Page 37 of Santa of the Creek
“I don’t know,” I murmur. “You have a fabulous ass.”
“I know I do,” Echo snaps, “but that’s blackmail. Wait, you heard all this?”
I open my eyes and blink to focus on him. He’s naked, like me, sitting up in bed. He looks like he’s ready to throw his boss down, his eyes sparking with fury. This is not Echo’s normal reaction to a conversation with Randy.
I run my hand down his spine. “What do I have to do now?”
He looks at me, his mouth pinched, clearly annoyed. “The kids’ entertainer Randy booked has food poisoning, so he’s in the hospital. Randy is asking if you would step in and help at the kids Christmas party at work. I’d forgotten it was today to be honest.”
It’s Echo’s day off if I remember rightly. I roll onto my side, prop up on my elbow, and hold my hand for the phone. He hands it over reluctantly.
“Morning, Randy. You remember I’m not a kids’ entertainer, right?”
“Morning, Dean.” Randy sounds like a man on the edge of a precipice. “You work at the school.” Clearly he’s going on the offensive.
“I help kids who can’t read. It’s not the same as tying poodle balloons and cracking jokes.”
“The mayor said you’d be free.”
Yet again my brother throws me to the wolves without bothering to check that I’m actually free or willing to do it. I close my eyes as I listened to Randy babble on.
“It’s a bunch of kids. How hard can it be? Just be here at three, give out the presents for an hour and we’ll deal with the rest.”
Then he’s gone, and I hand the phone back to Echo. “This is a disaster waiting to happen. I’m serious. Randy thinks I can amuse kids for an hour, but I’m not an entertainer.”
Echo presses his lips together. “We can buy party stuff from the store. Randy will pay for it.”
I stare at him; not sure I’m hearing him right. “You heard the part where I said I’m not an entertainer, right?”
Now fear starts to coil in my stomach at the thought of being faced with kids to entertain.
He sucks in a breath. “Okay, Randy needs help. I can be Santa if you want.”
“You’d do that for me?” I know my voice is breathy.
Echo entangles his fingers in mine. “I’d do anything for you.”
I tug him down so I can kiss him. “Thank you. Run away with me from Collier’s Creek? We can find another town to live in.”
He brushes his lips over mine. “You want me to run away with you?”
“I do.”
Echo pulls back, his eyebrows knit together as he thinks. “Or you could let me be Santa or, even better, make the balloon poodles and play straight man to my comic sidekick.”
I stare at him. “Wait, you know how to tie balloons?”
Echo shrugs as he climbs out of bed. “I need coffee, and I was a children’s entertainer way, way back.”
“Why didn’t Randy ask you?”
“I never told him.” He taps his nose. “You never tell Randy anything. He’ll always remember.”
“You’re a man of many talents.”
His answering smile is so sweet as he leaves the room, it makes me want to puddle into goo. I stare up at the ceiling, panicking if I’m being honest, until Echo returns with a tray of coffee and pastries. We’d bought food the previous day, so we didn’t have to go out. It could just be him and me, curled up in bed watching TV and…other things. Now we’re going to spend the whole day playing Santa and Elf. I can’t help my smile. I guess we’re still together whatever happens.
“We need an elf suit and a selection of props,” he declares, putting the tray on the nightstand.
