by Debbie Mason
“Then you can’t blame yourself. And neither will any other member of this family. Because a case could easily be made that I’m the reason for all of this. We are in this together, and we will still be a family once the manor is gone. We have our health, and we have each other, which makes us luckier than most.”
Kitty wiped at her eyes as the tears fell faster, and then she sniffed and squared her shoulders. “We have twenty-eight hours left to enjoy our family home, and we’re darn well going to. We have a wedding to put on. And now that we know we can’t save the manor, I’d like everyone to take whatever they want. Caine, would you mind printing off the list for the auction house?”
“Not at all. If everyone would just mark off what they’ve taken, I’ll send a revised list to the auction house tomorrow.”
“I have something I’d like to give you, Caine. I know this might sound strange, but for the past few days I’ve had this feeling that you were meant to have your grandfather’s writings and journals. It’s almost like a voice in my head whispering to give them to you. I’m sure Ronan would want you to have them.” She glanced over her shoulder at her sons, and they nodded their agreement. Then Kitty smiled at Caine. “I’ll need to get in there. Your great-grandmother Colleen locked them away in her desk. Your grandfather was very special to her, and I never had the heart to take his papers and journals back when she was alive. I’d forgotten about them until recently.”
Hours later in the tower room, Evie rolled over in bed to see Caine going through his grandfather’s papers. “Aren’t you tired?”
“I’m tired, but someone has decided I don’t need my rest,” he said, looking around the room.
“Merry Christmas, Colleen.” Evie waved.
Caine snorted and shook his head. “Only you would wish my dead great-grandmother Merry Christmas when I tell you she’s haunting me.”
“What’s she saying this time?” For the past week, it had seemed Colleen wanted to ensure that Caine forgave Emily and knew that, regardless of all the bad she had done, she’d loved him. Despite everything going on with Wicklow Developments, Evie believed that was exactly the message Caine had needed to hear. She’d seen signs these last few days that he’d been able to forgive Emily and let go of his anger. But the lightness she sensed in him could also be because the Gallaghers had accepted him into the fold.
“It’s something about these papers. She keeps saying buried, I think.”
“Maybe she means the papers were buried away for a long time and she’s glad you have them.” Evie’s eyes widened at the knock on the door. “Maybe that’s her?”
Caine gave her a you-can’t-be-serious look, then answered the door. “Clio, it’s late. What are you doing up?”
“I’m sorry. I just…I needed to talk to you.”
“Come in.” He stepped aside, his eyes meeting Evie’s.
It was obvious Caine was unhappy with his cousin. He believed she’d leaked the information that enabled Emily to blackmail Mr. Bradford into selling the Savings and Loan.
“Hi,” Clio said to Evie. “I’m sorry to disturb you.”
For some reason, Evie felt sorry for the girl. Maybe because Caine was practically glowering at her. It took a moment for her to realize why. Clio was holding The Secret Keeper of Harmony Harbor. “You knew it was me, didn’t you?” Clio said to him.
“It took me a couple days to figure out, but yes, I did.”
“But you never told anyone? Other than Evie, I mean?”
“No, and I won’t. I saw your face the night my grandmother arrived at the manor. You were sick with guilt, and I didn’t want to hurt Kitty any more than she had already been hurt. Your betrayal would have been the last straw.” He pulled a check from his pocket and handed it to her. “I appreciated the gesture. But it’s of no use to us now.”
She looked from the check to Caine. “But it’s the money you gave me. Well, minus the thousand dollars I’d already spent.”
“Keep it. Use it toward school.”
Evie stared at him. Fourteen thousand dollars had been a mere pittance to him before, but with how little he had now, it was a small fortune. As though she understood that too, Clio chewed on her bottom lip, fighting back tears. She handed him the book. “You probably know this already, but Kitty wasn’t lying. I marked the place for you.”
“I won’t be reading it.” He walked to the fireplace and tossed the book in the flames.
“No!” Evie cried, jumping off the bed. She grabbed the poker to drag the leather-bound book from the fire.
