“Oh.” I looked over at Holly. “We got you a Christmas present.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” She shook her head, but I saw a grin on her face. “But—I did pick up something at the mall the other day.
“If it came from Spencer’s, I might have a slight objection.” Andy nudged Holly and winked.
“No, not from Spencer’s.” She shook her head back and forth.
We went back to the house and Holly excused herself for a few minutes to call her parents. They were in the Caribbean, but she still wanted to say hello to them on Christmas. Andy and I talked more about the orphanage and the things that our Dad could do if he set up a charity. It was clear that they needed some help, and I was glad that we were able to give the kids a good Christmas. Andy seemed just as excited as I was about it. We both seemed to be finally in touch with the true spirit of Christmas, which was something we never fully embraced before we put on the Santa suit. We changed into regular clothes, which was a pain for Andy, who was crammed into his elf suit. Once we were changed, I grabbed Holly’s present and she gave us each a box. I shook mine and heard something rattle.
“Be careful.” Holly held up her hand. “It’s fragile.”
“Hmm.” I pulled the top off my box and stared at my gift...
“Oh my god.” Andy tore open his box and started laughing.
“What’s wrong?” Holly stopped opening her present and looked at us with concern.
“Nothing.” Andy shook his head back and forth. “Open your gift.”
“You got me—the exact same thing.” Holly lifted a snow globe out of her box.
“Hopefully with a different engraving.” I picked up my snow globe and read what was written on the front.
I couldn’t believe we had gotten her the exact thing she got us. Andy was the one who spotted the snow globe in Things Remembered when we were looking for a gift to give Holly. We engraved To the Best Girl on the Naughty List on it, which Andy thought she would get a kick out of. I could tell by the look on her face that she definitely did. I was starting to wonder if I was blind to what was right in front of my eyes. Yes, we had to leave, but I didn’t want to lose Holly. I didn’t care if there were going to be a million miles between us after we left Georgia. I wanted to find a way to make it work—there had to be something we could do. The holiday season had given us so much, but the best part of it was sitting right beside us.
“Okay.” Andy stood up and walked over to the fireplace. “Now you have to look inside your stocking.”
“You didn’t…” Holly narrowed her eyes at Andy as he walked over to the fireplace and picked up a stocking that was hidden from view.
“You got her—a stocking full of switches?” I blinked in surprise as he held up a stocking with a half-dozen slender cuts of hickory protruding out the top.
“She’s on the naughty list,” Andy smirked and tossed the stocking to Holly.
“Yeah, you’re definitely not using any of these on me.” She held up one of the switches.
“Sorry, that’s what happens to naughty girls on Christmas morning. Are you going to bend over the back of the couch on your own or does Zach have to grab your arms?” Andy gave the switch a quick swing in the air.
“You’re not going to let him use that on me, right?” Holly looked at me with concern on her face.
“Well, you have been pretty naughty.” I chuckled under my breath and winked at her.
Holly hopped off the couch and tried to run, but she was laughing as she scurried around the room. Andy stalked her with the switch but didn’t really try to make contact as he swung it in the air. I picked up my snow globe and walked over the fireplace mantle while they continued to play a game of cat and mouse around the dining room table. There was a good chance they were going to end up in the bedroom, and I would join them once they got done playing their games. The spanking and dominance thing was more Andy’s thing than mine anyway. I went to the kitchen and checked on the turkey. It still had a little time before it was ready, so I pulled out a few of the dishes that would need to be heated. Andy had precooked most of them, so it would be pretty easy to get everything ready once the turkey was done.
I really wish this wasn’t all going to come to an end when we fly out of here tomorrow.
Holly
“You know that if you keep running, I’m going to end up tying you to the bed when I finally catch you.” Andy tapped his palm with the switch as I tried to use the dining room tab
le as a barrier.
“Not again!” I shook my head back and forth.
“Then you better come over here and take your punishment.” Andy grinned and took a step back.
“I wasn’t that naughty! I should have gotten candy and toys in my stocking!” I narrowed my eyes and studied his movements.
“You know what has to happen if you want to be a good girl again.” Andy tapped the switch on his palm and chuckled.