“By the way,” Mack said, hidden behind the menu. “This is our treat.”
“You don’t need to do that,” Linc insisted.
“True,” Mack said mildly, “but we’re celebrating the fact that Noelle took her first step.”
“That’s early, isn’t it?” Lori’s eyes widened with surprise.
“Yes, but she’s been ready for weeks now,” Mary Jo explained. “Only, she was afraid to let go. It took her daddy to get her to leave her comfort zone.” Mary Jo knew how hard it was for her staunchly proud brother to allow them to pay for his and Lori’s dinner.
Linc lowered his menu. “You’ve done so much already,” he said, sounding almost humble.
This was Linc? Mary Jo looked up. She wanted to ask her big brother if he was okay. Humility was so unlike him.
“What did I do?” Mack asked as he reached for his water glass.
“This is the best week we’ve had since I opened the shop and practically everyone’s made a point of mentioning your name.”
“Mine?” Mack feigned astonishment. “All I said was that you do quality work at competitive prices.”
“Sheriff Davis stopped by to talk to Linc, too,” Lori added. She slipped her arm through Linc’s and pressed her head against his shoulder.
Mack raised both hands as though to avert their thanks. “I didn’t have anything to do with that.”
“No, but your father did. I appreciate everything you’ve done. If anyone’s paying for dinner, it’ll be Lori and me.”
Mary Jo released a pent-up sigh. That sounded much more like her take-charge brother.
“We’ll settle up later,” Mack said. “Come on. Let’s order.”
After they’d finished their meals, they chatted over coffee and dessert. Noelle had eaten at home but Mary Jo spooned some plain spaghetti, cut up and sprinkled with cheese, into her mouth. Soon after, Noelle fell asleep. Mack cradled his daughter in his arms; every now and then he’d bend his head and press his lips against her soft curls.
Mary Jo loved watching Mack with Noelle. He was her father in every way that mattered, every way except the biological. How fortunate she was to have met and married such a decent, honorable man, especially after falling for a jerk like David Rhodes. Thanks to Noelle’s grandfather, Ben Rhodes, David was completely out of their lives. She’d never learned precisely what agreement Ben had struck with David, but whatever he’d said or done convinced David to sign the paperwork allowing Mack to legally adopt Noelle. They’d already started the legal procedure.
“I’m going to miss living in Cedar Cove,” Lori murmured.
“You’re leaving?”
“Looks like it,” Linc said without elaborating.
Mary Jo made eye contact with Mack.
“We can’t seem to find a place that—” Lori began.
Linc put a restraining hand on her arm.
“Linc,” Mary Jo said. “Tell us what’s going on.”
Her brother remained stubbornly quiet.
“Listen, you two, we’re family,” Mack told them. “As soon as I heard that you and Lori were looking for a new apartment, I told Mary Jo. We’ve come up with an idea we wanted to present to you.”
Linc and Lori exchanged a puzzled glance.
“Before you say anything,” Linc said, holding up his hand. “Lori and I have decided to move back to Seattle. I don’t know how much longer I can hold on to the business. I’ve had one good week—thanks to you, Mack—but there’s no guarantee it’ll continue….”
“Why go all the way to Seattle?” Mary Jo asked. “The commute will take hours out of your day.”
“We were going to move in with Mel and—”
“No way!” Mary Jo couldn’t see that happening in a million years. It was a setup for disaster. Her two brothers, both younger than Linc, were terrible slobs, and Lori would be miserable.
“Mary Jo and I would like to offer a solution,” Mack said.
Mary Jo smiled. “We’d like to rent you the other half of the duplex.”
Linc stared at them, while Lori’s eyes widened.
“But…I thought you’d rented it out?” Linc said after a moment.
“We had a couple who was interested, but it fell through,” Mary Jo explained. “They decided to stay in Seattle.”
“So, the other half of the duplex is still vacant?”
Mack nodded. “It sure is—vacant and available.”
“You could move in anytime,” Mary Jo said. “Really. We mean it. We want you to.”
Linc slowly shook his head. “I’m honored that you’d offer, but we can’t accept.” His jaw had that stubborn set Mary Jo knew so well.
“We can’t?” Lori looked as if she was about to break into tears.
“We can’t,” he repeated emphatically. “We’d be trading one charity situation for another.”
“Now just a minute,” Mack said, raising his voice. “I didn’t say we wouldn’t be charging rent.”
Mary Jo placed her hand on her husband’s thigh. Mack had to know that Linc and Lori could barely make it without paying rent.
“I’ll charge you the same as I did Mary Jo,” Mack said. Beneath the table he put his hand over hers.
“How much?” Linc asked.
Mack named the figure he’d first charged Mary Jo, which was a greatly reduced rate. When she’d learned what he’d done, she’d been outraged; it’d been a source of major conflict. Mary Jo was more like her older brother than she’d realized. She hoped he wouldn’t object to paying less than market value.
“That’s the same amount Mack charged you?” Linc asked, eyeing her closely.
“It is.”
“That’s incredibly reasonable,” Lori told her husband.
“You’re sure about this, Mack?” Linc seemed unconvinced.
“Positive.”
