“Have you contacted Cal Washburn yet?” her mother asked, interrupting her deliberations.

“Who?”

“The young man I bought for you at the Dog and Bachelor Auction last July. You know, the fund-raiser for the animal shelter.”

An immediate protest rose as Linnette struggled to tell her mother that she wasn’t interested in a blind date with a stranger. Okay, so her brother loved his dog, who’d come as part of the package. Cal and the Australian Shepherd Mack had named Lucky were on the auction block together. But that didn’t mean Linnette was going to hit it off with this bachelor.

“I really think Cal’s a fine young man,” her mother said.

“Then you date him,” Linnette teased, hoping to find a gentle way of getting out of this.

“The least you can do is call him. Let me tell you a bit about Cal. He works for Cliff Harding on his horse ranch. I never quite understood what Cal does, but he appears to be a trainer of some sort. I don’t know that much about horses.”

“I don’t either.” The more Linnette heard, the less enthusiastic she became. She was going to spend the evening with a man who hung around horses all day. Great.

Corrie frowned impatiently. “Don’t give me that look. You might be pleasantly surprised.”

Linnette had been avoiding this conversation. “I did mention that the clinic hired Dr. Chad Timmons, didn’t I? We worked together while I was in school and, Mom, he’s just fabulous.”

Her mother made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “What has that got to do with anything?”

“Dr. Timmons is everything I want in a husband. He’s smart, witty, drop-dead gorgeous. Plus he’s kind and considerate. He’s my idea of the perfect man.” Linnette figured her chances of snagging him had risen substantially when he was hired to work at the medical center. She’d nearly turned cartwheels down the street in her excitement. Having Chad right there, in Cedar Cove, made her position at the clinic a million times more appealing.

“In other words, you’ve set your sights on this doctor?”

Linnette grinned sheepishly. “Nothing gets past my mother.”

“Very funny. What about Cal Washburn?”

Linnette was putting her foot down. She wasn’t moving to this town so her parents could run her life—or her love life. She’d had enough of that while she lived at home. Her father had drilled every date unmercifully. It was a wonder she’d found a boy willing to take her to the Junior-Senior prom.

“Ah…I suppose I could go out with this horse guy once, but that’s it, Mom.”

“That would please me, considering the amount of cash I paid for your date.”

“Okay, okay, I said I’d do it.” She’d postponed it as long as she could but, yes, eventually she’d get in touch with him.

“You’ll call?” Corrie pressed.

“Can I move into my apartment first?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to set the date now.” Corrie dug around in her purse and found the envelope with Cal’s information, as well as an old receipt. “I gave you his phone number already.”

“I lost it,” Linnette muttered. She had lost it, accidentally on purpose.

“Yeah, right.” Corrie was busy scribbling the number on the back of the receipt.

Linnette wanted to grind her teeth in frustration. Her mother wasn’t going to let this go. “Think how useful it would be to have a doctor in the family,” she said flippantly.

Corrie glared at her and handed over the phone number she’d written down. “Just do it, okay? It’s only the one date and it’d mean a lot to me if you followed up on this one small thing.”

“Okay, okay,” Linnette muttered again, feeling disgruntled about the whole situation. But then—as her mother had said—she might be pleasantly surprised.

“Promise me you’ll call him right away.”

“Ah…”

“Linnette, how often do I ask anything of you?”

The old guilt trick, and it worked every time. “Okay, I promise I’ll arrange to meet this bachelor guy as soon as possible.”

“You’ll like him, Linnette, only…” Her mother hesitated, biting her lower lip as if she wasn’t sure she should continue.

“Only what?”

Corrie sighed. “Apparently Cal Washburn has a slight…speech impediment.”

Linnette’s mouth fell open. If an evening with a guy who smelled like horse manure wasn’t bad enough, she might not be able to understand a word he said. This was definitely more than she’d bargained for.

“Mom—”

Corrie walked backward toward the open door. “You promised, remember?”

Linnette shook her head as her mother disappeared around the corner and out of the apartment. She’d be moving to Cedar Cove the following week. She wanted this date over with as quickly as possible. She just hoped Chad didn’t hear about it.

Reaching for her purse, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number on the slip of paper Corrie had given her. Putting this off any longer would only create unnecessary conflict with her mother.

A man answered, but he sounded perfectly normal. “This is Linnette McAfee calling for Cal Washburn,” she said crisply.

“Well, hello, Linnette. Cal’s been waiting for your phone call. I’m Cliff Harding. Cal works for me.”

“Hi, Cliff. Is Cal available?”

“As a matter of fact, he’s sitting right here.”

A moment later, Cal was on the phone. “H-hello.”

