"It's cancer."

Grace tried not to cry. Crying wouldn't help Olivia. "How...how bad?" she asked.

"We don't know what stage it is yet. I have an appointment with the surgeon next week. We'll find out more then."

Grace swallowed in an effort to control her emotions. Fear sent a chill down her spine. Her friend, her dearest friend, had cancer.

"Grace," Olivia whispered. "I'm afraid."

Through the years, Grace had seen Olivia face every tragedy with grit and faith. When Jordan died it was Olivia who held the family together. A few months later, when Stan moved out, she'd dealt with that, too. Never once, through all the grief, had Olivia ever admitted she was afraid.

It took a diagnosis of cancer to do that.

"Let's have tea," Grace said and, with her arm around Olivia's waist, led her back into the house.

While Grace put the kettle on, Olivia sat at the kitchen table looking like a child, lost and lonely in her own home.

"Where's Jack?" Grace asked, wondering why he wasn't here when Olivia needed him so badly.

"He...he didn't take the news well," Olivia murmured. "I suggested he go and talk to Bob."

"He shouldn't have left you." Grace bit back her anger at Jack, knowing it was really anger at the unfairness of life.

"It's okay," Olivia said. "I told him you were coming."

"Well, I'm here now."

"Yes," Olivia whispered and a tear slipped down the side of her face.

"Does anyone else know?"

"Not yet."

Grace understood. Olivia needed to find her own balance, to consider her own future, before she told her mother or her children.

"I'll be right here," Grace promised.

The hint of a smile came to Olivia then. "I knew I could count on you." She stretched out her arm and they clasped hands.

Olivia had been with Grace when Dan disappeared, and later, too, when her husband's body was discovered and finally laid to rest. They were friends, would always be friends, no matter what the future held. For nearly all their lives, they'd shared their secrets, their hurts, their triumphs and joys.

"The part I have a hard time accepting," Olivia said after sipping her hot tea, "is that there's an invader inside my body. A disease that wants to steal my life away. I keep thinking about it." She placed one hand over her heart. "The enemy is inside me," she repeated. "In the past I've had to deal with forces outside me. What I'm confronting now is in here." Her hand formed a fist and she closed her eyes.

Grace bit her lip.

"I wish I could explain it better," she said. "With everything else, I could close a door and retreat. Take a break from it, you know? I can't with cancer. There's no escaping my own body."

Grace merely nodded, having no comfort to offer except her presence.

She spent an hour with Olivia, and they drank two pots of tea before Jack returned. Whatever his problem had been earlier, apparently it was now resolved. He seemed confident and matter-of-fact, answering Grace's questions quickly and clearly.

Olivia went to lie down, and Grace was grateful for the opportunity to speak to him privately.

"Call me anytime, night or day," she said.

"I will," he promised.

"If you and Olivia need anything, call me."

He agreed. After a brief silence, he spoke again. "I don't mind telling you, I wasn't prepared for what this would do to me," he admitted. "I thought I was. You might remember that my son had cancer years ago, and I a.s.sumed I knew what it'd be like to hear that verdict a second time. I wasn't even close."

"Olivia's a strong woman."

Jack's eyes took on a resolute look. "Olivia needs a strong husband who'll stand at her side while she's going through this. I'm here and I intend to stay."

Grace left soon after, first hugging him goodbye. He thanked her over and over for coming to the house, for giving them her support, for being Olivia's friend.

When she got home, Grace immediately went looking for Cliff. She found him talking to Cal in the barn, but he broke off whatever he was saying as soon as he caught sight of her.

"I saw Olivia," she rushed to tell him, fresh tears filling her eyes.

Cliff put his arm around her shoulders and they walked slowly back to the house. Once inside, she turned to him. "It's cancer," she said starkly.

He nodded grimly. "What's the prognosis?"

"We won't know until she sees the surgeon, and that won't be until next week. We'll find out more then." Grace paused for a moment, her voice threatening to break. "She hasn't told Charlotte or her children."

Cliff urged her to sit down at the table and began preparing tea. Grace smiled, thanking him, and didn't say that one more cup of tea was probably the last thing she needed.

She saw the envelope with the returned rent check on the table and sighed. Another concern to deal with, another problem to solve. It felt trivial compared to what Olivia was going through, but still...

Cliff glanced at the envelope, too. "Oh, I talked to Judy this afternoon."

Grace knew the rental agent couldn't be blamed. She herself had insisted Judy accept the Smiths as tenants despite their unsatisfactory references.

"Apparently, this isn't the first time these people have done this."

That didn't come as any surprise to Grace.

"Judy talked to another agent from the Bremerton area," Cliff continued. "She learned that this couple's made quite the habit of bilking their landlords."

"Could Judy tell you how long it would take to evict them?"

Cliff frowned. "People like this know how to work the system. She said it might take six months to get them out."

"Six months!" Grace cried. "That's ridiculous."

"I agree." He shrugged. "It's pretty hopeless. They'll exploit their rights as tenants and drag everything out until the bitter end."

"That's an outrage."

"For now there isn't anything we can do," Cliff said, "except file eviction papers and play this out."

