The Path to Sunshine Cove (Cape Sanctuary #2) - RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,33
the curtains to block out the world and all its pain, and curl up on that bed. A rainstorm would be even better.
“Should we go?” Jess asked.
Oh. Right. She couldn’t stay here, as much as she might want to. They had to get through dinner. “We probably should. We have a reservation in fifteen minutes.”
“Where are we going?” Jess asked as they walked out of the trailer and headed toward Rachel’s minivan.
“There’s a place I love with excellent food and a nice outdoor space overlooking the sea. The Fishwife.”
“Sounds good.”
Just as they started to climb into her minivan, Rachel saw two people walking past on the way to Whitaker House.
“Hi, Rachel.” Sophie Whitaker waved with enthusiasm. “Hi, Jess.”
“Hello, Sophie the Fabulous,” Rachel said with a bright smile for the girl who babysat for her sometimes. “Hi, Nate.”
Nate Whitaker leaned in and kissed her cheek. He always smelled good, with some kind of soap that held traces of juniper and sage.
She ought to ask him what he used and give some to Cody. But how did a woman come right out and ask a man what products he used so she could get them for her husband?
Cody smelled fine. She usually loved the way her husband smelled but a change couldn’t hurt. Maybe if Cody used something new, Rachel could get back that tingle she used to have every time he walked into a room.
Oh, she missed those days, when she and Cody couldn’t get enough of each other. They could have spent days, weeks, months in bed and never tired of each other.
They usually made love regularly but had been going through a dry spell lately.
She felt sometimes as if it was one more obligation at the end of the day. When was the last time she had actually craved sex, thought about it during the day, ached for her husband’s touch?
Months, at least.
Silas, with his ongoing sensory and behavior issues, seemed to have exploded into their world like a hand grenade in the living room. Adding a son with autism to an already busy life, with two girls and two careers, was exhausting and overwhelming.
She felt guilty comparing the child she loved to an explosive device but it seemed exactly the appropriate metaphor. They were always aware of him, always careful, always afraid something would trigger a blast.
As a result, the hand grenade had taken center stage and everything else seemed to have shriveled in comparison. Including sex.
She loved her husband. He was a good man, a caring father, a wonderful provider. But by nightfall, after she had been wrestling three kids all day, she could barely keep her eyes open, even though she knew a good orgasm was a fabulous stress reducer.
She dragged herself back to the conversation to hear Nate and Jess talking about how Jess and Eleanor had cleaned out another bedroom that day.
“Did you find any more cool retro clothes?” Sophie asked.
“No. But I sent my partner, Yvette, some pictures we took yesterday and she’s pretty excited. She thinks she knows a good consignment shop where we can sell them.”
“Cool,” Sophie said. “I wore the dress we found yesterday to school today for Decade Day and it looked so good. I took some selfies. Want to see?”
“Sure.” Jess smiled at Sophie with a warmth and kindness that shocked Rachel.
The girl scrolled through her phone then held it out to Jess.
“Nice. I like the necklace you’re wearing with it.”
“That’s my friend McKenna’s. Well, her mom’s, anyway. I sent her a pic of the dress last night and she thought it would go perfectly.”
“Can I see?” Rachel asked.
Sophie looked a little awestruck at that but handed over her phone. She was charmed by the picture of the teenager in a flapper-style ’20s dress with fringe and a scalloped neckline. “Very nice. You found that in a closet?”
“Yeah,” Sophie said. “And a bunch of other cool stuff.”
“I’d like to know when you found time to coordinate accessories last night with your friend McKenna amid all the excitement over finding the bottle. Have you heard back on the message?”
“Not yet. But it didn’t get autoreturned so I think it’s probably still an active email account. We’ll see what happens. It’s pretty cool.”
“You found a bottle?” Rachel tried to follow the conversation, still reeling at the ease and comfort with which her sister seemed to interact with Sophie. She also noticed a strange tension in the air between Nate and Jess. What was that all about?