The Edge of Paradise: Christmas Key Book Three

by Stephanie Taylor

  Oddly, everyone goes quiet on the beach. The golden scenery and the dying wind are the backdrops to the gathering, with the islanders all facing the sinking sun. Holly takes a moment to appreciate the tranquility of the moment. It’s a sliver of time she gets to share with the people who mean the most to her in the world. A second in their lives where there are no outsiders amongst them, only the few who know exactly what it means when one of the fence posts of their community takes leave of them.

  Under the palm tree sits the Cafferkey family, with Emily between Iris and Jimmy. She smiles happily at the ocean before her. To Holly’s left is another knot of her friends and neighbors, with Hal Pillory sitting on his own lawn chair near a patch of seagrass. He’s got flip-up shades clipped to the bridge of his glasses, and they’re propped straight up like an open garage door as he watches the waves roll in and out.

  Jake ambles down the steps, one hand in the pocket of his shorts, a beer in the other hand. Bridget is nowhere to be seen, and this makes Holly happy. This is a moment for the people of Christmas Key—the real islanders—and it’s perfect in its unplanned simplicity.

  As the sun slips towards the horizon, Holly swirls the melting drink around in her glass. Somewhere across that vast sea, Bonnie’s sailing to a new life. One that Holly might not agree with, but one that she’ll support if it makes her friend feel complete. And far away—across water and land—River’s reading her text in Oregon, probably thinking of how he’ll respond to her.

  From inside the bar, Joe Sacamano hits the switch and the hanging lights around the bar go on, casting a glow onto the sand. The sound of his amplifier kicking on is an indicator that live music is coming, and a smattering of applause breaks the silence on the beach. People start to get up and brush sand off their backsides, carrying drinks up the stairs as they prepare for another night of music and dancing with their neighbors. Buckhunter offers Fiona a hand and they follow the crowd up the steps. Holly waves them off, taking a drink through her straw as she lingers on the beach.

  She waits a while longer, listening to the chatter of happy people in the bar and the sound of Joe strumming his guitar in the twilight.

  Chapter 18

  Holly’s almost survived her first week alone in the B&B office by blasting music whenever she isn’t on the phone, taking Pucci out for several short walks a day, and forwarding her phones while she leaves for lunch. On more than one occasion she’d turned to tell Bonnie something or had started to forward an email on to her, but then she remembered that B&B business was no longer relevant to Bonnie.

  On Thursday afternoon, the office phone rings just as Holly and Pucci are returning from a Mistletoe Morning Brew run.

  “Christmas Key B&B, this is Holly,” she says breathlessly, kicking off her Converse and folding her feet under her thighs on her office chair.

  “Sugar?”

  “Bon!” Holly shouts, jumping back up from the chair like she hadn’t meant to sit down in the first place. She’s gotten one text from Bonnie, just confirming that she’d arrived in one piece and would call as soon as she got more settled in. “How are you?”

  “Oh, I’m fine, doll. How are you?”

  “I miss you so much,” Holly says. “It’s been so weird being in the office without you this week. Even Pucci knows something is different.”

  “Awww, I miss the two of you,” Bonnie wails. “How is everything else?”

  “Other than us being heartbroken without you, everything is good. The new family is all settled in. Vance and I have been talking details all week about him opening the bookstore, and he’s getting a pitch ready for the next village council meeting in a couple weeks.”

  “That’s wonderful, sugar,” Bonnie says with enthusiasm.

  “I’m excited about it. But I’m less excited about the fact that Bridget is a hideous racist who might be carrying Jake’s baby.”

  “Say what?”

  “I didn’t want to load you down with gossip and stuff while you were trying to leave, but on the day of the last village council meeting, Bridget showed up while I was sitting by the pool.” Holly walks over to the bank of windows that looks out onto Main Street and settles in on the wide ledge to tell Bonnie all the stuff she’s been holding back. She’d wanted to tell her everything before, but out of kindness to her friend, she’d tried to keep the focus on getting Bonnie ready to go, rather than on dragging her into more island drama.

