Someone knocked on her door, and Cassie gave up fretting about her dress. She couldn’t do anything to change the realty of what was about to happen in her life and didn’t have anything else to wear.
Cassie answered the door and smiled when she saw Amelia standing on the threshold. The older woman had on a green sweater depicting a reindeer, with antlers that stretched up and around her shoulders.
“Only you could get away with a sweater like that,” Cassie said with a laugh.
Amelia twirled around. “I got this in a white elephant exchange at my first hospital Christmas party, and I’ve worn it every year since.”
“You’re a braver woman than I am.”
“You look great too,” Amelia said. “What a cute dress.”
Cassie wrinkled her nose. “If you like red circus tents.”
“Oh now.” Amelia swatted Cassie’s arm. “It’s not that bad. Don’t be so self-conscious. Instead of thinking about your waistline, focus on the new little bundle of joy you’ll get to hold in a few weeks. You know, my husband and I were never able to have children. It was one of the hardest things we ever had to face. Everyone around us was having kids, and there we were trying every month. We did infertility treatments, but they failed. We even attempted adoption, but the mother changed her mind at the last minute. We finally had to give up for our own sanity and the sake of our marriage.”
Cassie immediately became ashamed. “Amelia, I’m so sorry. That’s awful.”
“Oh honey, I didn’t tell that story to make you feel bad.” Amelia hugged her tight. “I just wanted you to think positive and be joyful for what you have. This may not be the way you envisioned having children, but it’s all part of the plan for your life. Now, let’s get going or we’re going to be late for the Christmas pageant.”
Enough guests had expressed interest in going to the Nativity play that the inn had rented a mini bus to transport everyone. Cassie and Amelia went down to the lobby. The Shepherds and Henry Stuart were already there, along with three other couples.
Jared stood by the Christmas tree in the big bay window near the front door. He straightened and came toward Cassie as soon as he spotted her. She hadn’t seen him since this morning. No stolen moments in the dining room, no feverish kisses in the linen closet, and no attempt to talk about what that explosive kiss on the beach might have meant.
Now, he gave her a “be our guest” smile, bright but impersonal. Of course, it wasn’t like he had the freedom to grab her in front of the other guests, but he could have tried a silent signal or a secret wink at least.
“Don’t you two ladies look wonderful,” Jared said.
Cassie hooked her thumb in Amelia’s direction. “She looks festive. I look like the giant, red pin cushion my mother used to keep in her sewing basket.”
He glanced in her direction, and the innkeeper mantle dropped for an instant as his blue eyes heated. “No, you’re lovely.”
Lovely had never struck her as much of a compliment, but when Jared Latham said the word, it sounded like the most effusive phrase imaginable.
Then he sent her a secret wink before addressing the other guests. “The bus is waiting outside. Let’s get going so you all can get good seats.”
“Isn’t Tara coming with us?” Cassie asked when she didn’t spot his daughter in the lobby. “I thought she was in the play.”
“I dropped her off at Erika’s earlier today,” he said. “Tara’s spending Christmas Eve and tomorrow morning with her mother. She’ll be home in the afternoon, and then we’ll have a second round of presents.”
“Oh, I think you mentioned that. It must be especially hard to share her during the holidays.”
“You have no idea.”
Jared sent her a half-smile and then herded the guests out to the bus, which turned out to be one of those fancy, air-conditioned models hotels used to transport people to and from the airport. The drive to the church took about five minutes. Jared hadn’t been kidding about the proximity of everything in this small town.
As they rolled into the parking lot, Cassie noticed a large crowd gathered outside, and once off the bus, she spotted what looked like a real stable on the lawn. There were several hay bales inside and more straw spread over the ground. A manger resided under the pitched roof, which rose at least ten feet. Rows of chairs were lined up in front of the stable, and many of them were already filled.
“Oh, look at it,” Cassie said in wonder. “What a great idea to hold the pageant outside. It seems more authentic, doesn’t it?”
