Enjoying their celebrity status, Bess and Helen waved as if they were prom queens walking in a Fourth of July parade.

"Did you know about this?" Charlotte asked, glancing up at Ben who stood a full head taller than her five foot three.

"Not at all," he confessed, looking around. "Even Troy Davis is here."

The sheriff who'd arrested them had turned up in court to support their efforts now. Charlotte had always been fond of Troy and was willing to forgive his error in judgment. Then again, the dear boy had no choice but to arrest them when they'd declined to break up their demonstration and disperse. He'd sworn to uphold the law, whether he agreed with it or not. His presence this afternoon made his personal feelings very clear.

"Roy and Corrie McAfee are here, too," Ben whispered.

The McAfees were recent additions to the Cedar Cove community. Roy was a former Seattle police detective who'd retired in Cedar Cove and opened his own agency as a private investigator.

Grace Sherman stepped up to Charlotte and gave her a hug. "Olivia asked me to stop by this afternoon," Grace said close to Charlotte's ear. "I didn't think you'd mind if I invited a few library patrons to give you their support."

Charlotte squeezed Grace's hand. Grace and Olivia had been best friends nearly their entire lives. How like Olivia to ask Grace to fill in for her this afternoon, since she couldn't be in court herself. For a very good reason, mind you, one Charlotte fully approved of. Olivia and Jack were in Hawaii on their honeymoon.

The door at the back of the courtroom opened and in walked Maryellen Sherman, who found a seat next to her mother. Jon Bowman was with her, Katie balanced on his hip. Charlotte had taken a liking to the photographer and was pleased to hear those two would soon be married. High time, in her opinion, not that anyone had asked.

"The court will come to order," the bailiff announced. "Judge Robson presiding."

The judge emerged from his chambers and took his seat at the front of the courtroom.

Despite Ben's reassurances, Charlotte's pulse fluctuated wildly before taking up a steady beat again. This might not be pretty. Until she was asked to stand with her friends while the charges were being read, Charlotte didn't realize how frightened she was. Between Bess practicing her karate moves and Laura looking forward to knitting in jail, Charlotte wasn't sure what to expect.

Sharon Castor handled the situation in a most professional manner, Charlotte thought, her estimation of the attorney rising considerably.

"Your Honor," she said, moving halfway to the bench. "Look at this group of law-breakers and tell me what you see."

"Ms. Castor," Judge Robson said. He continued to scan the charges. "Unlawful assembly, refusing to disband—"

"Yes, Your Honor, but my clients were making a statement—a statement they felt could only be made in this manner. They feel Cedar Cove needs a health clinic and I, for one, agree with them."

"Then they should have approached the council."

"Which I did, Your Honor." Charlotte spoke before she could stop herself. "I beg your pardon, Judge Robson," she said, feeling she couldn't let her nerve fail her now. "Both Mr. Rhodes and I attended several council meetings, but to no avail. Mayor Benson said there are no funds to establish a health clinic, but—"

"This isn't the time to discuss the merits of a medical clinic in Cedar Cove."

"Yes, Your Honor," Charlotte murmured, properly chastised. Ben gave her an encouraging smile.

The prosecutor in the case seemed disinclined to send them to jail, Charlotte noted gratefully. He made a few comments and sat back down. Sharon Castor was on her feet again.

"You can save your breath, Ms. Castor. I've made my decision."

The attorney slowly sat down.

"It appears to me that the five of you were trying to make public your case for a health clinic."

Charlotte nodded and noticed the others did, too.

"Your plan has apparently worked. Half the town is here to support you. If anyone from council is in attendance, I sincerely hope they are taking detailed notes. I don't see that anything useful will be served by fining five senior citizens who were on a mission to make Cedar Cove a better place. If I could have your word of honor that you will not assemble again without the necessary permit, then I'd be willing to dismiss all charges."

Charlotte and the others were quick to comply.

As soon as the charges were dismissed, the courtroom erupted into applause. As they walked out, Charlotte and her friends were given a heroes' reception. They were free, one and all.

Before they left the courthouse, Charlotte and Ben personally thanked Sharon and every person who'd come to their support. She was astonished their case had generated so much interest in the community. All this time Charlotte hadn't spoken about her court date because she didn't want to bother her family or friends with her problems. It was a strong affirmation of the community's affection and respect that so many people were there today.

Ben drove her back to the house. "I had no idea all those people knew about this," she told him as he held the car door for her.

"I didn't either," Ben said.

"I suspect it was Grace who rallied everyone on our behalf."

"The next time I'm in the library, I'm going to thank her all over again."

"I will, too." Charlotte had every intention of letting Olivia know what a wonderful job Grace had done.

"You are much loved in this community, Charlotte Jefferson," Ben said as they mounted her front-porch steps. He carried her small suitcase, which he'd remembered to remove from the trunk.

