One Last Objection_A Small-Town Romance

by Nancy Stopper

  “That’s good. Although, now that things have gotten more… complicated… between us, we probably need to tell her. She may not want to keep seeing the person who’s carrying your baby. Oh, God. You have to tell your family. Your friends. They’re all going to know.”

  Okay, she was freaking out a bit here. He scrambled for the right words to calm her down. He settled his hand over hers. “Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone until we decide when.”

  She sighed and relaxed her shoulders that had crept up toward her ears. “Whew, okay. I guess I overreacted a bit. It’s all been a lot to absorb recently. So what about Rachel?”

  “She told you about our parents?”

  Maggie’s eyebrows shot up. He was putting her in a bad position as Rachel’s counselor. But he didn’t know where else to turn, who else could help him handle this secret that was weighing him down. She didn’t answer.

  He raked his hand through his hair. “Lucas and Joey don’t know about Rachel’s birth certificate. About her biological father. That’s the problem I’m having. She dropped this bombshell on me and said I couldn’t tell anyone else.”

  “Why did she tell you?”

  “She wanted me to look for her biological father.”

  Maggie just nodded.

  “She’s doing so well now, ready to go back to school, dating Sawyer. I don’t want this to derail her progress.”

  Maggie schooled her features and didn’t say a word. Michael knew that she couldn’t respond, and Rachel had asked him to keep this information to himself. But if Rachel didn’t react well to the news of her father, Maggie might be better prepared when it came up in a session.

  ”A PI at the firm finally tracked him down. He died three years ago.”

  “Oh, man.” She worried her lip for a minute. Michael itched to suck that plump lip into his mouth, to take away all of Maggie’s worries. Worries he’d laid on her.

  “There’s more. He had a family. Four kids. Rachel has a half-brother and three half-sisters.”

  “Really?” Maggie’s expression betrayed her surprise, but she didn’t reveal how this information might affect Rachel. Regardless, just the fact that he’d been able to talk to someone about this had already relieved some of his stress. He could always count on Maggie for that, even if she said nothing.

  “So, how do I tell her?”

  “Can I think on this for a day or so? I don’t want to make a quick recommendation or one that would betray any confidences that I have with my patients.”

  “Yeah, I guess. That just means more secrets I’m keeping. Joey and Lucas don’t know about her father and Rachel doesn’t know about her other family. And now we have a baby that I can’t tell anyone about. It’s killing me to keep this information to myself.”

  Maggie leaned into him and he wrapped his arms around her. “You’ll figure out the right thing to say when the time comes. You always do. You’re a good man, Michael Bennett.”

  Hopefully good enough for her to marry. Someday.

  Chapter Eight

  MAGGIE CROSSED HER legs and sat back in her chair while Rachel talked about her college acceptance.

  “I was so excited when Sawyer handed me the acceptance letter. After everything you’ve done for me, Dr. James, I want to give back. To other women like me. I can’t wait for the semester to start. In the meantime, I’m volunteering at the women’s shelter. I even got Brittany to come with me.”

  Maggie couldn’t focus on Rachel’s words. Ever since Michael had dropped the bombshell about Rachel’s father and her other family, Rachel’s paternity had been swirling around in Maggie’s mind. Not just how Michael should tell Rachel, although that was a concern. But Maggie couldn’t decide if she should refer Rachel to another therapist. Although there hadn’t been a conflict of interest when Maggie was just sleeping with Michael, there was no way she could be objective now. But who could she refer Rachel to?

  Maggie was the only counselor in Oak Grove. Rachel had come so far in the months they’d been meeting, but she still experienced periods of increased vulnerability. Discovering she had another family and having to work with a new therapist at the same time would be a lot for her to take. But Rachel was strong. Maggie just had to trust that Rachel could handle it.

  Rachel nibbled on her lower lip and shifted on the couch. “There’s something else.”

