1105 Yakima Street (17 page)

T
eri Polgar was enjoying her first peaceful moment of the day. She sat in the most comfortable chair in the family room, rested her feet on the matching ottoman, leaned back and closed her eyes.

The triplets were all asleep and, after the morning she’d had, Teri was ready for a nap herself. Friends and family claimed that if anyone could handle a multiple birth, she could. It was a nice compliment, and she took it as such, although she was beginning to doubt the high opinion they had of her abilities.

Bobby and James were off for the next few days meeting with the video game people in L.A. Bobby was a huge help with their sons, and of course Gabrielle, their nanny, was, too. Still, the major part of the triplets’ care fell to her. Other than quick trips to buy groceries, Teri couldn’t even remember when she’d last ventured out of the house. As for “girl time”—it’d been practically nonexistent. Her hair needed to be cut and her fingernails were a mess.

She missed Rachel, although they’d talked a few days ago—for the first time in ages. Rachel had described her situation—her housemate and the temporary posi
tion she’d taken with the shipyard. That girl must like living on the edge because she was definitely
not
in her right mind to be living with Nate Olsen. Teri could only imagine what Bruce would say once he found out. Well, she wasn’t going to be the one to tell him.

Bruce Peyton. Teri felt like slapping him silly.

Honestly—letting a thirteen-year-old dictate his life. How crazy was that? Teri knew what poor Rachel had endured in the months that led up to her moving out. She certainly didn’t blame her. In Teri’s opinion, Rachel deserved a medal for putting up with that spoiled brat.

Then, last week, just when things seemed promising—because Bruce was seeing a counselor and Jolene appeared to be softening—everything had blown up in Rachel’s face. Jolene had gotten sick and Bruce had to hurry home. But Bruce soon discovered that this so-called illness had been self-inflicted. He found an empty bottle of ipecac in the garbage and confronted his daughter. He’d emailed Rachel, and Rachel had subsequently told Teri. This marriage wasn’t looking good. Not good at all.

The doorbell chimed and Teri bounded to her feet with more energy than she’d realized she had. If whoever it was woke any of the triplets…

Bruce stood on the porch.

“Bruce?” She was too surprised to say any more. Then she added, “What are you doing here?”

“I came to talk to you about Rachel.”

Teri shook her head, unwilling to let him in. This was Rachel’s worst fear, that Bruce would ask Teri for information. “I don’t think I should,” she said bluntly. She’d vowed she wouldn’t supply Bruce with any of the details Rachel had so recently and reluctantly shared. Not until Rachel had the chance to tell him herself, which she’d
fully intended to do until she’d heard about this latest trick of Jolene’s.

“I have something I want you to give Rachel,” he pleaded, still on the porch.

His sad eyes did her in. Teri had always been a sucker for sad eyes. She’d learned more quickly than her sister had, however. Christie’s heart had been broken more times than a carton of eggs, usually over some down-on-his-luck loser. Christie did eventually learn; it just took her longer.

“All right, you can come in,” she said, not very graciously. Stepping aside, she gestured into the house, then led him into the family room. It was far enough away that they wouldn’t disturb the triplets, but at the same time she could hear them if they cried. That was especially important, since Gabrielle had the night off.

She motioned toward the sofa, which Bruce sank into.

“What can I do for you?” she asked, not bothering with small talk.

“I need help,” Bruce admitted.

“I’ll say you do.” However, Bruce needed more help than she could give him. She hoped he was continuing to see the counselor.

He sighed. “I really blew it with Rachel, didn’t I?”

No point in answering
that
. Bruce already knew he was in trouble with his wife.

“Did you hear what happened last Saturday?” he asked.

“I did.”

He exhaled slowly. “I was beginning to think Rachel might be willing to move back home. Then the three of us could all go to the counselor together. We need to work on being a family, and Rachel living somewhere else complicates everything.”

