“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.