BEACHCOMBER CHRISTMAS MIRACLE

  A BEACHCOMBER INVESTIGATIONS NOVELLA

  STEPHANIE QUEEN

  CONTENTS

  Prologue

  Chapter 1

  Chapter 2

  Chapter 3

  Chapter 4

  Chapter 5

  Chapter 6

  Chapter 7

  Chapter 8

  Chapter 9

  Chapter 10

  Chapter 11

  Also by Stephanie Queen

  About the Author

  PROLOGUE

  FROM THE EPILOGUE OF BEACHCOMBER BRIDE

  Dane and Shana escaped the island as fast as they could after the ceremony, taking the old Jeep across to Woods Hole on a ferry. From there, Dane drove them all the way to their destination without stopping.

  Pulling into the driveway of the ancient clapboard house with the picket fence, Dane couldn’t stop his heart from racing.

  It was the house he’d bought for his mother in the Berkshires, the one they’d both picked out for her because it looked like something out of a Norman Rockwell painting. The one where he had special security measures installed to keep his mother safe. And it had kept her safe for many years. Until she left.

  Shana tugged on his arm, pulling him from his melancholic train of thought.

  “A white picket fence?” Shana didn’t take her eyes off the portrait-like vision as Dane shut off the trusty Jeep’s engine. She didn’t take her hand off his thigh, squeezing.

  He laughed, then so did she, like a child. Then she shoved open her door and leapt out.

  “Not so fast.” Lucky thing he was still quick, or maybe she was still slow. Dane went around and cut her off at the short brick walk to the bright red front door. She hugged him and he surprised her when he lifted her into his arms.

  Laughing, she said, “You’re really going to carry me over the threshold?”

  “All three hundred pounds of you.”

  She swatted him and almost giggled, then hid her face against his chest. He could sense the tears, but he knew they were the good kind as he reached the door. He managed to turn the knob and nudged the door open wide with his foot.

  Lifting her head she met his eyes, glistening with those tears.

  “You’re such a romantic.”

  “You’re just now realizing that?” he said. He meant it, felt his heart opening, blossoming, knowing he’d been trying to fight it, hide it all these years.

  Shaking her head, she said, “I knew. From the very first time we met and you handed me that crushed beach rose.”

  “Did you know I was handing you my crushed heart and soul, hoping you’d heal me…” He didn’t know what the hell made him say those words, exposing himself so completely. Or maybe he did know. This was what it was like to be married, all-in, trusting someone completely with everything in you.

  She answered him with a kiss, a soft touch of her lips to his as he allowed her to slip her feet to the floor, holding her against him. Pressing her in, his heart pounded harder now, that familiar sensation of blood rushing, need for her rising in him. She held his face in her hands and deepened the kiss.

  Let the honeymoon begin…

  Six months later…

  They stood in front of the newly re-built beach shack on Martha’s Vineyard. The for-sale sign stood out front. Shana turned and Dane’s eyes were drawn to the profile of her six plus-months pregnant belly, round and beguiling.

  It turned out that she’d been pregnant before they got married. It wasn’t something Dane was going to share with her mother.

  Shana’s pregnancy was a new fact of life that had seeped in and taken hold, gradually, but irrevocably. And now as he stood looking at the for-sale sign, he felt at peace. He wouldn’t be moving on alone.

  The next chapter belonged to both of them. The drastic change had spun them both around and they shared the stunned shock, the fear, and most of all the hope and blissful anticipation of the ultimate game-changer. Their baby.

  “I can’t believe the house sold so fast,” Shana said.

  “Of course it did. It’s a beauty. Perfect spot overlooking the harbor. Plus it has a killer basement with secret storage lockers to meet the new homeowner’s weapon storage needs.”

  Shana laughed, the sound buoying him like nothing else.

  Dane had a call from the realtor to meet her there. Mrs. Jones said the buyer wanted to meet them. He didn’t mind. Gave him a chance for an official good-bye to the shack. Not that he’d ever let on to Shana he thought of it that way. They walked out back, drawn by the ocean smell and the lapping of the water.

  “I’m hungry. I hope this doesn’t take long,” she said, turning to him as they stood out back on the freshly planted lawn, taking in the spring breeze off the ocean. Her belly showed just enough to tantalize him constantly with his fatherly prospects. Every time he looked at her belly or touched it, a shock of energy zapped him with pure pleasure, a bubble of disbelief rose in his chest and he felt like he was suddenly living someone else’s life in someone else’s skin. He reached out and touched her hair, wrapped a tendril around his finger like he always had.

  “You’re always hungry. Maybe you’re having twins.”

  “If we’re having twins, then you’ll have to take charge of one of them.”

  “You can’t scare me with twin-talk. I’m trying to scare you.” He moved in on her and wrapped his arms around her, pressing up against her belly to get some of that bliss reminding him of his new reality. It wasn’t just talk. They were having a baby. Something he never dreamed of in a million years.

  And between them they knew exactly zero about taking care of an infant. But that didn’t daunt him because he had Shana. He meant to put his lips on hers, his mouth close, within a whisper, her hair blowing around his face, soft tendrils tickling his skin, when a car pulled into the driveway.