  Maggie crossed her legs the other way. At times like this, she’d learned to let the patient work out their own struggles rather than prodding them to continue. “I asked Michael to look for my birth father.”

  Maggie forced a small smile onto her face. This was why Rachel needed another therapist. Maggie couldn’t separate her professional and private life anymore. “And?”

  “He has some information for me.” Rachel picked at her fingers and then clenched her fists a couple of times.

  “What makes you think that?” The best thing Maggie could do was to let Rachel keep talking. As long as Maggie didn’t add to the conversation, she wouldn’t betray Michael’s or Rachel’s trust.

  “He pulled me aside at Sawyer’s swearing in and said he had something to discuss. I told him I’d let him know when I was ready. But I can tell this information is weighing on him.”

  “Do you think you’re ready now?”

  “I think so. I wanted to ask him about it yesterday, but there were a ton of people around while we were moving him in.”

  Maggie hadn’t been present for that. He hadn’t asked her to help. Had he wanted her to? “Have you thought through the possibilities of what Michael may have to say?”

  “Well, I figure…” Rachel pointed to her first finger. “Michael found my father and the man doesn’t want to see me.” She pointed to her next finger. “Michael found my father and he wants to see me…” She moved down her hand. “… or Michael’s run into a dead end.”

  Rachel hadn’t considered that her father had died. How could Maggie ease that into the conversation? “Have you given any thought to the life your father has lived in the past twenty-two years?”

  Rachel’s lips straightened into a thin line. “Mom said he was married, and that’s all I know.”

  Maggie risked a glance at the clock on the wall. The minute hand ticked along like it was stuck in molasses. ”So he had a wife…”

  Rachel’s eyebrows shot up. “He has a family of his own. I just remembered Mom said he did. I hadn’t even thought of that. Oh, God. This is so complicated. They probably don’t know about me. I know what it feels like to be slammed in the chest with a secret like this. I wouldn’t wish this on anyone. Maybe this isn’t a good idea. Maybe I should just let this go.”

  Rachel was right to be concerned, especially with what Maggie knew about the situation. But Rachel needed closure and the information Michael held would give her that. “It’s all right, Rachel. You don’t want to make decisions like that without thinking them through. In six months or a year from now, will you really be able to let this go? How are you going to feel if you never know?”

  “You’re right. I’ll think about this once I’ve had a chance to calm down. But I could have more brothers and sisters out there.” A small smile grew on Rachel’s face as she stared at the floor. “Maybe I have a sister.”

  The buzzer sounded on Maggie’s desk. Just in time. But in the course of a few minutes, Maggie had gone from wishing time would move faster to dreading the end. Especially with what she had to tell Rachel. These types of conversations couldn’t always be contained in a short fifty-minute session. But Maggie couldn’t let Rachel go until they’d discussed Michael.

  Rachel stood and brushed her hands down her jeans. “Thanks, Dr. James. You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

  “I know we’re out of time, Rachel, but there is something else I need to discuss with you.”

  Rachel sank onto the couch. “What’s going on… is something wrong?”

  Maggie sucked in a deep breath and sat up straight in her chair. Her stomach churned. Now was not the t
ime for her to be sick. At this point, that would bring up questions she wasn’t ready to answer. “I wanted to talk about your brother Michael for a second.”

  Rachel quirked her mouth and confusion filled her eyes. “What about Michael? I told you all I know about his search for my father.”

  “This is not about the search. It’s about him… and me.” She huffed out a breath and slumped back.

  Rachel’s expression didn’t change. “What about you and Michael?”

  “I’ve been, uh, I’ve been seeing Michael.”

  Rachel’s eyes widened. “You have? He just moved back. You’ve met him already?”

  “I actually met him about eighteen months ago in a club in Philly. It was long before I started counseling you.”

  “You’ve been seeing him all of this time… and we’ve never met you? He never even mentioned anything.” Rachel’s hands flew to her mouth. “I’m so sorry, that sounded awful. Michael’s not insensitive like that, I swear. I guess that’s why I’m confused.”

