Swept Away for Christmas

by M. J. Fredrick

  “I’m not an idiot, you know,” she said.

  “Didn’t say you were.”

  “You’re being childish.”

  “Me?” Sam spluttered. “You slept with my best friend. That is number one on the don’t do list.”

  “It is not.”

  “It’s in the top five.”

  “Maybe that. But believe me when I say it wasn’t casual, or random. We’ve been...I don’t know. I had a terrible crush on him when you were in college together.”

  He scowled. “You might have told me.”

  “Right, because that’s something you tell your protective older brother. What would you have done differently?”

  “I wouldn’t have asked him to look after you the past two weeks.”

  “Newsflash, but I’m twenty-five years old. I can look after myself. Mostly. And Liam kissed me, but I’m the one who moved it to the next level.”

  “Jesus, I don’t want to hear that.”

  “What I’m saying is you don’t need to be mad at him. If you’re mad at anyone, be mad at me.”

  “He should have known better.”

  “Sam. What was it you said about wanting me to be happy?”

  “Are you happy? Because I got the impression the two of you weren’t getting on so great.”

  “What makes you think that?”

  “Maybe the way you were scowling at each other when I walked in.”

  “You have to know I’m not exactly ready to move into a relationship right now.”

  “So you sleep with him?”

  “It was an important first step. I don’t know exactly what I want, most of the time, but last night I wanted him, I wanted what we had.”

  “And now?”

  “I think I’m going to go home to Oregon for a little bit, get some perspective. But I think I know what I want to do.”

  Before Sam could react to that, before she could wrap her mind around the decision she’d made, Liam stepped back into the living room, tucking his phone away.

  “My folks will be here for dinner tonight. The two of you are invited.”

  “It’s family time,” Harley protested. “We’ll be fine.”

  He crossed the room and cupped his hand around the back of her head. She darted a nervous look toward Sam at the intimate gesture. Liam looked over, too, but his expression was calm, daring Sam to protest.

  He turned back to Harley. “The two of you are family, too. I want you there.”

  The thought worried her, even as she nodded. She’d have to keep her distance, or his parents might see something she wasn’t ready for them to see.

  ***

  Liam didn’t give her a chance to keep her distance. Despite Sam’s scowl, Liam rested his hand on the small of her back as they walked into the restaurant on the Florida/Alabama border. He released her long enough to hug his mother and father—and oh, she saw where he got his good looks. Mrs. Channing was a lucky, lucky woman.

  “Mom, Dad, you remember Sam. I don’t know if you ever met his sister Harley. She’s come to stay in Alabama for a few weeks. Harley, my parents, Bill and Diana.”

  “Nice to meet you,” Harley said, aware of Diana’s shrewd gaze as she took in Liam’s proximity to her.

  “Just a few weeks?” Diana asked as they headed toward the table, where Liam held out Harley’s chair

  “Just until I figure out what’s next.”

  “Like a New Year’s resolution?” Diana asked.

  “Something like that.”

  Bill deflected the conversation from her by asking Sam what he’d been up to, and for the first time, Harley heard about her brother’s Coast Guard maneuvers. As soon as he was done, though, Diana took over the conversation again.

  “Your parents are in Aspen, Liam said. That’s an interesting choice for Christmas.”

  “We’d both made other plans,” Sam said, flipping his finger between himself and Harley. “They figured this was their chance to do something for themselves.”

  “They deserve it, though,” Harley said, with newfound appreciation for the decision. “Sometimes you have to be on your own for a bit to remember who you are.”

  Diana looked at her speculatively. “I suppose that’s true. I think Liam probably wishes we’d go off and do something on our own, and leave him alone.”

  “That’s not true.” Liam patted his mom’s arm. “I think we do Christmas just the right way.”

  “It would be nice to celebrate a little longer,” his mother said as dinner wound down. “I don’t like to exchange presents at a restaurant. Can we go to your house?” she asked her son.

  “Sure. I didn’t decorate.”

