Barefoot Bay_A Family for the Holidays

by Karen Ann Dell

  Table of Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Text copyright ©2016 by the Author.

  This work was made possible by a special license through the Kindle Worlds publishing program and has not necessarily been reviewed by Roxanne St. Claire. All characters, scenes, events, plots and related elements appearing in the original Barefoot Bay remain the exclusive copyrighted and/or trademarked property of Roxanne St. Claire, or their affiliates or licensors.

  For more information on Kindle Worlds: http://www.amazon.com/kindleworlds

  A Family for the Holidays

  A Barefoot Bay Kindle World Novella

  By KAREN ANN DELL

  Dear Reader,

  Welcome to Barefoot Bay Kindle World, a place for authors to write their own stories set in the tropical paradise that I created! For these books, I have only provided the setting of Mimosa Key and a cast of characters from my popular Barefoot Bay series. That’s it! I haven’t contributed to the plotting, writing, or editing of A FAMILY FOR THE HOLIDAYS. This book is entirely the work of Karen Ann Dell, a talented author who has written in the Barefoot Bay Kindle World once before.

  Readers loved Karen’s first Barefoot Bay Kindle World book, DOUBLE PLAY, which features the local minor league baseball team, the Bucks. In this spinoff story, Karen takes readers on a holiday-themed journey to learn the power of family during this special time of year on Mimosa Key. I love nothing more than a hero who has to take down some walls before he can love again, and this story has that and more. Merry, happy, and enjoy!

  Roxanne St. Claire

  PS. If you’re interested in the rest of the Barefoot Bay Kindle World novels, or would like to explore the possibility of writing your own book set in my world, visit www.roxannestclaire.com for details!

  Acknowledgments

  Many thanks to Roxanne St. Claire for creating the world of Barefoot Bay, where I have spent countless hours happily soaking up the ambience of Mimosa Key and its inhabitants. When she opened her world to allow her fans to create their own stories here, I jumped at the chance to participate. Setting stories in this world is a fun vacation from my own series, which is set in the fictional town of Blue Point Cove, Maryland. There is just something special about waterside venues, don’t you agree?

  Over the years I have received an incredible amount of mentoring and support from the members of my local chapter of RWA. Their names are too numerous to mention here, but I thank them all for their time and expertise.

  I must also thank Chris Kridler, whose amazing editing skills help my books become so much better. A fine novelist in her own right, Chris offers insight, encouragement when I’ve run off into the weeds, and the best copy editing in the business.

  One of the difficulties my heroine encounters in this story is dealing with her mother’s Alzheimer’s Disease. To all of my readers who cope with this issue themselves, you have my utmost sympathy and admiration. While every caregiver’s challenges are different, the overarching pain of being forgotten by someone you care deeply for is indescribable, and the day to day repetition of even the simplest tasks is frustrating, to say the least. This book is dedicated to those unsung and often underappreciated caregivers.

  Other Books by Karen Ann Dell

  Blue Point Cove Series

  Hers by Request

  His by Design

  Theirs by Chance

  The Healing Hearts Series

  Rehab for the Heart

  Barefoot Bay Kindle World Books

  Double Play

  Chapter One

  Kelly Singer squared her shoulders and took a deep breath, then knocked on the door to her mother’s room.

  “Come in, come in. The door’s open.”

  Her mother sounded annoyed, and Kelly’s hopes plummeted. She’d hoped, as she always did when she visited her mom, that it would be a “good” day. She plastered on a smile and entered the private room.

  “Hi, Mom.”

  The confused frown and narrowed eyes confirmed Kelly’s fears before the woman sitting in the chair by the window even spoke.

  “Who are you?”

  “It’s Kelly, Mom. Your daughter. I came to take you out to lunch today.”

  “Well, you might as well turn right around and go. They won’t let me leave this place. I tried to go out yesterday, but the gate in the garden is locked, and no one would give me the key.” She flicked her fingers in dismissal and returned her gaze to the window.

