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He laughs, sitting up and scrubbing a hand over his face. He hadn’t planned on telling her about his family. It’s not something he really ever speaks about. It hurts too damn much. ‘Oh believe me, kids are funny creatures. They put something on paper to Santa, they expect it to happen, or I’m the worst guy in the world.’
‘Yes, okay. You might have a point there.’
‘And you blamed me for not giving you what you wished for.’
‘What?’
‘I kept an eye on you that year. I don’t know why. I just felt I needed to. You were living with your grandparents and they’d gone to town on the decorations and stuff.’
‘You were there?’
‘I was on my way home, but I couldn’t leave. I detoured past your place. I’ve never been physically affected when someone stops believing. I mean it happens all the time. They either don’t get what they want, or grow up and stop believing. But when you came down that morning and your parents weren’t there...’ He pauses and looks back at the fire. ‘When you stopped believing, it was like a punch to the gut. I mean like someone had physically hit me. I was stuck outside your grandparents house, watching the kid whose heart I’d broken.’
Scarlett reaches out and takes his hand. ‘Nick. I can’t believe you did that for me.’
‘Why wouldn’t I?’
‘I don’t know. I mean it’s like you said, there are billions of children you have to look after. Surely there were others who needed you to check on them more than I did?’
‘Yeah, like I said, your situation struck a chord with me. And it kind of ruined the whole Christmas thing for you. After that I never got another letter from you. You were just a kid, and you stopped believing in the magic of Christmas.’
‘Until you came back.’
He looks down at her hand, tightly holding his. ‘Look around you, Nick. You’ve helped me believe again. You’ve helped a sceptical adult woman believe in the magic of Christmas. Believe in Santa again. I’d call that a pretty amazing Christmas miracle, wouldn’t you?’
Scarlett takes Nick’shand as he guides her through the knee deep snow. The blizzard has finally stopped, the sky was clear for the first time in days. She grips his hand firmly, making sure each foot is on solid ground, before putting her weight on it.
His hand feels so right in hers. Strong and steady, supporting her. He’d kept her up all night, those hands of his doing things to her she never thought possible. Even with little to no sleep, she isn’t in the slightest bit tired. In fact she can’t remember feeling this good before. Being with Nick is energising in so many ways. The thought of losing him tomorrow doesn’t bear thinking about.
He stops at the sleigh, brushing the snow off the surface, uncovering the damaged red paint. ‘Stand back.’
He grips the edge of the metal and pulls, dragging it away from the tree and out into the open. Now she can see it clearly, Scarlett realises she's looking at the front of the sleigh. Part of the hitch the reindeer connect to, is still attached to a piece of the seat. She crouches down, running her gloved hand along the charred, torn metal. ‘You’re lucky this didn’t kill you.’
Nick nods, but doesn't reply, as he examines what’s left of his sleigh. Any follow up questions are kept to herself, when she catches a flash of anger on his face. This isn’t the time to irritate him. He flips the sleigh over and rests his hand over the scorch mark underneath. His eyes whiten, the air around him crackling. ‘It was one of us.’
His voice sounds like it’s coming from far away.
‘One of us?’
‘Someone with magic. A legend.’
‘Any idea who?’
He blinks, his eyes returning to normal. ‘No. This isn’t good.’ He holds out his hand and she takes it without question. Nick leads her through the trees, his eyes searching for anything she might have missed. Not that he could find much through the thick snow.
‘How many bad legends are there?’
‘No one knows. Any folklore or fairy tale creature you’ve heard of, exists in some form or other. And there aren’t bad and good legends as such. The world needs a balance. Flint and Damon aren’t your typical good guys, but they’re an important part of my team.’
‘Flint?’
‘The Horseman. What separates us is the end goal. What we’re fighting for. We’re fighting for humanity. Others want humanity kneeling at their feet. Whatever cause we’re fighting for, we’re supposed to remain hidden as much as possible, but the two worlds cross from time to time.’
‘Like when Santa drops on my doorstep.’
He turns and grins at her. ‘Like that. Typically dropping in on people is frowned on.’
‘By whom? I mean, who regulates you guys?’
