74 Seaside Avenue Part 19

Rachel sat back against the park bench and crossed her legs, one foot swinging. "You're going to think I'm being silly."

"Rachel, you're my best friend! I'd never be that judgmental."

"It has to do with Jolene," she said with a deep sigh. "I know what it's like to lose a mother. That was hard enough on the kid, but then her grandmother died, too. Bruce's family lives somewhere out east and they don't seem to have much contact. I'm afraid Jolene will feel abandoned if I leave now."

"How old is she again?" Teri asked.

"Twelve. She's almost ready for junior high. This is such a vulnerable age. Bruce is worried, too, and, well, I just don't feel I can do that to Jolene."

Teri understood Rachel's quandary. "But you can't base your life on Jolene."

Rachel leaned forward and uncrossed her legs. "Now you sound like Nate. Jolene's gotten to be a real sore point between us. I'm afraid to even mention her name because whenever I do, he gets upset with me."

"What about Bruce?" Teri wondered if Jolene was the only complication.

"What about him?"

"You know." Teri gestured vaguely, but Rachel understood what she meant.

"Bruce's been acting a little weird lately." Rachel shook her head, as if to dispel thoughts of Jolene's father. "Remember I told you he phoned me in the middle of the night?"

"Yeah, I remember." Teri really wasn't feeling well. In fact, her stomach seemed to be pitching like a rowboat in a squall. She did her best to ignore it.

"He did it again."

"When?"

"Last week. Not as late as that first night but well past the time for non-emergency calls."

"What did he want?"

"That's just it. He didn't want anything. We talked for a few minutes, he told me Jolene's decided to run for cla.s.s secretary, which I already knew because she'd told me herself, and then he hung up." Rachel raised her hands in a questioning way. "I don't know what to make of it."

"He might be afraid you're going to marry Nate and move to San Diego."

"He didn't say that."

"He wouldn't, would he?" Teri said. Judging by her own experience, men rarely said what they meant. Neither did women, but at least they were more likely to recognize their feelings and desires; they just expressed them indirectly. Most men, on the other hand, didn't actually know what was bothering them. She figured this was the case with Bruce Peyton.

"He asked if he could come over this weekend with Jolene."

"I thought Nate was flying in."

"He is."

"Oh, boy."

"See what I mean?" Rachel said.

Teri nodded. She wanted to ask what Rachel had told Bruce but suddenly felt light-headed. No longer did she think she might vomit, she knew it.

She leaped to her feet and raced toward the women's restroom. Pushing through the door, Teri barely made it inside the stall before her entire lunch came up.

"Teri?" Rachel followed her into the restroom. "Are you okay?"

"No." She staggered out and leaned against the tiled wall.

"Miss Teri?" James called her from the doorway. "Everything all right in there? Do you need me to do anything for you?"

"Go away," she yelled as she let her head fall forward. The room had started to swim. "I've got the flu," she muttered to Rachel, who handed her a wad of tissues.

"The flu?" Rachel repeated with a giggle.

"You think this is funny?" she asked. "You ought to try upchucking your lunch and see how much fun it is."

"I doubt you have the flu," Rachel told her.

Fortunately Teri had bottled water in her purse; she rinsed out her mouth and wiped her face with the dampened tissues. "What do you mean this isn't flu? You've been watching too many episodes of Grey's Anatomy, haven't you?"

"Honestly, Teri, think about it. How long have you and Bobby been married?"

What should have been obvious from the first suddenly became clear. Rachel was right; this nausea wasn't due to any flu virus. She was pregnant. Her cycle had always been irregular but now that she considered it, she hadn't had a period in two months. That should have been a sign. After all, they both wanted children and they weren't using protection.

"Teri." Rachel placed her hand on Teri's shoulder. "You look like you're going to faint."

"Miss Teri?"

"I'm fine, James. Please wait outside."

"You're sure? Should I take you to the doctor's?"

"James!"

Reluctantly he backed out of the restroom. It was a good thing no one else was in there at the moment, Teri thought. As soon as he was out of sight, she leaned against the wall again. "If Bobby's protective of me now, this news will only make it worse."

"But you have to tell him," Rachel insisted.

"I will-just not yet. He's obsessive as it is."

"Because of those two men? But nothing's happened since."

Teri hadn't said anything, not even to Rachel. Lowering her voice, she whispered, "I think it has, although Bobby didn't tell me about it."

