A Helping Hand During the Holidays

Thomas Wynn sighed. The Wynn Inn had serious money problems, and it was like customers were purposefully steering clear of his inn.

Thomas had gone out into the freezing air while it was beginning to softly snow. He'd needed some fresh air, and the Wynn Inn needed to stock up some firewood before the big snowstorm that many people suspected was coming this way.

Taking his ax, Thomas took a big swing and began chopping wood as quickly as possible.

"Hey, Tom!" called a familiar voice.

Thomas turned around with a jolly smile on his face. "Hey, Dan! I was wondering when you'd come around the Wynn Inn. Merry Christmas, my old friend!"

Thomas was an innkeeper, always jolly and kind to everyone. Daniel Burke was one of his best friends since childhood, and Dan was always welcome to drop by for a drink or see the Wynn family.

"Merry Christmas to you, too, Tom! How's Emma and the kids? Business going well as usual?"

Thomas made sure to keep a grin on his face as he updated Dan on everything, leaving out the bad details, assuring Dan several times that business was as good as it had ever been.

Dan laughed. "I'm glad to hear that your family's as merry as ever despite the circumstances."

"What circumstances?" asked Thomas, confused.

"Didn't you hear? I thought all the business owners around here heard. The government's starting to buy out small businesses and build other things, heck, I don't know. It's driving off customers everywhere!"

Thomas stayed quiet. No wonder business had been tough lately. Barely any people had stopped by Thomas's once lively and thriving inn.

"Is everything okay, Tom?" asked Dan, true and kind concern in his eyes.

"Yeah! Everything’s going great, business is going nuts, better than ever. Well, we can’t stay in this cold forever. Gotta get this firewood chopped and in the Wynn Inn, and get you something warm to drink!"

Dan still had an unsure look in his eye, but he shrugged. "You'll need some help getting that job done."

Together, the two friends finished the job quickly, taking the load of firewood into the inn and started up a fire, getting the inn warm and toasty in no time.

"Tom?" came the weary voice of his wife. "Did you get that firewood yet?"

"Yeah!" Tom called back, "guess who finally dropped in?"

His wife appeared at the bottom of the big old oak staircase, her eyes twinkling when she saw Dan. "Hello Dan," she said, "how's your family? Getting too busy to visit us on time for Christmas?"

Dan laughed. "Nice to see you too, Emma. The family's doing great. How's the inn?"

Emma smiled. "Excellent as usual. But it seems many people want to go home and see their own families for the holidays this year. I guess they felt homesick and decided to not swing by the Wynn Inn for a stay this year."

Tom breathed a sigh of relief as quietly as possible. Thankfully he had his wife, who was always a quick thinker.

Tom shoved away from the thought that this Christmas was most likely the last time in the Wynn Inn. The last time they'd have presents for the children and a Christmas dinner and a happy holiday with Dan.

It was the last Christmas that the Wynn Inn would be open and in business.

Tom willed himself to stop thinking about it.

Emma went to call down their brood of children.

"Hi, Uncle Dan!" the younger ones cheered, tackling Dan with a hug. Tom and Emma just stood by laughing, wondering if Dan was still breathing okay under the pile of kids.

"Charlie! You're so tall now!" exclaimed Dan when he finally got to stand up, sizing up the ten-year-old who had indeed gotten taller.

"And you have not gotten less elegant," observed Dan, laughing as Rose, the seven-year-old, flipped her hair.

Rose's twin sister, Caira, was dressed fashionably, but not in an elegant way like her sister Rose. "You planning on becoming a fashionable criminal?" joked Dan, rubbing the top of Caira's head.

"Don't ruin my hair!" said Caira halfheartedly, giving Dan another hug.

The youngest, who was four years old, repeatedly tackle-hugged Dan's leg. "You're going to become a professional football player someday, Bree," Dan assured the small girl.

The oldest, who was sixteen years old, just stood back smiling. "Getting too old for the Destroy-Dan-With-Hugs-When-You-See-Him thing," she said when Dan raised an eyebrow.

Dan offered a handshake instead.

"You're getting so mature, Eliza," said Dan, "and you're definitely taller than me now."

Elizabeth smiled. "It looks like I am, Dan."

"Whoooaaa, that's serious formal-ness you're hitting me with, Eliza, ice-cold formal-ness. I swear you're breaking my heart! I'm no longer Uncle Dan. Just horrible, formal Dan!" said Dan overdramatically, clutching his heart and collapsing to the floor, writhing around the room.

"Destroy-Dan-With-Hugs-When-You-See-Him thing!" screeched Bree, and the group of small children hug-attacked him again.

After the hugging was out of their systems, the Wynn family finally settled down for a Christmas dinner with Dan, which filled the Wynn Inn with laughter and jokes.

When Dan had everyone laughing until they were crying with his stories, they all had Emma's delicious homemade hot chocolate with marshmallows.

Dan could tell that Tom and Emma hadn't felt this happy and relaxed for a long time. Dan was determined to help his best friend and his best friend's family.

While Dan's family was happy and had more than enough to spend and eat, Tom's family was beginning to get a little nervous about spending too much money. It was completely unfair, and Dan's heart was just too big.

Dan knew he had to do something. Even though Tom wouldn't ever let him do anything for them, Dan was going to help the Wynn family out against their will. Whether they liked it or not.

Carefully, Dan left an enormous and extremely generous amount of money, along with a sizeable amount of candy as his gift to the children, and left the Wynn Inn as quickly as possible before the Wynn family might wake up because of the noise he could be making, and before the snowstorm came raging.

The Wynn family woke up, shrieking with fear at first when Dan was missing from the Wynn Inn, and then screaming and laughing and crying with joy when they saw the impossibly large amount of money and candy lying on their dinner table.

"Thank you, Dan," whispered Tom as he stared at the gift on the table and then out the white-blanketed world outside the Wynn Inn's window. "Thank you for everything you've done."

The Wynn family was happy and well off once more.

The Wynn Inn was to stay open, at least until the craze of buying off small businesses for their properties was over.

And Dan? He sat smiling in his own home, wondering how happy he'd made the Wynn family. It was the best holiday gift Dan had ever received in his entire life to have saved his best friend's Christmas.