Page 5 of Shy Santa

That was a start, at least. “Well then, let’s go grab some food so we can get back to the house and finish cleaning it up.” We hopped out of the car and headed inside.

I could already taste the burger and shake that awaited me. We sat and Shirley left a couple of menus for us to look over.

“Can I have a burger too?” Ace asked hesitantly after a few minutes.

“Yeah, you can. Do you know what flavor shake you want?”

Shirley barreled over at that moment to take our order.

Yesterday, I didn’t get a good look around the diner or town when we got here, but there’s a ton of differences that caught my eye now.

While the diner was the same, the signs of wear and tear shone when I looked closer. Shirley and Gerald took excellent care of the place, but as with life, time affected everything. The booths no longer gleamed bright red with a high gloss. The cracked black-and-white checkered tiles, dingy with age.

“You guys need anything else?” Shirley asked after she dropped our food on the table.

“Do you know any sitters? I need someone to watch Ace for a couple of hours tomorrow so I can go to a job interview.”

“Bring her here. She can eat and her and I will get to know each other.” Shirley tucked the serving tray under her arm, her eyes on Ace. A frown tugged at her mouth. “Bear, can you help me with something in back real quick?”

“Yeah, sure.” I nodded, standing from the booth. “You good Ace? Shirley and I’ll just be a moment.”

“Yes, sir.” Ace said, taking a bite of fry.

I followed Shirley back to the kitchen; as soon as the swinging door closed, she turned abruptly to me.

She set the tray down on the counter. “Okay, I normally wouldn’t butt in, but when was the last time that girl had her hair washed and brushed?”

Taken aback by the question, I blinked a few times. “She showered last night.”

Shirley dropped her head into her hands and groaned. “Did you help her wash her hair and then brush it after?”

“Ummm… no, she’s too old for that.” My ears warmed, and I squirmed. Logically, I knew Ace was my kid and that she needed help with her mess of hair, but I couldn’t get past the weirdness of seeing her naked. I would kill any man who tried to see her without clothes on.

“Oh, honey. That poor girl, she needs major help with her hair.” Shirley looked out the small window in the door toward Ace. “She has your hair, its thick and beautiful and a total mess of knots.”

I rubbed the back of my neck, not sure what to do.

“Okay, here’s what we’re gonna do. Tonight, I’m gonna cut out for a couple hours before the dinner rush. My extra girls can handle the early crowd on a Monday.” She pulled out her cell from the pocket of her apron and started typing. “I’m gonna send you some videos of hair tutorials to watch with her. I know you both are busy putting that house to rights, but this is more important with her starting school soon.”

She looked at me expectantly. I nodded, out of my depths here.

“I’ll bring some products for her, since I’m guessing you don’t have any. We’ll get her all straightened out and I’ll show you how to brush out what I’m assuming are beautiful curls.” She patted my arm as my phone chimed in my back pocket. “She’s fine to hang out tomorrow anytime with me while you go to that interview.”

“Thanks. I honestly don’t know what the hell I’m doing here.” I shook my head; completely lost for the first time since Gran found me all those years ago. “I wish Gran were here; she’d help me. I never expected to have a family.”

“Hon, you’re still in shock over the whole situation. Between getting out of the Marines and being a single parent to an eight-year-old girl, I’m not surprised you’re barely treading water.” She looked out the little window again before turning back to me. “Now get out there and talk to that little girl. Get to know your daughter.”

CHAPTER4

Bear

Istood out front of the old theater in town. It used to show dollar movies back when I was a kid. Built in the late 1800s, it had been a sad sight last I saw.

When I pulled up to the theater, I almost didn’t recognize it. Whoever Dillon Montgomery was, he must have spent a pretty penny bringing the old building up to code.

After dropping Ace off at the diner, I headed straight here. It wasn’t much past noon, but I felt a steady beat pumping through the walls.

Heading around to the side entrance Benson told me about, I knocked but there was no answer, so I pulled on the door. The low thumping base that’d been a slight rumble outside blasted over me. I cringed at the assault on my ears as I stepped inside, and the door slammed closed behind me.

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