Rebecca's Little Secret

by Judy Christenberry

  “Come on, Becca, I think we need to talk about what you just said.”

  “I don’t think so,” she contradicted him. “I need to get back to work.”

  “You make me sound like a slave driver. By the way, I’m giving you a raise.”

  Those words stopped her progression to the door. “What? Why are you doing that?”

  “Because you’re a hard worker. Besides, you spent four years paying for everything yourself. I owe you. I’m also setting up a college fund for Joey so that if anything happens to me, that part of his life will be taken care of. Bill is going to be the trustee.”

  “The—the college fund is nice, and Bill will do well as the trustee, I’m sure. That’s very nice, but you don’t owe me anything, Jeff.”

  “Yes, I do. That’s why we need to talk. I’m going to start child support payments at once. We need to talk about the amount.”

  “No! I—I didn’t ask for child support money.” Her heart was beating too rapidly, and she found difficulty drawing a breath.

  He took her arm and led her to one of the chairs in front of his desk. He took the other one. “I know you didn’t ask for it, but I’m going to pay it, anyway. I thought a flat settlement for the past four years and then a monthly stipend of two thousand dollars would be fair.”

  The splits he mentioned took her breath away. “N-no! Absolutely not. You owe me nothing for those four years. You didn’t even know Joey existed. That wouldn’t be fair. And—and that’s too much for each month.”

  “I think you should have enough so that if you need a place of your own, you could afford it.” He reached out and took her hand in his. “If you don’t, then you can use the money for Joey’s expenses and put the rest of the money in savings for another time.”

  “Jeff, I just came in to tell you the foursome wouldn’t be necessary anymore. That’s all. I don’t want to talk about—about money. I’m grateful you want to spend time with Joey. That’s all I ever wanted for him.”

  “I know, sweetheart, but you’ve got to think about your and Joey’s future.”

  “I have thought about it. That’s all I ever think about. I’m going to have my teaching certificate in three more semesters. Then I’ll earn a good salary and have more time to spend with Joey.”

  “And that’s a good plan. But if you save your child support, you may be able to buy your own place by then. That would be nice, wouldn’t it?”

  She got up from the chair and backed away from him. “I have to go to work.” Before he could stop her, she opened the door and escaped back into Harriet’s company.

  “My heavens, child, what’s wrong? Did Jeff give you bad news?” Harriet immediately asked. “You’re so pale. You’d better sit down at once.”

  “N-no, Harriet, I’m fine, really,” Rebecca said, moving toward her own desk. “I just need to start work.”

  Harriet’s eyes went past Rebecca, and Rebecca whirled around to discover Jeff had come to his office door. He nodded to Harriet, and she immediately began showing Rebecca her work for the day.

  Jeff went back into his office and picked up the phone. When his caller answered, he said, “Will, I need to talk to you about something. I’m trying to arrange things financially with Rebecca, and she won’t discuss it at all. Could I come to your office and show you what I want to do, so you could tell me if I’m being fair to Rebecca? And help me convince her to accept what I’m offering?”

  “I’ll be glad to talk to you about it, Jeff, of course. You understand that I don’t have legal guardianship for Rebecca. She’s completely independent.”

  “Don’t I know it. But I want to protect her and Joey from—from whatever could go wrong in their lives. Could I come in half an hour?”

  “Of course. We’ll try to work out something Rebecca could accept.”

  “Thanks, Will. I’ll see you in a little while.”

  Jeff hung up the phone and stared at the painting on the wall. He wanted to be there for Rebecca and Joey. He gave a disparaging laugh. What he really wanted was to marry Rebecca, but he’d promised to marry Chelsea, and she didn’t deserve to be dumped now.

  His only hope was the foursome Rebecca had just tried to end. It seemed to him that his fiancée was responding to Bill more than she did to him. And he knew Bill was attracted to Chelsea, too. He was his friend and would never try to break up his engagement. But he wanted Chelsea.

  So it was up to Jeff to continue these foursomes until whatever might happen, happened. He’d already bought tickets to the opening night of the basketball season for their local pro team. He’d bought five tickets, planning to use the excuse of taking Joey to the basketball game.

