The Cat of Christmas Future

by Kathi Daley

“It sounds like Willow is out of the shower. I want to get some food in her, so I’m going to sign off. I’ll call you again tomorrow.”

  “Okay. Have a nice evening, and don’t let Willow overdo it.”

  I hung up and returned my attention to Cody, who was surfing through movie selections.

  “Everything okay?” he asked.

  “So far. Harley gets upset every time Willow is left alone, which concerns me a bit. You don’t think she could be in some sort of danger, do you?”

  “I don’t see why she would be, unless she lied to us about the reason she’s trying to track down Bryce Barrington.”

  “Do you think she might have lied? Could there be more going on than we know?”

  Cody pulled me down onto the sofa next to him. “I hope not. Alex is with her, though, and I’m sure he’ll keep her safe.”

  “I guess you’re right. He seems to have accepted the role of knight in shining armor. I’m sure everything will be fine.”

  Cody pointed the remote at the television. “Drama or romance?”

  “Romance, of course. The sappier the better.”

  Chapter 10

  Monday, December 18

  I set off for Orcas Island on the midmorning ferry. Cody had a newspaper to put out, but Coffee Cat Books was closed, so I had some time before we had to be at play rehearsal that evening. I had to admit I was beginning to get a little nervous about the play. The kids were great and seemed to be having a lot of fun, but most of them still didn’t know their lines and there were only three rehearsals before the big night on Saturday. It wouldn’t be the end of the world even if every child forgot their lines, and I remembered being nervous last year and a disastrous dress rehearsal. I’d been certain if the dress rehearsal wasn’t perfect the play would be complete chaos, but in the end everything had worked out and I’d worried for nothing.

  The short ferry ride was pleasant enough. There were snow flurries in the air, which lent atmosphere to the trip, and the interior of the large vessel was warm, so I sat down at a table on which I found one of the communal jigsaw puzzles provided for the passengers. I worked on a corner as I sipped the coffee I’d bought on the food deck. Even though riding a ferry was part of everyday life when you lived in the San Juan Islands, it was one I rather enjoyed most of the time. Not only was it warm and quiet, but the hum of the engines had a way of lulling me almost to sleep. The past week had been filled with ups and downs and it was nice to sit and work on a puzzle for a half hour.

  My stomach fluttered as I thought about my errand today. Would Grayson be willing to speak to me? Would he be angry that I was clearly meddling in something he might very well wish he could forget had ever happened? Would he even know where Rosemary was, and if he did, would he be willing to share the information with someone he barely knew?

  I realized focusing on the what-ifs wasn’t going to help me in the least, so instead I decided to focus on a phone call I’d received from Balthazar Pottage that morning. As promised, he’d spoken to his business manager, who’d been able to dig up jobs and housing for Sam and Isabelle. Both had appointments with him tomorrow morning, so I’d asked Danny if he’d be willing to drive them into Seattle. He was happy to do it, although he didn’t have a vehicle large enough to transport Sam’s whole family, so I’d asked Father Bartholomew if we could borrow the church van, which sat fifteen. He’d agreed, and the whole group had left on the ferry that departed Madrona Island just ahead of the one I was on.

  Cody had given them cash for food and a room for tonight, plus enough to get by until Sam and Isabelle earned their first paycheck. Danny would stay with them until he was sure everything went well. When they were settled he’d come home on the next ferry leaving Anacortes for Madrona Island. If Sam and Isabelle met with Balthazar’s manager tomorrow morning Danny should be able to make the last ferry tomorrow.

  It felt good to have accomplished what we’d set out to do with Sam and Isabelle. Now if we could just find Bryce for Willow and figure out a way to convince Rosemary to come home for Christmas, we’d be batting a thousand. It would be nice to be able to sit back and enjoy the holiday knowing we’d managed to help everyone.

