Cedar Cove Collection. Debbie Macomber

He was in front of his computer, eating a cheese sandwich, when someone pounded hard on the door.

      Bobby answered it and discovered James standing there. Looking pale and shaken, the driver handed Bobby an envelope. “One of Vladimir’s men dropped this off. He said I was to give it to you.”

      A chill went down Bobby’s spine as he tore open the envelope—a chill that intensified when he saw what was inside. A gold medal imprinted with the image of an angel, similar to one Teri owned.

      All at once Bobby’s breath caught in his throat.

      It wasn’t similar to Teri’s; this was hers.

      For a moment his vocal cords refused to work. When he finally managed to speak, he looked at James. “We have to contact Teri. Now.” Uttering those few simple words required monumental effort.

      James fumbled for his cell. It seemed to take him an inordinate amount of time to press the appropriate number in the speed-dial function. Bobby held his breath while he waited for Teri to respond. As soon as she did, he was able to breathe again, to speak. To move.

      “Bobby!” Teri sounded excited to hear from him. “Did you talk to James about my sister?”

      “Where’s your angel necklace?” he asked, ignoring her question.

      “Oh, Bobby, for Pete’s sake, I’m wearing it.” She muttered something he couldn’t understand. He could hear some rustling and then she gasped. “Bobby! I seem to have lost it. I can’t believe I’d misplace that. I distinctly remember putting it on….”

      “This morning?”

      “Yes, right after I got out of the shower. I wear it quite often. Did you find it? Is that why you’re calling?”

      The chill he’d experienced earlier became an icy blast that froze his blood. Bobby understood the message. Vladimir had expected him in Los Angeles, and Bobby’s efforts to thwart him hadn’t gone unnoticed. This was his way of telling Bobby that he could get to Teri whenever he wanted.

      “Bobby, you’re not answering me.”

      He couldn’t. Instead he passed the phone to James. The only option he had was to await further instructions. When the time came, he would do what was asked of him, even if it meant walking away a loser.

      Sixteen

      Linnette McAfee’s eyes stung as she pulled away from her parents’ home on Harbor Street. The farewell with her sister Gloria earlier in the afternoon had been just as hard. They’d all kept her with them as long as they could. Her mother, especially, didn’t want her to leave Cedar Cove, but in the end had accepted Linnette’s decision. It might be an unreasonable one, but it was hers to make.

      Linnette had listened to all of her family’s arguments and she understood what they’d explained over and over again. Okay, so she was running away. Okay, so leaving town wouldn’t work, wouldn’t solve her problems. She didn’t care.

      Linnette didn’t know anything about Will Jefferson other than that he was Charlotte Rhodes’s son and Olivia Griffin’s brother. Will had sublet her apartment and she’d felt like kissing him in gratitude. Even if he hadn’t taken over her lease, she would’ve left Cedar Cove. His opportune appearance meant she wouldn’t lose a chunk of her savings paying rent on a place she wasn’t living in.

      What particularly distressed her parents was Linnette’s lack of a destination. She’d drive until she was tired of driving, tired of being on the road. As her mother had repeatedly pointed out, this was the most irresponsible action of her life.

      Linnette agreed. But the thing no one seemed to grasp was how freeing that felt, how liberating it was not to answer to anyone. All her life she’d been Ms. Responsibility. She’d gone directly from high school into college and then into the physician assistant program. From the age of five, all she’d done was study and work. No big vacations, no time off for good grades—or good behavior. Nothing.

      Beyond anything else, the painful breakup with Cal had taught her that this would continue to be her lot in life unless she did something drastic. So she had.

      As Linnette entered Highway 16 past Olalla, her cell phone rang. Normally she wouldn’t have answered. She knew it was dangerous to drive and chat on her cell. At any other time she would’ve let voice mail catch the call. Not this afternoon.

      “Hi. This is Linnette,” she sang out, doing her utmost to sound completely happy and carefree. She wasn’t, but there was a lot to be said for pretending.

      “Linnette? You really did it, didn’t you?”

      “Mack?” Of all people, she thought her brother would understand. He hadn’t been able to attend the farewell dinner at her parents’ because of training obligations and she was pleased to hear from him.

      “I just got off the phone with Mom,” he said.

      “Was she still bemoaning my decision?”

      “Oh, yes.” He gave a wry chuckle. “You said you were packing up and heading out, but I didn’t really believe you’d do it.”

      That was another problem. No one took her seriously. Even her family and close friends hadn’t believed she’d actually follow through. She knew why, too. Linnette McAfee had always been so darned conscientious and dependable. So goody-goody, so … predictable.

      “Yup, I’m out of here,” she said, forcing a note of glee into her voice.

      There was a short silence. “Mom says you don’t know where you’re going.”

      “I don’t. I figure I’ll know when I get there.”

      “That isn’t like you.”

      “Which is exactly my point.”

      “This sounds more like something I’d do.”

      “Yes, it does.” She’d always envied her brother his individuality and his courage. He’d been a nonconformist from the time he was in grade school. For years there’d been trouble between Mack and their dad; only recently had father and son come to a mutual understanding. Linnette, for one, was relieved that they’d worked things out.

      “Stop by and see me, will you?” Mack suggested. “I’d like to talk to you before you leave.”

      “I thought you were at the Fire Training Academy in North Bend,” she said.

      “This was our last day. Let’s celebrate—I’ll treat you to dinner.”

      Mack treat her? That was a laugh. Her brother was constantly broke. Besides, she wasn’t even ten miles out of Cedar Cove and already her family was weighing her down, pulling her back. “I … I don’t think so.”

      “Why not?” Mack demanded. “You weren’t on any schedule.”

      “No, but …”

      “Then what’s the problem?”

      Linnette sighed. “All right, I’ll meet you—on one condition.”

      “I’m serious, I’ll buy,” her brother insisted. “Then you’ll owe me.”

      “Mack, if you say a single word about me leaving Cedar Cove or bring up Cal and Vicki, I swear to you I’ll walk out of the restaurant. Now, where should I meet you?” Since he’d offered to pay, he’d probably choose a fast-food joint.

      “I promise not to say a single word about the impulsive nature of your decision.”

      “Fine.” After a few minutes of discussion they decided to meet at a Chinese restaurant in old downtown Issaquah. Neither had dined there before, but Mack had heard good things about the food, which was said to be plentiful and cheap. Cheap being the operative word in this case.

      Mack was sitting in a booth, sipping tea, when Linnette arrived. He