Cedar Cove Collection. Debbie Macomber

given him specific instructions on the first few moves he was to make, moves that would guarantee a loss because Bobby would find himself in what chess players referred to as the Black Hole. So far, no one had devised a method of escaping from this position. Bobby intended to be the first.

      Ever since his conversation with Vladimir, Bobby had been sullen and uncommunicative. Teri was furious that her husband had given in to his blackmailer, although she understood that he felt he had no other option.

      The Russian’s henchmen had disappeared and, according to the sheriff, the investigation had stalled. They’d found no solid evidence linking Vladimir to the crime; not surprisingly, this was a man who knew how to cover his tracks.

      Bobby planned to do something about that, and his plan started with a long, secretive discussion in the sheriff’s office. The next step would be a chess match in New York City on November 11. In one week’s time …

      “You can’t lose,” Teri had protested.

      “I won’t.” Her husband was nothing if not confident.

      Monday morning Teri had a doctor’s appointment, a routine checkup for her and the baby. The salon wasn’t open on Mondays, which made it a good day for her appointments. She dreaded stepping on the scale and closed her eyes when she did. After the initial bouts of late-afternoon “morning” sickness, she’d never felt healthier. The unfortunate thing, in her opinion, was that it meant her appetite had returned.

      The appointment took only fifteen minutes and she was out of the office well ahead of schedule. Rachel had asked if they could meet for lunch. She seemed to have recovered from the terror of the kidnapping, for which Teri felt profoundly thankful.

      The Pot Belly Deli was relatively empty, so Teri secured a window table and waited for her friend. The soups were a specialty; so were the huge sandwiches but she ignored those. Seeing that she needed to watch her calorie intake—the doctor’s words, not hers—Teri decided on vegetable beef soup, with a plain green salad. Boring but nutritious.

      Rachel breezed in right on schedule. “Hi, Teri. You look great.” She swung her purse strap off her shoulder and unfastened the buttons of her coat. “How’s James?”

      “Better. He’s still in rough shape but I can see a real improvement.” Teri’s admiration for Bobby’s driver had risen tenfold. She was impressed by his bravery and, she had to admit, by his stoicism, although it frustrated her, too. She knew the broken ribs caused him a great deal of pain. Since the attack, he’d kept pretty much to himself; he’d refused the nurse Bobby had wanted to hire, refused everything.

      Other than that first night, Christie hadn’t been by to see him, but she phoned Teri a couple of times a day to ask how he was. Although Christie tried to be subtle with her questions, Teri saw through the queries easily enough.

      “Poor James,” Rachel murmured.

      “You’re feeling okay?” Teri felt obliged to ask. “No side effects?”

      Rachel shook her head. “You might find this difficult to believe,” she said thoughtfully, “but … I’m grateful for what happened.”

      She wasn’t kidding; that didn’t even begin to make sense. “Grateful? In what way?”

      “Well …” Rachel rubbed her forehead. “If it wasn’t for that horrible night, I don’t know how long it would’ve taken me to realize I love Bruce. He’s the man I want to be with, Teri. I’m sure of that now.”

      “Bruce,” Teri repeated slowly. She’d been right all along.

      “At first I thought James and I were both going to be killed,” Rachel said, lowering her voice. “I was terrified. You’ve heard what they say about your life passing before your eyes? I didn’t experience that, exactly, but I sure had a chance to think. Well, maybe think isn’t the best word, because I felt like I had no control of the memories and images that were running through my mind. The person who was in my thoughts the most was Bruce.”

      “I knew it!” Teri said, unable to hold back her glee. Being right was just so satisfying. Especially when you were right about something good.

      Suddenly it dawned on her that Rachel didn’t seem happy about this discovery. “So … what are you going to do about it?”

      Instead of answering, Rachel picked up her menu and read it avidly, as if it was a best-selling novel.

      “Rachel?” Teri pulled away the menu so she could look at her friend. To her horror, she saw tears in Rachel’s eyes.

      “Sorry,” Rachel whispered. “Teri, I.” She began rooting through her purse for a tissue.

      “What’s wrong?” Teri asked urgently. “Rachel, what’s going on?”

      “Just because you love someone, that doesn’t make it easy,” Rachel said with a sob. “Any of it.”

      Teri nodded sympathetically.

      After taking a moment to regain her composure, Rachel said, “I told Nate.”

      “And?” Teri prompted. “How did it go?”

      Rachel blew her nose and answered with a shrug. “About as awful as you can imagine.”

      “Oh, Rach, I’m so sorry.”

      “At first he didn’t believe me. He said that because of the trauma, I wasn’t thinking straight. I told him I knew what was in my heart, and then he really got upset. He said he was afraid this would happen. Because … because he’s in San Diego, and that gave Bruce the … the home field advantage.” She gazed up at Teri in wonderment. “He actually said that.”

      “Men and their sports analogies,” Teri muttered. “How typical.”

      Still, breaking off a relationship was always difficult. Teri had done it often enough to know. Even when that bum Gary Underwood had emptied her bank account, she’d felt guilty about kicking him out. She’d worried about him while she was struggling to pay her rent because the jerk had stolen all her money!

      “Go on,” Teri told her.

      “He tried to convince me I’m in love with him and the fact is, I do love Nate—just not as much as I love Bruce.”

      As if discerning that this was the worst possible moment to interrupt their conversation, the waitress came for their order.

      “It ended badly,” Rachel went on to explain after the waitress had left. “Nate said some unkind things and so did I.” She paused. “I believe he does have feelings for me, but I’ve come to realize that he had an agenda, too. His mother didn’t approve of me, but Nate saw the situation differently. I think he saw me in terms of his political career—he wanted an ordinary wife because he felt that would enhance his image with voters.”

      “That’s true. Not the ‘ordinary’ part, I mean, but the part about voters liking you. Who wouldn’t like you?” Teri said loyally.

      Smiling through her tears, Rachel dug in her purse for a second tissue. “I feel terrible, but it’s over now and I doubt I’ll hear from him again.”

      Teri let a few seconds go by before she asked, “Have you talked to Bruce?”

      “Not yet.” She exhaled slowly. “That conversation won’t be any easier than the one I had with Nate.”

      “What makes you say that?”

      Rachel frowned, shaking her head. “He’s behaving so oddly.”

      “He’s in love with you,” Teri said confidently, “and it scares him.”

      “Maybe,” Rachel said slowly. “Maybe …”

      “Are you going to see Bruce anytime soon?”

      She hesitated. “I don’t know yet.”

      “Rachel!” Why were