Forever Santa Read online

  Forever Santa

  Montana Brides, Book 5

  Leeanna Morgan

  Copyright © 2015 by Leeanna Morgan

  All rights reserved.

  No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Chapter 12

  Thank You

  Excerpt From ‘Forever Cowboy’

  Enjoy Other Novels By Leeanna Morgan

  About this book

  Even Santa couldn't have imagined what’s in store for Gracie this Christmas.

  After eighteen months of marriage, Gracie McKenzie loves her husband more than ever. As Christmas approaches her life changes and it will never be the same again. Join Gracie and Trent as they discover the true meaning of Christmas.

  * * *

  If you enjoyed reading about Gracie and Trent in Forever Dreams you’ll enjoy this special novella that can be read all year round. Each of the Montana Brides stories can easily be read as a standalone.

  * * *

  Alex’s story continues in Forever Cowboy and Jordan’s story continues in Forever and a Day. All of my series are linked, so if you meet a character you like, you could find them in another book. For news of my latest releases, please visit leeannamorgan.com and sign up for my newsletter. Happy reading!

  Other Novels by Leeanna Morgan:

  Montana Brides:

  Book 1: Forever Dreams (Gracie and Trent)

  Book 2: Forever in Love (Amy and Nathan)

  Book 3: Forever After (Nicky and Sam)

  Book 4: Forever Wishes (Erin and Jake)

  Book 5: Forever Santa (A Montana Brides Christmas Novella)

  Book 6: Forever Cowboy (Emily and Alex)

  Book 7: Forever Together (Kate and Dan)

  Book 8: Forever and a Day (Sarah and Jordan)

  * * *

  The Bridesmaids Club:

  Book 1: All of Me (Tess and Logan)

  Book 2: Loving You (Annie and Dylan)

  Book 3: Head Over Heels (Sally and Todd)

  Book 4: Sweet on You (Molly and Jacob)

  * * *

  Emerald Lake Billionaires:

  Book 1: Sealed with a Kiss (Rachel and John)

  Book 2: Playing for Keeps (Sophie and Ryan)

  Book 3: Crazy Love (Holly and Daniel)

  Book 4: One And Only (Elizabeth and Blake)

  * * *

  The Protectors:

  Book 1: Safe Haven (Hayley and Tank)

  Book 2: Just Breathe (Kelly and Tanner)

  Book 3: Always (Mallory and Grant)

  Book 4: The Promise (Ashley and Matthew)

  Book 5: Coming Home (Mia and Stan)

  Book 6: The Gift (Hannah and Brett)

  Book 7: The Wish (Claire and Jason)

  * * *

  Sapphire Bay:

  Book 1: Falling For You (Natalie and Gabe)

  Book 2: Once In A Lifetime (Sam and Caleb)

  Book 3: Before Today (Brooke and Levi)

  Book 4: The Sweetest Thing (Cassie and Noah)

  Chapter 1

  “Did you see Santa?”

  Gracie turned her head toward the table beside her. Jo-Jo Allen and Stella Lawton had their heads together, knee deep in a conversation that wasn’t meant for her. They didn’t realize she could hear every word they said and Gracie was too curious to tell them.

  She blocked out the other noise in the shopping mall. Gracie didn’t care about the kids running around on sugar highs, or the music blasting out from the stores scattered around the food court. What she cared about was the conversation going on beside her.

  Jo-Jo had never been one of her most favorite people. Before Gracie had married her husband, Jo-Jo had plastered her five-foot-eight body to Trent like a giant suckerfish and hadn’t let go.

  Trent wriggled his way out of Jo-Jo’s clutches, but not before Gracie saw first-hand what a tease she could be. Knowing Jo-Jo had hormones for a brain made Gracie even more curious about what was going on.

  Stella threw her hand in the air, waving it around like an overexcited teenager. “Oh-My-Gosh. The man’s got a serious case of bedroom eyes. Did you see the way they twinkled at Mary-Beth? The poor girl almost swooned.”

