Debbie Macomber: 311 Pelican Court

Make time for friends. Make time forDebbie Macomber.

CEDAR COVE 16 LIGHTHOUSE ROAD 204 ROSEWOOD AVENUE 311 PELICAN COURT

BLOSSOM STREET THE SHOP ON BLOSSOM STREET A GOOD YARN OLD BOYFRIENDS WEDNESDAYS AT FOUR TWENTY WISHES

THURSDAYS AT EIGHT

Dear Friends,

Welcome to Cedar Cove, Washington, whether this is your first visit or your third – 311 Pelican Court is the next instalment in this ongoing series. Cedar Cove is definitely a lively place – and everyone here is thrilled that you’ve decided to join us. As usual, there’s a lot happening around town; Olivia, Grace, Jack, Charlotte and all the others are eager to fill you in. Rest assured that in Cedar Cove there’s always a little mystery, a little romance and a lot of fun.

Those of you who live in a small town, as I do, will recognise that Cedar Cove is like small towns everywhere. The series is inspired by my own home town of Port Orchard, Washington, where there really is a library with a mural painted on the exterior wall, as well as a marina, a waterfront park and plenty of friendly folk. (All the grouches live in Olalla!) Of course, my characters aren’t based on anyone in town and any resemblance is purely coincidental.

Please join me now as my good friends in Cedar Cove continue to live their lives and tell their stories and head over to my website at www.debbiemacomber.com. Olivia, Charlotte, Grace and everyone else would enjoy a visit. Sign the guest book and you’ll get monthly updates from the characters themselves. They’d be delighted to hear from you and so would I! You can also reach me at PO Box 1458, Port Orchard, WA 98366, USA.

Now I invite you to sit back and enjoy…

Warmest regards,

Debbie Macomber

www.mirabooks.co.uk

To Jo and Hayley

Because you’ve given so much and inspired others

Some of the Residents ofCedar Cove, Washington

Olivia Lockhart:Divorced, family court judge in Cedar Cove. Mother of Justine and James. Lives at 16 Lighthouse Road.

Charlotte Jefferson:Mother of Olivia, widow, lifelong resident of Cedar Cove.

Justine (Lockhart) Gunderson:Daughter of Olivia, married to Seth, mother of Leif.

Seth Gunderson:Justine’s husband. Co-owner, with Justine, of The Lighthouse restaurant.

James Lockhart:Olivia’s son and Justine’s younger brother. In the Navy. Lives in San Diego with wife Selina and daughter Isabella.

Stanley Lockhart:Olivia’s ex-husband and father of James and Justine. Now lives in Seattle and married to Marge, his second wife.

Will Jefferson:Olivia’s brother, Charlotte’s son. Married and lives in Atlanta.

Grace Sherman:Olivia’s best friend. Librarian. Widow. Mother of Maryellen and Kelly. Lives at 204 Rosewood Lane.

Dan Sherman:Grace’s dead husband.

Maryellen Sherman:Oldest daughter of Grace and Dan. Mother of Katie.

Kelly Jordan:Maryellen’s sister, married to Paul, mother of Tyler.

Jon Bowman:Photographer, chef and father of Katie.

Jack Griffin:Newspaper reporter and editor of TheCedar Cove Chronicle . Recovering alcoholic. Involved in a relationship with Olivia Lockhart. Father of Eric, who lives in Nevada with his wife, Shelly, and their twin boys.

Zachary Cox:Accountant, divorced from Rosie. Father of Allison and Eddie Cox, aged fifteen and nine respectively.

Rosie Cox:Zach’s ex-wife. Now working as a teacher. She and Zach share custody of their children.

Janice Lamond:Zach’s assistant at his accounting firm.

Cliff Harding:Retired engineer and now horse breeder living near Cedar Cove. Divorced father of Lisa, who lives in Maryland. He has an on-and-off relationship with Grace Sherman.

Cecilia Randall:Navy wife, living near Cedar Cove. Accountant. Married to Ian Randall, submariner. Lost a baby, Allison.

Bob and Peggy Beldon:Retired. Own the Thyme and Tide Bed and Breakfast at 44 Cranberry Point. Have two adult children.

Roy McAfee:Private detective, retired from Seattle police force. Two adult children. The McAfees live at 5 Harbor Street.

Corrie McAfee:Roy’s wife and office manager.

Troy Davis:Cedar Cove sheriff.

Louie Benson:Cedar Cove mayor and brother of Otto Benson, lawyer.

Pastor Flemming:Local Methodist minister.

One

From the moment Rosie Cox entered Cedar Cove’s divorce court, she’d felt a renewed sense of failure—not to mention betrayal. Who wouldn’t feel that way? After seventeen years of what she’d believed to be a reasonably good marriage, Zach’s infidelity was the last thing she’d expected.

He’d never openly admitted to the affair. She hadn’t found her husband in a compromising situation, hadn’t found any concrete evidence—no matchbooks from expensive restaurants, no jewelry receipts or motel bills—but in her heart she knew. A wife always does.

Rosie owned up to the truth—she was angry and she’d expressed that anger by making this divorce as complicated and difficult as she possibly could. Why should she go easy on Zach or walk away from their marriage without one hell of a fight? And fight she had, with both fists raised.

As she turned away from the judge, the final decree in her hand, she realized she’d made another mistake.

Rosie had assumed that once the divorce was granted, the anger and bitterness of these dreadful months would be lifted. Wrong again. An even heavier burden had been added. When the joint custody agreement she and Zach had so carefully worked out, point by point, was presented to Judge Olivia Lockhart, the judge had rejected it.

Instead, Judge Lockhart had stated that it was emotionally detrimental to kids to shuffle them between residences every few days. Allison and Eddie needed stable lives, according to Judge Lockhart, and they hadn’t asked for the divorce. Some people considered the judge innovative, Rosie thought, disgruntled. How about interfering? Or out of her mind? Because—of all the crazy settlements—she’d awarded the children their house. That meant Rosie and Zach would be the ones moving in and out.

Talk about ridiculous! Talk about impossible.

Now that the divorce was final, Rosie and Zach would have to figure out some kind of living arrangements. The ramifications of what they’d agreed to were starting to hit Rosie and she hadn’t even left the courtroom.

“Rosie,” Sharon Castor, her attorney, said as soon as they were in the silent hallway outside the courtroom. “We have to meet with your ex-husband.”

One look told Rosie that Sharon was as flustered as she was herself.

Otto Benson, Zach’s lawyer, joined them. Although he remained outwardly calm, his face was tense. She dared not glance in Zach’s direction. In fact, she’d avoided looking at her ex-husband from the moment she’d walked into the courtroom.

“Let’s get a conference room and discuss the details,” Zach’s attorney said.

Rosie peered at Zach, standing behind his lawyer. He didn’t seem any happier than she was with this decision, but she’d keel over in a dead faint before she let him know how she felt.