  She recounts the whole thing to Bonnie as people walk by her window and wave. By the time they’re done talking, Holly’s told her all about Bridget, the three new holes they’ve found on the island in the past week, and about the handful of bookings she has coming up at the B&B.

  “I feel like there’s a lot going on,” Bonnie says. She hesitates for a second. “Hey, are you sure you don’t need me there, sugar? I could maybe pop back over and give you a hand…”

  “No, Bon. Of course not,” Holly says hastily, her eyes focused on Mexi and Mori as they race down the sidewalk on the other side of the street. One of them has a soccer ball tucked under his arm. “We’re totally fine.”

  “Okay, if you’re sure,” Bonnie says. There’s a strong hint of disappointment in her voice.

  “I’m sure. Everything is covered, I just wanted to catch you up on the gossip so that you didn’t come back to visit in a few months and stumble onto a new bookstore and a pregnant Bridget without any warning.”

  “Well, thank you for that,” Bonnie says. “I’m dying to hear how it all turns out. You’ll keep me posted?”

  “You know I will,” Holly promises. As she watches, Mexi and Mori drop the ball and start kicking it around, shoving one another as they chase it down the sidewalk and nearly run into Mrs. Agnelli. Holly scans the area, but she doesn’t see either of the boys’ parents nearby. “Listen, Bon, I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you soon, okay?”

  “Okay, sugar. Love you heaps.”

  “Likewise,” Holly says. She sets the cordless office phone on the desk and shoves her feet into her tennis shoes. “Be right back, Pooch,” she says to her dog when he lifts his head from the dog bed in the corner.

  Outside, Mexi and Mori have nearly reached North Star Cigars with their soccer ball. Holly looks up and down the sidewalk, searching for Vance or Calista. In the split second that her eyes are off the boys, one of them boots the ball with a power she wouldn’t have guessed he had in him, sending it sailing through the air and across the street. Holly’s mouth drops open as she watches the ball heading directly for the golf cart that’s driving down the road. She’s poised to shout a warning when Hal Pillory notices the ball coming at him in his peripheral vision. He swerves wildly to avoid it, and plows into a parked cart. The force of the impact stops him like a brick wall. Hal plunges forward in his cart and hits the steering wheel with his chest.

  Holly barely has time to realize that Bridget is sitting behind the wheel of the parked cart, because her eye is still on the ball as it spins through the air, the black and white hexagons a blur as it makes contact with the huge front window of Mistletoe Morning Brew. The shattering of glass fills the air like church bells, and everything on Main Street goes still.

  Mexi and Mori are frozen in place on the sidewalk, eyes wide. Hal is bent over the steering wheel of his cart, moaning and bleeding from the forehead. Ellen and Carrie-Anne’s faces are perfectly framed in the giant hole that looks in on their coffee shop, the jagged edges of glass surrounding them as they clutch one another in shock. Mrs. Agnelli is still standing on the sidewalk with one hand over her heart. The scene is interrupted by a shout from the door of Poinsettia Plaza.

  “What the…Mexi! Mori!” Vance Guy booms loudly as he steps out onto the sidewalk. The door to the plaza swings shut. He breaks into a jog, reaching his boys in mere steps. “What’s going on here?”

  No one speaks as he leans down, holding each boy by the shoulders in turn and looking into his sons’ shocked faces. Holly swallows hard and rushes down her side of the street to help
Hal and Bridget.

  “Everyone is okay,” Holly yells across the street at Vance. “Can you get Fiona?”

  Vance’s face creases with concern as he takes in the various pieces of the puzzle and the whole picture starts to come together in his mind. “Stay here,” he instructs his boys curtly, pointing at a spot on the sidewalk. “Do not move.” He runs back to Poinsettia Plaza and disappears inside.

  “Hal, are you okay?” Holly asks gently. She’s afraid to move him. Hal moans back at her when she places a hand on his shoulder. “I’m here, and Dr. Potts is on her way.” Without leaving Hal’s side, Holly turns her attention to Bridget. She’s sitting in the driver’s seat of her own cart, phone in hand. “Bridget, are you okay?”

  Bridget is shaking as she punches the screen of her phone. “Not really,” she says. She’s shaking and trying not to cry. “Did you see that?”

