Page 13 of Christmas By The Shore

“Okay. I get that. How about five?”

“Six.”

“On weekdays,” McKenzie said. “But no working on the actual holidays, and I’ll give you three hours Saturday and Sunday each.”

Cat did some mental math and realized that this equaled thirty-six hours on the weeks that didn’t have any major holidays breaking them up. It was a lot less than the fifty or so hours she was used to clocking in each week, but she was pretty sure she could get everything done in that time. Mrs. Kendall was going to be out of the office for all of December anyway, and people had naturally been winding down a lot of the work as it got closer to the end of the year.

“I can do that,” she said eventually. “But there’s one more thing I need you to agree on if I’m going to say yes and go with you to Cape May.”

“Anything.”

“Youhaveto finish your book.”

McKenzie’s eyes widened. “You want me tofinishit?”

“At least draft one.”

“But—that’s crazy. I have at least another forty thousand words, maybe more!”

“I know,” Cat said. “But we are going to be in a quiet town, relaxing in a beautiful beach house, with few interruptions and even less worries, so what better place to crank out the rest of your book, huh? Back in the day, you used to average five thousand words a day. At that rate, you could be done in two weeks!”

“I’m not in the right headspace to be writing that much.”

“Promise me you’ll at least try,” Cat pleaded. “It would take a huge weight off my shoulders. Besides, what else are you going to do in the house during the hours that I’m working? I get that Cape May is cute, and there will be holiday cheer in droves, but it’s not busy enough to keep you occupied for six weeks straight.” She smiled. “Honestly, I think you’ll find it really helpful for your writer’s block.”

McKenzie breathed in deeply, but her sigh was shallow when she exhaled, like she knew this was very much a fair trade. “Okay, fine. I will finish the first draft. Happy now?”

“I’d say content, but maybe not happy. I’m still not thrilled about how you are going about all of this.”

“But you’re going to come with me to go pack, right?”

“Yes.” Catherine got up. “I’m coming with you to pack. We can take my car, but you’re driving the whole way. I will be using my phone as a hotspot so that I can get in my designated six hours on the road.”

McKenzie shook her head. “You’re impossible.”

“I’m just holding you to your end of the bargain,” Catherine said, trying to make her voice sound innocent and cheery, even as the stress of walking away from her desk was settling in. She couldn’t believe she was doing this.

“Well, hurry up then,” McKenzie said, waving over her shoulder. “We’re going to hit traffic if we don’t get on the freeway soon.”

7

“Crap. The tank is almost empty. We better stop.”

“Already?” Cat leaned over to get a better look at the dash. “How can it already be empty? I just filled up the car last week!” When McKenzie didn’t say anything for a few seconds, Catherine gave her a look. “Kenz, why is the tank empty when I just filled it up five days ago?”

“Right… um… about that. Do you remember when you let me borrow the car on Sunday to run some errands?”

“Yeah…”

“Well… let’s just say I didn’t exactly stay within state lines.”

“Kenz!”

“I’m sorry,” she said, pulling into a gas station only half a mile outside the city. They’d only been on the road for about fifteen minutes. “A lot of stuff is just cheaper in New Hampshire than it is in Massachusetts. Sometimes it’s worth it to drive the extra miles in order to get discounts. But don’t worry, I’ll fill up the tank this time.”

“You better.”

“Will you go in and get us some snacks?” she asked. “I am going to need a soda and something to munch. Salty, not sweet.”

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