Christmas in Harmony Harbor

by Debbie Mason

  “Well, thank you for the—”

  She ducked around him and reached up on her toes to kiss the underside of his jaw. “I’ll stop. Thank you for opening up to me last night. I know it wasn’t easy for you. I hope you know I won’t betray your confidence. If you ever want to talk—”

  He had to shut her up before he did something stupid like throw all caution to the wind and tell her that he wanted her in his life. Not like the women who’d come before her. He wanted…He couldn’t have what he wanted, and she deserved better. He dipped his head to kiss her, and because he vowed it was the last kiss he would share with this woman, he made sure it was one she would never forget.

  A kiss she’d remember when some other lucky bastard took her to bed, took her to wed, gave her children…He tore his mouth from hers. Instead of torturing her, he was torturing himself.

  “Caine, what—”

  He needed to remind her who he was. What was at stake. “I’ll be by tonight to pick another angel wish off the tree.” When she looked like she might argue, he said, “I went above and beyond for my first assignment, Evie. About four years and twenty-five thousand dollars beyond by my calculation.”

  The remark had the desired effect; her delicate jaw hardened. She’d be as pleased with his next shot. “You’ll want to think long and hard on this next wish, or I’ll have our wager won before the week is out.”

  He regretted having to hurt her as much as he regretted putting an end to their brief affair. He didn’t have to tell her. She was a smart woman, and her face as he walked out of the bedroom had said it all.

  As he left Holiday House, his phone in his coat pocket signaled an incoming text. He waited until he was behind the wheel to check the screen. Some of his regret over ending things with Evie lessened the moment he opened his grandmother’s text.

  Emily had raised the stakes. She’d sent a photo of him on the front step of Holiday House with Evie last night, and one of him leaving only seconds ago. He looked around.

  Her message was clear: She knew he’d spent the night with Evie. The threat wasn’t as overt but just as obvious. In order to protect Evie, he had to give Emily something. He had to make a move on Greystone Manor.

  Today.

  Chapter Nineteen

  Colleen stood overseeing the decorating of the grand staircase for this weekend’s Christmas parade. The banisters were being wrapped with red garland and decorated with white satin bows. It was a change from previous years, and Colleen wasn’t sure she was a fan. But she did approve of the white ceramic containers of red poinsettias that were being placed on the steps leading to the second floor.

  The Harmony Harbor holiday parade was a decades-old tradition, one in which the Gallaghers had taken part for almost that long. After the loss of her great-granddaughter and her mother, and Colleen’s son Ronan but a week later from a broken heart, they’d forgone their hosting responsibilities for several years.

  It took her great-grandson’s wife, Sophie, manager of the manor, to reinstate the tradition. It was a good thing that she had. It went a ways to helping them heal.

  A cold breeze blew across the lobby to ruffle the white satin bows, and Colleen turned to see what had caused the draft. It was Caine. And the lad didn’t look happy as he strode across the entryway. He looked like a man on a mission.

  “Now, that’s a worry,” she said to Simon, who was batting at the bows. “Stop playing and have a look at the lad. He’s wearing a face of thunder, and I for one would like to know the cause.”

  Simon meowed, sounding like he was agreeing with her. No, not agreeing with her, she thought, when he nudged his head at the stairs at the same time she heard the rattle of the housekeeping cart on the second level. He was warning her. “You are a smart one; that you are. It’s just too bad you aren’t smart enough to tell Jasper that Clio has my book.”

  She’d been hoping Theia might mention to Jasper that the book was missing and suggest that Clio was the thief. But she should have known Theia wouldn’t want to admit the book had been stolen on her watch. She was, after all, the one who’d stolen it from Jasper and Kitty. Albeit for a good cause.

  If Colleen’s memoir hadn’t helped to right the wrongs of the past over the last few years, she would have regretted writing The Secret Keeper of Harmony Harbor and putting the people she loved at risk. But the book had helped several people, including Jasper. It had kept him out of prison. So Colleen couldn’t regret this new mess they found themselves in thanks to Clio and Caine. All she could hope to do was find a way to somehow minimize the damage.

