1105 Yakima Street by Debbie Macomber Read Free Book Online Page A

refused to have her interfering in his life like this. It was time she recognized her role in the breakup of his marriage. And, he told himself, it was time he admitted that he’d allowed her to do the damage she had.
    “We need to talk,” he said again, wanting Rachel to know how important she was to him. Somehow, some way, they’d find a solution.
    “No.” Rachel’s voice was adamant. “If this…incident today did anything, it solidified my reasons for leaving. I won’t go back to a house filled with tension and strife. It isn’t good for me or the pregnancy.”
    “What about—”
    Bruce didn’t get a chance to finish as Rachel left him standing in the center of the mall with a dozen faces staring at him.
    “Come on, Dad,” Jolene said, all sweetness now. “Let’s go home.”
    Bruce couldn’t bear to even look at his daughter. If he opened his mouth, he was afraid he wouldn’t be able to curb his anger. So he simply turned and walked away.

Five
    “M om, you’re wearing that goofy look again,” Tanni Bliss said as she strolled into the kitchen and selected an apple from the fruit bowl on the table.
    “What look?” Shirley asked, although she knew exactly what her daughter meant. She’d just spent nearly two hours on the phone with Larry Knight, a nationally renowned artist—and the man she was now seeing. Although “seeing” wasn’t quite the right term, considering how much he traveled. They’d met at the Seattle Art Museum a few months earlier and been in frequent touch ever since.
    Larry was a widower of five years’ standing, while Shirley had lost her husband to a motorcycle accident the January before last. She’d thought she’d never recover after Jim’s death. She’d been convinced that falling in love again was out of the question.
    Then she’d met Larry… . The problem was that he lived in California and traveled a great deal—with his art exhibits, doing the lecture circuit, taking part in panels and interviews. They spoke every day now and emailed between conversations. They saw each other wheneverpossible, which wasn’t nearly often enough to suit either of them.
    “So, where’s Larry now?” Tanni asked.
    “He’s in New Mexico.” He might as well be on the moon. Without email and phone calls, she felt she’d slowly go insane. Or maybe not so slowly! She’d forgotten what it was like to fall in love. She’d been a college student when she met and married Jim. He’d been in the air force at the time and was about to be discharged. Eager to get on with an airline, Jim had set his sights on living in the Pacific Northwest. Once she’d visited the Seattle area, Shirley had agreed. This would be a lovely place to live and raise their children.
    After Jim had been hired by Alaska Airlines, they’d settled in Cedar Cove and turned the basement of their large sprawling home into a studio for Shirley. She would’ve been content to remain exactly where she was for the rest of her days. Until the accident…
    And, even then, she couldn’t imagine moving. But she’d met Larry, and that changed everything.
    “When are you two getting married?” Tanni asked, breaking into her musings.
    “Married!” Shirley gasped. “We hardly know each other.”
    “Oh, come on, Mom. You haven’t been yourself ever since the day you first laid eyes on him.”
    No use denying the obvious. “I know.”
    “It’s not like I haven’t noticed. You’re crazy about Larry.”
    “True.”
    “So what’s holding you back?”
    “Well, for one thing, Larry hasn’t asked.”
    “Oh?” Tanni made it sound like she had insider information.
    Shirley was tempted to ask if her daughter knew something she didn’t. Larry and Tanni chatted frequently, although she assumed her daughter had been looking for information about Shaw, the boy she’d once dated. The boy Larry had assisted in securing a place at the art institute in San Francisco.
    “Has…has he mentioned that he’s going to ask me