Romancing Rachel by Cindy Kirk

Author:Cindy Kirk [Kirk, Cindy]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Waverly House
Published: 2019-08-07T04:00:00+00:00

* * *

By the time number five made her appearance, Rachel was exhausted. The births had not been easy and for the past hour she and Jay had had their hands full.

After each one was born, Rachel would give Miss Kitty a few moments to clean her baby off before handing it to Jay.

He’d positioned himself on the edge of the bathtub with a thick towel. With surprising gentleness he’d dry off each kitten before placing it in the tub in the nest of his mother’s best Turkish bathsheets.

The calico had quickly joined her brood after the last kitten was delivered and the five little ones now lay cuddled up against their sleeping mother.

“They are so precious.” Rachel reached down to stroke the head of number three, a black-and-white female. “My father wouldn’t allow pets in our home, so this is a first for me.”

“It’s a first for me, too,” Jay said. “I’ve seen calves and pigs born, but never kittens.”

Rachel had never lived in the country, but she knew that farm kids often had a different view of animals. Her dad had grown up on a farm and she remembered what he’d had to say on the subject. She’d been appalled when he’d told her the brutal way his parents had kept their cat population in check.

“My Dad said his parents used to drown their unwanted kittens in their pond.” Rachel’s gaze dropped to Miss Kitty and her sleeping babies. Somehow, after witnessing the miracle of life, her grandparents’ actions seemed even more reprehensible. “My father didn’t think it was wrong. He said it made sense to him.”

Jay’s lips tightened. “I know he was your father, Rachel, but if he were here at this moment I’d be tempted to put him in a bag and drop him in the river.”

“He wasn’t a very nice man,” Rachel agreed. She’d come to that realization years ago. “Thankfully I had a wonderful mother.”

“Do you always look on the bright side?”

Something in his tone made Rachel glance up. His expression was serious and the look in his eyes told Rachel he expected more than a flippant answer.

She wiped her hands slowly, giving the question some thought. “Though I have my moments of doubt, I’m an optimist. I prefer to focus on the good, rather than the bad.”

“The good isn’t that easy to find.”

“It sometimes takes a little thought,” Rachel conceded, “sometimes a little distance or time. I can usually find the blessing in a situation.”

The skeptical look in Jay’s eyes told her he wasn’t convinced.

“Think about it. My dad showed me by his example the kind of man I wouldn’t want to marry,” Rachel said. “All of his characteristics are red flags when I see them in someone I’m dating.”

“Yet you dated Tom,” Jay said. “You even considered marrying him.”

Rachel could feel her cheeks warm. He wasn’t saying anything she hadn’t said to herself.

“Sometimes we miss what’s right before us,” she said finally, “but I can tell you I won’t make that mistake again.

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