  He felt sure he could convince Rebecca to come so he didn’t waste his money on a ticket for her that she wouldn’t use. But what else could he find for the five of them to do without Rebecca catching on?

  His phone rang. “Jacobs.”

  “Jeff, I have a wonderful idea,” Chelsea announced without any preliminaries. “I think we should take Joey to Six Flags before they close for the season. I think this Saturday is the last day. It would be so much fun for the five of us.”

  “I think you’re right, Chelsea. I’ll ask Bill. Why don’t you call Rebecca and check with her.”

  “Isn’t she at work with you?” Chelsea asked, sounding confused.

  “Yes. You see, she’s decided we are ready to take Joey without her, which is a compliment to you, darling, but I think it would be nice if she came with us to Six Flags. After all, it would be an all-day event, and some of the rides are rather scary.”

  “Oh, I see. Okay. I’ll call her.”

  “Good. Don’t take no for an answer.”

  “I won’t.”

  Jeff immediately went to Bill’s office as soon as he’d hung up the phone. “Bill, do you think you could stand another outing with Joey?”

  “Of course I could. He’s a fine boy, Jeff. You should be proud.”

  “I am. But his throwing up might make you a little hesitant about wanting to accompany us anymore,” Jeff said with a laugh.

  “As long as I don’t have to clean up after him, I’m happy to go along.”

  “Well, Chelsea has suggested that we all go to Six Flags this Saturday. It’s the last weekend they’re open until next spring.”

  “Chelsea’s just full of good ideas, isn’t she?” Bill asked with a laugh. “That sounds like fun.”

  “Okay, she’s checking with Rebecca now. I’m on my way to an appointment, but one of us will let you know the details. I’ll be back later this afternoon.”

  He hurried out of the office with a whispered goodbye to Harriet, not wanting Rebecca to see him leave. He knew she was on the phone with Chelsea, and she didn’t seem happy about what was being said. He was pretty sure he could count on Chelsea to convince her, though.

  Was he being fair to Chelsea? He was using her enthusiasm and reluctance to deal with Joey on her own. But he thought he was doing the right thing. Better for them to be sure their marriage would work before they both made a terrible mistake.

  REBECCA GOT OFF THE PHONE with Chelsea and stood to go back to Jeff’s office.

  “Are you looking for Jeff? He’s gone out, Rebecca. He had an appointment.”

  “Oh. I didn’t see him leave. When will he be back?”

  “I’m not sure. Bill is here if you need to talk to him.”

  “No, thank you, Harriet. I’ll just get started on the filing.” Rebecca could think of nothing she wanted to say to Bill. According to Chelsea, Jeff knew of her plans and had promised to tell Bill.

  So Jeff had completely ignored her determination to avoid any foursome in the future. Why? Didn’t he know how hard it was for her to see him escorting Chelsea? She had to admit, of course, that he didn’t appear to do much escorting since he was doting over her and Joey most of the time.

  Poor Chelsea. Rebecca thought she would be glad to avoid the foursomes, but here she was trying to set up another one. And it did
sound like fun, of course. Joey would love Six Flags, she was sure.

  She tried to put it out of her mind. She had work to do. Harriet had left her a lot of filing. If Jeff was giving her a raise, she’d better earn it.

  JEFF SPENT A SATISFYING hour with Will. He liked the man, and he was able to be honest with him. As honest as he could be. “Are you and Vivian happy having Rebecca and Joey there with you? Because I can pay for a place for them to live on their own.”

  “Vivian would kill me if I aided you in removing one of her chicks from the nest. Truthfully, Jeff, we love having them there. It means a lot to Vanessa to have her sister there, to get to know her better. And Joey has stolen all of our hearts.”

  “But with you having a child of your own, things may get a little more complicated.” Jeff watched him carefully, looking for any sign that Rebecca and Joey were burdens to him.

  Will laughed. “Do you really think Betty couldn’t handle a dozen children and still be happy? It’s not like it’s Vivian and me doing all the work.”