  Kelly took the chair opposite her and waited. It didn’t matter how many books she’d read about Alzheimer’s, she still had trouble conversing with the woman who had raised her but now rarely recognized her. “I think they just don’t like the idea of you leaving by yourself. In case you might, uh, get lost.”

  “Humph. That’s ridiculous. I know where I am. I’ve lived in this house for twenty-two years.” She studied Kelly for a few seconds. “Do I know you?”

  Despair filled her, and she fought to keep her eyes from tearing. “I’m your daughter, Kelly.”

  “No, dear, you must be mistaken. My daughter Kelly is only sixteen. She’s upstairs in her room, too sick to come down for lunch. Maybe by the time Jack and Francine get back from Gainesville, she’ll feel well enough to join us for dinner.”

  Kelly’s heart clenched. Her mother often returned to the fateful day that her dad and sister had died in the multi-car pileup on I-75.

  Francine wanted to attend medical school at the University of Florida, and the family had planned an overnight trip to explore the campus. Unfortunately, Kelly had come down with the flu and was too sick to go. She’d told them she would be fine by herself, but her mother didn’t want to leave her.

  The illness saved her life and her mother’s, but afterward, Kelly suffered from intense survivor’s guilt. Her older sister was the smart one, destined for great things. Kelly wasn’t dumb, but she didn’t have the drive that fueled Francine’s 4.0 GPA and made her valedictorian of her graduating class. If only one of them was destined to survive to adulthood, it should have been Francine.

  Although her mother never said as much, Kelly knew she felt the same way.

  Gradually, the guilt faded, and Kelly was grateful she and her mother had not gone along on that terrible trip. She had no aunts, uncles or grandparents still living. Her entire family consisted of her and her mom. They became a pair, a team more like sisters than mother and daughter. Kelly had friends her own age, of course, and had a normal, if quiet, social life. But the important days—holidays, birthdays, anniversaries—those they spent together.

  And, now, for all intents and purposes, her mother was gone, too.

  “No, Mom, it’s me. I’m Kelly, and I’m all better now. Remember how we’d always go out to lunch on our birthdays? Today is yours, so we’re going out,” she said, firmly enough to keep her mother from arguing.

  “That’s right. We did do that, didn’t we?” A fleeting spark of recognition flickered in her eyes. “I’m not sure I’m dressed properly.” She brushed imaginary specks of lint from her navy slacks.

  “You look fine, Mom.” She took the tiny dollop of remembrance and ran with it, offering the small gift box she brought. Last week she’d gone to the Casa Blanca Resort and Spa to deliver caps and T-shirts bearing the logo of the Barefoot Bay Bucks to the resort’s gift shop. A gold, heart-shaped locket caught her eye in the jewelry case. It opened to reveal places for three small p
hotos, and she instantly thought of her mother. She bought it and a gold chain long enough so that her mom could open it and see the images of her husband and daughters even when she had it on. Maybe it would help her remember.

  “A present? For me? How thoughtful, dear.” Elizabeth untied the ribbon and opened the box. “Oh, this is lovely. Thank you, honey.”

  Kelly helped her open the locket to reveal the pictures. Her mother stared at them for so long, Kelly expected her to ask who was in the photos. But her mom just closed the locket, kissed it, and asked Kelly to help her put it on. She stroked her hand along the chain and looked up at Kelly with tears glistening in her eyes. “This is the nicest birthday present I’ve ever received. Thank you, Francine. You are so thoughtful.”

  Moisture burned in Kelly’s eyes, and she blinked several times to keep her tears from falling. She forced another smile and helped her mother to stand up. She could feel the bones of her mother’s shoulder beneath the silk blouse, and her wrist felt fragile in Kelly’s grasp. Despite the recent weight loss, she still appeared much younger than her fifty-eight years. Her skin stretched taut over high cheekbones, the fine-grained complexion smooth except for a few lines around her eyes, and the silver strands in her naturally pale blond hair were nearly invisible. She’d always dressed stylishly, and with the income Kelly’s father had provided, designer labels graced her clothes, shoes and bags.

