[Christmas Key 01.0] There's Always a Catch

by Stephanie Taylor

  While Holly and Bonnie clear dinner away, islanders begin to drop in with supplies to give or to loan, and with covered dishes to stash in the kitchen. Some even decide to stick around and ride out the storm at the B&B for fun, and others have brought their own slippers and toothbrushes along so that they can stay amongst neighbors for safety and companionship. The triplets bring a bunch of pillows to sit on, and a rousing game of gin rummy starts up on the carpet near where Holly’s podium usually stands at village council meetings.

  The mood is downright festive—kind of like the final night of a convention where everyone stays late in the hotel ballroom to drink and carry on—when Coco walks in on Jake’s arm. She’s dressed for dinner in tight white jeans, pink strappy heels, and a loose, colorful blouse. Holly immediately unrolls the sleeves of her t-shirt and tries to flatten out the wrinkled cotton with her palms.

  “What’s going on here?” Coco asks, slipping her arm out of the crook of Jake’s elbow.

  “Tropical storm headed our way,” Maria Agnelli says, walking right up to Coco. She stands a full foot shorter than Coco, but shoots her a steely look that’s all business. “It’s gonna be a real rat bastard, Coco—kind of like that boy who knocked you up and left you all those years ago.” She puts a wrinkled hand out to take Coco’s smooth one.

  “Oh, Maria, for heaven’s sakes,” Coco says, letting the older woman hold her hand. The reminder of her unplanned teenage pregnancy sits there awkwardly for a minute. “So how are you holding up, you old dear?” Coco asks loudly, leaning in to Maria’s ear.

  Maria recoils, obviously offended that someone would feel the need to yell at her. “My ears are holding up just fine. My feet aren’t so great, and I don’t have much left in the butt department, but I can sure as hell hear you.” Maria lets go of Coco’s hand, then pulls on Holly’s arm, motioning for her to bend down to hear. “I’m going to go and see if I can’t scare up a game of Truth or Dare with these guys. And good luck with that old bag of bones,” she says in a stage whisper, giving the tiniest jerk of her thumb in Coco’s direction. “You can put lipstick on a pig, but it’s still a pig, you know.”

  “Always lovely to see you, Maria!” Coco calls after her as Mrs. Agnelli joins the Cafferkeys at their table.

  “So we’ve got games and food here, huh?” Jake is still standing behind Coco. “It looks like some of the other islanders are ready to pull an all-nighter here. Maybe I should stick around just in case things get rowdy.”

  “I’m sure things won’t get out of hand here, officer. But you’re welcome to stay if you want to.”

  “Well, it looked like you had everything under control the other night at Jack Frosty’s,” Jake says simply. “So I’m sure you can manage anything that comes up around here.”

  Holly nods, folding her arms. She knew that night in the bar with River was going to come back and bite her eventually.

  “Hey, look at that,” Jake says, nodding at a table surrounded by fishermen. “Poker. I’m gonna see if they have room for another player.”

  Jake squares his shoulders and approaches the table of men; they stop what they’re doing and look up as he introduces himself. A few stand and offer handshakes, but Jake directs his words at River, who stops shuffling the deck of cards and nods at whatever Jake is saying. Before Holly has a chance to walk over and see what’s going on, Jake pulls out a chair and antes up, tossing some bills from his wallet onto the tablecloth.

  Holly decides to stay away for a while and just watch the game from afar. She makes the rounds, talking to Alan and her mother, then sitting with Heddie and Iris for a while to kick around ideas for brides who might decide to do destination weddings on Christmas Key. By midnight, several of the men have folded at the card table and gone back to their rooms to catch a few winks, and Coco and Alan have finally turned in after huddling at a table with the triplets and their husbands for a few hours of wine and conversation.

  The first licks of the storm have officially reached the island, and Holly is in the kitchen with Bonnie and Fiona, eating the brownies that Iris brought and sipping leftover champagne from the fourth of July straight out of the bottle.

  “Now that he’s not sick and I’m not worried about him choking on his own vomit anymore, I can definitely say that your baseball player is hot,” Fiona says, breaking off another piece of brownie.