  “And what about Doris?” Jo-Jo added. “I didn’t think seventy-six-year-olds were allowed to sit on Santa’s knee?”

  Gracie didn’t need to be looking at Jo-Jo to see the pout on her face. Her voice said it all. She waited for the light bulb moment to go off in Jo-Jo’s head.

  “If Doris can do it, so can we.” Jo-Jo’s coffee thumped against the table. The mad scramble for napkins to soak up the mess would have been funny, if you discounted the poor guy causing the hormonal disturbance.

  “Jake’s on Santa’s elf security team. He’ll shoo us away.”

  “It’s his wife that was sitting on Santa’s knee, for Pete’s sake. He was giving her preferential treatment.”

  “Is that even allowed?” Stella hissed.

  “If he won’t let us sit on Santa’s knee I’ll say Santa’s human rights have been violated.”

  Gracie covered her mouth in case her giggle blew her cover. According to the gossip circulating around Bozeman, Jo-Jo had managed to violate lots of things. Santa would be the icing on the cake.

  Two chairs scrapped against the cream floor tiles. “Let’s go, Stella. If we hurry we’ll get to the top of the line before everyone else finishes their lunch.”

  Gracie glanced up as Jo-Jo bumped past her. She couldn’t hide the smile on her face when Jo-Jo scowled. She smiled even more when Stella grabbed Jo-Jo’s arm and strutted across the mall.

  She looked at the giant clock suspended from the ceiling. The dark mahogany wood gleamed from behind a garland of green pine and red ribbon. Gracie had arranged to meet her mother-in-law in half an hour. That gave her more than enough time to watch Stella and Jo-Jo talk their way onto Santa’s lap.

  Gracie walked across the food court, dodged the line of people waiting at McDonald’s and kept moving. She loved shopping for Christmas gifts, finding just the right presents for everyone. For most of her life she’d enjoyed the heat and blue skies of Christmas in New Zealand. But for the second year in a row she’d be knee deep in snow. Before she’d moved to Montana she’d never had a white Christmas, never tasted eggnog, and never been kissed under real mistletoe.

  Christmas was special. More special because of the wonderful man she’d married and the family she’d found.

  As she passed a holiday display, she thought about her mom. Christmas in New Zealand had been filled with lots of love and laughter. Each year they went to the biggest department store in Wellington and had their photo taken with Santa. After the photo they recharged their energy levels with hot chocolate and a slice of cake from the café. Then they’d go downstairs and buy two Christmas tree ornaments. Gracie always chose the biggest, sparkliest decoration she could find. Her mom preferred little stars. Between them their tree always looked amazing.

  This was the third year her mom wouldn’t be with her. She pushed down the swell of grief that filled her heart and kept walking. She had a lot be be grateful for, a lot of people she cared about. But no matter how much she was loved, she’d miss her mom and the midnight wish they always made on her star.

  Gracie took a deep breath and focused on what was
in front of her. The mall designers had created a magical wonderland. Two enormous Christmas trees, decorated with red and blue baubles, stood either side of an over sized fireplace. Santa sat on a big green sofa, with an elf standing behind him. Everyone was looking at the camera, waiting for another photo to be taken. The little girl sitting beside Santa smiled. Her whole face lit up with the joy that only Christmas could bring.

  Gracie looked down the line of kids and their moms waiting to see Santa. Jo-Jo and Stella were fidgeting in sixth place. Jo-Jo had her lipstick out, expertly applying a coat of pink gloss. Stella was fluffing her hair and rearranging her blue sweater to the best advantage.

  As their chance to sit on Santa’s lap got closer, Gracie paid more attention to the man in red. There was something familiar about the way his eyes crinkled at the corners. He tilted his head, angled his body in a way she remembered someone else doing. When Santa glanced up and saw her, she knew who was playing Santa. And when he winked at her, she smiled back.

