Chapter 17

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

LUNA

A few hours later, I was sitting in the library with a pile of Christmas books and magazines, hunting for ideas when my phone rang shrilly, earning me a glare from the University librarian.

“Sorry!” I whispered, rushing out into the hallway to answer. I didn’t even look at the caller ID until I was in the hall.

When I saw who it was, I frowned. It wasn’t the call I’d been expecting. “Hello?” I said as I answered. “Sadie?”

“Hi, Luna! Can you talk? Daddy said you were in the market for some Christmas magic!” She giggled, and I could hear more giggling in the background before she continued, “I've got some of my elves with me now. Can you meet? We’ve got big plans to make and sooo many ideas.”

My smile was so wide, it felt like it was going to break my face. It wasn’t the call I’d been expecting, but it was the one I needed. “I’d love to meet up! When and where?”

“Um… now? At the Big House? Daddy’s home for lunch and he said he wants to talk to you too.”

My heart pounded with excitement, and my stomach flipped as I inwardly prayed for a good outcome. “Now works! I’ll be there in ten.”

I hung up the phone and ran back into the library to grab my jacket, pulled it on as I ran back out to the hall, threw my backpack over my shoulders because I didn’t want to take the time to run it up to my suite and started my trek to the Big House.

When I got there, I’d barely raised my hand to knock when Sadie flung the door open, and I burst into laughter at the sight of her. The little minx was actually dressed up in a green velvet dress, with red and green striped stockings and red Mary James. Her brown hair was pulled into pigtails that poked out from beneath a green elf hat.

Behind her, her group of merry Christmas cronies, Hayleigh, Wren, Daisy, Eli, Georgie and Reese were all dressed in similar attire, their eyes gleaming with excitement.

“You’re here! Come in, come in!” Sadie cried. “We’ve got sooo many plans and ideas to share.” The group of elves behind her nodded emphatically and I stepped in out of the cold.

“Wonderful! I can’t wait to hear them. Thank you all for helping me with this!”

“Thank you for letting us!” Wren cried. “We’ve been planning for hours and I honestly don’t think we’ve had this much fun since we planned the Great Turkey Rescue a few years ago.”

“Oh good. That means whatever you’re planning is sure to be epic.” I looked around at the excited faces, that looked ready to unload all their ideas on me right that second. “Is there somewhere we could go sit down and talk? Do I need a pen and paper for notes?”

“You might.” Sadie grinned. “We can go in the dining room. It’s got the biggest table. Plus, I bet we can get Mia to bring us cookies and cocoa!”

“Ah Mia does make the best cookies and cocoa, aside from Chef Connor,” I agreed with a smile. Mia was my roommate, and a service submissive who helped out a lot at the Big House.

“Not so fast!” Master Derek’s voice boomed so loudly across the large house, I heard him before I saw him appear as if by magic out of nowhere. He put his hands on his hips and glowered at the group of mischievous elves, but he was smiling and his eyes were twinkling so none of them were taking his gruffness seriously.

“Yes, Daddy?” Sadie put on her sweetest grin and blinked innocently up at him. “We’ve got a lot of hard work and important Christmas business ahead of us. We need the cookies and cocoa to help keep our strength up and keep us in the Christmas spirit.”

As he usually did when Sadie was involved, Master Derek melted at her cuteness, though I was certain he hadn’t really been upset to begin with. His wide grin when he answered proved that I was right. “So it will, angel. So it will. And I’ve no issue with the cookies and cocoa for my most merry Christmas elves, but what did I say about when Luna got here?”

Sadie’s face fell and she looked instantly guilty. “That you needed to talk to her first so you could get back to the office.” She looked up, her eyes bright and her expression chagrined. “Sorry, Daddy. We just got so excited and forgot.”

“I can see that you did. You little elves just run along to the kitchen and tell Mia I said to put a rush on those Christmas cookies. Maybe I can sneak one or two before I head back to the office.”

“Yay! Yes, Daddy!” Sadie rushed forward to press a big kiss on his cheek, then ran off toward the kitchen with her band of merry elves hot on her heels.

When we were alone, Master Derek smiled. “Luna, glad you made it so quickly. Please, step into my den.”

