“Some guy and a woman,” Brandon elaborated.

“Did they give you a name?” Mack asked.

“Sorry, no.”

Mack walked toward the front of the building and as he neared he heard voices—one of them unmistakably his sister’s.

“Linnette!” he said, bursting into the room.

“Mack.” She threw herself into his arms for a fierce hug.

“What are you doing here?” he asked. The last he’d heard she was in Buffalo Valley and intended to stay there for the holidays.

She slipped one arm around his waist. “It’s a surprise. Pete suggested it and offered to drive me, so here I am.”

Mack turned to the other man. In a phone conversation the month before, Linnette had told him she’d met a farmer and that they were seeing each other. “Mack McAfee,” he said, offering his hand.

Pete’s handshake was firm. “Pleased to meet you, Mack.”

“Happy to meet you, too.” He turned back to his sister. “Mom doesn’t know?”

Linnette giggled. “She doesn’t have a clue. Dad, either. It’s going to be a total shock to both of them.”

“When did you arrive?”

“About five minutes ago. We decided to come and see you first, then we’re going to the house.”

“Dad’s out doing his Christmas shopping.”

Linnette laughed and looked at Pete. “What did I tell you?”

“That he’d be shopping,” Pete said laconically.

“Mom’s busy cooking, I’ll bet.” This comment was directed at Mack.

“My favorite salad,” he informed her. “Even though I won’t be there, she’s making it for me. I’m already looking forward to the leftovers. Oh, and she decided on ham this year.”

Linnette laughed again. “She discussed her Christmas menu with you?”

“In minute detail.”

“Poor Mom,” Linnette murmured.

“I wish I could see the expression on her face when you walk in the door.”

“I love that we’re going to surprise her.” Linnette’s wide grin was perhaps the best Christmas gift he could have received. His sister, happy again.

Mack hadn’t seen her smile like this in…well, a year anyway.

“Call me later and let me know how long it takes Mom to stop crying.”

“I will,” Linnette said.

His sister and Pete left for the house, and Mack returned to the firehouse kitchen, where he was assigned cooking duty that evening. He resumed chopping onions for the vat of chili he planned to make—how was that for Christmas Eve dinner? He caught himself wishing he could be at his parents’ place tonight, after all. Although he’d just met Pete, Mack sensed that he was a solid, hard-working, no-nonsense man. Exactly what Linnette needed, and someone Mack wanted to know better.

It seemed that Linnette had found the kind of person she needed, but had he? Mack shook his head.

And yet, he couldn’t forget Mary Jo Wyse.

Which wasn’t remotely logical, considering that their relationship consisted mostly of him taking her blood pressure.

And yet…

11

Linc drove down Harbor Street, peering out at both sides of the street. Fortunately, the snow had let up—Ned was probably disappointed by that. He wasn’t sure what he was searching for, other than some clue as to where he might locate his runaway sister. He’d give anything to see that long brown coat, that colorful striped scarf….

“Nice town,” Ned commented, looking around.

Linc hadn’t noticed. His mind was on Mary Jo.

“They seem to go all out with the Christmas decorations,” Mel added.

Ned poked his head between the two of them and braced his arms against the back of the seats. “Lots of lights, too.”

“There’s only one that I can see,” Linc mumbled, concentrating on the road ahead. His brothers were so easily distracted, he thought irritably.

They exchanged knowing glances.

“What?” Linc barked. He recognized that look. In fact, he’d already seen it several times today.

“In case you weren’t aware of it, there are lights on every lamppost all through town,” Ned pointed out slowly, as if he was speaking to a child. “The street is decorated with Christmas lights. And that clock tower, too, with the Christmas tree in front of it.”

“I was talking about traffic signals,” Linc snapped.

“Oh, signals. Yeah, you’re right about that.” As Linc drove through the downtown area, there’d been just that one traffic light. Actually, he was going back to it. He made a sharp U-turn.

“Where are you going?” Mel asked, clutching the handle above the passenger window.

“Back to the light—the traffic light, I mean.”

“Why?” Ned ventured with some hesitation.

Linc’s mood had improved since they’d arrived in Cedar Cove. The traffic was almost nonexistent and his sister was here. Somewhere.

He tried to think like Mary Jo. Where could she be? It had started to get dark, although it was barely four in the afternoon. Twilight had already settled over the snowy landscape.

