Lord help me, what should I do?

She turned around and was staring dejectedly at the jewelry counter when the answer suddenly came.

Rachel dressed with utmost care that Sunday morning for church. She chose a tasteful shirtwaist dress of periwinkle-blue voile, matching pumps, and a delicately feminine straw hat with a floppy brim that cast dappled shadows over her forehead and made her appear younger. She added a single strand of pearls, a dash of scent, and sighed hopefully as she gave a last glance in the mirror.

She had called her father and asked him if she could ride with him to church, deciding that if he could be stubborn, so could she. He hadn't called or come over since the day of the confrontation with Tommy Lee, and she'd made up her mind if she had to do battle, she might as well take on all the opposing forces at once.

When Everett's car drew up, she grabbed her purse and hurried out, meeting him halfway up the walk. His hands were in his trouser pockets and he came to an abrupt halt as she slammed the front door and approached with a bounce in her step.

"Hi, Daddy," she said brightly, tipping her head up to plunk a quick kiss on his cheek before airily continuing past him.

He scowled after her without returning her greeting, and after a brief hesitation she heard his footsteps follow. Without turning around, she said, "Thank you for picking me up. Tommy Lee would have, but he's running a little late this morning. His daughter is living with him now, and you know how poky we women can be. I'll meet her after church and ride out to their house with them, so you won't have to haul me back home."

As she opened the car door she heard Everett's footsteps come to a halt behind her, but she blithely climbed in and slammed the door.

In a moment he joined her, and she could see peripherally that he gave her a disapproving glance as he started the engine. She had him stymied and she knew it. He might have been expecting her to maintain a stoical silence, as he had, or to vehemently argue her cause. But the one thing he hadn't been expecting was her gay mien and her openly filling him in on what was going on between her and Tommy Lee. She hurried on while she had her father buffaloed.

"I'm terribly nervous… do I look all right?" She flipped her palms up and glanced down at her dress, then went on brightly. "Meeting a man's children is a bit unnerving, and of course I want to create a good impression, since we'll all be living together in the near future. She's already started school here and Tommy Lee says she's blending in beautifully. She's made some friends already and doesn't seem to want to go back to live with her mother."

She saw her father's mouth drop open in surprise and rushed on before he could say anything. "You saw her with Tommy Lee on the church steps several weeks ago, the one with the long, dark hair and that unmistakable Gentry mouth. She's a pretty little thing, don't you think? But every time I look at her I want to teach her how to put on her makeup properly-you know how girls of that age tend to overdress, almost like playing grown-up when they're first turned loose." She flipped the visor down, checked her lipstick in the mirror, and smiled. "Ah, well, at least it'll give us some common ground to talk about. Lord, I hope so-I'll need something to break the ice with her." Up went the visor with a snap. "So tell me, Daddy, how've you been?"

She felt positively winded after that mouthful, and her heart was pattering animatedly, but she turned to her father with a disarming smile, as if she greeted him this way every Sunday morning.

"Rachel, what in heaven's name has gotten into you?"

She leaned across the seat and pecked him on the cheek again, knocking her hat brim askew and giving a little laugh as she shot a hand up to hold it on. "I'm happy, that's all. Isn't everybody when they fall in love?"

He snorted and cast her a doubtful glance from the corner of his eye.

"Oh, Daddy, don't be such a cynic."

"You're makin' the mistake of your life. A skunk doesn't change its stripes."

But again she threw him a curve. "Would you like to meet Beth, since she's going to be your granddaughter?"

He gripped the wheel and blared, "I most certainly would not!"

She pulled away with a mock show of defense. "Okay, okay… maybe it is best if you wait until she's learned to accept me first."

By the time they reached church Rachel was weak from putting on her act all the way, but she crooked a hand through her father's elbow and kept her step spry as they moved directly inside and found their pew.

The moment she sat down she felt the tension between her shoulderblades and wilted slightly. The worst was yet to come, and she wondered if she was a good enough actress to pull it off when she faced Beth Gentry an hour from now. She had chosen the time and place for its very public aspect. What could Beth Gentry do with half the town milling about, witnessing their first meeting?

When the service ended she studied Tommy Lee's face as they converged in the middle of the crowd, and for a moment she forgot the young woman at his elbow and felt only the thrill of seeing him again.

