(Cindy and the Prince and Some Kind of Wonderful)
The Man You’ll Marry
(The First Man You Meet and The Man You’ll Marry)
Orchard Valley Grooms
(Valerie and Stephanie)
Orchard Valley Brides
(Norah and Lone Star Lovin’)
Debbie Macomber’s
Cedar Cove Cookbook
CAST OF CHARACTERS
Some of the Residents of Cedar Cove, Washington
Charlotte Jefferson Rhodes: Mother of Olivia and of Will Jefferson. Now married to widower Ben Rhodes, who has two sons, David and Steven, neither of whom lives in Cedar Cove. Charlotte and Ben live on Eagle Crest Avenue.
Olivia Lockhart Griffin: Family Court judge. Mother of Justine and of James (who lives in San Diego). Married to Jack Griffin, editor of the Cedar Cove Chronicle. Their home is at 16 Lighthouse Road.
Justine (Lockhart) Gunderson: Daughter of Olivia. Mother of Leif. Married to Seth Gunderson. Their home is 6 Rainier Drive.
Will Jefferson: Olivia’s brother, Charlotte’s son. Formerly of Atlanta. Divorced, retired and back in Cedar Cove, where he has recently bought the local art gallery.
Grace Sherman Harding: Olivia’s lifelong best friend. Librarian. Widow of Dan Sherman. Mother of Maryellen Bowman and Kelly Jordan. Married to Cliff Harding, a horse breeder living in Olalla, near Cedar Cove. Cliff has a married daughter, Lisa.
Maryellen Bowman: Oldest daughter of Grace and Dan Sherman. Mother of Katie and Drake. Married to Jon Bowman, photographer.
Bob and Peggy Beldon: Retired. Own the Thyme and Tide B & B at 44 Cranberry Point.
Roy McAfee: Private investigator, retired from Seattle police force. Three adult children—Mack, Linnette and Gloria. Married to Corrie, who works as his office manager. The McAfees live at 50 Harbor Street.
Linnette McAfee: Daughter of Roy and Corrie. A physician assistant, she now lives in North Dakota.
Mack McAfee: Son of Roy and Corrie, brother of Linnette. Fireman and EMT in Cedar Cove.
Gloria Ashton: Deputy in Cedar Cove Sheriff’s Department. Daughter of Roy and Corrie, born prior to their marriage and adopted by the Ashton family of California as a newborn.
Troy Davis: Sheriff of Cedar Cove.
Pastor Dave Flemming: Local Methodist minister. He and his wife, Emily, are the parents of Matthew and Mark.
Shirley Bliss: Widow and fabric artist, mother of Tannith (Tanni) Bliss.
Shaw Wilson: Friend of Tanni’s. Works at Mocha Mama, a local coffee shop.
Helen Shelton: Widow and friend of Charlotte Rhodes. Helen lives at 5-B Poppy Lane.
CONTENTS
To my parents
Ted and Connie Adler
who married July 25, 1942,
before my father
headed off to war
Prologue
It was early afternoon, Christmas Eve. Snow was falling lightly, adding to the festive atmosphere inside and out. Helen Shelton fussed with the decorations in her small Cedar Cove duplex, making sure everything was in place. The tree, a real one, featured the ornaments she’d started acquiring when she’d married Sam in 1946. He’d bought her many of these, and as she hung them carefully on the branches she’d relived their history, hers and Sam’s. He’d died almost thirty