“We could stay in town, Linc,” Lori said, squeezing his arm. “I wouldn’t have to quit my job and you’d be able to put all your energy into the business.”
“What do you say?” Mack asked.
Linc smiled and thrust his hand across the table. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
Fifteen
Rachel unlocked the door to the house she shared with Nate Olsen in Bremerton, not far from the naval shipyard. She shed her jacket, set down her purse on the hall table and walked into the living room.
Ever since she’d moved away from Bruce and Jolene, her stress was much lower. Her blood pressure was back in the normal range, she’d started to gain weight and her iron levels had improved. At her routine appointment, she’d heard that Bruce had phoned the doctor’s office to check on her and the baby. Their privacy policy wouldn’t allow them to divulge any information about her, but they did tell Rachel he’d called. Knowing he was concerned buoyed her spirits.
She’d never questioned his love for her or the baby. What her husband had failed to recognize was Jolene’s reaction to having another woman in the house.
Turning on the television, Rachel flipped through the channels until she located a news program. She’d often enjoyed sitting with Bruce after dinner as they savored a cup of freshly brewed coffee and discussed their day while the television played in the background. She missed those evenings.
But she didn’t miss Jolene slamming around in the kitchen or bedroom. Her stepdaughter resented every minute Rachel spent with Bruce. There’d been no sign of it before they were married, but once Bruce slipped the wedding band on her finger, it was all-out war. It didn’t help that Rachel had tried to bring a bit of badly needed discipline into her stepdaughter’s life.
Oh, why was she doing this to herself? Rehashing the past was pointless. Rachel had gone over everything in her mind dozens—no, hundreds—of times. Reviewing the past few months with Jolene and Bruce only upset her. Slumped down in the chair, she was listening to the weather report when the door opened and Nate came in.
“You’re here,” he said, pausing halfway into the room.
“Are you surprised?”
“Yeah, I guess so. You generally aren’t around when I am.”
Rachel had purposely stayed out of Nate’s way as much as possible. This living arrangement was temporary and she didn’t want to burden him by being constantly underfoot. It wasn’t uncommon for her to see a late-afternoon movie, go to the Bremerton library or just stroll through the mall to kill an hour or two. She wanted to give Nate a chance to get home and get ready for his date with Emily or his evening with friends—or whatever he had planned.
“I was beginning to wonder if I had a housemate or not,” he said, removing his jacket.
“Didn’t you have a date tonight?”
“I did, but something came up and Emily had to cancel.”
“Would you like me to make dinner?” She’d never enjoyed cooking for one; it always felt like a lot of work for very little return.
“No, thanks. I’m meeting people at Phil’s Tavern down town. I’ll pick up something there.”
Rachel knew the sports bar was a popular hangout with the military crowd. Monday-night football was a big attraction. “Have a good time.”
“I will.” Nate disappeared upstairs to his bedroom and Rachel finished watching the news.
She was in the kitchen, searching through her half of the cupboards for inspiration, when Nate left. He waved on his way out the door. When she’d first accepted his invitation Rachel had worried that he might want to re-kindle their romance. Fortunately, that hadn’t been the case. Rachel had met his girlfriend, Emily, and liked her; she felt that Emily suited him far better than she ever had. The situation was ideal—or as ideal as it could be while Rachel was separated from her husband.
She ate a lonely dinner at the kitchen table while paging through a six-month-old golf magazine. She finished that in short order. Needing something else to occupy her mind, she reached for a pencil and the newspaper to do the crossword puzzle.
That was when she felt it.
At first she wasn’t sure—and then it happened again.
The baby moved.
She pressed her hand to her stomach. “Well, hello,” she whispered. At her last visit, the doctor had told her she could expect to feel movement at any time. This was so light, like a butterfly landing on her arm, that for an instant she hadn’t even thought it was the baby.
She wanted to share this joy, but there was no one to tell. Not Bruce. Not Nate. No one.
Before she could talk herself out of it, she got her cell and called her husband.
As she’d feared, Jolene answered. “It’s Rachel.” Waiting for a sarcastic remark, she closed her eyes.
“Hi,” the thirteen-year-old said, sounding almost friendly. That quickly changed and Jolene’s voice hardened as she asked, “What do you want?”
It didn’t seem possible but for a second or two she wondered if Jolene had softened toward her….
“Could I speak to your father?”
Jolene didn’t respond but Rachel heard her set down the phone and call her father. “Dad! It’s Rachel.”
“Rachel?” Bruce was on the line immediately, firing questions at her. “Where are you? Are you all right? Is anything wrong with the baby?”
“I’m fine,” she said, “and so is the baby.”
“Why did you block my number so I can’t call your cell?”
She didn’t want him checking up on her two or three times a day. The scene at the salon had left a bitter taste, and she’d blocked his numbers shortly after that.
“Like I said, I’m fine,” she assured him, rather than answer his question.
“The baby?”
“Yes.”
“Have you had the ultrasound yet?”
“Yes. A couple of days ago.”
“Did you find out what we’re having? A boy? A girl? One of each would suit me just fine,” he teased.