“All of this is actually a new tradition after last year,” Jared said.
“What changed last year?”
“A fire,” a masculine voice answered from behind her.
Cassie glanced over to see a tall, handsome man with ink-black hair by her side. Shellwater Key seemed to have an abundance of extremely attractive men running around. They should put this vital information in their tourist advertising, as female visitors would flock here from all over the world.
“Sorry, didn’t mean to eavesdrop,” the man said. “I happened to be passing by. I’m Caleb Montgomery, the minister here. You must be one of the guests from the inn. Jared told us he was bringing a large contingent this year.”
“Yes, I’m Cassie Stevens.” She pointed at the Nativity set. “What happened with the fire?”
“A fire damaged the sanctuary only a couple days before Christmas last year, so a friend and I built the stable outside.”
“You built it?” Cassie said, eyeing him with interest.
“It was my Christmas present to the pageant’s director.”
One brow winged up. “That’s some Christmas present.”
“Well, to be fair I was also trying to prove myself to Janie. We’d met only a couple weeks before, and I’m afraid she wasn’t a big believer in love at first sight.” His eyes twinkled when he said it. “I think my gamble worked because she married me.”
“Of course.” Cassie chuckled. “Why give flowers when you can make a grand gesture?”
“Yeah, Caleb set the bar for every other man to reach when it comes to winning a woman,” Jared quipped. “Made it hard for the rest of us mere mortals to measure up.”
“Winning your woman just takes a little imagination and extra effort, but the spoils are worth it,” Caleb said. “Listen, we’re about to begin. You should grab your seats now.”
Jared took Cassie’s elbow and helped her across the grass.
Amelia took her other hand. “Imagine that,” she whispered in Cassie’s ear. “They fell in love after only a couple weeks.”
“Stop that!” Cassie exclaimed.
“What?” Amelia sent her an innocent look. “I’m just pointing out that it is possible to know right away when you meet the right one.”
“Really? You admit the same thing with Henry Stuart?”
Amelia’s cheeks fired up again. “It’s hardly fair to throw my words back in my face.”
Cassie smiled in triumph as the older woman scrambled away. She flitted a glance at Jared, but he hadn’t heard anything because he was too busy being flagged down by Emma Bertram.
“Jared!” Emma called out. “We saved you all some seats.”
Of course she had. Emma’s fiancé Reece was there, along with one of her sisters, her mother, and the mom’s “boy toy”.
Jared, Cassie, and the other guests from the inn settled in a row behind Emma’s family.
Emma twisted around in her seat. “Wow, you’re really taking the small town experience to heart, Cassie.”
“This pageant is exactly the kind of thing I had in mind when I chose Shellwater Key,” Cassie said. “Plus, I wanted to see Tara. She’s playing the donkey.”
“My sister Paige is in the show, too. She’s one of the angels.”
“Are we late?” a newcomer cried.
With her golden-blonde hair, a figure that caused men to walk into lampposts, and impossibly green eyes, the new addition might have been the m
ost gorgeous woman Cassie had ever seen outside of a movie.
“Almost,” Emma said. “I was starting to think you weren’t going to make it.”
“It was a near thing. You have no idea how hard it is to move an army.” The blonde gestured behind her at what looked like about forty people. “My family,” she said on a dry note. “It’s our first Christmas together so literally everyone came into town.”
“You’re related to all of them?” Cassie said in astonishment.
“Believe it or not…yes.”
“Cassie, this is Layla McCarthy, my best friend,” Emma said. “She also runs The Paradise Dinner Theatre, which her grandmother and great-aunt own. They’re a little further down the row.”
Layla held out a hand. “Hi, Emma was telling me about the second Nativity being reenacted at Jared’s inn. That is so cute. You must be excited about the baby coming so close to Christmas.”
“It’s going to be after Christmas,” Cassie insisted.
“Well, just in case, Layla’s grandmother is a famous surgeon so she’s on hand if you need her,” Emma said.