  “I did,” Harley heard herself say. “I mean, Liam helped me decorate Sam’s place.”

  “He did.” It wasn’t quite a question, though her eyebrows rose when she looked at her son.

  “We can...go back there if you like. Not much in the way of food, but I think we have some beer.”

  “I couldn’t eat another thing,” Diana said, gathering her purse and standing.

  Uh-oh. That glint in Diana’s eyes was not a good thing. Had she made a mistake inviting the Channings back to Sam’s?

  ***

  Liam watched Harley make everyone comfortable in the small bungalow then she sat on the other side of the room by her brother, purposely not looking at him. He didn’t know if her effort was because of Sam or because of his parents, or because of him. He didn’t think she’d invite his parents here if she wanted distance from him, right? But he didn’t know when they’d have a chance to talk.

  “I feel terrible that we don’t have anything for the two of you, since you’re so generous to share your tree,” Diana said as she passed a bag and a couple of small boxes to her son, and he in turn passed an envelope to them.

  “Don’t be silly.” Harley pointed to the gifts under the tree.

  When had she replaced the ones that had been trashed when Tony came in? Sam handed him two gifts tagged with his name, and another with Mia’s.

  “I wanted Mia to open her own, but if you want to do it for her...” Harley teased.

  “I’ll owe you,” Sam said. “I didn’t get a chance to get anyone anything.”

  “Just you being home is enough.” Harley hugged his neck, and he smiled, if only for a moment.

  He grinned at her and tore into his presents. His mom got him clothes and towels, his father a new tackle box with a gift card for a fishing shop inside.

  “Oh, Liam, cruise tickets!” his mother exclaimed, then set them in her lap and leaned forward toward Harley. “I told you he wants to get rid of us.”

  “Mom.” His face flushed. “You and Dad always wanted to go to Alaska. This is one way to see it. I understand the whales will be really active then, too.”

  “You shouldn’t have.” She rose to kiss him on the cheek. “What did Harley get you?”

  He opened the first package to find a CD from the singing reality show that had been on at the bar one of the first nights she’d been in town. He laughed and held it up. He couldn’t remember the last time he bought a CD.

  “It has the singer you were rooting for on there,” she said quietly, as if unsure of his reaction.

  “Thank you. I love it.” He turned to the other present, something soft, from the floppiness of the package. This time he couldn’t stop laughing—it was a stuffed elephant, Big Al, the Alabama mascot, wearing a goofy grin and a crimson sweater, holding a football.

  “In case you don’t have enough Crimson Tide crap behind the bar.”

  “Hell, he’ll probably sleep with it,” Sam teased, and she tossed him his present, wrapped identically.

  “And what about you?”

  Liam tossed her present, also soft, in her direction. She caught it in midair and lifted her eyebrows as she weighed it in one hand. He hoped the gifts didn’t embarrass her in front of his parents or Sam, but he’d put some thought into them. He hoped she saw that.

  She tore in and unfo
lded the first T-shirt, read it, then turned and laid it over herself so everyone could see. It was a Crimson Tide shirt.

  “Because you’ve been here over two weeks and haven’t worn one, so I’m thinking you lost yours,” he teased.

  Harley didn’t answer, but lifted the second shirt and held it to her as well.

  “I love Alabama,” Sam read.

  “I’ve heard you say it a few times the past couple of weeks,” Liam said, and watched her face redden.

  Then she pulled out the last one, his favorite, the one he’d had to have.

  “My heart belongs in Starfish Shores,” Diana read aloud, and glanced at her son. “Does it?”

  Again, Harley didn’t say anything, just looked at him across the room for a long moment.

  When she got up to get beers for everyone, Liam followed her into the kitchen. He didn’t care if his parents and Sam knew he’d followed her to kiss her. Hell, he didn’t care if they walked in. He crowded her against the counter, cupped her face in his hand and covered her mouth with his.

  “Thank you,” he whispered, ending the kiss. “For being part of my Christmas.”

  She covered his hand and met his gaze, her eyes sad. “I decided I’m going home tomorrow.”

