Christmas in Cedar Cove Read online

  But her real concern was for Linc, Mel and Ned. She didn’t want them ending up in jail be cause of David.

  “We’re not waiting another minute!” Mel boomed. “If David’s in Cedar Cove, we’re going to track him down.”

  “No. Please,” she said shakily.

  “You don’t have a say in this any more.”

  “Linc, it’s my life! Listen to me. I—”

  “We’ve listened to you enough,” her oldest brother said matter-of-factly. “Now the three of us have decided to take matters into our own hands.”

  Mary Jo couldn’t let her brothers get involved. She shuddered as she imagined them charging into Cedar Cove on Christmas Eve, bent on forcing David to marry her.

  No, she couldn’t allow that to hap pen. Resolute, she stood up and started for her bed room. “We’ll finish discussing this in the morning,” she said in as dignified a voice as she could man age.

  Linc seemed about to argue, but her fatigue must have shown be cause he hesitated, then nodded reluctantly. “There’ll be no avoiding it, under stand?”

  “Perfectly.”

  “Night, sweetie.” He threw his arms around her in a quick hug, as did Mel and then Ned.

  Mary Jo slept soundly for six hours and woke in a cold sweat. She knew she’d never be able to stop her interfering brothers from invading Cedar Cove, embarrassing her and possibly doing bodily harm to David. The only solution she could think of was to get there first and warn David and/or his family.

  With that in mind, Mary Jo left her brothers a note and slipped quietly out of the house.

  Two

  Cedar Cove was a festive little town, Mary Jo thought when she stepped off the ferry. It was a place that took Christmas seriously. Even the terminal was deco rated, with bells hanging from the ceiling and large snow flakes in the windows. She’d never been here before and was pleasantly surprised by its charm. After taking the Washing ton State ferry from down town Seattle to Bremerton, she’d caught the foot ferry across Sinclair Inlet to the small town David had mentioned.

  He’d only talked about it that one time. She’d had the impression he didn’t like it much, but she hadn’t understood why.

  She looked around.

  A light house stood off in the distance, picturesque against the back drop of fir trees and the green waters of the cove. Waves rhythmically splashed the large rocks that marked the beach. Adjusting her purse strap on her shoulder and get ting a tighter grip on her bag, Mary Jo walked down the pier into town.

  Large ever green boughs stretched across the main street of Cedar Cove—Harbor Street, according to the sign—and from the center of each hung a huge ornament. There were alternating wreaths, angels and candles. The light posts were festooned with holly. The effect of all these decorations was delightful and it raised her spirits—until she remembered why she was in Cedar Cove.

  It was ten in the morning on Christmas Eve, and everyone seemed to have places to go. So did Mary Jo, except that she was in no hurry to get there, and who could blame her? This was likely to be a painful confrontation.

  Not sure where to start searching for David’s family and des per ate to collect her thoughts, Mary Jo stopped at a coffee house called Mocha Mama’s about a block from the waterfront. This, too, was deco rated and redo lent of Christmas scents—fir, cinnamon, peppermint. And the rich, strong aroma of fresh coffee. The place was nearly empty. The only other per son there was a young man who stood be hind the counter; he was writing or drawing something in a sketch book and appeared to be immersed in his task, whatever it was.

  “Merry Christmas,” Mary Jo said cheerfully, wondering if her words sounded as forced as they felt. She pulled off her wool hat and gloves, cramming them in her pockets.

  Her presence startled the young man, who wore a name tag that identified him as Shaw. He glanced up, blinked in apparent confusion, then suddenly smiled. “Sorry. Didn’t see you come in. What can I get you?”

  “I’d like one of your decaf candy cane mochas, Shaw.”

  “What size?”

  “Oh, grande—is that what you call it here? Medium. One of those.” She pointed at a stack of cups.

  His eyes went to her stomach, which protruded from the opening of her wool coat. She could no longer fasten more than the top three but tons.

  “You’re gonna have a baby,” Shaw said, as if this information should be a surprise to her.

  “Yes, I am.” She rested a protective hand on her belly.

