Low Country Christmas

by Lee Tobin McClain

“What happened?” Liam asked. “What was that all about?”

  “You don’t know?” Cash asked. “Thought you two were in on it.”

  “Holly talked us into getting you here,” Sean explained, “but she wouldn’t tell us why. Said she didn’t want to tell us until she told you.”

  “Yeah, which made me for one think she was gonna propose,” Liam said. “Did she?”

  “No. She made me a meal because she was sorry for lying. Not really lying, but misleading me about Penny, and her sister, and Orin...” He had given his brothers the bare outline of Tiff’s connection to Orin, and how she’d purposely gotten pregnant. But he hadn’t got into a lot of detail, especially about Holly’s role.

  “And?” Sean glared at him.

  “And what?”

  “Did you eat her food and then shut her down?”

  “No! Well, kind of.”

  “She’s crying,” Sean said. “She’s down there crying. Are you going to leave her like that?”

  “You need to hold on to her,” Liam said, “or half the guys in town will get in line to take your place.”

  “I see how you look at her,” Sean said.

  “It’s obvious that you care,” Liam added. “Why don’t you go talk to her? Why don’t you ask her to marry you?”

  “Well...”

  Liam fist-bumped him. “You want to! Do it!”

  “Can’t,” Cash said, feeling regretful.

  “Why not?” Sean asked the question, but both of them were staring at him like he was out of his mind.

  “I don’t have a ring. And it’s Christmas Eve. I can’t go buy one.”

  “She doesn’t care about a ring!” Liam lifted his hands, palms up. “Holly’s not like that.”

  He heard a sound, something rolling up the concrete path. It was Holly. She was pulling one of those old-lady shopping carts with all the supplies from the dinner she prepared. Her head was down.

  He’d treated her badly. He’d been awkward, because he hadn’t known what to say, how to react. He’d just been so surprised. But the end result was that he’d made her cry.

  And he couldn’t blame it on Orin’s blood in his veins in some fatalistic way, like he always had. He’d just been a garden-variety jerk, all on his own, and he needed to apologize.

  Maybe even needed to do more. He started walking toward her, then turned back to his brothers and waved them away. “I got this,” he said. He didn’t; his knees were literally shaking. But he had to do it, and he had to do it himself, and he had to do it now.

  “Need some help with that?” he called to her.

  She jerked to look at him. “Oh! You scared me.”

  “Sorry.” He took the supplies from her and pulled them toward her car. “I don’t know if I thanked you adequately for preparing that meal for me. That was one of the nicest things anyone’s ever done for me.”

  “I’m glad you liked it.” She was looking down.

  “Do you have a minute to talk?” He held out his hand for her keys; she handed them over, and he opened the trunk and put the supplies inside.

  “Rita has Penny. I imagine she’d like to spend the rest of the evening with Jimmy, so, no, I don’t really have a minute to talk.”

  He whipped out his phone and called Rita. “Hey, Mom, it’s Cash. Mind keeping Penny another hour?”

  “After hearing you call me ‘Mom,’ you can pretty much do whatever you want. I’m glad to have her.”

  “Thanks.” He ended the call. “Rita doesn’t mind babysitting a little longer.” He closed up Holly’s car, took her hand and tugged her over toward a bench under the lighted-up tree. “You took me by surprise tonight,” he said.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “I shouldn’t have tried to stage a big apology.”

  “No, you shouldn’t,” he said seriously. “And that idea of me staying in town part-time, for Penny? I can’t do it.”

  Her face fell.

  “I can’t do it,” he continued, sinking to one knee, “because it’s not enough for me. I want to be with you both, full-time.”

  Her eyes widened. “What?”

  “Holly, you are the best and kindest woman I know.”

  “I’m not,” she said. “I did something awful to you.”

  “But,” he said, “you did it because of your sister, not because of any desire for gain for yourself. I can’t blame you for wanting to follow Tiff’s wishes. She was a pretty great person.”

