Low Country Christmas

by Lee Tobin McClain

  Rita and Holly both squealed at the same time. “You’re getting her?” Rita asked.

  He looked at Norma. “If you’ll really help,” he said.

  She nodded, a smile tugging at the corner of her mouth. “I’ll help. I’m in favor of people following their dreams.”

  “I’ll totally bring Taffy over to visit,” Rita said.

  A movement from the corner of her eye caught her attention. Jimmy, crossing his arms and glaring at Stephen. He’d gotten jealous of Stephen once before, when Rita was attempting to set up Stephen with Norma. She’d thought he was over it.

  While Stephen, Holly and Norma figured out the details of getting Snowball set up in Stephen’s home, and Cash played tug with Taffy, adeptly holding Penny on one knee while he did it, Jimmy beckoned Rita over. “What are you going to do with her while you’re working?” His voice was every bit as sulky as a teenager’s.

  “Do you think I haven’t thought of that?” Rita heard the sharpness in her own voice and tried to dial it back. Maybe Jimmy was just concerned. “I’m going to have a crate for her,” she said more gently. “She’s been crated for long hours before, so my shifts will be less than what she’s used to.”

  “And you’ll have to leave right after and hurry home,” Jimmy said.

  “At least at first, yes,” she said. She studied him. “Are you jealous of a dog?”

  Jimmy laughed, but it sounded forced. “Maybe a little,” he admitted.

  She put an arm around him. “You’re still my favorite.” She leaned into him, squeezed.

  “I should bring in the rest of her stuff,” Holly said.

  “Let me help you.” Rita disentangled herself from Jimmy.

  Cash stood up. “You stay here with the pup. I’ll help.”

  “Me, too,” Stephen said.

  Rita was thrilled that Cash had offered to help. And her heart was warmed by having her friends around her; Norma, yes, but also Holly and Stephen, both new friends. And Jimmy, of course. But he was now shrugging back into his jacket.

  “Are you taking off already?” Rita looked up from where she was kneeling, giving Taffy a belly rub. “Don’t go. Stick around.”

  “No thanks,” he said. “You’ve got a lot going on right now. I’d just be in the way.”

  Rita sighed, wishing she didn’t have to manage Jimmy’s emotions and could just enjoy the excitement of getting a new dog. But that was what relationships were about, and her relationship with Jimmy was important to her. She tried to explain. “It’s not like that, it’s just...this is a thing I really want to do. I don’t even quite know why, but I know it’s important to me.” She looked at him steadily now. “I hope you can be supportive.”

  He shrugged. “Sure,” he said.

  He didn’t sound sure.

  And as the others came in carrying the crate and a dog bed and toys, talking excitedly, Jimmy let himself out. And Rita felt a double pang: annoyance and fear.

  Was she ruining the wonderful thing she had in the present because of a dog who seemed to have leaped right out of her past?

  * * *

  “IF YOU EVER need dog-walking in the future, give me a call,” Holly said into her phone later that afternoon. She was back in her apartment and getting better than she wanted to be at this conversation.

  It was her third cancellation since the difficulty with Mitch Mitchell yesterday. She put down her phone and turned to look at the crafting materials spread all over her little kitchen table. She was decorating flowerpots and planting them with bulbs that would bloom over the winter, an inexpensive gift that she hoped would make her new friends smile. She would have gone an even cheaper route with the Christmas presents if she’d realized just how tight money was going to be.

  She did a double take when she saw Penny’s face on the other side of the coffee table. “You pulled up! Good—” She broke off as she saw Penny stuff a paper-white bulb into her mouth. “No, no, no!” she cried as she rushed over and pulled Penny away from the table and stuck her fingers in the baby’s mouth to pull out the bulb. What else had she consumed during Holly’s two-minute phone conversation?

  Having Penny gain mobility was a mixed blessing.

