Landon escaped out of the back door from the kitchen, chased by a puff of fragrant steam and a burst of laughter from the people still inside, right as I finally got the stupid Santa upright again.
The fucker was about half duct tape by weight, but he stood tall and proud, and I'd even rigged a spotlight so he'd be visible all night.
And so I could tell if anything tried to crawl out of the woods to gnaw on him. I was fucked if I was doing this a third time.
"I was getting ready to yell at you for leaving me alone with your mom for so long," he said. "But I see you planned on that and headed me off at the pass. Well played."
I grinned at him. "I'm not always an idiot."
Landon grinned back, strolling around the Santa and inspecting it from all angles, his hands shoved in his pockets. "Not bad, not bad," he said airily. "But it's missing something."