  She bit her lip. “She was,” she said, nodding.

  “And you—you’re an even greater person. You’re beautiful,” he added, “but that’s not why I started having these feelings for you.”

  She gulped. “You have feelings for me?”

  He smiled. “Isn’t it obvious?”

  “No, Cash O’Dwyer, it’s not obvious! You had me thinking that you were still holding a major grudge, down there.” She gestured toward the picnic area where she’d served him a meal.

  “I’m not always great at expressing my feelings, but let me express this—I love you, Holly.” He was still down on one knee, but he took her hands in his and looked up into her face. “I know we haven’t known each other very long. I know it may take some time. But the truth is, I really want to marry you.”

  She sucked in a sharp breath.

  “Look, I don’t even have a ring. I wasn’t really prepared for this. I’m sorry.”

  She didn’t answer. She was probably really disappointed. Women liked big major scenes for proposals, wanted to be able to put a picture of their engagement ring on social media.

  He heard a sniffle and looked up at her and realized that she was crying.

  “What’s wrong? Did I say something wrong?” He took her hand and rubbed it between his own. “I’m sorry. I’ll do a better proposal and a great ring. You deserve that.”

  She shook her head, smiling through her tears. “No, you said something really, really right.” She gripped his fingers tightly. “Look, Cash, I don’t even care about a ring, okay?”

  That was so ridiculous it blew his other thoughts out of his mind. “You’re getting a ring. A great big beautiful diamond ring.”

  “Nope,” she said.

  Disappointment pressed down on him. “Are you saying no?”

  She squeezed his hands. “No, I’m not saying no, I’m saying yes! I want to marry you, too.”

  “Then...you’re getting a ring.”

  “I’d rather you take what you’d spend on the ring and use it to hire more people to help in your business,” she said. “Because I don’t want you away from me and Penny all the time, doing deals. I want you at home, being a real dad to her.”

  He sucked in a breath and let it out and looked into the eyes of this woman who was different from anyone he’d ever known. He opened his mouth to speak.

  “And,” she said, still wiping tears, “I’m still going to work. I love walking dogs, and taking care of them. And I want to set a good example for Penny. So I’m helping support us. I just want you to know that.”

  A weight that had been on his shoulders for most of his life seemed to lift off him. Holly didn’t want him for his money. She didn’t even really want his money; she wanted him. She loved him, for himself.

  At least probably. One doubt remained. “Is it because of Penny, that it’ll be good for her?”

  She shook her head. “I’d want to marry you even if she wasn’t in the picture at all. But I’m so glad she is.”

  “Me, too.” He got onto the bench beside her then and pulled her into his arms. “I’m sorry I don’t have a ring. Really sorry.”

  She put her hands around his face. “Don’t you get it? This is all I want. You.”

  And finally, as he pulled her into his arms, Cash got it. He held her close against him and let the thankfulness settle around him, the
happiness, the joy of loving and of being truly loved.

  EPILOGUE

  One year later

  “OH, THAT’S ADORABLE!”

  “Let me take a picture!”

  Holly turned to see what the fuss was about and then grabbed her phone, too. Taffy, all bathed and groomed and wearing a flower collar, sat up on her back legs beside Rita, who was leaning toward the mirror to adjust her headpiece.

  “Hey, I’m the official photographer.” Miss Martha from the library pretended she was going to shove them aside, then leaned in and snapped a bunch of photos.

  Rita turned, reached down and rubbed the little dog’s ears, and everyone took more photos.

  The bride’s room at the church was crowded, but Holly didn’t mind in the least; this was her family. The O’Dwyer wives—Anna, Yasmin and Holly—were serving as bridesmaids for this Christmas wedding of Rita and Jimmy.

  They’d all gotten close, calling each other most days, helping out with each other’s kids, sharing big family dinners. In some ways, they had the sisterly relationship she wished she and Tiff could have had.

  Finally, she had a big supportive family and she loved it. For Penny, of course, but also for herself. No more solitary holidays; no more solving all her problems herself; no more ache of loneliness deep inside.

