“I don’t know if I might develop what Joe has,” she said, her voice trembling, somewhere on the edge between fear and joy. “And I’ll always have him to take care of.”
“I like Joe, and that’s fine,” he said. “And as for you...we don’t ever know what the future holds. But I just know I want to spend mine with you. Will you marry me, Yasmin?”
Very slowly, looking into his eyes, she nodded.
His eyes got shiny and he pulled her into his arms.
It was a few minutes later that she heard the voices around her and realized that her friends hadn’t left at all. “It’s all recorded,” Norma said with satisfaction.
“And I took still photographs,” Rita added. They, and Miss Vi and Claire and Liam’s brothers, all gathered around Liam and Yasmin.
And Yasmin, who’d often felt lonely, knew that she had a community to care for her, and for her to care for, forever.
EPILOGUE
WHEN MA DIXIE brought out the Thanksgiving turkey, Liam couldn’t believe the size of it. But it made sense, given that half of Safe Haven’s population seemed to be here.
The little cottage on the bayou couldn’t hold everyone, so they set up a long plank table outside. It was midafternoon, high sixties, sunny.
Liam had so much to be thankful for. He reached over and tugged Yasmin a little closer, still unable to believe that she was his for keeps. That after all, they’d be making a home together, a home where visitors could stay, big enough for Josiah as long as he wanted to live with them, probably big enough for them to foster some kids and maybe, one day, adopt a baby.
He and his brothers had been those kids who needed homes, had benefitted from the system. He wanted to give back, and Yasmin was totally on board with that.
He heard a muffled exclamation from the corner of the living room. “I should have seen that,” Pudge said. He and Josiah were leaning over a chessboard, and Josiah wore a small smile. “You son of a gun, you’re going to beat me, ain’t you?”
“Joe looks happy,” Liam said to Yasmin.
She smiled. “He’s doing really well on the new medication. That once-a-month injection has smoothed the ups and downs a lot. But speaking of happy, look at Anna.”
Liam looked over at his sister-in-law. Sean had his arm protectively around her, and their twins, Hope and Hayley, were nudging their way into the love seat, piling on top of Anna.
“Careful,” Sean said, and whispered something to the girls.
Hope clapped a hand over her mouth, and Hayley smiled and put an ear to Anna’s stomach.
They were a picture of family joy, and... “Wait. Is Anna expecting?”
Yasmin lifted an eyebrow, a smile tugging at her mouth. “If I were a betting woman, I’d say yes.”
He studied her face. Did she feel jealous, when she’d decided not to have children due to the family genetic heritage? Would it be hard for her to celebrate with Anna?
But her eyes were clear and serene. “I’m happy for her, don’t worry,” she said, reading his mind, and reached up to give him a quick kiss that shot warmth straight through him.
Their Christmastime wedding couldn’t come soon enough.
The door opened again, this time bringing Rita and Jimmy, loaded down with food. He and Yasmin hurried over to help them carry in four pies and a giant tray of mac and cheese. “Are any of those pecan?” Liam asked.
“Two,” Rita said, “and two peach.” She gave him an easy side hug. “And just in case anybody doesn’t like my cooking, we brought a box of Jean Carol’s cinnamon rolls.”
“Smart. Let me help you.” He took a couple of pies out of her hands and headed toward the kitchen. They weren’t exactly comfortable as mother and son yet, but they were both trying. And Liam was glad Rita had Jimmy at her side. They didn’t seem in a hurry to make a long-term commitment, but from the way they looked at each other and the fact that they were almost always together, it seemed like they were a solid and very happy couple.
Norma, coming in behind them, did not sound happy. “You invited him? Seriously?” She was nudging Rita and nodding sideways at a tall, silver-haired man who was leaning over the chess table behind Pudge.
Rita lifted her hands, palms up. “It’s not my party, it’s Ma’s,” she said, her eyes wide and innocent. “You don’t like the guest list, you’ll have to take it up with her.”
Norma snorted and turned in the opposite direction from the silver-haired man. Then she did a double take and touched Yasmin’s arm. “Your mom’s here?”
Yasmin lifted her eyebrows and nodded. “She really wanted to come down, and Ma Dixie said she always has room for one more. So far, so good.”
“I’ll go talk to her,” Norma said, and headed over.
“Your mom seems like she’s doing okay,” Liam said to Yasmin. “And Josiah doesn’t look like her presence is bothering him.”
“He’ll have fun with Hayley and Hope. And Rocky,” she added as the teenager emerged from the back of the house. He and his mother were living here for the time being. Lorraine was helping with the house and yardwork, and Rocky and Pudge had bonded over their mutual interest in dog training. Several people from Safe Haven had brought their unruly animals out here for lessons.
Their moment of glory had come when Mitch Mitchell had brought his shih tzu, Daisy, for training. Rocky was too diplomatic, or too good of a businessman, to gloat publicly, but he’d certainly crowed to Liam and Yasmin about it.
The living arrangement was good for everyone. Lorraine seemed calmer, maybe benefitting from being in the presence of Ma and Pudge’s healthy, happy relationship. She’d been through a lot, losing her abusive husband and getting under Buck’s influence, but she was the type who’d always bounce back.
And Rocky was thrilled to be living with his mom again. It was like Cash had said: no matter what your mother did or didn’t do, you loved her.
“When’s Cash going to find the right woman?” Yasmin asked. “He looks lonely.”
Sure enough, Cash stood off from the group, gazing out over the bayou, a pensive expression on his face. Liam knew that expression, because he’d worn it himself, plenty of times. His stomach tightened in sympathy.
“It’s hard for him to see Sean and me so happy,” he said. “I mean, he’s happy for us, but he doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to settle down with anyone.”
“You O’Dwyer men don’t make it easy,” Yasmin said, standing on tiptoes to kiss his cheek. “But it’s definitely worth it.”
“You’re worth it.” He pulled her close, and even though they were surrounded by the buzz of family and friends, the singing of crickets and the laughter of children, she was the whole world to him. “I love you,” he murmured in her ear, and drew her toward him for a lingering kiss.
* * *
Keep reading for a sneak peek at the next
heartwarming book in the Safe Haven series,
Low Country Christmas,
from Lee Tobin McClain!
Low Country Christmas
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, 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 gurgley sigh. “Can I help you?” he asked again. These stairs led to two condos, his own and an older businesswoman. “Are you looking for Hillary?”
“No.” She looked 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 of 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 showed 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, half-knelt, and picked up a carseat 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 falcon wing rear door of his Tesla—a cool feature he didn’t often have the chance to use—and slid it in. From his brothers, he’d actually learned how kids’ car seats worked, so he fiddled with the rear seatbelts and strapped it into place, then stepped back to give her access.
“I’m impressed. Most guys can’t do that.” She bent over, carefully buckling the baby in.
Just as carefully, Cash tried to keep his eyes away from her shapely rear view. He focused on the sound of the waves lapping just beyond the parking lot, the sweet-smelling winter honeysuckle that climbed a lamp post, 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, slowly pulling 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 inhaled the car’s rich, leathery fragrance, studied the multiple complicated-looking computer screens on the dashboard.
“Nice car,” she said, and then felt stupid for the understatement. The car accelerated like a spaceship, its engine nearly silent.
“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 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. Even in mid-November it was well over fifty degrees, sweater weather to someone from the north, but the people here wore leather or wool jackets, scarves, and boots. “First t
ime 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 the baby out, 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, and then 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 smaller 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.
Low Country Dreams Page 26
