The Doctor's Secret Son. Deb Kastner

Чтение книги онлайн.

      Chapter Five

      Zach’s ho, ho, ho nearly turned into out-and-out laughter when he saw the surprised look on Delia’s face. Clearly no one had informed her that he’d be the one playing Santa Claus. He immediately decided it had been worth being stuffed into the uncomfortably toasty suit just to be able to see her stunned expression. Her jaw actually dropped.

       His eyes met hers and his breath caught in his throat. He wondered if it would always be this way—the current of electricity that zapped him every time he saw her.

       Did she feel it, too?

       Delia was the first to break away, her gaze flittering somewhere over his left shoulder as if she were looking for someone. Her initial stunned expression vanished as concern worried her brow and set her full, heart shaped lips into a frown.

       Curious, he turned in the direction she was looking, but he didn’t see anything or anyone in particular that stood out at him. People of all ages were milling everywhere.

       Zach’s Santa laughter had captured the attention of the children in the room and before he knew it, he was surrounded by little ones clamoring for the opportunity to speak with him and tell him what they wanted for Christmas.

       A few older boys were wrestling nearby, trying to look like they didn’t have much interest in Santa Claus, but Zach knew better. By the end of the evening they’d all be leaving with one of the gifts he had wrapped and stored in his bag.

       Preteen girls huddled in a group and twittered with laughter, reminding him of the Little Chicks, of which Delia had been a part. While the ladies were all grown up now, they were at this moment, with the exception of Delia, clustered together speaking in high tones that still sounded like a flock of birds.

       “Ho, ho, ho,” he said again in as deep and rich a booming bass as he was able. Santa Claus had a Texas accent. Well, this Santa surely did. “Who wants to hear a very special story?”

       The children knew what to expect next, and they followed Zach to the middle of the large room, where he pulled up a chair and waited for everyone to seat themselves on the floor in a circle around him. The older boys and girls sat among the smaller children, and even the adults drew near to listen to the most holy story of the birth of Christ.

       Zach opened the Bible he’d brought with him and silently waited for the ruckus to die down and for the anticipation in the room to build. He wasn’t much of a reader, especially not out loud and to a crowd; but this night was his one exception to the rule.

       Unconsciously, his gaze searched for Delia, finding her at the outskirts of the circle with her arm around a gangly black-haired young boy as she bent her head to whisper in his ear. Zach had never seen the kid before. It didn’t take a genius to put two and two together.

       Or in this case, one and one.

      Delia had a son.

       He guessed he shouldn’t have been shocked by the revelation, but there it was. Just because he hadn’t had any remarkable relationships with the opposite sex since she’d left town didn’t mean that she’d had the same experience. He was struck once again by the realization of how little he knew about her now.

       Was she married? No one in town had said anything about her having a husband, and he figured at least her girlfriends would have known about it. He’d been relatively certain she’d moved back to Serendipity alone, but clearly she had her son with her, and he hadn’t known about that.

       What other surprises waited for him?

       The room had quieted, so Zach turned his attention to the reading from the Book of Luke. He liked being able to relate the story of Christ’s birth, especially to the wide-eyed children. That it was Santa Claus reading the blessed story only made it that much more meaningful for him and, hopefully, to the kids.

       Afterward, the festive crowd turned to the food. Someone had hooked up a computer to a battered old speaker system and traditional hymns and carols pealed through the air, reminding Zach that he had something important to do this evening—other than playing Santa. Nervousness and anticipation flittered at his throat and he swallowed hard.

       He looked for Delia in the crowd but he didn’t see her. He wanted to see if he could find her now, but he knew he couldn’t, not with all the kids waiting for him to hand out presents.

       “Okay, everyone. Quiet, y’all,” called Jo Murphy, waving her hand in the air. She had the unique ability to be heard over even the noisiest gathering, and people soon silenced. “Time for Santa Claus here to take requests.”