Page 16 of Santa of the Creek

“I’ve got a cast-iron stomach,” he says at the wrinkle of my nose.

“You ain’t kissing me with that mouth,” I quip.

Dean pinks, but he just says, “Noted.”

We eat in silence for a moment before he turns to me. “Listen, I hope you’re not offended, Echo, but I told the guys at the bar about your ankle. They swapped their shifts, and you’re covered for the next three days, including the long shift tomorrow.”

I stare at him, not sure if I’m offended or not. Iamoffended at his interference, but I know he did it for the right reasons.

“And I called Randy.”

I press my lips together. Dean is trying to be helpful. I know he is. “Do I still have a job?” I try to sound light but by the way he’s looking at me, I miss by a country mile.

“You still have a job. I may have threatened him a little before he told me to back the hell down.”

“He did? You did?”

Dean shrugs. “It’s not your fault you were hurt. Randy said he’s not going to fire you when you did him a favor, and you’ll still get paid.”

I breathe a sigh of relief.

“He’s annoyed about the Santa suit though.” Dean smirks at me.

I grunt, and Dean laughs.

“I told him not to be so cheap.”

“What did he say?”

“I’m not repeating it. But then I mentioned the moth holes, and he shut up.”

That sounds more like my boss. I’m relieved that I’m going to be paid. I don’t qualify for sick days yet. I’ll be back as soon as I can stand. I intended to spend next year saving money toward a deposit for a house of my own. Instead, I’ll be paying off the medical bills and an ambulance ride. It’s okay; it’s just a blip in my life. I’ll manage. I always do.

“Thanks,” I say around a mouthful of cheesy fries, “for taking care of me today. I appreciate it.”

He shrugged. “It was you or another night in watching reruns of S.W.A.T.”

“I’d have picked S.W.A.T.”

“Me too.” Dean smirks at me. “But Sue called me. Then Gloria did. She’s pulling a double shift and couldn’t get away.”

“She knows about me?”

It is kind of odd that she hasn’t called me once. Gloria knows everything.

“Yeah, but it’s been busy. A pile-up on the highway. She begged me to help you.”

I squint at him. “Are you sure that’s not just Gloria being Gloria?”

“She’s kind of terrifying,” Dean confesses.

“You know she’ll run for mayor soon.”

“And she’ll win. Even Danny knows that.”

Danny? Oh, the actual mayor, Daniel Hobart. It must be strange thinking of the most important person in town as ‘Danny’.

“He’s already planning his next move,” Dean says.