Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series, Volume 3 (138 page)

The girls sent each other a triumphant smile, as if they were
personally responsible for this turn of events.

Kent continued to hold Beth's look.

She bit her lip and started down the remaining steps.

“Problem is,” he told his daughters, “I don't know how your
mother feels about me. It's been three years.”

“Mom's crazy about you,” Bailey said.

“Of
course
Mom loves you,” Sophie
added her voice to her sister's. “She'd be a fool not to.”

“What about Ted Reynolds?” Kent asked.

“What about him?” Bailey returned. “Mom loves you, not
Ted.”

“I'd rather have your mother tell me so herself.” Kent stood
with one foot braced against the bottom step. He stretched out his arm to
Beth.

She placed her hand in his. “Oh, Kent, I've never stopped
loving you. I never will.”

He grabbed her by the waist and lifted her down the last two
stairs, setting her feet on the ground.

As Beth slipped her arms around his neck, she buried her face
in his shoulder. “We've both been so foolish.”

He kissed her again and then again, as if he couldn't get
enough of her.

Cradling his face with her hands, Beth gazed into his eyes,
aware of their daughters grinning from the sidelines.

“These girls have a lot of 'splainin' to do,” Kent said in a
stage whisper.

“It was Bailey's idea,” Sophie maintained.

“Both of you were being ridiculous about this stupid divorce,”
Bailey said quickly. “We felt we had to do
something.” She obviously intended to share the blame—or the praise.

“So you conspired to bring us together,” Kent muttered.

“You aren't mad, are you?” Bailey asked, moving closer to her
sister.

Kent brought his attention back to Beth and kissed the tip of
her nose. “Are
you
upset?” he asked.

With her husband's arms around her and the Christmas tree
lights shining in the background, Beth had to admit she wasn't. “Not in the
least. Actually, I think it was a brilliant idea.”

“Okay, if you must know,” Sophie said, “I did help Bailey a
little.”

“Isn't this the best Christmas ever?” Bailey exclaimed, hugging
her sister. “And we haven't even opened our gifts yet.”

Beth had to agree. This was the best Christmas of her life.

Epilogue

Valentine's Day

“T
his is so romantic,” Bailey said to her
sister. “I'm so happy, I want to cry.” They left the kitchen, ready to set out
the plates and forks to serve cake to their parents' guests.

“We did it,” Sophie said, almost giddy with happiness. “I don't
know
how,
but it worked. Mom and Dad are back
together.”

“Just like they were meant to be.”

Their parents were remarried and their dad was now living at
1225 Christmas Tree Lane, where he planned to take on the business aspects of
the farm.

Beth came down the stairs and into the living room, with Kent
directly behind her. “Oh, girls, the table looks lovely.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

The coffee- and teapots were filled and the cake sliced. This
wasn't a wedding reception, Beth had explained to her daughters. It was an
opportunity to introduce Kent to her friends and neighbors in Cedar Cove.

Bailey thought her father had never looked handsomer or her
mother more beautiful. They were constantly together now. It had started while
they were all in Whistler during Christmas break. Bailey couldn't remember a
time they'd had more fun as a family. After their short vacation, Kent had
returned to California. Before he could move north to Washington State, he
needed to make some decisions and changes.

Within six weeks he'd sold his engineering company to his
partner, packed up his house and found responsible tenants. In between all those
negotiations and all that packing, Kent flew up to Cedar Cove practically every
weekend to be with their mother. It was the most romantic thing.

They'd remarried in a private ceremony on January
twenty-eighth. Only the girls and Kent's brother Michael, who'd come in from
California to act as best man, had been in attendance. Afterward, their parents
had sent out announcements to family and friends. From the comments Bailey
heard, everyone seemed to think this remarriage was wonderful. To Bailey and
Sophie it was just plain…right.

“We have our first guests,” Sophie called out, standing by the
living room window. “It's Grace, the lady who has Beau.”

“Grace Harding,” Beth said. “And her husband, Cliff.” She
headed for the door.

“There are four of them,” Sophie added.

“The other two are Olivia and Jack Griffin.”

