50 Harbor Street

Linnette rolled her eyes. “I do. They’re both stubborn and opinionated and too much alike for their own good.”

Corrie agreed. “Mack makes an effort on holidays, but it’s hard for him to hold his tongue.”

The problem, in Linnette’s opinion, was that her father disapproved of Mack. Her brother had dropped out of college and worked as a postal employee, a job he seemed to enjoy. Roy thought that with his brains and background, Mack could do better. His attitude infuriated her brother. Although she kept out of the fray, Linnette sided with Mack. This was his life and he should do as he pleased.

“One of these days,” she said briskly, “we should lock them in a closet and force them to settle this, once and for all.”

Her mother shook her head. “I absolutely refuse to get involved. I hate being caught in the middle.”

Linnette felt the same. She led the way back to the living room, considering where to hang her few pictures and framed posters as she walked. Pride of place would go to a beautiful Jon Bowman photograph her parents had given her for Christmas last year—fir trees on a mountainside. The perspective made it much more than simply a pretty picture. Should she hang it between the two windows or—

“Have you contacted Cal Washburn yet?” her mother asked, interrupting her deliberations.

“Who?”

“The young man I bought for you at the Dog and Bachelor Auction last July. You know, the fund-raiser for the animal shelter.”

An immediate protest rose as Linnette struggled to tell her mother that she wasn’t interested in a blind date with a stranger. Okay, so her brother loved his dog, who’d come as part of the package. Cal and the Australian Shepherd Mack had named Lucky were on the auction block together. But that didn’t mean Linnette was going to hit it off with this bachelor.

“I really think Cal’s a fine young man,” her mother said.

“Then you date him,” Linnette teased, hoping to find a gentle way of getting out of this.

“The least you can do is call him. Let me tell you a bit about Cal. He works for Cliff Harding on his horse ranch. I never quite understood what Cal does, but he appears to be a trainer of some sort. I don’t know that much about horses.”

“I don’t either.” The more Linnette heard, the less enthusiastic she became. She was going to spend the evening with a man who hung around horses all day. Great.

Corrie frowned impatiently. “Don’t give me that look. You might be pleasantly surprised.”

Linnette had been avoiding this conversation. “I did mention that the clinic hired Dr. Chad Timmons, didn’t I? We worked together while I was in school and, Mom, he’s just fabulous.”

Her mother made a dismissive gesture with her hand. “What has that got to do with anything?”

“Dr. Timmons is everything I want in a husband. He’s smart, witty, drop-dead gorgeous. Plus he’s kind and considerate. He’s my idea of the perfect man.” Linnette figured her chances of snagging him had risen substantially when he was hired to work at the medical center. She’d nearly turned cartwheels down the street in her excitement. Having Chad right there, in Cedar Cove, made her position at the clinic a million times more appealing.

“In other words, you’ve set your sights on this doctor?”

Linnette grinned sheepishly. “Nothing gets past my mother.”

“Very funny. What about Cal Washburn?”

Linnette was putting her foot down. She wasn’t moving to this town so her parents could run her life—or her love life. She’d had enough of that while she lived at home. Her father had drilled every date unmercifully. It was a wonder she’d found a boy willing to take her to the Junior-Senior prom.

“Ah…I suppose I could go out with this horse guy once, but that’s it, Mom.”

“That would please me, considering the amount of cash I paid for your date.”

“Okay, okay, I said I’d do it.” She’d postponed it as long as she could but, yes, eventually she’d get in touch with him.

“You’ll call?” Corrie pressed.

“Can I move into my apartment first?”

“It wouldn’t hurt to set the date now.” Corrie dug around in her purse and found the envelope with Cal’s information, as well as an old receipt. “I gave you his phone number already.”

“I lost it,” Linnette muttered. She had lost it, accidentally on purpose.

“Yeah, right.” Corrie was busy scribbling the number on the back of the receipt.

Linnette wanted to grind her teeth in frustration. Her mother wasn’t going to let this go. “Think how useful it would be to have a doctor in the family,” she said flippantly.

Corrie glared at her and handed over the phone number she’d written down. “Just do it, okay? It’s only the one date and it’d mean a lot to me if you followed up on this one small thing.”

“Okay, okay,” Linnette muttered again, feeling disgruntled about the whole situation. But then—as her mother had said—she might be pleasantly surprised.

“Promise me you’ll call him right away.”

“Ah…”

“Linnette, how often do I ask anything of you?”

The old guilt trick, and it worked every time. “Okay, I promise I’ll arrange to meet this bachelor guy as soon as possible.”

“You’ll like him, Linnette, only…” Her mother hesitated, biting her lower lip as if she wasn’t sure she should continue.

“Only what?”

Corrie sighed. “Apparently Cal Washburn has a slight…speech impediment.”

Linnette’s mouth fell open. If an evening with a guy who smelled like horse manure wasn’t bad enough, she might not be able to understand a word he said. This was definitely more than she’d bargained for.

“Mom—”

Corrie walked backward toward the open door. “You promised, remember?”

Linnette shook her head as her mother disappeared around the corner and out of the apartment. She’d be moving to Cedar Cove the following week. She wanted this date over with as quickly as possible. She just hoped Chad didn’t hear about it.

Reaching for her purse, she pulled out her cell phone and dialed the number on the slip of paper Corrie had given her. Putting this off any longer would only create unnecessary conflict with her mother.

A man answered, but he sounded perfectly normal. “This is Linnette McAfee calling for Cal Washburn,” she said crisply.

“Well, hello, Linnette. Cal’s been waiting for your phone call. I’m Cliff Harding. Cal works for me.”

“Hi, Cliff. Is Cal available?”

“As a matter of fact, he’s sitting right here.”

A moment later, Cal was on the phone. “H-hello.”