Page 55 of Mistletoe All the Way

“What a delight to see you again, Noah. I haven’t seen you since you were—what was it—this big?” Mayor Bumblefritz lowers her hand to her thigh.

I was eighteen when I left, and I have visited town since—I help out with sleigh rides a bit every season. But I don’t pal around the town, so I take it on the chin, saying, “Might have been a little taller but it was a while ago. You’re right.”

Best not to contradict the mayor too much. She’s important to Eloise.

“And now you’ve appeared in town again and decided to throw your hat in the ring?” She sounds like a skeptical journalist.

She didn’t grill the other guys. But what would Chris do? He’d say something cheery. “What can I say? Evergreen Falls makes me feel… festive.”

Her expression remains stony. “Do you think you have what it takes to compete against our locals?”

I hate to admit it, but that’s a good question. I chew on it for a few seconds, then Rusty barks at the mayor, like he’s defending me. I pat his head, thinking briefly of his immediate devotion to Eloise. That’s another answer.

“I fell in love with this town and never fell out,” I say with what I hope is the right amount of golden retriever in my attitude.

Please let this be over. Being Chris is painful to my cold, black heart.

The mayor beams at last, and maybe she’s finally going to ease up on me. “I, for one, can’t wait to see how festive you are,” she says. “It’s not going to be easy going up against the guys who make our town feel like Christmas year-round. Don’t you think?”

So much for that hope. “What’s the fun in easy?”

Please make her stop.

Maybe the universe heeds my call because out of nowhere, a young woman with ghostlike skin, red glasses, and an elf hat trots up the steps, a sheet of paper in hand, pulling the mayor aside and whispering something in her ear.

The mayor’s eyes widen, then she says, “Really?”

The elf nods, then races down the stairs.

Is the mayor going to let me go? A man can dream.

Mayor Bumblefritz lifts that megaphone once more. “And my trusty assistant has just informed me we have a last-minute surprise entrant!”

A murmur ripples through the crowd as heads turn in the same direction—toward my cousin. Stephen’s jogging down the sidewalk along the town square, wearing his Santa hat, but this time he’s donned a red Santa jacket too. He’s hauling a red sack of goodies over his shoulder, just like the man who comes down the chimney on Christmas Eve.

Stephen trots up the steps, takes the megaphone from the mayor, and says to the crowd, “As someone who’s never lived anywhere but Evergreen Falls, all I can say is what an honor it is to compete in this town’s Mr. Holiday competition. Who wants my special peppermint bark just as a thanks?”

The crowd goes wild.

He dips his hands into the bag and starts tossing out small, wrapped bags of the Christmas treat.

That’s my cue to get the hell offstage. With my tail between my legs, I slink away, still shell-shocked, and I join Eloise and my brother, who look equally surprised.

“What the hell?” Chris mutters.

“I know,” I reply, but I can’t say too much more because Gramps and Grams are right next to us, gazes locked on the candy commotion courtesy of Stephen.

Besides, the mayor’s not done. She raises her voice over the crowd. “And now everyone’s favorite town elf—my assistant, but more important, my lovely niece Lucy—will pass out the official rules to the contestants. Get your phones out. This will be a photo opportunity for sure.”

Kill. Me. Now.

Eloise catches my gaze and smiles—the teachable kind. A smile that says Do as I do.

I try my best to grin, but I’m pretty sure I look like I’ve swallowed toxic paint. Come to think of it, does the elf look that way as well? She’s passing out red-and-white-striped envelopes to each of the contestants as if she’s counting down the seconds till she can rip off that elf hat.

“Here you go,” Lucy says to me in the least elfish voice possible as Eloise takes our picture.

“Thanks, Lucy,” I say with my toxic-paint smile.