1105 Yakima Street - Debbie Macomber [38]
She spun around to face him. “What?”
“That we should let Rachel go. She’s my wife.”
“You’re going to divorce her, aren’t you?”
Divorce her? How could Jolene even suggest it? “No!” He nearly shouted the word.
“But we don’t need her. I can do the cooking and laundry and cleaning. I made dinner all by myself, didn’t I? It’s way better when it’s just the two of us like before you married her.”
Bruce was horrified that his daughter could be so callous. “What about the baby?”
“Well…” Jolene shrugged. “The baby’s a small complication, I agree.”
“A small complication? A small complication,” he repeated. He couldn’t get the words out fast enough. “This small complication is my son or daughter, your brother or sister.”
“I know that.”
“In case you haven’t noticed, I miss Rachel. I want nothing more than to have her back. It’s wonderful that you can make a great taco dinner—don’t think I’m unappreciative. But Rachel means more to me than cooking dinner and doing the laundry. She’s my wife, my best friend, and I’m miserable without her.” He found it unimaginable that his daughter could be so self-centered, that all she thought about were her own interests and desires. She saw this pregnancy as a complication, while he was worried sick about his wife and child.
He sagged back into his chair. “I called Teri Polgar and she doesn’t know where Rachel’s living, either.”
“Rachel doesn’t want anyone to know. Not you, not her friends. We should just accept that,” Jolene said earnestly.
Bruce looked up. “Have you heard anything I said?”
“Yes, but I don’t agree. Dad, Rachel wants to get away from us.”
Bruce didn’t believe that.
“You say you love her and everything, but if she wants to live somewhere else, that’s up to her, isn’t it?”
Jolene seemed to delight in pointing out that Rachel had left of her own free will. That she was the one who’d chosen to keep her whereabouts a secret.
“Sit down, okay?” Bruce spoke soothingly, gesturing toward the chair.
Sighing, Jolene reclaimed her seat. “What?” she said, folding her arms defiantly.
“Do you remember, after your mother died, how you tried to hold on to your memories of her?” he asked gently.
Jolene nodded.
“Every night when I put you to bed you’d ask me questions about her.”
“I liked listening to your stories about Mom,” she said. “Sometimes when you talked about her, your voice would go all soft and I could really, really see how much you loved her.”
“I did love your mother. I still do and I always will. After we lost her, I didn’t think I could ever love another woman as much as I loved Stephanie. Then I—”
“But Rachel ruined everything!”
“No, Jolene. You didn’t let me finish. Then I discovered that loving again was possible—with Rachel. I want my wife back and I want us all to be a family.” Foolishly he’d hoped his daughter would see how sad Rachel’s departure had made him.
“Daddy, you and I are a family. Rachel isn’t one of us.”
“Yes, she is,” he told her. “I realize I made a mistake by rushing into this marriage. Rachel and I knew each other for a long time and we were friends before we fell in love. Once we did, we decided to get married, and I felt there was no reason to wait.”
Jolene shook her head impatiently but Bruce paid no attention. He had something important to say and he was determined to make her listen.
“What I failed to take into consideration was how you’d feel. For that I’m truly sorry. But it’s too late to go back. Rachel and I are husband and wife, and we’re going to have a baby.”
With her arms still folded and a look of defiance, Jolene muttered, “Don’t remind me.”
“I am reminding you because we have to work this out. Rachel suggested counseling but you refused.”
Jolene shook her head again. “That’s so lame. No way am I talking to someone I don’t know.”
“Not even if it helps you understand why you feel so negative about Rachel and our marriage?”
“It wouldn’t make any difference,” she said angrily. “That’s how I feel.”
“Please, Jolene.”
“I said I won’t go and I won’t. You can’t force me