  Jordan McKenzie was her brother-in-law. He’d be in his element when Stella and Jo-Jo arrived on stage. He had a kind heart, a generous spirit, and a wicked sense of humor. Even though he enjoyed the company of females, his heart had been firmly taken. He’d been dating Tracey for nearly two years and they were never far apart. He was happy, and about to be even happier if Jo-Jo and Stella got what they wanted.

  The two Santa groupies were next in line. They smiled at one of the elf security officers, batted their enhanced eyelashes and made him blush like a beet. He must have said no to Stella’s lap sitting demand. He crossed his arms in front of his chest and looked about as stern as someone wearing an elf hat and bow tie could look.

  Jo-Jo didn’t seem impressed with being told no. She wiggled her way to the edge of the stage and leaned toward Santa. From his two foot advantage, Jordan would have a lovely panoramic view of Jo-Jo’s cleavage. She casually flicked her long hair off her face and laughed at something Jordan said.

  He sat back in his chair and patted his knee. Before the elf behind Jordan could blink, Jo-Jo and Stella had landed in Santa’s lap, posing for a photo you wouldn’t send to grandma.

  They kissed Santa’s cheek, accepted the candy cane the stunned elf gave them, and sauntered off to wreck havoc with another unsuspecting male.

  Jordan smiled as he watched them leave the stage. Then his smile disappeared.

  Gracie followed where he was looking. She looked again, just to make sure she wasn’t seeing things. Jordan’s girlfriend was walking across the center of the mall holding another man’s hand. They stopped to look at a Christmas display, grinning at each other as if they were the only people in the mall. Gracie had a feeling she knew what was coming next and she wasn’t wrong.

  They made the most of the mistletoe hanging above the display. Gracie glanced back at Jordan. She couldn’t see much of his face behind Santa’s big white beard and bushy eyebrows, but she saw enough to know he was shocked.

  An elf tapped him on the shoulder and a little boy jumped on the sofa. Jordan looked at Gracie and the sadness in his eyes made her want to go and hug him. Jordan’s heart had just been broken and she couldn’t do a thing about it.

  Chapter 2

  Gracie put her feet on the sofa and sipped a mug of hot chocolate.

  “How were the crowds in the mall?” Trent asked.

  “Not too bad. I found almost everything I wanted.” Gracie sighed when her husband lifted her legs onto his lap and started rubbing her feet. “Your mom found the perfect dress for Christmas day.”

  “I can almost guarantee her dress needed a new pair of shoes and a bracelet to make it complete.”

  “You forgot the earrings.” Gracie smiled at the resigned look on Trent’s face. His mom had a soft spot for anything bright and blingey. He didn’t understand her attraction for necklaces and earrings, but Gracie did. Between them they had shopped at every jewelry store in Bozeman.

  “How are you feeling?”

  Gracie put her drink on the table and leaned back in the sofa. “Tired. It’s so cold outside. I don’t think the snowplows stopped all day.”

  “It’ll get worse before it gets better. If you ever feel uncomfortable driving, just give me a call and I’ll take you where you need to go.”

  Gracie smiled and closed her eyes. Trent’s hands kept massaging her feet, rubbing all the sore spots away. On a good day, the Triple L Ranch was thirty minutes from downtown Bozeman. On days like today, it had taken over an hour of careful driving to get home.

  “I’ll be okay. If I need to go anywhere I try and time it when someone else needs to go into town. Mrs. Davies gave me a ride today. It gave us both someone to talk to.” Gracie felt a smile work its way across Trent’s face. “I don’t need to have my eyes open to know you’re laughing at me.”

  “Who me? I wouldn’t dream of thinking you enjoy talking to people.”

  “It’s just as well you’re being polite, otherwise you might find the heel of my foot nudging something it shouldn’t.”

  Trent’s hand rubbed a little higher up her leg. “Is that a promise or a threat?”

