Christmas In The Cove. Carol Ross

charm?”

      Gale grinned. “Well, a couple hundred years can make a big difference history-wise. Although, Astoria is pretty cool and you’ve got your own history with the fur trade and Lewis and Clark’s big adventures along the Columbia River. Plus, the old forts and the Native American culture. And all these spectacular lighthouses I’ve been reading about. Excited to check those out.”

      “That’s true,” Alex said, a tinge of pride in his voice. After a thoughtful pause he asked, “How long do you think you guys will be here?”

      Eli answered. “Uh, we’re not sure yet. As long as it takes us to make a thorough evaluation.”

      “Of search-and-rescue training procedures?”

      “Yep.”

      “Air rescue or all operations?”

      “We’re doing air, water and vertical surface. Someone else will be assigned to the boats, probably sometime this spring, from what I understand.” This wasn’t true, but luckily the powers that be had planned for this question and formulated the official answer they were to give if asked. Even though it was part of the job, it made him uncomfortable to have to lie to his old friend.

      Alex nodded thoughtfully.

      This would be the perfect opportunity to confide in Alex. He and Gale had been cautioned to proceed as if they didn’t trust anyone. The admiral knew Eli had roots here, yet he’d trusted him not to let those connections cloud his judgment. Eli and Gale had agreed that they’d discuss and be in accordance before they sought advice or help from anyone else, Coast Guard or civilian. There was also the fact that he could conceivably be putting his friend in danger by getting him involved. For the time being he would hold off.

      As they walked and talked, Eli wondered how many hundreds of times he and Alex had covered this same path together. It was crazy how it suddenly seemed like they’d done so only yesterday.

      The cozy gray-and-white saltbox he and his father had shared was gone now. They paused on the newly-poured sidewalk in front of a cardinal-red mailbox marking the address where it had once been. Memories tumbled through his brain like a slide show; his dad making him breakfast every single morning when he wasn’t on duty, playing on the rope swing he and his dad had hung from the limb of a huge spruce tree, his cat Willow greeting him when he got home from school...

      “Man, we had some good times here,” Alex said. “Remember all the card games we used to play? Dang, Aubrey was good at that one where you have to get rid of all the cards in your pile. She has freakishly fast hands. Remember how we would cheat? We’d get frustrated and throw her cards so she’d have to scramble around for them while we would frantically try to catch up.” His deep belly laugh was contagious. “She’d get so mad, but she’d giggle at the same time. It’s been great having her back in town—and Nina, too. I love those Wynn girls.”

      Eli chuckled in remembrance. He hadn’t had fun like that in a very long time.

      “Speaking of rescues... That was kind of a scary one yesterday, huh?”

      Of course Alex would know about it. He knew everything that happened in town. Plus, Aubrey and Alex were still close, just like he and Alex were. Unlike him, Alex was still friendly with the entire Wynn family.

      “You heard, huh? Aubrey was great. They are lucky to have her.” Eli wasn’t about to give away how scared he’d been. He didn’t even want to admit that to himself.

      “Yeah, I talked to Nina last night. I called Aubrey first thing this morning because I knew she had a Christmas meeting. She’s a little obsessed with this competition. The woman goes nonstop as it is. If she’s not on base or working out, she’s swimming or giving lessons at the pool or helping somebody with something—or worrying about someone. Nina is on the receiving end of that these days. You know about how Nina’s been living with her since her divorce?”

      He knew, but only because Alex had told him months ago over the phone.

      “She’s been through hell, and Aubrey’s been there for her every step of the way. Don’t get me wrong, she’s amazing, and I’m not begrudging her any of it...” His head fell to one side as if pondering. “Most of it, anyway. I just wish she’d take a little time for herself once in a while.”

      Eli wasn’t surprised by any of this. She’d always exhibited that kind of compassion. He’d been drawn to it as well as her courage and unshakable drive. At times he’d been almost jealous of the phenomenal amount of energy she possessed. Even when they were teenagers, she’d been tough to keep up with. When she’d told him she wanted to be a rescue swimmer, he’d never once doubted her ability to achieve that goal.

      “What’s a Christmas contest?” Gale asked.

      “Oh, there’s this competition, sponsored by DeBolt Realty. Their goal is to find the beach town with the most Christmas spirit. They specialize in oceanfront property and they’re trying to expand their footprint here in the Pacific Northwest. Aubrey is co-chair of Pacific Cove’s effort, along with the mayor, Jack Hobbes. She really wants to win. I’m not super thrilled about the venture because, if she wins, the town gets included in a national advertising campaign. Don’t let them fool you. Not all publicity is good publicity. But I’m being supportive for Aubrey’s sake because also included is prize money, which she wants to use to spruce up the community’s pool. That part I’m on board with. We spent an awful lot of time in that pool when we were kids, especially Aubrey.”

      Alex pointed at what used to be Eli’s yard. “Remember how we would get those whiffle ball games going in your yard? Your dad would always play when we needed to make the teams even. He was so cool. He made being a single dad look easy. How’s he doing?”

      Tim Pelletier had been a great dad, caring for Eli in the best way he knew how and steadfastly making their house a home. Eli’s mom had taken off when Eli was only three months old, so his dad had been left to fulfill as much of the mom role as he could. In spite of his dad’s bouts of depression, his childhood had been great, right up through his teenage years.

      But everything had changed soon after his high school graduation when his father had been transferred. Closing in on two three-year assignments, it had been time for him to move on. But not in this way. The new assignment, which he’d had no choice but to take, had essentially been a demotion for his father, marking the end of his career advancement. Depression had kicked in and he’d retired soon after.

      The situation had been bad for Eli, too. He’d been left with no choice but to break up with Aubrey while a burning anger and hatred had born for the man who had caused it all—Brian Wynn. Aubrey’s father. Because how could Eli be with the girl whose father had ended his own dad’s career? How could he be with her and not tell her all of the things that weren’t his to tell, like why he’d really broken up with her and what her parents’ role had been in it all?

      Eli realized Alex was waiting for an answer. “He’s good. Really good, actually. He’s thinking about flying up for Christmas.” After his retirement, his father had moved to Florida, bought a boat and become a sport fishing guide. After several rough years of adjustment, his dad finally seemed content. The last couple of years in particular he’d been especially busy and seemed to be flourishing.

      “We should go fishing with him again. Man, that was a blast.” Three years ago, he and Alex had taken a trip to Florida to visit him.

      “Alex caught a marlin that weighed in at—what was it?—four hundred and twelve pounds.”

      “Four hundred and twelve point two pounds,” Alex answered, launching into his fish story.

      Eli took the opportunity to study his old neighborhood. Alex was right. Unlike the west side, or “beach side” as they’d called the upscale part of town, this side of town had changed. Dramatically. A few years ago a developer had bought a huge chunk of land here, torn down the old houses and put up one of those cutesy subdivisions where the houses looked different and yet matched at the same time. It reminded Eli of a set of snap-together