  “He’s not my baseball player, Fee.” Holly seals some leftovers in a container and wipes her forehead with the palm of her hand. Even though she showered and changed, Holly never had a chance to catch a nap, and after her restless night she’s starting to feel dull around the edges.

  “I don’t know about that, sugar. I think he’d like to slide into your home plate.”

  Holly drops her chin, looking at Bonnie tiredly. “Really? More innuendo, Bon? I thought the frisking and the ‘concealed weapon of love’ stuff with Jake was your best work.”

  Fiona laughs, brownie crumbs flying from her mouth. “Sorry,” she says. “But did he actually frisk you?”

  Holly blows the hair out of her eyes and carries a stack of saran-wrapped plates over to the counter next to the fridge. “I seriously can’t handle either of you right now. I’m way too exhausted to think about Jake frisking me on Main Street. And really, Fee, we should be discussing your love life right now.”

  “Mine?” Fiona feigns innocence, holding a hand to her heart like she’s shocked. “But it’s so boring.”

  “Honey, Buckhunter is many things,” Bonnie says, “but boring is not one of them.”

  “Did you…” Fiona turns to Holly, her hand pointing at Bonnie.

  “Tell Bonnie you’ve got the hots for Buckhunter? No.”

  “No need, Dr. Potts. You might be able to diagnose diseases, but I can diagnose a serious case of lovesickness at fifty yards. It’s a gift.” Bonnie winks at them.

  “Lovesickness?” Fiona blanches. “Ew. Not even.”

  “I don’t know. It’s definitely some sort of sickness,” Holly teases, reaching for a chunk of brownie.

  Fiona ignores Holly’s jab. “We’re just having fun.” She gives a casual shrug. “It’s nothing serious.”

  “So you’re admitting that you two are playing doctor?” Holly raises an eyebrow at Fiona.

  “Or maybe he’s been doing body shots off of you after the lights go out at Jack Frosty’s?” Bonnie offers.

  “Jesus. What is it with you two and the work-related double-entendres?”

  Bonnie and Holly make eye contact and, without words, agree to drop the subject—for the time being, anyway.

  “So, did you see those two boys out there, sugar? They’re locked in battle over you,” Bonnie says to Holly. She’s turned her attention to moving food around on the shelves of the refrigerator to make room for the Tupperware containers full of lasagna and pasta salad.

  “I saw.” Holly takes two cookies out of a Ziploc bag before handing the bag over to Bonnie. “But they’re not fighting over me, they’re just being men. Neither one of them wants to lose at poker.” She bites into an oatmeal raisin cookie, her face twisting and contorting like she’s just bitten into a tart lemon. “What kind of cookies are these?” Holly turns to the sink and spews crumbs. She spits twice, trying to get the horrible taste out of her mouth.

  “If those are the oatmeal raisin, then Maria made them. I think she used capers instead of raisins this time. Here, drink this and throw that bag of cookies in the trash.” Bonnie pulls a bottle of water from the fridge and sets it on the counter. “Now, if this were the animal kingdom, I’d say those boys are either fighting to the death, or trying to establish who the alpha male of the village is.” Bonnie mutters a few words under her breath as she reshuffles the containers of food to make them all fit in the fridge.

  “But since it’s not the animal kingdom?” Holly ignores her friend’s frustration and hops up onto the edge of the stainless steel counter to sit and drink her water.

  “Well,” Bonnie says, holding onto the door handle wit
h one hand. “Then I think they’re hashing out who gets to take you back to your side of the island to play Tarzan and Jane once this storm passes.”

  “Wait—so you think they actually believe,” Holly slides down from the counter, straightening her shorts with one hand and holding her water bottle in the other, “that whoever wins a poker game has some chance of getting into my pants as the grand prize?”

  Bonnie thinks about it for a second. She picks up a damp rag from the counter and starts wiping down the island in the middle of the kitchen. A knowing smile plays at the corners of her lips.

  “Bonnie!” Fiona laughs. “Are you serious? Have you ever let a card game decide which man you’re going to date?”

  “Honey, no one ever said anything about a date, did they?”

  “Bonnie Lou…” Holly shakes her head in amazement. “You are too much.”

  “That’s what they all say.” Bonnie cocks her head saucily and tosses the wet rag across the kitchen; Holly catches it with one hand.