“Evie, what the hell are you thinking?” he asked as she dragged the comforter off the bed to smother the tiny flame that blackened the cover. “That book has caused no end of trouble.”
“I know, but in some ways this is the last link to your great-grandmother. Colleen wrote not only the secrets of her family and friends, she recorded the Gallagher family history and the history of Harmony Harbor. It’s important, even more important now that the Gallaghers are losing the manor.”
“You’re not thinking it should be published?” Caine said.
“Yes, but not as it is now. You should give it to Julia. She’s a romance writer. She could maybe make it into a memoir-drama, or something like that. Change names to protect people without losing the history and your family’s contribution to the town.”
“All right, we’ll talk to Julia in the morning. But until then, not a word about this to anyone, Clio,” Caine said to the girl who was kneeling on the floor, going through the papers.
She looked up at him, her eyes wide. “I thought it was another one of my da’s tall tales, but it was all true.”
“What’s true?”
“William Gallagher really was a pirate. He buried treasure here. At the manor. In the tunnels.” She held up a sheaf of papers. “Read this. Grandpa Ronan was afraid that if they dug where he believed the treasure was buried, it would bring the manor down around their heads. And he was right. But everything has shifted because of the hurricane. The floor has started to come away in this part of the tunnel.” She pointed to the map. “That’s where the treasure is supposed to be. We should be able to get at it with shovels.”
“Caine, that’s what Colleen was trying to tell you. Buried treasure. It’s real, and it’s here. What are we waiting for?” Evie said, heading for the door. “Let’s go save the manor.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Colleen had just about given up hope that they’d learn about the buried treasure in time. She peered over Evie’s shoulder. She was holding a flashlight, shining it on Caine and Clio while they dug in the dirt. The tunnels were cold, dark, and damp. And like now, every so often the wooden trusses above their heads creaked. Caine put a hand out to stop Clio from digging and cocked his head to listen.
Colleen prayed to every angel and saint she could think of. They needed a Christmas miracle, and the treasure might be it.
“You two get upstairs. I’ll do this on my own,” Caine said. “It’s too dangerous.”
“I’m not leaving you,” Evie said.
“Neither am I,” Clio said as she studied the maps she’d removed from her back pocket. Then she lifted her eyes to the low, rough-hewn ceiling. “We don’t have much farther to go.”
They went back to digging and then straightened as the tunnel filled with a bright white light. Jasper and Kitty appeared, each carrying a flashlight.
“You shouldn’t be down here,” Caine said, casting a worried look at Kitty.
“There’ll be no dissuading her,” Jasper said. “I’ve already tried. But I imagine we’ll have all the help we need in no time. After Simon woke us up and made us follow him to the basement door, he scampered off. No doubt to get the others.”
Jasper was right. It wasn’t long before the rest of the family joined them. They deferred to Clio and Caine, digging where they said to, stopping when they told them to, just as they had now. Which was why they all heard the loud clang when Clio’s shovel met metal.
/> They’d found it. Now, in mere minutes, they’d discover the truth. Colleen wasn’t the only one praying as Clio and her male cousins unearthed the treasure chest. It was large and battered, but it didn’t fall apart. It took four of them to carry it between them. They’d decided to open the chest in the great room by the fire. Clio and Caine were given the honors of doing so. Caine took a hammer to the rusted lock. Once it broke apart, clattering to the slate floor, he nodded for Clio to lift the lid.
It creaked as she did so, and the firelight danced on the gold, silver, and twinkling gems that filled the chest. They all stood there in shocked silence, all but Clio, who knelt by the chest. She looked up at them, her eyes shining. “This is worth millions of dollars, possibly billions. Greystone is saved.”
Colleen pressed her hands to her chest as her family cheered and hugged one another. Once they’d calmed down, Caine crouched beside the chest and held up a coin. “Spanish?” he asked Clio.
“Yes. I’m pretty sure it is,” she agreed.