“I think you’re frightening the woman, Emma.” The desert-dry drawl came from yet another dreamy, dark-haired man. He was a little more on the rangy side and had an intense air about him that was hard to ignore.
He also looked very familiar.
“I know you from somewhere,” Cassie said, trying to place him.
“This is my fiancé, Grayson Kendall,” Layla said. “He’s directing our first show at The Paradise.”
“Oh, you used to be married to Skye Malone,” Cassie gasped, recalling some of the Hollywood gossip all over the entertainment channels last year. The divorce had been big news for a long time.
“An episode of my life I’m trying hard to forget,” Grayson drawled again. “The marriage and the divorce.”
“Trust me, I know all about trying to forget stupid mistakes,” Cassie said, putting a hand to her belly. She might have wound up pregnant and alone, but at least she hadn’t been forced to endure Paparazzi following her around recording her humiliation.
“The father took a hike when he found out?” Layla guessed.
Cassie nodded, hoping the conversation wouldn’t lead to a lengthy discussion about Matt. She really wanted to have a nice time and concentrate on the pageant.
“There is the smallest chance this lady doesn’t want to talk about her situation, Layla,” a man with light-brown hair and kind eyes admonished, directing a sympathetic smile in Cassie’s direction. “Let her be.”
“Thank you,” Cassie whispered.
He reached across the seat to shake her hand. “Noah Johnson, I work at The Paradise, too, building sets and generally fixing everything that has fallen apart over many years of neglect.”
“He’s also an angel,” Emma said, leaning over her own chair.
“And a mind reader,” Layla added. “Don’t look him in the eye or he’ll divine all your secrets.”
Cassie squeezed her eyes shut. The last thing she wanted was for some stranger to know the poor pregnant had a thing for the local innkeeper.
A spotlight came up in front of the stable and a sweet-looking blond woman stepped out from the side.
“Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you for coming to see our humble attempt to bring the magic of Christ’s birth alive,” she said. “This is a milestone celebration for us as the Nativity play is celebrating its fortieth anniversary. As many of you know, my mother started this tradition, and now I have the privilege of continuing her legacy. And now I will stop talking and start the performance. I hope you’ll sit back and allow yourself to remember the real reason for the season.”
The blonde exited, and then the lights dimmed, coming up again off to the right. A boy in a long robe was walking toward the stable, and next to him was a girl riding a real donkey. Cassie was immediately captivated. Despite knowing it was a show, and that children played all the parts, there was something about seeing the events play out live that made the Nativity story seem more real.
A sharp jolt gripped her lower abdomen, but it went away after a moment, and soon Cassie was too enthralled in the story to think about pain. Brighter lights came up on the stable, and now there were six children dressed as sheep and cows milling around inside.
The innkeeper, a short boy with red hair, led Mary and Joseph around to the back of the stable. When they emerged through the door, Tara had replaced the real donkey. Mary also held a doll wrapped in strips of cloth. The sounds of a baby crying piped through the speakers all around them.
Mary gently placed the doll in the manger, and as she and Joseph knelt before Baby Jesus, Cassie nearly wept out loud. She kept crying when the angels visited the shepherds and the Wise Men arrived with their gifts. Just when she was about to lose her composure entirely, Jared reached for her hand. She held on, needing an anchor as the emotion swept her away.
Then Emma’s sister stepped forward and began singing Silent Night. Paige Bertram had a voice like a real angel. Cassie had never heard anything like it. She was in awe of the girl’s talent. Then in the middle of the second verse, another sharp pain gripped her…harder this time and for a longer period. She gritted her teeth until it passed, taking several deep breaths just as the teacher at her birthing class had instructed.
“Are you all right?” Jared asked, with a sharpness that focused her attention.
Cassie suddenly realized she had a tight grip on his hand, and she let go. “Sorry,” she whispered as he flexed his fingers.
“It’s okay, and you didn’t answer my question,” Jared said. “Are you all right?”
