LITMIR.BIZ

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the Washington State map he was looking for. Dropping it on Mel’s lap, he said, “Find me Cedar Cove.”

      Mel immediately tossed it into the backseat. “Here, Ned. You seem to think you know where it is.”

      “It was just a guess,” Ned protested. Nevertheless he started to unfold the map.

      “Well, we don’t have time for guessing. Look it up.” Linc put the truck back in gear and drove toward the freeway on-ramp. He assumed Ned would find Cedar Cove before he had to decide which lane to get into—north or south.

      He was nearly at the ramp before Ned cried out triumphantly. “Found it!”

      “Great. Which way should I go?”

      Linc watched his brother through the rearview mirror as he turned the map around.

      No answer.

      “Which way?” Linc asked impatiently.

      “South.”

      “You don’t sound too sure.”

      “South,” Ned said again, this time with more conviction.

      Linc entered the lane that would take him in that direction. “How far is it?” he asked.

      Ned stared down at the map again. “A ways.”

      “That doesn’t tell me a darn thing. An hour or what?”

      “All right, all right, give me a minute.” Ned balanced the map on his knees and studied it intently. After carefully walking his fingers along the edge of the map, Ned had the answer. “I’d say … ninety minutes.”

      “Ninety minutes.” Linc hadn’t realized it was that far.

      “Maybe longer.”

      Linc groaned silently. Traffic was heavy, which was to be expected at noon on Christmas Eve. At the rate they were crawling, it would be hours before they got there, which made their mission that much more urgent.

      “Should we confront the Rhodes family first thing?” Mel asked.

      “Damn straight. They need to know what he’s done.”

      Ned cleared his throat. “Don’t you think we should find Mary Jo first?”

      Linc nodded slowly. “Yeah, I suppose we should.”

      They rode in silence for several minutes.

      “Hey.” Ned leaned forward and thrust his face between the two of them.

      “What now?” Linc said, frustrated by the heavy traffic, which was guaranteed to be even worse once they hit Tacoma.

      “How did Mary Jo get to Cedar Cove?” Mel asked.

      “Good question.” Linc hadn’t stopped to consider her means of transportation. Mary Jo had a driver’s license but didn’t need a vehicle of her own, living in the city as they did. Each of the brothers owned a car and she could borrow any one of them whenever she wanted.

      Ned sat back and studied the map again and after a few minutes announced, “Cedar Cove is on the Kitsap Peninsula.”

      “So?” Mel muttered sarcastically. The traffic was apparently making him cranky, too.

      “So she took the ferry over.”

      That explained it. “Which ferry?” Linc asked.

      “She probably caught the one from downtown Seattle to Bremerton.”

      “Or she might have gotten a ride,” Mel said.

      “Who from?” Ned asked.

      “She wouldn’t bother a friend on Christmas Eve.” Ned seemed confident of that.

      “Why not?” Mel demanded.

      “Mary Jo isn’t the type to call someone at the last minute and ask that kind of favor,” Ned told them. “Not even Chloe or Casey—especially on Christmas Eve.”

      Linc agreed with his brother.

      They drove in silence for another fifteen minutes before anyone spoke.

      “Do you think she’s okay?” Ned asked tentatively.

      “Sure she is. She’s a Wyse, isn’t she? We’re made of stern stuff.”

      “I mean physically,” Ned clarified. “Last night she seemed so …” He didn’t finish the sentence.

      “Seemed what?” Linc prompted.

      Ned shrugged. “Ready.”

      “For what?” Mel asked.

      Mel could be obtuse, which was only one of his character flaws, in Linc’s opinion. He was also argumentative.

      “To have the baby, of course,” Linc said, casting his brother a dirty look.

      “Hey, there’s no reason to talk to me like that.” Mel shifted his weight and stared out the side window. “I’ve never been around a pregnant woman before. Besides, what makes you such experts on pregnancy and birth?”

      “I read a book,” Ned told them.

      “No way.” Linc could hardly believe it.

      “I did,” Ned insisted. “I figured one of us should. For Mary Jo’s sake.”

      “So one book makes you an expert,” Mel teased.

      “It makes me smarter than you, anyway.”

      “No, it doesn’t,” Mel argued.

      “Quit it, you two.” Linc spent half his life settling squabbles between his brothers. “You.” He gestured over his shoulder. “Call her cell.”

      Ned did, using his own. “Went right into voice mail,” he said. “Must be off.”

      “Leave her a message, then.” Linc wondered if he had to spell everything out for them.

      “Okay. Who knows if she’ll get it, though.”

      After that they drove in blessed silence for maybe five minutes.

      “Hey, I just thought of something.” Mel groaned in frustration. “If Mary Jo took the ferry, shouldn’t we have done the same thing?”

      Good point—except it was too late now. They were stuck in the notorious Seattle traffic, going nowhere fast.

       Chapter Five

      Mary Jo hated the idea of returning to Seattle having failed in her attempt to find either David or his family. He wasn’t in Cedar Cove the way he’d promised; not only that, his parents weren’t here, either. Ben and Charlotte Rhodes would show up the next afternoon or evening, but in the meantime …

      The thought of her brothers approaching the elderly couple, shocking them with the news and their outrageous demands, made the blood rush to her face. Her situation was uncomfortable enough without her brothers riding to the rescue like the superheroes they weren’t.

      The fact that Mary Jo had left on Christmas Eve was only going to rile them even more. Linc, Mel and Ned were probably home from the garage by now. Or maybe they’d skipped work when they found her note on the coffeemaker and immediately set out in search of her. Maybe they werealready driving up and down the streets of Cedar Cove ….

      Looking around, Mary Jo could see that the library was about to close. People were putting on coats and checking out their books. She wondered how an hour had disappeared so quickly. Now what? There wasn’t a single vacant room in the vicinity, which meant the only thing to do was thank Grace Harding for her help and quietly leave.

      She waited until the librarian stepped out of her office. The least she could do was let Grace know how much she appreciated her kindness. As she approached, Mary Jo rose from her chair.

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