“All right. Clio, come with me. We’ve got to discover the origin of the treasure and what our rights to it are. Then we have to find someone who will loan us enough money to cover the manor’s debt using a few of these gold coins as collateral.” Caine glanced at his watch. “Within the next eight hours.”
It took almost fifteen hours for the final verdict to come in, and when it did, William Gallagher and his chest of buried treasure had not only saved the manor, but redeemed Clio in the eyes of the family and herself.
Colleen’s family was truly whole now, she thought, as she watched Marco and Theia, looking beautiful in their wedding finery. The couple held hands, gazing into each other’s eyes as the priest pronounced them husband and wife in front of the fireplace.
They’d been meant to marry in the atrium overlooking Kismet Cove several hours ago but because of the Gallaghers’ Christmas miracle, half the town had been invited to celebrate.
“I would say this is the merriest of Christmases we’ve ever had, wouldn’t you, Simon?” Colleen frowned, looking around. “Simon? Now where has he gotten to?” she murmured, trying to ignore the pinch of worry in her chest. He’d been acting strange these past few days. She’d put it down to him picking up on her own mood, her fear that they’d lost Greystone Manor.
She left the room full of people congratulating the newlyweds to look for him in the atrium, thinking he must have gotten his wires crossed, but he wasn’t there. “Simon, where are you?” She put her hand on the glass, searching for him outside in the cold winter’s night. “It’s too cold for you to be outside.”
“But I quite like the cold. I always have. Surely you remember that, my sweet Colleen.”
At the sound of her beloved husband’s voice, she brought a hand to her mouth to cover her sob, then slowly turned to search the darkened room. “Patrick, is that really you?”
He walked from the shadows with his familiar smile and a twinkle in his Gallagher-blue eyes.
“Oh, Patrick, it is you.” She reached up to touch his face when he came to stand in front of her. “You’re as handsome as I remember.”
“And you’re just as bonny as the day we wed,” he said, taking her in his arms.
“I feel like I’ve gone to heaven. How can this be? How are you here?”
“I’ve been here, by your side, since a week before you died. I’d come to get you, and somehow ended up stuck in the body of a cat.”
She reared back. “Simon?”
“Yes, and I’d like to know how you decided on that name. But we’ll save that discussion for later. Our time here has come to an end, my love.”
“I don’t understand.”
“You’re ready now. You weren’t before. You were afraid, but you had nothing to fear. You never did. No one is judged, only loved.” He cupped her face and kissed her and then drew back. “And I love you, Colleen Gallagher.”
“Oh, Patrick, I love you too.” She took him by the hand and walked to the edge of the atrium to get one last look at their family. “They’re wonderful, aren’t they?”
“They are. We’ve been blessed.”
“We have.” She smiled. And like she had done three years ago, Colleen asked the good Lord to bless her family by reciting an old Irish prayer, only this time her husband held her hand and his deep voice joined hers. “May God give you…for every storm, a rainbow; for every tear, a smile; for every care, a promise; and a blessing in each trial. For every problem life sends, a faithful friend to share; for every sigh, a sweet song; and an answer for each prayer.”
Unlike last time, she didn’t worry how her family or the manor would fare without her. She knew they’d be fine. Not just because they had the money to save the manor but because they had one another. And she no longer worried about what awaited her on the other side. Patrick was right: The only thing that mattered in this life and in the next was love.
Her husband smiled. “It’s time, my sweet Colleen. Let’s go home.” And together they walked hand in hand toward the warm, golden light glistening through the wall of windows facing Kismet Cove.
* * *
Evie stood at the bottom of the grand staircase with half the single women of Harmony Harbor, several of whom were her friends. They looked up at Theia in her exquisite white satin wedding gown, with Marco standing beside her in a black tux with a red bow tie.
“Who’s Theia making hand signals to?” Mackenzie asked.
