Falling For You At Christmas: Shellwater Key Tale

by Kristin Wallace

  “I’m sure you will.”

  Meanwhile, Tara stared back with wide eyes. “So your baby won’t have a daddy at all?”

  Not as long as her baby’s daddy refused to take any responsibility. “No, but like I said, we’re better off,” Cassie said, keeping her tone even and strong. She could do this on her own. Everything would be great.

  “That’s so sad,” Tara said. “My mom and dad are divorced, but I still have Mommy part time.”

  The information made Cassie’s baby take another leap for joy. He was unattached. Mrs. Gorgeous had somehow made the monumental mistake of letting him get away. Unless Mr. Gorgeous had wanted out so he could “explore his options”, the excuse her ex had used. Cassie couldn’t imagine a big enough reason to leave him.

  Unless he was abusive or obnoxious or a serial cheater.

  Judging by the way Tara adored her father; Cassie couldn’t imagine the first two could be true. Did Mr. Gorgeous have a roving eye, though? Men who looked like him often did. They didn’t even have to try to pick up women. The thrill from knowing he was single waned a little.

  Mr. Gorgeous dropped his gaze and cleared his throat once more. “Tara, please let’s not air all our personal business to the guests,” he said. “Ask for the lady’s name.”

  Cassie decided to skip to the important part. “It’s Cassie Stevens. I know yours is Tara, but I didn’t get your last name.”

  “Tara Latham. This is my dad, Jared.”

  Jared Latham…the name fit him as perfectly as those jeans.

  A fact Cassie was not going to think about anymore. He was a divorcee with a probable penchant for cheating. Why else would any sane woman divorce him? Maybe he already had a Mrs. Gorgeous Number Two waiting in the wings. Maybe he’d left because he’d met the “love of his life”, and too bad she hadn’t been the woman he’d married first.

  “Uh…Dad?” Tara said into the very awkward silence.

  Jared turned his attention to his daughter. “What?”

  “I don't see a reservation for Cassie Stevens,” Tara said as she stared at the screen.

  His face turned to granite as his jaw clenched, and he moved closer to look over her shoulder. “Are you sure?”

  “Yes.” Tara typed in something and clicked with the mouse. “Still nothing.”

  “Let me try.” Jared gently pushed his daughter out of the way and took up typing.

  By now Cassie had become worried. “You lost my reservation?”

  “No.” Jared didn’t look up, but continued to type and search. “It should be here. Our system crashed yesterday, but I’m sure we recovered everything.”

  “How sure?” Cassie asked as her stomach dropped. Her wonderful vacation might already be in jeopardy.

  Jared continued punching buttons and then swore. Cassie didn’t bother teasing him about a swear jar. She just wanted her reservation found.

  He pinched the bridge of his nose and then looked up. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s really gone?” Cassie asked.

  “Afraid so.”

  “Well, that’s okay,” she said, trying to remain positive. “Can’t you give me another room?”

  “We’re full tonight,” Jared said, with an expression of abject apology. “We just gave away the last room.”

  “Henry Stuart,” Tara said, pointing at the screen. “He checked in five minutes before you got here.”

  If she hadn’t stopped to smell the sea air, Cassie might have beaten him. Her hopes dashed like the waves crashing on the beach across the way.

  “You’re saying there’s no room at the inn?” she asked, unable to escape the irony of that fact, as well.

  Jared let out a soft groan. “I’m so sorry. Look, I’ll call every place in town and find you a room. I’ll even call the other Inn on the Strip.”

  “I thought this was The Inn on the Strip?”

  His lips thinned in annoyance. “No, we’re the Original Inn.”

  Cassie looked at him in confusion.

  “My grandparents opened this place fifty years ago. The other inn opened fifteen years ago, but they chose the same name,” Jared said. “My parents didn’t want to go through a long, expensive legal battle to get them to change it, so we added “Original” to ours.”

  “Our families are mortal enemies,” Tara said in a mocking, sinister-sounding tone.

  “I wanted to stay here,” Cassie said, blinking to stop the threat of tears.