  “Caine,” Jasper hailed her great-grandson, “I’d like a word.”

  “Oh my, this doesn’t bode well, Simon. Look at Jasper’s face.” She glanced at Caine. “What have you done, laddie?” An odd question, she supposed, given everything he’d done these past few years.

  “I don’t have time for this, Jasper,” Caine said, his hands in his coat pockets.

  “Too bad. You’ll make it for me. You played me for a fool, and I don’t take kindly to it. Your concern for Theia and the family seemed genuine, so I agreed to allow the inspection team in.”

  “My concern was genuine—is genuine, as are the dangers. I didn’t make up the results. As the report clearly outlined, you have a serious issue with mold that needs to be dealt with.”

  “But you didn’t give us a chance to do that, did you? I just got off the phone with the health department, who faxed me the very same report I had in my hand. A report you had assured me was for our eyes alone.”

  “It would have been had you given any indication that you were going to address the issues in the report.”

  “No. This was your plan from the beginning. I’m sorry to say that you fooled me. It doesn’t happen often, but you did. It won’t happen again. You’re not welcome here. See yourself out before I do it for you.”

  Colleen pressed a hand to her chest at a hurt that felt all too real. She understood why Jasper wanted Caine gone. She was angry with him herself. But he was family, and you stand by family no matter what. “I hope you have a plan, my boy,” she murmured to Jasper. “I surely do, because I’ve never been more worried about the manor than I am now.”

  “I was never welcome here. Don’t pretend that I was. But one of your guests, Lenore Johnson, Evie’s mother, asked that I pick up her laptop for her. So unless you want—”

  Jasper lifted his chin at the stairs, granting his silent permission, before he said, “And it goes without saying that Ms. Johnson will not be given access to our books.”

  “Your loss. She might have actually been able to save this place.” He turned away from Jasper to stride toward the stairs.

  “He’s played you again, my boy. There’s only one reason he’s here and one reason alone.” And there was nothing Colleen could do about it. She’d never felt so helpless. Still, with Simon leading the way, she raced up the stairs. She didn’t have far to go before her worst fears were confirmed. Caine was talking to her great-granddaughter. Clio looked around and then nodded, digging around in her cart. She pulled the brown leather-bound book from under the towels, handing the Colleen’s memoir to Caine.

  No wonder Colleen hadn’t been able to find it. Clio kept the book with her at all times.

  Caine pulled out his phone and, as he leafed through the pages, checked something on the screen. Colleen moved to his side to peek at his phone. He had a photo of her handwriting, comparing it to that of her memoir. Ensuring its authenticity, she imagined.

  “All right, but I won’t agree to your price. Fifteen thousand and not a penny more,” Caine said.

  Clio took back the book. “No way.”

  “No one will give you more than what I’ve offered, Clio. And if they do, I’ll tell Theia and Jasper you have the book and you planned to sell it to me.” He swiped the screen of his phone several times before holding it up. He’d taken a picture of Clio removing the book from the housekeeping cart.

  “He’s a canny lad, Simon
. Scarily so. What’s worse, he’ll stop at nothing to get what he wants.”

  After shedding some tears and calling Caine several uncomplimentary names, Clio accepted his deal. “Don’t waste your brains pulling stunts like this or you’ll find yourself in serious trouble. Finish school. They’ve got a good archaeology program in Boston. You’re a smart girl. Apply for a scholarship.”

  “If you’d given me what you promised, I wouldn’t need a scholarship.”

  “You asked—I didn’t promise. If I had, I wouldn’t be where I am today.” He tucked the book beneath his coat and headed for the stairs.

  Colleen followed Caine. “I can’t let him out of here with that book, Simon. We have to do something.” She noticed the way he held his coat. “Something that will make him lose his grip on my memoir. We could trip him. No, not at the top of the stairs!” she cried when Simon darted in front of him. “I don’t want him dead. I just want the book.”

  “Don’t cross my path, cat. I’ve had enough bad luck for one day,” Caine said as he hurried down the grand staircase.