  Rita turned to show them all the full effect of her floral crown. She was stunning in a simple white gown, her hair flowing down her back. “What do you ladies think? Ridiculous?”

  “No! You’re gorgeous!” Holly reached out to straighten Rita’s sleeve.

  “I’m not exactly in my twenties. We should probably have gone to a justice of the peace, but I never had a real wedding before.”

  Anna and Yasmin joined Holly at Rita’s side. “This means a lot to your sons,” Anna said. “They really like Jimmy, and they want to offer you their support.”

  Rita’s face crinkled into a smile. “They’re the reason I can do this at all,” she said. “They’ve helped me work through the past. And all these grandkids have helped me think about the future.”

  Holly pressed her hand to her still-flat stomach and tried to restrain a smile. She didn’t want to steal any of the spotlight from Rita. There’d be plenty of time to tell the family about the baby boy on the way.

  “Hey! You about ready?” Norma stuck her head in the door, then came the rest of the way in. “Girl, for an old broad, you look good.” She enfolded Rita in her arms, and when they pulled apart, both friends’ eyes were shiny.

  Rita cleared her throat. “You know, you can still change your mind and be in the wedding. I wish you would.”

  Norma shook her head. “I have to help Stephen. In fact...” She looked back out the door. “’Bye.” She rushed out and helped Stephen into the church, lovingly scolding him.

  “His Parkinson’s is getting worse, it seems,” Yasmin said.

  “Yes, but they’re hopeful about a new drug he’s taking for it.” Rita watched Norma ushering him into the sanctuary. “For someone who never wanted a man, she certainly seems to like having one.”

  Anna peeked over Rita’s shoulder at the people now streaming into the church. “Pudge looks good, too. He’s lost some weight.”

  “Ma’s making him eat healthy food,” Yasmin explained. “He’ll always be a big man, but they’re walking every day and his doctors are amazed at how well he’s doing.”

  As the others went on talking, Holly tucked herself into a chair in the corner and watched them, smiling. She was so very happy for Rita, who’d become a dear friend and had truly stepped up as Penny’s grandmother. She’d gone to counseling after recovering her memory and was doing great, especially now that Orin was expected to spend the rest of his life in prison.

  Holly and Cash had married in September, in a beautiful beach ceremony followed by a big bonfire by the cabins Sean and Anna managed. She and Cash had meant to spend their honeymoon there, too, not wanting to leave their family behind, but at the last minute Cash had surprised her with a weeklong trip to Tuscany. They’d driven from vineyard to vineyard, explored quaint hill towns and stuffed themselves on fabulous Italian food.

  And she’d gotten pregnant.

  At first, she’d been terrified. Sure, Cash had accepted and embraced Penny, but she was a two-year-old; their hands were full with her. Besides, Cash had only just worked through his issues with his father, realizing that Orin’s problems didn’t have to be his own problems, that the sins of the fathers weren’t necessarily visited on the sons.

  She’d worried that he wouldn’t want to add to their family so soon, even though he’d been the one to suggest that they let nature take its course.

  Which it certainly had and still did. Her cheeks warmed. To her, Cash was completely, devilishly irresistible. They’d made good use of all their doting relatives as babysitters so they could have newlywed time alone, and it was everything Holly hadn’t known to hope for.

  “Come on, it’s time!” Miss Vi, who’d insisted on serving as an usher, beckoned them to the back of the church, and they all hurried out, giggling, fixing each other’s hair, wiping makeup smudges.

  “The groomsmen just came in,” someone said in the church, and all three wives peeked at the front to see Sean, Liam and Cash lined up.

  “Those are some gorgeous men,” Yasmin said. “Mmm-mmm.”

  “Yes, they are. Sean’s the most handsome, but your husbands are all right, too.” Anna looked at Sean with adoration undimmed by their nearly three years of marriage.

