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Her arms go around my neck as mine go around her waist and hold her tightly. “This is so much fun,” she whispers into my ear. “Five minutes.” She dashes away as quickly as she arrived.
Ryder laughs and walks off shaking his head. “You heard the boss, five minutes,” he shouts over his shoulder.
I leave him to it and make my way over to my parents who have my youngest, Maize, and Ryder’s youngest, Lacey, on their laps.
“What’s happening?” I ask, sitting next to my mom.
Straightaway, Maize holds her arms out toward me, starting to struggle.
Mom laughs, “I think she wants her daddy.”
Taking her into my hands, I bring her close and blow against her belly, making her legs kick up as she giggles. I love listening to the sounds she makes and the words she tries to form. Maize is just over a year old and she’s a handful. With her older siblings, she constantly tries to copy, and gets angry when they do something that she isn’t capable of.
It isn’t too long before she’s fighting me to go down to the floor, wanting to run
around.
Instead, I stand with her in my arms and smile at my dad who has a sleeping Lacey in his arms. Ryder’s youngest has had a cold for the past twenty-four hours, so she’s been drinking lots of water and sleeping. She hadn’t wanted to miss tonight though, so Dahlia had given in and let her come with them. But it looks like she’s going to miss it after all.
“You guys need anything?” I ask.
They smile and shake their heads. “We have drinks. Go and find your wife,” Mom adds.
Turning away, I locate the redhead making her way through the crowd.
“Let’s go and find Mama,” I tell Maize who settles against me.
Savannah
I’m still stunned at the turnout for this event. I knew that there would be local support, but I’m overwhelmed by the amount of people who have turned out today, and who have sent in donations toward keeping Golden Circle open.
Karen, my friend who manages Golden Circle, made it possible for the staff and children of the home to be here today, and it feels good to see everyone again. It’s been too long since I left, and now that I’ve had more time to think about moving back here, I realize that Jace isn’t the only one to have missed this place. I have too. I want to go back to volunteering at the home, and as I watch Jace approach with Maize attached to him, I realize that I want my husband involved just like before with the softball coaching.
“Hey, sleepyhead,” I greet our daughter who has her head resting on her father’s chest and her thumb in her mouth. Her eyes drift closed as I stroke her soft, dark hair.
“I’m so proud of you.” Jace wraps an arm around me, kissing the top of my head. “This afternoon is going to be talked about for a long time to come.”
I smile at Jace’s praise as I wrap my arm around his waist. I miss what Jack says, but I certainly don’t miss the first words they sing because the kids start singing along followed by the adults. Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer always gets the kids into song.
Deception follows with some of their own songs with lots of Christmas carols in between so that the children don’t lose interest.
The guys know how to keep everyone entertained throughout the hour long concert. There’s lots of laughter, and the minute Jack announces for everyone to quiet down so that they can listen for Santa, a hush suddenly falls over Kix. From my perch on Jace’s knee, I watch the children look around them, and then the sound of bells ringing can be heard.
My heart fills with joy as the excitement from the children washes over me. The idea for Santa to appear had been Jace’s and I’m so glad that it could be arranged. I originally wanted to have Jace play Santa, but we figured it couldn’t be anyone who had children so that they weren’t missed while Santa gave out the presents.
The original Santa came down sick at the last minute, so Jessie had offered to ask Evan. I hadn’t been too sure, but he’d come through for us, and was only happy to help. His donation had surprised the heck out of me, and I’d yet to tell the others.
But watching Santa arrive from the corridor at the back of Kix, I have to smile at the Santa Dress Jessie wears. At least it’s longer than the ones Ryder bought for his female staff. Something tells me he won’t be doing that again.
Chuckling, I spend another minute snuggled against Jace. “I need to go and keep the peace.” I kiss him and rest my forehead against his.
“This is an amazing afternoon, Savannah.”
I shake my head. “Ryder and Dahlia did all this, and Deception.”
“It was your idea. Your schedule. You deserve the praise.” He quickly kisses me. “Now go and deal with Santa and his helper.” He grins.
“Thank you,” I mouth to him as I slowly make my way through the crowd.
