Christmas Wonderland

By Leanne Burroughs

A Short Story -

When Samantha Noelle was talked into replacing her friend Monique as one of Santa's helpers at Nickels Department store she was less than thrilled with the divinely handsome store manager who laughed at her in her green elf costume.

Sam thought Mr. Giovanni should have been called Mr. Grumpy and would have liked to just stay out of his way, but his precocious young daughter was going to show them both how much they all needed one another.

*** Burroughs has an incredible voice whether writing a Scottish historical or a contemporary love story.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Highland Press Publishing
• Release date: Jan 9, 2013
• ISBN: 9781301197552

Leanne Burroughs

Leanne enjoys reading, writing, and traveling. Most recently she traveled to Norway to do research for an upcoming Viking epic. The year before, she traveled to Ireland, where she fell in love with the beautiful countryside and its Viking history. She’s also traveled to England, Spain, France, and Hawaii in search of stories waiting to be told! Her absolute favorite place to visit, however, is the lovely country of Scotland. Its beauty is beyond words, and the friendliness of its people is incomparable. In Florida, she can often be found at Disney World with her grandchildren (although everyone knows they are merely an excuse for her to visit). While doing genealogy research for her husband, she fell in love with Scottish history. That led to the novel HIGHLAND WISHES, a historical novel about Scotland’s War for Independence. Its sequel is HER HIGHLAND ROGUE. She currently has several other novels in progress. She's currently adapting her two award-winning Scottish books for the Christian market as well. HIGHLAND MIRACLE is currently available. KEEPER OF MY HEART, a novel about the Battle of Culloden and its aftermath is her current work in progress. THE POWER AND THE PASSION is the Viking epic. The third story in the Scottish War for Independence trilogy is also being worked on. In addition, Leanne has participated in several anthologies.

Book preview

When Samantha Noelle was talked into replacing her friend Monique as one of Santa's helpers at Nickels Department store she was less than thrilled with the divinely handsome store manager who laughed at her in her green elf costume. Sam thought Mr. Giovanni should have been called Mr. Grumpy and would have liked to just stay out of his way but his precocious young daughter was going to show them both how much they all needed one another. *** Burroughs has an incredible voice whether writing a Scottish historical or a contemporary love story.

Christmas Wonderland

Leanne Burroughs

Story copyright © 2006 Leanne Burroughs

Cover copyright © 2009 Cheryl Alldredge

Published by Highland Press Publishing at Smashwords

1944

Samantha Noelle looked over the swarm of people—mainly mothers and children—and shook her head. The store was a madhouse!

How would she ever survive this next month? If she didn’t need the money so badly, she never would have let Monique talk her into replacing her after she’d broken her leg. But Santa’s helper couldn’t be seen walking around with a cast on her leg, could she? At least that’s the argument Monique had used.

So here she was—the day after Thanksgiving—dressed in an elf costume!

Samantha rolled her eyes. If one more teenage boy came by and made a wisecrack, she’d belt him. And there would go her job—and the money she needed.

As if that wasn’t bad enough, the store manager had laughed when he’d seen her in the elf costume. His manners left the man far lacking. Such a shame, too, because he was drop-dead gorgeous with black hair and the clearest blue-grey eyes she’d ever seen. Eyes that seemed to look into your soul.

If she was lucky, she wouldn’t have to deal with him very often.

***

The line of children wrapping through the toy department seemed endless. With most men in the war in Europe, few fathers were present. Management certainly had been smart to put Santa where little ones could beg and plead for toys they passed while in line. Everyone knew families would try their hardest to make Christmas special for the children, feeling they had to compensate for daddies not being home on Christmas morning.

Some little ones were whiny, but most looked excited and awestruck. The guy the store hired was good. White hair and a real beard. And his size was just about right—tall, with broad shoulders. No pillow necessary. What really caught a person’s attention were his eyes. They twinkled when he spoke, giving the impression he really cared. Not just for the children, but their parents, too. His rapier wit had everyone laughing. He was exactly what Santa Claus should be—if he were real. And the children actually thought they were seeing the real Santa Claus.

Samantha sat with Santa in the employee cafeteria and wiped her fingers on a napkin after finishing her hamburger.

She watched him eat his cheeseburger and fries with relish. So, Joe, what made you decide to brave being Santa?

Daughter insisted I’d be perfect for it. Told her she was crazy, but she thought I should try it now I’m retired. And with the war going on and so many men away, I figured it was the least I could do to put a smile on children’s faces. It’s bad enough most of them will have to spend the holiday fatherless. His rueful smile told her he wasn’t pleased about that.

You’re perfect at it. And the children love you. You’re...nice.

Joe laughed. That’s not something many people tell me. Usually they tell me I’m mean, rotten, and smell bad.

Samantha furrowed her brow. Really?

He wiped his mouth with a napkin and leaned back in his chair. All right, I confess. That’s what I usually tell them. So, Miss Elf, what made you decide to walk around in a green outfit?

She smiled. My friend was supposed to work here, but she fell and broke her leg while I was visiting my cousin, Allison, in Chicago. She knew I needed extra money, so when I came home she talked me into taking her place.

Need it for Christmas presents? A smile lit his eyes, then quickly faded. Even if you do save some money, with all the rationing going on now, you might not be able to find whatever you want. It’s even hard to find Christmas ornaments this year since silver’s at such a premium.

My friend’s been working overseas as a fashion consultant for the past year and I’ve been staying at her house. She used to go overseas to view the Spring and Fall collections and bring them back for her company, but last year she stayed. With the war still going on, her employer’s worried she might be injured by a bomb falling on London. So they’re insisting she return home. She loves living in London and tried to find another job, but even Harrods had to turn her away now that it’s focusing on the war effort.

Joe