Holiday at Magnolia Bay (Southern Born Christmas Book 1) (13 page)

Although the two brothers were nearly the same height—the edge going to Drew—Jack would be no match for his younger brother if it came to hand-to-hand combat. While Jack definitely looked as if he saw a decent amount of exercise, he lacked the aura of strength that seemed to surround Drew. But he made up for it in polish and charm. Yanking at his collar, he slipped the top button open and loosened his tie before starting in on his cuffs, rolling up his sleeves. Where Drew was quiet and still, his older brother seemed to be a whirling dervish of action.

“I didn’t check my emails until after I left the gym this morning or I would have gotten here sooner.” He shot Jenna a warm smile, one that reached his eyes. “You must be the Turtle Goddess. I can see why he was so eager to get the ball rolling on this.” Jack pulled an envelope out of his suit jacket. “I don’t know which one of you beautiful ladies wants the check, but whatever you do, don’t name the turtle hatchery after Drew.”

Jenna blinked her eyes a few times, trying in vain to catch up. Miss Evie clapped her hands. “I knew he’d do it,” she cried.

Jack sternly pointed a finger at Miss Evie. “Oh no, you’ve got some explaining to do, Aunt Evie. You should have come to me for the money in the first place. Not that your way didn’t involve some pure evil genius, because it did. But still…”

“Pfft,” Miss Evie said before crossing her arms in front of her and belligerently lifting her chin.

“Could someone please tell me what’s going on?” Jenna finally asked, unable to make heads or tails of the conversation. Drew was gone. He’d likely been using her for more than just to escape the flashbacks that haunted him. The hatchery was gone. Or was it? Her heart and her head felt they’d gone a few too many rounds of kick-boxing this morning.

Jack glanced over at Jenna, his playful demeanor extinguished. “I apologize. Particularly if my brother was less than a gentleman to you.”

Jenna had difficulty swallowing as she remembered how much she enjoyed the times when Drew was being “less than a gentleman”. “I’d prefer not to discuss my relationship with your brother.”

One side of his mouth kicked up at the corner. “Fair enough.” He shrugged his shoulders handing Miss Evie the check. She took it in her trembling hands and kissed it.

“I have a confession to make, Jenna,” the older woman said.

“Another one?”

Miss Evie sighed. “I’m a kept woman.”

Jack laughed loudly as he sank down on the chaise beside his godmother. “You love saying that, don’t you?”

“Well what other octogenarian gal can claim to have three men who pay for her every whim.”

Jack draped an arm around the older woman. “And your whims are worth every penny. Even a million dollars for an oversized fridge to store turtle eggs.”

“Miss Evie, you said you were an heiress and your fortune was going to charity. What do Drew and his brother here have to do with your donation?” Jenna asked.

It was Miss Evie’s turn to laugh. “Jenna, allow me to introduce to you Jack Lanham, the CEO of the Lanham Group. Jack, his brother Drew, and their father, John, own the chain of Union Hardware stores.”

Jenna looked at the two of them in stunned disbelief. “You’re not an heiress?”

Jack gave Miss Evie a gentle squeeze. “She’ll always be an heiress and our very own fairy godmother, but most of her fortune is tied up in the Lanham Group.”

“I’m afraid I listened to the wrong people a few years back and lost nearly all of my daddy’s money. Jack takes care of me now.”

“But not Drew?” Jenna asked. “You said he wouldn’t give you the money?”

Jack and his godmother exchanged a look. “Drew’s money is in a blind trust,” Jack explained. “It’s safer that way. If he was to be captured and those nut jobs figured out he was wealthy…”

He left the rest unsaid as all three of them considered the consequences of his statement.

“I’m still not following things here. If Drew can’t access his money, why did you ask him for it?” Jenna asked Miss Evie.

“It seems our sweet Evie is pure Machiavellian at heart,” Jack answered for her.

When he didn’t elaborate further, Miss Evie cleared her throat. “I might have misled Drew a bit. I told him Jack and his father had already refused to fund the project this year.”

“Why?” Jenna asked.

“Because the only way for Drew to access his money is to leave the military, something we’ve been begging him to do for years.” Miss Evie’s face contained no hint of embarrassment, just dogged determination. “And if Jack is here, it obviously worked.”

“Not exactly. You may have won the battle, but you still haven’t won the war. He hasn’t agreed to give up his commission and join us on the board of the Lanham Group but, in exchange for the money for your—” he nodded toward Jenna “—turtle hatchery, he’s giving up combat duty and trading it for a desk job. It was the best thing he’s offered us in years. Dad was happy enough that if you wanted two million, he’d have given it to you.”

Jenna wanted to stomp her feet in frustration. “Wait, Drew can’t give up being a Navy SEAL. Miss Evie, you can’t make him do that. Not to be on some stuffy board of directors.” Jenna shivered. “Drew would never agree to that.”

Jack laughed. “Nobody makes Drew do anything he doesn’t want to do. But he obviously wanted this to happen for Miss Evie—and for you.” He leveled a pointed look at Jenna.

Miss Evie clapped her hands together again. “We’ll have the turtle hatchery and Drew will be safe.”

“Yes, but will he be happy?” Jenna asked softly.

*

Perry and Imogene
were in their element later that evening as they mingled with the crowd at Miss Evie’s lowcountry boil. It seemed to Jenna that most of Magnolia Bay had turned out for the occasion. Mayor Delaney made the announcement about the hatchery while Macy snapped photos for the turtle Center’s website. Everyone was having a good time—everyone except Jenna.

“Will you quit moping,” Macy said. “That grimace of yours is going to ruin the pictures.”