Teri couldn’t even manage an encouraging smile for fear she’d blurt out her opinion, which she was sure Bruce wouldn’t appreciate. As far as she was concerned, Jolene should be grounded until she turned thirty or wised up, whichever came first. Teri felt the girl would see the light far more quickly that way.

Bruce apparently thought the best approach was to attempt reason. What a joke! Reason with a teenager? No wonder their marriage was falling apart.

“Have you talked to Rachel in the past week?” Bruce asked with wide-eyed hopefulness.

“Yeah.” Teri mentally zipped her mouth shut. She refused to divulge a single detail of their conversation. Not one.

“How is she?”

Now, that was tricky. “All right…I guess.”

Bruce leaned forward. “We had dinner two weeks ago and everything went so well that we started talking on the phone.”

Teri knew that, too, but didn’t respond. Rachel would never forgive her, and this was her closest, dearest friend in the world. Well, other than her sister. Rachel had entrusted her with this secret, which Teri vowed she would keep to herself. Not even Bobby knew.

“But after last weekend, she won’t answer my calls anymore,” Bruce concluded.

She’d missed a whole section of what he’d been saying, which was just fine. The less she heard, the better.

“I’m worried about her.”

She clamped her teeth tightly together. If Bruce was worried, he didn’t have anyone to blame but himself. How he could’ve been so oblivious to Jolene’s manipulations for so long would forever remain a mystery.

“Like I said, I want you to give Rachel something for me.”

“What is it?”

He stood and took a wad of bills out of his pocket.

“You want to give her
money?
” He thought that was how he’d win back his wife? Even Bobby, with his chess brain, wouldn’t dream of doing anything so…so dumb. And he’d had some prize ideas in his time, adorable though he was.

“She must be low on cash,” Bruce explained. “So, would you give this to her for me?”

“What makes you think she’s low on cash?”

His gaze held hers, and Teri quickly looked away, afraid he’d read something in her expression that she didn’t intend to tell him. “I know she’s working but she’s also paying rent,” he said, “and there have to be additional expenses. I just feel I should be helping her financially.”

“You should talk to her about this, not me.”

“Yes, but she refuses to discuss money with me—or anything else.”

She murmured a few noncommittal words.

“I do know she’s working,” he went on, “but not where. I called every salon in the Kitsap area looking for her.”

Teri gave him high grades for trying. She still hadn’t taken the money, although he continued to extend it to her.

“I want to be sure she has vitamins, good food—stuff like that. She might not want to talk to me, but I’d feel better if I knew she had the things she needs.”

“Well…”

“I understand why she’s upset, but I feel responsible for her and the baby.”

“You should,” Teri said without censure.

“So, would you give this to Rachel for me? Please?”

Reluctantly Teri accepted the cash. She was about to suggest he buy something for the baby, which would go a long way toward convincing his wife that he was serious. Again, she managed to suppress any comment. She had to carefully weigh every word she spoke. No offers of help. No advice. No information.

“When you talk to her,” Bruce said, “would you mention how much I love her? Tell her I’m still going to the counselor and that Jolene has agreed to meet him.”

Now this was promising news. “I’ll tell her.”

“Thanks, Teri.” That was all he said, but the gratitude in his eyes, the hope and longing, almost made her cry.

After Bruce left, Teri stood by the window and watched him pull away. As soon as his car was out of sight, she rushed to the phone and called Rachel’s cell, which went straight to voice mail.

“Rach, it’s Teri. Call me ASAP. Bruce just stopped by the house.”

Five minutes later, the return call came. Her friend didn’t even say hello. “Did you let him in?”

“Of course I did,” Teri said. “It would’ve been rude to slam the door in his face.”

“What did he want? You didn’t tell him anything?”

The worry in her voice made Teri regret that she hadn’t immediately set Rachel at ease. “No, nothing. I swear he doesn’t know a thing.”

“Thank you,” she said in relief.

