1022 Evergreen Place - Debbie Macomber [125]
Corrie and Charlotte took over cake duty, much to Mack’s relief, with the assistance of Emily Flemming, the pastor’s wife.
Noelle woke then and wanted to be held, so Mack took the baby in his arms and carried her around the room. Then he and Mary Jo went to sit with her brothers for a few minutes. Mel, Linc and Ned were all enjoying wedding cake, tasting and comparing the different varieties.
“I can hardly believe my baby sister’s married,” Linc said to no one in particular.
“Isn’t it time for us to go?” Mary Jo whispered to Mack. “Before my brothers start crying in their cake?”
“We aren’t crying,” Mel insisted.
“Well, I’m not giving you a chance to get started,” Mary Jo informed them. “Besides,” she said, smiling up at Mack, “we need to leave for our honeymoon.”
Thirty-Six
“I don’t want her here!” Jolene shouted loudly enough to be heard on the opposite side of the house.
“Jolene,” Bruce snapped. He knew Jolene wanted Rachel to hear every word, which she probably had. The tension between them was driving him to the point of madness. He was trapped in a seemingly hopeless situation, and anything he said or did only made matters worse.
“I don’t want her living here,” his daughter continued.
“Rachel is your stepmother and my wife,” he said with barely restrained anger. “That’s not going to change, so you’d better adjust your attitude.” Bruce had tried to let the two of them work this out themselves. Unfortunately, that hadn’t happened. He didn’t understand how all this crazy, competitive jealousy had gotten so out of hand, although he was well aware that Jolene had played the major role.
At one time she’d loved Rachel almost to the point of idol worship. They’d been close from the day they’d met, when he’d taken Jolene to Get Nailed for a haircut. It was through his daughter that Bruce had gotten to know Rachel.
Bruce slumped onto his recliner in the living room and wished this senseless bickering would end. Rachel had told him before they were married that Jolene needed more time. He hadn’t listened. He’d wanted the three of them together as a family, so he’d rushed things and brushed aside Jolene’s doubts and Rachel’s fears. Now they were all paying the price.
No one was happy, least of all Bruce. Since their argument the night of the dinner, he’d been sleeping in the spare bedroom. That was a week ago. A week without Rachel in his bed. He missed her and wanted her back where she belonged. With him. He’d made overtures to that effect, but Rachel had ignored them.
“Dad,” Jolene demanded. “You’ve got to do something.”
Slowly he raised his head. “About what?”
“Rachel.”
“Rachel is my wife.” He wasn’t going to argue with his teenage daughter.
Jolene’s eyes narrowed. “She isn’t even sleeping with you. The two of you hardly talk anymore.”
Bruce couldn’t deny the truth. “Every couple goes through an adjustment period. Rachel and I will sort this out.” He certainly wasn’t prepared to call it quits, and he didn’t think Rachel wanted that, either. They’d come a long way in the past few years. It wasn’t as if they were kids who’d rushed into the relationship. The marriage, yes, you could say that, but not the relationship. When they’d first met, Bruce was determined he’d never fall in love or marry again after Stephanie’s death. Then gradually, through the years, he’d come to appreciate Rachel. More than once he thought he’d lost her. More than once he’d been sure she’d marry Nate Townsend, that navy guy. But she hadn’t. No, Rachel was meant to be with him—and with Jolene, too.
“We don’t need her,” Jolene insisted, unwilling to drop the subject.
“But she’s pregnant…”
“So? She doesn’t have to be part of our lives, does she? Everything changed after she moved in with us, and I—” Jolene stopped abruptly when Rachel entered the room.
“I hope you don’t mind if I join this conversation,” his wife said calmly.
Jolene crossed her arms, looking venomously at Rachel.
“Jolene has a point,” Rachel said, again in the same low voice, a voice