Chesapeake 10 - A Seaside Christmas (8 page)

He’d admittedly been disappointed the night before when she’d put on the brakes to end their evening, but he had understood the sudden panic that had obviously washed over her. He’d come back into her life knowing exactly what he wanted. He’d grown more certain of it with every minute he spent with her. She needed some time to catch up.

When he arrived at the theater, he heard voices in the rehearsal hall where Jenny had set up camp the day before. One was low and definitely masculine. He knew even before he glanced into the room who it was—the ex-boyfriend.

“Today’s great,” Jenny was telling him. “I should be able to break free by noon. Shall I meet you at Brady’s?”

“I can pick you up,” the man offered, but Caleb saw Jenny shake her head.

“It’s easier if I just meet you there,” she insisted.

Her response and the uneasiness he heard behind it made him wonder if she was feeling just a little guilty about accepting the date. Good, he thought. She should.

But as soon as those thoughts crossed his mind, he sighed and stepped away, then went back outside and sat on the front steps of the theater, sipping one of the coffees. He needed to settle down before he walked into that room. Jenny wasn’t doing anything wrong, not really. Making her feel guilty wouldn’t help him win her back.

Bree found him there when she arrived at the theater a few minutes later. She was bundled up in a thick down coat, a scarf and mittens.

“You’re going to freeze to death,” she said. “What on earth are you doing sitting outside?”

“Jenny has company,” he said simply, offering her one of the coffees. “The ex-boyfriend.”

Understanding dawned. “Dillon dropped by again?”

He nodded. “They’re making plans for lunch.”

A smile tugged at her lips, but she made an obvious effort to fight it. “And you’re out here so you won’t make a scene.”

“Something like that,” he said. “So what’s the scoop with those two, anyway? Were they serious?”

“They were in high school,” Bree told him as she sipped the coffee. “But they broke up before they left for different colleges. Jenny’s idea, by the way. She didn’t want to be tied down. I think even then she was being honest enough with herself to see that he was the wrong guy for her.”

“She doesn’t seem so sure of that now,” he suggested.

This time Bree didn’t try to hide her smile. “It’s lunch, Caleb. Broad daylight. Don’t you think if they were starting something, they’d be getting together in the evening, maybe even having dinner at her place?”

“She doesn’t have a table at her house,” he said, though that was hardly the issue. They’d shared some pretty intimate dinners on a blanket in front of the fireplace at her house in Nashville, even with lots of comfy furniture around them.

Bree merely lifted a brow. “A table? Do you really think that matters?”

Caleb chuckled. “Okay, no. But lunch isn’t exactly a guarantee that they’re not going to start crawling all over each other after dessert.”

“Voice of experience?”

“I’m not saying,” he demurred.

“My point is, Jenny told me herself that when Dillon first mentioned getting together, she insisted they stick to lunch to avoid any hint of gossip.” She leaned into his side. “Come on. This is no big deal. Stop sulking.”

He frowned at her. “I do not sulk.”

“Then prove it. Come inside with me. Despite this lovely coffee you brought along with you, I’m freezing to death. I’ll introduce you to Dillon myself. You can size up the competition.”

Caleb laughed. “Did you just insinuate that I’m intimidated by a guy who looks as stuffy as this guy? Or are you implying I’m a coward?”

She gave him an innocent look. “That word never crossed my lips.”

“But it’s exactly what you meant. You think I’m hiding out here because I’m scared of a little competition. What does he do, by the way?”

She barely contained a smile. “He sells insurance, if you must know.”

“Well, there you go,” he said. “Nothing scary about that.” Suddenly eager to get a better fix on this guy who’d once owned a piece of Jenny’s heart, he stood up and held out his hand to Bree. “Let’s go inside and make some music.”

Bree tilted her head to study him, a frown on her lips. “Why did that sound more like you intend to stir up trouble instead?”

“Not at all,” he vowed. “Just a polite meet-and-greet. I excel at those, especially with insurance salesmen.” He held up the tray with one more container of coffee and the bag of treats from Sally’s. “Besides, I’m armed with coffee and chocolate croissants. The guy doesn’t stand a chance.”

Bree laughed. “Then it’s definitely not a fair fight. Even if you weren’t sexy as sin, you’d steal Jenny’s affections with those croissants. She made me ship her a box every few weeks. She swore she couldn’t find any half as good in Nashville.”

