Debbie Macomber's Cedar Cove Series, Volume 2 Read Online Free PDF Page B

the washer at the Get Nailed salon. Adding the soap, she closed the lid and turned the dial, waiting to be sure the water had started. She was taking advantage of a break between customers to deal with the laundry, a chore that needed to be done every day. When she left the small lunchroom she discovered her best friend, Teri, sitting in the chair at Rachel’s station.
    â€œTeri!” Rachel couldn’t restrain her excitement. It’d been less than a month since she’d seen her but it felt longer. Not only did she miss Teri, but Nate, her navy boyfriend, had recently been transferred to San Diego.
    Teri slid off the chair. She held her arms wide and they hugged and giggled like teenagers. The salon just wasn’t the same without Teri’s wisecracks and her caustic but funny view of life. Rachel had missed chatting with her about Nate. And Bruce.
    â€œThank heaven you’re back at work,” Rachel cried. Looking Teri in the eye, she said, “You are back, aren’t you?”
    â€œWe’ll see. I need to talk to Jane first.”
    Rachel was sure there wouldn’t be any problem getting Teri on staff again. “Jane’s at the bank. She’ll return any minute.”
    Rachel didn’t really understand why Bobby had insisted Teri leave her job. She knew there’d been some kind of threat against Teri, although she assumed it actually had more to do with Bobby.
    Two men had confronted Teri in the parking lot, and soon afterward, Bobby had asked her not to work at the salon until he got everything straightened out. Although Jane had hired a perfectly adequate replacement to fill in, the other woman wasn’t Teri.
    â€œI finally managed to convince Bobby that either I went back to work or I’d go insane,” Teri explained, smiling over at Jeannie who was cutting a young woman’s hair nearby.
    â€œWhere’s Bobby?”
    â€œAt home,” Teri said. “I love that man to distraction, but I couldn’t stand his overprotectiveness.” She paused, glancing over her shoulder. “The only way I could get him to agree was to promise I’d have James drive me to and from work. James is supposed to be my bodyguard.”
    â€œJames?” Rachel couldn’t believe it. Bobby’s driver was no bodyguard. First of all, he was as thin as a bean-pole without any apparent muscle. If Teri found herself in danger, she’d probably end up saving James.
    â€œSo, can you stay this afternoon?”
    â€œI can until I talk to Jane, but after that I’ll need to get back to the house. Otherwise, Bobby’s likely to send out a search party.” She laughed at her own joke. “Bobby isn’t overjoyed about me working, but he understands that I like my job and want to be here.”
    â€œI’m glad he’s decided to be reasonable.”
    â€œTrust me, I am, too,” Teri said with a sigh of relief.
    Rachel looked closely at her friend, struck by how lovely Teri was. She’d always been impulsive, gregarious and outrageous. A little cynical, too, especially about men and relationships. And then she’d met Bobby Polgar. She remained her larger-than-life self, but over the past few months she’d changed. She’d become…softer, Rachel thought. More hopeful, less cynical. And it was all due to Bobby.
    Only love could explain the way two such dissimilar people had fallen for each other. A deep, true love, the kind that changed people for the better. The kind that offered acceptance and trust. Bobby came alive when he was with Teri. Anyone who’d ever met him or seen him in front of a chessboard would acknowledge that he was a genius and a bit…she cast about for the right word… eccentric. With Teri, he became human—likeable, and on occasion even funny. Although he usually didn’t mean to be. He was simply naive in ways that were endearing.
    Whether she and Nate had a love like Teri and