One Last Objection_A Small-Town Romance

by Nancy Stopper

  Here, he could build a personal relationship with his clients and truly care about their well-being. He felt bad for Mr. Taylor, not being able to hand his practice down to one of his sons, but the timing was perfect for Michael.

  “Please, call me Michael.” Another thing about opening a practice in his hometown—he knew everyone. Mrs. Newman had been his second grade teacher. She called all of her students by their last name. He’d felt grown up and proud at the time, but addressing him by his last name now sounded impersonal.

  “Oh, I don’t know. I guess… Michael.” She giggled as his name crossed her lips.

  A loud clattering sounded in the lobby and Rachel burst through the door. “Hey, Michael, I— Oh, I’m so sorry. I didn’t realize you had a client in here.”

  Rachel looked sufficiently contrite, so he didn’t say anything. Besides, he and Mrs. Newman were almost done.

  He’d need to lay down some ground rules for his family. Now that he was settled into his practice and his house, they could stop in at the drop of the hat. This level of familial togetherness would take some adjustments on his part.

  He coveted his alone time, his chance to curl up with a book and de-stress. It had been hard enough to carve out a little time for himself while working at the firm. Finding that down time was going to be harder since he had Maggie and a child in his future, too. But at a minimum, they needed to respect his business space and his clients.

  Regardless, he’d made the right decision coming home.

  Mrs. Newman patted Rachel’s hand. “That’s okay, Ms. Bennett, we were done. It’s so good to see you, dear. You’re looking well.”

  Rachel perched on his desk, not even waiting for Mrs. Newman to leave. Michael escorted his client across the room and ushered her into the lobby. After Mrs. Newman left, he turned back to his sister.

  “Is she gone?”

  “Yes. And you can’t be barging in here like that.” He couldn’t be too upset with Rachel. He was curious about what had her so excited, though.

  Rachel flung herself into his arms so hard he had to brace himself to keep from falling over.

  He hugged her back and then pulled away. “What’s this about?”

  “I had a session yesterday.”

  What had Maggie said? Crap, they hadn’t decided how to tell his family about their relationship—however they chose to define it—much less the baby. He straightened the papers on his desk. Maybe she hadn’t said anything and Rachel was just happy about her session. If so, he wasn’t about to let the cat out of the bag.

  “She told me I probably should go to a different therapist… because the two of you were seeing each other.”

  Michael flopped down on his chair. Why hadn’t Maggie at least warned him, sent him a text, something? He glanced at his phone but he had no messages. She hadn’t said anything when he stopped by last night, either. Sure, she’d been distracted, but nothing out of the ordinary. Was she trying to drive a wedge between them so she’d have an excuse not to accept his proposal? She was taking this independence thing a bit too far. In the meantime, damage control was up to him. “I guess, sorta.”

  “You guess? She told me you guys met eighteen months ago. You’ve been holding out on us, big brother.”

  “It’s casual, just once in a while when one of us had a break.” Not anymore but it sure sounded good. Casual, yeah, except for the fact that they were having a baby and he’d proposed marriage.

  Why hadn’t she given him an answer? Sure, he only asked her a few days ago, but why would any woman turn down a legitimate proposal from someone who is willing to take care of them and love them? Granted, he didn’t love her the way he’d expected to love the woman he was going to marry. But he could love her that way, given time.

  “Based on that look on your face, I don’t think casual is the right description.” Rachel chuckled.

  “What? Oh, sorry. I just spaced out for a minute. I have a thousand things running through my mind right now.” About how he could get her to marry him. And where they could have the wedding… and the reception. He shifted the corner of a yellow pad from under the pile of papers on his desk and scribbled a couple of notes to himself. “Is that all you came in for? I’ve got another appointment in thirty minutes.” And if Rachel would scoot out, he could research a couple of reception venues before his client showed up.

  Rachel dropped her head and picked at her fingers. She’d done that a lot growing up, a sure sign that she was nervous. He rounded the desk and slid into the chair beside her. He was still her brother, after all.

  “Rachel, what’s going on?”

  “You, uh, you said you have some information about my father…”

  Damn, he would have liked a bit of warning before tackling this topic. Rachel must have also discussed her biological father in her session yesterday. “I do.”

  She nibbled her lip. “I think I want to know.”

  “You think?” Michael was not about to share information that might shatter Rachel’s world if she wasn’t ready.

  “No, I want to know. I’m just scared.”

  “Maybe we could pick a time when Sawyer can be here, or I could go to one of your sessions with Dr. James.” The bell tinkled on the outside door. Michael turned his head just as Sawyer strode through and made a beeline for Rachel. She rose and stepped into his arms.

