Here Comes Santa Paws (Christmas Falls: Season 2)

10. Roman

Chapter 10

Roman

The singer of the live band performing at Sugar Plum Park during the pet photos and adoption event crooned “Jingle Bell Rock” like he was Mick Jagger belting out a hit song at Madison Square Garden. I might not enjoy the song, but I respected the dedication to his craft.

As I rested my finger on the shutter of my camera, I tried to muster the same dedication for pet photography as I had for landscape pictures.

“Can you take one more? I want to fix his reindeer antlers.” The woman wearing matching ones to her flat-faced dog shifted the animal’s headband mere millimeters to one side, then stepped back and gave me a go-ahead gesture.

The guy in the Santa suit had the patience of a saint. He simply ho-ho-ho’d through all the anxious animals and fussy owners.

I snapped another photo of the dog trying to squirm out of Santa’s grip. Santa had a good hold though. Otherwise, the dog had a long fall from the sleigh Elias had borrowed from somewhere. I wouldn’t be surprised if he had connections at the North Pole. I nearly smiled at the thought.

Some of these people acted like they’d spent hundreds of dollars for a private pet photo session instead of standing in line at a busy park among a dozen other people waiting for their free photos.

Why the hell did I agree to this?

I glanced at Elias, who looked ridiculous in the elf hat tugged low over his ears as he led more pets and people to Santa. As though he sensed my attention, he turned toward me and flashed a bright smile. Without my permission, my lips lifted slightly in a closed-mouth smile. His enthusiasm was as contagious as a yawn, and his presence was as distracting as a tap-dancing reindeer.

I kept looking over at him and remembering what he felt like in my arms. I’d spent half the night tossing and turning while imagining he tasted like gingerbread. When I finally did fall sleep, my brain conjured filthy dreams. Getting a glimpse of his fierce protectiveness over the animals had messed with my brain—smashing the image I’d had of him as someone with more positivity than substance. I hated to admit it, but I was starting to like the guy. God, he’d love that too. Winning over the neighborhood Grinch.

I had to give him credit—he’d fulfilled his promise of minimizing my interaction with people.

“Thanks for stopping by.” Elias led the picky woman to a table where a volunteer named Nancy sold calendars.

I eavesdropped on Elias’s well-practiced spiel as the next pet parents Velcroed a Santa hat over their squirming cat’s head.

“This has information about where to collect the photos online. There’s also a donation link in case you’d like to help us pay for the construction work to repair damage from a massive leak in our shelter. Nancy also has wall calendars available for sale. The photos are of animals we had in the shelter this year. They’re adorable! And if you’re ever interested in adopting another cutie patootie into your home, there’s info about that as well.”

The woman looked dazed by the avalanche of information as she clutched her wheezing dog.

“The QR code is how I can donate?”

Elias nodded at her. “Anything you can spare would help immensely. Thanks for coming by.”

The woman thanked Elias before marching to Nancy and asking for three calendars.

Elias winked at me before telling the party at the front of the line to pick out any accessories they’d like to use from the table.

I chuckled and shook my head as I prepared to snap more photos.

It wasn’t the most thrilling photography I’d done, but I had to admit I didn’t hate it. Landscape photography was satisfying, and I loved the final product, but it was kind of entertaining to see all the goofy animals in their absurd costumes. It made people happy, and I didn’t hate it. I couldn’t have a dog of my own with how often I moved, but I liked being around them.

“Roman? What are you doing here?”

I stiffened at my coworker’s voice. I hadn’t considered the fact that I might encounter people I knew.

“Anisha. Hey.”

She wore a puffy red coat, Santa hat, and big earrings that looked like green ornaments.

“I didn’t know you volunteered for the animal shelter.”

I snorted. “I don’t.”

She pointedly looked at the camera.

“ Usually . I don’t usually. The guy who runs the place is my neighbor, and he roped me into this.”

Anisha glanced at Elias and grinned. “Is that him? Your neighbor really is a Christmas elf.”

“Knock it off.”

She batted her eyes innocently. “What? He’s cute.”

“Don’t.”

She shrugged. “Whatever you say. That’s my cutie.” She jerked her thumb back toward a tall, broad-shouldered man. He held the leash to two fluffy white canines busy exchanging sniffs with the dogs in front of them.

“No kids today?”

“They’re grabbing hot chocolate. More sugar is the last thing they need, but ’tis the season. Are you going to enter the photography contest?”

I frowned. “What contest?”

She shook her head. “You really do avoid the festival like the plague, don’t you?”

I thought I’d been pretty clear about that the past two festival seasons.

“There’s a contest to submit your best photo from the festival. Something about capturing the spirit of the season in Christmas Falls. The winner is announced at the closing event before Christmas.”

“Probably a ploy to give the city free photos to use for their marketing bullshit.” However, I had a passing moment of intrigue over the contest before brushing away the thought. I didn’t have any photos to show even if I did want to participate, and I sure as hell didn’t plan to attend any festival events after this one.

Anisha shook her head. She was used to my crap.

“You’d better get some good pictures for me. I’m counting on them for my year-end family newsletter.”

Family newsletter? Jesus. I wrinkled my nose. “Photos with eyes closed and buttholes visible. Got it.”

Anisha gently pushed my shoulder.

When it was her turn, I took a few extra photos and encouraged her and her family to get in there for a few too since the line had momentarily disappeared.

After she made, thankfully, brief introductions of her family, they left.

Elias approached.

