Chapter One #2
Seeing her daughter’s watchfulness, Rachel held up her hand toward Lance, letting him know it was fine.
She knew the children had a right to the truth no matter how devasting it might be.
So, she sat on the grass and kept Nico in her arms. When Rosie followed her gesture and knelt down with them, she began to speak.
“Honestly, I don’t know. We believe he’s buried in the rubble from the apartment building where he was…
ahh, working on a job. Though the authorities think the chances of finding anyone now are getting slimmer, I’m still praying. ”
“Me, too. Daddy’s strong like bull,” Nico insisted, parroting one of his father’s favorite sayings from the past.
“Yes he is. But you must understand. I’ve been warned that it’s hard for anyone to survive so long without water or food.” She held up her hand to stop their sudden chatter. “Yes. They’re still looking for him with the search and rescue dogs.”
Rosie’s little face stiffened before she blurted out her thoughts. “When they do find him, he’s gonna be mad. Daddy doesn’t like anything happening if he hasn’t said so. He’s the boss.”
Rachel didn’t answer. Lately, Rosie and her father have had a love-hate relationship.
Being the spitting image of her father, obviously the female version, unsurprising, she often shared the same temperament.
In her earlier years, as daddy’s little angel, the child could do no wrong.
However, as she’d gotten older, more independent…
and Damon had become more unhappy, things had changed.
He’d begun yelling at the girl for things that he’d accepted wholeheartedly in the past. When she’d come running, he’d ignore her obvious adoration and brush her aside.
As far as his boy, he’d also paid scads of attention to him as a baby due to the pride of fathering a son, but the last couple of years, his edgy discontent had been shared equally. The kids had suffered along with their mom.
Lance broke into the silence. “How about you all stay here with me for now? We’ll barbecue some hot dogs, and I bought a package of smores we can use up. What do you say?”
“Yay!” Rosie and Nico’s excitement sounded loud and childish, and it made her smile.
Since both were clearly in agreement, she let the relief show on her face.
With grins replacing tears, Rachel didn’t have the heart to spoil their enthusiasm.
“Okay. Kids, go and clean up your stuff and then get washed.” She looked Lance’s way and firmly stated, “I want to help.”
His nod and grin lifted her spirits.
***
Having the kids cheer up after hearing Lance’s offer, Rachel felt a weight lifted from her shoulders.
The thought of going home had left her feeling even more depressed.
Lately, she knew her house often looked like a tornado had torn through the place.
But working nights as an office cleaner and trying to catch a bit of shut-eye during the day when Rosie was at school and Nico at morning daycare, meant something had to give.
Turns out, the household chores were often the last on the list to be taken care of.
Then a few days before the incident, she’d been forced to quit her job when she found out that Damon had been leaving the kids alone once they’d gone to sleep.
She’d had to return home after having had an accident at work, cutting herself badly enough that she’d had no choice.
Not finding him where she expected had made her heart stop.
Horrified, she’d yelled at him for one of the very few times she’d ever lost her cool with the man who’d always controlled her.
“How could you be so irresponsible, Damon? What if one of them got sick? Or woke up looking for you only to find you weren’t there?”
“Oh, for Christ’s sake, Rachel. Rosie isn’t a baby anymore.
She’s old enough to call us if something happened.
We’ve never had a problem. It’s not like we live in a big city.
Carlton Grove is damn safe in comparison.
Plus, they know they can go next door to Nadia if something unusual comes up.
Quit making mountains out of molehills. You’re always a Mrs. Doomsday, and I’m sick of it. ”
He’d stomped out of the house and slammed the door before roaring away on his motorcycle.
Upset with her for questioning his actions, he’d blamed her, which lately had begun to happen more and more often.
He’s the only person she ever knew who could turn a situation around making the innocent person culpable.
Filled with distress and anger mixed in with resentment, she remembered swallowing her angst and making an effort to smooth troubled waters.
Spending more than she should, she bought the ingredients and prepared his favorite fried chicken dish for supper that night and even made his favorite apple pie.
It had always been a matter of pride that she prepare most of their meals.
