1105 Yakima Street - Debbie Macomber [50]
“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