  The horn beeped and the doors opened and slammed closed.

  “They’re here. We should…” Shana said, then stopped. She looked past him as they walked around the house toward the driveway.

  “Ronnie? What are you doing here?”

  Dane stopped as the kid bounded toward him. He was more mature and fit and serious than he used to be since he started his stint at West Point, but Dane could still see the coltish kid in him.

  “Surprise,” he said as he gave Shana a hug. “We couldn’t wait to tell you, to see the looks on your faces.”

  Sassy came up behind him, beaming a smile even bigger than her usual. “Surprise!”

  “What’s the surprise?” Shana said.

  But Dane’s mind had made the jump and a slow grin took over his face.

  “Meet the new owners of the beach shack,” he said.

  Shock spread over Shana’s glowing face and he wished he had his phone ready for a photo as it turned to delight. She squealed and hugged Ronnie and Sassy who stood arm-in-arm, grinning like fools. Young fools. Good friends.

  “Is it true?”

  “Yes, we’re buying the beach shack and we want to eventually reincarnate Beachcomber Investigations,” Ronnie said. “When I get out of the service. If that’s alright?” Ronnie waited for Dane’s approval.

  After taking a beat to absorb another twist, Dane nodded.

  “That’s perfect. I plan to finally get my PI license,” Sassy said.

  “What about your pies?” Shana said, crestfallen.

  “Figures you’re worried about the food,” Dane said. Shana elbowed him in the ribs, not hard enough to break anything. He laughed.

  “I’ll still run the pie shop, but I’m hiring staff to help. Business has been great since Acer helped me spruce up the website.”

  Mrs. Jones arrived and insisted they go inside. Shana whispered in Dane’s ear.

  “It’s like a farewell tour, isn’t it?”

  He nodded. No sense trying to pretend otherwise. As they walked through the rooms, pausing for a few beats in their bedroom, Dane felt the peace well up again, bringing closure. Knowing their friends would live here, carrying on, felt right. Like he was closing the door on his past, but leaving it unlocked.

  He and Shana were moving into his mother’s old house permanently, the one he’d bought for her long ago in the Berkshires. Shana had fallen in love with it while they were on their honeymoon. Besides becoming parents, they had no plans for what they would do once they moved in. Maybe he’d take up his father’s guitar again and start a rock band. Maybe not.

  Acer was back on the Amalfi coast with Isabella and content to stay there doing odd cyber security jobs. The governor was now Senator Peter John Douglas so he’d be in D.C. half the time. Joe was going with him as personal security.

  That left Cap. He wondered what Cap would do.

  They all went back outside and Dane took one last deep breath of the breeze off the harbor.

  Ronnie said, “One more thing, Dane. I don’t mean to keep surprising you, but I spoke with Cap.”

  Shana stopped and spun around, hanging onto his arm, pulling him around with her.

  “Where is he? What did he say?” she said.

  “He’s in Boston and he’s going to stay there. You’d never believe it, but he says he’s going into private business.”

  “Cap as a P.I.?” Shana sounded as surprised as he felt.

  Ronnie nodded.

&nbs
p; Sassy said, “He said he’d help me. Let me apprentice with him when I’m ready. I know you have mixed feelings about Cap…”

  “No. We’re fine,” Dane said. “Not best friends. Not enemies.” He felt the truth of that sink in, wished it were different, wished for his best friend. But when he met Shana’s brilliant green gaze, whatever disturbance had been there vanished. She was his best friend. Would be forever.

  “Maybe someday it’ll be different,” she said, her words soft, close to his ear as she leaned in, reading his mind.

  “Everything is different. Starting now.”

  CHAPTER 1

  A YEAR LATER

  Dane had no idea what was bothering him. His state of mind should be nothing but uninterrupted bliss. But lately there were cracks in the blissfulness of his life. And he wasn’t counting crying babies or the impending holiday season with the incessant barrage of tinsel, lights and Santa commercials everywhere.

  “Are you packed?” Shana called from the twins’ room At least that’s where he assumed she was, where she always was except when she was in their bed with him. Odd that even the fear of making more babies didn’t stop them from… never mind.

  “I always have my go-bag ready.” He walked in the direction of her voice and met her in the hallway, taking one baby from her arms.

  He took Katy from her and left Colt in his mother’s possessive arms. There was no doubt that the twins had their parents wrapped around their pinkies with heart strings. The thing was, Dane couldn’t work up any concern over it. Spoiling his twins with attention was what he did now, his new identity.

  “Are we sure we want to do this?” he asked Shana.

  “Too late to change plans now. Ronnie and Sassy would be so disappointed and I care about them.” She looked at Dane and he stared back, wondering if she could read his mind. So he didn’t say anything, waiting for her to take a guess.

  “You don’t want to see the old beach shack, do you?”

  “No, I don’t.” He heaved a sigh. “Which is stupid because it’s not the same place it used to be.” Since when had he turned into an irrational emotional wreck? He smiled and pulled Shana close, or as close as he could with two babies between them. Which turned out to be satisfyingly close.