When we stepped into the den, which was basically a cross between an office and a study, much more inviting than his office at the Ranch, Master Derek took a seat in a large leather recliner and gestured at a matching one across from it. Behind us, a fire crackled in a fireplace, warming the room.

“So.” He folded his hands in his lap and leaned forward. “I wasn’t sure I’d be able to pull it off with such short notice, but I made some calls and explained the situation and as it turns out, I can offer you and Drake a home on the Ridge, with plenty of room for Miss Hettie. In fact, we actually have a home that just finished being built with a whole separate basement mother-in-law apartment. It was being designed for one of our other staff, but as their needs aren’t quite as immediate as yours, they have agreed to go ahead and let Drake have the place and we can re-start construction on their home in the spring.”

I gasped, feeling immediately guilty. “Oh, no, Sir! I couldn’t. I don’t want to take anyone’s home! I just thought maybe there was an empty one that wasn’t claimed yet.”

Derek nodded and grinned. “And there was. But that was plan B. As I stated, this staff member’s needs aren’t quite as immediate, and they had no problem helping out Drake and Hettie in this way. In fact, they were happy to do it. We’re a family here, and we always want to help our own, but sometimes, in cases such as Drake’s, it’s hard to know what to do. Everyone I’ve spoken to so far were not only happy to hear about your plan, they were excited, and almost all of them offered to help. I’ve given Sadie a list of the offers I got so she knows where to start and what she’s got to work with already. I’m sure she’ll fill you in.”

Tears sprang to my eyes, and I nodded, too overwhelmed with gratitude to speak. I opened my mouth like I was going to, but ended up just waving a hand in front of my face to indicate how choked up I was, and when I finally caught my breath, my voice came out in a croak. “Sir, I…”

“Asked for some of that Ranch Magic and are receiving it in spades?” he countered with a grin. “Just let it happen, Luna, and be thankful. The home is actually move-in ready. So we can go on this as soon as you’d like and if you’d like me to get Drake out of his apartment for a while, I’m sure I can come up with some sort of Dungeon emergency I need his help with.”

“That would be great, Sir. I was thinking… not Christmas Eve, but like maybe the day before?”

Derek shook his head. “I don’t think that will work. There’s already a bunch of stuff planned those days, and most of us already have commitments. I was thinking more like… three days from now?”

“Three days?” I squeaked. “Can we… could we… would that actually work?”

He shook his head, looking as stunned by his own suggestion as I felt. “Honestly, I have no idea. Why don’t you go talk it over with my Christmas elves and call me later with your answer?” He glanced at a clock somewhere above my head and stood. “I really do need to get back to the office. I’ll call Drake this afternoon and ask if he’s ready to come back to work. Make it sound dire that he pick up some extra Dungeon shifts. We’ve got a full house for the holidays, so we really could use his help anyway, so it will all work out.”

“Thank you, Sir!” I jumped to my feet, anxious to go meet with Sadie and the others. As soon as I pulled open the door to his den, I could hear them exclaiming excitedly from the dining room across the house.

It took everything I had not to sprint to them. Their excitement was infectious and when I got to the dining room, I could see they’d started without me. All of them had notepads and pens in front of them and were bent over, making plans. They each had mugs of hot cocoa in front of them and chocolate smiles. A tray piled high with chocolate chip cookies sat in the center of the massive table. I snagged one before taking a seat between Wren and Hayleigh. I’d barely gotten my butt in the seat when Mia appeared with a steaming mug of hot cocoa and placed it in front of me before taking an empty seat across from me with a grin.

“I was told I could join in the planning festivities. It sounded like they were having loads of fun. They haven’t stopped chattering this whole time,” she teased.

Even now, they were still talking amongst themselves in low, hushed voices. It was the quietest I’d heard them since I’d arrived. Eyes narrowing, I cleared my throat, and waited until all eyes swung toward me, their gazes catching mine.

“So, are you going to fill me in on these plans anytime soon?”

“Of course!” Hayleigh exclaimed. “We were just getting a few details settled first.”

“Okay. Are they settled now?”

“Mostly.” Sadie grinned, then cleared her throat. “Eli’s going to go first, since he’s the event planner.”

