Chapter Seventeen
Holding her little boy in her arms soothed some of the ache of regrets that had settled in Rachel’s heart.
As much as she adored her Nico, knowing that Rosie was still missing tightened the throbbing inside her until it radiated everywhere.
Exhausted from the sorrow of her world spinning out of control, she clung to her little man who made everything sane.
Lance left the truck to come up behind her, and a strong-looking, jean clad woman stepped close to reach her hand out and give him a welcome side hug that was obviously acceptable. After patting her back, he pulled away so he could introduce the two women.
First, Rachel noticed the strong jaw and then clutched the hardened hand of a working woman who approached.
When she saw Marcy’s face – that of a person who cared more about her job than her looks – her silly jealousy vanished.
Hair cut short like a man’s, her rounded body obviously built from muscles earned on the job, and eyes filled with twinkles of realism, Rachel felt an instant rapport with her and knew her unfounded worries were all in her own head.
“Rachel, this is Marcy. My office angel and a great help in the field. Marcy, I’m stunned you don’t know each other already. Rachel pointed it out to me that you two hadn’t met. I’ve no excuse. Time flies by so fast, I forget you’ve been with the company almost a year now.”
Rachel clung to the hand holding hers and watched as the other woman smiled her acknowledgement before saying, “So you’re the mom of these two.
They’re great kids. I’m sorry Rosie was able to sneak off without me knowing.
I feel terrible. I truly thought she just wanted to be alone, and I respect that some kids, even as young as Rosie, feel that way.
And with what’s been happening with her daddy, I didn’t want to push her.
I’m so sorry about Damon… about everything.
” She turned to Lance and reached to hold his arm like one friend would to another.
“If you need anything, boss, I’m here. I can take care of the office, and Phil would be happy to work the roster so the jobs we’ve got going don’t get held up. ”
As Rachel hugged her boy, she watched the two who obviously knew and trusted each other and let go of the silliness that had sparked earlier.
Knowing she had no right to those jealousies hadn’t seemed to matter.
Unable to stop her heart from misbehaving, craving Lance’s attention for herself, she needed to reevaluate her conduct.
She was married.
To his brother.
Lance was single. Goodlooking. Wonderful.
God help her. She had to stop this nonsense.
When Nico lifted his head from her shoulder, his smile for Marcy reassured her that Lance had known exactly what he’d done by reaching out for help from his workmate.
Before she could thank her, Nico piped up, “Phil’s Marcy’s husband.
He’s a good guy, Mommy. He took me for a ride on the fork pickerupper. ”
Lance laughed and corrected the boy, “It’s called a forklift. If you liked that so much, we’ll take you for lots of rides. But right now you have to be a good boy for your mommy, okay? Uncle Lance is going out for a little while, but I’ll be back soon.”
Earlier, while returning to his place, they’d decided that Lance would go to the police station and fill out a report, and she would stay with Nico.
He’d convinced her that Nico needed her with him, even if just for the time she put him to sleep in his own bed.
“He’s a little boy, and he needs the reassurance of his mommy being there.
You can settle him much better than any of us and right now I think it’ll be good for you too.
Take the time to grab a bite also. Maybe have a rest and a shower. It might be a long night.”
Rachel had to grin, finding it lightened her pain. “You telling me I stink?” The quip slid out before she could stop it and having Lance smile back at her brevity made her feel good.
“I wouldn’t dare. I’ve seen that mommy-glare you use on the kids. Makes me tremble in my boots.”
When a chuckle broke free, Nico pulled back and piped up. “Is Uncle being silly, Mommy?”
“Yep.” She hugged her son and got serious before turning back to Lance. “Won’t the police want to talk to me too?”
“If they do, I’m sure they won’t mind coming to the house.”