  A lost reservation should not be a reason to cry, but she couldn’t help it. Cassie had shed more water than Noah facing the flood since getting pregnant, with tears erupting at the slightest excuse. The little pink-and-yellow giraffes on the border she’d chosen for the nursery, the tiny baby booties one of her teacher friends had knitted, a plastic baby spoon.

  The little pink onesie that said “Daddy’s Princess”, which she’d seen in the store two days after Matt had walked out.

  Her dad and Miranda announcing they were flying to see her pregnant daughter for Christmas.

  This trip was supposed to be her Christmas gift. A chance to sit on the beach, stroll the beachfront stores, and absorb the kind of holiday rituals one could only find in a small town.

  Jared swore again. “Please, don’t cry. I promise I will find you a wonderful place to stay. If the other inn is full, there are a couple B&Bs on The Strip, and a small motel that’s only a block away.”

  “I’m not crying,” Cassie said, taking a deep breath and telling herself to suck it up. “I’m sure I’ll be fine somewhere else. I just really fell in love with your Santa Butler outside…and the flamingos.”

  “Santa Butler?” Jared blinked in confusion.

  “The figure by the door, holding the tray.”

  He chuckled. “Oh right…Bernie.”

  Now it was Cassie’s turn to blink. “What?”

  “I’ve always called him Bernie, as in Bernard. Fitting for such a proper Santa, don’t you think?”

  “I guess.” Cassie sighed. “Could you let me know when you find a room? Maybe I’ll go sit on the porch and talk to Bernie for a while.”

  Tara tugged on her father’s sleeve. “Dad…maybe Miss Cassie can stay with us.”

  Jared rounded on his little girl, with a look of…was it bemusement…or horror? “Stay with us?”

  Well, that told Cassie everything she needed to know about Jared’s feelings on the matter. Let the gigantic, pale and sickly, pregnant lady with no husband sleep in the same vicinity?

  No way.

  “She can sleep in my room, and I’ll stay with you,” Tara said. “I won’t even be here half the time. I’ll be splitting the days with Mom anyway.”

  “Tara, that’s our apartment. Our family space,” Jared said. “You know I don’t like to mix the two.”

  Tara pursed her lips. “Yeah, but this is a special occasion. We did lose her reservation. Are you really going to hand her off to the Millers? Gabrielle is a much better cook than the guy they have.”

  “Look, I don’t want to intrude,” Cassie said.

  She also didn’t like the idea of staying where she wasn’t wanted. Cassie might be harboring an instant crush on Jared Latham, but he obviously found her fat and repellant.

  “You’re not intruding,” Tara said. “Dad, come on. You know I’m right. I want Cassie to stay.”

  Jared chuckled and looked from his daughter to Cassie. His blue eyes warmed as he gazed at her. “Will you do me the honor of staying with us?”

  Cassie would not react to those eyes. She would stay detached and unfazed. “Are you sure?” she asked, wondering if she should be objecting to the plan. Maybe being in such close quarters with Jared Latham was a huge mistake?

  “I’m sure.” He put out a hand. “Are you in, Miss Stevens?”

  For a long moment, Cassie stared at the offered appendage, almost afraid to touch him. She was already on edge, experiencing the kind of lust that had died the day Matt told her he “just wasn’t ready to be a family man yet.”r />
  Ridiculous. So what if Jared Latham was gorgeous? So what if his eyes made her knees weak? She was about to give birth. In a few weeks, she’d be a single mother, trying to raise her baby completely alone. Cassie couldn’t even count on support from her own family. She had way bigger problems than ignoring a random attraction to a good-looking man.

  Cassie took his hand. “I’m in Jared Latham. Show me to our room.”

  Chapter 2

  Jared and Tara’s “home” turned out to be a suite, with two bedrooms on either side of a living room that doubled as a kitchen-slash-dining room. A couch and lounge chair were set up in front of a television on one end. The small coffee table in front of the couch was piled with books and papers. The books had to be Tara’s. The papers looked official and were most likely work-related. The kitchen took up the other side. There were a few worn cabinets, a refrigerator, and a stove that looked new in comparison to everything else. A small, round wooden table had been pressed against the wall so that only three sides could actually be used.

