Free Teddy Bear Christmas by CC Bridges Page A

bear. “Ma’am, does it have plaid ears?”
    Tyler could hear the loud squeal through the phone from where he stood. He bit his lip to keep from laughing.
    The guy winced slightly, but calmly took down the caller’s information. “Stop at the concierge on your return trip, ma’am. We’ll have it in storage.” He set down the phone, and only then did Tyler notice he had a name tag that said “Aaron.” “You have absolutely perfect timing.”
    “I knew someone had to be missing this little guy.” Tyler shrugged. “And it’s not like I’ve got anything better to do, with my flight delayed.”
    “East Coast? Yeah, bad weather out there right now. Did you want me to check your flight status?” Aaron had set the bear down in front of his computer, and it looked like the bear was typing.
    Tyler couldn’t help himself. He took out his phone and snapped a picture. “Sorry,” he apologized immediately after doing it. It probably seemed a really weird thing to do. “It looks like the bear is manning your desk.”
    “His name is Oliver,” Aaron said very seriously, his lips quirking a bit to betray the smile he was hiding.
    Tyler did laugh. “Well, Sir Oliver clearly has a very busy night ahead of him.” He told Aaron his flight number and got the disappointing news that there still was no update, other than a delay. “Great. I was really hoping to make it home for Christmas this year.” He’d promised Mom.
    Aaron’s fingers continued to move on the keyboard. “Would you like me to try to get you on another flight? There’s one leaving tomorrow morning… oh.”
    “Yeah, the waiting list for that one is like a hundred people deep.” Tyler had already been through this.
    “I’ll add you to the list, just in case.” Even Aaron didn’t seem convinced.
    “Thanks, I appreciate it.” Tyler went back to his seat and dug out his headphones. He only put one bud in so he could still hear if they announced his flight, but otherwise he was going to lose himself in his favorite podcast and hope he’d soon be cleared for take-off.
     
     
    T HE NEXT hour flew by, although Aaron had hardly realized it until Janelle arrived to give him his break. He flexed his hands, trying to work out the kinks in his fingers from typing flight numbers in so many times. Lots of planes were still stuck on the ground. What shitty luck for some people. This was the absolute worst time to travel, weather-wise, and of course everyone needed to be on the other side of the country posthaste. It seemed a lot of work for only one night of presents.
    “I’d keep this list up,” he told Janelle. “It’s what I’ve gotten the most questions on.”
    “Okay, but what am I supposed to do with this?” She held up the teddy bear he’d left by the computer.
    Aaron could feel his cheeks heat. “Oh, that’s for Lost and Found. I have the owner’s name. They’ll pick it up on their way back through the airport. I’ll take care of him.”
    “Him?” She laughed before turning to the person who’d come up to the counter.
    Aaron figured he’d best escape now if he wanted his lunch break.
    He’d left the men’s room when he spotted the hot guy from earlier still sitting at the gate. Aaron felt a bit like a creeper, having gotten the guy’s name from looking up his flight information. At least he knew it now, so he wasn’t thinking of “Tyler Martin” as “Flight 292.” Tyler was farmer’s market hot, with tousled dirty-blond hair, honey-colored brown eyes, and enough scruff on his cheeks to make Aaron want to run his hands through it. It was the kind of light beard that would feel good against his inner thighs.
    Wow, that escalated quickly. He purchased a bottle of water with his lunch and held it to his forehead to cool down. Aaron barely knew more than Tyler’s name. He shouldn’t be cooking up sexual fantasies about him.
    “Hey.”
    A voice from behind had Aaron jumping and dropping his water. Aaron bent to pick it up and