Falling for Christmas: A Cedar Cove Christmas / Call Me Mrs. Miracle

“That Mary Jo was going to have a baby.”

Ned looked away quickly and shrugged.

“She told you as soon as she found out, didn’t she?”

Ned cleared his throat. “She might have.”

“How early was that?” Linc asked, unwilling to let his brother sidestep the question.

“Early,” Ned admitted. “I knew before David.”

“You knew that early?” Mel shouted. “Why’d she tell you and not me?”

“Because you’d tell Linc,” Ned told him. “She wanted to keep the baby a secret as long as she could.”

Linc couldn’t figure that one out. It wasn’t like she’d be able to hide the pregnancy forever. And why hadn’t she trusted him the way she did Ned? Although he prided himself on being stoic, that hurt.

Mel tapped his fingertips against the console. “Did she tell you how David Rhodes reacted to the news?”

Ned nodded. “She said he seemed pleased.”

“Sure, why not?” Linc said, rolling his eyes. “The pregnancy wasn’t going to inconvenience him any.”

“I think that’s why he could string Mary Jo along all this time,” Ned suggested.

“You’re probably right.”

“I warned her, you know.” Ned’s look was thoughtful.

“When?”

“When she first started seeing him.”

“You knew about David even before Mary Jo got pregnant?” Linc couldn’t believe his ears. Apparently Mary Jo had shared all this information with Ned, who’d remained tight-lipped about most of it. If he wasn’t so curious to uncover what his brother had learned, Linc might’ve been downright angry.

“So?” Mel said. “How’d she meet him?”

Ned leaned toward the front seat. “Rhodes works for the same insurance company. He’s at corporate headquarters in San Francisco. Something to do with finances.”

His sister worked in the accounting department, so that explained it, he supposed. “She should’ve come to work at our office the way I wanted,” Linc said, and not for the first time. That was what he’d suggested when, against his wishes, Mary Jo had dropped out of college.

From her reaction, one would think he’d proposed slave labor. He never had understood her objections. He’d been willing to pay her top wages, as well as vacation and sick leave, and the work wasn’t exactly strenuous.

She’d turned him down flat. Mary Jo wouldn’t even consider working for Three Wyse Men Automotive. Linc regretted not being more forceful in light of what had happened. She might be almost twenty-four, but she needed his protection.

As they approached the Narrows Bridge, Linc’s mood began to lighten somewhat. Yeah, Mary Jo needed him, and he assumed she’d be willing to admit that now. Not just him, either. She needed all three of her brothers.

Ned’s idea that they bring gifts had been smart, a good way to placate her and prove how much she meant to them. Women, in his experience anyway, responded well to gifts.

Except that was probably the same technique David Rhodes had used.

“Did he buy her gifts?” Linc asked, frowning.

Ned understood his question, because he answered right away. “If you mean Rhodes, then yes, he got her a few.”

“Such as?”

“Flowers a couple of times.”

“Flowers!” Mel said.

“In the beginning, at any rate, and then after she was pregnant he bought her earrings.”

Linc sat up straighter. “What kind?”

Ned snickered. “He said they were diamonds but one of them came loose so I dropped it off at Fred’s for her. While he had it, I asked him to check it out.”

Fred’s was a local jewelry store the Wyse family had used for years. “Fake, right?”

“As phony as David Rhodes himself.”

Mel twisted around and looked at Ned. “You didn’t tell Mary Jo, did you?”

Ned shook his head. “I didn’t want to add to her heartache.”

“Maybe she already knows.” His sister might be gullible but she wasn’t stupid.

“I think she considered pawning it.” Ned lowered his voice. “She didn’t, so she might’ve guessed…”

The mere thought of his sister walking into a pawnshop with her pathetic bauble produced a stab of actual pain. “If she needed money, why didn’t she come to me?” Linc demanded.

“You’ll have to ask her that yourself.”

“I plan to.” Linc wasn’t about to let this slide. “What does she need money for, anyway?”

“She wants her own place, you know.”

No one needed to remind Linc of that. Mary Jo herself did a fine job of informing him at every opportunity. But it wasn’t going to happen now. With a baby on the way, she wouldn’t be leaving the family home anytime soon.

Linc liked that idea. He could keep an eye on her and on the baby, too. Even if he got married, which was by no means a sure thing, the house was big enough for all of them. His nephew would need a strong male influence, and he fully intended to provide that influence.