  “River is kind of adorable,” Fiona says, licking the chocolate frosting off her fingers.

  Holly drains the water bottle in one big gulp and then recaps it. “Yeah, he is. And today when I went to his room to tell him about the fishing trip, we had a moment.”

  “A moment? Tell everything sugar—leave no detail unshared!” Bonnie leans against the counter, face eager.

  “Well, he invited me in—”

  “Oh, sweet Moses!” Bonnie picks up a cold jar of mayonnaise from the counter and holds it to her neck like she’s trying to keep from overheating. “I can’t believe that man invited you in!”

  “The real question,” Fiona says, reaching for another brownie, “is did you go?”

  Holly scoffs and tosses the empty water bottle like a missile towards the recycling bin. She makes the shot. “Of course not, Fee. I’m the mayor. I don’t spend my afternoons in the hotel rooms of male tourists.”

  “That’s right, love. Never visit a strange man in his hotel room during daylight hours,” Bonnie says, wagging a finger smartly.

  Fiona throws back her head and laughs. “Excellent advice, Bonnie. Okay, so it was probably wise not to go into his room, but if you have the chance to get to know him better, I think you should go for it.”

  “Doctor’s orders?”

  “Doctor’s orders.” Fiona takes a big bite of brownie.

  From the sound of the wind and rain outside, the storm is rapidly picking up momentum. The women stand there together in companionable silence for a few minutes, passing the bottle of champagne around and listening to the rain pelting the roof and windows.

  “So this is where you three are hiding out,” Jake says from the doorway.

  “Hey, Jake,” Fiona says with a smile. “I haven’t seen you in ages.”

  “It’s been, like, two days,” he says, giving her a puzzled frown. “And I’m pretty sure I almost ticketed you a few days ago on December Drive for tailgating me.”

  “You were driving slow and I had an appointment with some waves and sand after work.”

  “Yeah, yeah, yeah. Just watch the lead foot and the reckless driving, huh?”

  “Yes, sir.” Fiona gives him a sloppy salute.

  “Anyway,” Jake looks at Holly, “we’re taking a five minute break. You wanna come out and watch me empty these fishermen’s pockets at the card table?”

  “Jake,” she says with a warning note in her voice. She doesn’t like the idea that he’s playing too aggressively against their guests.

  “Don’t worry. Any man who bellies up to a poker table knows the stakes.”

  “And what exactly are those stakes?” Bonnie asks.

  Holly and Jake lock eyes for a second. “The whole pile of chips, as far as I can tell.” He backs into the swinging door, bumping it out with his backside. “See you ladies out there.”

  Bonnie gives a low whistle, her face awash with admiration. “Honey, I am IM-PRESSED. Getting two men to fight over you like this is some kind of ninja-level man-eating.”

  “Oh, come on,” Holly says, grabbing Bonnie’s elbow. She drags her into the hall, heading for the dining room as Fiona follows close behind, still holding the champagne bottle.

  “Hoo-hoo-hoo!” Bonnie whoops like a chimpanzee as she trails behind Holly. “You Jane, me Tarzan!”

  Holly stops in the doorway of the dining room; Bonnie and Fiona nearly bump into her from behind. There, at a round table in the center of the room, are Jake and River. They’re facing each other, eyebrows furrowed in concentration as they examine their respective hands of cards. Standing behind them are a mix of locals and fishermen, their arms folded across their chests as they make small talk and watch the two men square off.

  A pool of light from overhead falls directly on Jake and River like they’re performing a play on stage. Their profiles are both strong and handsome, their gazes intense. With Jake’s short dark hair, five o’clock shadow, and deep tan, he looks like a chiseled actor on the set of a movie. In contrast, River’s straight, sandy-colored hair is mussed, he’s grown in the start of a blonde goatee, and his sharp blue eyes dart around keenly, humor dancing on his face as he spies Holly. His look tells her all she needs to know about what will happen next.

  River takes the toothpick that he’s been chewing on from between his teeth and holds it with one hand. “You ready?” he asks Jake.

  Jake nods and lowers his cards, spreading them flat across the tablecloth. Three kings and two sevens: a full house. The men watching the card game whistle and a few clap.

