McDonald_NoELFngWay_GEN_Dec2015 by Donna McDonald Read Free Book Online Page A

a child, Vixen nodded and smiled before lying. “Of course. What kind of elf do you think I am?”
    She fisted her hands on her hips as she gave him a confident smile.
    “If you’re a real elf, where’s your hat?” Nicky demanded.
    “Nicholas…” Dasher chastised. “Be nice.”
    Vixen rolled her eyes up and pretended to search for it on her head and above it. “Darn it. I knew I was forgetting something. Santa is going to kill me. I keep losing my hat all the time.”
    “Mommy… you left it in the car. Don’t you remember?” Dancer prompted.
    So much for maintaining my elf fantasy, Vixen thought, looking down at her realist child. “That’s right. I left my elf hat in the car. Silly me.”
    Dancer looked between her and Nicky. Vixen snickered at her daughter’s curiosity. She wondered how long it would take her child to ask Dash’s child if he had a Santa suit in his room.
    “Dancer, this is Nicky.” She looked at Nicky. “Nicky, this is my daughter, Dancer.”
    Nicky smacked his forehead in exaggerated disbelief. “ Another reindeer name? We have too many of them.”
    Vixen chuckled. Likable brat, she decided, grinning at Dash’s son. “Yes. Yes. Lots of reindeer names around here, Dasher Nicholas Sleigh Number 3.”
    Nicky’s chuckle over her saying his whole name made her daughter giggle too. When her attention finally left the children, she turned her head and noticed Dash now hovered over all of them. Nicky turned to look up at his tall father.
    “Dad, you didn’t tell me elves could have children. Didn’t you think that was an important thing to tell me?”
    “You’re right, Nicky. It was very important. I don’t know how I forgot to mention it,” Dash countered, never missing a beat. “How about we take a hot chocolate break and finish the train tracks later?”
    Dancer was no dummy about intuiting the most likely hot chocolate maker among them. Her daughter skipped back to hold Cupid’s hand again. Nicky moved a little closer to his grandmother. Vixen hoped he didn’t feel threatened by Cupid’s attention to her daughter. Dancer could be a bit possessive without realizing it might not be fair.
    “Who wants to help me in the kitchen?” Cupid asked.
    The joyful jumping up and down of both children as they volunteered drowned out all the adults laughing at their enthusiasm.
    ***
    Vixen watched them dance their way out of the room before turning back to meet Dash’s happy gaze.
    “Hi. I’m glad you’re here,” Dash said. “I wish I had something better to say, but I can’t think of a single thing while looking at you in that outfit… even without the red heels… and the missing hat.”
    “Ha. Ha. Don’t give up your day job. You’re not that funny,” she said.
    Vixen walked around him and pretended interest in his tree. She had to put her attention somewhere other than his handsome face, which made her temporarily lose her mental faculties.
    “I see you take the same eclectic approach to tree decorating that I do,” she said.
    Dash tore his gaze from Vixen to look his tree. “We go with squashed tinsel and big balls. Nicky’s choice.”
    Despite her resolve to not laugh at Dash’s teasing, Vixen did anyway.
    She sighed as she studied his tree again. “If it were up to me, I’d get one of those pre-lit trees you can pull up from the center. The simplicity appeals to my practical side. I don’t think I could endure the screaming fit that would come with not using the one Grandma Summer gave us.”
    Dash laughed. “Blix said we had a lot in common. I’d love one of trees that you could set up in two minutes. You just may be the perfect woman for me.”
    Vixen snorted and shook her head. “And it only took you a decade to change your mind.”
    Dash sighed. “Actually… it took marrying a great person, having a child with her, and loving her with all my heart. When I lost Melody, it reorganized my priorities in a way nothing else ever had. If it’s any consolation