Page 28 of The Friendship Pact

Ruth side-hugged her. “And I’m glad you’re joining the creative group.”

Kate’s eyes welled; she had found her new home.

“Come on, Kate, you can put your things in the office.” Chloe said.

* * *

Nick’s phone rang, waking him. “Hey, Mom. How’s Santa Days coming along?”

“Nick, I need your help.”

Nick put his phone on speaker and reached for his jeans. “What’s wrong? Is it Dad?”

“No. Cole had an emergency and rushed out of here. We don’t have a Santa. We need you.”

“What?” He sat back down on the bed. “Really? What kind of emergency?” Suspicion laced his voice.

“Elsie needed him to check on Abe.”

At first, he’d thought Cole was trying to get out of his Santa role, but maybe there was something serious going on. Abe, Paige’s grandfather, had a nasty fall last summer, causing Paige to return home to take care of him and the family business, Turner Books. As far as Nick knew, Abe was in good health. Concerned, he asked, “Is he sick? What’s happened?”

He stood and grabbed his black Deer Creek Lodge polo shirt from a hanger and slipped it over his head.

“Hang on a sec, Nick. It’s crazy here. Children are arriving. I’ll explain later. Just get here as soon as you can.”

His mom hung up, leaving him with the feeling that something not so cheery and bright was in store for him. He dialed his brother; it went to voicemail. “I really hope you have a life-threatening emergency, or you’re going to pay for making me play Santa.”

* * *

Kate was in the lodge’s kitchen, filling the last of the trays with sugar cookies, when Nick walked in.

“Where’s Cole?” he snarled.

“Hello to you too, Grinch. You need to turn that frown upside-down.” She formed a smile, pointing at her lips. “I don’t know where Cole is, but your mother instructed me to help you with the Santa suit.” She gestured toward the office. “It’s hanging in there. The kids will start arriving any minute now. We better get you dressed.” Kate set the tray aside, followed Nick into the office, and shut the wood blinds.

Nick scowled and ran his hands through his hair. “You know what’s going on here, don’t you?”

The proximity to Nick made Kate’s body tingle in all the right places. “I’m beginning to. Sorry.” She looked down at her feet to avoid his glare.

Nick lifted her chin and smiled. “Hey. It’s not your fault. Didn’t you say something about wishing you had a big family that lived close? Are you realizing it’s not all fun and games?”

Kate bit her lower lip. The smile on his face put her at ease. “I am now.”

To say she was nervous would be an understatement. Being in a room with Nick, the blinds closed and him about to strip in front of her, made her palms sweat. “Umm . . .” She gestured toward the desk. “I asked housekeeping to bring a pillow and an ACE bandage to hold it in place. I figured that would work.”

“Yeah. It should.”

Nick sat in the leather chair and slipped off his tactical boots. He walked to the rack and slid the Santa pants off the hanger. When he unbuttoned his jeans, Kate spun around. “Tell me when you’re done.”

“You can look. Let’s get this over with. I can’t believe my brother bailed.”

Nick pulled his polo shirt off and watched Kate’s eyes go wide in surprise. The effort he put into keeping in shape was worth her reaction. A shiver of excitement made his pulse race. He picked up the pillow and held it over his stomach.

She held the bandage and circled him to secure the pillow. Her hair smelled citrusy and tickled his chest and back. He swallowed and cleared his throat. To distract himself from having her near, he pictured taking his Glock apart and putting it back together—anything to keep his mind clear of Kate’s hands on him.

“Is it too tight?” she asked.

“What?”