  “I did,” Holly confirms, trying to keep her voice calm. “You don’t need to call anyone, Bridget. Dr. Potts is coming—everything is going to be fine.”

  “I need to call Jake,” she says, finally looking up from her phone to glare at Holly. Holly looks around at the street. Mexi and Mori are obeying their father, standing exactly where he left them. Cap has emerged from his shop and is holding Mrs. Agnelli under the elbow, waiting to be called on if help is needed. The silent anticipation on the street reminds Holly of a showdown at high noon.

  “I’m sure someone has already called him,” Holly assures her.

  “He needs to hear about this from me,” Bridget says, holding up her phone as proof that she’s calling him. “Jake?” she says, sounding mildly panicked. “Can you come to Main Street? I’m hurt. There’s been an accident.”

  Holly turns her attention back to Hal and the blood that’s running down his temple. His eyes are still closed tightly.

  “Oh my God,” Fiona says, rushing across the street with her open lab coat flying behind her. She’s got a first aid kit in one hand, and her eyes are trained on Hal. “Anyone else hurt?” she quickly scans the area.

  “Bridget got banged up a little, but mostly Hal,” Holly says, stepping out of the way so Fiona can attend to him. Main Street springs to life again as carts pull onto the road and slow to a stop. The triplets emerge from Tinsel & Tidings and rush down the sidewalk, holding one another by the hand or arm as they survey the scene. Buckhunter steps down from Jack Frosty’s, wiping his hands on a rag and looking on with curiosity.

  “Everything okay?” Buckhunter shouts, tossing the towel into his restaurant and rushing towards the accident.

  “Fiona’s got it,” Holly calls back, walking up the sidewalk to meet her uncle. “The boys kicked a soccer ball across the street and Hal swerved so it wouldn’t hit his cart,” she says breathlessly. “He ran into Bridget’s cart, and the ball broke the front window of Mistletoe Morning Brew.”

  “Don’t forget to mention that Bridget was in the cart,” Bridget yells. “And Bridget got run into by someone who’s probably too freaking old to even be driving.” She scoots across the bench seat of her cart and climbs out the passenger side because Hal’s cart is t-boned against her driver’s side. “But I’m fine, don’t worry about me,” she says sarcastically, brushing off the front of her skirt.

  Fiona continues to help Hal, asking him questions in her quiet, patient doctor’s tone. She’s already snapped on a pair of latex gloves and is dabbing at the gash on Hal’s temple as she feels around for obviously broken bones.

  “Why don’t you have a seat, Bridget,” Fiona says calmly, not looking away from Hal. “You’re next on my list of people to check out.”

  “I kind of feel like I should be first,” Bridget argues, “given that I count as two people, and we’re both way younger than the old guy who can’t watch where he’s going.”

  “Let’s get you inside so you can sit down and wait for Jake,” Holly says through gritted teeth. Vance and Calista have both converged on the twins across the street, and Calista is on her knees in front of the boys, questioning them quietly with thunder in her eyes.

  Bridget yanks her elbow out of Holly’s grip. “I can walk,” she says. “I’m just worried about my baby.”

  Holly chooses to ignore the talk of a baby, and instead pulls out a chair inside the coffee shop for Bridget. “Here. Sit.” She points at the chair. “Ellen? Can we possibly trouble you for a glass of water?” Holly moves over to where the stunned women still stand, broken glass crunching beneath her shoes with every step. “I’m sorry,” she whispers, picking up her feet and walking gingerly across the tiled floor.

  Ellen is rooted to the spot, a rolled-up poster in one hand. “I was re-decorating for March,” she says dumbly. “It’s a new month and I need new decorations.”

  “I know.” Holly steps up to Ellen and gives her a cautious side-hug. “I’m so sorry about this.” She’s purposefully calm, as she doesn’t want to rattle Ellen in her current state.

  “I’ll get the water,” Carrie-Anne says. She pours a glass from the tap and rushes it over to Bridget. Holly stands with Ellen, her arm still around the older woman as she holds her. Without discussing it, Carrie-Anne leaves her wife in Holly’s hands and takes over Bridget duty. She sits with her at the tall bistro table, watching the action outside.