  The Lathams had two chairs. If Cassie hadn’t already known Jared was divorced, the table setup would have been a dead giveaway.

  “Tara’s room is this way,” Jared said, pointing to the right.

  “Come see it!” Tara said, tugging on Cassie’s hand in excitement.

  Cassie followed willingly, eager to see what kind of room the girl had tucked away in the corner of the inn. She grinned when she spotted the canopy bed. The top was white while the bedspread had a pink-and-white checkerboard pattern. A large, pink throw rug covered much of the wooden floor. Two long shelves were crammed with books, toys, and some stuffed animals. A white desk with a computer sat in the corner, and next to that was the closet.

  “I love your bed,” Cassie said. “I had a canopy when I was your age, too.”

  “Daddy got it when we moved in here,” Tara said.

  Cassie flashed a quick grin at Jared. “Good choice, Dad.”

  He shook his head and pointed back at his daughter. “She picked everything out. I just slapped down the credit card.”

  Tara rolled eyes the exact same color as her father’s. She was kind of a smaller, more feminine version of Jared all the away around, except for the darker hair. Despite the divorce, Tara seemed very close to her father. Cassie wondered about Jared’s relationship with his ex-wife. Perhaps the Lathams were one of those rare people who had managed to have a civilized divorce. She hoped so. In her years of teaching, Cassie had seen so many children dragged into the middle of ugly wars between bitter parents, and the effects could be devastating.

  She also knew the effects a new stepmother or stepfather could have, even when the parent in question was well past the age of raising children.

  Tara stood by the door with her hands clasped in front of her chest, so Cassie knew the little girl was waiting for a final verdict on her new quarters.

  “This is a delightful room, Tara. I’m sure I’ll be very comfortable.”

  “Cool!” Tara ran over and opened one of the dresser drawers. She took out a pile of clothes and dumped them on the floor of the closet. “You can put your things in here. I have some extra hangers in the closet, too. You brought a dress, right?”

  “A couple.”

  “Good. You’ll want to go to the Nativity play at my church on Christmas Eve,” Tara said. “I get to be the donkey that carries Mary into Bethlehem! I’m not really carrying her, though. We’re faking that part.”

  Jared coughed into his hand. “Miss Stevens might not go to church, Tara,” he said, even as he glanced over at Cassie in a silent question.

  “I go, especially for special occasions, and Christmas is special,” Cassie said. “I’d love to see you in the show.”

  “Cool!” Tara clapped her hands. “We’re going to have so much fun!”

  “I’m sure.”

  Jared chuckled. “Miss Stevens isn’t here as your personal guest, Tara,” he said, with a chagrined expression in Cassie’s direction. “Don’t feel obligated to hang out with her. This is your vacation. Do whatever you want.”

  “As it turns out, I’m here to soak up the small-town holiday vibe, which includes rituals like Nativity plays,” Cassie said. “It’s exactly what I came to do. I live in Tampa, which never feels small town.”

  “Good then.” Jared flashed her a smile and then began backing out of the room. “Why don’t we leave you to unpack and rest? The sunset celebration starts in about an hour.”

  “You have a sunset celebration?”

  “Every night. Most of our guests head over to the beach. You’ll probably meet many of them there.”

  Jared and Tara disappeared, leaving Cassie to unpack. As she was putting her shirts in the dresser, two pictures caught her eye. One showed Tara next to a pretty, brown-haired woman with serious brown eyes and a slight frown on her face, like she was unhappy with the world.

  She had to be Tara’s mother. Another frame contained an image of Tara and Jared on the beach. He was smiling, unlike his ex-wife.

  Cassie couldn’t help but wonder what had broken the two up, even as she acknowledged it was none of her business. Jared Latham’s love life had nothing to do with her…even if a secret part of her couldn’t help but wonder…what if?

  What if Jared’s “you’re beautiful” had been more than a polite disclaimer?

  What if the flare of interest in his eyes when he’d found out she was single had been more than a trick of the light?

  What if…Cassie was going out of her mind?

