“Your parents have plenty of reasons to be proud of you, Nate.” All Rachel wanted was to get home. Her head hurt and her cheeks ached from constantly smiling. She had less of a problem with Nate’s father; unlike his wife, Nathaniel Olsen was a straight shooter. Mrs. Olsen had made it evident from the moment they were introduced that she found Rachel lacking. No, even before tonight, Rachel thought, recalling the phone conversation in the park. It wasn’t anything personal; his mother just didn’t consider Rachel Pendergast good enough for her only son.

They got to her house before Rachel was ready. She didn’t want Nate to leave and yet at the same time she wanted to be alone. How could she explain the way his mother made her feel? If she tried, Nate would assume she was being paranoid and childish.

Nate parked his car at the curb and turned to smile at her. The look in his eyes told her he wasn’t ready for the evening to end, either.

“Would you like to come in and talk for a bit?” Rachel asked. There was nothing to do at the moment but put tonight’s dinner behind her. Later, when she’d had time to assimilate the evening’s events, she’d be able to make some decisions.

“I would love a cup of coffee,” Nate said and gently kissed her. His kisses had always been her downfall. The first time they’d kissed, Rachel had felt her world crumble at her feet. That hadn’t changed in the months they’d been seeing each other; if anything the physical attraction between them had grown stronger.

Nate helped her out of the car and when they’d walked up to her front door, he took the keys from her hand and unlocked it for her. He observed these small courtesies, old-fashioned courtesies, which he’d obviously grown up with. The contrast between Nate and Bruce when it came to these details of courtship was striking. Not that she was dating Bruce. The fact that he’d even enter her mind at a time like this was an irritation she could do without.

“Thanks,” she said when Nate gave her back the key ring. The living room was dark and she switched on a lamp on her way into the kitchen. Although she wasn’t really interested in coffee, preparing a pot gave her something to do while she collected her thoughts.

“It looks like you’ve got a message on your answering machine,” Nate commented as he pulled out a kitchen chair.

Without thinking, Rachel pushed the button. Almost immediately she heard Jolene’s sweet voice. “Hi, Rachel.” She sounded disappointed not to find Rachel at home. “I wish you were there. I was hoping we could go to a movie together. Dad says the one I want to see is a chick flick and I should ask you.” She gave an exasperated sigh that made Rachel laugh. “You know men. Call me back soon, okay?”

Suddenly she saw that Nate was frowning. “They take a lot for granted, don’t they?” he murmured.

“Not really.” Now Rachel frowned, finding herself oddly defensive of Bruce and Jolene.

“I have news,” Nate said. He’d waited until after she’d poured him a mug of coffee.

“Good news, I hope,” she said as she joined him at the table. She stirred a teaspoon of sugar into her coffee.

“Rachel.” He reached across the table, stilling her hand. “The George Washington has been transferred to San Diego.”

It took longer than it should have to understand what that meant. “You’re leaving Cedar Cove?” she asked.

He nodded. “I wanted to say something sooner, but with my parents in town and you so busy most of the time…”

“I haven’t been that busy at work,” she countered. “Not since Teri got back.” But she knew what he’d say. Twice in the last month, he’d wanted to go out and she’d had to turn him down because of previous commitments to Jolene.

“You’re always doing something with that girl.”

“She has a name, Nate. It’s Jolene, and she’s my friend.”

He shrugged. “I’m not sure it’s healthy for you to spend so much time with her.”

The anger Rachel experienced was hot and immediate, but she forced it back. This wasn’t the time to discuss her relationship with Jolene. There were other pressing matters at hand. It had only begun to sink in that Nate would be leaving Cedar Cove. “You…you should’ve said you were being transferred,” she said. “You should’ve told me earlier.”

“I know.” He covered her hands and gazed into her eyes. “I hate to tell you like this,” he said quietly, “especially since we’re heading out so soon.”

“When?” she asked in a strained voice.

“Next week.”

She gasped. “No…”

He nodded. “I’m sorry.”

“I…” She didn’t know how to react to this shocking news. The evening and the uncomfortable dinner were the least of her worries now. Nate had been transferred. Within a week, this man she loved would be gone.

Her mouth went dry. “What will that mean for us?” she managed to ask.

“It means,” Nate said, exhaling deeply, “that you and I need to make a decision. A very important decision.”

Her stomach tensed, and she could hear her heart pounding in her ears.

He paused as if to gauge her response to his announcement. “You know how I feel about you.”

