“You have to wear the Santa hat,” I protested, shoving the red and white fabric into Collin’s hands.

“How the hell is it going to stay on while I’m driving?” He stared down at the damn thing like it was going to jump up and bite his nose off.

“There’s a chin strap,” I retorted before pecking his scruffy cheek.

“Of course there is.” He finally put it on, shooting a crooked grin at me. “You’re lucky you’re cute.”

“I know,” I teased, securing my elf headband in place with bobby pins.

Scarlett sauntered over to us with a knowing sneer spreading across her face. “So, out with it. How long has this been a thing?”

Collin’s eyes darted around as I answered, “It’s extremely new, and I think it’s for the best if it’s kept a little quiet for now. Daddy isn’t too pleased.”

Scarlett put her finger to her lips. “Mum’s the word, but I do have to say—it’s about damn time.”

“Was it really that obvious?” Collin asked as crimson cascaded from his ears down his neck.

Scarlett shot him a little wink before heading back over to her bike to finish decorating it with silver and pink garland.

“You’re about to do that to my bike, aren’t you?”

“Where’s your Christmas spirit, Hellock? Don’t you want to make the kids happy?”

“My goal is to make you happy, so have at it, gorgeous.”

I bounced around Collin’s bike, decking it out with fake antlers, garland, and a little Santa doll on the handlebars.

“We all set?” my dad yelled as he got on his motorcycle before helping my mother onto the back.

“Let’s do this!” Collin called back as I leaned into him.

“This is going to be fun,” I whispered before he started the engine.

In a crowd of at least thirty, we made our way from the cabin down into town, every saddlebag filled with as many toys as the bikes could handle. We drove down the main street waving at the shoppers darting in and out of the stores for Small Business Saturday as we made our way to the children’s hospital.

Excitement bubbled up as we pulled up to the front doors.

“What?” Collin asked.

“I’m just thrilled to make these kids smile. They’ve been through so much and need a little bit of a distraction from all of it, ya know?”

With bags of presents, we made our way into the dayroom where most of the kids were eagerly awaiting our arrival.

“Ho ho ho! Christmas is coming a little early this year.” My father beamed with pride dressed in a full Santa suit as he dug gifts out of his sack and handed them to the little ones.

Walking over to a nurse, I inquired, “Are there kids still in their rooms?”

She nodded. “Some of the children are a little too sick to be out here.”

“Collin, come on.” I waved him over as I started to follow the nurse into one of the rooms where three children were lying in their beds.

“Hey guys.” I waved, grabbing the bag from Collin. “We have some gifts for you.”

One of the girls perked up a bit. “Are you Santa Claus?” she asked Collin.

Handing her a gift, he smiled down at the frail child. “Just for the day, sweetheart. I hope you like it.”

She ripped open the gift to reveal a My Little Pony with a star on its ass and a rainbow mane. “I love it!” she squealed, grabbing Collin’s hand. “Thank you.”

He sank down onto her bed. “What’s your name, beautiful?”

“Clare.” She blushed a little bit.

“That’s a very pretty name.” Collin helped her open the box, handing the toy over, and my heart melted.

I gave the other kids their presents and walked back into the dayroom with Collin. “Did the Grinch’s heart just grow three sizes?” I nudged his ribs with my elbow.

“Maybe one.” He smirked at me. “You were right—this is fun.”

“I knew you’d be into it.”

“Maybe next year I can get the guys down in Vilas to follow suit.”

My heart sank a little. I didn’t want to think about him heading back down there. I’d finally gotten him, but in his mind, he was already on his way out.

Shaking off my doubts, I responded, “I think that would be a very nice tradition to take back home with you.”