Cole sat in front of the fireplace reminiscing about the day while drinking a a nice, warm cider. He couldn't stop the smile that became a permanent fixture on his face. He couldn't remember having as fun of a day in a long time. Not since he was a kid himself. Watching the small boy who had stolen his heart brought upon a happiness he hadn't known yet. He spent the rest of the afternoon with Max, Jacob, Chelsea, and their daughter Jennifer.

"What's with that goofy look on your face?" Cole's sister asked as she entered the room and flopped down on a couch near him.

"Nothing. Just had a good day that's all," Cole said, hoping there would be no follow up questions.

Unfortunately, Cole had run out of luck when his sister chuckled. "You know Mom and I saw you hanging out with some people and playing with a couple little kids. Is that why you had a good day? Who are they?" Her interrogating came from a good place, but he wasn't sure he was ready to share his feelings about Noelle and her son. She'd probably think he was a lunatic or a creep and then find Noelle and warn her. Obviously, he was overthinking it and his sister would probably think it was incredibly cute, but he didn't want to open up like that. Not right now when he'd seen her crying the past few days missing her husband.

"Just some people I met recently that I enjoy being around. Max, the guy you probably saw me around, has some potential business ventures I might be interested in. I told him about the farm and how his family might like to visit since they live close." He figured it wasn't really a lie, just not the complete truth and that was enough for now. Maybe if something happened or if he had a chance to see Noelle again he would share more, but thought it best not to jinx anything as well. He decided to change the subject quickly so he wouldn't accidentally share something he didn't want to. "Where's Zach?" Cole and Ashley's older brother had been sad to give back the Santa throne to their uncle, but it was quickly extinguished when he found his flavor of the week on his way out. Zach was 41 years old and a perpetual ladies man. He tried settling down in his twenties and after no luck he decided he preferred going solo. Being a tall and handsome man made it easy to pick up tourists in the area and he never worried about being alone every night.

Ashley looked at him skeptically for a moment before caving in and answering. "Probably at Sally's picking up anyone who looks his way," she responded with an eye roll. Sally's Saloon was a local pub that had been around for generations, along with a few other businesses. Cole wasn't necessarily considered a regular there, but everyone knew him when he went. Considering they were from a small town it was common to know of everyone. He liked it there because they knew him before he went pro, and treated him like a normal person.

"And you. How are you holding up?" He didn't want to dig into her personal life to avoid her getting upset again, but maybe her original questions about Max and Jacob would be lost in the ether. He was also worried about her wellbeing with her unable to speak with her husband since his latest mission.

"He doesn't want to leave the service after this mission." She huffed loudly and sat up to lean forward and rest on her knees. "I try my best to be understanding and accepting of who he is. And he's great, don't get me wrong. He's defending our country and innocent people and putting himself in dangerous situations to fight evil...but is it selfish of me to want him to move on?" The wobble at the end of her mini rant made Cole sad for her.

"I don't think it's selfish and I wish I knew what you're going through, but I don't so I won't even pretend I do." He was proud of Wyatt, her husband, yet he didn't like the fact that his sister and their twin girls were at home missing out on another holiday without him. When he was home, he was dedicated to his wife and daughter fully, but it still must have been so hard for her and the little girls to never have him around full-time. It's why he couldn't fully invest in a relationship when he was still in the league. He didn't want to put another person or persons lives through the stress of him being gone often for a better part of the year. They'd rarely get to spend all of the holidays together and he didn't have it in him to divide focus the way other people could. He was all in or nothing and as bad of a trait it was, it was what made him successful. Now that he was retired though he could easily settle down.

That thought brought the image of Noelle back to his mind yet again as well as the little boy who brought him so much joy today.

"There you are with that stupid look on your face again! You need to start talking, now! This will help take me out of my own head so please tell me."

A resigned sigh left Cole's mouth. She played a strong card and he wasn't heartless enough to deny her such a thing. With deep breath, he faced her and began telling her of how his short stint as Santa brought two lights into his life.

Putting it out there made things all the more real, and strangely it delighted him.