Santa's Daughter (1st bk of Santa Series) (Completed)

Chapter 19 (Edited)

***

I laid my head against the window of the truck and watched the world go by. My whole body was relaxed, while I watched as the world went by.

Everything was white, being blanketed by a fresh coat of snow, that would keep the footprints of any animals in it's reach. The trees bowed down under the weight of the snow, and every so often, the snow would fall from the branches of the trees and the whole tree would stand up.

Soft Christmas music played in the background, while we were in the car staying silent. It was peaceful, the silence, and it didn't seem as anything would break it. Sure, there was the occasional sneeze of Mika, but that was it.

It was too quiet for my liking, because I knew that something bad would happen. It always did.

And, sure enough, my discomfort didn't go unnoticed. There was a loud popping sound and the truck started to swerve, as if one of the tires blew out on it's own.

"Shoot!" Mom said, trying to gain control of the truck as the steering wheel was jerked from her hands. She stayed calm, even though the truck was swerving around on the icy roads.

I grabbed hold of the 'oh shit' bar and held on, feeling kind of sick. My stomach clenched, while I waited for the truck to stop moving around the icy road.

Finally after a few seconds later, Mom got the truck under control and pulled it to the side of the road. "Whew, that was close," she said as she leaned her head against the steering wheel.

I couldn't help but nod my head in agreement before I glanced around, wondering why the tire had blown out when there had been nothing wrong with it in the first place. My heart was pounding and I could feel the blood rushing out of my head, while I tried to get my breathing back under control.

"What happened?" Madison asked, making me turn to look at her. She had rubbed her head where she had banged it against Tyan's. They were both grimacing, and I would have laughed, if it wasn't for the fact that I could feel a bump appearing on the side of my head, also.

"Tire blew out," I said, unbuckling my seatbelt before reaching for the door handle. I opened the door, feeling slightly claustrophobic before jumping out onto the ground, followed by Mika.

"But how?" John asked.

I couldn't help but shrug my shoulder, not knowing the answer. After that, I walked to the back of the truck, knowing that the tire had been blown back there. A small frown appeared on my face when I looked down at the passenger tire and saw that it looked kind of weird.

Something was wrong with how the tire looked as if all of the rubber had been torn off. It didn't look like the normal tire flats we had but it was something that I couldn't put my finger on it. I didn't know it at that time, but magic had been the cause of giving us a flat tire.

At that moment, Mika came up with tools in her mouth and rolling a new tire towards me. She glanced at the tire and frowned when she saw how it looked. "That's not normal," she said while I grabbed the toolbox from her.

I couldn't help but grunt in reply, because I also knew that it wasn't normal. I stayed silent, while I started to fix the tire of the truck, not caring that everyone else was doing something else. I actually find it quite comforting to fix a tire and not rely on someone else for it.

A car pulled up towards us, causing me to look up. A small frown appeared on my face when a 6'4 male got out of the car from the passenger side.

The was slender built with olive looking skin. He had black hair that was shaved in some sort of military fashion and dark brown eyes. A small smirk was on his full lips, as if he liked it that I was "checking" him out.

I rolled my eyes and shook my head while I started to work on the tire, hoping that he would go away.

The crunching sound of footsteps came towards me and stopped, a few feet away. "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked, sounding like a dying cat.

I shook my head no, while I pulled the tire off of the truck and set it to the side, knowing that Mom would probably want to see it. I grabbed the new tire and placed it on the truck, before starting to put the lugnuts on.

"Well?" he asked, and I knew that he was raising an eyebrow at me. "Do you need any help, little girl?"

I scoffed and rolled my eyes. "Little girl my ass," I muttered before I paused and looked at him. "No, I do not need any help from a small, little boy," I added, using his words against him. "I am very capable of doing this on my own."

The male snorted. "The name's Cale," he said. "And you, lovely lady look like you need some help."

I finished up the tire and looked at him, raising an eyebrow. "Did I look like I needed help?" I asked as I stood. I couldn't help but fold my arms across my chest while I looked him in the eye, causing the older looking male to smirk slightly.

"Mary," a voice called, making me look over to see my mother coming towards us. Her pace had quickened when she had spotted the male, Cale, beside me. A frown/scowl was on her face, and I couldn't comprehend why there was one. "Who is this?" she asked, standing beside me. She folded her arms across her chest and raised an eye, waiting.

"The name is Cale, Ma'am," Cale replied. "And I was wondering if she needed help changing the tire." He nodded towards me.

"My daughter does not need help. She is all ready done with it, also. Please leave," Mom replied.

Cale had a look of "hurt" on his face. "But I wasn't doing anything, Ma'am," he said. He glanced at me. "Is it alright if I speak with you, alone?" He glanced at my mother, and I could tell that it had something to me.

I couldn't help but press my lips together, upset that they were keeping something from me, but I couldn't ignore the whining and pawing of my dog, as she tried to get my attention. "Fine, I'll be walking around the woods and will be back later. Mika needs to walk around some."

Mom nodded her head, while she kept an eye on Cale. "Be back in fifteen," she replied.

I nodded my head and walked into the woods with my dog. A frown was on my face, and I couldn't help but wonder what was so important that she had to send me away?

***

"What is it?" I asked Mika, raising an eyebrow.

"He smells different."

A frown appeared on my face, wondering what she meant by that. "What do you mean by that?"

"He smells different."

"I still don't know what you mean."

"He smells like magic, not the magic you smell like."

"Not smell like the magic I smell like." I was very confused. What magic did I smell like? Did I have some unknown powers that I did not know about?

"You always smell like snow, even when it is hot outside."

"I guess it might be because of my Dad, and because I was born in the winter and moved to the North Pole," I mused, frowning I didn't know what she meant by he smelt like magic, but I did know that there were things in this world that couldn't be explained with science.

Mika nodded. "He smells strong."

"So be cautious?" I couldn't help but raise an eyebrow, wondering if that is what she had meant.

"Yes, be cautious and, also, be careful."

"I'll be cautious and careful."

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So, what do ya'll think about Cale? Is he a good guy or a bad guy? Find out through this book and the next. Anyways, I hoped ya'll enjoy.

Don't forget to vote/comment. I would love to hear from ya'll.

Peace out Fluffy Munchkins,

Rissa.