“Yes…” She felt the same way about him. Although he was a few years younger and the son of a wealthy and powerful politician, he’d managed to steal her heart. During the six months he’d been at sea, they’d written each other long letters, then later e-mailed on a daily basis, and in the process had grown close. When she’d first learned about his family, she’d wanted to end their relationship, but he’d persuaded her not to. Now the navy was taking him away from her.

“What about the others?” She’d become good friends with several of the navy wives, especially Cecilia Randall. Since Aaron’s birth, she hadn’t seen as much of Cecilia, and now Rachel understood why. Cecilia was adjusting to more than her newborn son, more than her move to Grace Harding’s house on Rosewood Lane. She was packing up for San Diego.

“They’re all moving, too,” he said, “Almost everyone associated with the George Washington has been transferred.”

“Oh.” She hoped there’d be an opportunity to say goodbye to her friends and to exchange addresses and promises to keep in touch.

“I want you to think about something,” Nate continued. “I want you to go there, too.”

He couldn’t be serious! Did he expect her to pack up her own life and become a camp follower?

“With your job you could work anywhere, right?”

He left her reeling from one shock and then another. “You want me to move, too? Just like that?”

“I know it’s a lot to ask. I know it’s unfair, but I have a reason for asking.”

It didn’t matter. “I can’t, Nate. My life is here in Cedar Cove. My closest friends are here—Teri and Jane and—”

“Jolene,” Nate finished.

“Yes, Jolene,” she confirmed. If Rachel moved, the child would be devastated. She’d lost her mother a few years ago, and Rachel’s leaving would make her feel like she’d been abandoned a second time. Rachel couldn’t do that to her.

Nate brought her hand to his lips and gently kissed her knuckles. “Why don’t we give it three months?”

“All right.” Already she missed him. She knew instinctively that this would be different from when he was at sea. “Three months,” she repeated, wondering, Three months until what?

“At the end of three months, we should both know,” Nate said casually.

“Know what?”

“If this is something we can do, live apart like this,” Nate explained, again sounding very casual, as if everything was clear. As if she understood.

She frowned slightly. “And if we decide we can’t, what will that mean?”

“I’m hoping it means you’ll be willing to join me.”

“Join you?”

Nate’s sensual mouth turned upward in a warm, inviting smile. “In other words, Rachel, I’m hoping you’ll consider becoming my wife.”

Forty-Five

Teri took a bite of her taco salad and realized that her appetite just wasn’t what it used to be. Love did that to her. When Ray had first moved in with her, she’d lost ten pounds. Of course, that weight had reappeared, plus five additional pounds once she’d kicked him out, but that was beside the point. This time she was living with the right man and she’d never been happier in her life. In fact, she hadn’t expected to be this happy, ever. Falling in love with a decent man who loved her back didn’t happen to women like her. Only it had, and she thanked God every day for bringing Bobby into her life.

“Are you taking your lunch break now?” Teri said to Rachel, who’d wandered into the lunchroom. Her friend had been depressed all morning. Yesterday, she’d gotten the news that Nate was shipping out, and she was taking it hard.

“I’ll be with you in a minute,” Rachel said as she slipped a Lean Cuisine meal into the microwave and punched in four minutes. “The truth is, I don’t have much of an appetite.”

“Me, neither,” Teri moaned. “What’s wrong with us?”

“Men,” Jane said, coming into the room. “That’s usually what it is, anyway.”

Teri laughed. “I miss Bobby,” she admitted. She probably said this a dozen times a day. In order to maintain his ranking, he had to play tournaments all over the world. Teri hoped that in a year or two, he’d be able to slow down this relentless pace.

“Where is he now?” Jane asked, waiting for her turn at the microwave.

“New York City.” She’d talked to him before she left for work. “He wants me to meet him there this weekend.”

“Are you going?”

Teri shrugged indifferently, although she was dying to be with Bobby and to see his Manhattan apartment. She might even talk him into taking her to a real Broadway show. Aw, who was she kidding? When Bobby was in a tournament, chess was his sole focus. With one exception—their honeymoon. They’d had another subject on their minds in Las Vegas, and it didn’t have anything to do with gambling. Just thinking about the hours they’d spent in bed made her miss her husband even more.

“You really love that chess geek, don’t you?” Jane said, watching her closely.

“Bobby isn’t a geek.” He was, but Teri had no intention of admitting it, especially to Jane. “He’s a genius, and he needs me, and yes, I love him.”

“He likes her macaroni and cheese, too,” Rachel teased, smiling at Teri.

“You just wait,” Teri told her friends as the microwave buzzed. “One day you’re going to fall this much in love and then you’ll understand.”

“Rachel is in love, aren’t you?” Jane said, stepping around her to insert her frozen entrée into the microwave.