1105 Yakima Street (23 page)

L
inc stepped into his office and smiled at the stack of work orders on his desk. Sheriff Troy Davis had helped him immeasurably by sending business his way. The sheriff was active in a number of service organizations, such as Rotary Club and Lions, where he’d made a point of spreading the word. At first, business had trickled in slowly, but as the weeks progressed, the auto body shop drew more and more work. As it stood now, Linc had all his employees working a forty-hour week.

The business wasn’t the only thing going well in Linc’s life. He was delighted with the duplex and his growing friendship with Mack. Most of all, he deeply loved Lori and looked forward to every minute he spent with her. If he’d known marriage could be this satisfying, he would’ve tried it a lot sooner, he’d joked to Lori. Laughing, she’d informed him that he never would’ve found anyone who suited him nearly as well—and she was right.

Thinking about Lori, he felt a twinge of sadness as he thought about the situation with her family. The conflict between him and his father-in-law remained unresolved. The fact that Leonard and Kate had separated over Leon
ard’s reaction to their daughter’s marriage was an additional burden.

Lori was in close contact with her mother once again. They talked nearly every day, but although Kate put a good face on it, Linc could tell how hurt and disappointed she was that Leonard had made no effort to get in touch with her.

Sitting down at his desk, Linc reached for the telephone directory and flipped through the pages. He quickly located the listing for Bellamy Enterprises in Bremerton.

A woman answered in a crisp professional voice. “How may I direct your call?”

“I’d like to speak to Leonard Bellamy’s assistant,” he responded in the same businesslike tones.

“One moment, please.”

“This is Helen,” another woman said an instant later.

Linc drew in a breath. “Helen, this is Lincoln Wyse.” He paused, waiting for a reaction. When none came, he continued. “Would it be possible to schedule an appointment with Mr. Bellamy?”

“Let me check his schedule.”

Linc was put on hold for several minutes before the woman came back. “Mr. Bellamy said he’s available in half an hour.”

“Mr. Bellamy,” Linc murmured. He hadn’t counted on the assistant speaking directly with her employer. Glancing at his watch, he asked, “Four?”

“Yes, four.”

“I’ll be there.” It was already three-thirty. Linc realized that if he didn’t leave right away, he’d be late. No doubt Bellamy would add that to his list of crimes.

Linc washed up, then drove the entire distance above the speed limit, risking a ticket. He found a convenient
parking spot, then ran to the downtown office complex. He’d only been here once before, and an unpleasant scene between him and Bellamy had resulted.

Linc hadn’t had enough time to consider what he wanted to say to Bellamy. All he could do was be as forthright and honest as possible.

He dashed up the steps to the building and caught an open elevator. Getting off on the top-floor lobby, he checked his watch and heaved a sigh of relief. Right on schedule.

A middle-aged woman sitting at the front desk glanced up as he approached. She had short salt-and-pepper hair and looked every inch the professional assistant she was. Her nameplate identified her as Ms. Helen McDonald.

“Lincoln Wyse,” he said.

“I’ll let Mr. Bellamy know you’re here.” Helen picked up her phone and curtly announced his name. When she’d finished, she gestured toward a chair. “Please have a seat.”

Linc did. Five minutes passed and then ten. So this was the game his father-in-law had chosen to play. Apparently Bellamy assumed Linc would lose patience and walk out. The fact was, Linc could be just as obstinate, just as unyielding. They had more in common than Leonard Bellamy realized.

A full hour went by before the phone buzzed. Helen answered and nodded in Linc’s direction. “Mr. Bellamy will see you now.”

Linc stood. “Thank you.”

She led him to the private office and opened the door. Linc walked inside, gazing at the bookcases, the upholstered guest chairs, the desk of dark polished wood. Bellamy sat there, head bowed as he wrote. He didn’t
acknowledge Linc or give any indication that he knew Linc had entered the room.

