Page 42 of Mistletoe and Mischief

“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 figured this was her signal to leave. “I’ll go to the apartment.”

“Are you sure? I know Mack said you should rest, but Cliff and I would really like it 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 allowing herself to consider the appropriateness of her question, Mary Jo said, “About what you said a few minutes ago... Haveyouever 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 e-mailed 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 Cliff?”

“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 murmured.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 really was the one who lost out in all this.”

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