  As soon as the ferry docked on Orcas Island, I made my way to the hardware store. I hoped Grayson hadn’t moved on from there because I didn’t have any other leads and Christmas was only a week away. I wondered if Olivia would still donate the property if we managed to put her in touch with Rosemary but we weren’t able to do it before Christmas. Knowing Olivia, probably not.

  It was still snowing lightly, but the parking area near the hardware store was empty, so I parked as close to the front of the building as possible and hurried inside. I wasn’t sure Grayson would know who I was, but I was sure he’d remember Aiden, so I decided to introduce myself as his sister.

  “Can I help you?” the man behind the counter asked.

  “Are you Grayson Hardwater?”

  “I am. And who might you be?”

  “I’m Caitlin Hart, Aiden Hart’s little sister.”

  He smiled. “Of course. I thought you looked familiar. How can I help you today?”

  I looked around the store. There were no customers, so I jumped right in. “I’m trying to get in touch with Rosemary Stanwell and was told you might know where I could find her.”

  I could see Grayson was both surprised and concerned by my request.

  “Why do you want to get ahold of Rosemary?” he asked.

  I took a deep breath and dove in. “I’m looking for her on behalf of her mother. I guess you probably know Olivia and Rosemary had a falling out when Olivia found out she was pregnant. My fiancé, Cody West, recently spoke with Olivia, and during that conversation, she expressed remorse for the way things worked out. She’d very much like to reconcile with her daughter and meet her granddaughter, so Cody and I are trying to help get them together.”

  He drummed his fingers on the counter but didn’t answer right away. I could tell by the series of expressions crossing his face that he was trying to figure out how to handle the situation. I didn’t blame him. If I was the one who knew where Rosemary was, I’m not sure I’d give the information to some random person I barely knew.

  After a minute Grayson spoke. “Are you certain it’s Mrs. Stanwell’s intention to reconcile with Rosemary? That this whole thing isn’t just some elaborate attempt to get her to come home for some other reason?”

  “What other reason could there be?”

  “I don’t know. What I do know is that I don’t trust her mother not to hurt Rosemary again.”

  Grayson had a point. I’d never even spoken to Olivia, and the only proof Cody had that Olivia really wanted to make amends with her daughter was her word. “I guess Olivia hurt Rosemary pretty bad.”

  “She crushed her. When Rosemary found out she was pregnant she was scared stiff. She was young and confused and needed the support her mother could have provided. Instead, Olivia gave her an ultimatum: Give the baby up for adoption or raise the baby on her own. Rosemary was terrified to be on her own, but she very much wanted to keep the baby. She’s doing well now, but those first years were very hard for her. To be honest, I’m not sure she’ll even want to speak to her mother.”

  “I’d considered that,” I said. “But I also considered the fact that she may actually welcome the chance for her daughter to meet and have a relationship with her grandmother. It’s been ten years. Both women are different people now.”

  Grayson bowed his head. “True. It would be nice for Hillary to have a relationship with at least one of her grandparents.”

  “So you’ll help me?”

  “I don’t feel comfortable giving you Rosemary’s address or phone number, but I’ll tell her you’re looking for her and that her mother would like to see her.”

  I jotted down my cell number on a piece of paper. “That sounds fair. Please ask her to call me if she has any questions.”

  “I will. And for the record, I think it’s nice that
you’re trying to help them reconnect.”

  I’d turned to leave when Grayson spoke again. “You’ll keep this to yourself, won’t you?”

  I turned back around. “You never told your wife about Hillary?”

  Grayson shook his head. “I’m afraid I let things get a lot more complicated than they should have been. When Rosemary told me she was pregnant I panicked. I didn’t believe what she was telling me. We were only together that one time and barely knew each other.”

  “You weren’t dating?”

  “No. We hooked up at a party. It was all very spontaneous and we regretted it immediately. She didn’t love me and I didn’t love her. In fact, I was in love with someone else who’d recently broken up with me, which is partly why I was at the party in the first place.”

  “So you never saw each other again after that?”