Their mother ushered their guests in out of the rain. Grace and
Olivia stepped inside the house and were warmly greeted by Beth and Kent.

“I think we might have met earlier,” Kent said, shaking hands
with the two men. “Didn't I see you at the Christmas Eve service?”

Both men nodded.

“Would you like some coffee and cake?” Bailey asked
politely.

“Sure! Thanks.” The two men eagerly accepted her offer while
the women raised their hands to decline. “We're driving to Seattle for a
Valentine's treat,” Grace said. “I'm saving my calories for that.”

“Me, too,” Olivia chimed in. “By the way,” she told Beth, “my
mother sent you a small gift. The ladies in her knitting group made you several
cotton dishrags. Not very romantic, perhaps, but Mom says everyone can use
extras.”

Beth took the package gratefully. “Charlotte is always so
thoughtful.”

“Oh, Ben and Mom both send their very best wishes. She wanted
me to tell you that bringing the dogs to Sanford Suites has been a real blessing
to everyone. They all just love working with those dogs.”

“It's a help to me, too.”

Bailey smiled. Apparently, her mother was using the senior
citizens to help her with dog training. Beth claimed this provided two benefits
in one: not only did the older people get a form of therapy spending time with
the dogs, they also got a sense of purpose from it. The Reading with Rover
program at the library was another of her successes.

Beth slipped an arm around Kent's waist. “I have to admit that
getting those dogs to Sanford Suites can be a bit of an ordeal.”

“You won't need to do it alone anymore,” Kent told her and,
leaning over, gave her a quick kiss.

Seeing her parents like this, so openly in love, Bailey almost
forgot her job.

“Since Olivia isn't having cake, you can give me a bigger
slice,” Jack whispered. Bailey threw him a conspirator's smile and willingly
complied.

“I heard that, Jack Griffin,” the judge said from the other
side of the room.

“How's Beau?” Sophie asked.

“I believe he's the smartest dog I've ever owned,” Grace said,
beaming with pride. She entertained them all for several minutes with stories of
the puppy's antics.

The sound of another car pulling into the driveway attracted
everyone's attention. “Oh, good,” Sophie said, peering out the window. “It's the
couple who owns the bed-and-breakfast where Dad stayed during Christmas,” she
announced. “Oh, and look! They brought their dog.”

“They named her Millie,” Beth said. “I've been doing dog
obedience classes with her and four of her siblings over the past two
months.”

Bob and Peggy Beldon sat down for cake and coffee just as the
Griffins and Hardings left. Millie lay contentedly at Peggy's feet.

Bailey hurried into the kitchen for a doggie treat, returning
just in time to hear Bob Beldon say to her father, “Welcome back to Cedar Cove.”
Bob dug into the white cake with raspberry filling.

“You'll never guess who we heard from,” Peggy said
conversationally and then, before anyone could guess, she answered her own
question. “Danielle!”

Bailey was all ears. Sophie, too. Her sister set down the
coffeepot and waited for the punch line.

“And?” Their dad frowned; clearly, Danielle wasn't a good
memory.

“She sent a check to pay for the damage she did and wrote a
letter of apology.”

“I'm glad she apologized,” Kent said. “She caused quite a
scene.”

“I'll say,” Bob muttered between bites of cake. “I've been in
theater for twenty years, and I've never seen more of a drama queen than that
woman.”

“But she had a broken heart,” Sophie said, looking at Bailey.
“Right?”

Her younger sister was far more charitable than Bailey was
inclined to be. She had a point, though. They could afford to be generous. Their
parents were together again, and, after all, Danielle's plan to make their
mother jealous had started out as a misguided favor to their dad.

“In my opinion, the sailor who dumped her made a lucky
escape.”

“Bob,” Peggy said pointedly. “Be kind.”

“Okay, okay. At least she was responsible enough to pay for the
damages and send us a note of apology.”

“I still feel bad about all of that,” Kent said. “I had no idea
she'd react the way she did.”