"I am honored so many of my friends took time out of their busy days and came to court," she murmured, still a little overwhelmed.

"There's someone else you should include on the list of people who love you," Ben said. He sat down on the porch swing while she rummaged in her large purse, searching for the house keys.

"And who would that be?" she asked, thinking she might have stuck the key chain in her overnight bag.

"That would be me."

Charlotte froze. Ben had just declared his love—or so it seemed—and at the most ridiculous of times. She turned to face him. "Are you saying you're in love with me, Ben Rhodes?"

"I am." He looked at her directly, meeting her eyes. "The fact is, Charlotte, I'm wondering if you share my feelings."

He didn't know? He hadn't guessed? This was indeed news. With her keys clenched in her hands, she triumphantly lifted them from her purse. "As a matter of fact, I'm head over heels in love with you and have been for quite a while," she said bluntly. Having admitted her feelings, she blushed and quickly added, "Would you care for a glass of lemonade to celebrate our victory?" She opened the front door.

"Don't mind if I do." Ben followed her into the house. "I just might steal a kiss while I'm at it."

"And I just might let you," Charlotte said with a smile.

Five

The alarm went off and Grace Sherman glanced at the clock radio on the bedside table. 7:00 a.m. Her one day of the work week to sleep in, and she'd forgotten to turn off the alarm the night before. With the new spring schedule, the library didn't open until eleven on Wednesdays. But staying in bed now that she was awake seemed pointless. Sighing, she tossed aside the covers, then sat up and slipped her feet into slippers. She quickly made the bed.

Dan, her husband of more than thirty years, had been dead for some time, and she had the entire bed to herself, but she continued to sleep on one half, never disarranging the other. Old habits were persistent. Habits like waking early. Her daily routine gave her structure and comfort in a life that was increasingly out of control.

As little as three years ago, everything had seemed so normal. Her marriage wasn't particularly happy, but it wasn't unhappy, either. Her life was comfortable. Predictable. Then Dan had disappeared. For an entire year she'd lived in a state of suspension, not knowing what had happened to him, where he'd gone or who he was with. When she least expected it, just when she'd adjusted to the fact that he must be with someone else, Dan's body was discovered. He'd died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Grace felt she could deal with Dan's death. At the time, he'd already been gone a year and she'd learned to live on her own and even found a certain solace in it. During those first dark, lonely months following his disappearance, she'd become acquainted with Cliff Harding, a horse rancher who lived in Olalla. Cliff had wanted a relationship, but he'd been patient, willing to wait until it felt right to her. Prior to her relationship with Cliff, the last time Grace had been out on a date was in high school. The one and only man in her life had been her husband. After she'd buried Dan, she'd finally agreed to see Cliff—but then she'd foundered and made a drastic mistake. Grace had gotten involved with another man via the Internet.

Chatting with Will Jefferson, her best friend's older brother, had started out innocently enough. From as early as she could remember, Grace had had a crush on Will. That had never gone anywhere, and after high school Will had left for the East Coast, where he attended college and then stayed. He'd written her a letter after Dan's death, and the correspondence had continued by e-mail. He'd flattered her ego, become her friend, and before she realized what was happening, she'd fallen in love with him, despite the fact that he was married.

She was embarrassed to admit how foolish she'd been. Grace knew from the beginning that Will had a wife. At first she'd pretended they were merely friends and that his marital status didn't matter. But it did. When Will assured her he was divorcing his wife, she'd wanted to believe him, wanted to be part of his life badly enough to swallow his lies. Thankfully she'd learned the truth in time to save her dignity, but at a painful price.

As a result of her liaison with Will, she'd lost Cliff Harding's love, friendship and respect. He no longer wanted anything to do with her and after months of neglect, months of misleading him—no, lying to him—she couldn't blame Cliff at all. He'd said it would be better if they went their separate ways. Twice she'd gone to him. Twice she'd asked for another chance to prove herself. Twice he'd said no.

Grace had wanted to make amends and to recover what she'd lost with Cliff. She now recognized her "love" for Will as the infatuation it was, fueled by the clandestine nature of the relationship. And she recognized the genuineness of her feelings for Cliff.

She was sure Cliff still loved her, too. She saw it, felt it, but he sadly shook his head. Cliff's wife had cheated on him for years and he refused to become trapped in another relationship where trust was compromised.

As far as Cliff was concerned, it was over between them.

With both Will and Cliff out of her life, Grace was lonely. Terribly lonely. Other than her work, some valued friends and her two daughters and grandchildren, she had few outside interests.

Dressed in her robe and slippers, she moved slowly into the kitchen, Buttercup, her golden retriever, at her heels. The dog ventured otrtside through the doggy door, and Grace picked up the local newspaper from the front porch and placed it on the kitchen table. While Buttercup did her business, Grace prepared a pot of coffee.