1022 Evergreen Place (33 page)

“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 completely devoid of emotion. “How?”

“She told us she was uneasy about us getting married, remember?”

“I
tried
to tell you, but you wouldn't listen,” his daughter accused him, righteous indignation in every word.

“We'd already made the decision,” Bruce countered. “Okay, so we rushed the wedding a bit, but I wanted you with me and you said you felt the same way.”

“I did at the time.”

He frowned at the implications of her remark. “Are you saying you regret it now?”

To his dismay Rachel nodded.

Jolene thrust a triumphant finger at her stepmother. “See? See, she doesn't want to be here.”

Rachel ignored her. “Jolene has never accepted me as her stepmother.”

Bruce didn't like the way this conversation—like so many of their conversations—revolved around his daughter's likes and dislikes. He and Rachel were the adults in the room; he wasn't about to let a thirteen-year-old girl dictate his life or his marriage. He realized now that stepping aside and leaving his daughter and his wife to work out their differences had contributed to the problem.
“Jolene,” he said pointedly, “will learn to accept you.” And if it took a counseling session with some stranger to make that happen, so be it.

“Daddy!” the girl screeched.

“Maybe she will.” Rachel shook her head. “And maybe she won't.”

“All she needs is time,” Bruce muttered.

Jolene marched up to Bruce. “Stop talking about me like I'm not even here.” Whirling around, she confronted Rachel. “I hate you. I never wanted you to marry my dad. Look what you've done! You ruined my life.”

“Jolene!” Bruce had taken all he could from his daughter. Rising to his feet, he clasped the girl's shoulders and turned her to face him. “You will apologize to Rachel. I won't have you speaking to her that way.”

Jolene glared back at him, her eyes flashing with defiance. His own anger simmered just below the surface. He'd been stupid and blind. Jolene and her malicious jealousy had driven a wedge between Rachel and him.

“What Jolene said is true.” Rachel surprised him by siding with the girl. “I
am
pregnant and now there's another person to consider in this equation. Jolene doesn't want this baby any more than she wants me in her life.”

“Now just a minute.” Bruce needed to make it clear that despite his daughter's attitude
he
wanted this baby.

“It's fine. I understand—”

“You understand what?” he asked.

“To paraphrase you, when Jolene said you don't need me, you basically told her you're stuck with me because I'm pregnant.”

How she'd arrived at that conclusion, Bruce would never know. “I didn't say anything like that!”

“I heard you, and frankly, neither one of you made any effort to hide your conversation from me.”

“Does that mean you're going to leave?” Jolene asked, eyes wide with feigned innocence.

Bruce was quick to answer. “Definitely not. Rachel's staying here, where she belongs.”

Jolene's shoulders slumped forward. “Daddy, let her go. We
don't
need her.”

“Jolene's right,” Rachel confirmed. “And as she's said more times than I can count, I've come between the two of you and ruined everything.”

Jolene's eyes blazed with triumph. “See! Even Rachel admits it.”

“
I
need you,” Bruce argued, ignoring his daughter's outburst. “Our baby needs you.”

“I agree,” Rachel said far too easily. “Our baby does need me. He or she needs me to live in a stress-free environment. This child also has to know he or she is loved and wanted by this family.”

“I love our baby,” Bruce insisted.

“I think it would be best if I left,” Rachel said firmly, as if anything he said, any opinions he held, shouldn't be taken into account.

“No.” Again, Bruce's response was quick and automatic. This wasn't what he wanted. Rachel was actually suggesting she move out. None of this seemed real…or right.

“I think it would be best if you left, too,” Jolene chimed in, sounding gleeful at the prospect of getting rid of her stepmother.

“That's not going to happen,” Bruce said heatedly.

Rachel just smiled. “Do you plan to hold me captive?”

“No.” Bruce couldn't believe it had come to this. “You don't mean it. Rachel, tell me you aren't really going to walk away.”

A sad, defeated look came over her. “I can't continue
like this. All the fighting and stress isn't good for the baby and it isn't good for me. Jolene is anxious to be rid of me and I don't have the energy to fight her anymore—not when I have to do it alone.”

“Okay, you're right. I made a mistake,” he said. “Maybe I should've taken a more active role in this…this conflict between you, but I was afraid if I intervened it would only aggravate the situation. I don't know…”

“Well,
I
know,” Jolene yelled. “Get Rachel and that baby out of here.”