“Practically everything in town is closed for the day,” Mel said, pressing his face against the passenger window like an anxious child.

“Stands to reason. It’s Christmas Eve.” Ned sounded as if he was stating something neither Linc nor Mel had discovered yet.

Linc waited for the light before making a sharp left-hand turn. The road ended at a small traffic circle that went around a totem pole. The building to the right with the large mural was the library, and there was a large, mostly vacant parking lot situated to his left. Directly in front of him was a marina and a large docked boat.

The sign read Passenger Ferry.

Linc immediately went through the traffic circle and pulled into the parking lot.

“Why are we stopping here?” Mel asked in surprise.

“Not that I’m complaining. I could use a pit stop.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ned chimed in. “Let’s go, okay?”

“Come on,” Mel said. “I wanna hit the men’s room.”

“How did Mary Jo get to Cedar Cove?” he asked them both, ignoring their entreaties. “The ferry, right? Isn’t that what we figured?”

“Yeah, she must’ve taken it to Bremerton,” Mel agreed. “And then she rode the foot ferry across from Bremerton to Cedar Cove.” He pointed to the boat docked at the end of the pier.

Linc playfully ruffled his brother’s hair. “Give the man a cigar.”

Mel jerked his head aside. “Hey, cut it out.” He combed his fingers through his hair to restore it to order.

Linc swung open the truck door and climbed out.

“Where you goin’ now?” Mel asked, opening his own door.

“It’s not for us to question why,” Ned intoned and clambered out, too.

Linc sighed. “I’m going to ask if anyone saw a pregnant girl on the dock this morning.”

“Good idea,” Ned said enthusiastically. “Meanwhile, we’ll visit that men’s room over there.”

“Fine,” Linc grumbled, scanning the street as he waited for them. Unfortunately he hadn’t found anyone to question in the vicinity of the dock. The only nearby place that seemed to be doing business was a pub—imaginatively called the Cedar Cove Tavern.

“I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus” blasted out the door the instant Linc opened it. A pool table dominated one side of the establishment; one man was leaning over it, pool cue in hand, while another stood by watching. They looked over their shoulders when the three brothers came inside.

Linc walked up to the bar.

The bartender, who had a full head of white hair and was wearing a Santa hat, ambled over to him. “What can I get you boys?”

“Coke for me.” Linc was driving, so he wasn’t interested in anything alcoholic. Besides, he’d need a clear head once he tracked down his obstinate younger sister.

“I’ll have a beer,” Mel said. He propped his elbows on the bar as though settling in for a long winter’s night.

“Coke,” Ned ordered, sliding onto the stool on Linc’s other side.

The bartender served them speedily.

Linc slapped a twenty-dollar bill on the scarred wooden bar. “You seen a pregnant woman around today?” he asked. “Someone from out of town?”

The man frowned. “Can’t say I have.”

“She’s real pregnant.” For emphasis Mel held both hands in front of his stomach.

“Then I definitely didn’t,” Santa informed them.

“She arrived by foot ferry,” Ned told him. “Probably sometime midmorning.”

“Sorry,” Santa murmured. “I didn’t start my shift until three.” He rested his bulk against the counter and called out, “Anyone here see a pregnant gal come off the foot ferry this morning?”

The two men playing pool shook their heads. The other patrons stopped their conversation, glanced at Linc and his brothers, then went back to whatever they were discussing.

“Doesn’t look like anyone else did either,” the bartender said.

The brothers huddled over their drinks. “What we gotta do,” Mel suggested, “is figure out what her agenda would be.”

“She came to find David’s parents,” Ned reminded them. “That’s her agenda.”

“True.” Okay, they both had a point. Turning back to the bartender, Linc caught his attention. “You know any people named Rhodes in the area?”

Santa nodded as he wiped a beer mug. “Several.”

“This is an older couple. They have a son named David.”

The bartender frowned. “Oh, I know David. He stiffed me on a sixty-dollar tab.”

Yeah, they were talking about the same guy, all right. “What about his parents?”

“Ben and Charlotte,” Santa told them. “Really decent people. I don’t have anything good to say about their son, though.”

“Where do they live?”

“I’m not sure.”

Looking around, Linc saw a pay phone near the restrooms. “I’ll check if Ben Rhodes is in the phone book,” he said, leaving his stool.

“Sounds like a plan,” Santa muttered.