  Shaw began to pre pare her mocha, chat ting as he did. “It’s been pretty quiet this morning. Maybe ’cause it’s Christmas Eve,” he commented.

  Mary Jo nodded, then took a chair by the window and watched people walk briskly past. The town seemed to be busy and prosperous, with people pop ping in and out of stores along the street. The bakery had quite a few customers and so did a nearby framing shop.

  “I haven’t seen you around here before,” Shaw said. He added whipped top ping and a candy cane to her cup and handed it to her.

  “I’m visiting,” Mary Jo explained as she got up to pay for her drink. Shaw seemed to be full of information; he might be just the per son to ask about David. She poked a folded dollar bill into the tip jar. “Would you know any people named Rhodes in this area?” she asked speculatively, holding her drink with both hands.

  “Rhodes, Rhodes,” Shaw repeated carefully. He mulled it over for a moment, then shook his head. “The name’s familiar but I can’t put a face to it.”

  “Oh.” She couldn’t quite hide her disappointment. Carrying her mocha, she re turned to the table by the window and gazed out at the street again. Her biggest fear was that her three brothers would come rolling into town in their huge pickup, looking like vigilantes out of some old western. Or worse, a bunch of hill billies. Mary Jo decided she had to get to David and his family first.

  “Just a minute,” Shaw said. “There is a Rhodes family in Cedar Cove.” He reached be hind the counter and pulled out a telephone directory.

  Mary Jo wanted to slap her fore head. Of course! How stupid. She should’ve checked the phone book immediately. That was certainly what her brothers would do.

  “Here,” Shaw said, flipping the directory around so she could read the listings. As it happened, there was a B. Rhodes, a Kevin Rhodes and three others—and Mary Jo had no way of knowing which of these people were related to David. The only thing to do was to call everyone of them and find out.

  “Would you mind if I borrowed this for a few minutes?” she asked.

  “Sure, go ahead. Tell me if there’s anything I can do to help.”

  “Thanks.”

  “Consider it a random act of kind ness.”

  “Not so random.” Mary Jo smiled as she brought the phone book back to her table. She rummaged for her cell phone; she hadn’t remembered to charge it before she left and was relieved to see that she had nearly a full battery. She dialed the number for B. Rhodes and waited through several rings before a greeting came on, telling her that Ben and Charlotte weren’t avail able and inviting her to leave a message. She didn’t. She actually spoke to the next Rhodes, who sounded young and didn’t know anyone named David. Of the last three, the first had a disconnected phone line and the other two didn’t answer.

  Mary Jo had assumed it would be easy to find David in a town as small as Cedar Cove. Walking down Harbor Street, she’d seen a sign for Roy McAfee, a private investigator. She hadn’t expected to need one, and even if she could afford to pay some one else to search for David Rhodes, it wasn’t likely that Mr. McAfee would accept a case this close to Christmas.

  “Any luck?” Shaw asked.

  “None.” With out knowing the name of David’s father, she couldn’t figure out what her next step should be. There were three, possibly four, potential candidates, since she’d man aged to rule out just one. Her only consolation was the fact that if she was having trouble, so would her brothers.

  “I can think of one per son who might be able to help
you,” Shaw said thoughtfully.

  “Who?”

  “Grace Harding. She’s the head librarian and she knows practically everyone in town. I’m not sure if she’s working this morning but it wouldn’t do any harm to go there and see.”

  “The library is where?” Being on foot and pregnant definitely imposed some limitations, especially now that it had started to snow.

  “How’d you get here?” Shaw asked.

  “Foot ferry.”

  He grinned. “Then you walked right past it when you got off. It’s the building with the large mural on the front. You won’t have any trouble finding it.”

  Mary Jo had noticed two such murals. She supposed it wouldn’t be difficult to distinguish which one was the library. Eager to talk to Grace Harding, she left the remainder of her drink be hind. She put the wool hat back on her head and pulled on her gloves. It was cold and the few snow flakes that had begun to drift down seemed per sis tent, like a harbinger of more to come. The Seattle area rarely experienced a white Christmas, and under other cir cum stances Mary Jo would’ve been thrilled at the prospect of snow.