  “Betty is good with Joey and she’s terrific in the kitchen. I have a lady who cleans my house regularly, but she doesn’t do much cooking.”

  “Well, we’re fine, but I promise to let you know if I think it would be better for Rebecca and Joey to be out on their own. But I really don’t like the idea. There are too many bad guys looking for lonely women to target.”

  “I know. And I appreciate the protection you provide them.”

  “Happy to do it,” Will assured him.

  “Here’s what I had in mind for child support,” Jeff said, showing Will a piece of paper where he’d written out his intentions.

  Will studied the figures. Then he looked at Jeff. “These are very generous numbers.”

  “Joey is my child, and Rebecca is his mother because I was careless with her. She—she deserves better than just money, but it’s all I can offer in my present situation.”

  “I see. Well, she should have no complaints with this much money.”

  “The problem will be getting her to agree to it. She says I don’t owe her anything, and she doesn’t want me to pay child support.”

  “Hmm. Well, I’ll try to talk to her, but it might be better handled by Vivian. She’ll explain why Rebecca should accept this amount, for Joey’s sake, of course.”

  “I’d appreciate that, Will. Were you able to offer any assistance to Dr. Janvers?” he asked, referring to the man he’d sent to Will.

  “Yes, I was. In fact, I’ve done several jobs for him since you referred him. I appreciate the business, Jeff.”

  “Hey, you’re the closet thing to family, other than Joey, that I have. Any business I can send your way, I’m more than happy to do so. How are your searches for the other siblings coming along?”

  “David and Rachel, if those are the names they go by, have proved elusive. I haven’t discovered the name of their adopted parents. They haven’t signed any of the lists of children seeking their real families. I’ve tracked down some Rachels and Davids but they weren’t adopted. But I’ll keep looking. I promised Vivian I’d find them.”

  “It would mean a lot to Rebecca to find her twin. She enjoys Vanessa a lot, I think, but I’ve always heard twins were special.”

  “Yes, me, too. Hopefully, I’ll find them soon.”

  Jeff stood and held out his hand. “I appreciate your help on this. Let me know if there’s ever anything I can do for you.”

  “If you run across any Rachels or Davids that look like Vanessa and Rebecca, let me know,” Will said with a laugh.

  “You got it,” Jeff promised.

  He left, saying goodbye to Carrie, Will’s assistant. He thought he’d met her before, but he wasn’t sure.

  On the way out, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed Chelsea’s number. “Chelsea? It’s Jeff. Did you talk to Rebecca?”

  “Yes. She’s very stubborn, but I convinced her to go. Did you talk to Bill?”

  “Yeah, he’s fine with it. So we’re set for Saturday. What time shall I pick you up?”

  “I think we should get there about ten. So you should pick me up at nine, and Rebecca and Joey at nine-fifteen. Oh, and you should get Bill before you pick me up, too.”

  “Right. So I’ll see you Saturday.”

  “Well, you could call me sometime before Saturday.”

  “Oh, yeah,” he agreed with a laugh. “I’ll do that.”

  But his mind was on Rebecca and his son. Joey was becoming almost the most important person in his world. Well, maybe second. That didn’t leave a place for Chelsea until number three. That wasn’t the way things should be. Not for his fiancée. But it was the way things were.

  He had to be patient.

  AFTER DINNER THAT EVENING, Will quietly asked if he and Vivian could talk to Rebecca after she put Joey to bed.

  “Yes, of course,” she immediately agreed, her mind filling with worry about what might be wrong.

  “Did you do something?” Vanessa whispered as she walked beside her sister.

  “Not that I know of. Do you think they’re going to ask me to leave?”

  “Of course not. Mom wouldn’t do that for any reason, but certainly not without discussing it with me.” Vanessa sighed. “Maybe I should go with you.”

  “To protect me?” Rebecca asked with a grin. “I’m the big sister, remember?”

  “I remember,” Vanessa said, hugging Rebecca. “But I’ll go with you, anyway, unless you don’t want me to.”

  “I’d love for you to go with me. I’ll admit to being a little worried.”