  Two steps from the bottom, Colleen decided it was safe for her to try. She made a run for Caine, grabbing at his coat as she sailed by. The lad didn’t so much as wobble. The poinsettia wasn’t so lucky, falling down the two steps to crash on the slate floor.

  “Don’t blame me,” Caine said as Jasper strode toward him. “Just a friendly piece of advice, but you might want to put that cat on a leash. He nearly tripped me at the top of the stairs. You can’t afford to be sued.”

  “If you’d fallen from there, I don’t think we would have worried about you suing.”

  “It’s not me you have to worry about it. It never has been,” Caine said, leaving Jasper to frown after him.

  Simon dashed after Caine, intent on his prey.

  “What are you and Simon up to now, madam?” Colleen heard Jasper murmur.

  “If you knew, you’d have a heart attack,” she called back to him as she raced after Caine. She was fast, but not as fast as Simon or Caine. Her great-grandson obviously wanted out of there and wanted out quick. “Hurry, Simon. He’s getting away!” Colleen cried when Caine reached the entryway.

  Simon shot through Caine’s legs and then ducked to the right. Caine stumbled, and Colleen held her breath. He grabbed the door at the last minute, saving himself from falling.

  Colleen raced after him. Unable to stop as the door closed behind him, she prepared herself to be bounced back into the entryway. Instead she went through the four-inch-thick slab of centuries-old oak and tumbled down the stone steps and onto the front path.

  For a moment she sat there stunned. Before last summer, she’d never been able to set so much as a toe out of the manor. If she tried, she’d bounce off what felt like an electrical force field. It was a shocking feeling, to say the least. Yet here she was, sitting outside.

  Caine. She still had a chance to stop him. At the sound of a car door slamming, she jumped to her feet, rushing to the end of the pathway. A sleek black car started up.

  “No!” she cried as the car backed out of its spot, and she ran across the parking lot. If not for Caine having to slow for another car, Colleen wouldn’t have caught up with him. But he did, and she threw herself into the car, landing face-first in the back seat. She rolled over, pressing a hand to her chest. Had she been alive, she wouldn’t have survived the excitement, let alone her run across the parking lot.

  She pushed herself upright. He was speaking to someone, a woman. An older woman from the sounds of it. One who was having a difficult time breathing, if Colleen wasn’t mistaken.

  “Don’t be so stubborn. Mrs. Jordan,” he said over the older woman’s muttered protests, “if she doesn’t stick the oxygen tubes in her nostrils within the next two seconds, I order you to do it. Don’t listen to her if she threatens to fire you. I’ll just hire you back. You don’t have to worry if she bites you. She’s had her rabies shot.”

  There was a gasp and then a raspy snort of laughter. “I’ve got it. Go and make me a cuppa,” the older woman said, a hint of amusement still in her voice, which led Colleen to believe she’d been the one who laughed.

  “Your time in America has made you cocky. Don’t forget who runs the show, my boy.”

  It was clear now that this was not only the woman who laughed, but she was Emily Green Elliot. The woman Colleen’s son Ronan had an affair with when he fled to Ireland all those years before. A fit of wedding jitters and old jealousy had caused Ronan and Kitty to break off their engagement, sending Colleen’s son to Ireland to heal his hurt pride and explore the country of his parents’ birth.

  “I haven’t forgotten. But you seem to have forgotten who’s been running the day-to-day operations of the company for the better part of three years. And if you’d bother to read the latest projections, doing a bloody good job of it,” Caine said.

  “I don’t care about that right now, and well you know it. What I do care about is your lack of progress on the manor. But I found you out, didn’t I? Playing house with that Christmas woman.”

  That was news to Colleen. And apparently news Emily Green Elliot wasn’t pleased about. Colleen couldn’t say she was pleased with how the other woman spoke about Evie either.

  “You didn’t have to resort to spying on me, Gran. All you had to do was ask. Who do you have working for you in Harmony Harbor?”

  The lad was worried. Colleen could see it in the way his jaw clenched and unclenched and by the white-knuckled grip he had on the steering wheel.

