Holly’s smile faltered slightly.
“Don’t stop smiling because of me,” her dad said, seeing her face. “I’m okay. These things happen. It’s okay. You keep that smile.”
Holly’s heart ached. She could see the tiredness in her father’s eyes. The lifetime of work that he was seeing slowly fall apart and that he couldn’t put back together again.
She glanced around. Most of the parade participants were on their floats, so it was quiet. The two bookstore employees were getting coffee, so they were alone. Holly hoisted herself up onto the float.
“Dad, I have some good news for you,” she whispered. “You can’t tell anyone because it isn’t official yet, but it might make your day better.”
Her dad frowned, the white Santa beard shifting on his face. “What do you mean?”
She looked around one more time. “Nathan is planning on keeping Elements here. He wants to stop the move to California,” she whispered.
Light entered her father’s eyes. “Really?” His voice cracked with hope.
“Really. But you can’t tell anyone. Promise me you won’t tell.”
“Not a soul,” he promised, but his smile was already speaking volumes. Tears of joy welled up in his eyes. “I can’t tell you how happy that makes me.”
“I know. It means you can keep the store open,” Holly said, her own voice growing thick with emotion.
He hugged her close. “Thank you for telling me, Holly. It’s made my Christmas.”
Her heart filled with joy. That was what Christmas was really about. Making people joyful.
“Oh, look, here comes our hero now,” Mark said, pointing down the road.
Nathan walked among the floats, his black coat open in the cool air. She grinned and hopped off the float to greet him.
“I thought you weren’t coming until the parade started,” she said, greeting him with a hug and a smile.
“Well, I had no one to have meetings with. It seems everyone who works at Elements is here. It’s hard to have a meeting without employees,” Nathan replied with a smile.
Her walkie-talkie chirped and several engines started around them. The parade was starting.
She grinned at him. “You want to ride on the float with me?”
His eyes went wide. “I can do that?”
“Yes, Mr. Big-shot. You can do that.” She jumped up onto the float bed with her father. The float was made to look like Santa’s study with a Christmas tree, presents, and a rocking chair for Santa to sit. There were spaces for two more adults to sit and throw candy from the sides.
“What do I do? I’ve never been in a parade before,” Nathan said, carefully taking his spot.
“It’s easy,” Mark told him. “You just throw candy at the kids. Just not too hard.”
Nathan grinned like a little kid. The trucks around them rumbled forward and the parade began. The sounds of the marching band drums reverberated off the buildings and the brass of their horns echoed down the streets.
The float moved forward, turning off the alley and onto the official parade route.
Holly threw candy and waved to the kids. She recognized many of them from school and made sure to wave and call to them. But her real attention was on Nathan. He was having the time of his life.
He threw out massive handfuls of candy, not realizing that he was burning through the bag at an alarming rate. He was having so much fun she didn’t want to tell him to stop. The smile on his face was like that of a kid on Christmas morning.
He looked over at Holly and gave her such a smile that her heart nearly stopped in her chest. It was the happiest she’d ever seen a person look. He winked at her and then went back to throwing candy out for the children.
The town waved and cheered for him, as if they knew he was going to save them. How could he not after being here for a week? People called out to him and waved with smiles.
She looked over at her father. He sat in his Santa chair waving and ho-ho-hoing with glee. The sparkle was back in his eyes. His shoulders were taller. He had his hope back again.