Low Country Christmas

by Lee Tobin McClain

  Come home to Safe Haven, where the best Christmas surprises aren’t the ones under the tree.

  Holly Gibson has one wish this Christmas season: to find her young niece’s father. And she’s traveled hundreds of miles to the small town of Safe Haven to make that wish come true. But the mysterious Cash O’Dwyer is nothing like she expected. Strong and kind, he makes her heart beat faster. And suddenly that little secret she’s keeping about her sister stirs up all kinds of guilt...

  Cash is stunned—and more than a little wary—to discover he’s a father. Having a family of his own was never part of his plan...until sweet baby Penny and her fiercely independent aunt Holly arrive in town. Now he’s trimming trees and stuffing stockings for three. But when the ghosts of Cash’s past threaten the future of his fragile new family, he’ll do whatever it takes to be the father Penny needs—and the man Holly deserves—for more than just the holidays.

  Praise for Lee Tobin McClain

  “Fans of Debbie Macomber will appreciate this start to a new series by McClain that blends sweet, small-town romance with such serious issues as domestic abuse.... Readers craving a feel-good romance with a bit of suspense will be satisfied.”

  —Booklist on Low Country Hero

  “[An] enthralling tale of learning to trust.... This enjoyable contemporary romance will appeal to readers looking for twinges of suspense before happily ever after.”

  —Publishers Weekly on Low Country Hero

  “Low Country Hero has everything I look for in a book—it’s emotional, tender, and an all-around wonderful story.”

  —RaeAnne Thayne, New York Times bestselling author

  Also available from

  Lee Tobin McClain

  and HQN Books

  Safe Haven

  Low Country Hero

  Low Country Dreams

  Lee Tobin McClain

  Low Country Christmas

  To my loyal readers...

  Thank you for joining me in Safe Haven one more time.

  Contents

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  EPILOGUE

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  EXCERPT FROM COTTAGE AT THE BEACH BY LEE TOBIN McCLAIN

  CHAPTER ONE

  ON A MID-NOVEMBER EVENING, Cash O’Dwyer locked the door of his luxury condo and trotted down the steps, holding his phone to his ear to listen to the third message from his CFO in Atlanta. “Urgent that you return this—”

  “Watch it!” The feminine voice was accompanied by a baby’s cry.

  Cash stopped with one foot halfway down to the next step and squinted at the woman, who’d pressed herself flat against the railing on the landing, baby cradled protectively in her arms. He lifted a hand, palm out. “Sorry, sorry, ma’am, wasn’t watching where I was going.” He continued past them as he listened to the rest of his message. And then, as he processed what he’d seen, he clicked off his phone and turned back, shifting his focus from Atlanta and business deals to a very pretty young mother practically on his doorstep here in Safe Haven, South Carolina.

  The woman was still on the landing, gently joggling the baby, whose cries were already dying out.

  “Can I help you?” As he spoke, he checked the time on his phone. His brothers and their families would be waiting for him, the nieces and nephews getting more and more impatient, the wives ready to strangle him. His pockets full of candy and little toys wouldn’t make up for a night of fussy kids. He’d told them to go ahead without him, that he’d meet them at the holiday tree-lighting ceremony in the park, but his sisters-in-law had insisted that they all have dessert together first, at the Southern Comfort Café.

  His sisters-in-law were big on tradition, something he and his brothers were pretty severely lacking.

  Three messages flashed onto his lock screen. His sales manager, his brother Liam and his brother Sean’s wife, Anna.

  Above him on the landing, the woman hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken. The baby, who looked to be a girl and about a year old, settled against her shoulder with a gurgly sigh. “Can I help you?” he asked again. These stairs led to two condos, his own and that of an older businesswoman. “Are you looking for Hillary?”

  “No.” She stared into his eyes and hers were strangely familiar. “We’re looking for you.”

  A spark of anxiety climbed up his spine. He didn’t like it. “Is it an emergency? What’s your connection to me?”

  Her eyebrow lifted just enough that he realized he sounded abrupt. Which was too bad, but that was how he was. Driven, impatient, materialistic. Not as bad as his father had been—at least Cash wasn’t violent about it. But still. The old man must have known what he was doing, giving him the name Cash. It was why he didn’t have a wife and kids, the way his brothers did.

  “It’s...a long story,” she said. There was anxiety in her voice. “Is there somewhere we could talk?”

  He glanced at his phone again, the time ticking away. “Not right now, no.” He tried to keep the irritation out of his tone. There were a lot of people in the world, especially in the South, for whom time had a different meaning than it did for him. People who didn’t mind having drop-in guests because their schedules were flexible or nonexistent.

  Cash O’Dwyer wasn’t one of those people.

  “Does the name Tiffany Gibson ring a bell?”

  “Tiffany...yeah.” Involuntarily, he smiled. He’d shared a very lovely week with Tiffany, when she’d vacationed in a beach resort adjoining Safe Haven at the same time he’d been spending a rare week in his hometown. “I do remember Tiff,” he said.

