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"True" Roy ell aware of that, but Samuels's military record was impeccable And he lived on the East Coast His whereabouts were accounted for during the time around Maxwell Russell's death To be on the safe side, Roy had checked into the weeks shortly after Dan Sherman's disappearance, but San of coffee, black, and sat in the chair across fro" Their twenty-five-year-old daughter had recently graduated as a physician's assistant

Roy brightened He adored Linnette and felt close to her She was bright, beautiful and a source of pride Her brother was another story Roy and Mack were frequently at odds

Linnette had done well in school and Mack, to put it bluntly, hadn't

"She's applying for a job in Montana, of all places"

With thecities, many sh she'd grown up in Seattle, Linnette had always been drawn to rural areas, so Roy wasn't surprised by her decision She'd be filling a critical need and living in the sort of place she liked

"Did you hear me, Roy? Montana?"

He wasn't sure what had upset Corrie so ram, they'd both known she wouldn't settle down in Seattle

"I don't want hertwo states away!"

"Corrie--"

He wasn't allowed to finish

"Linnette doesn't know a soul in Montana There's plenty of stonState that need physician's assistants"

Roy made an effort to hold back his as, Mother"

Evidently not a successful effort Corrie cast hi about"

"Yes, dear"

"Don't use that tone of voice with me, Roy McAfee"

"Yes, dear"

"You're not funny You know that, don't you?"

Roy resisted answering, although it was a struggle "Where would you be co Linnette find a job?"

Corrie bit her botto you'd like her to ht here to Cedar Cove," he joked

At that his wife's head snapped up and her eyes widened She set down her coffee, then leapt out of her chair, raced around the desk and kissed him soundly

"What was that all about?" Roy asked, pleasantly surprised

"It's because you, ive you credit for"

Bewildered, Roy watched her fly out of his office

Ten

Grace thrust her hands decisively into her garden gloves, ready to head out to the back garden to plant Martha Washington geraniu, but she refused to mope around the house Buttercup waited for her at the kitchen door, tail wagging

"We'll plant these now and see e can find at the Far That sounds like a plan, doesn't it?" The fact that Grace had begun to carry on whole conversations with her golden retriever had to be a sign of how lonely she was

The Farmers' Market had started the first Saturday of May, and although there were only a few hoetables available this early in the season, Grace enjoyed going there each week She alhters was likely to show up, as well

The phone rang, startling Grace She pulled off her right-hand glove and reached for the wall-mounted receiver

"Hello" She forced a cheerful note into her voice, hoping with all her heart that it was Cliff He'd weighed heavily on her mind since their chance encounter at the restaurant earlier in the week Her hope was that he'd been thinking about her, too

"It's Stanley Lockhart, Grace How are you?"

Grace felt an immediate stab of disappoint to encourage Olivia's ex-husband "I'o to dinner tonight?"

She glanced over at the can of cla meal Still, she preferred to eat soup alone over a three-course meal with Stan Lockhart

"Sorry, I already have plans"

"You can't change them?" He didn't bother to hide his displeasure

"No" How like Stan to expect her to alter her evening because he needed a dinner companion

"What if 1 stop by later?" His enthusiasm was back "It's important"

"That won't work, either" She couldn't ient Grace sincerely hoped he got the e, but the subtle approach wasn't always successful with Stan Inbred politeness prevented her froht that she wanted to avoid him