Page 111 of Mistletoe and Mischief

“That sounds positive,” Peggy murmured.

“I just wish those two would get married,” Corrie responded. “I know the world’s different these days. So many young women choose to be single mothers, but it’s hard work.”

“A baby needs a father,” Roy inserted. “I wanted to tell Gloria that, but Corrie wouldn’t let me.”

“When has that stopped you in the past?” Corrie retorted as she headed into the kitchen to get their drinks. It still annoyed her that her husband had gone against her wishes and informed Chad of Gloria’s pregnancy. After she and Chad had broken up, Gloria had wanted to keep the information from him.

The irony of her daughter’s situation astonished her. This was history repeating itself. Well, almost...

Years ago, in college, Corrie had discovered she was pregnant after Roy had ended their relationship. Instead of letting him know, she’d returned home and given her daughter up for adoption. Not until they’d reunited a couple of years later did Roy learn about his baby. And not for more than three decades did they actually meet her. Her husband had been determined that the same thing not happen to Chad Timmons.

Peggy helped her prepare the coffee. Roy and Bob had both requested eggnog, which Corrie poured into festive glasses decorated with green holly leaves and red berries. They’d once belonged to her mother and Corrie reserved them for this special season and for special friends.

“What have you heard from Linnette?” Peggy asked when they were all seated again.

“She and Pete will be in North Dakota over Christmas.”

“Was it just a year ago that Pete drove her to Cedar Cove for Christmas?” Roy asked, shaking his head.

Corrie felt the same way. So much had taken place this past year.... During the holidays, Linnette, their younger daughter, had brought home a man she’d met, a farmer named Pete Mason. They’d liked him, but at the time Peggy hadn’t thought the relationship was going anywhere. Pete farmed with his brothers near Buffalo Valley, where Linnette had recently accepted a position as a physician assistant. Although Linnette hadn’t been in Buffalo Valley long, she seemed genuinely happy for the first time since Cal Washburn had broken her heart. Soon after that, she’d packed up her car and set off with no destination in mind. Peggy had worried endlessly, sure this was a formula for disaster. Then Linnette had phoned from this small prairie town where she’d ended up and sounded...content. She’d sounded more like herself than she had in a very long while.

Corrie hated that her younger daughter lived so far from the family. But she loved Linnette enough to realize she had to make her own decisions. Pete had fallen in love with her first and initially Corrie feared Linnette might have married on the rebound. Those concerns had been laid to rest. On Corrie’s recent trip to Buffalo Valley, after the birth of Linnette and Pete’s son, she had all the reassurance she’d ever need. It was abundantly clear that Linnette loved her husband and the life she’d created in this small North Dakota community.

“We had quite a Christmas last year,” Roy commented, chuckling. “Mack had just been hired by the fire department and he was at the Hardings’ to deliver Mary Jo’s baby.”

Bob grinned. “What I remember was Mary Jo’s three brothers racing around town looking for her.”

“And not a one of them had any sense of direction.”

“Hey, be fair. They’d never been on this side of the sound before.”

“And now Linc lives here, too.”

“And married to the Bellamy girl.”

“They are the sweetest couple,” Peggy said with the hint of a sigh. “I saw them in the grocery store the other day. It was positively romantic just seeing the two of them together. We spoke for a few minutes and apparently Linc and Lori are spending Christmas with her family.”

“Well,” Bob said, “that’s an improvement. Bellamy was trying to ruin Linc’s business. Until you and Troy intervened...”

Roy shrugged off Bob’s comment. “I’m glad they reconciled with Lori’s family, but I don’t know why Bellamy couldn’t just accept the fact that they’re married. End of story.”

“It wasn’t the only wedding this past year, either,” Bob said. “Faith and Troy tied the knot, and of course so did Mack and Mary Jo.”

“I do love a wedding,” Corrie said. To her way of thinking, there should be one more, and preferably soon. She’d feel so much better about Gloria’s situation if she was married to Chad.

“Well...” Bob lowered his empty glass. “I hate to cut this short, but we’ve got a few other stops to make.”

Corrie and Roy walked their friends to the front door and thanked them again.

“This is one small way of repaying you for all you’ve done for us,” Peggy said.

“How can you say that?” Corrie asked. Their friendship had been one of her biggest blessings since moving to Cedar Cove. “You’ve done so much forus.”

“You kept me out of prison,” Bob reminded them, referring to the death at the B and B. “Believe me, I’ll be forever grateful for that.”

“Ancient history,” Roy insisted, standing on the front porch. He wrapped his arm around Corrie’s shoulders.

“Ancient history to you, perhaps,” Bob said, “but it’s something I’ll never forget.”

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