204 Rosewood Lane

 Make time for friends. Make time forDebbie 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 assure you there can…and there is. Cedar Cove is based on my own home town of Port Orchard, Washington. Naturally, my characters aren’t based on anyone in town, despite all the speculation over coffee at the Pancake Palace (not the restaurant’s real name). You see, i’ve lived in small towns all my life and i’ve learned that people really are the same everywhere.

Now, sit back and relax. My friends in Cedar Cove can’t wait to fill you in on everything that’s been happening. and when you’ve finished reading this book, please let me know what you think. You can reach me in two ways –through my website at www.debbiemacomber.com (write your comments in the guest book) or write to me at PO Box 1458, Port Orchard, WA 98366, USA. I’d love to hear from you.

Warmest regards,

Debbie Macomber

To Nina Lyman

and her incredible cats. What a blessing your friendship has been. September 2002

One

Grace Sherman stared down at the legal form that would start the divorce proceedings. She sat in the attorney’s office with Maryellen, her oldest daughter, who’d come with her to offer support. Grace reminded herself that this should be straightforward, that her decision was made. She was ready to end her marriage, ready to piece together her shattered life. To begin again… But her hand shook as she picked up the pen.

The inescapable fact was that she didn’t want this—but Dan hadn’t left her with any other option.

Five months ago, in April, her husband of almost thirty-six years had disappeared. Vanished without a trace. One day everything was perfectly normal, and the next he was gone. Apparently by choice and without a word of explanation. Even now, Grace had difficulty believing that the man she’d lived with, the man she’d loved and with whom she’d had two daughters, could do anything as cruel as this.

If Dan had fallen out of love with her, she could accept that. She would’ve found enough pride, enough generosity, to release him without bitterness. If he was that miserable in their marriage, she would’ve gladly set him free to find happiness with someone else. What she couldn’t forgive was the misery he’d heaped on their family’s shoulders, what he’d done to their daughters. Especially Kelly.

Dan had disappeared shortly after Kelly and Paul had announced that after years of trying, they were finally, excitedly, pregnant. Dan had been thrilled, and Grace, too. This baby was going to be their first grandchild. They’d waited so long.

Kelly had always been close to her father and his disappearance at this critical time in her life had devastated her. She’d pleaded with Grace to postpone the divorce proceedings, convinced that her father would return before Tyler was born. When Dan did return, he’d have a logical reason and would explain everything to their satisfaction.

He hadn’t come back, though, and there’d been no further information. Nothing but doubts, questions and a churning, deepening anger that intensified in the endless weeks that followed.

When Grace couldn’t stand not knowing any longer, she’d hired Roy McAfee, a private detective and former policeman she trusted. Roy had done an extensive search, certain that Dan had left a paper trail, and he’d been right. What Roy had uncovered was a complete shock to Grace. A year earlier, Dan had purchased a travel trailer, paying cash for it. Grace had no idea where he’d gotten that kind of money, nor did she know anything about the trailer. He’d never mentioned it, nor had she seen it. To this day she had no idea where he’d kept it all those months. Or where it was now.

Given the mounting evidence, she had her suspicions. Grace believed that Dan had used the travel trailer to sneak away with another woman. There’d been one sighting of him and it had come late in May. It almost felt as if her husband had orchestrated this brief reappearance, as if he was taunting her, challenging her to find him. That day had been a low point for Grace.