  “She’s my sister. I’m Holly Gibson.” She was watching him steadily, like that was going to mean something to him.

  But he and Tiffany hadn’t spent their time together talking about their families. They hadn’t talked much, period. He didn’t think Tiffany had even mentioned she had a sister.

  That must be why this woman’s big grey eyes had looked so familiar. He didn’t have time to piece together why Tiff’s sister had shown up on his doorstep with a baby, but she probably had a sob story and needed money. That didn’t even faze him anymore; as his bank account had expanded, so had the number of people who wanted to be his best friend. Couldn’t blame ’em for trying.

  But this one had a baby, which got to him. “Look,” he said impulsively, starting down the stairs and gesturing for her to follow, “I’m late for this tree-lighting thing. It’s a tradition, and there are kids involved, kids I can’t disappoint. If you’d like to ride along, we can talk in the car. Or...” He frowned at the baby. “You can follow in your own car, if you’d be more comfortable.”

  “I came in an Uber,” she said as she reached the bottom of the stairs, then half knelt and picked up a car seat she must’ve left there. “I can ride along with you.”

  She’d come in an Uber? That meant she didn’t have a car. Definitely a sob story coming, but two more messages pinged onto his phone and he didn’t have time to deal with it. He just took the car seat out of her hands, opened the rear door of his Tesla and slid it in. From his brothers, he’d actually learned how kids’ car seats worked, so he attached the top t
ether strap to the anchor point, then stepped back to give her access.

  “I’m impressed. Most guys can’t do that.” She bent over and carefully buckled in the baby.

  Just as carefully, Cash tried to keep his eyes away from her sweet, shapely form. He focused on the sound of the waves lapping just beyond the parking lot, the sweet-smelling winter honeysuckle that climbed a lamppost, the stars emerging against the velvet-blue sky.

  He loved it here, would have made it his permanent home if things were different. But he had never really fit in, and now that his two brothers were happily married and fathering families, he felt like even more of an outsider. He’d even gone into a funk about that back when Liam and Yasmin were getting together last year, had started to think about selling his business and finding something more meaningful to do with his life.

  Fortunately, he’d come to his senses. He wasn’t a family man and wasn’t going to be. And despite his early midlife crisis, he wasn’t the type to become a social worker or schoolteacher. Like his father before him, he was a player, money-oriented to the core. Accepting that, finally and for good, had helped get rid of the painful, gnawing jealousy he’d felt when he’d realized that both of his brothers were going to marry and find happiness in families of their own, and slowly pull away from the gang of three they’d always been.

  Now, he was happy for them. He really was. Just as long as he didn’t spend too much time in Safe Haven, milling around on the outskirts of their family lives.

  The woman cleared her throat as she walked around the car to the passenger side. “You said you were in a hurry?”

  “Right.” He held her door for her, closed it once she was inside.

  His brothers were going to think he was an idiot for bringing some stranger along to their family gathering. But he’d learned from experience that ignoring people who thought they had a claim on you could make for all kinds of harassment. And this one had shown up just when his family was demanding his immediate presence. So what choice did he have?

  * * *

  HOLLY SAT FORWARD in the front seat and turned to look at the baby, peaceful and sleepy. Love and worry squeezed her heart. This had to work.

  But revealing her desperation would be a huge mistake. She sank back into the car’s luxurious seats and studied the complicated-looking computer screen on the dashboard.

  “Nice car,” she said, and then felt stupid for the understatement. The car accelerated like a silent spaceship.

  “I like it.” Cash smiled at her, as if he wasn’t overly impressed with the car or with himself for owning it, which was nice. Also nice was the beautiful summer wool suit that fit his tall, muscular form perfectly.

  So Cash O’Dwyer had a little class to go along with his wealth. But he’d acted like she and Penny were impediments in his journey to more important activities and people. That bothered her, especially given what she knew.

  He’d lowered the windows partway, and the smell of the salty ocean blew into the car on a warm breeze. “You familiar with Safe Haven?” he asked. Again with the sexy baritone. The man had everything going for him.

  But she wasn’t attracted to him. Holly was known for keeping to herself, avoiding social connections, especially close ones with men. Too many bad relationships had caused her mother to neglect her and Tiff, and especially now that she had Penny, Holly was determined not to make the same mistakes.

  “I’m not at all familiar with Safe Haven.” She looked around at the tree-lined streets full of people strolling along, browsing the shop windows. It was well over fifty degrees—sweater weather to someone from the north, like her, but the people here wore leather or wool jackets, scarves and boots. “First time in the state, actually,” she added.

  Lots of small groups stood chatting. It looked like a friendly town, just as Tiff had described it. Kind of sweet that everything was already decorated for Christmas.

  But could she live here? Make a life here?

  She was opening her mouth to begin the difficult conversation they needed to have when Cash pulled into a diagonal parking space in front of an old-fashioned diner.

  “Uncle Cash!” Two identical little girls, probably six or seven, ran toward the car. “We’ve been waiting forever!”

