Cedar Cove Collection. Debbie Macomber

      “It would be wonderful to see the gallery back the way it used to be,” she said wistfully.

      Just as Will was getting ready to leave, Maryellen heard another car door close. She hadn’t had company in several days and two guests in the same afternoon was certainly unexpected.

      “I’d better be going,” Will said, coming to his feet. He smiled at Katie again and the little girl shrieked and buried her face in the sofa.

      Shaking her head, Maryellen saw him to the door and noticed Cliff Harding, her stepfather, climbing out of his truck. They stared at each other, and Maryellen remembered again what she’d heard about Will Jefferson—and her mother. Now the two men were meeting face to face. In her front yard.

      Not sure what to do, Maryellen shut the door and stepped over to the window to watch. At first, both men maintained a respectable distance from each other. From the set of Cliff’s shoulders, Maryellen could tell he was tense. But gradually his shoulders relaxed and after a few minutes, the two men approached each other and shook hands. Maryellen saw, to her astonishment, that they were smiling.

      Will left first, and then Cliff came up to the house with a box of clothes Kelly had asked him to drop off for Drake. He couldn’t stay. She didn’t ask about his exchange with Will Jefferson; the way Maryellen figured it, whatever had taken place was their business.

      That evening she received several other phone calls, including one from her mother, but she managed not to even hint at any of her exciting news. It just didn’t seem right to tell anyone else before she spoke to Jon. She had to wait until Jon got home, though. Maryellen decided not to call him; he was too busy at the restaurant, and she wanted to see his face when she told him about Marc Albright. By the time the children were both asleep, she was pacing the floor, eager to talk to him.

      When Jon finally walked in, it was after eleven. Generally she was in bed by then, and he seemed surprised to find her up. He looked tired; still, he smiled when he saw her.

      “To what do I owe this pleasure?” he murmured.

      Without hesitation, Maryellen hurried toward him, slipping into his embrace and hugging him fiercely. “Oh, Jon! I have so much good news. I just couldn’t go to bed.”

      “I heard a rumor that the Harbor Street Gallery might have a buyer. Is that it?”

      She nodded. “Will Jefferson is probably going to buy it. He stopped by to talk to me about my views on the current problems and how to resolve them. He seems very knowledgeable.”

      “That’s great.”

      “I have other news, too.”

      Jon regarded her with a mildly puzzled expression.

      “This has to do with you.”

      “Me?”

      “Yes.” She led the way to the living room. He sat down between a laundry basket piled with folded baby clothes and a stack of freshly washed towels. She remained standing. “Do you remember all those weeks I spent living on this sofa?” Although she asked the question, it was unlikely either of them would forget the long months of forced rest she’d had to endure.

      “This is a trick question, right?”

      “No, it’s rhetorical. I spent the first few weeks worrying because there was so little I could do, and you were run ragged.”

      “Maryellen,” he said, reaching for her hands. “That’s all in the past.”

      “Yes, I know, and I promise I’ll get to the point in a minute. Just bear with me, okay?”

      “Of course.”

      He looked puzzled but Maryellen needed to tell the whole story and tell it her way.

      “Then,” she continued, “despite your own preferences, you asked your parents for help.”

      “Yes, but—”

      “Please, let me finish.” She didn’t mean to cut him off, but she was nearly bursting with what she had to tell him. “I understand how hard that was for you, Jon.” He’d done it for her and Katie and the baby, and Maryellen would never forget that or what it had cost him.

      “Just a minute,” Jon said, “before you go any further with this. I don’t want you seeing me as some wonderful hero. In case you’ve forgotten, I wasn’t happy about it.”

      “I know, and that makes what you did even more admirable.” She smiled at him, tears gathering in her eyes. “Anyway, while your family was here, I occupied my time trying to get you an agent.”

      Jon stared up at her. “How did we move from my parents being here to you finding me an agent?”

      “That’s how it happened,” she said, speaking quickly. “If it hadn’t been for your father and Ellen, I wouldn’t have been able to spend all those hours on the computer or making all those phones calls.”

      “Are you saying an agent’s interested in me?”

      She nodded. “More than interested.”

      “Who?”

      “His name is Marc Albright and he’s already made two tentative sales of your photographs.”

      “Already? What about the terms?”

      “It’s limited use and Jon, oh, Jon, the money is fabulous.” When she told him the figure, his eyebrows shot up in disbelief.

      “Limited use?” he asked. “As what?”

      “One’s being picked up for a print ad for an outdoor clothing franchise and the other’s the backdrop for an author’s promotional kit, which is being sent to booksellers and distributors.”

      “Which shots?” he asked, immediately curious, just as Maryellen had been. She had them ready and pulled out the two photographs for his inspection.

      Jon glanced at them, then looked up, his eyes filled with shock—as if, only now, had this become real to him.

      “Remember how we talked about me being your manager one day?” she asked.

      He nodded.

      “Well, my beloved husband, that day has arrived.”

      Jon smiled widely. “That’s wonderful, Maryellen.” He stood and hugged her, then announced that he needed a shower.

      A shower? Jon wanted to go upstairs and take a shower? She’d just delivered the best news of his career and all he could think about was a shower?

      Maryellen didn’t allow her disappointment to show. She hadn’t known Jon all these years for nothing; he needed to process this information in his own way.

      When he’d finished his shower, Maryellen was in bed. Drake would wake for his feeding soon. She considered waking him now and getting it over with so she could count on a few hours of uninterrupted sleep, but that wasn’t a practice she wanted to start.

      The moonlight shone through the uncurtained window. Jon kept the bedside lamp off as he slipped between the sheets. “I did hear you right, didn’t I? I have an agent?”

      “He’s one of the top agents in the country.” She smiled. “I did my research, you know.”

      Jon lifted her hair and dropped soft kisses on her neck.

      When he stopped, Maryellen rolled onto her back and discovered him looking down at her, his head propped up on one elbow. “He’d like to talk to you in the morning,” she said.

      “And you only mention that now?”

      She grinned and threw her arms around him. “Are you excited yet?”

      “I’m getting there.”

      “You should be, Jon.”

      “He likes my