Page 156 of Perfectly Matched: Harbor Falls Romance Collection

“You are really an elf?”

Wyn looked up from the eggs she was scrambling and smiled at Chaz.

“I have had some elf training, yes.”

That truly wasn’t a lie, was it?

“And you work for Santa?”

She arched an eyebrow at Ham.

“Of course. Don’t all Christmas elves work for Santa?”

Ham thought about that.

“I guess that’s right.”

“It is right.”

“Does that make you a Christmas nanny too?”

Wyn thought about that and looked to Chaz.

“I guess it does.”

She finished scrambling the eggs and smiled to herself. She supposed it wasn’t a bad idea that they thought she had a direct connection to old St. Nick, right? After all, with the four of them, she needed all the help she could get.

Rob had left out very early for the local airport and his short hop to Asheville, then on to Atlanta and Los Angeles. He was gone before any of the children woke. Wyn had a few minutes with him to get last minute details, including the exchange of cell phone numbers, and the request to keep in constant contact. She agreed and tucked the legal pad of instructions and lists under her arm and bid him farewell. He took off in a too-expensive black sports car and left her with the keys to the SUV and some cash in an envelope for anything the kids might need.

Suddenly she wondered at the turn her life had taken.

She plated up the eggs and turned to place them in front of each boy sitting at the breakfast bar. Mia sat in her high chair to the boys’ left. Wyn added bacon to each plate and then buttered toast. She gave a piece of toast to Mia too, who smiled and chewed on a corner.

While things were good, she whipped out her cell phone and pointed it at the kids.

“Smile big!”

she said, and then snapped a picture of the breakfast crew. Then she texted it off to Rob.

They were quiet. They were good. Would it stay this way?

One could only hope.

“So what kind of activities are we going to do today, Miss Wyn?”

That was a good question. School was out for Christmas vacation so she had them all to herself for the next couple of days.

“To be honest, I’ve not had much time to plan, Ham. We might have to brainstorm.”

“Brainstorm? What’s that?”

Chaz asked.

“Oh, it’s when everyone throws out ideas and we all talk about them. Maybe we can make a list. Then we can decide.”

“I like making lists,”

Ham said.

“It’s kind of like making a Christmas list! Oh, we can do that too!”

Wyn agreed, and then in her best squeaky elf voice said.

“You mean you haven’t made your lists yet?”

The kids all giggled. Even Mia. “No!”

“Well,”

the elf continued.

“we have to take care of that right away. Let’s start making a list so we can make our Christmas lists!”

Ham bolted up from his seat.

“Mom has some paper over here. I’ll get it!”

He scooted off toward the kitchen desk, and then pulled out a big pad of paper and a pen.

“Here you go, Miss Wyn!”

Her phone binged and she glanced down at it. A message from Rob, no words, only a picture of a lonely package of peanuts on an airplane tray.

Wyn smiled and typed, Too bad about your luck. I imagine there are fine breakfasts in L.A.

Pen in hand, she turned her attention to the kids.

“Okay, so let’s make a list of all of the things we want to do over the next couple of days. Who’s first?”

“Paintball!”

said Chaz.

“Paintball?”

the elf remarked.

“Can’t we think of Christmasy things to do?”

“Oh yeah.”

Chaz grinned.

“Santa!”

said Justin.

Ham interjected.

“We already saw Santa, Justin. Besides, we can’t go again until we make our official lists.”

“We gwo ‘gain!”

Justin echoed.

Wyn added to that.

“Then we have to make Christmas lists a priority for today. We might want to go see Santa again tomorrow.”

Then in her elf voice she added.

“I hear there are fun things going on at the mall at the North Pole Village. Let’s add that to our list.”

The kids giggled again and Wyn smiled. It was fun seeing the kids happy. She was actually having a good time.

“So Miss Wyn…”

Ham gave her a serious look.

“If you work for Santa, and you watch us too, do you have two jobs?”

