Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series, Volume 3 (130 page)

“So it's serious? Between you and him?”

“We have a lot in common,” she said, well aware that she hadn't
really answered the question.

Ted's driveway came into view, and she signaled, then drove
down the long gravel road that led to his home and his veterinary clinic.

Ted was in the yard clearing snow. When he saw her car, he
smiled and waved, then leaned his shovel against a tree.

Beth parked and turned off the engine, slipping out of the
car.

Walking over to meet her, Ted grinned from ear to ear. “Good to
see you, Beth,” he said. He didn't kiss her, no doubt because he'd noticed there
was a man with her.

Beth tried to see the veterinarian as Kent might. Ted was a few
years older, a big man with large, strong hands and an easy smile. He had a
receding hairline, visible despite his wool hat. His gentle nature comforted
animals—and people.

“Kent Morehouse,” Kent said, stepping forward, his hand
extended.

Ted pulled off his glove to shake hands but his gaze
immediately shot to Beth.

“Kent is my ex-husband. He's here to spend Christmas with the
girls,” Beth said, feeling uncomfortable saying anything more.

“Oh, yes. You mentioned that Kent was planning to visit,” Ted
commented.

“I was just driving to the Hardings' to drop off a puppy when I
recalled that you were coming over today,” she said quickly.

“Well, seeing that you've got visitors, perhaps I
shouldn't—”

“No, please, I want you to,” Beth said, eager to reassure him.
“In fact, I was hoping you'd stay for dinner.”

“Dinner?” Kent repeated, frowning.

“Yes, dinner,” she said pointedly. “I'm making lasagna. A
family recipe.”

“My grandmother was Italian,” Kent added in a meaningful voice,
essentially explaining that this was
his
family's
recipe.

“Kent's, uh, friend is with the girls, preparing a Caesar salad
and garlic bread.”

“That sounds wonderful.”

“It will be,” Beth said. “
Please
say you'll join us.”

Ignoring Kent, Ted stared at her for a long moment. “You're
sure?”

“I'm positive.”

Ted nodded decisively. “Then I accept. Thank you. What time
would you like me there?”

Beth was about to suggest as soon as possible, but before she
could, Kent spoke.

“I believe Beth mentioned something about dinner being ready
around five.”

“Yes, five. We're eating early so we won't be late for church,”
she murmured.

“Can I bring anything? Wine? Dessert?”

“I've got everything covered, but thanks.” She wanted to visit
longer, but Kent had already walked back to the car and stood with the door
open, waiting for her.

“I'll see you soon,” Ted promised. “And I've got a couple
bottles of a nice red. To go with the lasagna.”

“Thank you,” she whispered, and hoped Ted understood how much
she appreciated his willingness to show, once again, what a good friend he was.
As good a friend as Danielle.…

Twelve

J
ustine Gunderson busied herself in the
kitchen, enjoying an afternoon free from the responsibility of managing the
Victorian Tea Room. She'd given the staff an extra day off so they could
celebrate Christmas Eve with their own families.

The holiday season at the tearoom had been hectic, with a
number of special high teas. Her favorite had been Tea with Santa. The children
had been so excited, and Santa, a theater friend of Bob Beldon's, had played the
role with verve and charm.

In a few years Livvy would be able to go, but for now the
toddler, at nearly eighteen months, was too young for Santa in his frightening
red suit.

The back door opened, and her husband entered the house. Seth
was a blond Swede who towered well over six feet. Just seeing him made Justine's
heart react with a surge of love. She'd never expected to marry, let alone have
a family of her own. In fact, she'd gone out of her way to avoid serious
relationships…until she'd worked on her ten-year high school reunion. That was
when she'd run into Seth Gunderson, who was also on the reunion committee.

She'd known Seth nearly her entire life. He'd been her twin
brother's best friend. As irrational as it sounded, after the accident that
claimed Jordan's life, Justine had wanted to blame Seth. If he'd been with her
brother at the lake that day, Jordan might not have died. Seth would have
noticed that her brother hadn't surfaced after diving off the floating dock. He
would've gone after him. If only Seth had been there.…

But he hadn't. It'd been Justine who'd held her brother's
lifeless body on the dock until the paramedics showed up.

