Christmas Trio B. Debbie Macomber

Jo hadn’t intended to spill her heart out to Grace, but the older woman was so warm, so sympathetic. Before long, she’d related the whole sorry tale of how she’d met and fallen in love with David Rhodes. By the time Mary Jo finished, there was a pile of used tissues on the table.

      “You aren’t the only one who’s ever loved unwisely, my dear,” Grace assured her.

      “I just feel really stupid.”

      “Because you trusted a man unworthy of your love?” Grace asked, shaking her head. “The one who needs to be ashamed is David Rhodes.”

      “He isn’t, though.”

      “No,” Grace agreed. “But let me repeat a wise old saying that has served me well through the years.”

      “What’s that?” Mary Jo asked. She dabbed tears from the corners of her eyes and blew her nose.

      “Time wounds all heels,” Grace said with a knowing smile. “It will with David, too.”

      Mary Jo laughed. “I guess the reverse is true, as well. I’ll get over David and his lies.” Her voice trailed off. “Is everyone in Cedar Cove as nice as you and Cliff?” she asked a moment later.

      The question seemed to surprise Grace. “I’d like to think so.”

      “Olivia—Ms. Griffin—certainly is.” Mary Jo sighed and looked down at her hands. “That firefighter—what’s his name again?”

      “Mack McAfee. He’s new to town.”

      What Mary Jo particularly remembered was that he had the gentlest touch and the most reassuring voice. She could still hear it if she closed her eyes. The way he’d knelt at her side and the protectiveness of his manner had calmed her, physically and emotionally.

      “His parents live in town,” Grace was explaining. “Roy McAfee is a retired Seattle detective turned private investigator, and his wife, Corrie, works in his office.”

      “Really.” She recalled seeing Mr. McAfee’s sign on Harbor Street. What a fascinating profession. She suspected Mack’s father got some really interesting cases. Maybe not, though, especially in such a small town. Maybe she was just influenced by the mystery novels she loved and the shows she watched on television.

      “I suppose I should change clothes before dinner,” Grace said, rising from her chair with seeming reluctance. “I’ve enjoyed sitting here chatting with you.”

      “Me, too,” Mary Jo told her. It’d been the most relaxing part of her day—except, of course, for her nap.

      “I’ll be back in a few minutes.”

      Mary Jo took that as her signal to leave. “I’ll go to the apartment.”

      “Are you sure? I know Mack said you should rest but like I said, Cliff and I would be delighted if you joined our family for dinner.”

      “Where is Cliff?” she asked, glancing over one shoulder, assuming he must be somewhere within sight.

      “He’s out with his horses. They’re his first love.” Grace smiled as she said it.

      Mary Jo had noticed the way Cliff regarded his wife. He plainly adored Grace and it was equally obvious that she felt the same about him. Mary Jo gathered they’d only been married a year or two. The wedding picture on the piano looked recent, and it was clear that their adult children were from earlier marriages.

      Then, without letting herself consider the appropriateness of her question, Mary Jo said, “About what you said a few minutes ago … Have you ever loved unwisely?”

      Grace sat down again. She didn’t speak for a moment. “I did,” she finally said. “I married young and then, after many years together, I was widowed. I’d just started dating again. It was a whole new world to me.”

      “Were you seeing Cliff?”

      “Yes. He’d been divorced for years and dating was a new experience for him, too. I’d been married to Dan for over thirty years, and when another man—besides Cliff—paid attention to me, I was flattered. It was someone I’d had a crush on in high school.”

      “Did Cliff know about him?”

      “Not at first. You see, this other man lived in another city and we emailed back and forth, and he became my obsession.” Grace’s mouth tightened. “I knew all along that he was married and yet I allowed our internet romance to continue. He said he was getting a divorce.”

      “It was a lie?”

      “Oh, yes, but I believed him because I wanted to. And then I learned the truth.”

      “Did Cliff find out about this other man?”

      Regret flashed in her eyes. “Yes—and as soon as he did, he broke off our relationship.”

      “Oh, no! You nearly lost him?”

      “As I said, I’d learned the truth about Will by then and was crushed to lose Cliff over him. I was angry with myself for being so gullible and naive. I’d lost a wonderful man because of my foolishness. For a long time I could hardly look at my own face in the mirror.”

      “That’s how I feel now,” she whispered. Will, she thought. She’d heard that name before….

      “It does get better, Mary Jo, I promise you that. Will, the man I was…involved with, did eventually lose his wife. She divorced him and, while I believe he had genuine feelings for me, it was too late. I wanted nothing more to do with him. So you see, he was really the one who lost out in all this.”

      “Cliff forgave you?”

      “Yes, but it took time. I was determined never to give him cause to doubt me again. We were married soon after that and I can honestly say I’ve never been happier.”

      “It shows.”

      “Cliff is everything I could want in a husband.”

      The door off the kitchen opened just then, and Cliff came in, brushing snow from his jacket. He hung it on a peg by the door, then removed his boots. “When I left, you two were sitting right where you are now, talking away.”

      Grace smiled at him. “I was about to change my clothes,” she said. “Keep Mary Jo entertained until I get back, will you?”

      “Sure thing.”

      Grace hurried out, and Cliff claimed the chair next to Mary Jo. As he did, he eyed the crumpled tissues. “Looks like you two had a good heart-to-heart.”

      “We did,” she said and then with a sigh told him, “I’ve been very foolish.”

      “I’m sure Grace told you we’ve all made mistakes in our lives. The challenge is to learn from those mistakes so we don’t repeat them.”

      “I don’t intend to get myself into this predicament ever again,” Mary Jo said fervently. “It’s just that …” She hesitated, uncertain how much to tell him about her brothers. “I feel like my family’s smothering me. I have three older brothers and they all seem to think they know what’s best for me and my baby.”

      “They love you,” he said simply.

      She nodded. “That’s what makes it so difficult. With my parents gone, they feel they should be the ones directing my life.”

      “And naturally you take exception to that.”

      “Well, yes. But when I tried to live my life my own way and prove how adult I was, look what happened.” She pressed both hands over her stomach, staring down at it. “I made a mistake, a lot of mistakes, but I discovered something … interesting after I found out I was pregnant.”

      “What’s that?” Cliff asked. He stretched his long legs out in front of him and leaned back, holding his coffee mug. She noticed that his hand-knit