Christmas in Harmony Harbor

by Debbie Mason

  “Lucky for you that I am or I would have saved my money and put you in a home instead of hiring private nurses. Now, behave yourself or I’ll tell Mrs. Jordan where to find the arsenic.”

  “Sir!” the nurse cried, while his grandmother’s snort of laughter turned into a coughing fit.

  Colleen could see the concern on Caine’s face. Whatever she might think of Emily Green Elliot, it was clear the boy loved the older woman, and as the teasing indicated, they were close. But there was a strain in their relationship too. He didn’t like how his grandmother conducted business. Yet it looked like he was willing to do whatever he had to in order to grant her final wish.

  Or was it merely a ploy? Colleen wondered, thinking back to his obvious concern about Evie. It sounded like Emily had made a threat against the girl just prior to Caine pulling the stunt with the health department. She hadn’t seen an ulterior motive when he’d initially called in the air-quality team. He’d been genuinely concerned about Theia’s health.

  Colleen sat back in the seat to ponder her options. She hadn’t thought to wonder where they were going until she looked out the passenger-side window. “Oh my,” she cried, pressing her hands to her chest. It had been years since she’d seen her beloved hometown. And to think, caught up in the machinations of Emily Green, she’d almost missed it. She pressed her face to the window to get a better look at the familiar shops along Main Street.

  Oh, what a beautiful sight. They were decorated for the holidays. She checked the faces of the people hustling along the snow-dusted sidewalks, searching for someone familiar.

  “Mr. O’Malley,” she cried, smiling at his familiar holiday getup as he welcomed a couple into his shop. He caught sight of Caine and waved. The smile on the lad’s face was genuine. Just like the one he offered to the owners of Truly Scrumptious and In Bloom.

  Whether he knew it or not, he was becoming one of them. He could pretend with his grandmother all he wanted that he had an ulterior motive for agreeing to Evie’s bet, but Colleen didn’t believe him. There was goodness in the lad. He just needed…the love of a good woman to put him on the road to redemption.

  To Colleen’s mind, there was no one better suited for the job than Evie Christmas. And given Caine’s defense of the girl during his conversation with his grandmother, there was already some interest on his part. All that was left for Colleen to do was work her matchmaking magic.

  She smiled when Caine parked just up the street from Holiday House. “And it looks like the Fates are on my side.”

  Chapter Twenty

  Colleen got out of Caine’s car to stand with the small crowd that had gathered on the sidewalk. There was quite a commotion in front of Evie’s store, as an army of workers appeared to be decorating the outside of Holiday House.

  “Won’t be but a few minutes more, folks,” a man with a thick Irish accent informed the crowd with a winsome grin. Colleen suspected he was Caine’s uncle. Seamus, the one who was spending his evenings at the pub. She didn’t mean to be judgmental, but his red nose gave him away. Although there was a brisk breeze, so it was possible Jack Frost had been nipping at his nose.

  “How’s it going, Uncle?” Caine asked as he came to stand by the older man to look up at the house.

  His uncle patted him on the back. “You’re a sly one, you are, and you know your girl well. You would have thought you’d given her diamonds and free rein with your American Express card when she came out here and saw what you’ve done.”

  Caine didn’t fool Colleen with his nonchalant shrug. She’d seen the pleased look on his face before he replaced it with one of indifference for his uncle’s benefit. She smiled. It seemed the couple didn’t need any matchmaking help from her. They were already well on their way to their happy-ever-after. Then Colleen remembered the voice in the car, and her smile fell.

  Emily Green Elliot would not be happy to learn her grandson had fallen in love with Evie. Colleen didn’t doubt the woman she’d heard on the phone would do whatever she had to do to put a stop to it. And she wouldn’t care who got hurt in the process.

  This job was too big for Colleen alone, especially in her ghostly state. Somehow, she had to get Caine to stay at the manor. Preferably in her tower room. With that in mind, she followed him into Holiday House.

