew he would be happy to help out, and
bring along his truck.”

“It’s nice he has
the camper on it.  It’ll sure make things easier,” Kellie observed.  “You two have
fun and drive carefully.  If you’re late getting into work tomorrow, don’t give
it a thought.”

“Thank you.  See
you tomorrow,” Jill called, as Kellie began walking toward the executive
offices.  She intended to grab a few things and then head home.

She turned when
she heard a bit of commotion behind her.  Miles strode out of the precinct,
dressed in full Santa regalia, including the mustache, beard, and rosy cheeks. 
The crowd erupted into applause again, many calling out greetings, while others
teased him mercilessly.  He responded by calling out a hearty ‘ho, ho, ho,’ and
then threatening to put everyone on his ‘naughty’ list.

Kellie chuckled, and
started off again, only to hear Dolores calling her name.  By the tone of her voice,
she knew something was wrong.  She took a deep, shoring breath and walked
toward Dolores, who stood in the precinct doorway, beside a life-sized, plastic
Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer.

“Kellie, we have a
problem!”

She wondered how Dolores’
problem had become her problem, specifically.  There was still a crowd full of
people nearby.  Why didn’t she call out to one of them?  She really wanted to
get home.

She felt Miles’
eyes on her as she reached Dolores.  “What’s wrong?” she asked, draping an arm
over Rudolph in an attempt to appear nonchalant.

“We’ve lost an
elf!” Dolores cried.  “Mandy called in sick!”

“Oh!” Kellie said,
unsure what else to say.  There wasn’t much she could do to remedy that
problem, so she glanced around.  She spotted a bevy of elves, dressed in
assorted corduroy costumes in a rainbow of colors.  “Well, thankfully, you have
so many volunteers, I’m sure no one is going to miss one elf.” 

She started off
again, praying Dolores wouldn’t call her back. 

“Kellie!  Where
are you going?  We
need
you?”

She plastered a
smile on her face, turned, avoided Miles’ eyes which she sensed were fixed on
her face.  “You need me?” she said wearily, failing to hide the frustrated tone
in her voice.

Was it her
imagination or did she hear Miles chuckle behind her?  Yes, she was certain
that was his laugh.  She resisted the urge to turn around, to see what was so
funny.

“You’re the only
one who can help us!” Dolores cried.

“The only one,
huh?” she said with a sigh.    

Miles chuckled
again.  She was sure of it this time.

“What do you want
me to do?  Playing the part of an elf wasn’t part of my particular volunteer
job description.  I’ll show you.”   She pointed lamely in the direction of her
office.  “I’ll just be a minute.  I’m going to grab my envelopes.  You’ll see…” 
  

She heard Miles
laughing again, only it wasn’t a chuckle, but a full-out, unsympathetic guffaw.

What was so funny?
she wondered testily.

“You’re the
only one who will fit!”
Dolores cried, throwing her hands in the air in
frustration.

“Fit?  Fit what?”

“The costume, of
course,” she said, as if was as plain as the red nose on Rudolph’s face.  “We
need you to take Mandy’s place.  Santa
cannot
go out tonight without his
number one elf!”

***

Kellie found
herself ushered into the precinct and into the women’s restroom.  “I’ll be
right back,” Dolores said, and dashed away.  She returned a moment later and
thrust a package at her.  “Here’s the costume.  Put it on.”