  “Well, we haven’t exactly been seeing each other so much as…”

  “Oh, I understand.” Pink crept up Rachel’s cheeks and she turned away.

  This was so hard, talking about personal things with a client. A client who was about to be permanently involved in Maggie’s life because of the baby she wasn’t ready to tell anyone about.

  “Anyway, with him moving back to town, I thought it best to be up front with you. I should have told you before now, let you decide whether you wanted to see a different counselor.”

  “I don’t want to see anybody else. I like you. I don’t care what’s going on between you and my brother. But really, you and Michael, huh? That’s kinda great. You guys are perfect together—the doctor and the lawyer.”

  Maggie nodded. Two headstrong people who both wanted absolute control over everything around them. Not very perfect together at all.

  “Now that he’s moved home, are you guys, like, dating?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t even know he was moving back, and all of a sudden, he’s here. And before that, I hadn’t seen him for a few months.” Except for one time that completely changed her life. “But I felt it appropriate to tell you. You should consider a different counselor who doesn’t have a conflict of interest with your family. I can recommend a wonderful therapist, my mentor, actually. He’s in Philly, but I’m sure you can work appointments around your classes.”

  “I don’t want anyone else.”

  Maggie’s heart warmed at the sentiment. She’d worked hard in college and grad school to become the kind of counselor she wished she’d seen growing up. And she had become that person. “Rachel, like everything else, this isn’t something you should make a rash decision about. I recommend you go home and think about it and give me a call once you’ve decided.”

  “You’re right, that’s probably for the best.” Rachel rose. “But I’m not going to change my mind. You and Michael—that is too cool. Can I talk to him about this?”

  Oh, crap. Maggie hadn’t thought this through. It was as if all of her logical brain cells stopped working as soon as she’d gotten pregnant. Michael didn’t know she was going to tell Rachel. And if Rachel talked to him, would he blurt out about the pregnancy? Not if she could help it. As soon as Rachel left the room, Maggie was calling Michael. “How about this? Give me a day or so to let him know we talked.”

  That should keep Rachel from rushing out the door and down the street to Michael’s new office.

  “That’s fine. Don’t take too long. I can’t wait.” Rachel bounded across the room and slung her arms around Maggie. “Thanks, Dr. James. This is so exciting.”

  Rachel rushed from the room before Maggie had even caught her breath. She used to be that energetic when she was young. Now she was thirty-five and pregnant and could barely keep her eyes open until eight o’clock.

  Despite Rachel’s confirmation, Maggie questioned whether it was smart to continue counseling Rachel, even if that was what she wanted. Maggie sat behind her desk and picked up the phone. Her mentor would know what to do.

  The phone had barely rung before Dr. Richardson answered. “Hey, Maggie.”

  “Hey, Dr. Richardson. How are you?”

  “I’d be better if you’d call me Barry.”

  “Fine, Barry.” The thing she missed the most about moving to Oak Grove was leaving her mentor behind. She’d latched onto Barry early in grad school, and he’d been there for her more times than she could count. He’d encouraged her to move, to spread her wings from their large practice in Philly. She’d made the right decision then, and hopefully, he’d help her make the right decision now. “Do you have a minute?”

  The sound of papers rustling and that squeaky office chair he refused to get rid of echoed through the phone. “Sure, I’ve got a few minutes. What’s going on?”

  Should she talk about Rachel and Michael first or the news that had turned everything on its ear last month? That was easy. “I’m pregnant.”

  “Maggie, that’s fantastic. I didn’t even know you were seeing anyone.”

  “Well, uh, I wasn’t exactly.” How did she explain this in a way that didn’t give Barry the wrong idea? She was a professional woman and wasn’t at all embarrassed by her sex life. That didn’t make it any easier to discuss with her mentor.

  “Is this not good news, then?”