  The shop smelled like gingerbread and brought back memories of Christmases past. Colleen used to love to visit Holiday House. It was one of her favorite shops in Harmony Harbor. She couldn’t believe the town council had played a part in having the old place torn down. The council and the man who Evie was practically gobbling up with her eyes. The lass was smitten, of that Colleen was certain. She glanced at Caine. Over the moon in a yellow balloon, she thought.

  Evie smiled at the woman she’d been serving and then walked over to Caine. “I don’t know what to say,” Evie began. Then, looking like she might cry, she threw her arms around him. “No one has ever done anything like this for me. I can’t tell you how much it means to me.” She leaned back to look at him. “Especially when I know how you feel about the holidays. Thank you.”

  His reserve melted in the face of Evie’s pleasure, and a smile creased his handsome face. Until the front door opened, and he stepped away, his mask sliding back into place. “You’re welcome. But you’re making too much of it. I told you I’d put up the lights for you. I simply paid someone to do it for me.”

  Evie looked like he’d slapped her, but she quickly recovered. “Of course, what was I thinking? After all, it’s not like we’re in a relationship or anything. We just slept together. No biggie.”

  “Dammit, Evie.” He looked around the shop and took her by the hand, tugging her to a private corner by the fire.

  Colleen supposed she should give them some privacy after Evie’s surprising revelation, but it wasn’t as if they’d know she was there. And she wanted to find out exactly what she was up against.

  “I’m sorry,” Caine apologized. “I shouldn’t have said that.”

  “No, you shouldn’t have. But I know why you did. Intimacy scares you.”

  “I should’ve known you’d try to analyze this to death.” He put his hands on her shoulders. “You don’t scare me, Evie. Intimacy doesn’t scare me, and in no way did I mean to diminish our night together. It’s just that…” He dropped his hands to his sides and stepped back. “It’s complicated.”

  “You’re right, it is. And I’m okay with complicated. But obviously, you’re not.” She smiled at a woman who called her over. “I’ll be right with you.”

  “You’re busy. I’ll pick an angel off the tree and get out of your way.”

  “No,” she said, looking frantic. “You can’t.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because.” She looked around. “Because someone wanted to put up an angel wish and they’re not here yet.”

  “When do you expect them?”

  “Tonight. Around seven o’clock. Maybe eight. You can come back tomorrow.”

  “No. I want to get it over with now. Tell them they can put their angel on the tree in time for my last wish.”

  That’s it, Colleen thought, looking beyond Caine and Evie to see the angel tree. That’s how I’ll put my plan into action. Now all she needed was someone to help her write out the wish, because that was one skill she’d yet to master. She looked around the store while Caine and Evie argued, ruling out the baby boy in the buggy.

  But the little blond girl who was sitting playing with a teddy bear appeared to be the perfect age. Colleen crouched beside the table in an effort not to scare the child away. “Hello, little one.”

  The child’s brown eyes rounded. “I wasn’t taking him. I just wanted to play with him.”

  “I don’t blame you. He’s a very nice Santa bear.”

  “Are you a ghost?” the little girl asked, nibbling on her bottom lip.

  “No. I’m a Christmas angel, and I need your help. Is your mommy here with you?”

  “Yes. She’s buying my grandma’s Christmas pr
esent.” She pointed out a woman at the cash register. “What do you need me to do?”

  “Let’s go to the angel tree, and I’ll tell you. But we have to hurry because we want that big man over there to get our very special angel wish. And if he does, you can tell him the Christmas angel says you were a wonderful helper and he should buy you the bear.”

  Any hesitation on the child’s part vanished after that, and she did an excellent job dictating what her mother was to write on the angel.

  “Who did you say told you to write the note, darling?”

  “Her.” She pointed at Colleen. “The little old lady. She’s a Christmas angel.”

  “Darling, she’s not old. She’s a beautiful angel.”

  “Why, thank you,” Colleen said, thinking her wrinkles must be invisible in her ghostly state. And wasn’t that a marvelous thing. “I didn’t realize you could see me or I would have—”

  From directly behind her, a voice said, “I need a new angel for my tree. What do you think of this one?”