  “I have a special treat for today. We’re going to eat at Junonia, a wonderful restaurant at the Casa Blanca Resort on Mimosa Key. Their terrace overlooks the beach and the Gulf of Mexico.”

  “Oh, my, that sounds lovely. Let me get my purse.” She hesitated and frowned. “You’re sure they’ll let me out?”

  “I’m sure, Mom,” Kelly said, clasping her mother’s hand in hers. “You’re always safe with me.”

  By the time she and her mom ate their late lunch, the brief window of awareness had closed, and conversation languished as they walked the beach and collected some shells. Kelly was grateful her mom made it through lunch while she still knew her daughter, though often confusing her with Francine. Most visits were a complete wash in that department. She knew the symptoms of the disease were relentless and had been counseled to expect fewer and fewer moments of recognition as time went by. She had hoped the progression would not be so rapid, though.

  Kelly was grateful she’d found an available room in an assisted living facility in Naples. It enabled her to visit much more often than the old one in West Palm. A short drive across the causeway and into Naples took less than thirty minutes, so she tried to visit her mother several times a week.

  Kelly checked her watch. It was already seven-thirty. It was dinner time for the residents, but her mom insisted she wasn’t hungry, and since she’d eaten so well at lunch, Kelly relented and sat in the garden with her. They watched the sky deepen to indigo. As the first few stars appeared, the evening breeze cooled enough to make her mom shiver, so Kelly walked her to her room, settled her in front of her TV and kissed her cheek goodbye. Her mom didn’t notice when she left.

  By the time Kelly returned to the condo she shared with Sky Ziegfeld, she was exhausted. The cycle of hope followed by disappointment was emotionally draining. She sighed, toed off her shoes and went to the fridge. A glass of chardonnay would soothe the heartrending echoes from today’s outing.

  Sky and her fiancé, AJ, were visiting his mother up in Massachusetts, so the condo was dark and empty. Lucky Sky, she thought for the thousandth time. She found her soul mate, a pitcher for the Barefoot Bay Bucks, almost as soon as she and Kelly had been hired by the team. In fact, they were probably making wedding plans this very minute.

  As she poured the golden liquid, the blinking red light on her answering machine got her attention. Probably Sky letting her know they had arrived safely, and exclaiming over the color the fall weather had painted on the leaves in Cambridge. She pushed the play button.

  “Hi, Kel, it’s Mike. Sorry I missed you. I’m coming down tomorrow to check out some properties. Sky said it wouldn’t be a problem for me to stay at the condo, but I didn’t want to just drop in out of the blue. I can always stay at the Fourway if you have plans. Give me a call when you get in? I’ll be up late so, uh, I guess I’ll talk to you later. Bye.”

  The machine beeped and went silent.

  Kelly grinned at the answering machine. If there was one thing that could cheer her up after a crappy day, it was a call from Sky’s brother, Mike.

  He and Sky’s younger brother, Jed, had come down from Philadelphia several times during the summer, ostensibly to watch the Barefoot Bucks play—at least that was Jed’s reason. Not that Mike wasn’t a baseball fan, too. In fact, Sky’s whole family were devoted Phillies fans.

  But Mike had other reasons to make the drive to Florida. He was his own boss, owned a fitness center in Lansdowne, and had been contemplating expanding into another location nearby, until Sky and Kelly suggested he consider opening his second venue on Mimosa Key. He’d agreed to consider the possibility, and the message sounded like he’d moved ahead on that score.

