A Seaside Christmas

“Jenny Louise Collins!” Sally said, a smile spreading across her face. “It’s been way too long since we’ve laid eyes on you in this town. Welcome home!”

“Thanks, Sally. This place hasn’t changed a bit.”

Sally glanced around at the worn, but comfortably familiar decor and shook her head. “It could use a good sprucing up, if you ask me, but every time I mention making a few changes, the customers carry on as if they’re afraid I’ll turn it into some highfalutin gourmet restaurant and raise my prices.”

“It’s reassuring to know that it’s just the same,” Jenny admitted. “Any chocolate croissants left? I know it’s late in the day.”

“I must have had some idea you’d be home today. I held one back just in case someone special came in.”

Jenny didn’t believe her for a minute, or at least not that she’d been the someone Sally had been expecting. Still, she was grateful for the sentiment. The prospect of the treat had her mouth watering. “I’ll take it, and a cup of coffee. It’s colder out there than I was expecting. It almost feels like snow in the air.”

“That’s what I was thinking, too, but there’s none in the forecast. Hard to believe we actually had a warm spell just a week ago. It was sixty on Thanksgiving. Didn’t feel much like winter coming on then.”

Jenny smiled, remembering how many times she’d heard similar comments over the years. Once the calendar flipped over to November and all the leaves were on the ground, it seemed everyone in Chesapeake Shores started watching the skies and hoping for snow. Sadly, though, white Christmases were few and far between. That made the ones that did come along that much more magical.

“Let me grab that coffee and croissant for you,” Sally said, hurrying off to fill the order.

She’d just returned when Jess O’Brien came in on a blast of frigid air, shrugged out of her coat and slid into the booth opposite Jenny without waiting for an invitation.

“I heard you were back,” Jess said, reaching across the table to give Jenny’s hand a squeeze. “I stopped by the theater, but Bree said you’d taken off. Since your car was still in the lot, I thought I might find you inside someplace getting warm.”

“I had a sudden craving for one of Sally’s chocolate croissants,” Jenny admitted.

Jess, who was Bree’s younger sister and the owner of the Inn at Eagle Point, regarded the croissant enviously. “Any more?” she asked Sally hopefully.

“No chocolate, but there is one raspberry croissant left.”

“I’ll take it, and a coffee, too,” Jess said eagerly.

“How’d you know I was back?” Jenny asked.

Jess laughed. “It’s Chesapeake Shores and the O’Brien grapevine is a thing of wonder. I doubt you’d crossed the city limits when word started spreading.”

Jenny wasn’t entirely sure she believed her. Oh, she knew gossip spread quickly here, but she also knew how clever O’Briens were about recruiting help with their missions. She suspected her relationship with her family was high on everyone’s to-do list at the moment.

“I spoke to Dad a little while ago,” Jess said, her tone a little too casual. “He’s rallying the troops for a welcome home dinner for you on Sunday at his place.”

Sunday dinners at Mick’s were an O’Brien tradition, one Nell had insisted on. They’d been initiated to get her three sons—Mick, Thomas and Jeff—and their families under one roof in an attempt to mend fences after they’d battled over the development of the town. More recently, they’d simply been occasions for huge, rambunctious gatherings that had always made Jenny feel like an envious outsider on the rare occasions when she’d gone with her mom.

If this one was being held in her honor, Jenny had a hunch it was Mick’s way of trying to bring her face-to-face with her mother and Thomas in a friendly setting.

“You’ve got that look on your face,” Jess said. “Like a deer in the headlights.”

“I’m not ready for a big O’Brien family gathering,” Jenny told her frankly.

“Hey, I get that,” Jess said sympathetically. “Sometimes my family is a little overwhelming even for me. I even had the joy of undergoing an occasional so-called intervention. Those were fun.”

Jenny smiled. She could imagine it, all those O’Briens focused on making some point about the way one of them was behaving. “Heaven save me from that,” she said.

“I’d try, but I know Dad,” Jess said sympathetically. “This is going to happen sooner or later. You might as well get it over with. Just think of it this way. It’s a big house. There are lots of places to hide out and still be on the premises.”

Jenny laughed despite herself. “Voice of experience?”

“You bet. I can give you some tips. In fact, I might hide out with you. Everyone’s bugging Will and me about when we’re going to have a baby. Wouldn’t you think there are enough O’Briens in this town without the whole family being so blasted eager for another one?”

“You and Will don’t want to have kids?” Jenny asked, surprised.

“Sure we do,” Jess said a little too quickly.

Jenny frowned. “That didn’t sound convincing.”

“Okay, Will’s eager. I’m terrified.”

“Why?”

“What if the baby has the same attention deficit disorder I have?”

“It’s not a fatal disease,” Jenny said, not entirely understanding. Though she knew Jess had struggled with her ADD, she seemed in command of her life these days.

“No, but I’ve dealt with it my whole life,” Jess replied. “No question it shaped who I am, and not always for the better.”

“Then you’d be quick to recognize the signs and to get your child any help he or she needs,” Jenny told her. “Plus Will’s a shrink. He’d be able to help, too. Are you sure there’s not some other reason you’re hesitant?” As soon as the question was out of her mouth, she winced. “Sorry. None of my business.”

“No, it’s okay. I made it your business by bringing it up. I guess it’s just on my mind so much lately it popped out.” Jess sighed. “And you’re right. Maybe I am worried about whether I’ve got the skills to be a good mother. Even with all the systems I have in place for myself, I can still be pretty scattered from time to time.”

“You’re forgetting that I’ve seen you with your nieces and nephews,” Jenny said. “You’d be an incredible mother, Jess. I don’t think you need to worry about that.”

“Thanks for saying that.”

“I mean it.”

Jess tore off a piece of croissant and chewed slowly, then closed her eyes. “These are so good. They practically melt in your mouth.”

“It’s all the butter,” Jenny said.

“I’d give anything to have them on the menu at the inn, but Sally won’t part with even a dozen of them. She says they’re her claim to fame, the one thing she learned to make at some expensive cooking class she took in Paris years ago. She says the inn has its own culinary reputation without stealing hers.”

“She has a point.”

“I know, but it’s frustrating just the same.” Jess finished off the last bite of her croissant, then stood up and tugged on her coat. “So, you’ll be there on Sunday, right?”

“Are you assigned to report back to your father?” Jenny asked, amused despite the beginnings of a stress headache starting to throb at the back of her head.

“Something like that. I’m sure others have a similar assignment, but I got to you first,” she said triumphantly. “Yea, me!”

“Has anyone mentioned that the O’Brien competitiveness takes a backseat only to their meddling?”

“On several occasions,” Jess said, then leaned down to give her a hug. “It’s good to have you home, Jenny.”