“Can you come by this afternoon? Bobby’s away and I could use the company.”

Rachel hesitated.

“Besides, Bruce gave me something for you.”

“He did?” Rachel’s curiosity was piqued.

“Yup, but I’m not saying what it is. You’ll have to come over here.”

A half hour later, Rachel did.

Teri hugged her and practically dragged her into the foyer. “Gabrielle’s out and we only have about thirty minutes before the boys wake up.” The triplets had started to teethe and Teri’s life wasn’t her own anymore.

Rachel followed her into the kitchen and Teri began preparing a cheese and cracker plate with apple slices and grapes. She could use a snack herself, and this was a good excuse to feed her friend. She’d forced herself not to tell Bruce that she was worried Rachel wasn’t getting enough fruit and vegetables or high-quality protein. From the tidbits Rachel had dropped, Teri surmised that she dined out alone two or three nights a week, which probably meant fast food. That couldn’t be the best thing for Rachel or the pregnancy.

“You said Bruce left something for me,” Rachel began.

She sat on the bar stool and propped her elbows on the counter. Teri had washed the grapes and sliced two apples; now she was cubing the cheese and arranging it on the platter. Only about half the cheddar found its way to the plate. The other half seemed to automatically end up in her mouth.

“Here,” she said, offering the plate to Rachel, who reached for a piece of apple and speared some cheese.

“Bruce?” she prompted before taking a bite.

“Oh, yeah, Bruce.” Teri dug in the hip pocket of her jeans and brought out the wad of cash.

“Money?”

“He wants to contribute to your care and the baby’s. He loves you. He’s feeling guilty and miserable and lost.”

“You didn’t…”

Teri pantomimed locking her lips. “I swear I didn’t say a word. I told you I wouldn’t and I didn’t.” She paused. “You should take the money,” Teri urged. She set it on
the counter, then crossed her arms. “He looked pretty broken, Rach.”

Rachel didn’t say anything at first. “Did he talk about what happened last Saturday?” she finally asked.

“A little. But he also said he’s been seeing the counselor—and Jolene agreed to go.”

Rachel’s head jerked up. “She did?”

“Well…for one time, anyway.”

Rachel nodded, but she didn’t seem too encouraged. “I wonder what Bruce had to promise to get her to do that.”

“He didn’t promise her anything.” He hadn’t really said, but Teri got the impression that Jolene hadn’t been given a choice.

“Trust me, Bruce must have bribed her.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

A baby’s cry came from down the hall, soon followed by a second and a third. Teri sighed.

“Where’s Christie?” Rachel asked.

Now that James and Christie were married, her sister lived in the apartment above the garage with her husband.

“She’s with James. You remember how it is when you’re first married. They’re constantly together.”

“I do remember,” Rachel whispered. “Unfortunately, the honeymoon for Bruce and me didn’t last nearly long enough.”

Rachel counted the money. Five crisp one-hundred-dollar bills. She put them back on the counter. “Please return it to him for me. Okay?”

“You don’t need it?”

She shook her head and Teri knew instinctively that she was lying.

“Rachel, don’t be unnecessarily stubborn. Bruce wants you to have this.”

“No,” she insisted. “Tell him to spend it on the counselor for him and Jolene.”

“Y
ou can put that box in the master bedroom,” Lori Wyse told her brother-in-law, pointing the way, which was silly. Mack owned the duplex and knew exactly where the master bedroom was.

He disappeared down the hallway as she started to unpack the dishes, setting them in a cupboard in the compact kitchen. The duplex was smaller than their apartment had been. Nevertheless, it would serve their needs nicely.

“I think that’s it,” Mack said, hands in his back hip pockets.

“Can you go with me to turn in the rental truck?” Linc asked.

“Sure thing.”

Linc kissed Lori on the cheek as he walked out the door. “I shouldn’t be long. Don’t work too hard.”

“I won’t,” she promised, although she was determined to get as much unpacked as she could.

