Harbor Street (Cedar Cove #5)(52)

Rachel smiled and the color rose in her cheeks. “He means a lot to me.” Her smile grew wider. “I don’t know anything about his family, but I will tell you that Nate’s one fine kisser.”

Cathy shook her head. “Well, I don’t know about Nate, but I’ll bet you hands down that Andrew can out-kiss him any day of the week.”

“If we’re going to get into comparisons,” Cecilia began.

“Girls, girls,” Carol broke in, waving her arms. “This is a discussion we don’t want to have.”

“Why not?” Cecilia asked.

Carol looked at each one and then lowered her voice. “Exactly how long has it been since any of us had sex?”

Cecilia and Cathy both giggled.

“Too long,” Cecilia said. “Way too long.”

Twenty-Six

Corrie loved shopping at all the after-Christmas sales. Next to the Thanksgiving sales, this was her favorite shopping experience. She was delighted that Peggy Beldon had agreed to join her. They’d gotten to know each other in the last year, while Roy worked on solving the murder that had taken place at Thyme and Tide, the bed-and-breakfast owned by Bob and Peggy.

“I love it when I can buy Christmas wrap at seventy-five percent off,” Peggy said as she loaded up her cart with half a dozen colorful rolls. “Of course, Bob complains. He says I can’t save money by spending money.”

Corrie nodded. “Roy says the same thing.” This was a ritual lament—the same conversation they’d had on previous shopping expeditions.

“Men are so unreasonable.” Peggy added several strands of outdoor Christmas lights. “Look at these,” she said, holding up a box for Corrie to view. “Next year when Bob goes to put up the outdoor display, he’ll discover that a whole bunch of lights have burned out. Outdoor lights just aren’t made to last more than a year. I’m saving him the bother of racing down to the store for last-minute replacements. But will he thank me?”

“You’re joking,” Corrie murmured. “Of course not.”

“We’re underappreciated.”

They both laughed. Corrie was grateful she had a friend to share this kind of humor with, these small, amusing insights from daily life. She’d missed that when she’d first moved to Cedar Cove. She didn’t make friends easily. Linnette was like that, too, and Corrie was glad her daughter had met Gloria. Linnette had made the transition from Seattle to small-town life much more smoothly, thanks to her neighbor.

When her cart was full, Corrie steered toward the checkout stands in the front of the store, with Peggy following directly behind.

After they’d delivered their bounty to the car, Peggy suggested lunch. “We should spend some of the money we just saved,” she said.

“By all means,” Corrie agreed happily. “I haven’t been to D.D.’s on the Cove in months. How about you?”

“Fine with me.”

Fifteen minutes later, they were sitting in a booth overlooking the marina. The Christmas decorations were still up but would be coming down after the first of January. When that happened, the town would look dull and drab, Corrie mused. Winter, the rainy season of the Pacific Northwest, was her least favorite time of year.

They both ordered hot tea and crab-melt sandwiches.

Once they were settled with their tea and waiting for their lunch, Peggy surprised her by asking, “Did you get a Christmas postcard?”

The Beldons had been with Roy and Corrie the night the fruit basket arrived. Peggy also knew about the mysterious postcards. So did Linnette, but only because she’d accidentally found one. As far as Corrie knew, no one else in town was aware of the situation.

“An anonymous Christmas card came on the twenty-fourth,” Corrie said reluctantly. This was the last thing she wanted to discuss, and yet the need to confide in someone burned in her chest.

“Any idea who they’re coming from?” Peggy asked.

Corrie didn’t answer right away. She swallowed the lump that formed in her throat. “I do have an idea,” she managed to whisper. It was all she’d thought about since discussing their unknown child with Roy. He was adamant; they’d vowed not to speak of it again and he was holding her to that.

Peggy, who was a sensitive woman, gave her a concerned look. “If you’d rather not say anything…”

“I…can’t. I talked to Roy about it, but he won’t listen. What I’m thinking of happened a long time ago, and he feels it’s best to leave it in the past.” Corrie realized she’d already said more than was advisable. “He’s probably right.”

“Let’s drop the subject then.”

Needing a diversion, Corrie reached for her tea. “Perhaps that would be best.”

“Can you answer one question?” Peggy sounded mildly embarrassed. “I shouldn’t ask, but curiosity is getting the better of me. Was there a message on the Christmas card?”

An involuntary smile came to Corrie. “Nothing cryptic, if that’s what you mean. All it said was Merry Christmas.”

“None of these messages have been threatening, have they?” She held up her hand. “Don’t answer that. We’re changing the subject.”

The waitress brought their lunch, a hot crab and cheese mixture spilling over both halves of the toasted English muffins. This was one of Corrie’s favorite meals, a specialty at D.D.’s. She wondered why she hadn’t been here in so long. Mostly, she decided, because of her daughter’s work schedule. They enjoyed meeting for lunch, but Linnette’s shift changed every week and—