Wyn gave him a serious look back and leaned into the counter.

“Well, you see, here is how it works. I am an elf for Santa first. All day, all the time. But sometimes I also do other jobs too. You know, like in the off season.”

“Off season?”

Chaz asked.

“Yes. You know, like in the summer when hardly anyone is thinking about Christmas, except for Santa, of course. Santa always thinks about Christmas. His elves get some time off then because they work double-time during the Christmas season.”

“But it’s Christmas season now and you’re with us.”

She nodded. “Yes.”

She leaned in closer.

“Santa gave me a couple of special days off to be with you. He thought that you might need some extra Christmas cheer about now and sent me to help with that. Is that okay with you?”

She looked directly at Chaz.

He grinned and nodded.

Then she looked to Justin, who had quietly been eating his breakfast.

“Okay with you that Santa sent me here for a few days, Justin?”

He grinned too, butter crumbs streaked across his face. “Me. Too.”

He gave her one hard nod for each word.

“Good.”

Wyn’s heart felt happy.

“I’m glad you’re here, Miss Wyn,”

Ham said. Then he got up, raced around the breakfast bar, and gave her a big hug around the waist.

Wyn was so taken aback the air whooshed out of her lungs.

“Oh Ham! I’m glad too.”

She hugged him back and was almost embarrassed to realize her eyes were misty. Then she pulled back and crouched to look into his eyes.

“But we better get back to our list. Okay?”

“Yes!”

Ham headed back to his seat.

“Can we make cookies? Mom always lets us make cookies.”

“Definitely,”

Wyn said, feeling warm and fuzzy inside.

“Making cookies is on the list.”

She wrote it all down.

“Gingerbread houses?”

Nodding, Wyn added that to the list as well.

“Good idea! What else?”

“Sledding?”

Ham poked his brother.

“No snow, dude. We have to wait for more snow.”

Wyn thought about that.

“Hm. Let’s put it on the list just in case and I’ll have a chat with Santa. Sometimes he knows the weather forecast better than the weather men!”

“Yay!”

Mia slammed her toast on her high chair tray and gurgled.

“I see Mia likes that idea too,”

Wyn said.

“Wow, this is a good list. Anything else?”

“Can we see a movie?”

Ping! Wyn glanced at her cell phone again and read another message from Rob. That breakfast looks pretty spectacular to me. Wish I was there. Doors closing. I’ll be out of touch for several hours.

Wyn stared at her phone. Wish I was there. Then she turned it over and dismissed it. He’s just talking about the breakfast, stupid. And the kids. Looking at the children then, she said.

“Of course we can see a movie. I tell you what. Ham, go see if there are any Christmas movies on TV right now while I clean up the kitchen and change Mia. Then I’ll prioritize this list and we’ll get going on our day. How does that sound?”

“Perfect, Miss Wyn!”

Ham motioned to his brothers. They all headed into the great room and parked themselves in front of the television. She cleaned up the kitchen while Mia occupied herself with her toast.

After Wyn had dressed Mia and had prioritized their day, they made a quick trip to the grocery store to get baking supplies, including making gingerbread houses. Tuesday, according to Chaz, was deemed baking day. Tomorrow, Wednesday, was mall day again, and taking in the festivities there. Earlier, Rob had said he would be home late Thursday or sometime Friday. He hadn’t made his return flight yet. Wyn made a mental note to enjoy the two full days she knew she had with the children before he got back, and provide them with as much elfiness and Christmas cheer as she could.

And so that’s what they did. With Christmas movies running in the background all day long, baking day was deemed a success. Wyn snapped pictures of the kids and their projects while they made them, and she had to admit, she was having a great time. The kids were good and quite adorable, and she was quickly becoming fond of them. She knew that Rob would not get her texts until he landed so she simply sent them along as she snapped them. He did say to keep in constant contact, didn’t he?