“How much farther?” Mel asked.

His brother was like a kid squirming in the front seat, asking “Are we there yet?” every five minutes.

“Hey, look,” Ned said, pointing at the sky. “It’s really coming down now.”

“Did you think I hadn’t noticed?” Linc didn’t have much trouble driving in bad weather; it was all the other drivers who caused the problem. Snow in the Seattle area was infrequent and a lot of folks didn’t know how to handle it.

“Hey,” Mel said as they approached the first exit for Cedar Cove. “We’re here.”

“Right.” Not having any more specific indication of where they should go, Linc took the exit.

“Where to now?” Mel asked.

Linc could’ve said, “Your guess is as good as mine.” But he figured his guess was better. “We’ll do what Mary Jo did,” he said. “We’ll chase down David’s family. That’s where she’s going to be.”

Mel nodded. “Whoever said the Wyse Men needed a star to guide them obviously never met the three of us.”

Chapter Eight

Olivia couldn’t wait to see her husband. For one thing, she wanted to tell him about her stepbrother, get his advice.

David Rhodes…that…that—she couldn’t think of a word that adequately described how loathsome he was. She wanted him exposed. Humiliated, embarrassed, punished. Only the fact that Ben would be humiliated and embarrassed, too, gave her pause.

When Olivia pulled into her driveway on Lighthouse Road she was delighted to see that Jack was already home from the newspaper office. Impatiently, she grabbed the grocery bag of last-minute items and made her way into the house, using the entrance off the kitchen.

“Jack!” she called out as soon as she was inside.

“What’s wrong?” Her husband met her in the kitchen and stopped short. “Someone’s made you mad.”

Olivia finished unwinding the muffler from around her neck. “Why do you say that?” she asked, not realizing she’d been so obvious.

“Your eyes are shooting sparks. So, what’d I do this time?”

“It’s not you, silly.” She hung her coat on the hook along with the bright red scarf her mother had knit for her. She stuffed the matching hat and gloves in the pockets, then kissed Jack’s cheek.

As she filled the electric teakettle and turned it on, Jack began to put the groceries away.

“Are you ready to talk about it?” he asked cautiously.

“It’s David.”

“Rhodes?”

“The very one. The man is lower than pond scum.”

“That’s not news.”

Early in her mother’s marriage to Ben, his son had tried to bilk Charlotte out of several thousand dollars. He’d used a ruse about needing some surgery his medical insurance wouldn’t cover, and if not for Justine’s intervention, Charlotte would have given him the money. David Rhodes was shameless, and he’d dishonored his father’s name.

“Is he in town?” Jack asked. He took two mugs from the cupboard and set them on the counter; Olivia tossed a couple of Earl Grey teabags in the pot.

“No, or at least not as far as I’m aware. And frankly it’s a good thing he isn’t.”

Jack chuckled. “I couldn’t agree with you more, and I haven’t got a clue what he’s done to upset you now.”

“He got a young girl pregnant.”

Jack’s eyebrows rose toward his hairline. “And you know this how?”

“I met her.”

“Today?”

“Not more than two hours ago. She’s young, probably twenty years younger than he is, and innocent. Or she was until David got hold of her. I swear that man should be shot!”

“Olivia!” He seemed shocked by her words. “That doesn’t sound like you.”

“Okay, that might be drastic. I’m just so furious I can hardly stand it.”

Jack grinned.

Olivia glared at her husband. “You find this entertaining, do you?”

“Well, not about the young lady but I will admit it’s a pleasant change to see color in your cheeks and your eyes sparkling, even if it’s with outrage.” He reached for her and brought her close enough to kiss her lips, allowing his own to linger. When he released her, he pressed his forehead to hers and whispered, “It’s an even greater pleasure to know all this indignation isn’t directed at me.”

“I’ve never been anywhere near this upset with you, Jack Griffin.”

“I beg to differ.”

“When?”

“I remember one time,” Jack said, “when I thought you were going to kick me out.”

“I would never have done that.” Her arms circled his waist. They’d found ways to make their marriage work, ways to compromise between his nature—he was a slob, not to put too fine a point on it—and hers.

