Cranberry Point (Cedar Cove #4)(36)

"Dad's afraid I'm going to talk," Jolene piped up.

"Jolene!" Bruce growled out a warning.

"He told me I'm not supposed to say anything about you marrying him."

Rachel jerked around in time to see Bruce throw back his head and groan aloud.

"I don't think we need to concern ourselves with that," Rachel said, hoping to reassure him.

"You already met someone?" Jolene sounded horrified. Her big dark eyes widened with dismay.

"No, but—"

"She's going to the auction, though," Terri called out from the nail station on the far side of the salon. "We all are."

"What auction?"

"The Dog and Bachelor Auction being put on by the animal shelter." Terri pointed to the poster on the wall near the front door. "Everyone in town is talking about it."

"I'm saving every penny of my tip money," Jeannie, another nail tech, chimed in. "This could be my last chance."

"I'm more interested in the dogs myself," Rachel said for Bruce's benefit. She could just imagine what he thought of all this chatter about men.

As if the conversation had suddenly made Bruce feel awkward, he walked over to the waiting area and claimed a chair. From the corner of her eye, Rachel saw him reach for a magazine and pretend to read.

"What's a Dog and Bachelor Auction?" Jolene asked, cocking her head to one side. Her gaze met Rachel's in the big mirror.

"It's a fun event where women make bids to adopt a special pet and a date with a bachelor."

"What's a bachelor?"

"A man who isn't married," Rachel explained.

"My dad's not married anymore."

"Hey, Bruce," Terri shouted. "Have you signed up for the auction?"

Bruce lowered the magazine and shook his head. "Not on your life."

"Why not?" Terri pressed. "It's for charity, you know."

"I'm not interested in dating again, thank you very much." His steely-eyed look dared his daughter to comment.

"You said I could have a new mommy," Jolene reminded him, yelling it across the salon.

"Someday," he muttered.

"But that's what you say when you really mean no." Jolene's face fell. "You promised." The child seemed about to break into tears. "I'm the only girl in my class without a mommy and you said, you promised..."

Every eye in the salon turned to glare at Bruce Peyton.

Feeling sorry for him, Rachel helped the girl out of the chair and led her to the shampoo sink. She hoped that with a bit of distraction, Jolene would forget about her father's promises, as well as the Dog and Bachelor Auction.

When Rachel finished shampooing Jolene's hair, she noticed that Bruce had left the salon. She guessed he'd decided to wander around the shopping center, after all. That was probably for the best, considering the grilling he'd gotten earlier.

"Who else is going to be in the Back-lor auction?" Jolene asked once Rachel had her back in the chair.

"Navy men," Terri supplied gleefully. "An entire aircraft carrier full of sailors arrived last month and I hear several of the crew have volunteered."

"For the sake of charity," Rachel reminded her friends.

"I don't care why they signed up," Jeannie said, filing her customer's nails. "They're fair game."

Her friends' enthusiasm for this auction astonished Rachel. Frankly, she didn't hold out much hope of meeting anyone through a charity function. Yes, it was a clever way to raise funds, but as for meeting men, she'd been disappointed so many times she'd given up hope. Her thirtieth birthday had come and gone with barely a ripple of the calendar page. Her desire to settle into a comfortable married life was still unfulfilled, and Rachel had given up looking.

If she was meant to find a husband, then it would happen. In the meantime she was content.

"Would you pay money to go out with my dad if he was in the auction?" Jolene asked as Rachel sectioned the youngster's hair.

She considered the question and shrugged. She didn't want to disappoint the little girl, but she didn't think Bruce was ready for another relationship. "I don't know."

Jolene frowned as though puzzled by Rachel's answer. "Don't you like my dad?"

"I don't know your father well enough to say if I do or not," she said honestly, hoping to ward off Jolene's persistence.

"But if you bought my dad at the auction, you'd know him."

Rachel finished sectioning Jolene's hair and reached for her scissors. She decided it was time to have a short heart-to-heart with the little girl. "Sweetheart, it embarrasses your father when you talk about him remarrying."

Jolene blinked. "That's what he said, too—that it embarrasses him. But he wouldn't say why."

"I don't think your father's ready to get involved with anyone. He loved your mother very much and I think maybe he doesn't want to fall in love again."

"I loved her, too, but I want a mommy," the girl said plaintively.

"Maybe it's just a friend you need."

"I have friends but they're my age and—" She paused and seemed to contemplate Rachel's words. "Could you be my friend?"