Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series, Volume 2 by Debbie Macomber

hurt you.”
    â€œDon’t worry about it.”
    â€œI…” Vicki looked up then and seemed to reach some decision. “I’ve been in love with Cal for a long time,” she said. “Long before he met you. He didn’t know it and I…I didn’t know how to tell him, so I said nothing. I never thought he could possibly love me.”
    â€œIt’s because of Cal that you volunteered to help with the mustang rescue, isn’t it?”
    Vicki nodded. “Well…partly. The cause is important to me too, of course. Anything to do with horses…”
    â€œI understand.” After a brief silence, she asked, “You knew about me?”
    Vicki nodded again. “I tried not to love him.”
    Linnette wasn’t sure of the other woman’s purpose in confronting her. Perhaps she felt guilty. Perhaps because of that she was hoping Linnette would yell at her, curse her, condemn her for taking the man Linnette loved. A week earlier, that was exactly what might have happened. Not now. “I’m the one who’s trying not to love him,” Linnette whispered.
    â€œI’m sure there’ll be lots of other opportunities for you. You’ll find someone else to love—someone who’ll love you,” Vicki said urgently. “But for me…” She cleared her throat. “I communicate better with animals than I do with people. I always have. As soon as I met Cal, I felt we should be together. He has the same feeling about animals.”
    Linnette suddenly had a sharp clear memory of the time she’d come to visit Cal and overheard him crooning to an injured horse. He hadn’t known she was there. Linnette had felt as if she was intruding on a private moment, a private world.
    â€œCal’s asked me to marry him,” Vicki said in a low voice. “I want to…”
    â€œThen you should,” Linnette said.
    â€œWe both feel so guilty.”
    â€œDon’t, please.” She reached out to touch Vicki’s arm. In the beginning she’d hated this woman, but she no longer felt that way. “I want you both to be happy.”
    â€œYou mean that?” Vicki asked, frowning.
    â€œWith all my heart.” Linnette took a deep breath. “If you’ve come looking for my absolution, then you have it.”
    â€œCan I tell Cal we’ve talked?”
    Linnette nodded. “You’re right, you know. I will find someone else.” For the first time she actually believed it.

Six
    I t was the Saturday evening of the dreaded family dinner.
    Teri couldn’t stop fidgeting. She checked the ham roasting in the oven, along with a huge casserole of scalloped potatoes. She’d chosen fresh green beans for the vegetable; they were simmering on the stove. Although it was summer, ham had always been served on special occasions, and Teri wasn’t about to break with tradition. The table was set with her formal dishes—even the concept of “formal” and “everyday” dishes was a new one for her—and sparkling crystal glasses. Nothing but the best for Mom, Christie and the gang, she thought with no small degree of irony. Against her better judgment, Teri was introducing her family, such as it was, to her husband.
    â€œBobby,” she called, leaving the kitchen and pulling off the apron she’d donned to protect her pale green shirt. She’d worn it for confidence, since Bobby loved that color on her. When he came toward her, she drew in a calming breath. “Remember what I told you?”
    Her husband regarded her blankly.
    â€œAbout Christie.”
    Judging by the blank look he gave her, he didn’t recall a word. She’d wanted to warn him so he’d be prepared. Her sister, slim and lovely, would do everything in her power to attract him—and steal him away if she could.
    Teri suspected that Christie had coerced Johnny into arranging this meeting just so she could