Olivia Lockhart-Griffin Cedar Cove, Washington Dear Reader, Jack and I are just back from our honeymoon, and I’m eager to catch up with my friends Bob and Peggy Beldon, who run the Thyme and Tide bed-and-breakfast at 44 Cranberry Point. It’s a popular place but (needless to say!) things haven’t been the same since a man died there. Turns out his name was Max Russell, and Bob had known him briefly in Vietnam. Nobody has any idea why he showed up or—most important of all—who killed him. Because it now appears that he was poisoned. I sure hope, especially for Bob and Peggy’s sake, that somebody figures it out soon! Not that they’re providing the only news in Cedar Cove these days. Romance seems to be everywhere among my family and friends. I’m pleased to report that Grace Sherman has more than her share of interested men. Her daughter Maryellen is getting married to Jon Bowman. And my mother, Charlotte, seems to have a man in her life, too. I’m not sure how I feel about that yet…. There’s lots of other gossip I could tell you. Join me at Peggy’s place for a cup of tea and one of her fabulous blueberry muffins and we’ll talk. Olivia Debbie Macomber is a #1 New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling author and a leading voice in women’s fiction today. She is a multiple award winner with more than 200 million copies of her books in print. Five of her Christmas titles have been made into Hallmark Channel Original Movies, as well as a series based on her bestselling Cedar Cove stories. For more information, visit her website: www.DebbieMacomber.com . Peggy Beldon walked into her newly planted garden, taking real pleasure in the sights and smells that surrounded her. This was her private place, her one true source of serenity. The fresh briny scent of the water off Puget Sound drifted toward her as she watched the Washington State ferry glide from Bremerton toward Seattle on its sixty-minute journey. This was a typical May afternoon in Cedar Cove—comfortably warm with just a hint of a breeze. Peggy uncoiled the garden hose and moved carefully between the rows of leaf lettuce, sweet peas and pole beans. She had a strong practical streak, expressed in her vegetable and herb gardens; she satisfied her craving for beauty with the flower gardens in front. Looking back at the house that always had been her dream, Peggy smiled. She'd grown up in Cedar Cove, graduated from the local high school and married Bob Beldon on his return from Vietnam. The early years had been difficult because of Bob's reliance on alcohol. But then, to her eternal gratitude, he'd discovered Alcoholics Anonymous; it had saved their marriage and quite possibly Bob's life. Until AA, Bob had spent most nights drinking, by himself or with friends. When he drank, he became a different person, no longer the man she'd married. She didn't like to think about that time. Thankfully, her husband had remained sober for twenty-one years. Walking between the rows, Peggy gently watered the seedlings. Several years earlier, Bob had accepted early retirement and with the severance package, they'd purchased the house on Cranberry Point. Peggy had loved it for as long as she could remember. Situated on a point of land overlooking Sinclair Inlet, the two-story structure, built in the late 1930s, had seemed like a mansion to her. Over the years, it had changed owners a number of times and had started to deteriorate, since no one had cared enough to provide the maintenance it needed. By straining their finances, Bob and Peggy had managed to buy it for a price far below its current market value. Her husband was a talented handyman and within a few months they were able to hang out a sign for their Bed and Breakfast. Peggy hadn't known how much business to expect, how many guests would be attracted to the Thyme and Tide B and B, as they'd called it. She'd hoped, of course, that they'd make enough to supplement their retirement income—and they had. She was proud of the success they'd achieved. Their traditional home, warm hospitality and her cooking had brought them steady customers and a growing reputation. They'd even been reviewed in a national magazine, which had reserved its highest praise for the food, especially her baking. The reviewer had spent two whole sentences describing her blueberry muffins and homemade fruit cobbler. She had twenty blueberry bushes and eight raspberry canes, and she pampered them lovingly. Each summer she was rewarded with an ample supply for her guests and her family. Life had seemed about as perfect as it could get. Then the unimaginable happened. More than a year ago, a stranger had knocked on their door in the middle of a dark, stormy night. If it hadn't been so cliched she might've been amused, but this was no laughing matter. The man had rented a room and then promptly locked himself inside. A hundred times since, Peggy had regretted not insisting he complete the usual paperwork. It was late, and he'd seemed so tired