Olivia liked order. Their bathroom dilemma was a perfect example. She’d been driven to the brink of fury by the piles of damp towels, the spattered mirror, the uncapped toothpaste. The solution? They had their own bathrooms now. She’d kept the one off the master bedroom and he had the guest bath. Jack could be as sloppy as he wanted, as long as he closed the door and Olivia didn’t have to see his mess.

“You’re lucky I love you so much,” Jack whispered.

“And why’s that?” she asked, leaning back to look him in the eye.

“Because you’d be lost without me.”

“Jack…”

The kettle started to boil, its piercing whistle enough to set the dogs in the next block howling. She tried to break free, but Jack held her fast. “Admit it,” he insisted. “You’re crazy about me.”

“All right, all right, I’m crazy about you.”

“And you’d be lost without me. Wouldn’t you?”

“Jack!”

Chortling like a schoolboy, he let her go and she grabbed the kettle, relieved by the sudden cessation of that high-pitched shrieking.

Pouring the boiling water into the teapot, she covered it with a cozy and left the tea to steep. Then she opened the cookie jar and chose two of the decorated sugar cookies she’d baked a few days earlier with her grandson—a tree shape and a star. The afternoon had worn her out physically but she treasured every moment she’d spent in the kitchen with Leif.

Just as she was about to pour their tea, the phone rang.

“Want me to get that?” Jack called from the other room.

A glance at Caller ID told her it was Grace.

“I will,” she told him. “Merry Christmas,” she said into the receiver.

“Merry Christmas to you, too,” her friend said in return. “I thought I’d check in and let you know how everything’s going.”

“So what’s the update?”

“Everything’s fine.”

“Mary Jo’s resting?”

“She was asleep the last time I looked, which was about five minutes ago. The girl must be exhausted. She told me she didn’t get much sleep last night.”

“She’s in the apartment then, or at the house?”

“The apartment. Cliff’s daughter and her family are already here, so…”

Olivia wasn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of leaving Mary Jo alone, but it was probably for the best. This way she could relax undisturbed.

“There’s something strange…”

“What?” Olivia asked.

“Well, for no reason I can understand, I decided to do a bit of housekeeping in the apartment yesterday. Cal’s been gone a few weeks now, and I put clean sheets on the bed and fresh towels in the bathroom. It’s as if…as if I was waiting for Mary Jo.”

That was a little too mystical for Olivia. “I’m so glad this is working out,” she said.

“She’s an animal-lover, too.”

That didn’t surprise Olivia. She sensed that Mary Jo had a gentleness about her, a soft heart, an interest in others.

“The minute I brought her into the barn, she wanted to see all the Nativity animals.”

“You kept her away from that camel, didn’t you?”

“I kept us both away,” Grace was quick to tell her. “That beast is going to have to chew on someone else’s arm.”

“Yeah, David’s would be ideal,” Olivia said.

Grace laughed, but sobered almost immediately. “Listen, Mary Jo has a concern I’d like to talk to you about.”

“Sure.”

“She’s got three older brothers who are most likely on their way into town, looking for her, as we speak.”

“Does she want to be found?” Olivia asked.

“I think she does, only she wants to talk to Ben and Charlotte before her brothers do.”

“She’s not trying to protect David, is she?”

“I doubt it. What she’s afraid of is that her brothers might try to insist that David marry her and she doesn’t want to. At this point, she’s accepted that she’s better off without him.”

“Smart decision.”

“Yes, but it came at quite a price, didn’t it?”

“True. A lesson with lifelong consequences.”

“We all seem to learn our lessons the hard way,” Grace said.

“I know I did.” Her children, too, Olivia mused. Justine and James. As always, especially around the holidays, her mind wandered to Jordan, the son she’d lost that summer day all those years ago. Justine’s twin.

“What time are Maryellen and Kelly coming by?” she asked Grace, changing the subject. Although Mary Jo would be staying in the barn, perhaps she should bring her over for dinner. Give her a chance to feel welcomed by Ben’s second family. Cliff’s daughter, Lisa, her husband and their little girl, April, were out doing some last-minute shopping, apparently, and not due back until late afternoon.

“My girls should be here around six.”

“You’re going straight to church after dinner?”

“That’s the plan,” Grace told her. “I was going to invite Mary Jo to join us.”

“For dinner or Christmas Eve service?”

“Both, actually, but I’m having second thoughts.”

