Harbor Street (Cedar Cove #5)(51)

“I got delayed at Bruce’s,” she explained, glancing at her watch.

At first Cecilia assumed that Bruce was Rachel’s brother or some other relation, until she remembered he was her widower friend.

“Jolene didn’t want me to leave,” Rachel was saying.

Cathy brought out eggnog and they all sat down in the living room to open gifts. Cecilia had bought each of the other women a tube of luxurious hand cream, and puzzles for the kids; in return she received nail polish from Rachel, in a color called “Santa’s New Suit,” a paperback from Carol, and, from Cathy, a pewter picture frame engraved with booties and other baby images. She suspected Cathy had gone over their price limit and felt tears well up as she caught her friend’s eye and mouthed, “Thank you.”

Soon after that, the two kids moved into the bedroom, where Amanda had convinced Andy to play house with her.

“I’ll make you dinner,” the four-year-old said smartly.

Andy looked skeptical. “Will the smoke alarm go off again?”

“Who are Bruce and Jolene?” Carol asked Rachel. “I think I missed something here.”

“Well, Bruce is a…friend. A widower. His daughter, Jolene, is nine now. Her mother died when she was five. A while ago, she said she wants me to marry her dad.”

“How did Bruce react to that?” Carol asked.

“Forget her father, how did you handle it?” Cathy wanted to know.

Rachel grimaced slightly. “It was awkward for both of us. Bruce and I see each other on occasion. Mostly for companionship. For example, Bruce asked me to go Christmas shopping with him and I did.”

Cathy exchanged a glance with Cecilia. “Does Nate know about this other guy?”

Rachel nodded. “Bruce is just a friend. Nate knows that. Technically I—I’ve only gone out with Nate twice, and we’ve stayed in touch.”

Cecilia knew they’d been in daily contact ever since she’d shown Rachel how to log onto the Internet and send e-mail messages. Ian had recently mentioned how much happier Nate seemed to be now that he was able to communicate with Rachel on-line.

“Nate gave me a computer for Christmas,” Rachel said shyly. “I told him it was too much, but he wouldn’t take no for an answer.”

“Wow,” Cathy murmured.

“He’s got the bucks,” Carol said matter-of-factly. “Or rather, his family does.”

Cecilia, Cathy and Rachel all stared at her.

“What do you mean?” Cecilia asked when no one else did.

“Nate Olsen, right?” Carol said, turning to Rachel, who nodded. “That’s the guy I thought you were talking about. His daddy’s Nathaniel Olsen.”

The name wasn’t familiar to Cecilia, and she noticed the others looked just as blank.

“Who?” Cathy asked.

“Nathaniel Olsen, as in Congressman Nathaniel Olsen from Pennsylvania.” She glanced from one woman to the next. “You mean you didn’t know?”

Rachel looked shocked, then confused. “N-no, Nate never mentioned anything about his family being in politics.”

“We’re talking money. Big money,” Carol continued, clearly enjoying the role of expert. “I’m not sure where it all came from in the beginning—probably coal—but there’s lots of it now and Daddy doesn’t mind letting everyone know.”

“Nate’s an enlisted man,” Cecilia said. It stood to reason that because of his father’s name, he could’ve gone into the Navy as an officer.

“True,” Carol agreed, sipping her eggnog. “But Nate and his father had a falling out a few years back. Then I heard that Nate dropped out of college and joined the Navy.”

“How do you know all this?”

“I’m from Pennsylvania,” she told them. “It was big news back home, and of course his daddy put a positive spin on it. He played up his family’s patriotism for all it was worth at election time.”

“I’ll bet Nate hated that,” Rachel said quietly.

“I’ll bet he did, too,” Carol concurred. “I don’t think he has much to do with his father these days.”

“Oh.” Rachel had gone pale. “I can just imagine what Nate’s father would say if he found out his son was dating a hairdresser.”

That was met with a moment’s silence. “It seems to me Nate’s his own person,” Cecilia felt obliged to comment. “He’s the one who sought you out, isn’t he?”

“Actually, I bid on him at the Dog and Bachelor Auction, remember?”

“Yes, but you two hit it off,” Carol said.

“Nate doesn’t have a problem with you working in a salon,” Cathy added. “What’s wrong with that, anyway? As soon as Carol and I found out you did hair, we were overjoyed. We’ve been looking for a good hairdresser ever since we moved to Cedar Cove. The fact that you do nails too is a bonus.”

Rachel relaxed a bit. “I just wish Nate had said something—about his background, I mean.”

“Maybe he was waiting for the right time,” Cecilia offered, wishing Carol hadn’t said anything now. Rachel seemed so uncomfortable.

Carol must have regretted it herself, judging by her next words. “Come to think of it, I’m sure Nate wouldn’t use family money to purchase your gift,” she said. “You obviously mean a lot to him.”