In Confidence. Karen Young

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СКАЧАТЬ plastic, then chose two dress shirts from the twenty-or-so hanging in his closet and walked to the large sliding glass doors where the light was better. “What looks best?” he asked, critically studying the effects of both shirts with the Armani jacket.

      “Depends on the tie.”

      He held up a smart black-and-gray tie. “This one.”

      “Okay, the white French cuffs.” She paused in the act of buttoning her denim skirt and watched him put the shirt on. “Something special going on today?”

      “I’ll be in Dallas. Walter finally convinced me that we should interview that internist out of Baylor. Fat chance persuading him to leave Houston to come to a town the size of Rose Hill.”

      Rachel smiled. “Well, you’ll make a terrific impression.” Ted was an attractive man, still trim at forty-two, with just enough silver at the temples in his dark hair to add a distinguished touch. She walked over and took the cuff link he was fumbling with in his left hand and deftly fastened it.

      “Thanks,” he said, then picked up his jacket.

      “Will you be back in time to have dinner with us?”

      He seldom did lately and she wasn’t surprised when he said he wouldn’t. After he left, forgetting the goodbye kiss she no longer expected, she stood looking at nothing in particular for a moment. She’d been thinking for a while that she needed to impress upon Ted the fact that he needed to make a little more time for his family. He was very busy, all physicians were nowadays, what with the strictures of HMOs and PPOs cutting into the profits and time off that doctors used to enjoy. It meant taking on more patients, and more patients meant more time at the practice and at the hospital. Still, Nick and Kendall needed their father. At fifteen, Nick, particularly, would benefit from seeing more of his dad. Maybe Kendall wasn’t quite so needy, but a nine-year-old girl deserved more from her daddy than she was getting.

      With a sigh, she pulled a cotton-knit sweater over the denim skirt and added a leather belt anchored at her tummy. She quickly brushed her short, dark hair into its casual style, added a bit of blush on her cheeks and some soft plum lip gloss and—her one vanity—sprayed a bit of perfume near her throat. All done, she stood back and surveyed herself. No designer look to her, alas, more like a librarian. Still, if Ted had aged well, she hadn’t done too badly herself, she thought, even if she had to cover her best feature—unique amber-colored eyes—with reading glasses. At Rose Hill High School, her students were more comfortable sitting down with a guidance counselor in denim and a casual sweater than the latest designer fashions.

      “Mom, where’s my CD player?” Nick appeared at the door of her bedroom. Tall and lanky, black-haired, with strong male features, her son was on the brink of manhood. She still couldn’t get used to her firstborn being six inches taller than she was!

      “The last time I saw it was in the sunroom.”

      “I had it after that.”

      “Sorry, son. You know you’re supposed to be—”

      “Responsible for my own stuff. I know, Mom.” He stood with his face wrinkled in thought. “I gotta find it. We’re—”

      “It’s in the game room on the pool table,” Kendall called out from her room down the hall.

      “Right!” Nick snapped his fingers. “Thanks, brat.”

      Rachel made an exasperated sound. “Don’t call her—”

      “Brat. I know. It slipped out.” Nick turned, headed down the hall. As he passed his sister’s room, he gave her door a friendly thump. “Thanks, sissy.”

      “Ni-i-ick!” Kendall appeared, frowning ferociously, small fists propped on her hips.

      “Oops.” He grinned and gave her ponytail a yank. “Thank you, Kendall Kate Forrester.”

      “To the car in five minutes,” Rachel said, shoving her feet into a pair of Birkenstocks. Moving to the sitting area of her bedroom, she gathered up the dozen or so folders she’d worked on last evening. Each was labeled with a student’s name on a bright blue sticker. She often worked at night, as trying to concentrate in her busy office was often impossible. She paused a moment, taking in the chintz-covered love seat, the coffee table she’d restored herself, the pretty view of her backyard from the window beyond. She loved her bedroom. The design was hers alone. When she and Ted had built the house five years before, she’d planned for the master bedroom to be a retreat for both of them. Unfortunately, he spent only the time it took to shower, shave and get dressed there. Or to sleep.

      Downstairs, Kendall was pouring kitty pebbles into the cat’s dish while a yellow-striped tomcat purred and circled in and out of her ankles. “Graham, be patient!” she scolded. “You’re gonna make me have an accident.” She set the bowl on the floor and stroked the cat a few times before standing up. She had chosen his name when they’d adopted him from the Humane Society, explaining that he was exactly the color of graham crackers. Rachel, feeling the push of the clock, found her purse and settled the strap on her shoulder.

      “All set?” she asked Kendall. “Got your lunch money? Homework?” In her backpack and little denim jumper paired with a pink shirt, and sneakers that looked out of proportion, her baby appeared ready to go.

      “Can I take my camera, Mommy?” She held up the inexpensive digital model she’d begged for on her birthday.

      “You know you can’t, honey.”

      “Puleeze, Mommy…”

      “Do you want your teacher to confiscate it?” Rachel grabbed her coffee in a travel cup and opened the door.

      “What’s conferskate mean?”

      “Take it away from you.”

      Mouth in a dejected droop, Kendall reluctantly placed the camera on the counter. She had probably gone through a dozen throwaway cameras before getting the digital for her birthday, and she treasured it above anything she possessed. At first, Rachel had been amused at a nine-year-old’s interest in snapping photos right and left, thinking the novelty of it all would soon fade. Then she’d realized Kendall’s interest went beyond a child’s obsession with a new toy. The pictures were sometimes quite good. To the little girl, photography was no longer a novelty, but a passion. Still, taking her camera to school was out.

      Rachel shooed her through the kitchen and out the door that led to the garage, where Nick sat behind the wheel of the BMW, waiting for them with the motor running. Rachel hadn’t driven to school a single day since he’d gotten his student permit three months ago. She wasn’t sure how much longer he’d be satisfied to ride with her and Kendall, but a car of his own was not in his immediate future, no matter how intensely he lobbied for it. A camera for Kendall was one thing. A car for Nick was another entirely.

      “Is Daddy gonna come home tonight and eat with us?” Kendall asked, studying the empty space in the garage where Ted’s Lexus belonged.

      “I don’t think so, sweetie,” Rachel told her.

      “So, what’s new?” Nick muttered as he backed out of the garage.

      Finding no reply to her children that wouldn’t sound lame, Rachel turned her gaze to the spacious, upscale homes lining their street and said nothing.

      Thirty СКАЧАТЬ