“Aw, give ’em a break,” Cash said. “It’s Christmastime.” 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 tickle Penny’s chin.
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 that 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 this late at night?”
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 hadn’t minded doing what she’d done.
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 real 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.
You need him for cash, just like his name. Anything else will get you deep into trouble.
* * *
LATER THAT EVENING, Cash joined with his family singing Christmas carols as they waited for the giant, ancient oak tree to be lit, as it was every year in mid-November. It was the town’s traditional kickoff to the holiday season.
Holly seemed to be having an okay time, but they’d never gotten the chance to talk because his nieces and nephew wouldn’t leave him alone. And he had to admit, he loved it. He’d shut down the whining of his CFO for the night. What good was owning the company if you couldn’t take a night off to hand out candy to a bunch of kids you loved?
He knew he was too work-focused and impatient, could never be a good father, but he was determined to excel as an uncle. You didn’t have to be the biological parent to help and influence a kid. He was living proof of that.
He glanced over at Holly now and noticed that she’d stopped singing and was shifting the baby to her other shoulder. He’d brought her here and he hated to see her looking so tired. Typical thoughtlessness on his part. “Let me hold her for awhile,” he said. “You’ve got to be worn out.”
She tilted her head to one side and studied him as if evaluating his worth as a baby-holder. “Okay,” she said, “if she’ll let you. She’s picky.”
“As a lady should be.” Gently, he lifted little Penny out of Holly’s arms.
The weight of the child settled something in him, felt good. Little Penny studied him with round blue eyes and then yawned, and when he patted her back, she leaned her head against his shoulder and sucked her hand.
Cash’s heart expanded about three sizes.
Holly looked surprised. “She doesn’t go to everyone.”
He refocused on the here and now. “I’m a baby whisperer,” he said casually, brushing off the often-paid compliment. “Listen, they’ll light the tree any minute now. After that, we can have our talk and I’ll take you back to your hotel. Where are you staying?”
She named a small inland town, not exactly known for tourism, and a motel he’d never heard of.
“How’d you land there?” Cash mostly met women who wanted luxury. Holly was different. Or maybe desperate.
“Cheaper,” she said. “I don’t know how long we’ll need to stay.”
Aha, desperate. But he didn’t have time to think about it because the tree lit up in a blaze of white lights. Gasps and oohs and aahs went through the crowd, and then as more and more lights came on, kids started shouting.
“So pretty,” Holly said, leaning closer. “Look, Penny, pretty!”
The baby stared and waved chubby arms. And for just a moment, he felt like he and this woman and this baby were a little family, doing a holiday tradition together, and his chest tightened with crazy longing. It must be the Christmas season that was making him soft and emotional.
He had to toughen up. The crowd was dispersing, all the little ones needing home and bed, and he handed the baby back to Holly and hugged everyone goodbye.
“Don’t stay away so long next time,” Yasmin, Liam’s wife, said sternly.
Anna, Sean’s wife, nodded. “The girls miss you when you’re gone,” she said.
They made it sound like he lived here, but he didn’t. He lived in Atlanta. It was just that, with all the weddings and babies and family events in the past two years, he’d spent more and more time here.
Finally, he broke away and ushered Holly toward the car, hitching her diaper bag over his shoulder to lighten her burden a little. Funny how she’d seemed to become part of the group in just thi
s one evening. He was a little reluctant to spoil the sweet holiday, family feeling with a conversation about whatever she wanted from him.
But that was ridiculous; best to get things out into the open right away. “So what did you want to talk to me about?” he asked. “Sorry it took so long, took up your evening.”
“It’s okay,” she said as she shifted the baby from one arm to the other. “I’m glad to find out a little more about you and your family.”
A strange uneasiness gripped him. “Why’s that?” he asked.
She nodded down at Penny. “Because she’s part of the family too,” she said. “She’s your daughter.”
Don’t miss Low Country Christmas
by Lee Tobin McClain!
Copyright © 2019 by Lee Tobin McClain
What happens when the nanny harbors a secret that could change everything?
Read on for a sneak preview of
The Nanny’s Secret Baby,
the next book in Lee Tobin McClain’s
Redemption Ranch miniseries.
The Nanny’s Secret Baby
by Lee Tobin McClain
Any day she could see Sammy was a good day. But she was pretty sure Jack was about to turn down her nanny offer. And then she’d have to tell Penny she couldn’t take the apartment, and leave.
The thought of being away from her son after spending precious time with him made her chest ache, and she blinked away unexpected tears as she approached Jack and Sammy.
Sammy didn’t look up at her. He was holding up one finger near his own face, moving it back and forth.
Jack caught his hand. “Say hi, Sammy! Here’s Aunt Arianna.”
Sammy tugged his hands away and continued to move his finger in front of his face.
“Sammy, come on.”
Sammy turned slightly away from his father and refocused on his fingers.
“It’s okay,” Arianna said, because she could see the beginnings of a meltdown. “He doesn’t need to greet me. What’s up?”
“Look,” he said, “I’ve been thinking about what you said.” He rubbed a hand over the back of his neck, clearly uncomfortable.
Sammy’s hands moved faster, and he started humming a wordless tune. It was almost as if he could sense the tension between Arianna and Jack.
“It’s okay, Jack,” she said. “I get it. My being your nanny was a crazy idea.” Crazy, but oh so appealing. She ached to pick Sammy up and hold him, to know that she could spend more time with him, help him learn, get him support for his special needs.
But it wasn’t her right.
“Actually,” he said, “that’s what I wanted to talk about. It does seem sort of crazy, but... I think I’d like to offer you the job.”
She stared at him, her eyes filling. “Oh, Jack,” she said, her voice coming out in a whisper. Had he really just said she could have the job?
Behind her, the rumble and snap of tables being folded and chairs being stacked, the cheerful conversation of parishioners and community people, faded to an indistinguishable murmur.
She was going to be able to be with her son. Every day. She reached out and stroked Sammy’s soft hair, and even though he ignored her touch, her heart nearly melted with the joy of being close to him.
Jack’s brow wrinkled. “On a trial basis,” he said. “Just for the rest of the summer, say.”
Of course. She pulled her hand away from Sammy and drew in a deep breath. She needed to calm down and take things one step at a time. Yes, leaving him at the end of the summer would break her heart ten times more. But even a few weeks with her son was more time than she deserved.
With God all things are possible. The pastor had said it, and she’d just witnessed its truth. She was being given a job, taking care of her son, and a place to live.
It was a blessing, a huge one. But it came at a cost: she was going to need to conceal the truth from Jack on a daily basis. And given the way her heart was jumping around in her chest, she wondered if she was going to be able to survive this much of God’s blessing.
Don’t miss The Nanny’s Secret Baby by Lee Tobin McClain, available August 2019 wherever Love Inspired books and ebooks are sold!
www.LoveInspired.com
Copyright © 2019 by Lee Tobin McClain
ISBN-13: 9781488034213
Low Country Dreams
Copyright © 2019 by Lee Tobin McClain
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