“Why? And about what?”

“Oh, about inviting Mary Jo to dinner. I’m afraid it might be too much for her. We’ll have five grandkids running around. You know how much racket children can make, and double that on Christmas Eve.”

“Is there anything I can do for her?” Olivia asked. “Should I invite her to have dinner here?”

“I’m not sure. I’ll talk to her when she wakes up and then I’ll phone you.”

“Thanks. And tell her not to worry about her brothers.”

“I’ll do that.”

“See you tonight.”

“Tonight,” Olivia echoed.

After setting down the phone, Olivia poured the tea and placed both mugs on the table, followed by the plate of cookies, and called Jack into the kitchen again.

His eyes widened in overstated surprise. “Cookies? For me? You shouldn’t have.”

“I can still put them back.”

“Oh, no, you don’t.” He grabbed the star-shaped cookie and bit off one point. “What’s this in honor of?”

“I had pie with lunch. So I’m trying to be fair.”

Knowing her disciplined eating habits, Jack did a double take. “You ate pie? At lunch?”

“Goldie made me do it.”

“Goldie,” he repeated. “You mean Will took you to the Pancake Palace?”

“It’s where I wanted to go.”

Jack sat down, scooped up the tree cookie and bit into that, too. “You’re a cheap date.”

“Not necessarily.”

He ignored that remark. “Did you enjoy lunch with Will?” he asked, then sipped his tea. Jack was familiar with their sometimes tumultuous relationship.

“I did, although I’m a little worried.” Olivia crossed her legs and held the mug in the palm of her hand. “He’s interested in Shirley Bliss, a local artist.”

“She’s not married, is she?”

Olivia shook her head. “A widow.”

Jack shrugged. “Then it’s okay if he wants to see her.”

“I agree. It’s just that I don’t know if I can trust my brother. It pains me to admit that, but still…” She left the rest unsaid. Jack knew her brother and his flaws as well as she did. “I want him to be successful here,” she said earnestly. “He’s starting over, and at this stage of his life that can’t be easy.”

“I don’t imagine it will be,” Jack agreed. “By the way, who was that on the phone?”

“Grace. She called to update me on Mary Jo.”

“Problems?”

“Not really, but she said we need to keep an eye out for three irate brothers who might show up looking for her.”

“A vigilante posse?”

“Not exactly.” But now that Olivia thought about it, it might not be so bad if Mary Jo’s brothers stumbled onto David Rhodes instead. “If her brothers find anyone, it should be David.”

“There’d certainly be justice in that, but David’s not going to let himself be found. And I think we should be focusing on the young woman, don’t you?”

His tone was gentle, but Olivia felt chastened. “Yes—and her baby.”

Chapter Nine

Mary Jo woke feeling confused. She sat up in bed and gazed around at the sparsely decorated room before she remembered where she was. Grace Harding had brought her home and was letting her spend the night in this apartment above the barn. It was such a kind thing to do. She was a stranger, after all, a stranger with problems who’d appeared out of nowhere on Christmas Eve.

Stretching her arms high above her head, Mary Jo yawned loudly. She was still tired, despite her nap. Her watch told her she’d been asleep for almost two hours. Two hours!

Other than in her first trimester, she hadn’t required a lot of extra rest during her pregnancy, but that had changed in the past few weeks. Of course some of it could be attributed to David and his lies. Wondering what she should believe and whether he’d meant any of what he’d said had kept her awake many a night. Consequently she was tired during the day; while she was still working she’d nap during her lunch break.

Forcing her eyes shut, Mary Jo made an effort to cast David from her mind. She quickly gave up. Tossing aside the covers, she climbed out of bed, put on her shoes and left the apartment. The stairway led to the interior of the barn.

As soon as she stepped into the barn, several animals stuck their heads out of the stalls to study her curiously. The first she saw was a lovely horse. Grace had introduced her as Funny Face.

“Hello there, girl.” Mary Jo walked slowly toward the stall door. “Remember me?” The mare nodded in what seemed to be an encouraging manner, and Mary Jo ran her hand down the horse’s unusually marked face. The mare had a white ring around one eye and it was easy to see why the Hardings had named her Funny Face. Her dark, intelligent eyes made Mary Jo think of an old story she recalled from childhood—that animals can talk for a few hours after midnight on Christmas Eve—and she wondered what Funny Face would say. Probably something very wise.

