by Noelle Adams
Stranded on the Beach
Holiday Acres, Book One
Noelle Adams
This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.
Copyright © 2018 by Noelle Adams. All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce, distribute, or transmit in any form or by any means.
Table of Contents
Title Page
Copyright Page
One
Two
Three
Four
Five
Six
Seven
Eight
Nine
Ten
Eleven
Twelve
Thirteen
Fourteen
Epilogue
Excerpt from Stranded in the Snow
About Noelle Adams
One
ON A DIFFERENT DAY, Rebecca Holiday might have thought being forced to take a two-week vacation at the beach was a pretty good problem to have, but today she wasn’t happy about it.
In fact, she was having trouble not scowling as her sister showed her around the lovely beach house her family had rented for her on the Eastern Shore of Virginia.
“Laura,” Rebecca said, trying to get her sister’s attention.
At thirty-one years old, Laura was the oldest of the four Holiday sisters, and she’d been bossy and driven all her life. She wasn’t easily swayed from her mission as she opened doors and blinds and sometimes drawers on her tour of the house, showing off the three large bedrooms, updated fixtures, and expansive bay views.
Rebecca loved the house—especially the sunlight streaming in through the wide windows, the covered patio with a porch swing, and the luxurious master bathroom. But when Laura told her this morning that her sisters had arranged a surprise for her twenty-fifth birthday, Rebecca hadn’t expected to drive three hours across Virginia and then be informed she was being left here on her own for two weeks.
“Laura, wait,” she tried again.
Laura was pretty in a no-nonsense way with brown hair, brown eyes, freckles, and a slim figure. She always walked quickly, particularly when she was excited about something. At the moment, she was speed-walking down the long hallway of the main level—the second floor of the house—to take advantage of the water views over the dunes.
When her sister kept going, Rebecca raised her voice. “Laura!”
Stopping abruptly and turning around, Laura asked, “What’s the matter? Don’t you like it?”
“Yes, I like it. It’s amazing. But I don’t understand what’s happening here.”
“What’s happening is that we all chipped in and arranged this vacation for you.”
“But why?” Rebecca’s voice cracked slightly. From bewilderment, disorientation, and some sort of deeper emotion.
“Because you need it.” Laura said the words as if they were obvious, as if that was the only answer Rebecca needed.
It wasn’t.
“I do not need it. Not any more than anyone else. Why would you all—”
“You do need it.” Laura’s expression softened slightly as she stepped closer to Rebecca. “We all know you need it. You’ve been exhausted lately, and you refuse to take any downtime.”
“I don’t need—”
“Yes, you do. Stop saying you don’t. You passed out last week and ended up in the emergency room, didn’t you?”
Rebecca made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “That’s because I’d gone all day without eating. You know how stressed I was, getting ready for Charlotte’s wedding. That woman was a bridezilla if there ever was one. But it’s over now. We don’t have any more events like that coming up. I’m not going to forget to eat again, and it’s—”
“It’s not just occasionally forgetting to eat. You’ve lost weight. You’re always tired. You don’t swim or jog anymore. You’re worn out. Even the doctor said so. You took care of Mom all last year, and you never took any time to recover after she died.”
“All of us—”
“We all did what we could, but you did the most. Don’t try to deny it.”
Rebecca couldn’t deny it. She had been their mother’s primary caretaker for more than a year after she was diagnosed with cancer, suffered through a number of treatments, and then finally died almost six months ago. Her sisters all had much more essential roles in the family business than she did, and taking care of sick people was something Rebecca was good at.
She’d been so glad to be able to take care of her mother in the last year of her life, but it had been hard. Really hard.
Although she wasn’t about to admit the truth to Laura, she was still exhausted from the physical and emotional strain.
Laura was still talking. “And now, on top of everything else you do, you take care of Tommy every day.”
Tommy was Laura’s six-year-old son, the consequence of a one-night stand with an asshole who’d never even wanted to meet his son. Since Laura was so busy with responsibilities in the family business, Rebecca had started looking after her nephew when he wasn’t in school.
“Taking care of Tommy isn’t a burden. You know I love him.”
“I know you do. And we love you. You refuse to take days off when we ask you to, and you’re just getting more and more tired. So we had to take drastic measures to get you to take some time off.”
“It’s not that bad.” Rebecca understood what was happening now, but she was still disoriented by the unexpectedness. She felt almost dizzy and wished she could sit down. “All of us work hard. We have to.”
She was convinced she didn’t work any harder than her sisters did. They all had different gifts, and so they’d taken on different responsibilities.
Thirty years ago, their father, Jed Holiday, had bought a large piece of land outside Charlottesville, Virginia, and had opened a Christmas tree farm.
