Rose Harbor in Bloom by Debbie Macomber Page A

simply wasn’t in her personality to be a quitter, and so she tackled the disease the way she had every other stumbling block in her life.
    Feeling disjointed, Mary stood and walked to the railing that overlooked the waterfront. A huge white starfish, the largest she’d ever seen, clung to a rock in the water below. That was how she felt, clinging, holding on, fighting in desperation for her life to go back to the way it had once been.
    Mary needed structure. Craved it. As a creature of habit, there’d been order to her day; indeed, to her life. That was the way she functioned best. At eight o’clock she would be at her desk with a cup of coffee. At ten, at noon, at three, at five—she knew exactly what she’d be doing or where she’d be headed. Her life was carefully organized.
    Cancer changed all that.
    Digging out her cell phone, she went online. For all she knew, George might not even be in Seattle any longer and all this angst could be for nothing. It wouldn’t do any harm to check the listings for Seattle attorneys, although she had resisted until this very moment. If his name came up, she’d know, and then she would feel some sense of relief.
    It didn’t take her long to find her answer. His name was there along with a phone number.
    George Hudson, Esquire.
    Feeling the need for something to drink, Mary found a coffee shop and went inside. The Java Joint coffee menu was impressive, but then she knew how serious people in the Pacific Northwest felt toward the brew.
    She found it astonishing how many latte stands a small town like Cedar Cove boasted. On the ride from the freeway to the inn, she counted six. Six. In a town that stated the population was less than seven thousand. And that was just the ones she’d seen. It boggled the mind that there were obviously others.
    The young man behind the counter wore a white apron tied at the waist. His name badge identified him as Conner. He looked to be about fifteen, but surely he was older.
    “What would you like?” he asked when Mary approached.
    “Just coffee.”
    “Are you sure you wouldn’t like to try our drink of the day?”
    “Is it coffee?”
    “Well, sure, mixed with a combination of flavors. Today it’s a cotton-candy latte.”
    “Cotton candy?” Unbelievable.
    “Hey, it’s one of our top sellers.”
    “Right along with peanuts and popcorn?”
    “Funny,” Conner said, grinning. “We haven’t tried that one yet.”
    “Just coffee,” she reiterated.
    “You got it.” He poured her a mug and handed it to her.
    As she paid, Mary noticed his class ring. “Are you graduating on Sunday?” Then, because she felt like she needed to qualify the question, she added, “I met a young lady who works up at the Rose Harbor Inn who told me the graduation ceremony is this weekend.”
    “You’re staying at the inn?”
    “Just for a few more nights, yes.”
    “You must have met Hailey. The inn’s a great place, isn’t it?” he said, chatting on as he poured the coffee. “Hailey says Jo Marie is the best. I think it’s great the way she was willing to show Hailey the ropes. I know the inn isn’t big, but it’s a start.”
    “You know Hailey?” Mary had never lived in a small town, and it seemed everyone was connected to everyone else, which she found just short of amazing. Born and raised on the East Coast in Boston, she’d been employed from the time she was sixteen. Her father had drinking problems and couldn’t seem to hold down a job, and her mother had worked two jobs to support the family. Nothing had ever come easy to Mary; she’d worked for everything she got. Caring for her younger brother, who unfortunately followed in their father’s footsteps, had shown her she wasn’t interested in a family of her own. She had too much ambition, too much drive. She loved the east and George … Oh, George again … He couldn’t ever see himself living outside of Seattle. They’d tried to make a go of a long-distance relationship, but