“Of course.” I smiled at the only male Little in the group, and he stood, his cheeks pink as he stared down at the floor for a moment, then back up at me. Eli was known for sometimes having a shy streak, but he could be just as mischievous as the rest of them when he wanted to be.

When he looked back up at me, his eyes sparkled with excitement. “We’ve decided on an old-fashioned Christmas Tree lighting ceremony. We’ve never done one on the Ranch before, and it will be a great excuse to get Master Drake out to the Ridge. Of course, when he gets there, the park will be set up with all kinds of fun Christmas goodies and stuff, but there won’t be a tree. At least… not where he’s expecting.”

“There won’t?” I cocked my head to one side, not quite following and waited for him to continue. “What do you mean? Where will the tree be?”

The Littles all leaned forward, ready to hang on his every word, even though I was certain every single one of them already knew what he was about to say. Their eyes seemed to bounce in their sockets as they looked excitedly between me and Eli.

“The tree…” Eli paused for effect, then said, “Drumroll, please.”

I rolled my eyes and smirked as the Littles complied happily, proceeding to create a drumroll by smacking their fingertips on the table. It went on for almost a full minute until Eli held a hand up in front of him, their signal to stop and let him talk.

“The tree will be in your new home.”

I gasped, then corrected, “Drake’s new home.” Though I’d been staying with him more often than not, we hadn’t talked at all about moving in together since right before his dad died and I wasn’t about to try to force his hand on something I wasn’t even sure I wanted.

The Littles all rolled their eyes at my insertion, as did Mia, but they conceded. “Well, Drake’s and his mom’s for now,” Hayleigh conceded. “It will be yours too eventually. I have no doubt about that.”

I bit back a grin. “Okay, so I guess I need to make a trip to town and pick up some lights and ornaments. I don’t really know what Drake or his mom have in the way of Christmas decorations and I’m sure I have no way to sneak theirs out to the Ridge without them noticing.”

“Daddy’s already talked to Nanny J and Moses,” Sadie piped up. “They are going to go into town tomorrow and get whatever supplies we need. We just have to give them a list by tonight.”

I blinked, surprised at how many details they’d already apparently thought of. “Oh, okay. Well, I guess I need to make a list then.”

Eli, trying to get the room back, shook his head. “No need. Georgie’s already started one.”

Georgie pushed a piece of paper in front of me, and I glanced at the list, reading it out loud. “Tree, lights, garland, ornament hooks, star tree topper, stockings, tree skirt…. Wow! This is awesome. Great job guys. You forgot ornaments though. Probably just the bulbs for now.” I picked up a pen and lifted it, prepared to write, but Wren yanked it from between my fingers. I looked up shocked. “Hey!” I exclaimed.

She just shook her head with a smile. “Georgie didn’t forget anything. Just listen to Eli.”

Huffing, I turned my attention back to the young man. “We’re going to have all the Ranch staff and residents contribute a special ornament for your tree. It can be either homemade or purchased, and we’ll have a contest with prizes for the best ornaments,” he explained.

“Oh wow!” I cried, my huffiness instantly melting. “That’s amazing! You guys really have thought of everything!”

“We’ve pretty much already got the whole thing planned,” Sadie confirmed.

“Do you even need me here?” I asked with a laugh, only half kidding, and unsurprised when Sadie and Hayleigh both shook their heads and spoke in unison.

“Not really, no.”

“Okay… well, I guess I’ll stop trying to help. Just fill me in and tell me what you need me to do.”

Lifting my mug, I brought it to my lips and concentrated on drinking my cocoa so I wouldn’t be tempted to interrupt while they outlined the most amazing plans that far exceeded anything I could have dreamt up on my own.

“Holy moly,” I breathed when they were finished. “You guys are amazing. They should give you an official title. Like The Merry Magic Makers or something!”

“Yaassss!” Sadie cheered, pumping her fist in the air. “Let’s put it to a vote. I hereby declare that we should from now on, between November 1st and December 31st of each year have an active committee henceforth known as the Merry Magic Makers, whose job it is to plan and execute Christmas miracles on the Ranch. All in favor, say aye!”

“Aye!” The answer was unanimous, with even Mia and I casting our vote in their favor. After all, how could we not?