She didn’t even try to keep the smile out of her voice. “I asked the ultrasound technician not to tell me.”
“You don’t want to know?”
“I’d rather be surprised.”
There was a moment’s silence.
“I suppose Jane told you I stopped by the salon,” he murmured.
Actually, Rachel had been too busy to call her former employer in the past week. “No, she didn’t mention it.”
“Are you working? Do you need anything? Money? Groceries?”
“I can take care of myself, Bruce, but thank you for asking.” He did seem to worry about her, which made Rachel miss him all the more.
“You have another job?”
“I do.” She didn’t give him any more information, preferring to keep it to herself for fear of another embarrassing encounter at her workplace. She hoped to continue working at the shipyard until the baby was born.
“You have a job at another salon?”
“No.” Again, she didn’t elaborate.
“You left because of what happened that day with Jolene?”
The answer was obvious, so she didn’t reply. “How is Jolene?” she asked, broaching the subject of her step-daughter cautiously. Rachel hoped that once she was out of the house, their broken relationship could begin to heal. Perhaps that was an unrealistic expectation; Rachel no longer knew.
“Jolene is…adjusting,” he said, as though searching for the right word.
“Adjusting,” Rachel echoed, trying to determine exactly what he meant.
An awkward silence followed. What he didn’t say told her more than what he did. Nothing had really changed. Still, the biting sarcasm was gone when Jolene had initially answered the phone. It might be premature to feel hopeful, but she couldn’t resist grabbing hold of that small piece of encouragement.
“The nurse at the obstetrician’s said you’d called the office to ask about me and the baby.”
“Are you angry?”
“No…no, not at all. I—I was pleased.”
“You were?”
“I don’t mean to hide from you, Bruce. But…well, it’s difficult. For now, I think it’s best if we have limited contact.”
“I can’t accept that,” he said swiftly. “It’s been over a week since we talked and you kept the conversation so brief I hardly had a chance to find out how you are.”
“I kept it brief because you wouldn’t stop badgering me about where I’m living and for now that isn’t important.”
“Why is it such a secret?”
Rachel didn’t want this conversation to end on the same negative note as the one a week earlier. “You’re doing it again.” Eventually she’d tell him she was living with Nate but at the moment her roommate was the least of their concerns.
“Okay, sorry. If you want me to pretend I don’t care about you, then I will.” He sounded frustrated, and that made her feel guilty.
“Bruce, please—”
“Can I see you?” he cut in. “Or is that asking too much? I need to see you, Rachel. At least give me that.”
“I…guess we could meet.”
“When?”
“Friday night?” she suggested.
“We could go out for Mexican.”
Rachel smiled and lifted her hair off her forehead. “I’m afraid Mexican food doesn’t agree with me these days.” One taste and she had an instant attack of heartburn. She trusted this would pass after the baby was born.
“You choose, then. Any place you want. D.D.’s?”
“Okay, D.D.’s on the Cove, it is.”
She could almost feel Bruce’s spirits rise.
“I have missed you so much,” he said.
“I’ve missed you, too,” she whispered.
“I can’t wait to see you.”
“I called because—”
“I don’t care why, I’m just happy you did,” Bruce said.
“I felt the baby move for the first time this evening.”
“The baby moved?” he asked excitedly. “Yes…”
“You’re taking good care of yourself?”
“Of cour
se.”
“Eating right?”
She laughed. “Yes.”
“Friday can’t come soon enough for me.”
“Me, neither.” She wondered if Jolene was listening in, and what her stepdaughter would say when Bruce hung up the phone. It broke her heart that she and Jolene had lost the closeness they’d once shared. But at this point she didn’t know how to regain the girl’s trust.
“Before we meet, there’s something I want to tell you,” Bruce said.
“Okay.” He sounded so serious.
“I’ve seen a family counselor.”
This was a huge step for him, and it gave her hope that they could resolve their problems before the baby arrived.
“Did Jolene go with you?”
He didn’t respond, but that was answer enough.
“Maybe she will next time,” Rachel said, trying to encourage him. “At some point I’m sure the counselor will want to see all three of us.”
“Four,” Bruce corrected. “You’re forgetting the baby.”
She smiled. “You’re right.”
“Will you call again soon?”
“How soon?”
“Fifteen minutes?”
She smiled and leaned against the wall.
“Maybe we should start all over,” he said, lowering his voice. “Ease back into a relationship.”
Rachel bit her lip, tempted by his suggestion. “Do you think that would help Jolene?”
“I don’t know, but it’s worth a try, don’t you agree?”
“Maybe.” She had to be careful. She loved him so much, he could convince her of almost anything. Except coming home…
“What’s Jolene doing Friday night?”
“She’ll be with a friend. She usually is.”
“What friend?”
“Carrie, I think.”
“You think?” Rachel had been afraid of this. Bruce had ceded all control to Jolene. Rachel had always insisted on knowing where Jolene was going and who she’d be with before she left the house, and Jolene had hated that.
“It’s either Carrie or Lucy. Why? What’s the big deal?”
“The big deal is that your daughter needs supervision. Jolene is at a vulnerable age. She needs boundaries.”
Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series, Volume 3 Page 72