Later, the kitchen cleaned, boxes of cookies made for gifts, and gingerbread houses lined up on the breakfast bar, two well-fed and happy boys—Ham and Justin—lay stretched out on the floor with blankets and popcorn getting ready to watch Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer. Chaz was feeling a little achy in his tummy—Wyn assumed it was from all of the cookies he had sampled—so he had a Sprite instead of popcorn and lay curled up with his blanket on the sofa. Mia was already asleep in her little bed.

Wyn settled back into the sofa with a plop, put her feed up on the ottoman, and happily sighed.

“What a day.”

But it was a good day. She closed her eyes and smiled.

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. She expected it to be Rob but it wasn’t his tone. She had set that earlier so she would know immediately when he called. She hadn’t heard from him since this morning but hadn’t expected to. His meeting backed right up to his flight arrival time.

The number showing on the cell phone wasn’t familiar.

“Hello?”

“Wyn Hall, please.”

“Speaking.”

“Oh good, Ms. Hall. I’m calling from Advance Casting. You read for us the other day?”

Wyn sat up. “Yes?”

“I apologize because this is a rather unusual call but we lost much of our digital camera footage from the other day and sorry to say yours was among what we’ve lost. I have sketchy notes about your audition but we saw so many people those few days. I like your portfolio and head shot. We’re calling back a few actors for a second read. Could you come by the theater Friday at ten o’clock in the morning?”

Wyn swallowed hard.

“Uh… Of course! I can do that. Thank you so much.”

“Oh good. We’ll see you then.”

“Absolutely.”

The call disconnected. Wyn fell back against the sofa cushion.

Then she smiled. Big.

For about two seconds.

Her phone pinged again—Rob’s tone this time—and she dreaded picking it up but she did anyway. She watched as text after text message came rolling in from him. All responses to her original texts during the day.

Nausea hit her tummy.

“Who was that, Miss Wyn?”

Ham turned back and looked at her.

“Oh…Santa. That was Santa, Ham.”

“Oh?”

“Yes. He…”

She bit her lip. Ham looked at her expectantly, smiling.

“He said he was very happy with all of that hard work you all did today.”

Ham grinned and turned back to Rudolph. Wyn sank back into the sofa, feeling uneasy and a little lost. And a lot sad.

****

Rob had turned his phone on only briefly during the taxi ride from the airport to Jerry Crews’ office. He’d had two texts from Wyn that he had chosen not to respond to, as he’d also had two urgent calls from Jack and one from Gina. Taking care of those calls took up all of his ride time and more. Those two texts though had warmed his heart throughout the afternoon. He could tell the kids were having a good time with Wyn. She’d sent a picture of them shopping together in the grocery and he had to wonder how she’d managed that feat with the four of them. But she was a pro, he guessed, and she’d obviously handled it. The second picture was of Mia sitting in the high chair with red icing on her lips eating a sugar cookie. He could see flour and cookie ingredients on the breakfast bar and part of Justin’s little body leaning in with a cookie cutter in the background. They were definitely having fun.

He’d have to thank her for those images. Knowing that the kids were fine helped him get though a long and arduous meeting.

Now, as he sat at dinner waiting for Jack—who had turned out to be more than trying today in the meeting with Jerry Crews—he turned his phone back on again and a flood of additional text messages and images came rolling in. All from Wyn.

At first, he panicked. Were the kids okay? Then after a quick scan, he realized all was fine. Super fine, in fact. The kids, and Wyn, looked to be having a ball together.

He smiled. And missed them.

Jack arrived in his usual style and started talking before he’d fully settled into his seat. His fast talking ways were his norm and generally, Rob could ignore them, but tonight he was a little agitated with his partner.

“So we’ll need to move fast.”

“Yes.”

Rob slipped his phone into his pocket.

“Appears Crews is ready to move forward, full steam ahead. It will stretch us.”

“The timeline looks doable though.”

He nodded.