  Penny started to cry, either startled at Holly’s sudden grabbing of her or upset because she wanted to keep chewing, and Holly hugged her close and scolded herself. Of course she was glad, one hundred percent glad, that Penny was getting more mobile. She shifted Penny to one arm, making soothing noises, and tried to move all her supplies away from the edge of the coffee table.

  Knots tightened in her stomach, and she realized that she hadn’t eaten since breakfast, but it was more than that. She was scared, plain scared. How was she going to make it in this town if customers kept canceling? Was she going to have to cave in and not work and let Cash support her, basically, by using his child-support checks as her only source of income?

  She found Penny a couple of toys and set her down in the Pack ’n’ Play, where she continued to fuss a little. Holly needed to fix them both some food. But in the kitchen, she saw the small box of Christmas decorations she’d pulled from one of her moving boxes earlier today, and a smile crossed her face even as tears sprung to her eyes.

  Oh, Tiff, I wish you were here to look through these with me.

  They’d toted the little box of Christmas ornaments and knickknacks from place to place in their childhood, both of them hungry for a little bit of tradition that their mother hadn’t been able to make happen. After looking back in on Penny, who’d settled with a rubber doll to chew on, she sank down at the table and opened the lid.

  Somehow Tiff had ended up with this scrap of memories from their childhood, so Holly hadn’t looked through the box in years. She was ashamed to realize that she didn’t know whether Tiff had managed to put up ornaments in recent years or not.

  Why hadn’t she made more effort to spend holidays with her sister? Yeah, Tiff had claimed to be busy with friends, but Holly should have tried to join in or arranged to see Tiff before or after.

  Just another way she’d let down her sister.

  She pulled out a small Nativity scene inside a hutch with a southwestern theme, a remnant of a six-month spell they’d spent in Arizona. Christmases had generally been on them, but that year, Mom had had a boyfriend who’d made an effort and bought them each a present. Next, she found cardboard angels they’d made in some Sunday-school class they’d attended for a couple of months, with their own photographed faces glued on top. Typically, Tiff had crafted some devil horns and glued them behind her own head, arguing that it was a hair bow when the Sunday-school teacher had scolded her.

  Holly’s throat tightened and she flipped quickly through the rest of the items in the box. At the bottom, she found an unfamiliar book. She opened it and sucked in a breath at Tiff’s handwriting. It was a blank book, a journal. And true to form, Tiff had written exactly one entry, on January 1. Most likely, she’d put away Christmas decorations and accidentally shoved the journal in with them.

  The date was almost two years ago. Tiff must have recently found out she was pregnant.

  Joke’s on you, Orin. I got the last laugh.

  Yeah, you got me to hook up with him. And yeah, he was as rich as you said.

  But your son’s also a good guy, and those aren’t easy to come by.

  Our plan worked. I’m carrying his kid. But you’ll never know that. You’d just use her—it’s a little girl—to get what you want. You’d milk Cash of money, and that would make Cash hate her.

  And you know what? I’d rather have him be a father to Penny than get rich off him, like we planned.

  Luckily, they put you away. She’ll be safe from you, my Penny. Little joke, right? He’s Cash and she’s a smaller version of that, a penny.

  I’m not doing any more drugs and I’m not hanging out with any more lowlifes like you. I’m takin
g care of my baby. If I can’t—if I’m not strong enough—Holly will do it. And maybe Cash can help.

  She won’t poison it by letting Cash know you had anything to do with our getting together. She’ll keep it pure. Sweet, like she is. But strong, like me.

  You stay where you belong, in prison, Orin O’Dwyer. And stay out of my life, and Penny’s.

  And maybe, God willing, I’ll get to surprise Holly with something she’d really, really love: a sweet, beautiful niece.

  Holly felt out of breath, her eyes blurring and her mind reeling.

  Tiff had put so much faith in her, and that was touching.

  But the rest of it?

  Tiff had conspired to get pregnant by Cash. Egged on by a man named Orin, who was—if this journal entry was to be believed—Cash’s father.

  She closed her eyes. Oh, Tiff, how could you?