Caleb frowned at that. “There was an excellent French bakery right in her neighborhood. She was a regular.”

“She claimed they weren’t the same as Sally’s,” Bree told him. “Personally I think she just liked knowing they came from Chesapeake Shores. As much as she denied it all those years, she missed home, Caleb. I, for one, hope she sticks around for a while.”

“You’ll get no argument from me,” he said. He could see how this charming town—and even the slightly overwhelming O’Briens—could weave a spell around anyone.

There was another reason he was happy to have Jenny back on her home turf. Despite the presence of the ex-boyfriend, he figured he had a better chance with her here than he ever would back in the town where everyone knew their history, and all his mistakes besides. Here, he might even have a shot at reinventing himself, at reclaiming her heart before all the demands of the music business started tearing away at the fabric of the life they could have together.

* * *

“Look who I found sitting outside,” Bree announced, cheerfully leading Caleb into the rehearsal hall where Jenny had been working on lyrics while Dillon listened.

Jenny frowned at him. “Why were you outside? The door wasn’t locked.”

“Just enjoying the view of the bay,” Caleb claimed.

Jenny knew it was a lie and immediately guessed why he’d felt the need to utter it. He’d overheard her and Dillon earlier making their date for lunch. He must have had a pretty strong reaction to walk away, rather than join them.

“Dillon, this is Caleb Green,” Bree said, stepping into the awkward silence. “Caleb, Dillon Johnson, an old friend of Jenny’s.”

The scowl on Dillon’s face proved there was no need to explain about Caleb. Besides, he’d already acknowledged a few days before that he knew the whole story of the breakup. Now he looked as if he were about ten seconds away from punching Caleb just on principle. Jenny stepped between them before he could give in to the impulse.

“Okay, we’d better put in some serious work if I’m going to be able to break for lunch. Dillon, I’ll see you at Brady’s at noon.”

Dillon looked a little startled by the firm dismissal, but he nodded and grabbed his jacket. Then, to her shock, he crossed to her and planted a solid kiss right smack on her lips.

“See you,” he said, his tone casual, but an unmistakable glint of triumph in his eyes as he shot a look toward Caleb on his way out.

Caleb took a step in his direction, but Bree’s hand on his arm stilled him.

“There will not be any turf wars in my theater,” she said quietly. “Understood?”

Caleb drew in a deep breath, then nodded.

She turned to Jenny. “You might suggest to Dillon that he call you instead of dropping by. We have a lot to get done and not much time to accomplish it.”

Jenny bristled at the suggestion that Dillon wasn’t welcome here, but then she, too, drew in a deep breath. “You’re right, of course.”

“And I can leave you two alone in here without worrying about an argument breaking out the instant my back’s turned?”

Caleb chuckled. “Yes, Mama Hen. Your chick will be safe with me.”

Jenny gave him a wry look. “Don’t be so sure about your rooster,” she retorted.

“Jenny Louise!” Bree said firmly.

“Okay, okay. We’ll both behave.”

“And focus a hundred percent on the music for this play?” Bree encouraged.

“A hundred percent,” Jenny confirmed.

After Bree had gone, Jenny dared to look at Caleb. “Were you really jealous?”

“Didn’t you want me to be? You had to know when I was likely to turn up. Didn’t you make that date with Dillon just to make a point to me?”

“First of all, it’s not a date. It’s lunch with an old friend. Second, I had no idea you were in the building.”

“Not even with that clear view you have of the front sidewalk?” he suggested skeptically, nodding toward the window directly across the room with its excellent view of the sweeping lawn, the walkway and the water.

Jenny winced. He was right. She had seen him coming, had heard the theater’s front door open and close. Even though she hadn’t invited Dillon to come by, she’d considered his presence a chance to make a point to Caleb, to remind him that he no longer had any claim on her, no matter how strong the feelings had been between them the night before. Those had been a fluke, an old habit not yet broken. At least that’s what she’d told herself as she’d tossed and turned through the night.

“Okay, you’re right,” she said. “Maybe I did take advantage of the situation.”

“No more games, Jenny. Whatever else happens between us, let’s at least keep it honest, okay?”

He was right. “Okay,” she promised.

“Will you break your lunch date with the ex?”

“Would you, if you were in my shoes?” she asked, turning the tables on him.

“No,” he conceded grudgingly. “But it’s the last time, okay? Like it or not, we have things to work out. We can’t do it if you’re going to throw him in my face whenever the mood strikes you.”

