Page 25 of Zin and Celeste: A Fortis Family Christmas

Chapter 12

“Now,if you are all very good and eat all your dinner, there will be a surprise for you after.” Skye smiled at Celeste as she sat in the armchair by the fire feeding her son on her wedding day. She’d changed out of her beautiful dress into comfy sweats and a shirt. It wasn’t glamourous, but she was happy.

Zin was sitting on the arm of the chair with his arm around her as the other children and adults ate dinner at the table. The resort, horrified by what happened and worried sick they were about to be sued, had gone out of their way to provide everything to make their wedding meal wonderful.

With a Christmas feast planned for tomorrow, Celeste had left it up to Mara and Skye to decide and they had chosen well with several different Italian dishes that most everyone liked. She and Zin were eating when her son began to fuss, so she’d come over here to feed him. A giant black forest gateaux made up the wedding cake, and she would get some of that later, but for now, she was as excited as the rest to see who would play Santa.

“Do you know who it is?”

She looked up to see her husband smirking and knew he did.

“I do, but if I tell you, he’ll probably kill me, so my lips are sealed.”

Switching her son to the other breast, she frowned and looked around. None of the men were missing from their group, and she wondered who it could be. Then she grinned hugely and swallowed the laughter down. There only two men who it could possibly be.

Jack and Liam had shown up just after the wedding ceremony with Will and Aubrey. Will had been stitched and cleared and determined to come back and finish his Christmas with them. Jack and Liam had spoken to Zack in private for a good half an hour, and then K had gone in and spoken with them.

Jack and Liam had congratulated them both but declined the invitation to stay for dinner, saying they had an important job to do for someone special. She wanted to know what had happened to the man who had shot Zin and Will but would ask later. This moment was for fun and making memories.

As the parents settled their kids around the rug by the tree, she handed Maddox to his father, and he brought up a huge burp which caused Zin’s eyes to widen in surprise.

“Wow, little guy, that was loud.”

Celeste rubbed his back. “Good job, Daddy.”

Her attention turned back to the door as she heard the deep sound of a man’s voice.

“Ho, ho, ho.”

As soon as she saw the man dressed in red, with a huge belly and white beard, she knew it was Jack. How in god’s name they had convinced the deadly, serious leader of Eidolon to play Santa was anyone’s guess.

The look of awe and excitement on the children’s faces was well worth whatever price had been paid. Little eyes lit up the room, and she could see Paige and Leah practically squirming with excitement.

Santa sat down on the chair Nate had provided and put a sack of presents down in front of him. “Now, children, who would like a story?”

Celeste looked on as Jack told the children a story about his chief elf named Finley, who had been sent to watch over a little girl named Holly. As he wove the tale, the children and the adults became more enthralled. The lights from the tree twinkled, the heat from the fire crackled, and it was easy to believe in magic on a night like this.

“Santa, what happened when Finely went back to Lapland? Was Holly sad?” Aaron, Dane and Lauren’s little boy, asked.

Santa leaned towards him. “No, Aaron, because she knew Finley would come back and although she missed him, she knew she would see him again one day.”

“Like my Aunt Catherine. She’s in heaven, but one day we will see her again, and that’s why she tells me that Daddy shouldn’t be sad.” Riley’s words sent shock waves around the room for a moment while everyone processed what he’d said, but it shouldn’t have been a surprise. Nearly every member of the Fortis family had a gift, and it seemed Riley’s was to see ghosts.

“Exactly like that.” Jack recovered quickly. “Now who would like an early present before I get back on the sleigh and begin my rounds delivering gifts around the world?”

A chorus of ‘me’ rang out as Jack handed out the Christmas Eve boxes the parents had made for each child. It contained a small toy, a book, new pyjamas, some chocolate, and a letter from the big man himself praising each child on their accomplishments for the year. Celeste couldn’t wait to be able to do one for Maddox.

Santa waved goodbye to the children at the door. “Now, remember to go to sleep early, or I won’t visit.”

The kids all waved and told Santa they loved him as Celeste turned to Zin. “How did they manage that?”

“Jack wants help on a job next year. He agreed to play Santa if we agreed to the job.”

“What’s the job?”

“No clue but whatever it is, it was worth it. There are so many pictures of him as Santa, he’ll never be able to get away from it.”

“I have to say he was perfect, and the kids loved him. That story was amazing, and he had them so engaged.”