“That’s my coworker. I wanted to give her extra photos.” I hated the defensiveness in my tone.

Elias smiled kindly. “That’s nice of you. I’m sure she’ll love that.”

I relaxed. Of course Elias wouldn’t be bothered that I’d taken liberties.

“I hope so. If I’m lucky, she’ll bring me some homemade cookies next week as a thank you.”

Elias bit his bottom lip. “Is that the way to your heart, Roman? Cookies?” He leaned in. “I make a mean sugar cookie.”

My mouth went dry at the brazen invitation in his eyes.

Elias looked over my shoulder and waved. “Welcome! Ready for photos?” He winked at me before heading over to the new group.

The next couple of hours passed surprisingly quick.

“He’s good, isn’t he?”

I jumped at Nancy’s voice to my right. She’d busted me watching Elias as he chatted with a feminine-presenting couple, each holding a hairless cat in a festive sweater.

I cleared my throat. “He is. How are the calendar sales going?” Nancy and I had just met this morning, and I wasn’t about to have a gab fest with her about Elias.

She beamed under her elf hat that matched Elias’s. “Nearly sold out. Elias could sell anyone on nearly anything.”

I snorted. “He’s trying to sell me on fostering Carol.”

“Are you thinking of doing it?”

Did I really want to? Kind of, but it didn’t make sense. I wasn’t sure how long I’d be in Christmas Falls, and she needed stability. Even if I wasn’t planning on leaving, I didn’t know the first thing about caring for an animal. Elias would be there with advice, but what the hell would I do when it was just me and Carol? Stare at each other?

Nancy patted me on the arm but said nothing.

Fifteen minutes before the event was supposed to end, several groups of stragglers joined the line. I sighed and resigned myself to remaining in the cold until Elias got every person who wanted a photo through the line.

He worked his way along the line with expert precision as he informed people we’d be closing soon and would move quickly to get everyone in. Then, he adjusted the rope to indicate the line had closed.

Once again, Elias proved my assumptions about him wrong.

I’d finished photos of the last pets in line—two Dobermans with shiny coats and pointy ears who looked like Santa’s security squad—when the clock struck noon and two couples with pets raced over.

Elias immediately approached them.

“Happy holidays! Thank you so much for coming today. We closed at noon, and I need to let Santa and our photographer go, but I can take photos with your cell phone if you’d like to get pictures with your animals in the sleigh.”

Fucking-a. How did he manage to be so thoughtful all the time?

I gritted my teeth. “I can take a few more photos.”

“I can stay for a few more minutes too,” Santa said in a jolly voice as he waved the next group over.

Elias smiled gratefully at both of us, his gaze lingering on me several beats longer. “All right. Let’s get you some pictures.”

A few minutes later, we finished, and Nancy and two other volunteers swept in and began dismantling the setup. I packed up my camera equipment while Elias talked to another volunteer about how well the adoption portion of the event went. It sounded like they’d gotten a half-dozen applications.

After Elias said goodbye to the volunteers and Santa, he approached me. The gratitude in his smile had my stomach uselessly flip-flopping.

“Thank you so much, Roman. I am so grateful to you.”

“No problem.” I hefted my camera bag on my shoulder and remembered a passing thought I’d had earlier. “What about photos with you and your pets?”

Elias blinked at me. “What do you mean?”

“You organize an event to get photos of pets with Santa, and you, the most animal-obsessed person I’ve ever met, don’t get photos of your pets with Santa?”

Elias shrugged. “I’m here to work and make sure our visitors have a great experience. I don’t know how I’d get them here anyway, and I wouldn’t want to leave them crated the whole time. Someone might try to adopt my cuties.” He smiled wryly.

“Maybe if they stopped barking long enough to look cute.”

He let out an exaggerated, affronted gasp. “My dogs are always cute. Even when they’re barking.”

I shrugged. “They’re alright.” My smile grew as his did. He’d never stop giving me shit if he knew I sometimes stood at my back door and watched his dogs chasing each other in his half of the backyard while drinking my morning coffee.

“What are you up to now?” he asked.

“Heading home to do some chores.”

Elias nodded and rocked back on his heels. “I was thinking of going to the Arts and Crafts Fair at the museum to do some gift shopping.”

Something about that event niggled in my brain. “I think I overheard someone talking about that earlier, along with gnome carving? Surely that can’t be right.”

“You’ve never heard of our local celebrity? Murphy is a world-renowned carver, and his specialty is gnomes.”

“Gnomes.”

“Yes. Gnomes. He made that giant Santa one at the park entrance. It’s pretty awesome watching him. Want to join me?” His voice held a forced casual tone. “No pressure. I know I’ve already wrecked your Sunday.”

Normally, I’d immediately decline, but I hesitated, and that hesitation startled the ever-loving hell out of me. I liked spending time with Elias. What the hell am I supposed to do now?

“Sure.”

My response stunned both of us, but Elias recovered quicker than me.

“Great. It’ll just take me a couple more minutes to wrap things up here, then we can go?”

Nancy must’ve been eavesdropping because she joined us, sporting a knowing grin I didn’t appreciate. “You two scoot. The volunteers have got this.”

“No one can mind their damn business around here,” he muttered.

I let out a loud laugh. Elias gaped at me.

“What?”

He blinked. “That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile. With teeth. You have great teeth, by the way.”

“Four years of braces.” Normally, I felt self-conscious when someone commented on my rare toothy smiles, but with Elias, I wanted to smile more. Danger, danger.