Rather than buy processed, packaged foods, she kept her choices as healthy as her budget allowed.
Thankfully, her mother had taught her how to cook the meals she herself had grown up eating.
Therefore, making her own soups and stews, casseroles and stir fries was not only more nourishing, but it had also saved them a lot of money.
Not that Damon particularly liked her food and would often complain at the lack of bacon filled mac n’ cheese, hamburgers, or the barbecued steak and ribs he liked much better.
But they couldn’t afford those luxuries often on her salary.
And since any money from his paychecks was seldom passed over to her for groceries, she made do the best way she knew how.
Thinking back to when she’d still believed in her man, an uncomfortable moment came to mind.
Because of Damon’s limited earnings, one day she’d made the mistake of commiserating with Lance about the boys not getting much business.
His reaction had been revealing. He’d stared at her, his strange expression making her shut that topic down fast. He must have dwelt on her words and soon found a time when they were alone to reveal the truth.
“Rachel, the business is flourishing. In fact, we’ve been inundated with jobs and had to hire more employees. Didn’t Damon tell you? For the last few years, we’ve been drawing excellent salaries compared to when we first started.”
Maybe because she didn’t hide her expression fast enough, he caught on that the money he was doling out to his brother wasn’t making its way to her and the kids.
Though his tone had filled with wariness, anger still ignited in his usually soft voice.
Eyes staring at the floor, his tense body warned her of his seriousness.
He hesitated at first, but finally said, “Please tell me Damon is paying your debts like the mortgage and truck payments. He told me you only returned to work to help your friend who couldn’t get enough people. ”
“Of course he’s making those payments.” Rachel’s lie was tiny since she’d only had to cover the mortgage for the first time last month using her own limited savings.
“He’s taking care of those expenses but lately he’s dropped comments that things are tough.
I guess I thought he meant that the business wasn’t doing well. ”
“I’ll talk to him.” Lance’s voice hardened.
“No.” Rachel spoke fast. “No, don’t. He wouldn’t like me to interfere in his affairs.
” Hearing that last word made her blush.
Having spoken the truth, she still didn’t want to involve Lance with their troubles.
Yet she had no doubt that once again her cheating husband was breaking his marriage vows, hanging out with other women, and using his money to show them a good time.
Suddenly, she let go of her pity party into the past to realize that things had become uncomfortable in the present.
The daunting silence had lasted so long that Lance came toward her.
Putting the tray of hot dogs on the counter, he stood close, his eyes looking over her shoulder.
As if he couldn’t help himself, he pulled her into his arms. “Don’t fret, honey.
Damon’s like a cat with nine lives. I figure he’s still got a few left in him.
” His warm hand caressing her back broke her control.
Sniffling, struggling to hold back her distress, she nodded and pushed from arms that felt too good to take advantage of. “We better get busy with the barbecue before those little monsters of mine come demanding their supper.”
Focusing her mind on helping Lance with preparing dinner, she found lots of fresh veggies in the fridge and began working on a salad they could eat with the treat.
Then she organized the package of smores for their dessert.
Catching the familiar smells of cooking wieners, she hurried outside to join them.
Once seated at the new patio set Lance had built, she watched the byplay between her kids and their uncle.
“Hey, Uncle Lance, did you weally build this table from a log?” Nico demanded.
“Sure did, sport. Check the live-edges on both sides of the slab of teak here. And the bench seats are the same. One day, we’ll work on a set like this for your house. Both you and Rosie, if she wants to.”
Startled, Rosie chuckled, obviously happy to be included. “Me too?”
“Of course, why not? You’re smart and strong. It’s good for girls to know how to build things. I respect any woman who can look after many of the household repairs herself.”
“Okay. I want to.” Gleefully clapping her hands, something Rachel hadn’t seen Rosie do for such a long time, Rachel felt her heart lift.
“Then we’ll make a date soon.” Lance looked Rachel’s way for approval, and when she nodded, he stuck his thumb up toward the kids who both copied his gesture before filling their faces with another bite from a favorite indulgence.