Debbie Macomber - Cedar Cove Collection

“By the way …” Justine opened the patio door. “We’re barbecuing chicken tonight and I’m using a recipe I got from you.”

“The one with soy sauce and honey? I picked that up at a wake, too.”

Justine couldn’t hold back a smile. “Whose wake? Do you remember?”

“Of course I do,” she answered in a dignified voice. “Norman Schultz. 1992. Or was it ’93?” With that Charlotte walked outside.

Penny and Leif ran toward her. Knowing he needed to be gentle with his great-grandmother, Leif pulled up short and then stood still, giving Charlotte the opportunity to hug him. Penny, however, felt no such constraint. With one sharp command, Seth controlled the dog, who promptly sat. After she’d finished chatting with Leif, Charlotte leaned over to stroke Penny’s fur. She gave Justine a final wave, then Seth walked her out to her car.

When he returned to the kitchen, he asked, “Is that for me?” motioning toward the glass of iced tea on the counter.

“Oh, 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.”

“Thanks,” he said, pausing to take a long drink of the tea. “Did you tell her we sold the property?”

“I did.”

“What 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?”

“I told her this morning. Speaking of which …” Justine grew thoughtful.

“Yes?” Seth urged.

“She didn’t say she had a doctor’s appointment.”

“So? Should she have?”

“No, 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.

“Do you want me to fire up the barbecue?” he asked as he released her.

“Please.”

“Can I help with dinner, too, Mommy?” Leif entered the kitchen with Penny at his heels.

“You sure can.” Justine smiled at her son. “You can help me set the table—after you wash your hands.”

“Okay.”

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.

“I talked to my grandmother about recipes,” she said.

“Recipes?” 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?”

“Yes.” She rolled her eyes at his feigned shock.

“Answer me this,” her husband teased. “Exactly who was standing over a hot barbecue this evening?”

“Seth Gunderson, flipping a few chicken breasts on the grill is not cooking.”

“It is as far as I’m concerned.”

“You’re being ridiculous.”

“Am not.” He laughed, then caught Justine around the waist.

She laughed, too. Everything was going to be better now. In fact, it already was.

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