Page 9 of Daycare Santa

“She’s going to be off, too.”

“You are such a bleeding heart.” She pictured Seya with a hand to her chest as she teased. “Why give staff time off during your busy period? How does that make sense?”

“Her boyfriend works for a cruise line and he’ll be home. The man has been away most of the year. I couldn’t say no.”

Seya released a dramatic sigh. “Sounds like you’ll have to put Luca in daycare.”

Chuckling, Gina asked, “Isn’t he a tad old for daycare?”

“Call it what you want, but there’s a place next to where you were working today. They have an after-school program and they’re open during the holidays.” A car horn in the background drowned Seya’s voice for a few seconds and Gina turned off the tap to hear her better. “... about it from Mara, at work. Sounds like they have interesting activities for the kids. Her son raves about the place. It’s all he can talk about whenever she picks him up early and brings him to the office.”

Luca hadn’t been in daycare for years, but Gina didn’t have a choice now. She nodded, then said, “I’ll check it out.”

“It’s not exactly the end of the world, sis. Luca loves new adventures, so he’ll be fine. I’ll get the number for the center.”

Chapter 4

The wind chimes jangledinstead of sounding its usual soothing tune. A boy ran into the foyer and came to an abrupt stop.

“Wow!” He took in the graphics on the walls, his mouth half-open.

Zack was used to that reaction, so one side of his lips lifted while he watched the child, who had large brown eyes. His smile widened into a grin when he recognized Luca.

The young guy dropped to his knees and peered at the lower segment of the mural, still fascinated by the colorful display.

Zack’s sister, Lizette, had hit gold with her idea. Elijah, their brother, worked in animation and had created cartoon characters specifically for her. Each had a name and together with Zack, they developed a short, animated film that Lizette used in the daycare. Her young clients clamored for more episodes, but Zack and Elijah hadn’t been able to deliver more than a half-dozen in total because of work pressure.

The wind chimes sounded again. This time, the notes were gentle, as if an adult had opened the door.

Zack shifted his gaze from Luca, who was staring at a life-sized tortoise.

“Didn’t I say to wait for me?”

Luca didn’t look away from the colorful wall as he dusted his knees. “Yes, but you were taking a long time.”

“I was on the phone with your grandmother.”

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