Linc waited in front of the desk. He occupied himself by examining the family photographs, which stood in a row on the credenza behind his father-in-law.

“I’m surprised you’re still here,” Bellamy said, not bothering to look up. He set down his pen and leaned back, a frown creasing his brow.

Linc wished now that he’d taken the time to go home and change out of his work clothes, although he hadn’t had the opportunity. Getting here by four meant jumping right in his truck. No doubt if he’d been a minute late, Bellamy would have refused to see him. Score one point for his father-in-law, making Linc cool his heels like that, and another for catching him in greasy coveralls.

“So,” Bellamy said. “What do you have to say for yourself?”

“What do you want to hear?”

“You’re the one who asked for the appointment, not me,” Bellamy muttered.

“Yes, I did.” Linc tried to corral his thoughts. “Mostly I came because I need to know what you find so objectionable about me being married to your daughter.”

Bellamy laughed. “The fact that you have to ask tells me everything.”

“Maybe I could understand it if I hadn’t learned about your own background,” Linc said. He sat down and crossed his legs, hoping to create the impression of being at ease.

“What do you mean?” Bellamy asked sharply.

“I have no idea why you took such an instant dislike to me. I’ll admit the circumstances leading up to Lori’s and my wedding left a lot to be desired. We were foolish to rush into marriage… .”

“Foolish doesn’t even begin to describe what you did.”

“If I could, I’d go back and meet both you and your wife and ask your blessing before I married Lori.”

“I’d never have given it.” Bellamy seemed to take grim pleasure in informing him of that.

“Possibly not, but I hope you will now.”

Bellamy glared at him across the desk. “Are you out of your mind? What would ever make you think I’d give you and Lori my blessing? Especially now that Kate—” He stopped abruptly, his lips pinched, as though he regretted mentioning his wife’s name.

“I hope I’ve proved myself to you,” Linc said. “You threw a number of roadblocks in my way when I tried to establish my business in Cedar Cove.” He took a deep breath. “Nevertheless I’m making a go of it.”

Bellamy didn’t deny it, which only went to show what Linc already knew. His father-in-law had done everything he could to sabotage his auto body shop and had nearly succeeded. If not for his brother-in-law and Sheriff Davis, Bellamy
would
have succeeded.

“What puzzles me most is why you object to me when the two of us are so much alike.”

“I sincerely doubt it,” Bellamy snapped.

“From what I gather, your own father worked as a welder.”

Bellamy stiffened. “That means nothing.”

“It means you came from a family with a strong work ethic, which is the same ethic my father taught me. As it happens, I followed in my father’s footsteps. I might have chosen my own path, but that option was taken away from me when both my parents were killed and—”

“And you saw a faster way of getting what you wanted by marrying my daughter,” Bellamy interrupted.

Linc inhaled slowly in an effort to hold on to his
temper. “You might find this hard to believe, but when I married Lori I didn’t have a clue that she was from a wealthy family.”

“You’re wrong, I don’t find that hard to believe. I find it
impossible
to believe.”

Rather than argue, Linc said, “My point is this. Like you, I’m willing to work hard. I’m ambitious—”

“Of course you’re ambitious. That’s the reason you married Lori.”

“I married your daughter because I’m in love with her. Lori is the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”

Bellamy snickered loudly.

“All you have against me is that we didn’t wait to get your approval before we married. By your own admission, it’s unlikely you would’ve given it, anyway, so it’s a moot point, right?”

“As a matter of fact, it isn’t,” he countered. “And my situation was completely unlike yours. I fell in love with Kate the minute I set eyes on her. When I learned she was from one of the richest families in the state, my heart sank. I was afraid she’d never go out with me.”

“But she did.” Now it was Linc’s turn to interrupt and show his father-in-law that he wasn’t completely in the dark. Thanks to Kate, he knew the family history now and had a better grasp of Bellamy’s feelings toward him.

“Yes, Kate did accept when I asked her to a school dance.”

