Free Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series, Volume 2 by Debbie Macomber Page B

lightly.
    He’d come to Cedar Cove once before, hoping to talk his way around his lies and her objections. There’d been an ugly incident, and Cliff had become involved. Just remembering it made Grace want to bury her face in her hands. Until Will had reentered her life, she hadn’t realized how quickly she could lower her principles or how stupid she could be when it came to love. Or, more accurately, infatuation.
    â€œDoes Cliff know?”
    Grace shook her head again. She should tell him. That went without saying, but even while she acknowledged it, Grace told herself she wasn’t quite ready. She’d do it, of course. Just not yet. The time wasn’t right.
    Getting past how she’d misled Cliff—no, how she’d lied to him—had been a major hurdle in their relationship. Unfortunately, his first wife had cheated on him, so Cliff recognized all the signs. He’d heard the excuses. This was a path he wasn’t walking twice. It’d taken Grace months to prove herself to him. Now she was unwilling to put her marriage at risk over a man who meant absolutely nothing to her. His lies had destroyed any feeling she’d had.
    The sound of a car coming into the driveway interrupted her thoughts.
    â€œDaddy’s home,” Maryellen announced for Katie’s benefit.
    Scrambling out of her chair, Katie ran toward the door, her face lit up with joy. “Daddy, Daddy!”
    Jon entered the house and swept the two-year-old into his embrace. With her arms wrapped tightly around his neck, Katie smeared kisses across her father’s cheek.
    â€œHow are my girls doing?” Jon asked.
    Maryellen looked up at him and smiled. “Your son might take exception to being called a girl.”
    â€œOops,” Jon said and, leaning down, he kissed the baby’s head. “I keep forgetting about you.” He chuckled at his own joke.
    Maryellen gazed at the baby, gurgling contentedly in her arms. “Let’s remind him around two tomorrow morning, shall we, Drake?”
    â€œHi, Grace.” Jon greeted her with a lazy grin. “Good to see you.”
    â€œYou, too.”
    â€œDid my parents come by?” Jon asked as he walked over to the kitchen counter and sorted through the mail.
    â€œThis morning,” Maryellen told him. “They decided to stay in town until the end of the month.”
    He nodded.
    â€œDaddy, Daddy, come see.” Katie grabbed her father’s hand, pulling him toward the puzzle she’d completed before her nap.
    Seeing that the young family was busy, Grace decided to leave. She put a casserole in the oven, then said her farewells and kissed both her grandchildren.
    By the time she pulled into the yard at her home with Cliff in nearby Olalla, she still hadn’t decided what she should do about Will Jefferson. Sooner or later her husband would learn that Will was retiring in Cedar Cove. If she mentioned the fact, it might place more significance on the event than warranted. She didn’t care where Will Jefferson chose to live. He could take up residence on Mars if he wanted to.
    But by the same token, not telling Cliff might make it seem significant in a different way—as if she had something to hide.
    When Cliff heard her car, he came out of the barn, smiling. Buttercup, her golden retriever, wandered over from her perch on the front steps, plumy tail wagging.
    Her husband opened the car door for her. “Welcome home,” he said.
    Grace slipped her arms around his middle and kissed him warmly. When they broke contact, Cliff leaned his head back. “Wow! What did I do to deserve this?”
    â€œNothing out of the ordinary.”
    Arm in arm, they strolled toward the house. “You’re late,” he said casually.
    â€œI went to see Maryellen after work.”
    â€œAh.”
    â€œMissed me, did you?” she asked with a teasing smile.
    Grace suddenly realized that if she told Cliff about Will,