Page 1 of Shy Santa

CHAPTER1

Addy

Hunkered down in the corner booth of Hope Diner, my laptop opened, I stared at the screen. The blank white page mocked me for the last three hours. Writer’s block was kicking my ass today.

Usually sitting in my aunt’s diner, I had a never-ending supply of inspiration that poured onto the page. Writing stories about the people who stumbled in had been my happy place for years. A way to escape the doldrums of my life and my mother. She was one of two things. Absent or all up in my business about what I was doing wrong.

You wouldn’t think a small town like Kissing Springs would have such a plethora of drama, and it seemed like today you’d be right.

“Want a refresh, Addy?” Aunt Shirley’s nasal twang grated on my nerves today. She lifted the coffeepot in her hand.

I loved the crap out of her, but I was in a foul mood. My boss at the Law Firm Pickman, Irwin, and Sutton was a piss-ant with a Napoleon Complex. Chadwick Edward Sutton,the third, was three years younger than me and thought because he was in Law School and a legacy at the firm, he thought he knew more than anyone. The little shit kept harassing me. Like I would say yes to a date after saying no a hundred times before.

But back to my current dilemma.

Why couldn’t I find words of any kind?

I’m on my way to banging my head on the table in the hope to jar something loose, when the bell over the door jangled, catching my attention.

My focus on the door, I watched a giant grizzly of a man enter, a black beanie pulled low on his head.

Oh holy night, was he massive. My blasted mind came to a screeching halt with smoking tires and grinding metal. Mouth agape at the man as Shirley yelled something I didn’t catch at him. He said nothing, only grunted before shuffling to a nearby table, his back to the wall. His head did this quick swivel that I’d only ever seen in movies and read about. The quick scan military or law enforcement types did.

“Best close your mouth, dear. Don’t want to catch flies.” Aunt Shirley chuckled as she poured me a fresh cup of coffee, a napkin held out to me.

I snapped my mouth closed and tucked my hand in my hoodie sleeve, then ran it over my mouth, worried I might’ve drooled a little.

When I finally pulled my attention off the guy, I noticed the cutest little girl seated at the table with him. Her hair was a total mess, but she kept petting the end of her ponytail.

Shirley walked over to the man’s table and handed them menus; her attention on a table of teens near the front door.

I wasn’t close enough to hear their muttered conversation but watched as both got up and headed toward the back hall where the bathrooms were.

“Hey Ad’s, what’s shaking?” Maya, my best friend, plopped down at my table.

“Shush,” I waved her quiet as I tracked the guy and little girl.

“Who’s the lumbersnack and kid?” She whispered once they disappeared down the hall.

I turned to her, not sure what to say. “Came in a few minutes ago. Never seen them before.”

“Do you think he’s a kidnapper? Or maybe a serial killer and she’s the bait he uses to lure unsuspecting women into the dark night to slaughter?” Maya’s eyes lit up at the thought.

That’s my bestie for you; always looking for the next serial killer. She was obsessed, even got into a program to write letters to prisoners in a few federal penitentiaries. You would think a woman who worked the police switch boards wouldn’t want to delve into the minds of killers. I tried not to judge, but I worried about her sanityand safety. What would happen if a pen pal got parole and came for a visit?

“Maya, not every rough looking guy is out to kill.” I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to the hallway.

Maya reached over and snagged a couple of my cold fries and scarfed them down. The woman was a bottomless pit. When we met in a writing class, I wanted to hate her so badly. She was everything perfect in the world. While I wasn’t hard on the eyes, if I said so myself, I worked at not becoming my mother.

“No, seriously, that guy was hot, but scary,” she shoved another couple of fries in her mouth, chewing as she continued. “I don’t know if I want to jump him or run. But if he was a serial killer, I wouldn’t mind going out that way.”

“Real classy.” I grabbed a couple of napkins and wiped off the table where bits of decimated fry landed. Something to note about Maya—she might be beautiful but good gravy, she had horrible table manners. “How was work?”

“Eh, work. ‘Nother day, ‘nother dollar.” She shrugged, a sparkle in her eyes.

I smirked, knowing she had some great gossip ready to blurt out. “Spill.”

“Well, it seems that…” Her attention caught on the back hall as Grizzly Adams and his sidekick shuffled back out. “Can I go hug that little girl?”

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