Time to Heal (Harlequin Heartwarming) by Karen Young Page A

going to walk out now? Is that what she’d been brooding over all evening? His next words were forced. “What do you want, Rachel?”
    She stood and walked over to a bright pink bougainvillea. “I’m not sure. I’m still confused and upset over…things.”
    Holding his breath, Jake pressed a palm against the back of his neck. “Things” meant his infidelity and Michael and, maybe worst of all, his failure to find Scotty.
    “Right now I’m just taking each day as it comes,” Rachel murmured. “My job helps. At least I’m doing something constructive.”
    He relaxed a little. For one heart-stopping moment, he’d braced himself to hear her ask for a divorce. He felt like a prisoner handed an eleventh-hour reprieve. He didn’t know how much longer he could go on like this! He needed something from her, just some small sign that there was still some love left in her heart for him.
    The distance of the patio separated them, but he turned, wanting to pull her into his arms and show her in the most basic way how much he loved her, needed her. He was taking the first step when she looked up, meeting his eyes.
    “Jake…”
    He stopped. “What?”
    “Do you… Have you heard…”
    Scotty. If only he could give her the answer she craved. He was glad it was dark and she couldn’t see the despair in his eyes. The failure. “No, nothing. I have feelers out everywhere, Rachel. My contacts are all alerted. His picture has been released nationwide. The—” He stopped. Excuses. Even to his own ears, it sounded like excuses.
    She looked away. “It’s… I was just hoping…” She crossed her arms over her middle, shaking her head. He heard her draw in a quick breath, then somehow she dredged up a weak smile. “The campaign will probably start to heat up within a month or so.”
    It was a second before Jake could reply. “Yeah.”
    “How is Liz working out?”
    “Super. She’s doing a fabulous job.”
    Thank God for Liz, his campaign manager. Rachel’s oldest sister was a lawyer with a feel for politics. She’d been very active in his last successful campaign and was throwing herself into this election with even more enthusiasm. Michael’s sudden appearance in his life could have spelled political disaster, but Liz was determined to make the voters love the teenager as much as Jake did. Being family was a decided advantage in a campaign manager.
    “Are you ready?”
    “I’ve neglected it, what with everything else that’s happened. Unfortunately, I can’t have the job if I don’t campaign for it.”
    Rachel said nothing. With her face in shadow, he couldn’t tell what she was thinking, either. He tossed the ice from his drink into the pool. “The chamber is having a kick-off rally next Saturday night. Meet the candidate. You know the kind of thing.”
    “Already?” She didn’t bother to hide her dismay.
    “We need to be there.”
    She snapped off a pink bloom. “I don’t think so, Jake.”
    “Rachel—”
    “No. I’m not going. I can’t.”
    “Is it Michael?”
    She stared at him. “What do you think it is? Of course, it’s Michael! Everybody’s talking about it, Jake. How do you think that makes me feel?”
    “I know it’s hard for you. I—”
    “You know?” Jake heard the skepticism in her voice. “Then tell me, has anybody got up the nerve to ask you about it to your face?”
    “Well—”
    “I thought not.” She laughed harshly. “Well, somebody asked me. Just today, as a matter of fact. And she’s probably the first of many.”
    “Who? Who was it?”
    “Would you believe Joan Gonzales? Your opponent’s wife, Jake. At the supermarket yet. In front of all of Tidewater.”
    “I’m so sorry.” Pain shot through him and he raked a hand through his hair. “What happened?”
    “We were—”
    “We?”
    “Michael and me.”
    He closed his eyes, prepared for the worst.
    “The woman’s curiosity is exceeded only by her gall,” Rachel muttered angrily.
    “What did she do?