  Kelly hoped another reason for his visit was the attraction she’d felt building between them all summer.

  ~~~

  Mike put the final entry into his company’s spreadsheet and powered down his laptop. His desk clock read 8:15. He’d expected Kelly to call him back before now. Maybe she was out on a date. That thought put him in a decidedly foul frame of mind.

  He had no right to be annoyed, because he had steadfastly refused to make any hint of a commitment to Kelly Singer. But, logically or not, he still felt his lip curl in a snarl at the thought of Kel in another man’s arms. Or bed. Shit. He had no one to blame but himself.

  Every time he and Jed had visited Sky over the summer, Mike always seemed to wind up as Kelly’s partner when Sky, AJ, Kelly and he went out to eat. Jed invariably searched for some action among the younger crowd at Buckskins Bar and Grill and rarely made it home before dawn. Mike could easily envision what kept the kid out so late. Lucky bastard.

  Maybe he should skip this trip. Sky and AJ were up in Cambridge visiting his mother, so Kel would be all alone in the condo. The thought attracted him as much as it worried him.

  He didn’t want to slip any deeper into a relationship with Kelly. But it was hard to deny his attraction to his sister’s roommate. She was beyond beautiful. Long blond hair, eyes the color of the water lapping Mimosa Key’s shores, creamy skin and a luscious pink mouth made for kissing. She was funny, kind and generous to a fault. Easy to talk to and just as easy to sit quietly with and watch the stars come out over the gulf. There were too many similarities between her and Sarah, his first love, the woman who had broken his heart into a thousand pieces. The pain had steeled his resolve to never let another woman have the power to bring him to his knees like that again.

  He didn’t have to check out those two properties in person. He’d read the details, seen the pictures, checked out the comps in the area. There was really no need to make a special trip for a personal tour.

  Besides, if Kelly was getting it on with another guy, he didn’t want to cramp her style.

  The hell he didn’t.

  He reached for his cell phone, and the theme from “Rocky” played just as he touched it. The screen lit up with the smiling face of Kelly Singer, and his heart took a few extra beats.

  “Hello.”

  “Hi, Mike. It’s Kelly.”

  “Hey, Kel. Guess you got my message.”

  “Yeah. I just got in, so I’m sorry it’s kind of late. You’re coming down tomorrow? What a nice surprise. Are you driving?”

  “Not this time. Owen is flying to Key West for a couple of days and offered to drop me off in Naples to check out some possibilities for another gym.”

  “Wow. I’m impressed. You get chauffeured here in a private jet. Pretty spiffy.”

  “Yeah, it’s nice to have a brother who owns a charter jet service. I wish my company was half as successful as his.�
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  “You’ll get there. He had a couple of years’ head start.”

  She laughed, and the lilting sound made him want to drag his brother to the airport and take off tonight. “No problem with me crashing at your condo? I realize it’s short notice, so if you have plans…”

  “No plans, Mike. If I had ’em, I’d cancel them anyway. I didn’t expect to see you much now that baseball season is over. It will be great to have you here.”

  Did he imagine some extra emotion packed into her last sentence, or was that wishful thinking? He shifted in his seat to ease the strain on his zipper. This woman could get him hot as a rocket even long-distance.

  He’d wanted to touch her, kiss her and get inside her for months, each visit nudging him closer to the edge of losing control. Not that he’d been celibate since college. Hell, he was no saint. But his hookups had always been the fun and games variety, with both parties aware that there would be no lasting commitment between them. He didn’t think he could pull that off with Kel, and the slippery slope into deep and dangerous emotions kept him clinging to the edge of that cliff by his fingernails.

  “Great. We should touch down about 10 tomorrow morning. I’ll get a rental and be at your place by—”

  “Mike. Don’t bother with a rental. I’m happy to pick you up at the airport, and during the week, if you have places to go, you can drop me off at work and take my car.”

  “Are you sure? I don’t want to put you out.”

  “Stop talking like that. You won’t be putting me anywhere. I’m happy to do it. I’ll see you in the morning, fella. Have a safe flight.”

  “I will, Kel. See you soon.”

  Only one phrase stuck in his memory. “No plans.” His mood improved immeasurably, and he grinned as he packed.