  Colleen turned to see a woman holding up an angel for her friend and sighed. The little girl’s mother hadn’t been talking about her after all.

  “I’m supposed to give the angel to that man.” The child took the paper angel from her mother and walked over to Caine, who was waiting impatiently for Evie to get off the phone.

  The little girl tugged on his arm. “This is your angel wish.”

  “Is that so?” He smiled at the child and took the pink paper angel from her, turning it over to read the wish. His smile fell. “You put her up to this, didn’t you?” he said to Evie, who’d just ended her call.

  The child’s mother stepped forward. “My daughter dictated the angel wish to me. Is there a problem?” she asked, resting a protective hand on the shoulder of Colleen’s little helper.

  “No problem at all,” Evie said as she crouched in front of the little girl. “It’s the perfect angel wish. Did you think of it all by yourself?”

  The child shook her head. “No. The Christmas angel did. Her name is GG.” The little girl looked up at Caine. “She said you’d buy me Santa Bear.”

  * * *

  Caine stood at the kitchen sink, running the water before filling his glass. He could use a shot of whiskey, but a search of Evie’s cupboards proved futile. He glanced at Bruiser. The cat was acting weird. Weird in that he wasn’t comatose in a puddle of sunshine. He stood staring at something behind Caine.

  Feck it. Caine turned around. There was nothing there. Well, there hadn’t been until Theia walked into the kitchen. “I should have known she’d call you. How long have the two of you been planning this? Don’t even try to deny you had something to do with that angel wish.” He turned back to the sink.

  “I didn’t. Actually, that’s not completely true,” Theia admitted.

  “I knew it,” Caine said, relieved that he’d been right and his best friend and Evie had cooked this up because he didn’t want to consider the other option.

  “Don’t get ahead of yourself. I had nothing to do with the wish the little girl gave you. It’s just that it’s uncannily similar to what I suggested.”

  Caine pointed his empty glass at her. “Aha, there it is. Admit it. You were talking to Evie about it on the phone seconds before the little girl handed me the angel. Somehow Evie got the message to the child’s mother.”

  “Good try, but no. Last night at book club, when Evie was stressing about coming up with a second angel assignment for you, I suggested that you help bring the holiday spirit to the manor.”

  “And why the bloody hell would you suggest that?” He waved his hand. “Never mind. I know the answer already. You want me to lose.”

  She scrunched up her nose. “Yes and no.”

  “You can’t have it both ways.”

  “I know the office tower’s important to you, and you’ve put a lot of time and money into it, so no, I wouldn’t want you to give up on that. But I don’t want Evie to lose either. And she’s got so much more to lose than you do, Caine.”

  “I know she does.” He set the glass on the sink. The situation was untenable, and he’d made it ten times worse. He never should have gotten close to Evie.

  “You have to tell her, Caine. You owe her the truth.”

  He turned to frown at Theia. “The truth about what?”

  “About who you really are. It’s important she hears it from you. I made the mistake of not telling Marco, and I nearly lost him. I don’t want you to risk that with Evie. You guys—”

  “Theia, I don’t know what Evie’s told you, but there’s no us. It was only the one night. I was upset, and she had one too many…Ouch. What was that for?” he said, rubbing the arm she’d punched.

  “You slept with Evie?!”

  “Uh. Yes. What were you talking about if not that?”

  “The lights! You had her house decorated for the parade. I’ve been around you long enough to know that you don’t do things like that for women who don’t mean something to you. And you’ve spent more time with her than half the women you’ve dated combined.”

  “Of course she means something to me, T. But we’re not like you and Marco. We—”

  “How do you know if you don’t give it a chance?”

  Caine looked up to see Evie hovering at the entrance to the kitchen, and he glared at Theia. There was no way Evie had missed some of their conversation, which was evident when her eyes met his. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to interrupt. I was just wondering if you were okay. You seemed upset.”

