Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series, Volume 2 Read Online Free PDF

me?” motioning toward the glass of iced tea on the counter.
    â€œOh, sorry,” Justine said. “I was about to bring it to you when my grandmother arrived.” She removed an ice-cube tray from the freezer. “Here. I’ll add some ice.”
    â€œThanks,” he said, pausing to take a long drink of the tea. “Did you tell her we sold the property?”
    â€œI did.”
    â€œWhat did she think?”
    Justine grinned. “That we’re too brilliant for words.”
    Seth took another swallow of the tea. The ice cubes tinkled cheerfully as he set the glass down. “Your mother and Jack know, don’t they?”
    â€œI told her this morning. Speaking of which…” Justine grew thoughtful.
    â€œYes?” Seth urged.
    â€œShe didn’t say she had a doctor’s appointment.”
    â€œSo? Should she have?”
    â€œNo, I guess not, but it makes me wonder….” She suspected there was a reason her mother didn’t want her to know about the appointment, and that concerned Justine. Charlotte might have said it was “routine,” but was Olivia expecting bad news?
    As if sensing her unease, Seth brought his arm around her waist. She felt so thankful to have her husband back. The arson had briefly changed him into an angry, vengeful man, but after Warren Saget—a local builder and onetime boyfriend of hers—was arrested, a burden had been lifted from her husband’s shoulders. Seth was once again the man she knew and loved.
    He held her for a long moment as though he, too, recognized how close they’d come to destroying everything that was important to them both.
    â€œDo you want me to fire up the barbecue?” he asked as he released her.
    â€œPlease.”
    â€œCan I help with dinner, too, Mommy?” Leif entered the kitchen with Penny at his heels.
    â€œYou sure can.” Justine smiled at her son. “You can help me set the table—after you wash your hands.”
    â€œOkay.”
    They all headed outside, and while Seth was busy on the patio, Justine and Leif wiped the glass-topped table and adjusted the umbrella. Leif took great pleasure in carefully arranging the bright green place mats he’d chosen and the napkins with their multicolored butterflies.
    When they’d finished dinner, Leif and his father cleared the table. Justine dealt with the leftovers and cleaned up the kitchen. Until recently, she hadn’t realized how much she’d missed meal preparation; she’d always assumed that cooking wasn’t her forte. Her mother and grandmother were the ones who enjoyed working in the kitchen. Then she’d married Seth and in those first few months while they renovated the old Captain’s Galley and planned their new restaurant, Justine had taken pride in preparing their meals. She’d gone to Olivia and Charlotte for recipes and ideas, and for the first time as an adult, she’d connected with her mother in ways she never would’ve thought possible. Her relationship with her grandmother, always good, grew even closer.
    â€œI talked to my grandmother about recipes,” she said.
    â€œRecipes?” Seth repeated, washing his hands. “For the tearoom?”
    She nodded. “You know, I’ve rediscovered how much I actually enjoy cooking.”
    Seth blinked. “Hold on a minute. You enjoy cooking?”
    â€œYes.” She rolled her eyes at his feigned shock.
    â€œAnswer me this,” her husband teased. “Exactly who was standing over a hot barbecue this evening?”
    â€œSeth Gunderson, flipping a few chicken breasts on the grill is not cooking.”
    â€œIt is as far as I’m concerned.”
    â€œYou’re being ridiculous.”
    â€œAm not.” He laughed, then caught Justine around the waist.
    She laughed, too. Everything was going to be better now. In fact, it already was.

Four
    R achel Pendergast dumped a load of towels in