His trees had been highly sought after, and he’d slowly grown a wider business to go along with the farm that included cozy, picturesque cottages for vacation rentals, a coffee shop and bakery, a quaint barn and gardens for events, and a Christmas shop so large that people would drive hours to visit. Holiday Acres had been a thriving business when their father died five years ago, and his wife and daughters had kept expanding it ever since.
Laura handled the business and financial side of things with her characteristic efficiency.
Penny, the second oldest and artistic by nature, oversaw anything creative or aesthetic connected with Holiday Acres.
Olivia, two years older than Rebecca, dealt with all the public relations because she was so good with people.
And that left Rebecca with whatever remained to be done behind the scenes.
She didn’t mind. She wasn’t as brilliant and talented as her sisters. She still loved Holiday Acres, and she wanted to help however she could. The only task she really hated was running herself ragged assisting spoiled, demanding brides who were getting married in their event spaces.
“I know we all work hard,” Laura was saying now. “No one is denying that. But what you’ve had to do—particularly with Mom—took a lot out of you, and we’re worried about you.”
“I’m fi—”
“Don’t try to tell me you’re fine. You’re exhausted. When was the last time you tried to cook? You love cooking, and I can’t remember the last time you’ve done it just for fun. You don’t hang out with your friends as much as you used to. And you haven’t been on a date in more than a year.”
“There’s not been any
one I’ve wanted to date.”
“Maybe. Maybe not. But it’s more than that, and you know it. We want to do something for you, and this is what we’re going to do. So stop whining about a vacation and just deal with it.”
Rebecca made a face at her sister’s tone, but she didn’t want to seem ungrateful, so she relaxed intentionally. “Okay. Fine. I don’t mind taking a few days’ vacation. But two weeks is too long.”
“No, it’s not. It’s the right amount of time since it’s going to take you a few days to even wind down so you can rest. We thought we’d get you a place here because the ocean beaches are always so packed and chaotic this time of year. It’s quieter here. Not so frantic. We’ve stocked the refrigerator and the pantry so you have plenty of food. You can cook to your heart’s content. And you saw that grocery store we passed down the road, so you can get more stuff if you need it. There are several little restaurants within fairly easy walking distance if you go into town, so you don’t even have to cook if you don’t want.” As she talked, Laura walked into the kitchen where she opened a small drawer. “You’ve got plenty of cash here for anything you need.”
“I don’t need cash.”
“Yes, you do, because I’ve got your wallet and I’m not giving it back.”
“What?” Rebecca’s voice was suddenly louder than before.
“I don’t trust you not to rent a car and just come back home if you have access to a credit card.”
“But I’ve got to have a car.”
“No, you don’t. What do you need a car for? You’re going to be taking it easy for the next two weeks. We’ve loaded up your Kindle with books, and I’ve set you up with every streaming service known to man so you can watch anything you want on TV. You’ve got a pool and hot tub at this house, and the beach is right there, and you can walk to any store or restaurant you want in town. You’re not getting a car.”
“But I’ll be... I’ll be stranded here!”
Laura nodded. “Exactly right. You’re going to have a good time and relax even if we have to force it on you.”
“But Laura...” For once, Rebecca wasn’t interrupted. She trailed off, her mind whirling with what was happening.
“But nothing.” Laura’s expression changed as she closed the drawer with all the cash in it. “Rebecca, you’ve taken care of people all your life, and you never ask for anything in return. You gave Mom everything she needed last year when none of the rest of us could have done it. You take care of my son every single day, and I can’t begin to tell you how grateful I am for that. You don’t take days off. You don’t do anything for yourself. You’re like Beth from freaking Little Women, and we’re not going to let you waste away like she did.”
Rebecca’s eyes blurred, and her throat ached with a wave of unexpected emotion. “Don’t make it sound like I’m a martyr. I just... just do what I’m good at. Like we all do.”
“I know that. But what you do is important. And it’s hard. It’s hard. Maybe you think no one really notices, but we do. We notice. We see you. We love you. And we want to do this for you. Please let us.”
Rebecca swallowed hard and gave a mute nod.
Laura’s posture relaxed, and she reached into her bag for a small flip phone. “Okay then. You need to hold on to this so you have a phone in case of emergency or if you want to talk to us just to chat.”
“What? Why do I need this archaic piece of junk? It’s not even a smartphone.”
“Of course it’s not. You need to relax—not spend all day messing around on email and your phone.” When Rebecca started to ask a question, Laura gave her a flash of a smile. “Oh, didn’t I tell you? I’m not just taking your wallet. I’m also taking your phone.”
THAT EVENING, REBECCA took a walk on the beach. She’d spent the afternoon getting acclimated to the house and her situation, and it was harder than one would think to be without all the normal accoutrements of modern life like a phone, a car, and a credit card.
It was also hard and strange to be so entirely alone.
She’d been in college getting a degree in elementary education when her father died. She’d never felt a strong urge to be a teacher, but she loved children and it seemed like a natural fit.