"What do you mean?"

"The day of the hair show in Seattle."

"Yes?"

"Remember how he called me out of the blue? He was frantic and he asked me about my necklace." She pulled the gold medal out from under her blouse. She'd replaced the delicate chain at the first opportunity.

"He found it at home, right? You said you must've forgotten to put it on."

Teri shook her head. "I had it on. I distinctly remember putting it on after my shower, like I do nearly every day."

"But how would someone get it away from you without you knowing?"

"I have no idea." Teri had asked herself the same question over and over. At the hair show, she'd been b.u.mped any number of times. The place was crowded. Whoever had taken her necklace had done it quickly and cleverly, snapping the fragile chain.

"Why would anyone do that?" Rachel asked, her own voice dropping to a whisper.

"It's another chess player," Teri told her friend. "He wants Bobby to lose, so he's threatening me in order to get Bobby to cooperate."

"You have to go to the police," Rachel said.

"Bobby won't. I've already talked to him about it. He wants to take care of this himself, his own way. He promised he'll call in law enforcement but only when he has the proof he needs. The thing is, Bobby wouldn't know how to throw a match if he tried. All his life he's been trained to win. Oh, he's lost on rare occasions but it sends him into a tailspin."

"He won't risk letting anyone hurt you, though."

Teri groaned. "I know. That's why he's stopped playing."

"And that's why he's being so protective," Rachel said with dawning comprehension. "Teri, this is awful!"

"I'd rather walk out of Bobby's life right now than allow him to give up chess because of me," she muttered, wiping tears from her eyes with the sodden tissues she clutched.

"Oh, Teri," Rachel said. "It's so wonderful to see how much you love Bobby."

Sniffling, she nodded. She did love her husband. In fact, she'd found herself weeping easily these past few weeks and she'd a.s.sumed- Oh, my goodness, the pregnancy explained her tears! No wonder she'd been so emotional lately.

News of a baby would panic Bobby. She didn't dare tell him.

"I don't have any appointments for the rest of the afternoon," Teri said, more to herself than Rachel.

"Are you going home?"

She nodded. "I think I'd better. I'm still not feeling well."

"Do you want me to go with you?"

"Thanks, but no. I plan to take a nap." Nothing sounded more appealing at the moment.

James drove them back to the salon. As soon as he pulled up in front of Cedar Cove's mall, Rachel hugged her.

"Call me after you see Nate," Teri said.

"I will." James opened the door and Rachel ran lightly out.

This weekend could change her friend's life, Teri mused. She'd either agree to marry Nate-or not. She wasn't convinced Bruce would let himself be counted out.

On the drive home, Teri nearly fell asleep in the car. When they arrived, James helped her out, his manner even more attentive than usual.

"Thank you, James. And listen, what happened back there..."

"Yes, miss."

"Please keep it to yourself."

"Yes, Miss Teri."

"I mean it." She didn't want Bobby hearing about this episode from his driver. James had probably guessed she was pregnant, and she'd rather Bobby didn't figure it out quite yet. That would just multiply his worries-and hers.

James nodded, his hand supporting her elbow. He didn't meet her eyes.

Entering the house, she went straight to the den. As she'd expected, Bobby was there, sitting in front of his chessboard.

"Hi, Bobby."

He didn't respond. His thoughts were on some chess move only he could see. She kissed his cheek and without another word wandered down to their bedroom. She quickly removed her clothes, then slipped beneath the covers. The sheets felt cool against her skin and she sank her head into the pillow and closed her eyes. Almost immediately Teri fell into the welcome oblivion of sleep.

The next thing she knew, her husband was sitting on the bed, his arm around her waist. She smiled and pressed her hand over his.

"The phone rang," he said quietly.

"I didn't hear. Was it for me?"

"It was your sister. She got your message and said she can come to dinner next week."

Teri rolled onto her back. "Did you mention that to James?"

Her husband nodded.

"Did he look happy?"

Bobby frowned, then shook his head. "No, he looked sad."

Teri sighed. She could see that James and her sister were going to need some guidance to get this romance off the ground.

Twenty.

Rachel was so excited she could barely hold still. It'd been almost three months since she'd seen Nate and now they had a whole weekend together. A whole weekend! She paced outside the security area at Sea-Tac Airport, counting the minutes until he appeared.