“Need any help?” Mary Jo asked, joining her, the baby in her arms. She set Noelle on the kitchen floor, where she was content to play with a large toy rabbit.

“That would be great.” Lori wasn’t about to decline
such a generous offer. She dragged over the box of pots and pans and showed her sister-in-law where she wanted them placed.

They worked in silence for a while, with the radio playing softly in the background. “Linc and I are so grateful to get out from under my father’s thumb,” Lori said. “I don’t know what we would’ve done if it wasn’t for you and Mack.” Moving to Seattle was one of their few options, and they were both grateful not to be living in Linc’s family home with his two younger brothers.

“This helps me and Mack, too.”

Lori didn’t know Mary Jo well yet, but she felt they’d already become friends. Mary Jo sat on the kitchen floor and reached for a second box. “Do you want these bowls down here or in the cupboard above the dishwasher?”

“Above the dishwasher,” Lori told her.

Noelle threw her rabbit aside and yawned loudly.

“Looks like it’s nap time,” Lori said. Come to think of it, she was tired, too. Linc had left the apartment to pick up the truck before six that morning. But they’d been awake since four, finishing the last of the packing and cleaning.

“Come on, baby girl,” Mary Jo said, scooping up the toy, then bending to retrieve her daughter. “Let me change your diaper and put you down for a couple of hours.”

“She sleeps that long?”

“Almost every afternoon. She still takes a morning nap, too, but she’ll outgrow those pretty soon.”

Lori knew she had a lot to learn about babies. She and Linc had talked about starting a family and had decided to wait a couple of years. As newlyweds, they were still getting used to living with each other and to the demands and compromises of married life. They’d weathered a
couple of challenges in the past year, thanks largely to her father. Leonard Bellamy refused to give Linc the opportunity to prove himself and had gone out of his way to sabotage every effort Linc made.

His attitude infuriated Lori. Linc was a decent, honest, hardworking man. Her father should thank God that she’d married a man as wonderful as Lincoln Wyse. Leonard was determined to control her life and she wouldn’t let him. Because of that he was punishing Linc and, through Linc, her.

When she’d phoned home and severed her relationship with her family, Linc felt she’d overreacted. It was true that she’d acted on impulse, but she’d meant every word.

Linc arrived home just as she finished sorting out the silverware. “Looks like you’re making good progress,” he said.

“What amazes me is how much stuff I’ve accumulated.”

“Pretty shocking, isn’t it?” Linc slipped his arms around her from behind and buried his face in her neck. “Do you think we could initiate our new home tonight?” he whispered.

“That’s a distinct possibility,” Lori whispered back, her hands covering his.

There was a polite knock at the open front door.

Instantly Linc dropped his arms. They both turned to find Kate Bellamy standing on the other side with a small gift bag in her hand.

“Mom,” Lori said, forgetting for the moment that she was no longer speaking to her family.

“I stopped by the apartment and the neighbor told me where you’d moved,” Kate said. “I brought you a small housewarming gift.”

She seemed to be waiting for an invitation to step inside. Lori was too stunned to react.

“Mrs. Bellamy,” Linc said, taking charge. “Come in, please.” He pushed aside a series of empty boxes, clearing a path for Kate. She made her way to the small table in the breakfast nook, where he pulled out a chair for her.

Lori was uncertain of what to say. She’d stood up to her family, and pride wouldn’t allow her to back down. Still, this was her mother; she couldn’t very well ask her to leave. Especially since her real problem was with her father…

“Would you like some coffee or tea?” Linc asked.

“So you’ve unpacked the kitchen?” Kate asked, eyeing the cardboard boxes stacked against a wall.

“I know where the tea bags are and I can boil water,” Lori said. Mary Jo had unboxed the pots and pans, so she knew exactly where to find one.

Her mother grinned. “I taught you well,” she said in a joking voice.

