Xavier’s mouth opened slightly, but he quickly recovered himself. As long as he had lived here, he had been to Santa’s Cafe hundreds of times. He couldn’t imagine anyone living in Christmas Cove and having never come here.

“If you remember correctly, it’s not often that the kids at the Children’s Home get to go to a restaurant,” Kira reminded him, as if reading his thoughts again.

Xavier nodded, remembering that all the times he had gone there was after he was adopted. “Well, we’ll have to change that. They have the best cookies in town, especially when they’re fresh out of the oven. And their burgers are the best.”...