“You were college juniors.”

Bellamy stopped and glared at him. Linc might have squirmed under such scrutiny, but instead he smiled pleasantly and waited for Bellamy to continue.

“I know darn well when we met,” he said irritably.

“How long did you date?”

“Five years,” Leonard said, and grew wistful. “I worked three jobs and saved every penny I could.”

“And Kate’s father? How did he take to his daughter dating the son of a welder?”

“Ambrose and I were…friendly.” He didn’t elaborate beyond that.

“In the end, perhaps, but that’s not the way I heard it. Kate said that when you first started seeing each other, her father objected.”

“I proved myself to Ambrose and to Kate’s mother, as well.”

“So she told me.”

He ignored the reference to Kate.

“Five years I waited,” he said, growing morose. “Five torturous years. By the time I married Kate, I’d purchased my first business complex and was saving for a second.”

“I’m hoping for the opportunity to prove myself to you,” Linc said. “The way you proved yourself to Kate’s family.” He paused for a moment. “Unfortunately, we started off on the wrong foot, but I’m willing to let bygones be bygones if you are.”

Bellamy laughed but there was little amusement. “I’ll wait five years to make my decision about you, the same way Ambrose did with me. Five years before he gave me permission to marry Kate.”

“Fair enough, although I should tell you that Lori and I plan to have a family by then.”

He ignored the comment.

“Kate wanted us to elope,” Leonard murmured. “But I wouldn’t hear of it. I had something to prove to her father first.”

“Which you did in spades.”

“Don’t try to flatter me, young man.”

Linc raised both hands. “No flattery intended.”

Bellamy relaxed in his chair, hands folded across his middle. “Before he died, Ambrose claimed he couldn’t have chosen a better husband for his daughter.”

Linc carefully considered his response. “My hope is that one day you’ll say the same thing about me.”

Leonard scowled. “I doubt that will happen.”

Again, Linc didn’t feel it was necessary to argue.

Shifting in his chair, Bellamy avoided eye contact. “I take it you’ve been talking with Kate.”

“Not me so much as Lori.”

He cleared his throat. “How is she?”

“Lori or Kate?”

“Kate, of course!” he snapped.

Linc enjoyed seeing the other man uncomfortable. “Fine, as far as I can tell.”

“I see.”

“Have you spoken to her lately?” Linc asked, knowing Bellamy hadn’t.

“That’s none of your damned business.”

“Right.” Feeling that the conversation had reached a natural end, Linc stood. “I appreciate your taking the time to meet with me, Mr. Bellamy. I trust we understand each other now.”

Bellamy stood, too. “You still have to prove yourself to me, young man.”

“I consider that a personal challenge.”

“Good, and if you happen to see…Kate in the next while, would you give her my best?”

Linc hesitated on his way out the door. “Doubt me if you will, Mr. Bellamy, but one fact you’ll never be able to dispute is that I love your daughter.”

“That remains to be seen, doesn’t it?” He accompanied Linc to the door and opened it for him.

“I can tell you right now that if Lori and I had a dis
agreement that caused her to leave me, I would move heaven and earth to get her back.”

“Lori isn’t nearly as stubborn as her mother,” Bellamy barked.

“No, I’d say she’s far more like her father in that regard.” With those words, Linc walked out of the office.

D
ad and I painted the baby’s bedroom. The text came on Rachel’s cell phone.

Rachel texted back. What color?

Yellow.

Nice. Her connection with Jolene was still tenuous, although it had vastly improved in the past month. The process of rethinking their relationship was a slow one, but Rachel remained hopeful. So hopeful that she wanted to go home by the new year. January 1 was a symbolic time to start fresh. She hadn’t believed it would happen but now…it seemed possible.

Jolene continued to see the counselor and seemed to be opening up more to Dr. Jenner. When they’d last spoken, Bruce had said it wouldn’t be long before the three of them could meet as a family. The fact that Jolene was texting her was a good sign.