She could feel sweat gathering on her brow. “I don’t know.”
His lips moved in a soft curse, but Cassie couldn’t make it out because another pain hit. “Ouch…”
Everyone around them had joined in on the last chorus, but Cassie no longer heard anything except the freight train in her mind as her water broke.
Oh Holy Night…no!
“I think Amelia Lamb might have been right about the baby coming early,” Cassie said over the applause of the audience.
Jared’s jaw worked as he jumped from his seat. “Come on, I’m getting you to the hospital.”
She nodded. “Good idea.”
Amelia leaned over. “What’s going on?” She took one look at Cassie’s face and nodded. “I sure called that one right, didn’t I?”
“Don’t gloat,” Cassie said on a low growl as another pain hit. “Santa baby…that hurts!”
Amelia looked at Jared. “We need to get moving or we really will be reenacting a live Nativity right here.”
“I’m not giving birth outside!” Cassie cried.
Emma twisted around again. “Who’s giving birth?” She took one look at Cassie and went bug-eyed. “Oh boy.”
“No, I’m having a girl,” Cassie said, gritting her teeth through another contraction. “Deck the halls!”
“Layla, get your grandmother,” Emma said urgently.
“On it.” Layla gestured to a tall, thin woman with gray hair on the end of the row. “Don’t worry, she’s a retired surgeon.”
The old woman confirmed this, with a brief nod. “I’m Dr. Barbara McCarthy.”
“Cassie Stevens,” she said, wondering what kind of surgeon. What if Dr. McCarthy had been a proctologist? “You bring many babies into the world?”
“My fair share, although it wasn’t the focus of my practice.” The old woman smiled in a comforting way. “Looks like we’re about to have a Christmas baby. I’m not too worried about you giving birth in the grass, but we should get going. I’ll call the hospital en route and let them know to expect you.”
“You still have some pull at the hospital?” Cassie asked as Jared, Amelia, and the doctor herded her across the lawn.
“I should, I was Chief of Staff before I retired.”
Jared suddenly stopped and cursed. “What about the other guests? I drove them in the bus.”
“Don’
t worry about that.” Juliet Shepherd flapped her arms. “We’ll all go with you.”
“I don’t think I need everyone in the delivery room,” Cassie said.
She could do with one, though. Her coach, a teacher friend from school who already had two kids, had agreed to be with her. Now Cassie would be alone in the delivery room, a prospect she’d never considered before.
“Honey, stop arguing, and get walking,” Juliet Shepherd said before pushing her husband ahead. “Rick, go clear a path for her.”
Rick and Henry joined forces to plow the field. Cassie began to feel a bit like an airplane coming for a landing. It took Jared, Rick, and Henry working together to hoist her up into the front seat. Jared buckled her seat belt and then ran around to the driver’s side. By the time he started the engine, she was already exhausted, and nothing much had happened yet.
“This is not how I pictured this moment happening,” Cassie said as Jared peeled out of the parking lot, tires squealing.
“This is just your first of many lessons in learning that kids operate on their own schedule,” Jared said, swinging onto the road at such a sharp angle that the minibus balanced on two wheels for a moment.
Cassie clutched the door handle. “Maybe slow down a little. I doubt this baby is going to come in the next five minutes…Oww…chestnuts on an open fire!” She breathed as another strong contraction hit.
“Okay?” Jared asked.
“Of course,” Cassie snapped back. “I’m about to give birth hours from home, without my doctor, and surrounded by strangers. I knew I was alone in this effort, but this is beyond what I imagined.”
“Listen to me, you are not alone, Cassie Stevens,” he said, with more urgency. “I’ll be with you the whole way. I’m not leaving your side.”
“Oh really? Are you planning to be there while I push this baby out, screaming and crying and cursing the day Matt Vincent was born?”
“Yes.”
The simple answer had her staring in disbelief. “You’re not watching me give birth. I barely know you.”
Falling For You At Christmas: Shellwater Key Tale Page 8
