Chapter One
Brexton scowled at his manager. “You want me to do what?”
The little human rolled her eyes. “I want you to hand out toys to poor children,” she said.
“But why?”
“Because it’s Christmas and doing something good for those less fortunate will look good. You’re making a lot of money from the humans on this planet, Brexton. Christmas is the time to give a little back.”
“I don’t understand your human holidays.” He ran a hand through his newly cut hair. He already missed the length, not that it was exactlyshortnow. “Which one is this? The one with the rabbit that lays eggs?”
His human manager coughed into her fist. “Um, no, that would be Easter. Christmas is when Santa comes to visit all the good little boys and girls to leave gifts under the tree. Well, for those who celebrate and believe in Santa. Or can afford to put gifts under the tree. There are a lot of religions that celebrate during this time of year, but Christmas with Santa is the one people seem to focus on the most.”
“What is the point of this Santa person? If he’s giving out gifts, why do I need to?”
“Are you being serious right now?” she asked.
Brexton sighed. It wasn’t that he was opposed to helping people who needed it, but he didn’t understand why toys were so important this particular month as opposed to all year long. If children needed toys, why wait and only give them out this one time? And if those families couldn’t afford toys, did they have food or shelter? Handing out toys didn’t seem like it would do much of anything to really help. He’d much prefer to make sure those families could eat a good meal, or not worry about where they were sleeping. If Santa was giving out toys, wasn’t his money better used elsewhere?
He stared at his manager and waited for a better explanation. Sometimes human customs baffled him.
“You are being serious, aren’t you?” she asked, her brow furrowing. “Brexton, you’ve been on Earth for nearly ten years and have become something of a superstar among actors. How can you not know how Christmas works?”
He just shrugged.
“Fine. I’m going to email you the address of a church that’s hosting an event for poor children. They’re not calling it that, but that’s what it is. You’ll help Santa hand out toys, mingle with everyone while they open presents and have refreshments, and then you can go donate money to whatever charity you want. But you’re going to this event!”
“I’ll be there, even if I don’t understand the significance,” he assured her.
“Sometimes I think you don’t pay me nearly enough,” she muttered as she walked off.
Brexton shoved his hands into his pockets and rocked back on his heels. If Christmas was such a big deal on Earth, then maybe he should do something for someone in need. But he didn’t have the first clue how to go about finding someone who needed his help. He doubted the Terran center in his hometown of Los Angeles would be of much assistance. While they did hire some humans, mostly the center was staffed by those of his people who were trying to better human/alien relations. Although, some were probably like him. On his world, he was no one. Just another warrior amongst many, and he’d never really cared for battle. Coming here had given him a chance at a new life, and he’d hoped it would include a mate. So far, he hadn’t found the right woman, though plenty had tried to get him into bed.
Plenty of females flocked to him, but he’d been warned they wanted his money or his fame and not to trust them. He’d tried dating some of the women in his profession, but that hadn’t ended well either. They all wanted something from him, and it wasn’t a family. Not unless they thought giving him a family would benefit them in some way. That wasn’t the type of mate he wanted. While he loved acting, there were times he wondered if he’d made the right decision, or if should have stayed on his home world and taken a chance on finding a mate through the bride program.
One of the interns who worked on set wandered by, and Brexton reached out to stop him. What was his name? Something with a J… Joshua!
“Joshua, if I wanted to help a family in need, where would I go?” he asked.
“You mean like adopting a family for the holidays?” the intern asked.
He didn’t quite understand what that meant, but he knew the termadoption. Perhaps that was the human phrasing for helping a family over the holidays?
“Yes. Is there an agency or a church that would be able to give me the information I need to provide a nice Christmas for a family who is poor?”
Joshua scratched his head. “You could try the Department of Human Services. I know they have a lot of programs to assist those less fortunate. Not sure you’ll get someone on the phone this close to the holidays though.”
The intern hurried off and Brexton pulled out his phone. Before he could look up the number for Human Services, a small hand covered the device. He looked up into a pair of dark brown eyes.
“You really want to help a family in need?” the girl asked. She couldn’t have been more than seventeen or eighteen.
“Yes. Whatever they need. Help with bills, food, toys. I want to make their lives easier.”
“What if they need those things and more?” she asked.
“More?” His mouth tipped down at the corners. “What do you mean by more?”
She licked her lips. “There’s a family in my old neighborhood. A woman and her kids. Her boyfriend was a real bastard and he’s gotten her into a lot of trouble.”