No sooner had she pushed the send button than her phone rang. Caller ID identified Jolene.

Rachel answered right away. “Hello, Jolene.”

“It’s Bruce.”

“Hello, Bruce,” she amended.

“Can I see you tonight? Are you busy?”

Rachel had just gotten home from work and done little more than hang up her coat. “I don’t have anything planned.”

“How about dinner?”

“That would be fine.” She couldn’t think of any reason to refuse; even if she had, she would’ve accepted his invitation. “Will Jolene be there?”

“No.”

Rachel hesitated. “How does she feel about that?”

“I don’t know and I don’t care. This is about
us,
you and me.”

No, it was about Jolene, too. “Let me talk to her, okay?”

“She’s in her room.”

Why would he try to keep her from speaking to his daughter? “Please put her on the phone.”

A few anxious minutes passed before Jolene spoke. “You wanted to talk to me?” Her voice was low.

“Yeah. Your dad asked me to meet him for dinner.”

“I know.”

“What are you doing?”

“Lindsey and I are going to a movie later. That’s what we usually do on Friday nights.”

Rachel could hear Bruce in the background. “What if you and I went out instead?” Rachel suggested. The two of them needed to work on their relationship, rebuild the trust that had vanished.

“Dad wouldn’t like that.”

“Probably not,” she agreed. “But I think it’s more important for you and me to spend time together than for your father and me to have a night out.”

Rachel heard Jolene’s sigh. “Dad wants to talk to you, though.”

“I’ll see him after I drop you off at the theater.” If he
was disappointed about losing out on dinner, she’d bring him something to eat.

“Where do you want to go?” Jolene asked, displaying more enthusiasm now.

“How about Mexican?” Rachel suggested, knowing that was Jolene’s favorite, too. She couldn’t tolerate spicy food herself at the moment, but she’d order something fairly mild.

“Great!”

For a couple of minutes they chatted about what they’d have. “Could you give the phone back to your father?” Rachel asked when they’d finished.

“Okay.”

A moment later Bruce was on the line. “You’re having dinner with Jolene and not me?” he demanded.

“I’ll drop her off at the movies after dinner and then drive over to the house.”

“If that’s what you want,” he said, but he didn’t sound pleased by this unexpected turn of events.

“If it’ll put you in a better mood, I’ll bring you take-out.”

“I doubt anything’s going to put me in a good mood,” he muttered.

This didn’t bode well. “What’s the problem?”

He sighed. “More of the same. We’ll talk when you’re here.”

Dinner with Jolene had been an inspiration, Rachel decided a little while later. There was a new level of honesty on the girl’s part and traces of the easy affection that used to exist between them. Her stepdaughter talked about seeing the counselor and admitted she’d been jealous of Rachel’s relationship with Bruce. Jolene’s willingness to acknowledge her role in the separation was a huge step forward.

Jolene looked down at her plate. “Dad wants you to move back home,” she said.

“I know.” Rachel pushed aside her own half-eaten bowl of tortilla soup.

“Are you going to do it?”

“Probably. I hope so. But not yet.”

“Dad wants you home before Christmas, so we can be like a real family.”

Rachel didn’t comment one way or the other.

“I’m glad you’re not moving to Portland, Rachel,” Jolene told her.

Rachel, who’d been fishing inside her purse for her wallet, paused and looked up.

“If you left, that would be really hard on Dad…and I would’ve missed you, too.”

This was welcome news. “Do you miss me now?”

Jolene hung her head. “I didn’t think I would, but I do. Before you and Dad got married, it was just him and me. But you were always there whenever I wanted to talk or do stuff. Everything changed after the wedding. I didn’t like having to share you with him, or share my dad with you. And…well, I felt like the two of you were pushing me aside because all you needed was each other.” She gulped noisily. “I…I hated seeing the two of you all lovey-dovey.”