Jenny smiled at that. “It’s not all about making you crazy, you know. Dillon and I were good friends once. He knows my history. He gets me.”

Caleb locked gazes with her. “But I’m the one who knows who you are now, Jenny. History’s all well and good, but make no mistake about it, your future’s with me.”

She trembled under the intensity of his words and his gaze. She didn’t doubt for a second that he believed exactly that. What worried her was that she might start believing it, too. All the more reason to go on this date with Dillon and see if she couldn’t fan a few of
those
old flames.

Chapter Eight

S
ince there was clearly no way Jenny was going to break the date she’d made with Dillon, Caleb needed to find something to do at lunchtime to keep himself from losing it. He thought of all those decorations he’d left stacked on the front porch the night before. While he had plenty of ideas for where they should go, he didn’t have a ladder or the expertise to make sure they stayed put once he’d created the scene he had in mind.

He poked his head into Bree’s office, thinking maybe he could kill two birds with one stone—get those decorations up and maybe make some inroads with someone else in the family.

“Jenny said something about Jake being an expert at installing outdoor Christmas decorations,” he said to her. “Do you happen to know if he’s tied up this afternoon?”

“I can call and ask,” she said. “What did you have in mind?”

He explained about all the old decorations going up at Jenny’s mom’s, what a downer that had been for Jenny, and about their shopping binge for new ones. “I have some ideas for how the house should look, but not a lot of practical experience at hanging lights.”

A smile spread across Bree’s face. “What a great idea! Jenny will love it. And you’re so sweet to want to surprise her by having it all done when she gets home tonight.”

“Ulterior motive,” he confessed.

“Of course,” Bree said knowingly. “But it’s a good motive, I think.” Her smile spread. “You’re starting to grow on me, Caleb. I can see now why Jenny fell so hard for you. At heart you’re a pretty thoughtful guy.”

He shook his head. “You’re seeing the new and improved me. I’m not so sure the old Caleb had a lot to recommend him aside from some hit songs and a loyal fan following.”

“No way,” Bree contradicted. “Jenny could have had her pick of sexy country superstars. She chose you because of what she saw in you. She believed in you, Caleb, not just in your talent, but in you.”

He was touched by her comment. “If that’s true, I hope I don’t let her down this time.”

“You won’t,” she said with surprising conviction, then gave him a stern look. “You know the consequences if you do.”

“I’ll have O’Briens chasing me from here to Kingdom Come,” he said. “I get it. Now, do you think Jake would be willing to help me this afternoon, or am I still his sworn enemy? If he’s as protective of Jenny as I’ve been led to believe, I doubt he’s mellowed half as much as you have.”

“You leave my husband to me,” she said confidently. “Head on over to the house. I’ll have help there within the hour. You might pick up some barbecue—a lot of it, in fact—and some sodas.” She handed him a note with directions to a barbecue place on the outskirts of town.

He took the directions, but regarded her with suspicion. There was a worrisome glint in her eyes. “You sending an army?”

“Something like that.”

An hour later Caleb wasn’t all that surprised when pickups started arriving at Jenny’s. His head swam as he tried to keep not only the O’Briens straight, but several others who’d apparently married into the family. The one person he had no trouble identifying was Jake Collins. Despite Bree’s assurances, Jenny’s uncle was regarding him as if he’d been personally responsible for spreading a plague.

“I don’t much like you,” Jake said by way of introduction.

Caleb nodded and stood his ground. “Understandable.”

“I’m only here because my wife insisted on it.” Jake’s scowl deepened. “And because I don’t trust you. I intend to keep a very close eye on you while you’re in town.”

“Also understandable,” Caleb told him.

“Back off and leave the man alone,” the man who’d identified himself as Mick O’Brien told Jake. “He’s here trying to do a nice thing for Jenny. You should be thanking him.”

“It’s not what he wants to do this afternoon that worries me,” Jake said, his scowl firmly in place. “It’s what he has in mind for later tonight and tomorrow and the next day.”

“Then you can come back later and keep a close eye on him then,” Mick said. “I’ll be right here beside you, if you want. There’s not an O’Brien here right now who won’t do the same if we feel it’s necessary to protect Jenny. We all know the story, Jake. None of us want to see Jenny hurt again. I’m just thinking that maybe the man deserves a second chance to get it right. We’ve all had our share of those.”