She groaned, letting her head fall to the table.

He reached into a high cupboard and brought out a half-full bottle of bourbon. "There's one thing we can do-subst.i.tute strong drink for weak tea."

Despite herself, Grace smiled.

Thirty-Four.

Teri could tell that something was bothering Rachel. The salon was humming with activity the way it always did on Fridays. But, busy or not, the two of them usually managed to arrange their schedules so they could have lunch together. At noon, Rachel claimed she simply wasn't hungry.

"What do you mean, you're not hungry?" Teri demanded. "Whatever's bothering you must be big. Nothing takes away your appet.i.te."

Rachel didn't even smile.

In spite of Teri's efforts to get her to talk about her trip to Pittsburgh, Rachel had barely said a word. For that matter, she hadn't mentioned Jolene or Bruce, either, which was highly unusual.

If Teri had her guess, what distressed her friend was her ongoing confusion about Nate and Bruce. Nate hadn't made any secret of his intentions. And then there was Bruce.

Teri wanted to shake that man and tell him to take action, do something before he lost Rachel for good. If he did, it would be his own stupid fault. As for Rachel... Teri didn't know what to think. She didn't doubt that Rachel loved Nate, but-in Teri's opinion-she loved Bruce more.

A few weeks ago, when Rachel phoned, rattled because Bruce had kissed her, she'd made it sound as though that was the first time it'd ever happened. News flash: Bruce had kissed her long before that night.

Although this last kiss-maybe there'd been more to it. Rachel had obviously been shocked. So, it appeared, was Bruce.

The only time she'd mentioned him was to tell Teri how angry he'd been when he picked her up from the airport. According to Rachel, he couldn't dump her on her doorstep quickly enough.

At four, Teri had a perm, and because she was too busy watching Rachel and worrying about her, she got behind schedule. When James showed up at five-fifteen to drive her home, she had another half-hour left.

"I'll wait," James, the soul of patience, a.s.sured her. He glanced nervously around the salon. "Perhaps it would be best if I waited in the car. By the way, you might bring your umbrella when you come out. It's really begun to storm."

Rachel had finished for the night. "I'll see everyone tomorrow," she said, raising her hand in farewell as she started toward the door.

"What are you doing this weekend?" Teri called out.

Rachel shrugged. "Nothing much. Right now I have to pick up my car at the garage on Harbor Street. I had the oil changed. Then I'm going home to soak in a hot bath."

"James can take you," Teri offered. No reason he couldn't. All he'd be doing otherwise was sitting in the car-reading, no doubt. But it wouldn't take him long to drop Rachel off and by the time he came back, Teri figured she'd be ready.

"No, that's all right," Rachel said, shaking her head. "The exercise will do me good."

"But it's raining out! Why get wet when James is here twiddling his thumbs? He can easily drive you."

"It would be my pleasure, Miss Rachel," James told her in that polite way of his.

Rachel gave him a smile. "Thank you. Then I accept."

Teri walked out the door into the interior of the mall with her.

"I really appreciate this," Rachel said. "You're a good friend, Teri. The best I've got."

She sounded so depressed, it was all Teri could do not to throw both arms around her. "Hey, if you need to talk or anything, just give me a call."

Rachel smiled a little shakily. "Thank you, I will. Do you have plans for tonight?"

"Not really. Christie's coming over this evening and we're going to watch Grease." It was a musical they'd loved when they were kids. They knew all the songs and planned to sing along. They'd have popcorn and then later on, some ice cream, the expensive kind. It would be a girls' night in.

At the mention of her sister, James lowered his gaze. Their romance seemed to be at a standstill; something must've happened because Christie had insisted on driving over on her own.

"The weekend's open, though," Teri said.

"Okay. Let's get together. I'll phone you."

"Please do," Teri said, eager to help in any way she could. At the beginning of her relationship with Bobby, Rachel had been a wonderful confidante, discreet, sensible and encouraging. Teri wanted to do the same thing for her friend now. She looked over her shoulder and wished she had a few more minutes to talk. This was the first time all day that Rachel had opened up to her.

"I'll call you in the morning," Rachel said as she headed out the mall door to the parking lot.

Standing by the car, James had the umbrella ready. It was raining steadily now and almost dark.

Teri returned to the salon and finished Mrs. Dawson's perm and waited for James.

And waited.

Thirty minutes pa.s.sed, and he still wasn't back. When she called Rachel's cell, she immediately got voice mail. James didn't answer his phone, either. She tried Rachel's house. Same thing.

Unsure of what else to do, Teri called her sister. "Do you mind swinging by the salon for me?"

"Where's James?" Christie immediately asked.

"I don't know. He was going to run Rachel to the garage to get her car, but he hasn't come back."

"Did you try his cell?"

"He isn't answering and neither is Rachel."

Christie hesitated. "That's a bit odd, isn't it?"

"Yes." More than odd. Definitely out of the ordinary-and even a little frightening. "Are you coming or not?" Teri asked. Otherwise she'd call one of the few cabs in town. Bobby was probably starting to worry.