Ultimate Cedar Cove Collection

“Check out the bedroom,” Zach said as he hauled a load of clothes into the larger of the two rooms. The newly carpeted room was stark and empty without a bed, but all of that would be resolved shortly. Soon, Zach told himself, he’d feel just as much at home here as he had in the family residence.

“Hello.” A soft rapping was followed by a voice Zach recognized instantly.

“Janice.” Zach hadn’t expected a visit from his assistant, especially on a weekend. “Hello,” he said.

Shyly, she came into the apartment with a boy close to Eddie’s age.

“This is my son, Chris,” she said with her arm around her son’s shoulders.

“This is Eddie.”

“Hi,” Eddie said, sounding tentative.

“I thought I’d stop by and ask if you have everything you need,” Janice said. “I know how much work moving can be and I wanted to see if there’s anything I can do.”

She’d always been helpful, and Zach appreciated her efforts more than ever. She brought in a sack and placed it on the kitchen counter.

“Eddie, why don’t you show Chris the apartment?” Zach suggested. Almost immediately the two boys disappeared into the back bedroom.

“I brought you a housewarming gift,” Janice said, then proceeded to unpack a coffeepot, plus grounds.

“You didn’t need to do that.” Zach remained on the other side of the kitchen, a little uncomfortable with her generosity.

“I know… You can tell me to get lost if you want, but I knew you were moving in today. I know from my own experience how difficult this is and I hope the transition goes smoothly for you and your wife.”

“Thank you.” Zach preferred to keep his business and his personal life separate, but without Janice’s help in this recent crisis, he didn’t know what he would’ve done.

An hour later when he drove back to the house with Eddie, the first thing he noticed was Rosie’s car parked in the driveway. Eddie brightened as soon as he saw it. He threw open the car door and raced toward the house. Zach followed with far less enthusiasm. He’d hoped to move all his personal stuff before Rosie returned. There were still books and CDs and…

“Hi,” Rosie said, her face tense, but not unfriendly. “I see you’re packing up.”

Zach nodded.

“I made a new friend,” Eddie said, hugging his mother about the waist.

“That’s nice. You’ll have friends both here and at your dad’s place.”

“Chris doesn’t live in the apartment building. His mother is Dad’s assistant and they came over with a gift to warm the house.”

Sure enough, his wife’s eyes narrowed to thin, angry slits. “I’ll just bet,” she muttered under her breath, then stormed out of the kitchen.

Zach’s shoulders sagged in defeat. This was something Rosie would try to use against him when they went to court. Janice’s innocent gesture of friendship and support would be turned into “evidence.”

Cliff Harding had a good feeling about this Saturday afternoon date with Grace. It’d been three weeks since their dinner and they’d spoken intermittently on the phone. He could tell that Grace still had reservations regarding their relationship. Something had happened in the past three weeks. He wasn’t sure what, but when they did speak she’d sounded shaken and uneasy. When he asked her about it, she made excuses and quickly got off the phone.

Under normal conditions, he would’ve questioned Charlotte, who was his best source when it came to Grace, but his friend had enough to deal with. She’d soon undergo surgery, followed by chemo, which was hard on a person, physically and emotionally. He’d seen his own father waste away, ravaged by lung cancer. Of course, back in those days they didn’t have the effective cancer treatments they had now. Still…

So, no, he couldn’t ask Charlotte what was going on with Grace. She had troubles enough of her own.

But Cliff was convinced it had to do with Dan. She wanted answers about what had happened to her ex- husband, and hadn’t realized yet that the peace she sought had to come from within.

However, he was encouraged by her invitation to lunch. Perhaps now he’d understand what had caused her to withdraw from such a promising beginning.

It was a blustery, windy day, the first weekend in February, when he drove into town. The sky was leaden, threatening rain.

Buttercup announced his arrival with a sharp bark, then ambled onto the porch where Cliff stood waiting. The golden retriever wagged her tail, and after Cliff rang the front doorbell, he leaned down and stroked the dog’s silky fur. At least he’d managed to win her over.

“Hello, Cliff,” Grace said, sounding stiff and reserved. She unlocked the screen door to let him in. “Typical February day, isn’t it?”

He agreed, thinking she looked wonderful in a red turtleneck sweater and tight jeans. The scent of chili simmering in a Crock-Pot on the kitchen counter wafted toward him and he breathed in appreciatively.

“Smells good.”

“It’s my chili.” Her eyes refused to meet his. “Would you like to sit down?” She motioned toward the living room.

“Sure.”

She waited until he was seated, then sat across from him. “I’ve been rude lately and I thought I should explain what’s been going on.”

“Please.” He waited patiently, settling back on the worn, comfortable chair. He noticed she didn’t seem to know what to do with her hands. First she clasped them together as though praying, then she slid them between her knees. Buttercup lay down at Grace’s feet.

Grace looked sheepish. “Have I done it that often?”

He merely shrugged, smiling a little.

“I don’t mean to be rude, it’s just that every time I’m convinced that seeing you is the right thing, something happens that causes me to question myself.” She stared at her hands.

“What was it this time?”

Grace gently petted Buttercup’s head. “Do you remember when you came that one Saturday last fall and fixed the garage door and cleaned the gutters for me? I was grateful in more ways than the obvious. For the first time since Dan left, I felt like I could go on—that I could let go of my marriage.”

Cliff had been encouraged that day, too. He’d hoped it would be the first of many such visits….

“Then shortly afterward—on Thanksgiving Day—I heard from Dan.”

Now Cliff was completely confused. To the best of his knowledge, Dan had disappeared last April. No one, not Grace or either of her daughters, and from every indication no other friend or family member, had heard from him since then. There’d apparently been a brief sighting in May, but that was it.

“You spoke to Dan?” he asked.

“No,” she clarified. “But he phoned the house. He didn’t say anything. He just…let me know he was there.”

“How can you be sure it was him?”

“I can’t prove it,” she said and straightened, clasping her hands again. “It’s instinct. Early Thanksgiving morning, the phone rang and there was no one on the other end. It was Dan—I know it was him.”

Bad enough that Cliff had to deal with an ex-husband who’d vanished into thin air; now he was stuck with ghosts as well.

“Then after you and I went to dinner in Tacoma, I felt so good about seeing you. I really believed we could have a relationship.”