That fateful summer afternoon had forever changed her
world.

Seth smiled at her as he stripped off his coat.

She smiled back and felt, as she so often had in the past, that
Jordan would have approved of her marrying Seth Gunderson. Through the years, at
various times, Justine had sensed her twin's presence. During those
indescribable moments of connection, she hadn't felt the horrific loss of her
brother; instead, she'd felt his blessing. Jordan seemed to be standing right
beside her, smiling and happy, teasing her the way he'd once done, full of life
and boyish humor.

The first time it'd happened was shortly after she'd given
birth to Leif. Still in the hospital, exhausted and woozy from the drugs, she'd
closed her eyes. Suddenly, Jordan was there before her, and he wore the biggest,
goofiest grin she'd ever seen. He was telling her how happy he was for her and
Seth; she was sure of it. She could almost hear him saying how excited he was
that they'd decided to name their son after him: Leif Jordan Gunderson.

“Daddy, Daddy.” Leif shot across the room, dropping his
handheld computer game on the way, with Penny barking at his heels. “Santa's
coming tonight!”

“He sure is.” Lifting the boy high above his head, Seth nuzzled
Leif's tummy while the little boy squealed in delight.

Hearing her brother, Livvy toddled out, clutching her teddy
bear under her left arm, pressing its face against her side. Livvy and that
silly bear were inseparable. She'd be getting her first doll from Santa this
Christmas. Justine sincerely hoped Livvy would enjoy the doll as much as she did
her teddy bear.

“How's my girl?” Seth asked, setting Leif down and reaching for
his daughter. He planted a noisy kiss on her cheek. She, too, squealed with
delight.

“Hey, don't I get one of those kisses?” Justine teased.

“You bet.” He came to her in the kitchen and slipped his arms
around her from behind, planting his hands over her still-flat stomach. “How
long have you been working in here?”

“A while.” The family cookbook her grandmother, Charlotte
Jefferson Rhodes, had compiled, lay open in front of her. Various ingredients,
organized according to the recipes, were spread along the counter.

“Seems to me you were in the kitchen when I left for work this
morning. Are you sure you're up to this?”

“Stop worrying, okay?” Hosting the family for Christmas Eve
dinner required a lot of extra preparation, but Justine never turned away from a
challenge.

“Did you bake those homemade rolls I like so much?” Seth asked,
eyeing the covered breadbasket.

“I did that first thing this morning.”

Seth grinned. “I hope you doubled the batch.”

“I did.”

“That's my girl.”

Justine reached up and kissed him. “I promise you can have as
many as you want.”

“How are you feeling?” Seth asked.

“I feel wonderful. I always do when I'm pregnant.”

Seth closed his eyes. “I don't know how we let this happen,” he
said as he feathered kisses down the side of her neck.

Justine giggled and put her arms around her husband's neck.
“You'd think by now we'd know how babies are made.”

“If it was up to you, we'd live in a shoe and have a dozen
children.”

“Three suits me just fine,” she assured him, although she'd be
the first to admit she loved being a mother. She could hardly believe that at
one time she'd been willing to give all of this up without even knowing what
she'd be missing.

The pregnancy would be this year's Christmas surprise for her
family. Keeping it secret had been far more difficult than she'd expected. At
least a dozen times she'd been tempted to tell her mother and her grandmother.
Both would be thrilled.

“Can I help with anything?” Seth asked.

“You could check Livvy's diaper,” she said.

Seth swept his daughter into his arms and carried her to her
room. When he returned a few minutes later, Livvy's head lolled against his
shoulder.

“Did you have a chance to get the mail?” he asked.

“Not yet.”

“I'll do it.” Seth set Livvy down on the carpet. She leaned her
head against the sofa cushion. She'd woken late that morning and hadn't been
interested in a nap. Now her eyes drooped as her thumb found its way into her
mouth.