  “It’s of no concern of yours.”

  “You’re wrong. It’s very much my concern. You leave Evie out of this.”

  “Oh now, you may be a canny lad, but you’ve just made a big mistake. You’ve shown her you care about Evie. You’ve given her something to use against you, and she seems the type who would,” Colleen murmured, not liking that she recognized the tactic because she may have used it herself a time or two. She wasn’t a saint, after all.

  “Give me what I want and I will,” the older woman said on a wheeze.

  “That’s what I’m doing. I—”

  “No, what you’ve been doing is wasting time on this ridiculous bet you made with the Christmas woman.”

  “That ridiculous bet is what has allowed me to remain in Harmony Harbor without drawing too much suspicion. I’m also gaining goodwill and support from the town, which will work in our favor once we get the shovels in the ground. I don’t want any further delays or protests.”

  “There are more expedient ways to deal with protestors. If you had let me handle the Christmas woman as I wanted to in the beginning, we wouldn’t be having this problem now.”

  “We’re not the Irish mob, Gran.”

  “It doesn’t mean we can’t borrow from their playbook.”

  “If you want me to remain as CEO of Wicklow Developments, it most certainly does.”

  “You’d do well not to threaten me, boyo. I could take everything away from you with a stroke of my pen.”

  “And give it to Alec? Yes. I’ve heard the threat before, and I’m growing tired of it.”

  He wasn’t as blasé as he pretended. Colleen was sure his grandmother knew it too.

  “Then do something about it. I want the ownership papers for the Gallagher estate in my hands before I die.”

  “And you’ll have them. But you need to back off and stop threatening Evangeline. You’re distracting me from getting the job done.”

  Colleen bowed her head. He kept walking into Emily’s trap. Colleen understood why. Whether he knew it or not, he had strong feelings for Evie. Something Colleen wasn’t above exploiting herself. But for the lad’s own good. He was one of hers. He belonged in Harmony Harbor, and she’d do whatever she had to do to keep him here. Evie might just be the key.

  “From what I can see, you’re no further ahead.”

  “Check your e-mail. The health department should be arriving at the manor any moment now to shut them down. I’ve alerted the local n
ewspaper, of course. We’ll also be offering their guests accommodations at our hotel in Bridgeport.”

  Colleen gasped. They were in bigger danger than she’d ever imagined.

  “It’s a start. The disruption should put them one step closer to bankruptcy, with the added bonus of ruining their Christmas festivities. Has the bank manager agreed to sell you their loan?”

  “No. So I’ve made an offer for the Savings and Loan. But Mr. Bradford isn’t interested in selling just yet.”

  “Then you’d best make him interested.”

  “You underestimate me. And you underestimate the benefit of my presence in town under the guise of fulfilling angel wishes. People talk, and I’m here to listen. So is Uncle Seamus, who spends his evenings at the local pub.”

  “You’d best not let him know how you mean to use the information he gives you. He’s a sentimental fool, just like my son was. It’s a good thing I beat that out of you, my boy.”

  “Bejaysus, I’d like to reach through that screen and beat you for what you’ve done to my great-grandson. If it’s the last thing I do, I will stop you once and for all, Emily Green Elliot. Your reign of terror over my family ends now,” Colleen said.

  There was a muffled noise, and then another voice came over the line. “Mr. Elliot, I think it best that your grandmother have her tea and rest. Perhaps you can call back in an hour?”

  “I will, and I’ll get in touch with her doctor to have him stop by. The oxygen doesn’t seem to be helping as it should.”

  “I noticed that as well and called the doctor myself, sir. He’ll stop in after her evening meal.”

  “Thanks, Mrs. Jordan. I should have known you’d be on top of it. I probably haven’t said it enough, but I appreciate everything you’re doing for my grandmother. I don’t know what we’d do without you.”

  “That’s kind of you to say, sir. And the pay raise was much appreciated.”

  “A pay raise? What bloody for?” came the querulous voice in the background. “It seems you’re a sentimental fool after all.”