  “The beach shack is gone and Martha’s Vineyard is no longer our home, Dane. We have a new home now.”

  “A new life. Better than the old one.” In the Berkshires in the home he’d originally bought for his mother. He paused and his chest tightened. “But I left a big chunk of me behind with the old life on Martha’s Vineyard.”

  “You mean a big chunk of you—and me both—got blown up with the beach shack. Now suck it up because we’re returning as tourists to visit with old friends. No intrigue. No guns. No bad guys.” She paused as Colt put a finger in her mouth and she kissed it, then she whispered, “Most importantly, no danger.”

  Dane tugged her hair, making Katy and Colt laugh, and he brought her mouth to his, mostly for a kiss, but partly to shut her up because his heart pounded unreasonably. And not for the usual reasons when he was in her presence.

  This heart-pounding was a warning. There was no sense to it, nothing to explain it, no reason for the adrenaline-fueled rush that normally signaled impending danger. So he silenced the alarms of his formally infallible survival instincts and lost himself in Shana’s kiss.

  But the real exploding star of this gathering, and possibly the reason for his disquiet, would be Cap, aka Captain Colin Lynch, best friend, almost brother turned nemesis, turned stranger.

  They hadn’t seen Cap since they left the island almost over a year ago. Returning would be strange mostly because he would not be there, because if he was there, he was no longer Cap, no longer a Captain with the state police or in charge of all things law enforcement on Martha’s Vineyard. Why this fact should disquiet him so, he refused to examine.

  Shana broke off the kiss.

  “You ready for Christmas pie?” Shana smiled and his world brightened, his shoulders unbunched a few degrees and he leaned in for one more deep breath filled with her scent. She was his balm for everything that ailed him, body and soul.

  “I’m ready for a lot of things.” He wiggled his brows. She laughed, snuggled Colt closer and kissed the baby’s head.

  “You’re going to spoil him,” he said, trying not to grin.

  “Says the gold medalist in baby spoiling.” She pushed past him and went down the stairs.

  “I didn’t say it was a bad thing,” he said, following her, marveling at her sexy rear and how perfect it still was after delivering twins a mere year and a couple of months ago. “Let’s go show them what spoiling babies is all about, Katy. You and me.” He snuggled her close and buzzed her cheek, making her laugh and the sound lifted his soul all the way to the heavens. Making his babies laugh was his absolute favorite pastime in the world.

  Far better than cuffing a bad guy and that used to give him a pretty good high back in the day.

  He and Shana finally got all their things packed and out of the house for their two-day trip. They planned to be back Christmas eve to spend a quiet night and Christmas day together. While they were on island, they would be staying with Ronnie and Sassy at the site of their old beach shack in the newly rebuilt house. The only thing left of their shack had been the foundation, but they’d kept it.

  The Gables were hosting a big holiday party that night and Sassy told Dane that he and Shana were the guests of honor, as if he didn’t know. But Bill and Laura Gable had been on the phone following up their formal invitation to make sure they would be there.

  Acer was coming in from Italy and Peter John Douglas, now a Senator, would be dropping in by helicopter. Assorted people from the island and others like his old friend Anatoly Ivanov would be there.

  They drove to Woods Hole on the cape to take the ferry to Martha’s Vineyard and took the shiny new Jeep Rubicon onto the island. The sea air brought the babies to life after their nap, but then the boat put them to back to sleep with the hum of the engine and gentle roll of the waves When they docked in Vineyard Haven forty-five minutes later, Dane drove off the ferry and even though this wasn’t the same old Jeep, it seemed to know the way to the old beach shack.

  Except when they pulled into the crushed shell driveway of Ronnie and Sassy’s new beach shack, even though he’d known in his mind, it hit Dane in the solar plexus that this was not home anymore, not his old beach shack. That place would only live in his memory. The current house was new and bigger, and most notoriously not Dane-like because it was decked out with an outrageous amount of holiday frivolity.

  Lights flashed off and on from every corner along the roof line at the corners of the house, around the windows and even the back door where he was headed with Katy coming to life in his arms.

  “Wow,” Shana said. “I love this. Look at the reindeer in each window and Santa on the roof near the chimney.” She pointed and Dane looked up.

  Sure enough, Santa was about to jump down the chimney with his sack and it would almost be believable except the chimney was dressed out with even more lights and fake snow. He shook his head.

  “I suppose if I tell you what I really think of the decorations you’ll label me a scrooge.”

  “You don’t have a problem with that, do you?” Shana joined him at the door holding Colt and kissed Dane’s cheek.

  “Is this what we’re reduced to? Cheek-kissing? Are we that old married couple after only a year?”

  “That depends on your attitude, Mr. Scrooge. If you’re grumpy about Christmas, then you should own it. Make it fun for the rest of us to tease you.” She smiled and he could swear there was a twinkle in her eye. If he didn’t watch out he might forget how much he disliked Christmas.

  That would be a miracle if he, the Scrooge of the century, were to be transformed this Christmas, like Scrooge himself. But gazing at the bundle of warm baby in his arms, he knew if anything could turn him, it would be the magic of these two babies and wanting everything to be perfect for them.