All Is Calm, All Is Bright by Colleen Coble

Author:Colleen Coble
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: ebook
Publisher: Thomas Nelson
Published: 2015-08-01T00:00:00+00:00

Sheriff Tom Bourne sat at a table by himself in the corner of the café on Oyster Street. The spot was a local hangout smack-dab in the middle of Hope Beach’s downtown. Christmas music played in the background, and the small, homey restaurant had been decked out with strings of pine garlands and tiny lights. The festive mood did little to raise his spirits. He’d be spending Christmas alone again this year unless he accepted the usual invitation to Tidewater Inn by his cousin. Some years he went and some years he didn’t.

It was depressing to think that he was thirty-seven years old and might never have a family. His job kept him hopping, and his one attempt at marriage had ended after only one year when his wife, Holly, died of meningitis. While he’d loved her, their marriage had been no grand passion that had kept him single after her death. It was more a case of simple busyness.

Across the street, a spotlight illuminated a manger scene in front of city hall, and carolers gathered on the lawn. The faint refrains from “Silent Night” mingled with the canned music in the café.

The door opened and the wind ushered in Vanessa Mitchell. Her father had owned Tidewater Inn, the spectacular bed-and-breakfast outside town. He’d left it to his daughter from a previous marriage, Libby Bourne, who was married to Tom’s cousin Alec. It had caused quite the sensation around town, but the siblings had all seemed to finally work things out.

Since she was alone, he waved to her. “Want to join me?”

“I thought you might be here when you weren’t at your office.” She slid into the chair opposite him and shrugged off her coat.

A striking beauty with brown hair tipped in purple, Vanessa had grown up quite a bit over the past few years. She was in her midtwenties and had lost the petulant expression that used to drive him crazy. She ordered coffee and soup.

He regarded her over the rim of his coffee cup. “You were looking for me?”

She nodded and tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “I thought about calling, but I was afraid Delilah would hear me. She’d have heart failure if she knew I was making a fuss.”

Delilah ran Tidewater Inn and was a treasure. Tom had thought about asking her out a few times, but she was way out of his league. Long dark curls and beautiful skin caught the attention of every man in a room. For the life of him, Tom couldn’t figure out why she wasn’t married.

He leaned back in his chair. “So what’s up?”

“She nearly drowned tonight.”

His gut clenched at the thought of Delilah at the bottom of the sea. He straightened and struggled to keep his expression from betraying him. “Is she all right?”

Vanessa’s mouth was a grim line. “She would be dead if Amy and Curtis Ireland hadn’t been heading home from surfing. Delilah had waved at them as she passed, and they were a few miles behind her.

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