Chapter Four
“Let me get this straight.” Later that Saturday while loading a stack of folded cardboard boxes into the back of his coworker’s truck, Walker eyed his fellow firefighters with suspicion.
The wind held a cold edge that bit into his cheeks and ears.
“The new guy has to be Santa in the Pine Hill Christmas parade this year? Who made that rule?”
Cole and Ben exchanged looks, then, grinning, nodded.
“That’s right. The new guy gets the honor of being Santa.” Cole pointed at Walker. “That’s you this year, buddy.”
Ben snickered. “Congratulations.”
“Should I mention that I look nothing like Kris Kringle?” Walker ran his hand over his clean-shaven jaw.
For years he’d worn a light scruff, but their chief discouraged his crew from doing so and Walker had complied.
Having Zoie in his life meant making sure he provided a stable life for his daughter.
The fire department offered good benefits and decent pay.
There were times his life was in imminent danger, but Walker loved being a firefighter and for him, the benefits far outweighed the risks.
Not that any of the rest of him looked Santa worthy, either.
“Hey, remember how I mentioned Sophie had a habit of putting this guy in costumes? If she turned Cole into a believable Santa, she could do the same for you.” Ben placed more boxes into the back of the truck.
“Cole was a believable Santa?” He shook his head. Cole didn’t fit the part any more than Walker did. “I need picture proof. Short of that, I’m not buying it.”
“Oh, I have pictures.” Ben whipped out his phone and quickly produced photos. Walker had to admit that he wouldn’t have recognized his pal as the chubby old Santa. With artificial intelligence and Photoshop, he still wasn’t one hundred percent convinced what he was looking at was real.
“Did your wife work in Hollywood as a makeup artist in a former life?”
“I can see why you would think that.” Cole chuckled. “She loves helping with costumes for local events and the community theater, but you’d be hard-pressed to convince Sophie to leave Pine Hill. She’d be the first to tell you she was born here and will die here.”
“She sure loved turning our guy into a jolly old man. Actually, come to think of it, he didn’t need a red suit and makeup for that,” Ben teased.
“There’s no denying those light blue eyes, but if not for that, I’d think you two were pulling my leg,” Walker admitted, still flipping through the pictures on Ben’s phone.
Ben and Cole exchanged feigned innocent looks. “We’d never do that.”
“Never,” Walker agreed with sarcasm.
Maybe the picture really was a photoshopped creation and that’s exactly what his friends were doing. The hands usually gave away fake photos. Cole’s fingers were tucked inside gloves, so Walker wasn’t ruling out the possibility.
“No worries, pal. Sophie will transform you into Santa.” Ben raked his gaze over Walker. “Should be a lot easier to make you look convincing than our buff pal here.”
Walker scoffed. Overall, they were a fit bunch as their job required that they stay in shape.
He and Cole were about the same height and build.
Cole might have a few pounds of bulk on him, but, if so, not much.
The prince suit had fit and if his pals were serious, the Santa suit likely would, too.
But him as Santa? Not that he was the fittest guy who’d ever lived, but he did strive to live a somewhat healthy lifestyle, ate clean most of the time, and enjoyed working out during downtime at the firehall.
There was no telling how long it had taken Sophie to get Cole looking like the Santa in the photo—if it was real.
Walker was a single dad. He didn’t have time to sit around for hours being transformed into the most popular man alive on December twenty-fourth.
“There has to be someone who’d make a better Santa.” Walker scratched his head. “It would make more sense to have someone who naturally looks like Santa to play the part instead of going to so much trouble to transform someone into him.”
“Have you looked around the firehall? Chief is the closest you’re going to get to Kris Kringle, and I’d like to see you tell him that he’s got to play Santa for that reason,” Ben challenged.
“I bet you would.” Walker wouldn’t be doing that.
He was the new guy, and he’d stay in the new-guy lane. He wasn’t going to purposely upset his boss. He’d not had to ask any favors, but Zoie came first, and there might come a time he needed Chief’s approval to take off to be with her for an illness or something.
“If your wife transformed you into this fabulous Santa in years past, why not this year?”
Ben and Cole exchanged looks again, then Cole spoke up. “I have other obligations this year, so it’s time to pass the sleigh.”
“Maybe we can ask someone from the community.”
“Nope. Tradition is that the fire department provides Santa each year.”