  Privately, Holly thought that neither Sean nor Liam could hold a candle to Cash. Oh, they were great guys, and she was crazy about them, but Cash had such charisma and spark. She fell more in love with him every day.

  “Mama!” It was Penny, running toward Holly, hand in hand with HoHo. “We ready!”

  “It’ll be your turn in a minute.” Holly knelt and hugged Penny, treasuring the fact that she was walking and talking beautifully, all caught up. “Do you want to walk in with Mommy like we practiced last night?”

  “Wanna walk with HoHo,” she said, pushing out her lower lip and frowning, then checking to see Holly’s reaction. She was just starting to realize that she could disagree with Holly, and she loved practicing the power of “no.”

  Holly restrained a smile and looked over at Anna, who was straightening HoHo’s little bow tie. “Do you think they’re up for it?”

  “They’ll do great,” Rita said. “This wedding is for us, not some magazine. It doesn’t have to be perfect.” She leaned forward to look down the aisle, then gripped Holly’s hand. “My boys. All so handsome.”

  “They’re gorgeous. Jimmy, too.”

  Anna’s twins came in then, important in their big-girl flower-girl dresses. Yasmin and Liam’s son, now a permanent part of the family but still a little shy, was going to walk down the aisle with them, carrying the rings.

  Rita was still squeezing Holly’s hand. “When I lost them, when I lost the boys, I never thought I’d get them back, and this... All of this.” Rita gestured at the children and then at the wives, her eyes glimmering with tears. “I feel so blessed.”

  “Stop. You’ll ruin your makeup.” Yasmin gave the thumbs-up signal to the organist and the wedding march started to play.

  Later, at the reception, Holly leaned back against Cash in one of the diner’s booths, tired, a little queasy, but so happy. “I’m glad they decided to have the reception here.”

  “It fits. Are you sure you feel okay to stay?”

  She nodded. “To stay, but maybe not to dance.” The kids were running around in the aisles, and both Sean and Liam were dancing with their wives on the little dance floor they’d made of the front foyer. Even Pudge and Ma Dixie were slow-dancing, holding each other close.

  “I’m happy just to sit here and hold you,” Cash said, resting his cheek on her head. “I never thou
ght I’d say this, but I’m learning to love weddings. They remind me of how happy I am to be married to you.”

  “I love that you share your feelings with me,” she whispered back to him. “And I love how caring you are with me, and with Penny.”

  “And with Cash Junior,” he teased, putting a hand on her stomach. “Kidding. I’d never saddle a kid with a name like that.”

  “I like it.”

  “You’re biased.” He ran a finger slowly up her arm and she felt it like a jolt of electricity, bringing her alive. “Guess we can’t leave Mom’s wedding early, huh?”

  She shook her head. “I don’t think that would be right,” she said. “But, Cash, we have the rest of our lives.”

  * * *

  The last place police officer Trey Harrison wants to be is the Healing Heroes beach house on the Maryland coast. But an injury has left him and his K9 sidelined with no choice. And while working with Erica Rowe might be enjoyable under different circumstances, he can’t muster enthusiasm for her at-risk teen program. Can this time at the beach help them both find a way to heal and take a risk on love?

  Read on for a peek at the first heartwarming book in USA TODAY bestselling author Lee Tobin McClain’s The Off Season series, Cottage at the Beach!

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Low Country Christmas could not have come into existence without the help of many, many people.

  The team at HQN Books has given fantastic backing to the entire Safe Haven series. I’m especially grateful to Susan Swinwood for taking a chance on these books, and to the sales, publicity and art departments for the beautiful covers and amazing distribution.

  Thank you, Karen Solem, for your calm support and ongoing wisdom. At that scary ACFW pitch session back in 2013, I would never have dared to hope we’d do fourteen books together, nor that you would become a dear friend. I’m looking forward to many more years and projects together.

  Big thanks are due to my brilliant editor, Shana Asaro, who rolled up her sleeves and helped me improve draft after draft of this book. Her ideas, insight and kindness inform every page.