Bruce's patience had reached its limit. He pointed to the hallway. “Go to your room. Rachel and I need privacy to talk this out.”

“No.” Jolene stamped her foot. “You can't keep me out of this. I have a right to my say, too.”

“Go to your room! Now.”

His daughter seemed about to argue, but then shrugged and marched out of the room.

Bruce waited until Jolene had disappeared before he spoke again. “Let's talk about this.”

Rachel's eyes revealed pain and disappointment. “I'm not sure what there is to talk about. I can't live like this, Bruce. I love you and Jolene, but I think we can both say we made a mistake.”

“No.” Bruce refused to see their marriage that way. Okay, he'd admit it; he'd made more than his share of blunders. He should've done more to reassure his daughter and to support his wife. Perhaps he'd been naive to assume that Jolene would be as thrilled about Rachel's pregnancy as he was. He'd hoped she'd be excited. That seemed a vain, foolish hope now….

“What if we went to family counseling?” he said desperately. “We could see someone at the clinic or…or Pastor Flemming or—”

“It's too late. And as you told me before, Jolene won't go anyway.”

“But…”

“I'm leaving, Bruce,” Rachel said simply. “Please don't try to persuade me otherwise.”

That had been his intention, but seeing the determination in her eyes, he knew it would do no good. “Where will you go?” he asked, feeling defeated.

“A friend offered me a place to live until I can make other arrangements.”

“Teri?”

“A friend,” she repeated.

“For how long?” he asked. “How long will you be gone?”

She took her time answering. “I don't know yet.”

“One week?”

“Longer.”

“Two weeks?”

She shook her head.

“A month?” She couldn't possibly intend to stay away an entire month. He couldn't bear it.

“I…I can't answer that.”

It hit him then that she might not ever come back. The realization stunned him. “This…this is what you want?” he asked.

Tears filled her eyes. “I never dreamed it would end like this.”

“Me, neither.” He sat up straighter. “Will you keep in touch, let me know how you are, where you are?”

She didn't immediately agree. “Okay,” she finally said. “I'll phone you.”

In other words, she wasn't willing to give him her contact information. Still, if that was all she'd offer him, he'd take it. The alternative was too harsh to even think about.

“I'll leave in the morning,” she said, and started to walk away.

Bruce caught her hand. “Give Jolene time. Please. She'll come around.”

“No, I won't.” His daughter's voice rang down the hallway.

Despite the seriousness of the moment, Rachel smiled. “She's always had the best hearing of anyone I've ever known.”

Bruce smiled, too, remembering the early days of their marriage when they'd self-consciously tried to hide the fact that they were lovers from his daughter. In retrospect it had been ridiculous. They weren't fooling anyone, certainly not Jolene.

“I'm sorry, Bruce,” she whispered.

“I am, too.” It occurred to him that she might need help. “You'll call if you need anything, right? You'll keep in touch?” he asked again. He'd go mad if she didn't. He couldn't believe he was actually letting her walk out the door, not knowing where she intended to live or how long she'd stay away. This wasn't supposed to happen. Not to Rachel and him.

“I'll be in touch,” she promised.

“Can I hold you?”

She considered his request, tears brightening her eyes, then slowly nodded.

Wrapping his arms around her, Bruce held her close, savoring the feel of her in his arms. “I don't know if I can let you go,” he whispered into her hair. “Don't,” he said again. “Please don't do this.”

Her shoulders buckled in a sob. “This isn't what I want, either, but I don't see any other alternative.”

“We'll make it work,” he said urgently. “We
can.
”

“I thought we could, too, but I was wrong.” She disentangled her arms and stepped away from him. “Like
I told you earlier, I'm afraid all this stress is hurting the baby…. This is something I need to do for me and for our child.”

“But—”

“Please don't make this any harder than it already is.”

Although it felt as if his chest was about to cave in, Bruce nodded. “All right, go if you have to, but know that I'll be here waiting when you're ready to come back.” Reaching out, he stroked her cheek and a tear ran down her face onto his hand.

Leaning toward her, Bruce kissed Rachel goodbye. His heart pounded with fear that this might be the last time he ever kissed his wife.