  Outside, the wind is howling and palm fronds are tapping against the windowpanes like the fingers of unseen ghosts. The lights inside the B&B flicker.

  Casually, as if it happens to him every time, River lays out his cards in a fan: a ten. An ace. A jack. A queen. A king.

  “Royal flush!” Joe Sacamano shouts, holding up a glass in toast. “Nice work, young man.” Everyone starts talking again as if they’ve been holding their collective breath, waiting to see the outcome.

  “Good game, officer,” River says politely, scooping the separate piles of cash into one big one. “I think I’m gonna quit while I’m ahead.” He stands and folds the wad of bills in half, tucking it into his shirt pocket and patting it exaggeratedly. “Might need to throw the deadbolt on my door tonight, right Mayor?”

  Holly is watching Jake’s face as he turns up both palms and makes a show of being a good sport. “I wouldn’t worry too much,” she says, turning to River. “Crime on Christmas Key is nonexistent.”

  He leans in to Holly, putting his mouth next to her ear just briefly. “Yeah, but if I do get robbed, I’m pretty sure the cops won’t come running to help me.”

  Holly’s stomach does a flip; she knows Jake is watching this whole exchange.

  “Hey, it’s only midnight,” Bonnie says cheerfully. “What should we do now?”

  All that Holly wants to do is head home and go to bed, but that won’t happen until after the storm has passed.

  “Hide and go seek?” River suggests.

  Bonnie snorts. “If you let a bunch of old people loose to hide at this time of night, someone is bound to fall asleep in a closet or under a bed while they’re waiting to be found.”

  “Aww, I don’t think you’re giving them enough credit,” River counters. “How about ‘Two Truths and a Lie’?”

  “That could be fun,” Holly says. She looks around the room.

  “Let’s see if we can get a game going.” River walks up to the table where the triplets are still sitting with their husbands. Gen has her head on her husband’s shoulder, but lifts it and looks at River with a sparkle in her eyes. Holly knows that if he gets the triplets, then they’ll help him sell the idea and he’ll have nearly everyone on board.

  Sure enough, in less than five minutes River has a group of about sixteen people seated in dining room chairs in a big circle. Holly shakes her head in amazement and pulls up a chair of her own.

  “So, the idea is
to tell us three things,” River explains. “Two that are absolutely true, and one that is a bald-faced lie. But the lie has to be believable enough that we might fall for it. And then after you tell us three things, we have to vote on which one is the lie.” River looks around at the faces of fishermen and islanders, checking to see that everyone is on board. “Got it?”

  “Cap, you look like a man with enough of a past to kick butt at this game. Wanna go first?” River nods at him.

  “All right,” Cap says, rubbing his hands together eagerly. “Here are three things about old Cap: one, I learned how to live completely off the land anywhere in the world just in case I ever got shipwrecked someplace. Two, I took a break from sailing the seas in my early twenties to serve as a gunnery sergeant in the United States Marine Corps during Vietnam. And three, my parents were first cousins who fell in love and moved across country so that they could marry and raise a family together.”

  The room is silent. People flick glances at one another to try and gauge which of Cap’s statements might be the lie.

  “The lie has to be the one about your parents being first cousins,” Heddie says, her thin hands folded in her lap.

  “Although it would explain a thing or two,” Joe Sacamano says. The crowd erupts in laughter.

  “I vote for the Marines as the lie,” Holly says. She can’t even picture Cap with short hair and in uniform.

  “You’re both wrong,” Cap says. “I have no idea how I would live off the land in Siberia or Antarctica.”

  “So, hang on here just a second with your scandalous self, Cap Duncan,” Bonnie says. “Your parents were first cousins? Are you sure you all weren’t from the South?”

  Everyone laughs again.

  “I’ll go next,” Jake says, raising a hand boldly. Heads turn in his direction. “So, number one,” he clears his throat and sits forward on his chair, elbows on both knees. “I speak four languages: English, Spanish, Cantonese, and Italian. Number two, I’m a huge fan of every sports team in Miami.” He pauses here, letting his eyes fall on Holly. “And number three, when I got to this island, I fell in love with everything about it. Absolutely everything.”