Page 13 of Here Comes Santa Paws

“Hey, Elias! Do you have a second?”

I turned to find Joel, owner of Ginger’s Breads bakery, holding hands with his boyfriend, Hayden.

“Hey, guys! Of course.” It was good to see them so happy since they’d gotten together. Maybe Nancy was right. A lot of love matches had come out of last year’s festival.

They smiled at each other before turning back to me. “We’re thinking of adopting a cat,” Hayden said.

If it wasn’t so crowded, I would’ve done a cartwheel. “That’s amazing! We have lots of adorable cats. Some are at the shelter,but with the leak we had this week, we’ve placed some in foster homes. You could come by the shelter to meet who we have there, and if none of them click, we’re having pop-up events where some fosters will be available for meet-and-greets.”

“I’m sorry about the leak,” Joel said, frowning.

“Me too.” I chuckled and passed Hayden a flyer. Joel hooked his chin over Hayden’s shoulder as they scanned it.

“Do the donations help with the shelter repairs? Maybe you could put some flyers in the bakery,” Hayden said to Joel, who nodded.

I was glad I’d decided to add a QR code to our donation page on the flyers. “They do. It would be amazing if you could have some available. Every donation helps.”

Even saying the D-word made a knot form in my gut. The insurance company was already acting cagey about how much they’d cover—let alone when I’d get it—and I still hadn’t had any success finding a contractor to help me with the work. I needed money to ensure we could survive the fallout from the leak—however extensive the damage ended up being.

They promised to come by the shelter tomorrow. Joel kissed Hayden’s cheek as they walked back to his food truck in the park, and a pang grew in my chest. They were lucky to have found each other.

I was happily single about ninety percent of the time. My days were my own, and I didn’t have anyone telling me I doted too much on my pets. But that ten percent of the time? Man. I wouldn’t mind having someone kiss me on the cheek and snuggle close to watch the tree lighting. My mind wandered to Roman, and I immediately shut that down. The only way to get Roman to this event probably involved duct tape and breaking a few laws.

I turned toward the stage as the mayor welcomed everyone and introduced this year’s festival grand marshal. My eyesbugged when I realized it was Heath Kelly, the star of several of my favorite made-for-TV holiday movies. Swoon.

Instead of distributing flyers during the ceremony, I listened to the program and enthusiastically yelled during the countdown. I’d seen the tree glowing with lights a thousand times, but it was always as magical as the first time.

Once the ceremony ended, people rushed to get refills of hot cocoa and cookies. I spotted my friend Mason sitting at a booth with a familiar face. Marlene managed the festival’s volunteers. Mason was newer to town and ran the Holiday Hope Foundation. He was doing incredible work with expanding on the traditional angel tree, coat drive, and holiday meal delivery efforts to help the community. We’d become good friends.

“Hey, Mason. I didn’t know you were working a table tonight.” I probably should’ve thought to see if there was space for me to promote the animal shelter.

“Yep. I was just telling Milo about our programs.”

I smiled at Milo, owner of Jingle Bites Chocolate Haven. I was due to stop by and replenish my chocolate stash. With all this stress, I needed it.

“You look a little frazzled,” Milo said.

I had hoped I looked more put-together than I felt. Clearly not, so I explained what was happening at the shelter and how impossible it was to find a contractor. They offered to take flyers and pass them out. I damn near teared up at their offers. I couldn’t do this without the help of people like Mason and Milo.

Milo snuck off while Mason agreed to foster a dog.

Seeing how he’d escaped, Mason laughed, then said, “Find me after the event wraps up and we’ll grab a beer. You need to relax.”

I agreed, wished Marlene a good night, and told Mason I’d see him later.

After passing out the last of my flyers, I found Nancy, who’d given all of hers out too.

“I forgot to ask earlier, how’d Carol do last night?”

I sighed. “I can tell she’s uncomfortable, but at least she has her own space and it’s quieter than the shelter.”

“I’m sure it’ll work out. She can sense that you care.” Nancy squeezed my arm.

I told her about my failed attempt to entice Roman into adopting her.

“Maybe some Christmas magic will happen.”

I hoped she was right.

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