“You especially,” an older man commented, slapping Mick on the back. “I’m Jenny’s stepfather, by the way. Thomas O’Brien.” He held out his hand and shook Caleb’s, a hard look leveled directly into Caleb’s eyes. “Don’t let Mick’s soft attitude fool you. He’ll be the first one in line to punch you out if he doesn’t like what he sees or hears about the way you’re treating Jenny.”

“Got it,” Caleb said. “I’m glad to know so many people have her back.” He regarded Thomas curiously. “Jenny’s mentioned you. I didn’t get the impression you were close.”

Thomas flushed. “We didn’t get off to the best start. In fact, it’s certainly likely that you didn’t get a glowing endorsement of me from Jenny. I’m working to rectify that.”

Caleb took pity on him, since he was so obviously troubled by the bad blood between them. He knew better than most that there were two sides to every story.

“I doubt anyone who married her mom would have fared any better,” he told Thomas. “I’m just starting to figure out all these complex family dynamics.”

Mick interrupted. “Okay, enough chitchat,” he announced. “Jake, you, Mack, Will, Matthew, Luke and I can start stringing lights on the eaves. Thomas, you and Caleb can open boxes and figure out where you want the lawn display, then Jake and I will hook things up.” He turned to a younger man. “Connor, why don’t you run to the hardware store and buy some outdoor extension cords?”

Connor frowned at that. “You don’t need my help here?”

Jake laughed. “Connor, listen to Mick. Your father has a lifetime of experience with your construction skills or lack thereof. We want this display to work, not cause a neighborhood blackout.”

Connor scowled at him. “Thanks, pal. I’ll remember that next time you call and need an extra pair of hands to assemble something.”

“Stick to law,” Jake taunted. “That’s where your real skill lies. Let the rest of us do the manly things.”

“Oh, brother,” Mack muttered under his breath, stepping between the outraged Connor and Jake.

“Settle down,” Will said quietly, clearly in peacemaker mode. “Connor, you know perfectly well Jake is just trying to yank your chain. Don’t let him goad you into brawling with him. We have a lot to do. It requires teamwork.”

Connor and Jake exchanged a malevolent look, then chuckled.

“Spoken exactly like a shrink in that soothing, professional tone that sets my teeth on edge,” Jake said.

“Bite me,” Will retorted, but he was grinning.

Caleb listened to the teasing, amazed by the affection behind even the sharpest barbs. No wonder Jenny had been in love with this family. He’d never known a tight-knit group like them himself. Even his old band, as well as they’d known each other, hadn’t been this free and easy. Nor had they been as deeply committed to one another. He’d been as much to blame for that as any of them. He’d tested the limits of the friendship too many times.

With peace restored, Will, Mack, Matthew, Luke, Mick and Jake went to work hanging the lights.

Thomas led the way onto the porch, then pulled a box cutter from his pocket and handed it to Caleb. He opened a second one for himself. “Let’s get busy. Bree’s going to do her best to keep Jenny at the theater until after dark, but if I know Jenny and she starts getting suspicious, there won’t be a thing short of tying her down that Bree will be able to do to keep her there.”

“You’ve got that right,” Caleb said. “Hey, I thought you were supposed to be putting up decorations at home today.”

Thomas nodded. “Connie thought my time would be better spent over here. She heard the disappointment in Jenny’s voice when she found out we’d claimed the old decorations.” As they started up the porch steps, Thomas stared in amazement at the boxes piled up. “Do you think you two might have gone a little overboard?”

Caleb shrugged. “As her mom said, Jenny was a little bummed out about the old decorations. Finding all this stuff cheered her up. And, I have to admit, I was having a little trouble controlling myself, too. I never lived in a house with outdoor decorations for Christmas. I always envied the families who had them.”

Thomas nodded. “Welcome to Chesapeake Shores. This time of year I feel as if I’ve made a wrong turn and landed at the North Pole. My parents didn’t waste money or electricity on outside lights back in the day, though Ma has recently become a convert. Wait till you see her cottage. It’s like an enchanted gingerbread house on the cliff overlooking the bay.”

“You’re talking about Nell, right?”

“That’s right,” Thomas confirmed. “She’s still going strong. She had this same crew over at her place last weekend climbing on ladders while she supervised the placement of every strand of lights. Jake took it in stride, but Mick almost had a coronary trying to keep his temper under control. He loves her to pieces, but he likes doing things his own way.”

“I take it you’re almost as new to the tradition as I am,” Caleb said.