  Michael turned away. Rachel was a few years younger than Sawyer, but he’d spent so much time at their house growing up that he was like one of the family.

  Michael had thought he never wanted what Rachel and Sawyer had, or like Lucas’s relationship with Sarah, or like Joey’s and Brittany’s. But his priorities had changed.

  Sawyer lowered his head. “Are you sure?”

  “I am. I want to know. Dr. James and I talked through some of the things Michael could have found out. I’m ready for whatever he has to say.”

  “Whatever it is, I’m right here and I love you.”

  Michael rounded the desk and plopped into his chair. The little bit of separation allowed him to treat this like a professional situation and not a personal one that was tearing him up inside. He slid open his desk drawer and removed the folder from the investigator.

  Rachel and Sawyer carried on a hushed conversation for another minute until they turned to him. Rachel placed her hand over Sawyer’s. “We’re ready. I want to hear what you found out.”

  Michael cleared his throat. He hated being the one to pass this along, but Rachel had trusted him with her secret instead of Lucas and Joey. That didn’t make what he had to tell her any easier. How did you shatter the world of a sister who had already been through so much? She was a lot stronger than she had been, but was she strong enough for this?

  Sawyer nodded. Rachel would need his support.

  “As I said to you before, my PI did find out a few things. No one other than the three of us in this room and the PI know I was looking into this. It will stay that way until you’re ready.” Except for Maggie, of course. Rachel would never know Michael had confided in Maggie. His sister could share this information in her own time… when she was ready.

  Rachel nodded. What was she thinking about right now? “Okay, the first thing we found out is that your father is no longer alive.”

  Rachel gasped and tears filled her eyes. Sawyer’s arm snaked around her and pulled her close. She snuggled into him for a moment and then swiped under her eyes and shook her head. “No, I’m okay. We knew this was a possibility. I mean, the last anyone heard from him was twenty years ago. A lot can happen in that time. Do you have a picture of him?”

  Michael pulled the first photo out of the file and slid it across the table. A man with graying sideburns and an easy smile on his round face stared out at them. Rachel fingered the paper a minute. She tilted her head and studied the image. “I think maybe I look a little bit like him.”

  Michael’s heart wrenched. How was Dad going to feel when he found out Rachel had located her birth father? Growing up, no o
ne had any clue that Rachel was their half-sister. Dad hadn’t acted any different toward her. But this had to be killing him.

  “When… when did he die?”

  “Three years ago.”

  A sob bubbled up in her throat. “So, I could have met him, gotten to know him, if I had looked sooner.”

  Sawyer squeezed her hand. “Remember what we said, no looking back, only looking forward. He wanted you to be happy and you are.”

  “I still wish I could have met him. That he could have seen what I looked like.”

  Rachel’s father would have loved her. And Michael’s heart ached to see Rachel hurting as she absorbed the information about the man’s death. At least she had Sawyer to support her. “There’s more. Are you okay?”

  She sniffled then squared her shoulders. “Yeah, I’ll be okay. I knew this was a possibility. I’m sad I didn’t get to meet him, but Sawyer’s right. He made sure that I had a good childhood in a loving family. I couldn’t have asked for more.”

  “Okay. Well, his family—”

  She gasped. She had to have guessed he had kids, right?

  Michael slid the other photo out of the file. “One son and three daughters.”

  Rachel placed her hand on her chest. “I have sisters?”

  “Three of them.”

  “And another brother?”

  “Yep.” She was doing much better than Michael expected. Rachel had always felt isolated as the only girl. Having these other siblings might be good for her.

  She reached out her hand. “Can I see?”

  He handed off the photo of four smiling adults, a brown-haired man, a brunette pixie of a woman who was probably younger than Rachel, and two blonde-haired women. “Oh my gosh, two of the girls are twins.” She turned the photo toward Sawyer. “I have twin sisters.”

  Rachel ran her finger over the photo as if she could reach through the image and touch the people inside. While Michael was happy for Rachel and the potential for relationships with her other half-siblings, he couldn’t help but be jealous. He wanted to keep his family as it was, not change anything. He knew Rachel loved him but seeing her interested in another family was like a punch in the gut.

  Sawyer smiled at Michael, a genuine smile, and Michael knew she would be okay. “What else do you know about them?”

  “They all live in Cedar Hill. The man is married with a son and the others are single.”

  “Do they… do they know about me?”

  “I don’t know. There isn’t a great way to find that out without opening a can of worms.”

  “I’m sure. