After a couple more hours spent on the Christmas throne, Cole was given the opportunity to take a break. Even better news arrived as soon as his break began. His brother arrived from his hunt early and offered to be Santa for the afternoon, claiming it was his right as the eldest to stake his claim. Cole hesitated in giving the role away only for show so his family wouldn't shame him later for not enjoying his brief time as Saint Nick. Cole was so relieved to be out of the costume and back into his regular clothes he changed faster than he ever had before. He would never take his favorite pair of jeans and sweater for granted again.

As Cole headed back to the festival area, his thoughts took him back to the lovely mother and son he couldn't seem to take his thoughts away from. Jacob. From the few minutes he spent with the little guy, he knew anyone would be honored to be his dad. His chest ached for the little boy who was so sweet to ask for something like that over an overpriced and overrated toy. The other part of him felt for his mother. The beautiful angel with the forlorn look on her face. He wanted to find her, learn her name, and make her pain go away. He couldn't get past the feeling in his chest when he looked into those eyes. Sadly, they were probably long gone by now and it wouldn't have surprised him if she hightailed it out of there as soon as they finished with him. He shook his head as a heavy emptiness settled in him. He'd most likely missed his chance.

Before he could get too far into the holiday zone, a man with a kid on his shoulders stopped and asked him if he was the Cole Kingston. He'd hoped wearing a hat was enough to disguise himself, but being 6'7", he knew he was pretty hard to miss. Not one to think he's too good to give people a little of his time, he acknowledged that he was in fact that Cole and signed the cap the man was wearing as well as took a selfie with him and the little girl on his shoulders who had zero clue who the man was. The actions of the man brought more attention to Cole and before he could move forward he had a small gathering of people requesting pictures and his signature on any material they deemed suitable.

A few minutes into his signing spree, he heard the voice of the precious little boy whose name he actually remembered. "Mama, who's that big guy?" The boy practically yelled it and it made the small polite smile Cole had been wearing widen. Grateful was the only thing he could feel when he turned towards the little boy and mother who appeared to be on their way out. I've been given a chance he thought to himself before he responded to the kid.

"I do! I like the red and gold team! It's my favorite colors," he responded with plenty of enthusiasm.

The boys response made Cole chuckle and all attention turned to the little boy who seemed to have endeared the people around them. He then turned his attention to Jacob's mother who kept her eyes down at her son and seemed almost nervous. The familiar feelings that stirred up in him once again let him know that it wasn't just a fluke or a fleeting thing. She was special, and he wanted to find out in what capacity that was.

"Well, I just so happen to be a former player of that red and gold team," Cole told Jacob and saw his eyes widen to an almost cartoonish size. The little boys excitement was contagious and he felt a surge of pride for making the kid so happy whilst not even having to adorn a Santa suit.

"I'm Jacob and this is my mama! Can we take a picture? Can you call my uncle? He might know who you are!" The kids mouth ran a mile a minute and Cole almost felt bad for practically ignoring the rest of the people who were waiting for a moment of his attention. He quickly went back to signing another cap someone held out to him while thinking of how to get them to himself for just a moment.

"I'm about to head out," he lied. "How about I walk you and your mom to your car and if she'll let us, we can give your uncle a call. How does that sound?"

Jacob could only jump in excitement and look to his mom with pleading eyes. He watched her straighten and take a deep breath before telling him okay while they headed towards the edge of the entrance in wait. With only a handful more people wanting to take a picture with him he made quick work of it all and wished everyone a happy holiday before heading to the kid and his beautiful mother. She had yet to look at him again and he wondered if maybe she knew he was Santa. Or maybe she was intimidated by him, but he hoped it wasn't the case. Finally, as he made it to them, the boys mother made the mistake of looking up at him as he neared and the eye contact did the exact thing as it did before. It entranced him. Is this how it is when she looks at everyone? How does she not have a line of endless suitors just waiting for her to look at them. Those thoughts sent a surge of jealousy through him so fiercely he almost jolted physically.

Cole quickly shook himself out of this stupor before he formally introduced himself to her. He also thought it would be a good idea to apologize for making a plan with her son before she okayed it.

"Hi there. Sorry about that earlier, I'm Cole. Cole Kingston," he reached out his hand towards her. Her rosy cheeks looked as if they had darkened, or maybe it was wishful thinking which could easily have been the case with him. With his hand out in anticipation he held his breath, waiting to see what happened if she took it.

