Dear Friends,
Well, here it isâthe tenth book in the Cedar Cove series. Can you believe it? Weâve reached our ten-year anniversary!
You might not have known that reader feedback is what prompted these stories. Iâd written several shorter series in previous years. The idea of doing connected books started with the Orchard Valley series. Then came the six Alaska books in the Midnight Sons series, followed by the six Heart of Texas stories. After the publication of those books, my reader mail was filled with requests to write more, to âplease tell us aboutââââ (fill in the blank).
I realised that my readers didnât want the series to end. You wanted to know what happened to various characters, how certain situations were resolved, how people and places changed. Frankly, itâs always been difficult for me to write the last book in a project, and your comments made sense. The characters become as real to you as they are to me; I felt, as you did, that their lives extend beyond the last page of the book. So, I thought ⦠why not write more pages?
Thatâs when I approached my publisher with the idea of writing a long-term series about a fictional town. Naturally enough, the place Iâm most familiar with is Port Orchard, my hometown, so I decided to set the series in my own back yard (so to speak). As you probably know, Cedar Cove is loosely based on Port Orchard.
The first ten Cedar Cove books have broken professional ground for me. They gave me my first No.1 New York Times placementâall thanks to you, I might add. Then, because so many of you wanted to see Cedar Cove for yourselves, my hometown opened its doors for Cedar Cove days.
As I write this letter, Iâm working on the eleventh book and I wonât be stopping until all the stories are told. Only heaven knows when that will be!
Thank you for your interest and support. Now relax, grab a cup of something warm and enjoy visiting with all your friends in Cedar Cove.
PS I love hearing from readers. You can reach me at www.debbiemacomber.com or at PO Box 1458, Port Orchard, WA 98366, USA.
Almost home. Grateful for the end of his shift, Mack McAfee turned the corner onto Evergreen Place and approached his house, the duplex at 1022. He felt an instant sense of peace when he saw Mary Jo Wyse working in the garden, taking advantage of the longer days and the perfection of a Pacific Northwest spring. At six, the sun was still bright and the sky had the clean-washed look of early May. Mack had to smile as he watched Mary Jo. The young single mother was his tenant, his friendâand the woman heâd fallen for. Hard. Lovely as ever, she wore jeans and a pink, long-sleeved top that clung in all the right places. Noelle was asleep in a stroller a few feet away.
Mack had delivered the baby last Christmasâor assisted in her delivery; that was probably a better way to put it. Heâd just joined the Cedar Cove Fire Department and as the most recent hire, heâd pulled duty on Christmas Eve. Itâd been a quiet night until the call from the Harding ranch. A woman said she was about to give birth. Mack had taken a medical course and received his emergency medical technician certificate, but nothing heâd learned had prepared him for the exhilaration of being at a delivery. The moment little Noelle drew her first breath sheâd completely won him over.
Noelle and her mother had laid claim to Mackâs heart.
Mack parked on his side of the driveway and climbed out of the truck. He was outwardly calm, but his thoughts were in chaos. He hadnât seen either of them in two days.
With his help, Mary Jo had planted a small garden, which she tended daily. âHi,â she said, getting up from her knees. She brushed the dirt from her pant legs and glanced at him with a shy smile.
âHi,â he responded. Afraid that Mary Jo would be able to interpret his feelings, he studied the neat row of green seedlings that had begun to poke through the earth. Mary Jo was still suspicious of men, thanks to her experience with David Rhodes, although Mack was making a serious effort to gain her trust. âThe gardenâs starting to take shape, I see.â
He crouched down and peeked at Noelle, who slept contentedly with one small clenched fist raised above her head. The baby mesmerized him. For that matter, so did Mary Joâ¦.
âI ⦠missed seeing you the past couple of days,â she said in a low voice.
That was encouraging. âYou did?â He hated to sound too eager since he was treading carefully in this relationship. Heâd made a big mistake with her and was almost afraid of what would happen next.
âWell, yes. The last time we talked, well ⦠you know.â
Mack straightened and nervously shoved his hands in his back pockets.
âYou told me it wasnât a good idea for us to continue with the engagement,â she said, although he didnât need any reminder.