“It wasn't your fault,” Bob told him. “We appreciated your
offer to pay for the damages, but you weren't the one who created the mess. We
mailed Danielle a letter after the first of the year, and three weeks later the
check arrived.” They chatted for another twenty minutes, and then the Beldons
went home, with Millie heeling very nicely.

The Flemmings and their two sons stopped by next, passing the
Beldons in the driveway. The dogs were at home, but Matthew and Mark spoke
animatedly about their puppies whom they'd named Charlie and Sam. It was obvious
that the boys had taken very successfully to dog ownership. Bailey remembered
when she and Sophie had become dog owners for the first time. Watching the two
brothers reminded her of the summer their parents had allowed them each to
choose a puppy at the local animal shelter. Bailey got a beagle and Sophie had
an Australian shepherd. They'd named them Barney and Fi Fi, and those dogs had
been their companions for more than ten years.

Over the course of the next two hours, more people than Bailey
could keep track of came and went. Bruce and Rachel Peyton arrived with their
newborn daughter, Corinna. Jolene had gotten one of the puppies for Christmas,
too, and bragged equally about Corinna and Poppy, her dog.

Troy and Faith Davis came by for cake and to chat with their
parents. So did the McAfees, who were full of compliments about
their
puppy, Asta—as smart and charming as the dog in
those movies, Roy bragged. Everyone was so friendly. Bailey was in charge of
serving cake and Sophie busied herself with coffee and tea.

Soon after, Teri and Bobby Polgar, plus Christie and James
Wilbur—proud owners of Chessie—dropped over with a bottle of champagne. Then
Will Jefferson and Miranda Sullivan, sporting an engagement ring, brought
another
bottle.

By the end of the afternoon it seemed as if everyone their
mother knew in town had made the effort to welcome Kent to Cedar Cove.

Everyone, that is, except Ted Reynolds, the veterinarian.

Briefly, Bailey had wondered if her mother's friend would stop
by. No one said anything, but Sophie noticed and so did Bailey. That saddened
her a little because she knew that Ted and her mother were fond of each
other.

“Well, that looks like everyone,” Beth said, carrying the
leftover cake into the kitchen.

“You girls did a great job.”

“Wait!” Sophie cried out. “I see a car coming down the
driveway.”

“It's Ted,” Bailey said excitedly.

“Ted?” Beth pushed open the kitchen door and stuck her head
out. “Oh, I was hoping he'd have a chance to come.” She brought out a piece of
cake and set it on the table, as if it'd been there all along just waiting for
Ted's arrival.

Kent opened the front door and extended his hand. “Good to see
you, Ted.”

“You, too. I'd like you to meet my friend Lana.”

Ted had a female friend? Bailey met her sister's eyes.

“Ted,” Beth said, holding out her hand to him. “I'm so glad you
brought Lana. I've been wanting to meet her.”

Mom knew about this? Bailey thought that was a good sign. Lana
was a petite attractive blonde who seemed as effervescent as Ted was
low-key.

Ted stood with his hand protectively around Lana's waist.
“Everyone, this is Lana Carr.”

Bailey and Sophie introduced themselves after their parents
did.

“Sit down, please,” Beth said and gestured Ted and Lana toward
the chairs. While they took their seats, Bailey and Sophie handed them plates
with cake and took drink orders.

“You know, your mother and I haven't had any cake yet,” their
father said. “I don't suppose we could get a slice, too?”

“Sure thing, Dad.”

Bailey cut two additional slices and brought them in while
Sophie prepared coffee for their guests.

Bailey went back to the kitchen to start cleaning up, and
Sophie joined her there a couple of minutes later. When she opened the kitchen
door, the sound of their parents' laughter drifted toward her.

“Everyone seems to be getting along,” Bailey commented.

“They are. I think Mom and Dad and Ted and Lana are going to be
good friends. Did you hear how they met?”

“Mom and Dad?”

“No, Ted and Lana, silly.”

“Tell me.”

“She brought in a dog who'd been hit by a car. She used to work
for a vet in Tacoma, a friend of Ted's, until she moved to Cedar Cove. His
friend had mentioned Lana was single and wanted to introduce them, but Ted said
the timing was bad.”