Jenna took another sip from the glass of wine she’d been carrying around for the past hour. “I’m sorry, but I’m just not feeling in a partying mood tonight.”

Macy sighed. “You just got what you’ve been dreaming of for the past three years. The one thing that you hope will win your father’s respect. If you can’t be happy about that, be happy for me. Now that you won’t be leaving Magnolia Bay I won’t have to break in a new roommate.”

A startled laugh escaped Jenna’s lips. She
was
happy that her future was here in the town she loved. But she couldn’t help feeling a little bit of regret about how the funding for the hatchery came about. Miss Evie didn’t need to trick Drew; it was obvious any one of the Lanham men would do whatever the older woman asked of them.

So then why had Drew gone along with his godmother’s scheme?

“Of course, I’d be heartbroken, too, if the Military’s-Gift-To-Women was no longer available for night-time maneuvers,” Macy continued. “But at least he sent his brother in his place. I swear that’s one gene pool that I hope, for the sake of women everywhere, never dries up.”

Jenna followed the direction of Macy’s stare, watching Jack Lanham, now dressed in a light blue knit golf shirt and neatly pressed khaki shorts, make his way toward the two women.

“You had the brother,” Macy whispered as he drew closer. “It’s only fair I get dibs on this one.”

That was fine with Jenna. The only Lanham brother she ever wanted was miles away from Magnolia Bay by now and she suspected that despite their No-Strings-Attached proviso, Drew had taken much of her heart with him.

“Nice celebration,” Jack said, nodding to Macy. “I haven’t been to Magnolia Bay in fifteen years. I forgot how beautiful the Lowcountry can be on a late summer night. Aunt Evie says we may even get to see some turtles hatch tonight.”

“That’s always a possibility this time of year,” Macy said with an alluring smile. “I’m happy to show where the nests are later this evening.”

Jack gifted Macy with a panty-melting smile that had even Jenna swaying on her feet.
Lord, but those Lanham brothers shared a gift.
“As much as I’d like to take you up on your offer, I’m flying back to Boston in an hour. I just wanted a few moments with Jenna before I go.”

Macy recovered quickly. “Well, I hope it won’t be fifteen years before we see you again.” She gave Jenna a gentle squeeze on her elbow before joining the rest of the crowd.

Jenna didn’t really feel up to a conversation with Drew’s affable older brother, but her manners got the better of her. “I’ve been a little late in thanking you and your family for your generous donation to the hatchery. It’s been a long-time dream of Miss Evie’s to see it here in Magnolia Bay, but I’d be lying if I didn’t tell you it’s been my dream, too. I’m very grateful.”

“Actually, it’s my father and I who want to thank you. Since my mother died, it’s just the three of us—and Aunt Evie,” Jack told her. “With Drew being gone and unable to communicate with either of us for months at a time it’s been…difficult. Drew has always been the rebellious, risk taker, on a mission to save the world. He maintains a safe distance from everyone he cares about in case one of those missions ever fails. The fewer people he leaves behind the better, in his mind.”

Jenna’s breath caught in the back of her throat at Jack’s words.
Was that how all Navy SEALS thought? Is that what motivates my father?

“He knew Aunt Evie would get the money from my father or me,” Jack continued. “Yet he wanted to pay for it himself.”

“He loves your godmother,” Jenna choked out.

“That he does.” Jack rocked back on his heels, grinning at her like a fool. “But I suspect there’s another reason he decided to give up the adrenaline junkie part of his military career.”

It wasn’t hard to piece together where Jack was going with the conversation. “You’ve been drinking your godmother’s Kool-aid,” Jenna said, trying desperately to ignore the spasm of hope that had begun to churn deep inside her. “Drew and I are…just friends.”
With very nice benefits,
her conscience screamed.

Jack just gave her another one of those infuriating smiles. “Whatever you two are to each other, my dad and I are grateful. Aunt Evie obviously loves you, so that makes you family, too.”

“You’re still not getting it.” Jenna’s frustration began to grow. “I grew up living the military life. Most families survive it just fine, but not mine. A relationship between Drew and me wouldn’t ever work. Not while he’s still a Navy SEAL.”

Jack raised an eyebrow at her. “And you told him this?”

“Yes.”

His grin grew even more triumphant before he leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. “Well done, Jenna. I hope you’ll keep an open mind about my brother, though.” His cell phone beeped in his pocket. “That’s my pilot. I need to head out to the airport. I hope we meet again soon. In the meantime, enjoy living out your dream. You deserve it.”

As she watched Jack weave his way between the guests, she tried to decipher the meaning behind his words. Both he and Miss Evie seemed to think she had something to do with Drew’s decision. Jenna doubted she was the reason. In her reality, men didn’t choose her over their careers. Still he’d given her a gift, one that would allow her to stay here in Magnolia Bay and possibly make her father accept her. It wasn’t the same as giving her his heart, but it was the next best thing. Now she needed to ensure the turtle hatchery was a success for the town, Miss Evie and Drew. She headed off to find Perry and Imogene to get the rest of her life started.

‡

T
he sound of
Christmas carols being played in the reception area of the Admiral’s office wasn’t exactly putting Drew in the holiday spirit. He’d been stationed at the Pentagon for over three months and the gloom that permeated the seventy-one-year-old building seemed to have settled into his bones. One thing he knew for sure, he was not cut out for a desk job.

His politically minded classmates from the Naval Academy had welcomed him with open arms, but it hadn’t taken long before he began to chafe at all the inactivity. Drew thrived on the rush of a mission, of using his body and mind to out-smart and out-maneuver the enemy. On the up side, the only casualty one of his fellow brothers in arms might suffer at the Pentagon would be a paper cut.