  “We’d run into each other around town, but no, we never dated or even explored a friendship. By the time Rosemary told me that night had resulted in a child, I was back with the girl I loved. We’re married now. I was scared she’d break up with me again if she found out I was with someone else during our brief time apart, so I never said a thing.”

  “Do you regret not knowing your daughter?”

  “At times. When Rosemary first told me about the pregnancy I panicked. I was sure keeping the whole thing a secret was the only option. But there are times I wonder what might have been if I’d made an effort to have a relationship with Rosemary’s daughter. I didn’t have the emotional maturity I needed to think clearly then.”

  “So Hillary isn’t in your life at all?”

  “Not really. When Rosemary told me she wanted to keep the baby I was scared about what that would mean for my life. I told her I supported her decision to do what she felt was right for her, but I also said it was important to me that no one know I was her baby’s father. She said she was fine with that; she thought of the baby as hers, not ours, anyway. I sent her money to help out when I could, but eventually Rosemary got a job making a lot more than I did, and she told me that she didn’t want anything more. Rosemary sends me a photo every now and again, but that’s the extent of it. We agreed to stay in touch just in case Hillary needed something in the future that only I could provide.”

  “That was a smart decision. You never know when your child might need bone marrow or a kidney.”

  “Exactly. In that event I’d be there for her, no matter what.”

  I thanked Grayson for sharing what he had and headed back to the ferry. On the ride back I asked myself if I’d want to know if Cody had fathered a child I didn’t know about. Part of me felt it would be better to live my life in ignorant bliss, but another part was certain that, in the end, I’d want to know. I didn’t think Cody and I had any secrets. At least not anything big, like the one Grayson was living with. Cody had been out of my life completely for ten years. A lot can happen in ten years. Still, even though we hadn’t been together then, Cody was still Cody. There was no way he would ever turn his back on a child of his no matter what he had to risk.

  ******

  After I returned to Madrona Island I popped into the newspaper office to see if Cody wanted to grab a bite. It was late for lunch, but I hadn’t eaten and suspected he hadn’t either.

  “I’m starving,” Cody said. “Is the Driftwood okay? It’s close and I have some work to finish up before I can quit for the day.”

  “The Driftwood is fine.”

  Cody grabbed his jacket and locked the door behind us. We walked down the street hand in hand despite the bracing cold.

  “How did things go with Grayson?” Cody asked.

  “He knows how to get in touch with Rosemary but didn’t feel comfortable giving me her contact info. He took my number and promised to pass it along to Rosemary, along with the information that her mother would really like to see her.”

  “Did he think she’d be interested in seeing her mother?”

  “He wasn’t sure. Olivia hurt Rosemary deeply at a time when she really needed her. Grayson said he wouldn’t be surprised if she didn’t want to have anything to do with her mother, but he felt it was possible she might want Hillary to get to know her grandmother, so maybe…”

  “It’s a sad situation. I wish we could do more, but things are in Rosemary’s hands now; we’ve done what we can.”

  I opened the door to the café and we went inside, settling into a booth in the corner. “All in all, I’d say we had a good day. Danny’s on his way to Seattle with Sam and Isabelle and a message will be getting to Rosemary. Now, if we can just track down the father of Willow’s baby, our work will be done.”

  Cody waved at the waitress, indicating he’d like some coffee. “Have you heard from either Willow or Alex?”

  “Not since last night. I imagine we’ll hear from them before they board the plane to come home. I hope for Willow’s sake—and the sake of mankind—that they’re successful in their mission.”

  “Knowing what we do about the baby really does add a unique twist to the whole thing.”

  The waitress poured our coffee and took our orders. Once she’d left our conversation turned to plans for that evening.

  “We’re eating a late lunch, so why don’t we grab dinner after play practice?” Cody suggested.

  “Fine. Maybe we can do some shopping as well. I’m beginning to stress over how many gifts I still need to get.”

  “Not everything will be open, but we can hit the shops in Harthaven that stay open late. What we really need is a day to head to Seattle.”