  Shoot, that had come out wrong. Not for one minute did she regret this baby. “Good news, absolutely, just unexpected. I mean, you know—”

  “Right, your PCOS. The doctors thought you couldn’t get pregnant.”

  She scoffed. “Boy, were they wrong.”

  “So what’s concerning you?”

  If they were sitting together in Barry’s office, he’d have leaned back in his leather chair and crossed his ankle over his knee. What crazy argyle socks was he wearing today? He’d have quirked a single eyebrow at her and his eyes would bore into her until she had no choice but to dig deep and give him an answer. An answer she didn’t quite have for him. So she’d tackle the pressing issue first. “The father. He’s the brother of a woman in my practice.”

  “Oh.”

  “Yeah, oh. To this point, I didn’t think it would be a problem. As I said, I wasn’t exactly seeing him. We’d get together from time to time when he was in town or when I was in Philly. We never talked about his family. But now…”

  “Everything’s changed now that you’re pregnant.”

  “Right. And the fact that he just moved back to town. We’re figuring out how to handle the pregnancy and whether or not to attempt any relationship more than co-parenting. Anyway, I broached the subject with his sister today. I didn’t tell her about the pregnancy, but I told her I’d been seeing her brother and that I could refer her to another therapist. I think she’d really like you, and she’s starting UPenn in January, so it would be perfect.” As much as she’d miss working with Rachel, this couldn’t be about Maggie’s feelings.

  “I’d be happy to take her on, if that’s what she wants. But what about you?”

  “What about me?”

  “How does all of this make you feel?”

  She’d laugh at the cliché question if Barry hadn’t hit on the root of her problem. She couldn’t even begin to wrap her arms around the emotions swirling in her brain right now. Michael, her practice, her condo, Michael.

  “I see I’ve given you a lot to think about. When you come back next session…”

  She chuckled. “Very funny. The reality is that I don’t know how I feel. My emotions are all over the place, I’m tired all the time, and I’d just gotten my brain around the fact that I was pregnant when Michael showed up on my doorstep and told me he was moving home.”

  “The two of you can take all the time you need to figure out what you want to do as a couple. In the meantime, give yourself a break. You have a lot going on right now. Sit back, put your feet up, and let someone take care of you for a change.”

  He was one to talk
. When she was younger, she’d admired his work ethic, his sixty-hour a week commitment to his practice. And she’d emulated that in her own business. But now that would have to change.

  “You know how good I am at relaxing.” She’d spent her entire life trying to prove her worth to everyone else. She didn’t have time to relax.

  “Yes, I do. That’s why I said it. Even more so now. Regarding your patient, I’ve never known you to do anything unethical. Put it out there and let your patient decide if she wants to change. If she does, have her give me a call. Otherwise, I trust you know how to separate your professional life from your personal life.”

  They chatted a few more minutes before Maggie dropped the receiver back into the cradle. Until this point, separating her professional and personal life hadn’t been a problem, because she hadn’t had a personal life. But now she had a baby on the way and a potentially more-permanent relationship with Michael to consider.

  Chapter Nine

  MICHAEL SCRIBBLED HIS signature on the final documents in front of him and slid them across the desk. “Mrs. Newman, I think everything is in order. All you need to do is give this paperwork to your son for him to sign, and your life insurance policy and estate plan will be set.”

  “Bless you, Mr. Bennett.”

  Michael smiled at the elderly woman, a client who’d transferred over from Jeff. Mrs. Newman didn’t have many changes to her will. Her visit was more social than anything else. His rapid back-to-back meetings at the firm in Philly had been nothing like this, taking a few extra minutes to really get to know the clients.

  He sure didn’t miss having to track how he spent every ten minutes of his time to bill clients. Even though he’d clocked more billable hours than any other associate, his work still hadn’t been enough to earn him a partnership. Not only that, they’d shifted two clients he’d personally brought into the firm to another associate. After that, he finally saw what others had been telling him for a long time: the firm didn’t care about him. He was just a commodity to them.