Rachel understood why Jolene had reacted the way she had. They’d all contributed to this situation. “Your father wants us to be a family, and I want that, too.”

“I know, and now the baby changes everything all over again. The counselor and I talked about that. It helps that he listens and doesn’t tell me I’m bad for feeling like I do.”

Rachel nodded. “You have to understand your feelings before you can modify them.”

“You sound just like him,” Jolene said with a quick grin. Then she grew serious again. “I know that once the baby’s born I’m going to love him or her a lot, but right now I don’t feel anything except…afraid.”

“Afraid of what?”

“Of the baby getting all the attention,” she blurted.

“We’ll do our very best to see that doesn’t happen.” Rachel wasn’t sure how else to respond. “Before I drive you to the movies, I want you to know I’m grateful you helped your father paint the nursery,” she added.

“It was sort of fun.”

Smiling, Rachel checked her watch and realized that if they didn’t leave within the next few minutes, Jolene would be late meeting Lindsey. She paid their bill and they hurried over to her car.

Jolene was quiet on the drive to the theater. When Rachel pulled up in front of the movie complex, Jolene reached for the door handle. “I’m glad it was just you and me for dinner,” she murmured.

“I am, too. I’m also glad you’re being honest with me,” she said. “The truth can be painful, but I’d rather know exactly what’s going on with you.”

Jolene opened the car door and stepped outside, then leaned down, saying, “It
is
hard, and Dad doesn’t like me telling him how I feel.”

“He has to hear it, though, and so do I.” She waited until she saw Jolene connect with her friend before driving off.

Bruce stood by the living room window watching for her when Rachel parked in the driveway. He had the front door open by the time she was out of the car.

As soon as she was inside, Bruce drew her into his arms and simply held her. He didn’t speak or make any effort to kiss her; all he did was hold her close. Finally
he stepped back and brushed the hair from her face as if to get a better look at her.

“I have missed you so much,” he whispered.

Sliding her arms around his waist, Rachel pressed her head against him. His heartbeat pulsed in her ear. How long they stood in the small entry like this was lost on her. It felt so good to be in her husband’s arms.

Reluctantly Bruce let her go. “How was dinner with Jolene?”

“We had a nice time.”

He frowned slightly as he took her hand and led her into the living room. They sat on the sofa beside each other, still holding hands.

“She didn’t say anything to upset you, did she?” Bruce asked.

“No,” Rachel reassured him. “Jolene was open and honest, and I appreciated that.”

“Did she tell you she wants you to move back home?”

Rachel was uncertain how much of their conversation she should repeat. “She told me she was grateful I’m not moving to Oregon.”

His frown darkened. “That’s not the same thing.”

“No,” she said, “but it’s progress.”

“I want you back here with us. Nothing feels right without you.”

“In time,” she promised.

He studied her intently. “In time?” he echoed. “How much time?”

Rachel gestured vaguely. In her own mind, she’d set January 1, but that date wasn’t firm. Not until she was convinced they were ready would she come back home.

“Before Christmas?”

Unable to respond, she exhaled slowly.

Bruce released her hand and stood, then walked around
the coffee table, apparently composing his thoughts. “When will you know?” he asked after a moment.

“Bruce, I can’t answer that.”

He stared at her long and hard. “Do you
want
to move back here?”

“Of course I do!”

“It doesn’t seem like that to me. In fact, I’m beginning to think you and Nate—”

“Don’t!” She pointed her index finger at him. “Don’t even suggest such a thing. Nate was a good friend when I needed one and I won’t have you insinuating there was anything more between us.”

“I wouldn’t know, would I?”

Bruce’s sudden jealousy was ridiculous. Hadn’t he said he trusted her? “Look at me, Bruce. Really look at me. I’m married to you and pregnant with your child. Why would Nate be interested in me…especially now?”