“I’m not sure…” Evie turned to see Clio holding up a laptop with Daniel Gallagher’s smiling face filling the screen. Evie smiled, raising her hand to wave when she heard a loud whistle. She turned around, just in time to see the red and white wedding bouquet sailing her way. And instead of her friends reaching out to catch the bouquet, they stepped back, and it landed in Evie’s outstretched hands. She clutched it to her chest.
“Why didn’t you guys try to catch the bouquet?” she asked her friends.
“Because we figured out who Theia was making hand signals at,” Mackenzie said, lifting her chin.
Evie turned to see Kitty and Rosa standing arm in arm, smiling at her. “Kitty and Rosa?”
“No. Him.”
Evie’s eyes met Caine’s as he walked toward her, looking gorgeous in his black tux and black bow tie.
“Most men don’t want the woman they’re dating to catch the wedding bouquet, you know? Especially a woman they’ve been dating for a matter of weeks. It puts ideas in their head,” Evie said, and she should know because she was having ideas of her own.
“I’m not most men, Evie.” He smiled and took her by the hand, waving off the teasing comments from his family as he tugged her along after him. He led her to the atrium and the big floor-to-ceiling window that looked onto Kismet Cove, snow glistening in the moonlight.
She looked around. They were alone. “Are you…? Are you proposing to me?” she asked.
He shook his head, his face cast in shadows and moonlight. “No. You were right. It is too soon, and it’s Theia’s night. I have my man-of-honor duties. But I love you, so think of it as me asking you to save the date.” He reached in his pocket and pulled out a sprig of mistletoe, holding it over their heads. “What do you say, Christmas Eve next year, here?”
“Are you leaving Harmony Harbor?”
He lowered the mistletoe with a frown. “No. Why would you think that?”
“Because you asked me to meet you here next year on Christmas Eve, and with your share of the money from the treasure, you’ll be rich again.” She straightened his bow tie. Not that it needed to be straightened but she didn’t want him to see her face when she said, “I thought you might move back to Ireland and try to get Wicklow Developments back.”
“A very wise woman told me I should look at what’s happened as a fresh start, and I’ve decided to take her advice.”
“Really?” She smiled up at him.
“Yes. Really. I’m not going anywhere, Evie. I’ve decided to start my own renovation company. Holiday Hous
e and Greystone Manor will be my first projects. Free of charge, of course. I’m also going to do some business consulting on the side. And you, my love, are my special project.”
“That’s really sweet of you, but I’m sure you’ll be busy whipping the manor into shape, so—”
“I do have some ideas to improve the manor’s bottom line, but you’re my priority. We’ll start your Evie Christmas line with your candles, stockings, and Scrooge game, and then we’ll expand to—”
“I don’t have an Evie Christmas line.”
“You do now. And once we have it up and running and Holiday House renovated, I have another project for us to work on.” He reached inside his jacket and pulled out a white envelope wrapped with a red ribbon. He handed it to her. “Merry Christmas, Evie.”
“What’s this?” she asked as she opened the envelope to pull out what looked like a bill of sale.
“The town bought back the three empty lots from Wicklow Developments and agreed to sell them to me. The bank in Bridgeport loaned me the money based on my share of the treasure, so you’re now the proud owner of the three empty lots beside Holiday House. I thought we’d build your park and the museum you suggested to the council last summer.”
“I don’t know what to say. This is…It’s too much, Caine.”
“You know that wise woman I was telling you about? She also said sometimes it’s better to receive than to give. I think it’s about time you were on the receiving end, Evie. But if it makes you feel better, there is one thing I want more than anything else, and that’s your answer. Will you meet me here next year?”
She didn’t know if he meant for the proposal or a wedding, but she didn’t care and nodded before throwing her arms around him. “I love you, Caine Gallagher.”
Her declaration was met with a chorus of gasps, and she drew back from Caine to look around. They were surrounded by Gallaghers but they weren’t looking at them. They were looking up at the night sky.
Her gasp joined theirs. Never before had she seen a Christmas star so bright. It practically filled the atrium with a joyous light. As they stood watching in silent wonder, from behind her Jasper murmured, “Well done, Madam. Well done.”