Sandpiper Way (Cedar Cove #8)(91)

“I want you to be my mother!”

“Jolene, call me whatever makes you the most comfortable.”

“But I had a mom,” she cried suddenly, startling Rachel.

“Of course you did, and Stephanie will always be with you and part of you.”

Jolene’s face was anxious. “I don’t want to forget her and I’m afraid I will.”

The anguish in her voice was heartbreaking, and Rachel knew she had to respond carefully.

“Oh, Jolene, you aren’t going to forget her. I can promise you that. Remember, I lost my mother, too.”

When her own mother died, Rachel had gone to live with her aunt—her mother’s older sister. Her father, unlike Bruce, didn’t want a youngster underfoot. He was a busy man with a job that often took him out of town. He’d died of a heart attack when she was in her early twenties. She first came to live with her aunt at the age of ten and was supposed to stay in Cedar Cove just until school was over. Her father had intended to make other arrangements, which in retrospect probably meant a boarding school.

Her aunt was a levelheaded woman, strict and orderly, but not without affection. She’d never married. After the school year she’d suggested Rachel continue living with her. Her father was only too willing to agree.

“When you and Dad get married, will I have to take down my mother’s picture?” Jolene asked.

“Of course not!” Jolene kept it on the dresser in her bedroom.

“I need it to remember.”

“I know you do.” Rachel smoothed the hair away from Jolene’s brow. “This has all come at you pretty quickly, hasn’t it? Your dad and me getting married, I mean.”

“I…I thought you were marrying Nate and moving away, and then all of a sudden Dad tells me he loves you and now you two are getting married. That was supposed to happen on Valentine’s Day and now it’s Christmas and you’re moving in with us.”

Hearing it from Jolene’s perspective, it did seem rushed. “Would you rather we waited until February?” Rachel asked. If that was the case she’d delay the wedding.

“I…I’m not sure.”

“We didn’t give you time to adjust to the idea,” Rachel murmured, feeling she’d failed Jolene.

“I want you to marry my dad. And I want you to move in with us….”

“Just not yet.”

“I…I don’t know.”

Rachel acknowledged the girl’s indecision. “I understand you’re feeling confused,” she said. “Things really have changed too fast for you, haven’t they?”

“Yeah,” Jolene agreed, and Rachel sensed her relief.

How foolish she and Bruce had been. Without meaning to, they’d excluded his daughter. They’d been so focused on their own emotions, Jolene had taken second place.

“Shall we think about this for a minute? What would you like to see happen?”

“I want you to be my friend again.”

Rachel hadn’t considered it that way. “I’ll always be your friend, Jolene.”

“I want you to be. Except…”

“Except what?” Rachel pressed.

“Except…I don’t like it when you and Dad kiss and stuff. It’s like I’m not even in the room, but I am and I see everything. It’s embarrassing. None of my friends’ parents kiss like that.”

Rachel figured the newness of the attraction between her and Bruce would wear off in time. But in the meanwhile, Jolene’s discomfort had to be taken into account. Rachel’s heart sank as she thought about this. It was all more complicated than she’d realized.

Rachel spent the next fifteen or twenty minutes listening to Jolene, encouraging her to express her concerns, trying to reassure her. When the front door opened and Bruce strolled in carrying a large white bag containing their dinner, he seemed to sense that something was wrong.

“Hey, you two, what’s up?”

Rachel looked at Jolene, whose eyes seemed to plead with her not to say anything.

“We’re just talking,” Rachel said.

Jolene squeezed her hand in thanks.

“Anyone hungry?” Bruce asked.

“I am,” Rachel announced with feigned cheerfulness.

“Me, too,” Jolene chimed in.

Bruce brought the takeout meal to the kitchen. The moment he’d left the living room, Rachel turned to Jolene again. “Let me talk to your father,” she said.

“He’ll be mad at me.”

“No, he won’t,” Rachel told her. “Leave everything to me.”

Jolene folded her arms, her expression downcast. “I shouldn’t have said anything.”

“About what?” Bruce stood in the doorway.

Rachel glanced at Jolene and then at Bruce. “Our lives are changing so quickly that Jolene’s having a hard time keeping up.”

“What do you mean?” he asked, frowning.

Rachel had hoped he’d understand. “I’m thinking she’s probably right, and we may have let this whole marriage thing get ahead of us.”

Bruce stepped into the room. “What are you saying? Don’t forget, I’m a guy. You’re going to have to spell it out for me.”