  “Worried about what, Mommy?” Joey asked. He was holding Rebecca’s hand and had listened to their conversation.

  “Oh, nothing, sweetie. Mommy’s just being silly. Did I tell you about the latest thing your daddy and Chelsea have planned for you?”

  “What?”

  “He wants us to go to Six Flags on Saturday.”

  “What’s that?”

  Vanessa answered his question. “Six Flags is a lot of fun. They have lots of rides and things to do. There are games and prizes, too.”

  “That sounds like fun. I won’t get sick this time, Mommy,” Joey promised solemnly.

  “Of course not. It wasn’t your fault you got sick last time. If it was anyone’s fault, it was mine, sweetie. Don’t worry about it.”

  “Did Daddy get angry about it?” Joey asked.

  Rebecca felt she’d failed as a mother when she realized her son must’ve been worrying about having disappointed his father.

  “Not at all. He wouldn’t want to take us to the Six Flags amusement park if he was upset about it or if he was worried about it happening again, Joey. I promise.”

  “Oh, good.”

  Rebecca exchanged a look with Vanessa. Her sister, too, had realized how worried Joey was.

  “Hey, Joey, want some of my bubble bath in your tub tonight? We could build castles out of soap bubbles,” she suggested.

  “Could we, Mommy?” Joey eagerly asked.

  “Yes, I think that would be all right. But we need to put you in the bath at once if you’re going to play awhile. You need to go to bed at eight.”

  “Okay. Let’s go, Vanessa,” Joey immediately agreed, grabbing his aunt’s hand.

  “All right, go with Vanessa. I’ll be there in a moment.”

  Rebecca stood there, watching her son skip down the hall. She’d intended to fight the trip to the amusement park, but she now knew she couldn’t. Joey needed to believe his father didn’t hold any resentment toward him because he got sick in front of everyone.

  Rebecca went to her room and picked up the phone. She had to look up Jeff’s number, but she found it easily enough. When his deep voice answered, she panicked and couldn’t say anything.

  “Hello? Is anyone there?”

  “Yes, it’s me, I mean, it’s Rebecca.”

  “Hello, sweetheart, is everything okay?”

  “Yes, but don’t call me that.”

  He didn’t qu
estion her words. “Sorry, it just comes out naturally.”

  “I called because I discovered Joey’s been worried all week that you were upset with him because he got sick.”

  “Of course I wasn’t. It was my fault more than his.”

  “And I blame myself. But I wanted you to know that he was worried. I—I told him you wouldn’t want to take him to Six Flags if you were upset.”

  “I think that’s true.”

  “That’s why I’m agreeing to go on Saturday. I wanted you to know that I haven’t changed my mind about—about our foursomes. But for Joey’s sake, I can’t protest this last outing.”

  “I understand. Uh, I’ve already purchased tickets for another outing. I bought them Monday morning, before you said anything. I’m hoping you’ll make that outing an exception, too.”

  “Where is it?”

  “It’s the basketball game. The opening game of the season is special and I know someone in the box office, so I was able to persuade him to get us courtside seats. It will be very exciting.”

  Rebecca held her breath. Finally, she blew out the hot air. “I guess I could go along with that, since you’ve already bought the tickets.”

  “Thanks, Becca. I think Joey will enjoy it.”

  “I hope so. Thank you, Jeff, for—for taking him into your heart.”

  “It wasn’t hard, honey. He’s very important to me. As you are, as his mother. I’m going to take care of both of you.”

  “No! Just Joey.”

  “You haven’t talked to Will yet?”

  “No,” Rebecca said slowly, suspicious. “Why would you ask that?”

  “Nothing, it doesn’t matter. We’ll work things out, okay?”

  “Okay. Good night.”

  “Good night, sweetheart.”

  She didn’t remind him again not to call her that. She just hung up the phone, reminding herself that he didn’t have the right to call her that, even if it did fill her with love for him.

  Chapter Nine

  After Joey was tucked in, the two ladies headed back down to the library, where Will and Vivian were waiting.

  When Vanessa entered with Rebecca, she immediately said, “I’m here to support Rebecca and she’s okay with that.”