“Because you’re beautiful and…and wonderful. He was in love with you at one time, and those feelings don’t entirely go away. They just don’t. Once you commit your heart to someone, it’s forever.”

“For you it is,” she said, knowing that Bruce didn’t give his heart easily. He loved deeply, completely, with his whole being. She’d realized that if she married Bruce, it would be a lifetime commitment for both of them.

He shook his head as though he didn’t understand what she’d said.

“You commit yourself completely, but not everyone does.”

His face fell. “Is this a way of telling me you don’t love me anymore?”

“Bruce, how could you even ask a question like that?”

“You said—”

“I said
some
people don’t feel as strongly as you do,
and Nate is one of them. I wasn’t just the woman he wanted to marry—I was the means to an end for him. His father is in politics and Nate is thinking along those lines himself. So he wanted a wife he felt ordinary voters—” she said this a bit sarcastically “—could relate to.”

“Okay, fine, but what does that have to do with you moving back home?”

“Absolutely nothing.” She could see that this conversation wasn’t improving matters. Standing, she reached for her purse. “I think it would be best if I left.”

Bruce took her hand again. “Don’t, please.” He breathed slowly, eyes closed. “Rachel, I’m sorry. What I said about Nate was out of line.” Then he opened his eyes, meeting hers, and tugged gently at her hand. “Let me show you the bedroom Jolene and I painted for the baby.”

Rachel went with him to the third bedroom. When Bruce turned on the light, Rachel gasped in surprise. The baby’s nursery was totally furnished.

“Jolene helped me pick out the crib and dresser and changing table.”

“This is…perfect. All of it.”

He walked over to the dresser, opened one of the drawers and pulled out a tiny T-shirt. “Who would’ve thought anyone could possibly be this small?”

Rachel smiled. Bruce and Jolene had seen to everything.

“When Jolene said you might be leaving the state, I had to do something. Otherwise, I would’ve gone crazy. So I focused all my energy on preparing for the baby.”

Rachel stood in the middle of the bedroom on the round white rug and looked steadily at her husband. “I know this is hard.”

“Hard?” he repeated. “You have no idea.”

“You’re wrong, Bruce. Do you think I wanted to leave you? Do you think it was easy to pack my suitcase and walk out that door? I can assure you, it wasn’t. It nearly killed me to walk away from you and Jolene, but I had to because Jolene—”

“She’s doing better now. She’s been to the counselor and—”

“And she’s come a long way,” Rachel finished for him. “But she isn’t quite ready and if we rush things now, like we did with the wedding last Christmas, we could be making another mistake. I’d rather play it safe and wait.”

“We can’t cater to Jolene’s whims,” he insisted. “This is where you belong. You and the baby.”

“And this is where I want to be. But I don’t feel that giving Jolene time to understand that she has to share you with me and the baby is catering to her.”

Shaking his head, Bruce walked out of the bedroom. She knew that wasn’t what he’d wanted to hear, but he had no choice other than to accept her decision.

Rachel found him standing in front of the fireplace with one hand braced against the mantel and his back to her. She stood behind him. “I’m sorry, Bruce, but we really can’t rush this.”

“I thought you’d only be gone a week or two, and
that
seemed unbearable. Now it’s three months and you’re still saying the time isn’t right. I’m afraid it’ll never be right again. I feel like I’ve lost you.”

“You haven’t,” she whispered, placing her hand on his back. “I’m not going anywhere. More than anything I want to be with you and Jolene. I want our baby to be part of our family.”

Bruce turned and studied her for a long time before he held out his arms to her. She slipped into his embrace.

“Will you come back and visit again…soon?” he asked.

“Okay. When?”

“Next weekend. Jolene and I are putting up our Christmas tree and I’d like you to be here.”

Rachel nodded. That would be especially revealing. She’d be intruding on Christmas traditions that had always been reserved for Jolene and her father. If they could make it through that without Jolene getting upset and territorial, then maybe, just maybe, she could move back before Christmas.