The Inn at Rose Harbor by Debbie Macomber Read Free Book Online

mind.”
    “No thanks, like I said I … I don’t have much of an appetite.”
    “Well I hope you’re hungry in the morning.” I had big plans for my first official breakfast. I’d assembled the casserole earlier. The recipe said to let it rest overnight in the refrigerator. I planned to serve it with fresh fruit, home-baked muffins, fried bacon, and orange juice. I also had steel-cut oatmeal, if anyone was interested.
    “What time is breakfast?”
    I told her and then she quietly returned to the house; I mentioned I’d be close behind her.
    And yet, lulled by the flames, comfortable and at peace, I wasn’t sure how long I remained by the fire before turning in. I savored the warmth, thinking about the new life I was about to settle into.

Chapter 5
    Abby Kincaid grabbed the sheet and tugged it over her shoulder. She forced her eyes closed but they quickly flew open. Shadows danced across the walls, taunting her. This was what she’d feared most about returning to Cedar Cove. Already the demons were at play, choking off her breath and any possibility of sleep.
    The moon was full and bright, making it even more difficult to relax. Abby sat up and looked out over the cove. Moonlight shimmered across the water’s smooth surface. At any other time she would have lost herself in the beauty of the scene before her. Not tonight though. Not tonight.
    Abby had to sleep. It’d been days, no, weeks since she’d had a full night of uninterrupted rest. Her eyes burned and still her mind refused to stop spinning. Dreading her return to Cedar Cove, she’dfretted nonstop over her brother’s upcoming wedding. She would give anything to have found an excuse to stay away. But how could she? This was her brother. Her entire family was planning to attend the wedding. Aunts and uncles … cousins, too, many of whom she hadn’t seen in years.
    Why, oh why, had Roger fallen in love with a woman from Cedar Cove? Abby had yet to meet her future sister-in-law, although she’d spoken to Victoria a couple of times on the phone. She seemed like a perfectly fine young woman. A gentle, kind person … and if she knew about the tragedy that hung like a dark cloud over Abby’s life, Victoria had thankfully never mentioned it.
    Although they were little more than strangers, her future sister-in-law had asked her to participate in the wedding, which Abby had agreed to do, albeit reluctantly. She would serve the wedding cake.
    The only flaw that Abby could find in Roger’s bride was the fact that she had chosen to be married in the last place on earth Abby ever wanted to see again.
    She hadn’t been in town twenty-four hours and already the temptation to pack her bags and return to Florida was stronger than ever. The fact that she’d been forced to arrive an entire day early complicated everything. Somehow, in her reluctance and nervousness, she’d made a mistake when booking her reservation. For her arrival date, she’d meant to put in Friday, arriving in time for the rehearsal and dinner. The wedding was early Saturday evening, and then, of course, the reception would follow. She’d purposely not chosen the motel her family had booked, prefering to remain away from the hubbub of activity. Her return was booked for the earliest flight out Sunday morning. She planned to be in and out of town as quickly as possible.
    Here and gone.
    No such luck.
    By the time she realized that she’d booked her arrival on Thursdayrather than Friday it was too late and too expensive to change her flight dates. All the seats were gone for the Friday flight. Although she hated the thought of it, arriving on Thursday made more sense. Abby had gritted her teeth and flown in early. Just what she wanted least—an extra twenty-four hours in Cedar Cove.
    She hadn’t told her brother or her parents about her mistake. It was probably better this way, in case she did run into anyone she knew from back then … before Abby had caused the death of her best