Justine had sucked her thumb, too; so had Jordan. After washing
her hands, Justine picked up her sweet baby girl and brought her back to her
crib. She gently placed her inside and covered her with the blanket Charlotte
had knit for her.

Seth came into their daughter's bedroom as she sat beside the
crib, watching Livvy's deep, even breaths.

He stood beside her. “It's difficult to fathom how much love we
can have for children, isn't it?” he whispered.

“Impossible to believe until we become parents ourselves,” she
whispered back.

They left the bedroom and Seth closed the door.

“Anything interesting in the mail?” Justine asked as he sat
down, flipping through the envelopes. She poured her husband a cup of tea and
joined him at the kitchen table.

“The usual Christmas cards—and one rather interesting
letter.”

“Oh? Who from?”

Seth leafed through the holiday cards until he came across a
plain, business-size white envelope. He glanced at it again, then handed it to
her.

Justine saw that the envelope held her name—and only hers. The
return address made her catch her breath. After taking a moment to compose
herself, she raised her eyes to meet Seth's. “It's stamped prison mail. The
postmark is Shelton, Washington—that's where the state prison is. One of them,
anyway.”

“I noticed that, too.”

“There's only one person who could be writing me from there.”
The paper seemed to grow hot in her hands.

“Warren Saget,” Seth muttered.

Justine dropped the letter on the table and avoided looking at
it.

“Aren't you going to open it?” her husband asked.

“I…I don't know.” She'd once had a deep affection for Warren, a
successful local builder, although he was old enough to be her father. They'd
dated for a while. He'd liked having a tall, beautiful woman on his arm, and
she'd liked the fact that he was rich and powerful and made no physical demands
on her.

He couldn't. That was their little secret. With Warren she was
safe from emotional—and physical—entanglements. Safe, until she'd agreed to work
on the class reunion project and Seth had shown up. Justine hadn't wanted to
become involved with Seth, yet he was all she thought about. Warren had offered
her a huge diamond engagement ring. He was willing to do anything not to lose
her. But even that diamond hadn't enticed her. All she wanted, all she
needed,
was Seth.

“I wonder if Warren has any idea of everything he did for us,”
Seth commented.

Her husband's words jarred Justine from her reverie. “You mean
what he did
to
us, don't you?” Warren had tried to
destroy them.

“But in the end that's what saved our marriage.”

“You're right,” she said slowly. “Ironic, isn't it?”

“We were killing ourselves with the restaurant, working all
hours of the day and night....”

“You don't need to remind me,” Justine said, shaking her head
at the memory. It'd been a difficult period in their marriage. They'd been
working impossibly long hours with no time as a couple or a family.

The restaurant had been Seth's dream. For nearly ten years he'd
saved his money from fishing the crab-rich Alaskan waters. He'd lived on a
sailboat in the marina while in town, and spent every waking moment studying
restaurant management. He'd dreamed of one day opening an elegant seafood
restaurant in Cedar Cove. Together they'd made his dream come true, and the
Lighthouse had been the success he'd always planned.

But Seth had worked far too hard. Justine shared his dream, and
they'd redoubled their efforts until it all became too much. By then Leif had
been born, which meant Justine was torn between being with her son and working
at the restaurant.

Their marriage had started to show the stress of too many
demands and too few hours. For the first time Seth and Justine had been at
odds.

Then, one night, the restaurant had burned down. All their
dreams, all their hard work, their blood, sweat and tears, had gone up in
smoke.

Even now, memories of that night were surreal. After being
contacted by the authorities, they'd rushed to the scene and walked around in a
stupor, shocked and bereft. It wasn't long before the fire inspector declared
it'd been arson.

Someone had purposely set their restaurant on fire. The police
had what they called “a person of interest,” a high school kid who'd worked
there briefly before Seth let him go. Anson Butler had a history of being in
trouble and had started fires when he was younger. Someone had seen him inside
the restaurant that night. Then Anson disappeared.… Meanwhile, Justine and Seth
were left to pick up the charred remains of their life. The stress on their
marriage brought them close to the breaking point.