  Which was no doubt why she’d called Theia to come. “It’s me who should apologize. I’m sorry I overreacted, Evie. I thought you and Theia had conspired to come up with a wish that…I couldn’t possibly complete.”

  “I’m sure Theia already told you this, but the Gallaghers were the reason I suggested you wait until tomorrow to pick your wish. They wanted some time to think about what they would have you do. They were in a meeting discussing it when I called Theia.”

  “The pick-a-wish meeting was postponed. We had an emergency come up, which I’m sure you know about, Caine. Since you’re the one who orchestrated it.”

  And the timing couldn’t be more perfect, he thought. “It’s not like I was going behind anyone’s back. No doubt you’ve seen the results of the manor’s air-quality tests. I had an obligation to alert the authorities. It was obvious no one at Greystone was going to do anything about the problem.”

  “Of course they were. Just not as fast or to the degree you wanted them to. Which, by the way, was over-the-flipping-top. Because you have a problem. Seriously, you should talk to Evie about it.”

  “I don’t have a problem, T. I—”

  “He does, Evie. He has a phobia about old houses. He thinks they’re death traps of one kind or another. Don’t tell me he hasn’t tried to convince you that Holiday House is going to fall down around you.”

  “Now that you mention it…” Evie began, looking at him like she wanted to get him on a couch and probe his mind while taking notes.

  It’d be a cold day in hell before he’d let anyone dig around in his head. “I didn’t say Holiday House was going to fall down around you. I said it was going to burn up with you in it. So did the electrician, if you remember. Just like the team of professionals said the manor had black mold.”

  “I read the report, and nowhere did it recommend closing the manor until the mold was dealt with, which the health department just did by slapping a notice on the door of the manor,” Theia said.

  “Oh no, that’s terrible. So they won’t be hosting the open house after the parade tomorrow?” Evie asked.

  “I don’t think so. In fact, thanks to Scrooge here, it looks like there’ll be no Christmas at the manor.”

  “Apart from the bit about it being my fault, I have to agree. So”—he handed Evie the pink paper angel—“I’ll pick another angel off the tree.”

  “Oh no, you don’t.” Theia took the paper angel from Evie and pressed it to his chest. �
�You’re not getting off the hook that easy.”

  “Really? You think they’ll want me there after this? Jasper already kicked me out of the manor and told me not to show my face again.”

  Theia blinked. “He did?”

  “Yes. He did.” Caine had known all along that Jasper’s loyalties lay with the Gallaghers. But he’d enjoyed his battle of wits with the older man. He’d come to admire Jasper and appreciated the unlikely friendship that had developed out of their unholy alliance. So while he wasn’t completely surprised, he’d been hurt by the disdain he’d seen in the older man’s eyes.

  “Too bad. He doesn’t get a say. If he has a problem with you being there, he can take it up with me. You’re my best friend, and you’re…” She glanced at him and then at Evie, but instead of outing him like he thought she might, Theia said, “Colleen obviously wants you there, so he’ll just have to suck it up.”

  “Um, the only Colleen I know is Colleen Gallagher, and she, uh, died years ago, Theia,” Evie said.

  “Oh, she knows she died,” Caine said. “She just doesn’t think Colleen made it to the other side.”

  “I don’t understand…” Evie’s eyes went wide, and Caine grinned when she began looking at Theia like she’d been looking at him only moments before.

  “Yes, she thinks the Gallagher matriarch is a ghost who haunts the tower room. Perhaps you should talk to her about it, Evie. It’s becoming a bit of a problem.”

  “Don’t pretend you didn’t feel something in the room. You admitted as much.” Theia smoothed out the paper angel that Caine had crumpled. “How do you explain this, then? The little girl said the Christmas angel was named GG. That’s what all the great-grandchildren called Colleen,” she explained to Evie. “And who other than Colleen would want you to do this? She knows who you are. She wants to…” She trailed off.

  “What do you mean, she knows who he is?” Evie asked.

  He could tell by Theia’s face that she didn’t want to lie to Evie, but she would, for him. “Just that she knows he’s the CEO of—”