“Absolutely. After living in an apartment with an artificial tree as my only concession to the season, it was a tough transition for me when I married Connie. She wanted every tree in the yard dripping with lights. And that train...” He glanced at Caleb. “I imagine Jenny told you about the train.”

“That’s what set her off,” he confirmed. “She loved that train.”

“Everybody loves that train,” Thomas said, “except for the poor soul stuck with trying to get the blasted track together and keeping the thing from derailing every twenty minutes and tossing Santa out on his behind. That poor soul would be me, by the way. Jake and Mick and the rest of these guys may have a knack for assembling things, but I do not. Connie didn’t want to ask for their help. She said it should be our family tradition. I think she just didn’t want to expose me to their ridicule.”

“I’m confused,” Caleb said. “Didn’t you, Mick and your other brother build Chesapeake Shores?”

Thomas immediately shook his head. “We had a partnership, that’s true, but Mick built it. Jeff sold the properties as we developed the town. My task was to keep as many trees in place as humanly possible, to keep the whole thing environmentally friendly. That put me and Mick at odds more than once.”

“Ah, now I remember,” Caleb said. “You have a foundation that works to protect the bay.”

Thomas nodded. “And Mick, for all his grumbling back then, finally gets how important it was that I stuck to my guns, even when it was a major inconvenience to his plans. His son, Kevin, is working with me now. Kevin would be here today, but he’s giving a speech to a civic group. We never miss a chance to spread the message.”

Caleb thought of the brief glimpses he’d had of the bay’s beauty in just the past few days. “I don’t suppose you’d want to do a benefit concert sometime,” he suggested. “I could probably enlist a few of my buddies in Nashville and put something together.”

Thomas regarded him incredulously. “Seriously? You think you could pull that off?”

“I don’t see why not,” Caleb told him, warming to the idea.

“Just how long are you planning to stick around?”

Caleb smiled. “As long as it takes.”

“Well, to be honest, I don’t care if your motive has more to do with Jenny than it does with protecting the bay, I’ll accept your offer. Connie’s been coordinating a lot of special events for us. Would you mind sitting down with her to work things out?”

Caleb regarded him skeptically. He had a hunch Jenny’s mom wouldn’t be all that thrilled about working with him. “Are you sure that’s a good idea? She might drive a stake through my heart instead.”

Thomas laughed. “She might,” he admitted. “But I’ll see that she doesn’t do it till after this concert you just suggested. That’ll buy you some time to win her over.”

In Caleb’s experience, mothers were sometimes easier to win over than their daughters. He suspected that might be the case with Connie O’Brien and Jenny. Since he needed both of them on his side, he accepted Thomas’s terms.

By now they’d opened all the boxes and haphazardly set the multiple Santas, a gingerbread house, a few giant candy canes and a family of elves on the lawn.

“There’s one more thing,” Caleb said. “It’s still in my truck. I went back for it after I dropped Jenny off last night.”

Thomas followed him over to the pickup, then chuckled when he saw the boxes. “You found her a train.”

Caleb nodded. “I’ve never seen the old one, so I don’t know how this compares, but it does have Santa riding in the caboose. She said the old one did, too.”

Thomas clapped a hand on his shoulder. “Son, even if this one weren’t a new and improved version of the one she remembers, the fact that you found it for her will go a long way toward making her happy.”

Caleb couldn’t seem to keep the hope from his voice when he asked, “You think so?”

Jake wandered over just then, his eyes widening when he saw the train. He shook his head. “Ah, man, just when I really wanted to hate your guts, you had to go and do this.”

Caleb looked from Thomas to Jake and back again. “Then you’re agreed the train will be a hit?”

“It’s going to knock her socks off,” Thomas confirmed.

Jake’s gaze narrowed at that. “But that’s all. Only her socks. Understood?”

Caleb laughed. “No promises, but I’ll keep your warning in mind.”

In the end, though, it was going to be up to Jenny just how far things went between them, not only tonight, but in the future. He understood that, even though it grated on him that this was one time when he wasn’t guaranteed he’d get what he wanted.

* * *

Jenny’s lunch with Dillon had been surprisingly tense. She figured out right away that he was still upset about the encounter with Caleb earlier.

“I just don’t understand why he’s here, Jenny,” he said finally. “Okay, maybe I can see why Bree wants him around, but what about you? How can you even stand the sight of him after what he did to you?”