  He stepped back, his hand falling away, his stomach dropping. “Home as in Oregon, or home as in Nashville?”

  She shook her head. “Not back to Nashville, though I heard from Sheriff Calhoun they’ve tracked Tony back there and charged him with vandalism. Sam said he’d take care of pressing charges so I don’t have to. But I feel like I have to, you know, to put it behind me.”

  He nodded his understanding, though his focus was on the personal aspect of her leaving. “And me? Are you putting me behind you, too?”

  “There are some things I need to do, some things I need to discover. I won’t ask you to wait for me because I don’t have it together.”

  He couldn’t help himself. He gripped her shoulder, needing to touch her. “Sweetheart, you have it together more than most people I know. But I’ll stand behind you, no matter what you decide to do.”

  She stood on the railing of the bar and stretched up to kiss him softly. “I know you will. And that’s what gives me courage to do it.”

  Before he could catch her and hold her to him, she’d slipped away and back into the living room.

  ***

  Two weeks later

  The Crimson Tide made it to the Cotton Bowl that played the Saturday after New Year’s. Liam and Sam had to hire two bartenders and two more waitresses, since the excitement in Starfish Shores was bigger than it had been at Christmas. In Alabama, football was a religion, and the Tide was the church most in Starfish Shores believed in.

  The game was in full swing and closer than it should have been, thanks to some reckless turnovers by the Tide. But a heroic effort by the quarterback rallied the team to a touchdown that gave the Tide a comfortable lead.

  “Roll Tide!” called a familiar voice, and Liam whipped around to see Harley standing near the bar.

  He had no idea how long she’d been there, the crowd was so thick. She looked amazing, her hair cut in a style framing her face, wearing her “My Heart Belongs in Starfish Shores” T-shirt that clung to her in all the right places. And the smile she gave him lifted his heart in a way it hadn’t been lifted since she left two weeks go.

  Ignoring the game, he rounded the bar, captured her hand and led her out of the crowd and down to the beach. The weather was colder than it had been two weeks ago, but after being in the crowd, he was grateful to get out. And frankly, since he was with Harley, he didn’t give a damn.

  “Did you just get in? Did Sam know you were coming?”

  “Yes, and no.”

  He looked over his shoulder at the bar. “We should probably tell him.”

  “We will.”

  “How did you get here?”

  “I bought a car in Mobile and drove out.”

  “You bought a car.” Was he wrong to read some kind of permanence there?

  “I did, my first one to buy on my own. A little scary, but it’s done. It’s used but has low mileage.”

  That so wasn’t what he wanted to talk about. “You bought a car in Alabama. Not in Oregon.”

  “Oh, I was never going to stay in Oregon. I just needed to remember who I was before, figure out who I want to be. Appreciate who I am now.”

  She turned and started walking along the beach. He fell into step beside her.

  “I’m going to go back to school, to community college in Mobile. I mapped it out, and it will be a commute, but not impossible. What I was hoping—” She drew in a deep breath, as if she was working up the courage to ask for something.

  Swear to God, if she asked for a job, he wouldn’t be responsible for his actions. “You have a job if you want it.”

  “Thanks, but that’s not what I was going to ask.” She turned to him and took his hands, looking more serene than he’d seen her. “I was going to ask if we could pick up where we left off. I know I kind of freaked out on you, and I took off without talking it over with you, and if you don’t want to, then—”

  This time she was cut off when he pulled her into his arms and covered her mouth with his, shaking with happiness, feeling like he was going to float away if he didn’t ground himself with her. When he released her, breathless, and she staggered back, she grinned up at him.

  “Is that a yes?”

  “It’s a hell yes.”

  THE END

  About The Author

  MJ Fredrick knows about chasing dreams. Twelve years after she completed her first novel, she signed her first publishing contract. Now she divides her days between teaching elementary music, and diving into her own writing—traveling everywhere in her mind, from Belize to Honduras to Africa to the past.