“Hi, I’m Linnette McAfee,” she said quickly. So he had a slight stutter. But his speech was clear and intelligible. “Apparently my mother bought me a date with you last July at the Dog and Bachelor Auction.” She didn’t give him a chance to respond. “I was wondering when would be convenient for me to collect on it.”

“Any…t-time.”

“I’m moving into town next weekend, but I could meet you before then.”

“How-w-w-w about nex-x-xt Friday night?”

“Okay. I’ll meet you at The Lighthouse restaurant at seven.” She suspected she’d have to do all the talking, since he seemed rather shy, no doubt because of the stutter. She’d probably have to pay for his dinner, too, she thought glumly.

“S-s-sure. Friday.”

Linnette clicked off her cell. This was the last time she’d allow her mother to do anything like this. The very last time.

Six

Grace Sherman had been looking forward to this Friday night for a long time. Cliff Harding had invited her to dinner at his house—the first sign in months that he still had feelings for her. This was just the encouragement Grace needed. She loved Cliff, but she’d done something foolish, risking her entire future with him on an Internet relationship.

It had all started when her husband of thirty-five years had disappeared. Vietnam had changed Dan, and he wasn’t the same man she’d married when he returned from the war. He’d lived a bleak, unhappy life, and often suffered from bouts of depression. After Dan’s sudden disappearance, she’d spent nearly a year searching for him, exhausting what savings she had, only to discover that her husband had driven deep into the woods with a trailer she didn’t even know he’d purchased, and killed himself.

In the months before she found out what had happened to Dan, Grace had met Cliff Harding. His patience and kindness had won her over and they’d started to see each other—but not until she’d learned Dan’s fate. Cliff was recently divorced after twenty years of marriage and dating was a new experience for them both.

In coming to know Cliff, Grace discovered that his ex-wife had been involved in multiple affairs throughout their marriage. Grace and Cliff grew close, close enough for him to fly her to Connecticut to meet his daughter, Lisa. Together they’d spent Thanksgiving with Lisa and her family. That was almost two years ago.

About the same time, Will Jefferson, her best friend’s brother, had started to e-mail Grace. She’d had a crush on him as a teenager and was flattered by his attention. To this day, she wasn’t sure how it happened, but soon she was logging on to the Internet at all hours of the day and night in order to “chat” with Will. He became her addiction. She was mortified now to admit that, all along, she’d known he was married. He’d fed her lie after lie, and she’d swallowed each one because she so badly wanted to believe him. And while she maintained her online relationship with Will, she’d continued dating Cliff.

Everything seemed to blow up in her face at once. Cliff found out about her Internet relationship and Grace realized that Will was still living with his wife, Georgia, and had no intention of divorcing her.

Cliff wanted nothing more to do with Grace. He’d lived with one faithless woman and wasn’t about to repeat that mistake. He’d made it clear that they were through. Devastated, Grace could do nothing but abide by his wishes.

Then, last August, Lisa had flown out to spend time with her father. Grace would always be grateful to Cliff’s daughter for visiting her at the library, where Grace was employed. Lisa had assured Grace that Cliff still loved her and encouraged her not to give up.

That was when Grace had begun a campaign to win back Cliff Harding. She mailed him cards, sent him e-mail messages and stopped by the ranch unannounced and uninvited. Little by little she’d worn him down to the point that he’d actually sought her out for the first time in more than a year.

When she arrived home from work, Grace tried three different outfits before she was satisfied. She modeled each of her choices before Buttercup, her golden retriever, and Sherlock, her cat. Unfortunately their opinions were less than useful, although she had to laugh at Buttercup’s deep sigh. Sherlock didn’t bother to open his eyes. In the end she chose a blue denim jumper with big yellow daisies painted on the bib and a yellow turtleneck underneath. It was similar to what she’d been wearing the first day she met Cliff. This was a new beginning for them and she hoped her clothes relayed that message.

By the time Grace drove out to Cliff’s ranch in Olalla, her nerves were frayed. She so badly wanted to be part of Cliff’s life. Somehow, she had to make him understand that she wasn’t like his ex-wife. For thirty-five years she’d remained faithful to Dan and, given the opportunity, she’d be faithful to him too. She wanted Cliff to know she’d learned her lesson and learned it well. Never again would she risk losing him. If only he was willing to give her another chance…

There was no one about at the ranch as Grace pulled into the long drive, although another truck stood next to Cliff’s newly completed barn. Parking near the house, Grace hesitated, unsure where to go. When Cliff failed to answer the front door, she wandered toward the barn. Cal lived in an apartment above, and he might be able to tell her what was going on.

She was halfway to the barn when Cliff came rushing out. He stopped abruptly, staring at her, his expression confused. He was a big man with a muscular build, easily six three in height. He wore a cowboy hat and boots and looked every bit the horseman he’d become since his retirement from Boeing.