  “Let me just check in with the family and then we’ll talk,” he said to Holly. “You need help with the baby?”

  “I’ve got her,” she said. It would give her another minute to experience this rich-guy car, the likes of which she’d probably never ride in again.

  More importantly, it would give her a moment to figure out a little more about the man she was about to depend on.

  As she pulled out the baby, trying not to wake her—thank heavens Penny was a good sleeper—more voices joined the two eager, childish ones around Cash. Propping Penny on her shoulder, Holly knelt to pick up the diaper bag and purse, taking her time so she could watch her target.

  Two dark-haired men, one wearing a police uniform, the other in work clothes, were pounding him on the back. They were laughing, giving him a hard time about being late. A toddler lifted his hands, and Cash swung him up high, making him chortle, then he settled the child into the crook of his arm.

  The twin girls were boldly sticking their hands into the pockets of his suit jacket.

  “Hey, you little bandits,” he said, laughing down at them. “Why would you even think I have candy for you?”

  “Hope! Hayley!” A woman holding an infant just a bit bigger than Penny leaned down. “No begging!”

  The biggest of the three brothers—for they were brothers, she could see now, all dark-haired and blue-eyed—knelt and talked quietly to the twins, and they nodded and stepped back from Cash, one of them with a lower lip pushed out.

  “Aw, give ’em a break,” Cash said. He reached into a pocket and pulled out two tiny gold boxes. He grinned winningly at the twins’ mom. “Never too early to get them started on Godiva.”

  “Cash!” The woman laughed and shook her head.

  “Don’t worry,” he said, “I brought you one, too.” He fumbled in his other jacket pocket and handed her a slightly bigger box.

  Standing there with a smile on his face, a toddler in his arms, giving extravagant gifts to people who obviously adored him, Cash O’Dwyer was so breathtaking that Holly swallowed and looked away.

  “He’s a good guy,” said a female voice next to her shoulder.

  Startled, Holly turned to see a curvy woman with multiple long braids. “That’s...good,” she said. She was hoping Cash was a good guy, because she needed him to step up.

  “I’m Yasmin,” the woman said. “Married to the cop.” She nodded toward the brother in uniform. “Foster mom of the toddler he’s holding, and for little Gino to let Cash pick him up is amazing. He was afraid of everything and everyone when he came to us.” Without taking a breath, she added, “What’s your connection to Cash?”

  “I, oh, well, I...” What was she supposed to say, when she hadn’t had the discussion she needed to have with him yet? “Friend of a friend,” she said.

  “And who’s this little cutie?” Yasmin leaned in to study Penny.

  The less information she shared, the better, at this point. “She’s Penny, and she’s one year old.”

  “Adorable.”

  A waitress came out of the diner—actually, it was the Southern Comfort Café according to the sign—and beckoned to Yasmin. “Can’t hold the table much longer,” she called across the crowd.

  “Everybody inside,” Yasmin yelled, and the whole gang started trooping into the café.

  Holly bit her lip. This was a family gathering and she was completely out of place. And Cash was clearly at the center of the family, so he couldn’t bail on them now.

  She should have made arrangements for a business meeting with him, and she’d tried, but his secretary had set up a series of barriers tha
t were almost impossible to breach, unless you disclosed your business.

  Which Holly wasn’t willing to do.

  A hand touched her elbow, accompanied by the faintest whiff of spicy men’s cologne, and Holly’s stomach gave a little flip. Cash. She turned to him. “Hey,” she said, keeping her voice cool and professional, “if we could just set up a meeting next week—tomorrow would be even better—I’ll head out.”

  “In an Uber?” He frowned at her, one eyebrow quirked.

  She nodded.

  “No.” He shook his head. “Come in and have some dessert. You haven’t lived until you’ve tasted Abel’s pies. And then things will settle down and we can go off in a corner and talk about whatever it is you came to talk about. And then I’ll get you where you need to go.”

  “You don’t have to do that.”

  He tilted his head to one side and met her eyes, smiling just enough to reveal a dimple. “What kind of gentleman would I be if I let a lady find her own way home?”

  She sucked in a breath. The fact that Cash would bother to flirt with a woman holding a baby made him seem like an actual nice guy. No wonder Tiff had liked him.

  Firmly, Holly pulled her mind away from the sad realities of her sister’s short life. She tried for a different excuse to avoid the convivial group heading into the café. “It’s a family gathering. I don’t want to intrude.”

  “You won’t be.” He took the diaper bag from her and put a hand on the small of her back. “Look, they’re already pulling up an extra chair and high chair. You’ll hardly be noticed.”

  But Holly had seen the speculative way Yasmin looked at her. She had the feeling she would be noticed.

  It was inevitable in a small town, which was why she wasn’t very fond of them. But to fulfill her sister’s wishes, she’d make the sacrifice and live here. Getting to know some people would be a good way to start. “If you’re sure,” she said.

  His hand on her back increased its pressure, just a smidge, and heat suffused her chest. “I’m sure,” he said in a husky voice.