The camel seemed curious, too, and thrust her long curved neck out of the stall, peering at Mary Jo through wide eyes, fringed with lush, curling lashes. Mary Jo had been warned to keep her distance. “Oh, no, you don’t,” she said, waving her index finger. “You’re not going to lure me over there with those big brown eyes. Don’t give me that innocent look, either. I’ve heard all about you.”

After visiting a few placid sheep, another couple of horses and a donkey with a sweet disposition, Mary Jo walked out of the barn. She hurried toward the house through a light snowfall, wishing she’d remembered her coat. Even before she arrived, the front door opened and an attractive older gentleman held the screen.

“You must be Mary Jo,” he said and thrust out his hand in greeting. “Cliff Harding.”

“Hello, Mr. Harding,” she said with a smile. She was about to thank him for his hospitality when he interrupted.

“Call me Cliff, okay? And come in, come in.”

“All right, Cliff. Thank you.”

Mary Jo entered the house and was greeted by the smell of roasting turkey and sage and apple pie.

“You’re awake!” Grace declared as she came out of the kitchen. She wore an apron and had smudges of flour on her cheeks.

“I’m shocked I slept for so long.”

“You obviously needed it,” Grace commented, leading her into the kitchen. “I see you’ve met my husband.”

“Yes.” Mary Jo smiled again. Rubbing her palms nervously together, she looked from one to the other. “I really can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done for me.”

“Oh, nonsense. It’s the least we could do.”

“I’m a stranger and you took me in without question and, well…I didn’t think that kind of thing happened in this day and age.”

That observation made Grace frown. “Really? It does here in Cedar Cove. I guess it’s just how people act in small towns. We tend to be more trusting.”

“I had a similar experience when I first moved here,” Cliff said. “I wasn’t accustomed to people going out of their way for someone they didn’t know. I didn’t believe it could be genuine.

Charlotte Jefferson—now Charlotte Rhodes—disabused me of that notion.”

Despite everything, Mary Jo looked forward to meeting David’s stepmother. The conversation would be difficult, but knowing that Charlotte was as kind as everyone else she’d met so far made all the difference.

“Really, Mary Jo,” Grace continued. “All you needed was a friend and a helping hand. Anyone here would’ve done the same. Olivia wanted you to stay with her, too.”

“Everyone’s been so wonderful.” Thinking about the willingness of these people to take her in brought a lump to her throat. She bent, with some effort, to stroke the smooth head of a golden retriever who lay on a rug near the stove.

“That’s Buttercup,” Grace said fondly as the dog thumped her tail but didn’t stand up. “She’s getting old, like the rest of us.”

“Coffee?” Cliff walked over to the coffeemaker. “I’ll make some decaf. Are you interested?” he asked, motioning in Mary Jo’s direction with the pot.

“I’d love some. If it isn’t any trouble.”

“None whatsoever. I’m having a cup, too.” Grace set out three mugs, then suddenly asked, “You didn’t eat any lunch, did you?”

“No, but I’m not hungry.”

“You might not be, but that baby of yours is,” Grace said as if she had a direct line of communication to the unborn child. Without asking further, she walked to the refrigerator and poked her head inside. Adjusting various containers and bottles and packages, she took out a plastic-covered bowl.

“I don’t want to cause you any extra work,” Mary Jo protested.

“The work’s already done. Cliff made the most delicious clam chowder,” Grace said. “I’ll heat you up some.”

Now that Grace mentioned it, Mary Jo realized she really could use something to eat; she was feeling light-headed again. “Cliff cooks?” Her brothers were practically helpless around the kitchen and it always surprised her to find a man who enjoyed cooking.

“I am a man of many talents,” Grace’s husband answered with a smile. “I was a bachelor for years before I met Grace.”

“If I didn’t prepare meals, my brothers would survive on fast food and frozen entrées,” she said, grinning. Thankfully her mother had taught her quite a bit before her death. The brothers had relied on Mary Jo for meals ever since.

The thought of Linc, Mel and Ned made her anxious. She’d meant to call, but then she’d fallen asleep and now…they could be anywhere. They’d be furious and frightened. She felt a blast of guilt; her brothers might be misguided but they loved her.

“If you’ll excuse me a moment,” she said urgently. “I need to make a phone call.”