  She's a four-time Golden Heart Award finalist, and she won the 2009 Eppie Award with Hot Shot and the 2010 Eppie with Breaking Daylight. She was a 2012 Epic Award finalist with Don’t Look Back.

  Connect with MJ online.

  Website: http://mjfredrick.com

  Blog: http://mjfredrick.wordpress.com

  Newsletter: http://bit.ly/1hf1goB

  Facebook: http://on.fb.me/16D4kvK

  Twitter: https://twitter.com/MJFredrick

  Here Comes McBride

  By Tanya Michaels

  Chapter One

  The first person who said “just like old times” was getting whacked upside the head with the Vera Bradley backpack her fourth grade class gave her at yesterday’s Christmas party. Nice attitude, Shel. Not at all bitter and inappropriate for the maid of honor.

  Shoving her sunglasses on top of her unruly hair, Shelby James met the green eyes reflected in the rearview mirror of her parked car. She spoke with the firm tone she often used with students. “You are here for Miranda. This is her big weekend, so get over yourself.” Miranda Donavan was like the sister she’d never had; Shelby was delighted her friend was getting married, even if Shelby had been caught off-guard by the whirlwind, two-month engagement. Once Miranda and Bruce had made the decision to marry, they’d impulsively decided to do so before the end of the year.

  Eager to see them—and trying not to think about who else she’d have to face during the next five days—Shelby hit the button that popped her trunk open and stepped out of the car. Balmy sunshine enveloped her.

  It was beautiful outside, ridiculously so for late December. The gulf breeze blew away the humidity that could be oppressive in other parts of Alabama, and the distant sound of waves was music to her ears. Breathing in the salty tang of ocean air, she suddenly regretted that she hadn’t set foot in Starfish Shores since her parents relocated to Miami a few years ago. This “Florabama” beach town had been the site of some of her happiest memories.

  And a few less happy. She grimaced, trying not to dwell on the day Finn McBride had ripped out her heart and stomped it into the sand. Ancient history.

  “You’re here, you’re here
, you’re here!” Miranda’s excited squeal across the hotel parking lot was reminiscent of when she’d been voted Freshman Duchess on the high school homecoming court.

  Straightening from the crammed-full car trunk, Shelby smiled over her shoulder, half expecting a red-headed fourteen-year-old in a ponytail and faded Matchbox Twenty concert T-shirt.

  But the tall, slender woman rushing across the pavement had a sleek strawberry-blonde bob, a silky teal top over expensive looking white slacks, and a diamond engagement ring that shone like a lighthouse beacon. The two of them collided in a laughing hug.

  “I’ve been so impatient to see you that I’ve been driving Bruce crazy,” Miranda confessed. “We checked into our suite twenty minutes ago, and I’ve been looking out the window over the parking lot every five seconds. The other hotel guests probably think I’m a stalker.”

  “A gorgeous stalker.” Next to her best friend, five-foot-four Shelby felt short and very…khaki. “You look more like a supermodel than a high school teacher.”

  “Pfft. Just because I accessorize well doesn’t mean I’m elegant.” Miranda tucked her hair back, one long beaded earring sparkling in the sunlight. “I’m still the same woman who gets carried away talking with her hands and spills half her beverages. None of my drama students will stand within three feet of me at wrap parties. But I promise not to drop any of your stuff while helping with the luggage.”

  Shelby grinned. “Luggage is a generous term.” When she took road-trips, she didn’t pack in the traditional sense.

  Miranda peered at the disorganized jumble of shoes, shopping bags, mismatched duffels and rolls of wrapping paper. “Good Lord. What happened in there?”

  “I blame lingering rebellion from childhood.” For the first thirteen years of her life, Shelby had been moved from one Army base to the next. Her mom had been the world’s most organized packer, keeping their lives clutter free and their belongings ready to stow in neatly labeled cardboard boxes at a moment’s notice. Shelby had hated that existence. It wasn’t until her dad left the military and moved them to Starfish Shores that she developed any concept of roots and enduring friendship.