  “What are we gonna do, Holly?” Ellen’s words rise in pitch and volume as the full scope of the situation sets in. “We don’t have a front window anymore! All the money I’ve been saving from our monthly fundraisers is going to have to pay for a new window.”

  “Shhh,” Holly says, swaying slightly and rocking Ellen from side-to-side the way you might do with a distraught child. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The weather is good, we’ll get the glass cleaned up from the floor and call a repair shop on the mainland right away. I’ll find someone to help me cover your front window, and you know your shop will be safe until we get new glass—there’s no question about that. We’ve got this,” she promises.

  Jake pulls up in his cart then, screeching to a stop in the middle of Main Street. He approaches Hal and Fiona with concern all over his face, bending over to talk to them while Fiona places a bandage on Hal’s forehead.

  As soon as Bridget sees her boyfriend outside, she slides off the chair and grabs her phone from the table.

  “Did she say she was pregnant?” Ellen whispers to Holly, her shock over the front window subsiding. “I could have sworn she said something about a baby.”

  “I think so,” Holly whispers back, pretending that it’s news to her as well.

  “Honey—” Carrie-Anne says. She sounds alarmed. “Wait!”

  Holly and Ellen look at Bridget; she’s reached the door just as Carrie-Anne’s warning rings out in the shop. And then all four women look down at the same time to see the stream of blood that’s running down the inside of Bridget’s bare leg.

  Chapter 19

  The B&B kitchen becomes the gathering place that evening for anyone who wants to talk about the accident and pitch in to make casseroles to deliver. Holly stands at the center of it all, pointing out stations and giving hugs as her neighbors walk in.

  Near the sink, the triplets are working on a three-layer casserole to take to Hal Pillory, who is back home and propped up on his couch with a sling on his arm and a bottle of ibuprofen. Iris and Emily are assembling a tray of dumplings and rice to drop off with Ellen and Carrie-Anne, and Wyatt Bender and Cap have shown up with offers to help put together sandwiches for Jake and Bridget, but Holly’s noticed that they’re mostly talking to the women and sneaking pieces of deli meat while everyone else does the work.

  “Did you know?” Glen whispers to Holly as she passes by the triplets’ work station. “Had Jake already told you?”

  Holly stops. She has a block of cheddar cheese in one hand and a large tomato in the other. “No,” she lies easily. “I had no idea. I feel terrible for them.”

  Bridget had been rushed to Fiona’s office straight from the coffee shop. No one came out for several
hours, though Jake had gone in as soon as he saw his girlfriend being led across the street by both elbows. His face had gone white at the sight of blood, and he’d left the scene of the fender bender immediately, forgetting all about the debate over whether Hal should have let the soccer ball hit his cart, or whether swerving had been the right thing to do. Word of Bridget’s condition had spread quickly, and everyone waited, talking in hushed tones. They took turns helping Hal get comfortable in a room at the B&B while he waited for Fiona to come back and check on him.

  The second she’d seen Bridget bleeding, a huge wave of guilt had threatened to topple Holly. Isn’t this what she’d been hoping for—no baby? Not like this, of course, but essentially for Bridget to somehow turn up not pregnant, and for Jake to see the light in time to disentangle himself from her grasp? Standing in the kitchen now, Holly’s eyes feel tired as she stands and listens to the other women talk. A few traumatic stories of lost pregnancies and old sadnesses are passed around as those who’ve gone through a miscarriage try to make sense of how Bridget and Jake must be feeling.

  “It’s not that I don’t feel bad for them,” Mrs. Agnelli says, joining Holly and the triplets. “But a person has to wonder how a girl shows up here and is already pregnant a few months later.”

  “I think we know how it happened, Maria,” Gwen says, shaking a bag of frozen peas over the casserole dish she’s been preparing and sprinkling them across the concoction. “But it does seem…”

  “Fast,” Gen adds. The triplets always do this—finish one another’s sentences, work fluidly together side-by-side, and share the same opinions on almost everything—and they all appear to be in agreement now. “It seems like a young lady ought to pace herself a little, and not have all the fun at once.”