“What do you think, Chief?” Ben asked when their superior exited through the firehall’s front entrance and came over to where they were finishing loading the boxes. “Don’t you agree that Walker will make the perfect Santa this year?”
Chief’s surprised gaze went to Cole. Walker knew something was up.
Cole gave his boss a go along with this look.
Maybe because they dealt with such high-stakes life and death situations from time to time they had to keep things light in between.
Regardless of why, Walker knew they were up to shenanigans.
“You know, Chief,” Cole began, “since I’m hanging up my red hat this year to help with that new Christmas festival contest. Walker appears to be about the same size as my suit and he’s the new guy, so it’s his duty to play Santa.”
“But I thought…” Chief’s voice trailed off as he ran his gaze over Walker’s six-foot one inch frame, then shrugged. “Walker can be Santa if you’re helping elsewhere.”
“What’s the catch?” He knew there was one. Walker knew when he was being duped. This was definitely one of those times.
“No catch. Just you get the privilege of being Santa in the parade.” Cole assured. “You ride in the fire truck, wave, and toss candy to the kids.”
“A privilege that you’re sacrificing out of the goodness of your heart?”
“Only because Sophie needs me elsewhere.”
Walker could say no. He knew there had to be guys better suited to be Santa. No pun intended. But he’d play along with whatever they were doing. If he really ended up being Santa, then so be it.
“Fine. If Amy can watch Zoie, I’ll be your Santa in the parade.”
“You will?” Ben and Cole asked at the same time, then both grinned.
“That’s great,” Ben praised. “We knew you were a team player.”
Always professionally. As a firefighter, being a team player was a life and death matter. Too bad he’d not found a team player in his personal life. Linda had been all about herself.
“Oh, and for the schools, too,” Ben added. “You’ve got to be Santa at the schools too.”
Walker crossed his arms. “The schools?”
Straight-faced, Cole nodded. “Yeah, the fire department always sends Santa to talk with the kids at school about fire safety. Right, Chief?”
Their Chief’s bushy brow hiked up, but he nodded.
Their prank was getting more and more farfetched. “Santa teaches fire safety to school children? Right.”
Cole gave him a duh look. “Who better to teach fire safety to kids than a man who jumps down chimneys for a living?”
Leaning against the truck bed, Ben’s lips twitched. “He has a point.”
“Well, there is something else you could do if you’d rather not be Santa,” Cole sounded hesitant.
Okay, here it was. Whatever they’d been leading up to as the pinnacle of their joke.
“You could help with the Christmas contest in my place, and I could be Santa.” Cole’s expression turned serious.
“The truth of the matter is that I enjoy being Santa. I just couldn’t be in two places at once and as the new guy, you’re my replacement Santa.
But, as your pal, I should have offered to let you help with the contest instead, anyway. ”
“Why’s that?” Walker studied them, trying to decipher what was really going on.
Had they set him up with the one thing so they could pull a switcheroo for what they really wanted him to do? Or was the punchline still to come?
“According to Sophie, Maggie is helping with the festival.”
“What kind of helping?” Walker waited for it, already more interested. Though, a smart man would put that red suit on and forget about whatever his pals were about to offer.
“They need impartial judges for the On-the-Square Christmas contest,” Cole told him.
“I got asked because I’m not originally from Pine Hill.
Even though I’m not a native Pine Hiller, I’ll struggle to be impartial when the contestants are people I’ve been interacting with on a regular basis for several years.
It doesn’t take long to feel as if you’ve always been a part of this community and a part of their family. ”
A part of their family. Family and a sense of belonging somewhere was why Walker had relocated to the small town. He’d wanted that for Zoie and believed he’d made the right decision moving his family.
“For whatever it’s worth, I knew nothing about Cole having agreed to do this.” Chief’s gaze locked with Walker’s. “I came outdoors to tell you that, after speaking with Maybelle and her suggesting you be one of the judges, I volunteered you.”
Cole and Ben exchanged looks again. They obviously hadn’t known Chief’s news and had gone to a lot of trouble for nothing.
“I’m all for the fire department supporting our community.
You’re still new enough to town to where you won’t be unduly influenced by who’s who and your emotional connections with the participants.
That’s key when it comes to judging something like this.
Maybelle was right to recommend you for the job. ”