Page 114 of Educating Arrogant Mr. Hunter

“That’s a good point.” Avery tapped her chin in concentration. “You know sometimes when you’re super busy and forget things?”

Zoey and Jen nodded.

“Well, with Christmas so close, Santa wants to be one hundred percent sure he doesn’t forget a thing.”

Jen shrugged and Zoey snagged two pieces of paper and pencils, handing one set to her friend.

No matter how many times I tried to look over Zoey’s shoulder, she always found a way to hide her letter. “Come on, Daddy. I’m not going to show you, so cut it out.” She glared at me.

I held up my hands. “All right. I’m done trying to peek.” I leaned in close to Wren and whispered in her ear. “We have some pull at this shindig. We could find a way to get it when the festival shuts down for the night, right?”

Apparently, I was not as quiet as I thought when my daughter shot another annoyed look my way.

“Beckett, I won’t have anything to do with this crazy scheme of yours,” Wren responded loudly.

“See, Wren gets it.” Zoey grinned.

Then, once Zo’s back was turned, Wren gave me a small nod. Operation ‘find out Zoey’s wish’ had commenced.

The moment we cleared the doorway, Zoey gasped. Soft lights twinkled around the room. A large fake stone fireplace sat next to Santa, with votives placed within. An immense Christmas tree, its star reaching the ceiling, was decorated with the ornaments made by the various grades.

Two elves stood by Santa, helping kids move through the line, take pictures, and help with any meltdowns from the kids. Mia had done a wonderful job selecting two friends that were sweet and had the elf part down. Their costumes were on point and a smile was always fixed to their faces.

“Don’t get too close, Daddy,” Zoey admonished when we shifted to the front of the line and it was her turn to see Santa. “Stay here where I can see you.”

Wren snorted with laughter next to me. “Don’t worry, Zo. I’ll keep an eye on him.”

With a decisive nod, she approached Santa. She only spent a few minutes with him, but each second was spent with fast and furious whispers between the two. I was grateful we hadn’t taken David Wolfe up on his offer to be Santa. Zoey would have seen right through it. Jen approached for her turn, and the girls took their photo together after Jen told him her wish.

“No, don’t even ask.” Zoey shook her finger at me as we exited the house. She turned to her friend. “What do you want to do next?”

“Santa’s reindeer!” Zoey and Jen yelled at the same time and then burst into giggles. Wolfe Construction, in addition to creating a pen the reindeer could stay in, had also erected a small barn where the animals could stay at night.

As we moved through the crowd gathered with children anxiously waiting to tell Santa what they wanted, I was grateful we’d beat the rush. Jen and Zoey barrelled around the corner of Santa’s house.

“Daddy!” Zoey squealed and clapped her hands. “They’re here!”

The wooden pen filled a large area in front of us, and the six majestic animals stood before us. Their fur was a beautiful mix of light and dark brown and their antlers rose up and out more than two feet from their heads. Their noses twitched and the white of a few of their snouts was the only other color variation on their body.

We’d had snow machines placed throughout the festival and the white powder graced the ground. Reindeer hoof prints were dotted along the edge of the fence, showing us the sections they seemed to frequent the most.

Jen stopped short and stared at the large animals that were only ten feet away. “Wow,” she murmured and slowly walked forward.

The owner of the reindeer, Ginny, met us at the gate. “You two ladies look like you’re VIP’s.”

“What’s a VIP?” Zoey asked and lifted a hand for the nearest reindeer to sniff it.

“Very important person. And you’re just in time to help me feed the big guy’s helpers.”

“She means Santa,” Jen whispered out the side of her mouth.

“I do,” Ginny responded, her eyes sparkling with glee. “Now, girls, I need you to be calm around the reindeer, and I’ll show you how to feed them. And if you’re lucky, they’ll let you pet them.”

“Come on, Daddy and Ms. Winter.” Zoey motioned for us to follow them through the gate.

As soon as Ginny pulled out a bucket of feed, the reindeer that were snuffling at the ground or moseying along at the other end of the fence line trotted over. With patience that endeared me to her, Ginny showed us all the best way to feed the deer without startling them.

“Which reindeer am I feeding?” Zoey loudly whispered.

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