Cal (A Little Christmas Season Three)

2. Simon

Chapter 2

Simon

“All right, big guy. You know it’s time for hibernation. Get on with it already.” Speaking out loud to the hidden wildlife was a habit I’d formed to simulate human connections. My life had become more and more solitary over the years, and moving to a little town to be a park ranger didn’t exactly help remedy that. So, I took the captive audience when I could find one.

As I posted the last sign to a tree near an occupied black bear den, I glanced around one more time. Still alone. That was good. I didn’t want to disturb the bears any more than I wanted an unsuspecting hiker to be disturbed.

By now, most of the black bears in the area were settled in for hibernation, but this guy seemed a bit frisky, like he wasn’t ready to nap.

Some brats just liked to test limits.

I clapped the side of the tree twice as my little farewell to the bear. “Have a good winter, bud. Catch you on the flipside.”

Having done as much as I could to keep the bear and the hikers safe in that area, I hoofed it back up to my truck then went straight to the ranger station. It was only 4:30 in the afternoon, but it was already starting to get dark. The days were getting shorter and the nights longer, but that was fine with me. I was happy to sit in front of a fire with my book every evening without the need for any external entertainment.

And after Christmas, I’d be able to do that again. But starting tonight, I took off my ranger uniform at five o’clock and slipped into my new and temporary role as Santa.

I’d been growing my beard for a few months, ever since moving to Hermanton and finding out they needed someone to play Santa at the mall. They hoped I could fill the role since the last ranger did it every year. Even though I just hit forty, there was more salt than pepper in my beard, so I pulled off the Santa vibe pretty easily.

Of course, I had to fill in the suit with some pillows to get the full effect, but by the time I walked into the mall at ten minutes to six, I was in my Daddy headspace, ready to hear all the wishes of the boys and girls of Hermanton and do my part for the city that I was just starting to get comfortable in.

I’d been given clear instructions to enter through the food court and go straight to Santa’s Village in the center of the mall. It was truly a winter wonderland with a full miniature village set up. I hummed in appreciation at the row of gingerbread houses that looked to be about 1:25 scale and displayed impressive craftsmanship. I made a mental note to find out who built the set because the level of detail used was at a level I was still trying to achieve.

Building miniatures had been my favorite hobby since I was a kid. My grandpa started me out with a ship in a bottle when I was about ten, and from there, I was hooked.

For the past few years, I’d been mostly doing tiny dioramas in everything from food packaging, room scenes, and gift vignettes. My current project was a pancake mix box that I took the back off of and turned into a sugarbush forest scene with wildlife and a few maple trees that were dripping sap into a bucket.

Once it was finished, it would go onto my Etsy store with the rest of my projects. More than likely, a sugar maker would purchase it or it would be a gift for somebody who liked forest scenes.

As soon as that one was done, I had an order for three tiny bookshelves with a collection of books by a romance author who wanted to give them away to her fans. Those were always interesting.

I hadn’t even made it to the chair when I heard the happy squeals of young children calling out for Santa. All right, Simon. Head in the game. Find out what these kids want and make sure they have a happy Christmas.

“Santa, you’re just in time!” A woman behind a camera stepped forward and waved me toward my throne. “I’m Lucy, and you must be Simon.”

“What gave me away?” I held out my arms and gestured to the suit.

She grinned. “I was told to be on the lookout for a sexy Santa.”

I rolled my eyes, feeling my cheeks get even rosier than necessary for Santa.

“Have a seat there and we’ll get the line started. Some of these kids have been here for almost an hour, so they’re ready to chat.”

“Got it. I… Haven’t done this before, so is there anything in particular I’m supposed to say? Or just the whole ‘ho, ho, ho, what do you want for Christmas? Have you been good or bad?’ spiel?”

“Naughty or nice.” An elf appeared by my side, a little ball of sass and candy canes. “You’ll want to use the traditional lingo or they’ll start yanking at your beard to prove you're fake.”

“They better not.” I self-consciously scrubbed my hand across my chin, grateful I didn’t let it get too long. “I’m Simon, by the way.”

He chuckled quietly. “Oh, we know. Everyone’s been talking about the hot new park ranger who has been growing out his beard to play Santa.”

Fuck . I didn’t know I was the talk of the town. I guess that was a downside to living in a tiny community. “I usually grow it out over the winter anyway.” That was a total lie, but they had no way of knowing. I’d only been in town for a few months, so it was relatively harmless and helped me save a tiny bit of face.

“Either way.” The elf didn’t hide his interest as his gaze swept down my body then back up. “You look great. Very authentic. The kids are gonna love you.”

“Speaking of.” The photographer got in position behind the camera. “Cal, can you help the first kid up and get the next one on deck. Be sure to note what they asked for so you can slip a note to the parents.”

“Got it.” The elf looked at me. “I’m Cal, as you probably just heard.” He shrugged and turned toward his bucket of candy canes. “I’m happy to know the rumors weren’t an exaggeration.”

Well, hell.

Lucy could have been my mother, so I knew she was just teasing me. Besides, she had a ring on her finger that almost blinded me when it reflected the twinkling lights, so I wasn’t worried about her being a bit flirty.

Cal, on the other hand, would be a temptation. One I needed to be smart about. Just because he was obviously into guys, didn’t mean he wanted anything more than playful flirting while we worked together. And the chances he would be okay dating an older Daddy who had to pump his chest every morning and night were not high.

But at least I had some eye candy while I played Santa.

Why didn’t Santa ever get to ask for what he wanted? If I had the chance, I’d ask for a sweet little elf just like Cal.

Emphasis on the little .