“As a matter of fact you did,” Linc said smoothly. “Lori obviously picked up her cooking skills from you.”

“Oh, honestly, Linc, you’d been eating your brothers’ cooking. Anything was an improvement over that.”

“Mary Jo cooked, too,” he was quick to tell her.

Ignoring him, Lori said to her mother, “Actually, I could stir fry crabgrass and Linc wouldn’t complain.”

“I remember when your father and I were first married,” Kate said with a wistful look. “I was a terrible cook. I ruined almost every meal and yet he ate all those atrocious, burned dinners and said they were delicious. That’s what love will do for you.”

Lori set the kettle on to boil and found three mugs. A canister in the cupboard held the tea bags.

“Open your gift,” her mother said, handing her the package.

“You didn’t need to do this,” she said as she took the bag. The pink tissue paper inside was folded into peaks. Her mother had always been a stylish woman whose sense of elegance and beauty transformed everything around her. Since those early days of her marriage, Kate had learned how to cook, and every meal was as lovely to look at as it was to eat.
Beauty
had become her watchword in all things. Even now, dressed in slacks and a sweater with a rain jacket, Kate resembled a model. She was tall and slim and Lori had rarely seen her without perfect hair and makeup.

Lori wished she could be more like her mother, although she believed she’d inherited her interest in fashion from Kate.

“It’s just something small,” Kate murmured.

Lori pulled out the paper and discovered a handheld blender. She didn’t have one. “Oh, Mom, this is great. Thank you so much.”

“I love mine, and I hoped you hadn’t bought one yet.”

“No, I haven’t. You’re always so thoughtful.” She knew her father wouldn’t have approved of this. “Does Dad know you bought a gift for us?”

Her mother’s silence told her what she’d already figured out.

After an awkward moment, Kate raised her chin and announced, “Your father and I are no longer speaking.”

Lori sat down on one of the kitchen chairs. “You and Dad aren’t talking?” The kettle whistled and Linc removed it from the burner.

He went to stand behind Lori and placed his hands on her shoulders. “Does this have anything to do with Lori and me?” he asked.

Her mother looked at them, then nodded. “We all know your father is a stubborn man.”

Lori snickered. “That’s putting it mildly.”

“Once he gets an idea in his head, no one can convince him he’s wrong. No one.”

Lori studied her mother closely. Kate wasn’t an emotional woman but tears filled her eyes. She blinked them away.

“What happened, Mom?”

“When you phoned last month and told your father you were finished with the family…well, as you might assume, I got upset. I wasn’t about to lose my daughter.”

“Oh, Mom, I was just angry. I probably shouldn’t have said anything until I’d calmed down.” She did regret distressing her mother, who was invariably loving and supportive. Not only that, Kate had accepted Linc, despite Leonard’s decrees.

“Your father refuses to be reasonable. It makes no sense. He wasn’t a rich man when we met—he had to prove himself to my father and he did. Yet he won’t give Linc the same chance my family gave
him.
”

“It doesn’t surprise me that Dad’s being so unreasonable. He thinks he knows what’s best for me, but he doesn’t. I made a wise choice in my husband, and nothing Dad says or does is going to change my mind.” Lori reached up and pressed her hand on Linc’s.

Kate lowered her gaze. “After your call, your father said good riddance and he was cutting you out of the will.”

Lori laughed. This was a threat he’d made more than once through the years. She was tired of him holding that over her head, trying to manipulate her. “If that’s what he wants, Mom, I don’t care. I have everything I’ll ever need or want right here with Linc.”

Her husband bent forward and kissed the top of her head.

“I told your father he was being ridiculous and that if he cut you out of the will, I was leaving.” She paused and inhaled deeply. “Unfortunately, he didn’t believe me.”

“Mom?” Lori wasn’t sure what her mother was saying. “Are you telling me—”

Her mother cut her off. “Your father called our attorney and, while he was talking to Matt, I packed my bag. He thought I was just making a point and that I’d be back the next morning.”