  She could not afford to entertain fantasies about a gorgeous, single father in Shellwater Key. She couldn’t afford anything besides focusing on raising a child by herself.

  Determined to put Jared Latham and his daughter from her mind, Cassie headed out to find the beach and the sunset celebration. She didn’t see Jared at the desk, but there were two women setting the tables in the dining room. One was short, with ink-black hair and olive skin. The other was younger and slimmer, and looked enough like the older woman that they had to be related.

  The younger woman smiled when she saw Cassie. “Hello, you must be the unexpected arrival. Jared told us about the mix-up.”

  Cassie held out her hands. “That’s me…always doing the unexpected. Unexpected baby. Unexpected reservation. Unexpected houseguest. I’m staying in Mr. Latham’s apartment.”

  “I heard about that, too. Sorry about your reservation. I keep telling Jared he needs to update the computer system, but he claims there are much bigger fish to fry around here.”

  “Are you a manager or something?” Cassie asked.

  “Only in the kitchen,” the young woman said, with a chuckle. “I’m Gabrielle Velazquez, the cook here.” She pointed to the older woman. “This is my mother, Inez. She’s the housekeeper, and she also helps with meal service.”

  Cassie shook hands with both women. “Nice to meet you both. It’s cool that you get to work with your mother.”

  “Oh, we’re a complete family affair,” Gabrielle said. “My father is the handyman and groundskeeper.”

  Cassie laughed. “Wow, talk about a package deal. So, it’s really you guys who run the place?”

  “Absolutely.” Gabrielle winked. “I guess you’re going to the sunset celebration?”

  “That was my plan.” Cassie jerked her thumb in the direction of the beach. “That way, right?”

  Gabrielle nodded, even as she pulled out a cell phone. “Yes, but let me call my dad. He’ll walk you over. I don’t like the idea of you trying to navigate that busy street by yourself.”

  “Oh, I’ll be fine.”

  Inez Velazquez was also shaking her head. “No no…my Jesús will go with you,” she said, pronouncing it as “Hey-sus” “I find him.”

  She hurried from the dining room before Cassie could object again. Looked like she was going to have an escort from Jesús Velazquez whether she liked it or not.

  Jesús…

  “Your father’s name is really Jes
us?” Cassie said, using the English pronunciation referring to the Christ child.

  The young cook nodded. “Yes, of course we don’t say it that way.”

  “I know,” Cassie said. “And you’re Gabrielle.”

  “And here you are with a baby on the way and staying at an overbooked inn,” she said, laughing as she finally got the joke. “At least Jared managed to put you up in his suite rather than a stable.”

  “I’m starting to feel like a walking Bible story now. I ran into another guest on the way in, and her name was Amelia Lamb.”

  “Well, I guess you were meant to be here then,” Gabrielle said, grinning at her. “All the signs agree.”

  “Maybe.”

  Inez the housekeeper returned with a short, rounded-belly man in a faded work shirt and cargo pants.

  Jesus in the flesh.

  Cassie wondered if the name coincidences were signs or if she’d driven into some sort of parallel universe.

  Jesús Velazquez dutifully walked Cassie across the street to the boardwalk. He seemed ready to hover until she was ready to go back, but Cassie didn’t need or want a keeper.

  “You must have things to do,” Cassie told the older man. “Go on back to the inn. I can make my way across the street.”

  Jesús dipped his head and then went off to do whatever a handy man-slash-groundskeeper needed to do to keep a busy inn running smoothly.

  Cassie turned her attention to the Gulf. The sun was slowly drifting to meet the horizon. Already rays of orange, pink, yellow, and violet had begun to spread across the sky.

  She looked up and down the boardwalk. There were food carts as well as kiosks selling T-shirts and other tourist trinkets. Further down, Cassie could hear a brass quartet playing Christmas carols.

  Hundreds of people had gathered at the railing, and more sat on the beach. There were still some people frolicking in the water while children chased seagulls along the shore. Laughter and lazy chatter drifted up from the sand. There were couples of all ages, families with children, and even clusters of teenagers. Everyone seemed to have someone.

  “I see you made it to the sunset celebration,” a deep voice intoned in her ear.