What she’d really wanted to do was get married, have children, and raise a family, but that felt like a risky thing to admit in a family as dynamic and ambitious as hers was. Plus the one guy she’d ever really wanted for a husband had dumped her in the most painful of ways. No matter how much she told herself to grow up, get over it, and find someone else, no one else had yet been able to equal his memory.
She’d never gotten a teaching job after she graduated. They’d needed her at home, and she was happy working at Holiday Acres with her family.
Maybe she was a little tired lately, but she didn’t need this crazy vacation dropped in her lap.
The house was gorgeous but strangely silent after the constant activity at home, and it was odd not to have Tommy hanging around all the time with his pesky questions and loud laughter and sweet hugs.
She missed him. And she missed her sisters. And she missed the staff, all of whom she considered her friends.
What the hell was she supposed to do by herself for two weeks?
She told herself that if it was too lonely and boring, she’d call up Laura and demand that someone come and get her. But she didn’t want to do that unless she had to because it was clear her sisters were really trying to do something nice for her.
She did appreciate it.
She just wished they’d chosen to make a different gesture of affection than this.
She walked a long time—a few miles on the beach along the Chesapeake Bay—because she was so restless and at loose ends, and the sun was getting lower in the sky when she returned and approached her house.
There were homes spread out along the shoreline, but every square foot wasn’t crammed with huge vacation rentals and condos like on the ocean beaches. Some of the houses were privately owned, and some were rented out. Some were huge, and some, like hers, were smaller, intimate. She’d run into some people on the beach but not any huge crowds.
If she’d had to be stranded on a beach by herself, she could have done a lot worse than this.
There was a fishing pier not far from her house, extending out into the bay and connected to a little shop and seafood restaurant. The breeze was warm and pleasant, and she didn’t want to go sit by herself in the house quite yet, so she bought an ice-cream cone from the shop, walked out on the pier, and sat down on a bench at the end of it.
The sun would be setting soon. She’d stay here until the light was gone, and then she’d go back home, take a soak in the hot tub, and go to bed early.
She was tired.
Maybe she was more tired than she’d thought.
She wasn’t used to being all alone with just her own thoughts for company.
How had she ended up here?
Just this morning, she’d woken up expecting it to be a normal day.
She sat for about twenty minutes, feeling the breeze and the lowering sun on her skin.
She’d passed a few people fishing in the middle of the pier, but there was no one right where she was. Not until a man walked by her just then with a fishing pole and a tackle bag.
She hadn’t been looking when he approached and walked past her, so she only saw him from the back. He was young—she could tell even without seeing his face. He had a lean, upright figure, nice shoulders, and a tight butt beneath his cargo shorts. His too-long hair was golden brown, glinting in the light of the sun.
She watched him idly since there was nothing else to watch.
She didn’t know for sure, but she guessed he would be very good-looking when she saw his face.
He found his spot at the railing of the pier, put down his bag, and cast his rod.
Rebecca wondered if she would like to fish. She’d never done it before. It seemed like a pleasant, peaceful activity. Maybe a little boring.
She watched the guy fish for a while, but he didn’t turn to look at her or even glance in her direction. She only saw his back. It was a very fine back, but it was unsettling that he was so completely oblivious to her presence.
She wasn’t a take-charge person like Laura or the life of the party like Olivia. She didn’t even have a unique, whimsical personality and sense of style like Penny.
Rebecca was pretty enough with hair a lighter brown than her sisters, a compact figure, and blue eyes that were a little too big for her face. Today she wore a pair of brown shorts, a fitted white T-shirt, and walking sandals. She was used to fading into the background, but she wasn’t used to being invisible.
She might not have been in the dating mood lately, but some guys liked how she looked. Some guys noticed her.
She had the strange impulse to say something, make a noise, bang her feet on the pier—just to get the man’s attention.
It was silly and immature, so she didn’t indulge the impulse. He was obviously lost in his own thoughts and didn’t care about a stray woman who happened to be sitting on the pier where he fished.
She did like the looks of his back. She’d always liked men shaped like him—fit in a lean way rather than bulky. He was probably no more than four inches taller than her own five six. She could see muscles rippling beneath the thin fabric of his white T-shirt as he moved, but they were natural, graceful. Not overblown.
And he had a really great butt.
She hadn’t seen such a great butt on a man since...
She wasn’t going to think about him.
It had been almost seven years now since Phil Matheson had dumped her, and she was still trying not to think about him.
With a sigh, she stood up and turned to walk away.
She was supposed to be on vacation. To get rest. To feel better. Mooning over the boy who hadn’t wanted her enough to stay wasn’t the way to do that.
A gust of wind picked up just then and whipped her hair back. She had it tied loosely with a scarf, but the scarf got caught in the breeze and blew right out of her hair.