  As Shaw had predicted, she didn’t have a problem locating the library. The mural of a frontier family was striking, and the library doors were deco rated with Christmas wreaths. When she stepped in side, she saw dozens of cut-out snow flakes suspended from the ceiling in the children’s area, as well as a display of seasonal picture books, some of which—like A Snowy Day—she remembered from her own child hood. A large Christmas tree with book-size wrapped gifts underneath stood just in side the small lobby. One look told Mary Jo that this was a much-used and much-loved place.

  She welcomed the warmth, both emotional and physical. There was a woman at the counter, which held a sign stating that the library would close at noon. Glancing at the clock on the wall, Mary Jo was surprised to see that it was al ready ten-forty-five.

  She approached the front counter. “Excuse me. Are you Grace Harding?” she asked in a pleasant voice.

  “Afraid not. Should I get her for you?”

  “Yes, please.”

  The woman disappeared into a nearby office. A few minutes later, she reappeared with another middle-aged woman, who greeted Mary Jo with a friendly smile. She wore a bright red turtleneck sweater under a festive holly-green jumper. Her right arm seemed to be thickly bandaged beneath her long sleeve.

  “I’m Grace Harding,” she announced. “How can I help you?”

  Mary Jo gave the woman a strained smile. “Hello, my name is Mary Jo Wyse and—” The baby kicked—hard—and Mary Jo’s eyes widened with shock. She placed her hands against her stomach and slowly ex haled.

  “Are you okay?” Grace asked, looking concerned.

  “I…think so.”

  “Per haps you should sit down.”

  Numbly Mary Jo nodded. This was all so…un seemly. She hated making a fuss, but she suspected the librarian was right and she did need to sit. Thank fully, Ms. Harding came around the counter and led her to a chair. She left for a moment and re turned with a glass of water.

  “Here, drink this.”

  “Thank you.” Mary Jo felt embarrassed, since al most everyone in the library was staring at her. No doubt she made quite a spectacle and people probably thought she’d give birth any second. Actually, her due date wasn’t for another two weeks; she didn’t think there was any danger the baby would arrive early, but this was her first pregnancy and she couldn’t re ally tell. She could only hope….

  Grace took the chair beside hers. “How can I help you?” she asked again.

  Mary Jo gulped down all the water, then put the glass down beside her.

  Taking a deep breath, she clasped her hands together. “I’m looking for a man by the name of David Rhodes.”

  Right away Mary Jo saw that the other woman stiffened.

  “You know him?” she asked excitedly, ignoring any misgivings over Grace’s reaction. “Is he here? He said he’d be visiting his father and step mother in Cedar Cove. It’s important that I talk to him as soon as possible.”

  Grace sagged in her chair. “Oh, dear.”

  “Oh, dear,” Mary Jo repeated. “What does that mean?”

  “Well…”

  “Is David in town?”

  Grace shook her head, but her expression was sym pathetic. “I’m afraid not.”

  Mary Jo’s heart sank. She should’ve known not to trust David. This was obviously another lie.

  “What about his father and step mother? Are they available?” If she didn’t tell David’s family about the baby, then her brothers surely would. The information would be better coming from her. The image of her brothers barging into these people’s home lent a sense of urgency to her question.

  “Unfortunately,” Grace went on, “Ben and Charlotte have taken a Christmas cruise.”

  “They’re gone, then,” Mary Jo said in a flat voice. She re called the message on their phone; ironically, Ben had been the first Rhodes she’d called. Maybe she should be relieved they were out of town, but she wasn’t. In stead, a deep sad ness settled over her. The uncertainty would continue. What ever happened, she accepted the likelihood of being a single mother, but her brothers would do their best to prevent it.

  “According to a friend of mine, they’re coming back some time tomorrow,” Grace told her.

  “On Christmas Day?”

  “Yes, that’s what I under stand, at any rate. I can find out for sure if you’d like.”

  “Yes, please.”

  Grace looked tentative. “Be fore I phone Olivia—she’s the friend I mentioned—I should tell you that her mother is married to Ben Rhodes.”

