Beachcomber Christmas Miracle
Beachcomber Investigations Novella – Book 12.5
By Stephanie Queen
Sample Chapter
Prologue
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!”
