Page 73 of Peaks and Promises

When she came out, her hair was messy, and she wore an oversize T-shirt and shorts. I poured her a cup of coffee, and we sat on the stools at the kitchen island.

Her blue eyes sparkled as she looked at me over the rim of her mug. “Am I allowed to ask what you were doing last night?”

“You’ll see when you go into town. Keep in mind, big pranks are kind of a thing here.”

“Pranks? Funny ones or mean ones?”

“This one’s funny.” I took a sip of coffee. “I actually have to go back into town soon. Zachary said to meet him at nine.”

“More shenanigans?”

“Something. I don’t know what he has planned. I’m kind of afraid to find out.”

“Well, maybe I’ll see you there. I have to work soon.”

“How’s the job going?”

“You know, it’s good.” She sounded surprised. “Everyone is so nice. They have a lot of questions about you. I’ve been keeping it vague.”

“Tilikum people are nosy as all hell.”

“It’s fine. I’ve been telling people we’ve only been married for a couple years. That seems to keep them from asking questions about anything before that.”

I nodded. That was good. I still needed to come clean to Summer about my past. But it wasn’t the time.

Finishing my coffee, I got ready to leave. Dad had already offered to take Summer to work—she didn’t need to be there until ten thirty—so I said goodbye and headed out.

As soon as I drove into town, I had to chuckle. The sky was a brilliant blue and the sun blazed in the sky. But aside from the lack of snow, it looked like Christmas had truly come to Tilikum.

People wandered the sidewalks, pointing at the decorations. From what I could see, the store and restaurant owners were rolling with it. No one had taken anything down.

Zachary’s truck was outside Lumberjack Park, so I stopped behind him. Josiah and Luke were already there, and Theo drove up a moment after me. The reindeer was tied to a tree, contentedly munching on the grass.

“Merry Christmas,” Z said as he got out of his truck. He set a red duffel bag at my feet. “Epic town prank, phase two.”

“What is this?” I asked.

He grinned. “A Santa costume.”

“Why are you giving it to me?”

“Because you, my friend, are playing Santa.” Before I could protest, he grabbed a white bucket out of the back of his truck. “These candy canes aren’t going to give themselves out.”

“You think I’m going to dress up as Santa and pass out candy canes?”

Luke and Theo snickered behind their hands. I shot them both a glare. Josiah stood with his arms crossed, as if daring me to refuse.

“I don’t think you are,” Z said. “I know you are. Consider it your penance.”

“You’re lucky he didn’t come up with something worse,” Theo said.

“Yeah, I wouldn’t argue,” Luke added. “Or he will come up with something worse.”

With his arms still crossed, Josiah raised his eyebrows. His expression looked a lot like Dad.

Shaking my head, I picked up the duffel bag.

“And don’t phone it in,” Z said. “Kids love Santa. You need to be convincing.”