"Hello, Rachel." His dark eyes adored her while he extended a hand.

"Hello, Tommy Lee." His palm was warm and large as it surrounded hers momentarily, and she smiled up at him.

"I'd like you to meet my daughter Beth."

Rachel transferred her smile to the girl and offered her hand as benignly as if they'd never laid eyes on each other before.

"Hello, Beth. I've certainly heard a lot about you."

Color crept up Beth's cheeks and her mouth hung open in surprise as she let Rachel shake her hand.

"Have-h'lo."

Still holding her hand, Rachel smiled up at Tommy Lee. "Why, she's a beauty, just as you said." Again she directed her comment to the girl. "You have your grandpa Gentry's eyes, but your grandma's mouth." And at last she dropped Beth's hand and tipped her head up to Tommy Lee again. "But then, so does your daddy."

He smiled and took her elbow, then did the same to Beth. "What do you say we stop somewhere for breakfast?"

"I'd love to. I'm famished." Rachel poked her head forward to peer around Tommy Lee. "How about you, Beth?"

From his far side came a grunt.

At the car Rachel slipped into the back seat, leaving Beth to share the front with her daddy, feeling thankful that Tommy Lee didn't make an issue of it.

Throughout the meal Rachel tried by action and word to make it clear she had no intention of usurping Beth's place in Tommy Lee's life, but the girl remained sullen and untalkative, speaking only when asked a question.

Over coffee Rachel produced from her handbag a miniature apple-green box with a pink bow and offered it to Beth. "Here… a little something from my store, since your daddy told me how much you like them."

Beth shot a puzzled glance from Tommy Lee to Rachel to the box, then up at Rachel again.

Obviously, she was as dumbfounded by Rachel's actions as Everett had been earlier. Rachel could read the question sizzling through Beth's mind as clearly as if it had been spoken: You mean she didn't tell my daddy what I did?

"You-you brought a present for me?"

Rachel nodded, set the box on the tabletop, and nudged it toward Beth. "Uh-huh. Just something little."

"But-but…" Again her eyes dropped to the gift, and Rachel saw how flustered Beth had become.

"Go ahead… open it."

Beside Beth, Tommy Lee braced a jaw on one palm and smiled, watching her. Her eyes darted up to his, then quickly away as she hesitantly reached for the box. She removed the bow and drew the protective cotton aside to reveal a pair of tiny silver loop earrings, their Florentine finish a perfect match for the bangle bracelet.

At the sight of them, Beth's face flushed brightly and she trained her eyes downward, refusing to lift them to Rachel again.

"Thank you," she mumbled.

"When I was your age girls weren't allowed to wear earrings. How silly, huh? I remember fighting with my mother over every new thing I wanted to try-makeup, nylons, high heels."

Tommy Lee shifted his gaze to Rachel across the table. "With good reason. I remember the first time you broke out in lipstick. It was the color of a matador's cape, and you had it uneven on the top, and painted too far down in the corners. I can remember thinking-yuck!"

Rachel laughed, her eyes sparkling up at him. "Yuck? You were thinking yuck when I thought I was stunning enough for the silver screen?"

"At the time I liked you better in grubby jeans, climbing the pecan tree with your hair all full of twigs."

"Remember that time you fell out of it?" She leaned forward and rested her elbows on the table.

"Do I ever. I wore a cast for the rest of the summer."

"And we never did get that tin-can telephone strung between our bedrooms, did we?"

Tommy Lee chuckled. "Uh-uh. Instead we were forced to use the real one and drive our parents crazy."

Rachel was conscious of Beth, looking on and listening with piqued interest. She gave her a quick glance. "Your daddy was a devil. Do you know what he used to do?" She again fixed her grin up at the man across the table, and beneath it rubbed his trouser leg with her shoe. "He had this old purse and he stuffed it full of play money, tied a string to its handle, and laid it out in the middle of the street in the dark of night. Then he'd hide in the bushes, hold on to the other end of the string and wait for some unsuspecting driver to come rolling along and spy the purse in his headlights. But, of course, by the time the car had jerked to a stop, or backed up, and the driver got out to investigate, the treasure had disappeared from sight!"