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At four o’clock sharp, Bruce was in his car, driving back into Cedar Cove after finishing an on-site call in Gig Harbor

He parked in the lot outside the shopping h his hair He needed a haircut Rachel had been cutting his hair for the past few years Jolene’s, too Sooner or later his daughter would realize how much Rachel added to their lives--and it was a lot more than free haircuts! He just hoped Jolene smartened up soon

He chose the entrance closest to the Get Nailed salon The salon storefront looked out on the mall and for several minutes Bruce stood there and siht pound straight out of his chest He loved his wife

A moment later, Rachel must have felt his stare because she turned and their eyes ht, Bruce noticed, which wasn’t good It told hi a toll on her health His first instinct was to chastise her for not looking after herself She also seenant with Jolene, had suffered from an iron deficiency and Bruce wondered if that was the case with Rachel, too

While Bruce waited, Rachel finished with her client, thenhere?" she whispered before he’d had a chance to greet her

"Shouldn’t it be obvious?" he returned, unable to take his eyes off her "I came to see you"

"You said you wouldn’t"

"I did?" Bruce didn’t rereed under duress and had since changed his h he said none of that "I miss you," he whispered, and reached for her hand

Rachel looked down, but not before he saw tears in her eyes "I miss you, too"

"Come home, Rachel," he pleaded as his thumb stroked the top of her hand "I’ll do whatever you ask Just come home"

"I wish it was that easy"

"But it is"

"Jolene--"

Rachel had barely begun to speak when his daughter rounded the corner with two of her schoolfriends

"I thought so!" Jolene yelled, hands on her hips Bruce recognized the girls, although he couldn’t recall their nalared at Rachel "I don’t care what ain"

"Jolene!" Bruce snapped "You’re being rude and your behavior is unacceptable This is between Rachel and me Now please leave We’ll talk later," he said in as oht to be here as anyone" Her eyes sparked with indignation She was obviously drawing strength fro a silent barrier Turning to confront Rachel, Jolene continued, "Having you out of the house has been great and I don’t want you back"

"Jolene, stop right this hter by the shoulders "I told you, this is between Rachel and hter insisted "I live in the house, too, and it’s either "

That was an empty threat if there ever was one "And where exactly would you go?"

"I’ll run away"

"Stop it, both of you," Rachel cried, covering her led to hold back a sob

Jane, the salon er, approached them "I’d appreciate it if the three of you would take this elsewhere We have custo a scene"

Until then Bruce hadn’t realized that there were two or three ladies in the waiting area a few feet away His focus had been on Rachel to the exclusion of everyone else--until Jolene arrived

Taking his wife’s hand, Bruce led her out of the salon, although they remained in full view of the custo a lot of attention--and not just fro at them

Rachel noticed this, as well "I think it would be best if you all just left," she said, avoiding eye contact Then she raised her head to aze

"I can’t leave you like this," Bruce e" He looked pointedly at his daughter, deive him some privacy

Jolene folded her aro," Rachel pleaded, easing away fro a scene"

"I don’t care" He ignored his daughter and focused on Rachel He understood now that he hadn’t really grasped the extent of Jolene’s selfishness He didn’t kno his daughter’s dislike of Rachel had reached this point Nor did he knohat had torn the two of them apart in the first place At one time they’d been so close…

"Don’t worry, Jolene," Rachel said "You can have your father all to yourself"

His daughter’s smile could have lit up the entire mall "Good" To his shock, she and her posse of friends exchanged high fives

With that, Rachel started to walk away, then apparently had a change of heart because she turned back "Bruce, it would be better if you didn’t coain"

"I can’t proet a job so toto stay away