Free Have Yourself a Naughty Little Santa by Karin Tabke Page A

into her calves startled her. Kim stiffened. She didn’t like to be touched.
    Ricco laughed and came crawling across the thickly carpeted floor, making funny growling noises that sent Krista into a fit of giggles. Kim’s blood quickened as she watched this big, strapping man, a man who, with just his lips, had made her feel things she had never felt, play like a big kid. She wanted to scream and laugh and have him chase her, tickling her until she laughed so hard she couldn’t breathe. She wanted him to press her down into the thick carpet and kiss her and tell her how beautiful she was. She wanted…

Seven
    “D INNER’S ON THE TABLE !” E LLE ANNOUNCED . R ICCO grabbed Krista up, rescuing Kim from the little girl’s clutches. The older boy stared at Kim so intently that she would have sworn he knew her secret. Ricco tousled the boy’s dark hair and said, “C’mon, ’Tonio, Grandma’s worked all day.”
    The boy gave Kim a sideways look before he stalked off. She looked up to Ricco, who watched her watch ’Tonio. “I don’t think he likes me very much.”
    Ricco smiled and shifted Krista in his arms. “’Tonio isn’t very happy with the world right now. It’s not you.”
    “When was the last time his dad came around?” she asked. Ricco’s eyes narrowed. “Elle mentioned it at the clinic,” she hurried to explain.
    “Ricco!” Elle called. He stepped aside and motioned for Kim to pass. He pulled out a chair for her near the end of the table and handed Krista off to her mother. After Kim sat down, Ricco sat in the empty chair at the end of the table next to her. His mother sat at the other end. The sisters and their children filled in the sides. It occurred to Kim that at that moment, he was the only dependable male in the family.
    Once the kids were settled and the din of voices lowered, Leti said, “Antonio? Would you say grace, please?”
    The boy looked as if he was about to defy his grandmother, when Ricco coughed. ’Tonio’s cheeks pinkened, and he dutifully put his head down and folded his hands. Kim bowed her head and folded her hands, feeling extremely self-conscious. She hadn’t said a prayer since she was eight, and then the only one she’d known had been the one Gran had taught her to say before going to sleep.
    The table grew quiet; even the younger children remained silent as they waited for ’Tonio to speak. The boy cleared his throat and began, “Lord, thank you for bringing my uncle Ricky home, and please make him stay. Bring Uncle Ray home from Iraq, and Uncle Donny home from his new business. And keep my father far away from me! Amen.”
    “Antonio!” Elle said. The boy shot his mother a glare, and Leti put her hand on her daughter’s arm. “It’s okay, Elena. It was a good prayer. Most of it, anyway.” She looked down the table and smiled at her son. “Maybe we could see more of you in the future?”
    Ricco smiled. “Duty calls.”
    Jasmine piped up, “Your family is your duty.”
    And with that the floodgates opened, and Ricco was deluged by the females and the little people of his family to come home and stay put. Finally he raised his hand and said, “Can we please eat?”
    Leti nodded, and the family dug in. More conversation erupted. “Ricco, are the roads cleared?” Leti asked.
    He nodded as he scooped up a large mound of fluffy Spanish rice. He put half of it on Kim’s plate and the other half on his. “Clear as glass. Evergreen is open for business.”
    “Let’s hope the regulars get the news and we get a rush of fresh faces,” Jasmine said. “Enrollment at the school is down thirty percent.”
    “I have several guests coming in tomorrow and, God willing, a few walk-ins. I’m booked for the week of Christmas and through to the New Year,” Esmeralda contributed.
    Leti nodded and passed a platter of yummy-looking chili verde. Ricco passed around the salad bowl, filled with sliced avocado, tomatillos, white onion, and cilantro mixed with fresh greens,