“You’re not with Dad?” If she hadn’t already been sitting, Lori would have collapsed into a chair from shock.

“Like I said, your father and I are no longer talking. Or…living together.”

“Where
are
you living?” Linc asked.

“With my sister.”

“Aunt Hilary?” Lori asked.

Kate nodded. “My sister’s a widow,” she explained to Linc, “and the two of us have been enjoying ourselves.”

“What about Dad?” Lori asked. Her father relied on Kate for everything. Lori couldn’t imagine him surviving one day on his own, let alone weeks.

“I wouldn’t know,” Kate said, her back straight and her chin raised. “That’s his concern.”

“You haven’t had any contact with him?”

“None.”

Undoubtedly her father blamed Linc for this, too, along with everything else. “Is there anything I can do for you, Mom?” Lori asked. She felt dreadful that things had deteriorated this far.

“For me?” Kate repeated. “Good grief, no. As I said, your father is being completely unreasonable. I’ve stood
by him all these years, backed him even when I disagreed, but this time he went too far.”

“Oh, Mom, I feel awful.”

“Why should you? Anyone who spends half an hour with Linc knows he’s everything you said. Even more apparent is how much he loves you. While your father might not like Linc because he isn’t some high-priced attorney or bank president, he should be grateful our daughter’s found a man who loves her and makes her happy.”

Lori couldn’t have put it any better herself. “I
am
happy married to Linc. Happier than I ever imagined.”

“I’m sorry our marriage has caused such a problem in your family,” Linc said.

Kate dismissed that. “It hasn’t been a problem for anyone other than Leonard.”

Linc nodded slowly. “What would it take for you to move back home?”

“What would it take?” Kate asked. “Well, first Leonard would have to apologize to you for everything he’s done to undermine your business. Then he’d have to apologize to our daughter for his high-handed behavior. And last…last, he’d have to apologize to me.”

Lori knew it would be difficult to get one apology out of her father, never mind three. None of this was likely to happen.

“Oh, Mom.”

“Actually, Hilary and I get along just fine.”

“Mom!” Her mother could be just as stubborn as her father. This was a formula for disaster. She was afraid one of them would do something stupid—like file for divorce. Lori didn’t know if she could live with herself if that happened, regardless of the fact that Leonard brought it on himself… Maybe she should’ve given him a chance to meet Linc again, more time to get used to the idea of
her marriage. And yet, she reminded herself, she was an adult with the right to make her own decisions.

Her mother left shortly afterward, making Lori and Linc promise not to mention her visit to anyone in the family.

Lori sank into her chair again after walking Kate to her car. “I can’t believe this. I have to do something,” she told Linc frantically.

“What can you do?”

“I…I’m not sure.”

“Do you think your brother and sister know that your mother’s moved out?” Linc asked.

“I doubt it. They would’ve told me.”

Frowning, Linc nodded.

“I’m going to phone my father and try to reason with him. All these weeks without Mom… He must be going nuts.”

“Do you think that’s wise?” he asked.

“I have to try.”

Linc seemed to agree with her. He dragged his chair close to hers and held her free hand while Lori called the family home. To her surprise, her father answered.

“Where’s Lou Lou?” she asked, shocked that the woman who’d been their housekeeper for more than twenty years didn’t pick up.

“She no longer works here.”

“Lou Lou quit?”

Her father ignored the question. “Who is this?”

“Come on, Dad, you know who this is. Lori.”

“Lori who?”

“Lori, your
daughter,
” she said, struggling to hold on to her temper.

“Unfortunately, I don’t have a daughter named Lori.”

His words felt like a slap in the face. “Okay, Daddy,
if that’s the way you want it.” She clicked off the phone and hid her face in Linc’s chest.

His arms came immediately around her. “I’m so sorry, honey,” he whispered, kissing her hair.

“Me, too,” she murmured tearfully. “Me, too.”