  “I see.”

  “Would you mind if I asked you a question?”

  “Of course not.” Al though she al ready knew what that question would be…

  “Is your baby…is David Rhodes—”

  Rather than respond, Mary Jo closed her eyes and hung her head.

  Grace touched her arm gently. “Don’t be upset, dear,” she murmured. “None of that matters now.”

  The answer to Grace’s question was obvious. Why else would some one in an advanced state of pregnancy come looking for David and his family—especially on Christmas Eve?

  As she opened her eyes, Grace squeezed her hand reassuringly.

  “I haven’t seen or heard from David in weeks,” Mary Jo admitted. “He occasion ally calls and the last time he did, he said he was coming here to spend Christmas with his family. My brothers want to make him marry me, but…but that isn’t what I want.”

  “Of course you don’t.”

  At least Grace shared her point of view. “I’ve got to talk to Mr. and Mrs. Rhodes as soon as I can and ex plain that even if David offered to marry me, I don’t think it’s the right thing for me or my baby.”

  “I don’t either,” Grace said. “David isn’t to be trusted.”

  Mary Jo grinned weakly. “I’m afraid I have to agree with you. But this is their grand child. Or…or Ben’s, anyway. Maybe they’ll be interested in knowing the baby. Maybe David’ll want some kind of relationship.” She turned to Grace and said earnestly, “Shouldn’t I give them that choice?”

  “Yes, that’s exactly what you should do.” Grace squeezed her hand again. “I’ll go call Olivia and get right back to you. She’ll know Charlotte and Ben’s travel schedule. How ever, it does seem to me that they’re due home on the twenty-fifth.”

  “Thank you,” Mary Jo murmured. She was feeling light-headed and a bit queasy, so she in tended to stay where she was until Grace came back. It didn’t take long.

  Grace sat down next to her again. “I spoke with Olivia and she con firmed that Charlotte and Ben will in deed be home tomorrow afternoon.”

  “Oh…good.” Still, Mary Jo wasn’t sure what she should do next. If she went home, her brothers would be impossible. They’d be furious that she’d left with no warning other than a brief note. In any case, they were probably on their way to Cedar Cove now. And
with some effort, they’d un cover the same information Mary Jo had.

  “What would you like to do?” Grace asked.

  “I think I’d better spend the night here,” Mary Jo said. She hadn’t packed a bag, but her requirements were simple. All she needed was a de cent hotel. “Can you recommend a place to stay?”

  “Oh, yes, there are several, including a lovely B-and-B. I’m just wondering if there’ll be a problem get ting a room for tonight.”

  “A problem?” This wasn’t something Mary Jo had considered.

  “Let’s see if there’s any thing at the Com fort Inn. It’s close by and clean.”

  “That would be great. Thank you so much,” Mary Jo said.

  Here it was, Christmas Eve, and she felt as if she’d found an angel to help her. An angel fit tingly named Grace…

  Three

  Grace Harding studied the young pregnant woman beside her. So David Rhodes was the father of her baby. Not a surprise, she sup posed, but it made her think even less of him. Certainly Olivia had told her plenty—about his deceit, his loans that were more like theft, since he never seemed to have any intention of repaying his father, the rumors of women he’d cheated on…. That Ben Rhodes, who was one of the most de cent and honorable men she’d ever met, could have a son like David defied explanation. Not only had David fathered this child, which she didn’t doubt for a minute, he’d also lied to Mary Jo.

  Well, Grace decided, she’d do what she could to give the poor girl a hand. And she knew Charlotte and Ben would, too.

  “I’ll get that list of places for you,” Grace told Mary Jo, rising to her feet. The library had a sheet with phone numbers of the local bed-and-break fasts, plus all the motels in the area. The best place in town was Thyme and Tide Bed & Break fast, run by Bob and Peggy Beldon. However, she re called, the couple was away for the holidays. So staying there wasn’t an option. But there were several chain hotels out by the free way.

  “I’ll need to be within walking distance of the Rhodes home,” Mary Jo said as Grace handed her the list. “I didn’t drive over.”