  “It could be either depending on how long you rub my feet for.” Gracie opened her eyes and watched her husband. They might not have had the best start to married life, but they were living a wonderful marriage now. She loved Trent more than the day she’d felt the first stirrings of love. A thousand times more than the day she’d married him.

  Gracie groaned as Trent pushed on an achy part in the arch of her foot. “I saw Jordan in town today.”

  “Did he have stacks of shopping with him?”

  “He was dressed as Santa.”

  Trent’s hands stopped massaging her feet. “That’s a different way to buy your presents. Was Tracey dressed like Mrs. Claus?”

  “Tracey wasn’t with him.”

  “Must have been the Santa costume.”

  Gracie didn’t know how to tell Trent his brother might have had his heart broken. Tracey and Jordan had been going out for so long that everyone assumed they’d get married, have a family, and live happily-ever-after.

  But after today the chance of that happening was practically zilch. Unless Gracie and Jordan had both misread what they’d seen. But kissing was kissing. Especially when the lips involved spent more than a millisecond attached to someone else’s mouth. Someone that wasn’t your boyfriend.

  “Jordan wasn’t shopping. He was in the mall pretending to be Santa.”

  Trent frowned. “Are you sure it was Jordan?”

  “Positive. And that’s not all.” Gracie took a deep breath and tried to figure out the best way forward. She didn’t want Jordan to think she was butting into his business. Didn’t want Trent thinking she was reading more into what she’d seen. But she’d watched Tracey kiss another man, seen Jordan’s reaction, and knew it had cut deep.

  “Spit it out, Gracie.”

  Trent’s hand felt warm against her leg. He’d understand what she’d seen, maybe have a different reason that could explain the Christmas kiss under the mistletoe. “Tracey was holding another man’s hand. I don’t think she knew Jordan was at the mall. At least she didn’t seem to notice him as she wandered past.” Gracie waited for Trent’s reaction. He sat perfectly still, listening to the words tumbling out of her mouth.

  “She kissed him.”

  “Who?”

  “The man she was with,” Gracie said. “Tracey kissed the man she was holding hands with. It wasn’t a see-you-later kind of kiss either. It was a yummy kind of kiss that you want to repeat.”

  Trent looked genuinely puzzled. “A yummy kiss?”

  Gracie shook her head at her nincompoop husband. “You know…the kind that leaves you breathless and panting.”

  Trent smiled. “I like the sound of those yummy kisses. Want to try one of those on me?”

  Gracie nudged his leg with her foot. “This is serious. Jordan’s girlfriend was smooching someone else. You’re not supposed to kiss anyone when you’re pr
actically engaged.”

  “I hate to break the news to you, but Jordan hasn’t asked Tracey to marry him. I didn’t think it was that serious.”

  “Trent McKenzie, I can’t believe you just said that. Jordan and Tracey have been dating for longer than I’ve been living in Bozeman. They’re a couple. When one of that twosome dillydallies with someone else, it’s not a twosome anymore.”

  “Maybe Jordan and Tracey have already broken up, only Jordan hasn’t told us.”

  That would have made perfect sense if she hadn’t seen Jordan’s reaction to the kiss. He’d been devastated. “I don’t think that’s the answer. You should go and talk to him.”

  Trent shook his head. “It’s his business, Gracie. He can sort it out.”

  “He’s your brother. You have to look out for him.”

  “Jordan won’t thank me for saying something. If he’s as upset as you think he is, he’ll come and see me.”

  Gracie growled low in her throat. “What is it with men? If that happened to a woman, we’d call our friends and they’d come around with tubs of ice cream and a huge cake. Jordan won’t tell you his heart has been broken, he’ll just get grumpy and irritable. It’s Christmas and he needs you.”

  “You won’t leave me alone until I go and see him, will you?”

  Gracie patted Trent’s arm. “Of course not. And because you’re the best brother in the world you’re going to really listen to him. Don’t let him fudge the truth.”

  Trent thought about what Gracie said and smiled. “Can I have a yummy kiss now?”