92 Pacific Boulevard - Debbie Macomber [49]
“What do you mean, not exactly?” she asked, unwilling to leave the smallest detail unexplored.
“It isn’t just Dad,” Jolene whispered.
“I’m not sure what you mean.”
“You were always my…special friend. I could talk to you about anything.”
“That hasn’t changed.” At least, not to Rachel it hadn’t.
“Yes, it has,” Jolene insisted.
“Okay,” Rachel said. “Tell me how.”
“Well…” The girl seemed at a loss. Then she blurted out, “I’m just going to say it, all right?”
“Of course.”
“I see how my dad looks at you.”
“With love?” she asked, hoping that was the answer.
Jolene shook her head. “He wants to get you into bed so you can do…that.”
“Make love,” she elaborated. This was what she’d expected…and feared. It was probably best to have the conversation, bring it out in the open once and for all. “Married couples make love, Jolene. It’s a normal and healthy part of marriage.”
“Dad wants to do it all the time.” Jolene sounded mortified. “He doesn’t think I notice, but I do. And that’s not all. You’re my friend and now I have to share you with my dad and I don’t want to and…and I have to share my dad with you.” This came out on one long breath. Jolene’s eyes met hers in the mirror again. “Am I making any sense?”
“Yes, you are,” Rachel told her. “You’re making a lot of sense.”
“Things are…different. Just like I was afraid they’d be.”
Rachel couldn’t argue with her. But perhaps she could explain it to Jolene in a way she’d find more reassuring. “That happens when a couple’s first married,” she said.
“You mean it’ll stop?” the girl asked hopefully.
Rachel did her best to hide a smile. “Not…completely.”
“Oh.”
“Does that answer your questions?”
Jolene looked at her fearfully. “Are you pregnant?” she asked, as if this would be truly dreadful, the most dreadful thing she could imagine.
“No.”
The girl’s shoulders relaxed. “Good.”
Rachel felt it was critical to address Jolene’s concerns about her marriage to Bruce before they even thought about adding to the family.
“I know you were afraid that once your father and I were married, we’d be so involved with each other you’d feel excluded.”
Jolene’s gaze held hers.
“We’ve tried very hard to make sure that hasn’t happened.”
Jolene shrugged, raising one shoulder. “Yeah, but I wish…you know.”
Unfortunately, Rachel did. This was becoming more than a minor problem, not only for Jolene but for her and Bruce, too. Being discovered that one afternoon had had a devastating effect on their love life. They’d barely touched since.
If, as Jolene claimed, Bruce looked at her longingly, there was a very good reason. They were both experiencing sexual frustration.
That evening Rachel had dinner ready by the time Bruce walked into the house. “How are my girls?” he asked, pausing to kiss Rachel on the cheek.
“Hey, Dad,” Jolene said. “What do you think?” She waltzed into the living room and twirled around so her father could see her new haircut. “Rachel said you wouldn’t mind if I got it cut real short. You like it, don’t you?”
“Ah…”
Rachel cast him a pleading glance.
“It takes some getting used to.”
“But you like it?”
He grinned and managed to nod enthusiastically.
Overjoyed, Jolene rushed to his side and threw her arms around him.
“Would you set the table, please?” Rachel asked her. She followed Bruce down the hallway and into the bedroom. He usually showered as soon as he got home from work.
The moment their door closed, Bruce pulled her into his arms and kissed her hungrily.
Rachel eased her mouth from his. “We need to talk.”
“Now?”
“No, later, after Jolene’s asleep.”
“I have other plans for then.”
Rachel dropped eager kisses along his neck. “I do, too, but we need to talk first.”
When he started to protest, she kissed him again. “I’ll make it worth your while,” she said seductively.
Sliding his hands up and down her arms, Bruce’s eyes melted into hers. “I’m holding you to that.”
Quietly she slid out the door and hurried back to the kitchen.
Jolene frowned at her and set the water glasses on the table with a