1225 Christmas Tree Lane by Debbie Macomber Page A

reward.
    â€œDo you have one for Roy and Corrie?” Bob asked, surveying the kitchen counter and the row of finished plates.
    â€œOf course.”
    â€œTroy and Faith Davis?”
    â€œBob, you know I do. What makes you ask?”
    â€œJust wanted to be sure. I saw Faith shopping and Corrie was coming into the store as I was leaving.” Bob poured himself a cup of coffee and sat on the kitchen stool, watching as Peggy put the final touches on the gifts, adding small handmade cards. These cards were another gift. Each included a personal note thanking the recipients for their friendship.
    â€œI’m so thankful to Roy,” she said fervently. “Who knows what would’ve happened if he hadn’t been willing to take us on as clients.” The private investigator had stepped in at a crucial time in their lives.
    â€œTroy Davis, too,” Bob reminded her.
    â€œOh, yes.”
    The memory of those painful days took over her thoughts for a moment. A stranger had arrived late one night in the middle of a storm, rain-drenched and seeking a room. Bob hadn’t recognized the man but had sensed…something. He’d had a bad feeling about him. Peggy, however, couldn’t turn someone away in the middle of a downpour. In retrospect, she wished she’d listened to her husband, because the next morning the man was dead.
    â€œI know what you’re thinking,” Bob said, sipping his coffee.
    â€œSo now you’re a mind reader, too?” she asked with a smile. Her husband did possess multiple talents—including acting and singing—but she had serious doubts regarding his psychic abilities.
    â€œAfter all these years I can read you like a People magazine,” he joked right back. “It’s about Max Russell, isn’t it?”
    She could pretend otherwise but didn’t. “Yes. I was remembering the night he showed up and how you didn’t want to give him a room.”
    â€œThat night was a turning point for me,” Bob admitted. “The start of healing. I was finally able to lay what happened in ’Nam to rest.”
    Bob and his best friend from high school, Dan Sherman—who’d married Grace—had enlisted in the army together under the buddy program. Following basic training they’d been sent to Vietnam. Max had been part of their unit.
    The war changed all three men. An incident involving the deaths of innocent civilians had haunted them.
    For years Dan Sherman had struggled with depression. When he was in that state of mind, he’d block out family and friends, isolating himself from the world.
    After the war Bob had turned to alcohol for solace. Their marriage suffered, and more than once Peggy decided to leave him, taking their son and daughter. Each time Bob convinced her he’d give up drinking and be the husband she deserved. He’d tried, but with limited success. After a few weeks of sobriety Bob would return to the bottle. He hit bottom after losing a promising job, and that was when he went into rehab. Thankfully, he came out a different person. He hadn’t had a drink since that day more than twenty years ago. Or was it twenty-five? She no longer kept count of the years. Each day was a victory, each day a blessing.
    â€œI mailed Hannah a Christmas card,” Peggy confessed. Even now, knowing what she did about the young woman, Peggy had a soft spot for her despite the grief she’d caused them both.
    Hannah was the dead man’s daughter and, in fact, had been responsible for his murder.
    â€œDid she write back?”
    â€œNo.” Peggy knew it was highly unlikely that Hannah would acknowledge the card. That was fine. Perhaps it was for the best.
    â€œYou really came to care for her, didn’t you?”
    â€œWell, yes, but…” Peggy had mixed feelings about the woman. Hannah had attempted to steer blame for the murder toward Bob, and that was unforgivable in Peggy’s