  Her head spun. She’d known about Tiff’s relationship with a guy named Orin. He’d been Tiff’s dealer.

  What she hadn’t known was that he’d talked Tiff into connecting with Cash—his biological son—out of wanting some of Cash’s wealth.

  She lifted Penny from the Pack ’n’ Play and pulled her up into her lap, needing the comfort. Tiff had left a sealed letter for Holly, along with the will, telling her to seek out Cash, that he was the baby’s father and had plenty of money to help with Penny’s expenses. But she’d been clear that she wanted Holly to be the one to raise her baby.

  The journal entry put a terrible new spin on things.

  Tiff had done something awful, under the influence of her addiction. She’d tricked Cash, who was a good man.

  And she’d intended to let him know he was Penny’s father without telling him that his own father had encouraged her to make the connection so he could use it to extort money from his wealthy son.

  What would Cash think if he found out? How would he feel about Penny?

  And what about this man Orin? Would he try to find Penny and somehow use her? No, he was in prison. Thank heavens.

  She hugged Penny tight. “I’ll take care of you, keep you safe,” she whispered into the baby’s soft hair. “Just like your mama wanted me to.”

  The tap on her door took her by surprise, and she hastily wiped her eyes and went to answer it.

  There was Cash, looking at her expectantly, smiling at Penny. “I’m here for my sweetheart,” he said.

  “You’re here for... Ooohhh.” Heat suffused her face as she remembered the baby-care schedule they’d planned for today. “I’m sorry, everything’s gotten switched around and I forgot. I’ll get her ready in a flash.”

  “No rush.” He came inside, all easy and relaxed, and held out his arms for Penny. “C’mere, sweetie.”

  As he took Penny, love for her written all over his face, determination filled Holly’s heart.

  She’d been a little miffed that Cash hadn’t gotten into kissing her when they’d been together at the beach. But now, his lack of romantic interest turned out to be a blessing, even though it kind of hurt her feelings.

  Tiff had wanted Holly to raise the baby and to keep the truth about why she’d connected with Cash away from him. How would she do that if she got involved?

  For Cash to care for Penny and help with her was a good thing. Just a glance around her messy apartment, a thought about her financial worries, confirmed that she couldn’t do it all alone.

  But that didn’t mean it was okay to get involved with Cash on a personal, let alone romantic, level. They could be cordial and work together with regard to raising Penny, but after Christmas Cash would move back to Atlanta and everything would settle into a normal routine.

  That was how it had to be, especially now that she’d learned what Tiff had done. If she let that information slip, if Cash somehow found out about it, then Penny’s connection with him would be in jeopardy.

  Watching his eyes warm as he set down Penny on the floor and then stretched out beside her, graceful as a cat, Holly’s heart tugged dangerously. Christmas couldn’t come soon enough.

  “If you want me to just watch her here, I can,” he offered. “Don’t you have another dog to walk?”

  “No.” Her stomach roiled as she thought about her financial situation. “I was supposed to, but that client was a friend of Mitch’s. She decided she didn’t want a dog walker after all.”

  His eyebrows shot up. “Seriously? He’s been talking trash about you?”

  She nodded, her stomach knotting tighter. “Third cancellation today.”

  “I’ll talk to him.”

  She shook her head. “I think the damage is already done. Even if Mitch stops spreading tales about me, those he’s already talked to aren’t going to keep it to themselves.”

  He frowned. “Maybe God’s trying to tell you something. You’re working too hard. I’d like to see you just stay home and take care of Penny, anyway.”

  “I can’t do that!” She shook her head, feeling hopeless. “If all else fails, I’ll have to get a regular job.” With the child support he’d offered, she could afford to put Penny in childcare, but her heart broke at the thought. Penny still needed to get close and attached to Holly, not go off and stay with a stranger.

  Cash was sitting up now, absently shaking a rattle, his hand on Penny’s back. “That wouldn’t be good for her. Look, let’s double the child-support number we worked out. Triple it. Whatever would let you stay home and take care of her.”