  “I don’t see that happening.”

  “What about mail order? If we get our orders in tonight and pay for expedited shipping, we should be all right.”

  “I like that idea. Maybe we should just pick up takeout after rehearsal. We can head back to my cabin, find what we need online, then snuggle up and watch it snow.”

  “Now that sounds like my kind of a plan.”

  Chapter 11

  Thursday, December 21

  “Gingerbread latte with an extra shot, peppermint hot cocoa with extra whip, and a white chocolate hot cocoa with no whip,” Lucy Colter rattled off as I took her order at the coffee bar.

  “Would you like any pastries with that?” I asked.

  Lucy glanced at the selection behind the glass display case. “Throw in a couple of sugar cookies and a piece of ginger cake.” She turned to look at the line of children that had formed near the front door waiting for Santa. “It looks like the kids are going to be a while. I’ll just eat my cake and sip my latte while I wait.”

  “Our Santa likes to take his time with each child, which makes for longer lines but a much more satisfying experience than you get with most.”

  “My kids adored Alex when he was here two years ago. I was happy to see he’d come back. Interesting choice, having a pregnant elf, though.”

  I smiled as I looked at Willow, who was standing slightly behind Alex with her hand on his shoulder as he lifted a dark-haired girl onto his lap. “When we hired Willow it wasn’t our intention that she be an elf, but she loves working with kids and she’s really good at getting the perfect photo.” It also seemed as if Willow had been enjoying spending as much time with Alex as possible since they’d been back from Alaska, but I didn’t say as much.

  Lucy handed me her credit card, which I ran after ringing up her order.

  “Will you be attending the Christmas play at St. Patrick’s this year?” I asked as I handed her card back. She was a Baptist, so she didn’t attend St. Pat’s, but a lot of the islanders who didn’t attend the church came for the play anyway.

  “The kids and I are planning to. My husband has to work that night, but he has Christmas off, so that’s something.”

  “It must be hard being married to a firefighter. Someone has to be on shift even if it’s a holiday.”

  “We always find a way to work around his schedule, but it’ll be nice to have him home for both Christmas Eve and Christmas this year. I’m goi
ng to take my goodies and sit in the lounge. If the kids don’t see me when they’re done send them in.”

  “Okay. Enjoy the ginger cake.”

  I glanced at Willow, who was laughing at something Alex said. The pair had shown up for work as scheduled on Tuesday, and ever since then I’d been trying to figure out if there was more going on than simple friendship. They worked together all day and then, on both Tuesday and Wednesday after closing, they’d gone off to one holiday-themed event or another. They hadn’t had any luck tracking Bryce down in Homer, which I would have thought would have upset Willow, but she’d seemed happier in the last couple of days than I’d seen her before. Not that I’d known her all that long, but still… She wasn’t any closer to her goal, but she seemed to be handling it well.

  “It looks like things are slowing down a bit if you want to take a break,” Tara said. “Alex and Willow want to go to lunch at one and Cassie just got back.”

  “What about you?” I asked my hardworking best friend.

  “I brought a sandwich, so I don’t need a break.”

  “You do need a break and I’m going to insist you take one. Call Parker; maybe he can get away for a few minutes and you can meet him in the hospital cafeteria.”

  Tara hesitated.

  “Take a break,” I insisted. “If Parker can’t meet you go shopping or bundle up and take a walk.”

  “I did want to look for a necklace for Amy for Christmas, and I want to find a really nice photo album for Sister Mary. I thought I’d make copies of my favorite photos from my childhood and give them to her.”

  “Oh my God, that’s the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard. She’ll love it.”

  “She mentioned during one of our lunches that one of the things she regretted the most about the way things unfolded was that she didn’t have a lot of memories and keepsakes from my childhood. I’m hoping the photo album will help fill the void.”

  “It will. It’s a sweet and thoughtful gift. Go do your shopping. I’m fine here with the others, so take as long as you need.”