“I think so. We’ll probably have to hire a small crew. We’ll need Gina’s help with that though and she’s tied up in Harbor Falls for at least a week.”

Jack waved him off.

“Like I said earlier, that’s small potatoes. I just spoke with her. Gina is trying to wrap things up there by Friday if possible, Saturday at the latest, and then we can pull her and get her back here to start preliminary work on the movie.”

Rob fidgeted in his chair.

“I’ll go back and help her wrap things up. I don’t want this job done half-ass.”

“Gina doesn’t do things half-ass.”

“I know that and that’s not what I meant. I need to tie up the loose ends there.”

Jack shook his head.

“No dice. I need you here.”

But Rob wasn’t going to be swayed. Jack wasn’t his boss, they were partners, but more and more lately Jack was acting like he had the upper hand in all business decisions. It was starting not to sit well with Rob.

“Look, I started the Harbor Falls job and I will see it through. Hell, it’s my hometown and they are expecting me. Besides, Gina is great but with the two of us working together, we can pull it together faster. Considering the snafu with the footage, she may need my help reviewing her notes and the portfolios—two heads better than one, you know? I’ll fly home Thursday, we’ll cast the play, then turn it over to the locals.”

Still, Jack was not convinced, Rob knew, as he sat back and stared at him.

“Gina is more than capable of handling this.”

“Of course she is.”

“Then let her do it.”

Rob felt the tiny hairs on the back of his neck stand. Jack was really trying his patience today.

“No. This is mine to finish.”

Jack eyed him again.

“It’s those damn kids, isn’t it?”

That statement cut right through Rob. He stood and tossed his napkin on the table.

“Those damn kids are my niece and nephews, Ruley. My family. And don’t you forget that.”

He stepped away, and then turned back, pointing his finger at Jack.

“I’m done here tonight. I’ll meet you at the office at eight in the morning and we’ll get a plan together. And that plan includes me heading back to Harbor Falls to finish up business there.”

He left without giving Jack a chance to respond.

Back at the hotel, after he had paced the room no less than a dozen times, Rob sat on the edge of the bed. Jack was out of line. In fact, Rob wondered even if it was time to severe the business cord between them. They seemed to have different goals these days and he had to face it—Rob had changed. He no longer wanted what he wanted ten years ago when they started the company. He craved the lifestyle change and frankly, maybe that even included a business change. Jack may be more than happy to buy him out of the business.

Removing his tie and cuff links, and kicking off his shoes, Rob started undressing. He stood and pulled his wallet, change, and cell phone out of his pocket, laying them on the bedside table. Pausing for a moment, he picked up the phone and scrolled through the messages from Wyn again. He sat and read them all, studying the pictures. Even after just a few, he felt better.

Justin eating cookies.

Ham and Chaz rolling out dough with rolling pins.

Mia playing with tape and paper.

A selfie with Wyn and all of the kids holding up iced sugar cookies held his attention for the longest time. All of them were dusted with flour and all of them smiling and happy.

Then he zeroed in on Wyn. She smiled broadly in the picture and he took in her expression. She really was a pretty woman but it was more than that. She appeared content with her life. She also seemed happy with the kids and hell, he owed her a lot for that. Didn’t he? She’d been a godsend even though they’d gotten off to a rocky start and he’d half-wondered why she’d come back.

Why did she? Especially since she’d left in such a hurry on Sunday?

It didn’t matter. She was there now.

He scrolled on—past a gingerbread house assembly line, not believing that Ham and Chaz could hold tubes of frosting in their hands and not attempt to squirt each other. He laughed aloud at a video of Justin looking up the end of his icing tube while squeezing some out. A little dot of icing landed on the tip of his nose. In every picture, Mia was happily watching and sampling from her high chair.

He flipped back to the selfie with Wyn and stared at it a little longer, then hit the button to return a reply. He texted: I can’t tell you how much it means to me to get these pictures. Thank you.