  She stared at him. Apparently there was no limit to his money or his generosity, and a big part of her—a tired part of her—wanted to take him up on it.

  But she glanced back over at Tiff’s journal, and red warning lights seemed to flash off of it.

  The more entangled she got with Cash—and the more she depended on him—the likelier it was that she’d let slip something about Tiff’s connection with his father. She couldn’t do that. “No,” she said. “I need to work. I’ll figure something out.”

  “If I just had her and you weren’t in the picture, I’d hire a nanny,” he said. “How is this different?”

  “It’s different!” she said. “I’m her aunt! I’m trying to be her mother. I’m not a nanny.”

  He held up a hand. “You’re right. Of course. I shouldn’t have said that.”

  At least the guy apologized well, even when the problem wasn’t entirely his fault.

  Penny stared at her, wide-eyed.

  “I’m sorry,” she said. “It’s—it’s been a rough day. And the holidays can be hard.”

  “I get that.” He stood and picked up Penny, and for a minute she thought he was going to come over and give her a hug.

  For a minute, she thought she’d let him.

  But he veered away and ended up looking at the table full of craft supplies. “What’s all this?”

  “I’m making Christmas gifts, or trying to. Didn’t get much done today.” She frowned at the mess and the irony. She finally had people she wanted to give presents to, and she was too worried about money to buy already-made gifts.

  “You’re doing handmade gifts on top of everything else? Holly, that’s just too much. Just buy presents.”

  He was so clueless. “I can’t afford it.”

  “I pay you enough child support to buy some Christmas presents!”

  She sucked in a breath. He was right and he was wrong. “That money’s not for me to buy expensive Christmas presents for my new friends, and it’s not necessary. I like making gifts. Anyway, I’m the thrifty type.”

  “But I could—”

  She held up a hand.

  “I know, you could just take me Christmas shopping. But I don’t want that.”

  “Scary you’re starting to read my mind. You’re a stubborn lady, you know?”

  Their eyes met and held and something arced between them. He seemed to be looking at her with res
pect. Which, given the complete disparity between their financial positions, was a little ridiculous, but there it was.

  “Holly, are you home?” It was Norma’s voice.

  Holly snapped out of the romantic mood and just in time. She hurried to open the door. “Hey, Norma, what’s up?”

  “I need some help. There’s a thing at the women’s center. We’re going to surprise the parenting class with a photo booth, and Rita was going to help with it, but she’s a little preoccupied with the dog.” She looked past Holly. “Cash! Perfect, I was coming to see you next. Listen, I have a bunch of supplies—scrap wood and building stuff—I need loaded into a truck and then taken into the center tomorrow afternoon. It’s all out at Pudge LeFrost’s place. And then we need to put it together and plan how the event will work.”

  “You want Cash, then, not me.” Holly was mostly relieved, a little disappointed.

  “I want both of you. Him to haul stuff, and you to figure out how to set it up. That plant arrangement you delivered to me was gorgeous, and I can tell you’re crafty.”

  “I have to take care of Penny.” Holly was glad to have a good excuse.

  “No, you don’t. I’ll take care of her if you two will work a few hours on this project. Believe me, it’ll turn out better. And you’ll get a break. Go out for a meal or shopping after, whatever. You need time off from parenting.” She winked at them. “It takes a village, right?”

  Holly wanted to withstand the force of Norma’s personality, but she couldn’t think how. Especially when Cash was nodding, and then said, “Sure, sounds fun.”

  “What do you think, Holly?” Norma smiled at her. “It’ll really be a big help.”

  “Umm...sure, okay.” What else could she say?

  So all of a sudden she was spending tomorrow working on a project with a man who was so dangerously attractive—and dangerous to her and Penny—that her stomach was doing flips.

  At least, she was pretty sure the flips were about the danger. Whatever else they were about didn’t bear thinking about.

  CHAPTER TEN