Santa's Secret

“Incoming,” my father yells. I make the mistake of looking up, only to be pelted with a hard packed ball to my face. My body falls to the ground, my back slamming against the cold, hard snow. The padding my jacket does nothing to soften my fall.

“Ugh,” I say, wiping away the water remnants. I have no doubt there’ll be a goose egg knot on my forehead within the next few minutes. Now that they know my location, I’m left with no choice but to forge ahead with an attack. I may not come out as victor, but I won’t go down without a fight.

Making sure to cup my arm, I pile a mound of snowballs in there. As quietly as I can, I sneak over to the other side of my truck and start throwing snow bombs into the bushes. The sound of my dad grunting changes my aim. I toss everything I have until I’m empty.

I move into the middle of the yard, knee deep in the snow and start my victory dance. My dad never shows his face, but his aim is on point when multiple balls head my way. More laughter rings out from behind the bushes, mostly little girl giggles.

“I give up,” I say. “Mercy.”

“Daddy, you can’t quit.”

“I’m out of ammo. I surrender.”

Holly stands up, covered head to toe in snow. Only the lights strung above her and in the trees light the path toward her. I snatch her up and hug her tightly. When she pulls away, her cheeks are bright red and her nose is running. “Are you cold?”

“No, I’m having fun with grandma and grandpa.”

“I see that.” I set her down and turn toward the shrubs. “You can come out now, coward.” My mouth drops open when I see my mother stand first, followed slowly by my father. “My whole family?”

“Meredith stayed inside.”

“Well, it’s nice to see my sister cares about me.”

My mom shakes her head. “She didn’t want to be cold,” she says, shrugging.

I shake my head and look down at Holly. “This was your doing, right?”

Holly shrugs and makes the sweetest face possible. I’m tempted to push her into the snow bank, but instead I scoop her up and carry her into the garage so she can take off her snowsuit.

“Was that fun?” I ask her.

“The best. Grandpa and I made snowballs after school.”

“Maybe next time you’ll give your old man a warning.”

“You’re not old, Daddy.”

I smile and kiss her on the nose before directing her inside. Holly and I go over to the woodstove to try to warm up. “Smells good,” I holler toward the kitchen.

“Thanks.” The voice is from someone familiar, but I can’t picture who it is until Shelby comes around the corner. She rests against the small piece of wall separating the kitchen from the living room.

“Shelby,” I say her name more out of shock than anything. I didn’t see another car out there when I pulled in, not that I was looking for one, and can honestly say I wasn’t expecting to see her at my parents’. She comes over to me, her stocking feet sliding across the hardwood floors. With both hands on my shoulders, she leans forward and kisses me on my cheek, lingering there for a minute. Holly reaches for my hand, tugging me away.

I smile softly at both of them, but have never been so thankful for Holly to want my attention. “I didn’t know you were joining us for dinner.”

“Meredith offered, said your parents wouldn’t mind.”

Unfortunately, Shelby’s right, my parents won’t mind even though they really can’t afford to feed many more mouths. Both my parents work their fingers to their bones and Meredith shouldn’t invite her friends to dinner.

“How was work?” she asks. Shelby motions for me to follow her to the sofa. I do so, not wanting to be rude. Holly comes with me and climbs up onto my lap.

“Work was… well, most of it was spent getting people out of ditches.”

“We never learn, do we?”

“Learn what?” I ask.

“To slow down. To take corners easily. To just stop and pay attention to your surroundings.”