Page 104 of Mistletoe and Mischief

The war changed all three men. An incident involving the deaths of innocent civilians had haunted them.

For years Dan Sherman had struggled with depression. When he was in that state of mind, he’d block out family and friends, isolating himself from the world.

After the war Bob had turned to alcohol for solace. Their marriage suffered, and more than once Peggy decided to leave him, taking their son and daughter. Each time Bob convinced her he’d give up drinking and be the husband she deserved. He’d tried, but with limited success. After a few weeks of sobriety Bob would return to the bottle. He hit bottom after losing a promising job, and that was when he went into rehab. Thankfully, he came out a different person. He hadn’t had a drink since that day more than twenty years ago. Or was it twenty-five? She no longer kept count of the years. Each day was a victory, each day a blessing.

“I mailed Hannah a Christmas card,” Peggy confessed. Even now, knowing what she did about the young woman, Peggy had a soft spot for her despite the grief she’d caused them both.

Hannah was the dead man’s daughter and, in fact, had been responsible for his murder.

“Did she write back?”

“No.” Peggy knew it was highly unlikely that Hannah would acknowledge the card. That was fine. Perhaps it was for the best.

“You really came to care for her, didn’t you?”

“Well, yes, but...” Peggy had mixed feelings about the woman. Hannah had attempted to steer blame for the murder toward Bob, and that was unforgivable in Peggy’s eyes. Still, the poor girl had lived a hard life with a father tortured by the past. Max took his self-hatred out on Hannah and her mother. Hannah’s mind became as twisted as her father’s, and as far as she was concerned, he deserved to die.

She’d tried to kill him once before and, to Hannah’s horror, her beloved mother had died instead. Her father had survived the car accident, which made Hannah’s hatred of him even greater. She had deeply loved her mother and to lose her when she’d so carefully planned to kill Max had nearly destroyed her. Hannah redoubled her efforts to make her father pay.

Again Bob’s instincts had been on target. From the first he hadn’t trusted Max’s daughter, who’d shown up at their home after her father’s death. Although he wasn’t able to identify exactly what he disliked about Hannah, he’d made his feelings clear. Hannah had avoided him as much as possible. It wasn’t until much later that they understood why.

“I’ll be forever grateful those days are gone,” Bob murmured, still sipping his coffee.

“Me, too,” Peggy agreed. “You’re free now. The past is over and the future is bright.”

“I’m a lucky man,” Bob said.

Nevertheless, those memories were all too vivid, all too real.

“Hey, why so melancholy?” Bob said, tipping up her chin with his index finger. “We have a lot to celebrate. Hollie and Marc will be here this afternoon and we’ll have a real family Christmas.”

Peggy instantly brightened. Their children were coming for the holidays and spending a few days. To have both of them there was a rare treat. Their family had healed in the past few years.

Hollie and Marc had grown up in the volatile atmosphere created by their father’s problems with alcohol. As much as possible, Peggy had shielded them. It’d taken her years of Al Anon meetings to straighten out her own thinking. Without realizing what she was doing, Peggy had enabled Bob in his drinking. Once she’d stepped aside and allowed him to deal with the consequences of his actions, he was forced to admit that he had a problem.

Those years of struggle had taken a heavy toll. It was only since the move to Cedar Cove that Hollie and Marc were willing to have a relationship with their father. Both were professionals, married but without children. Peggy envied her friends their grandchildren but, so far, her own kids had shown no interest in starting families. Peggy had accepted the situation and was content to lavish affection on her friends’ grandchildren, especially those of her best friend, Corrie McAfee.

“We’d better head out with those gift plates soon, don’t you think?” Peggy said. She wanted to be home when the children arrived with their spouses.

“Anytime now.”

“Everything’s just about ready,” she said, and finished the last of the gift cards with a flourish.

Bob put his cup in the sink and walked into the large family room, where they’d set up the Christmas tree. “I have an early present for you.”

“Oh?” she asked, her curiosity piqued.

He looked pleased with himself. “Actually, your gift’s in the garage.”

“Bob,” Peggy breathed. They’d discussed buying her a new vehicle, but she’d assumed she’d be making the choice. “You bought me a car?”

Bob laughed. “Sorry. That’s a natural assumption but no, it isn’t a car. I hope you aren’t disappointed.”

“Of course not, but I am somewhat curious as to why this can’t wait until morning.”

“Well... This is the type of gift we’d generally talk about in advance.”

She couldn’t imagine what he was talking about. “Give me a clue.”

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