Cedar Cove Collection. Debbie Macomber
the bedroom and sat on the edge of her bed. She needed a few minutes to absorb what she’d just learned. Her daughter was married. To Seth Gunderson. Oh, this was wonderful, wonderful news!
Her first instinct was to phone Stan, but she decided against it. Justine would tell her father, and he’d call once he’d heard. So, both of their children had chosen to marry without either parent there. She wondered if that meant anything.
She phoned Charlotte, who wasn’t home; she left a message, saying simply, “Call me when you get in.”
Then she returned to her needlepoint project. Feet propped up on the porch railing, she continued her stitching, grinning every now and then. Who would’ve believed Justine would do something so spontaneous?
When a battered blue Taurus parked in front of the house, she strained to see if it was who she thought. It was.
Jack climbed out of his vehicle and stood on the sidewalk, watching her nervously. Did he expect her to walk inside and bolt the door? Or to offer him an invitation? She did neither.
He walked to the bottom of the steps. “Hello, Olivia.”
“Beautiful afternoon, isn’t it?” She was cordial, but not excessively so.
“Very.”
“What can I do for you?” She didn’t think this was a social call.
“Do you mind if I sit down?”
“Go ahead.”
Since there was only the one chair, which she occupied, he climbed the stairs and sat on the top step. “Are you still angry with me about that dinner date?”
Men! He seemed incapable of understanding a concept like mutual trust and respect. “No.” A one-word reply should satisfy him, without leading into a dead-end conversation.
“But you’re still unwilling to go out with me?”
“I don’t know,” she answered honestly. She hated to admit how much she missed his company. Maybe she’d been expecting too much, but she couldn’t tolerate the fact that he’d created secrets between them.
“That’s what I thought.” He looked out over the Cove, its sparkling, distant water tinged by the pink of a slowly setting sun.
“I moved to Cedar Cove to start a new life,” Jack told her. “But the past has a way of catching up with people, doesn’t it?”
Olivia nodded; she saw the evidence of that every day.
“Bob’s advice is that I simply tell you—that I should have months ago. But I was afraid if you knew, you wouldn’t want anything more to do with me.”
“More secrets, Jack?”
“No, just the reason I couldn’t go to dinner with you.”
“It isn’t necessary, Jack.” He’d made his decision and so had she, although she had to confess to being curious.
“I think it is,” he countered. “If you and I are to continue, at any rate, and I want that very much.”
“I have this thing about secrets. I detest them.” She realized that a lot of her feelings were tied to her long-dead marriage. Stan had been unfaithful before the divorce, if not physically then emotionally. After the crisis of Jordan’s death, it’d been another woman who’d helped Stan deal with the loss. Another woman he’d confided in.
“I’m a recovering alcoholic, Olivia.”
“But…” She paused, certain she’d recently seen him with a drink in his hand. No, she thought. That was at Willcox House, and he’d had sparkling water while she’d had wine. He’d said it was because he had to drive….
“The reason I couldn’t go to dinner with you was because I had an AA meeting to attend. I have ten years of sobriety. It’s been ten long years but not a day goes by that I don’t think about booze. I’m one beer away from destroying everything.”
It took a lot of courage to tell the truth. Olivia rose from her rocking chair and sat on the porch step beside Jack and reached for his hand.
He wrapped his fingers around hers. “I’ve stood before a lot of judges in my time, but I’ve never dated one,” he said. “The truth is, I wasn’t sure how you’d feel about seeing me once you knew.”
“Actually, it explains a great deal.”
“How so?” he asked.
“Well…I figured there had to be a logical explanation for why you don’t like Barry Manilow.”
Jack chuckled. “Are you saying only a drunk wouldn’t appreciate him?”
Olivia threw back her head and laughed.
“My mind was pickled for twenty years, but thankfully I’ve managed to keep my sense of humor.”
“Good thing. You’re going to need it living here in Cedar Cove.”
Jack raised her hand to his lips. “Friends?”
“The very best kind.”
“Lovers?”
“Don’t press your luck.”
He sighed. “I’m free tonight for that dinner, if you’re so inclined.”
“As it happens, I do have a reason to celebrate. I’ll tell you about it later.”
“What’s wrong with now?”
“I don’t want to disturb the sunset. Oh, Jack, isn’t it beautiful?”
“It is,” he whispered, slipping his arm around her, bringing her close to his side.
As the sun set over Cedar Cove, Olivia rested her head on Jack’s shoulder. This had been a good summer. Both her children were married now, and James was a father. Justine sounded genuinely happy. Her mother’s health continued to be good. Her dearest friend had suffered a blow, but Grace had accepted what she couldn’t change; she was refashioning her life, and Olivia was proud of her.
And Olivia herself… Olivia was with Jack, and their relationship was secure. She didn’t know what the future held for them, but she couldn’t help feeling it was positive.
The sun sank below the Olympic Mountains. Its deep pink glow fell across the water and spilled onto 16 Lighthouse Road. It crept through the town of Cedar Cove and gently touched the house at 204 Rosewood Lane. Grace Sherman looked out her window and smiled.
Make time for friends. Make time for Debbie Macomber.
CEDAR COVE 16 LIGHTHOUSE ROAD 204 ROSEWOOD AVENUE 311 PELICAN COURT
BLOSSOM STREET THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET A GOOD YARN OLD BOYFRIENDS WEDNESDAYS AT FOUR TWENTY WISHES
THURSDAYS AT EIGHT
Dear Friends,
Welcome back to Cedar Cove! Olivia, Grace, Charlotte, Jack, Justine and Seth are eager to continue their stories – and introduce you to a few other residents. Like small towns everywhere, Cedar Cove is a mixture of the good, the bad and the unexpected. That’s my way of telling you that a few surprises await you in this story. Yes, you’re finally going to discover what happened to Dan. and the Beldons will have a most unusual guest in their bed-and-breakfast…
My hope, as always, is that you’ll feel right at home in Cedar Cove – whether you begin the series with the first or the fifteenth book. Note that you’ll always be able to tell where the book appears in the Cedar Cove series by the address. Just look at the first number in the address. (for instance, 204 Rosewood Lane is the second book.)
If you’re wondering if there really could be a town like this, let me