Perhaps it was two seconds, maybe it was twenty, all Cole knew is that it felt like forever for her to decide, but he wanted to cheer when she finally reached her hand out and placed it in his. His hand engulfed her small, dainty hand but the electricity and heat that emanated from hers was enough to make his knees buckle. It was magic.

If she felt anything on her end, she either hid it well or he was too enthralled to notice. Either way, today was kismet. He just knew it, but he had to play it cool before he came off as a total creep.

"Umm...nice to meet you. I'm Noelle." Her voice was music to his ears. Now he had to do something so he could hear more of it. She seemed timid though, so he would have to play it safe. Before he could think of anything else to make small talk she turned with Jacob in tow towards where their vehicle must have been. A split second later, he was right behind them to keep his word and call the boy's uncle. He didn't know why there was a pull, but he wasn't about to question it. Not when it felt right.

Once they made their way to a dark grey SUV, Jacob turned around in giddiness. "This is ours! Can we call Uncle Max now?" Noelle, not looking like she wanted to make light conversation with strangers, pulled her phone out and started pressing buttons and then held her phone out as a FaceTime call began. It only took a few seconds for someone to answer and then the voice of a confused man answered.

"Sup Nono...everything okay?" It wasn't difficult for Cole to guess it was the uncle that Jacob was excited to talk to because it only took a split second for Jacob to chime in.

"Hi Unc!" Jacob shouted and Cole watched as Noelle smiled and squatted so she could get her son in the frame. That smile. It made his heart feel warm and light. Cole couldn't keep a straight face even if he tried seeing these two people he didn't even know smiling. It felt familiar though and that is what kept him grounded on the spot.

Cole heard a chuckle through the speaker before his Uncle spoke again. "Hey Bud. What are you two up to? Why are you calling me from outside?"

"We came to see Santa at that farm my friend told me about. It's really nice, you and Chels should bring Jenny here," Noelle said. She could be reading a medical book and Cole would be fully invested in listening. He'd never really thought of having a favorite sound, but he thought this might be it. The uncle on the phone began saying something to them and Cole zoned out for a moment before the phone was turned to him and the mustached face of a man was in front of him.

"NO FU-FLIPPING WAY!" The man yelled into the phone. "Y-you..." he took a deep breath as if he had forgotten how to breathe. "You're flipping Cole Kingston...like...THE Cole Kingston!" Cole's smile was easy seeing how excited this guy was. He saw some resemblance there. This must be her brother he finally concluded.

The brother, Max, then turned his head and yelled a couple of names out before turning his head back to the phone and the awestruck look came back. "I can't believe it's you! I knew you were from around this area, but holy hell..." The man must have sensed how giddy he must have been coming off because he then cleared his throat and tried to paste on a serious yet polite face.

"Hey man," Cole said in his friendliest tone. "Heard you're a big fan of the red and gold team." Cole snuck a look at Jacob and gave him a wink causing the little guy's smile to grow to a comical proportion.

The uncle chuckled before a lovely woman walked in behind him and stopped a moment before reaching him and gasped.

"Oh wow, he's so hot," said the woman who Cole guessed was his wife. The man only laughed and agreed which made Cole's cheeks feel warm as he smiled and thanked her. Cole decided to bring Noelle and Jacob back into the mix so he spun around toward them and faced the phone so all three would be in frame.

"I'm really glad I met Noelle and Jacob here. I hope you guys can make it out here to my family's farm. We have it open up until Christmas Eve," Cole said to them while Noelle and Jacob stood behind him. He had to crouch a considerable amount in order to get both of them in the frame with him and being so close to them just felt right. He felt almost possessive of them right then.

The excitement only grew in the two people on the other side of the call. "We'd love to. We can take our little girl next weekend probably. Will you...uh....will you be there?" Cole smiled at the hopefulness in the grown man's voice. He met a lot of fans, but this one seemed like one of the best.

"Absolutely. I'm a retired man now. I get to hang out here all the time and I'm glad I did or I wouldn't have met these two." As he turned to smile at Jacob and Noelle they faced him as well and it felt like time froze again. Surely everything he felt wasn't one sided. The gods wouldn't be that cruel could they?

A throat clearing was all that could be heard coming from the phone which broke Cole out of the spell. He really had to watch himself and play it cool. When he looked back to the phone he saw two matching smug smiles and it only gave him more hope.

Maybe this could turn into something really good.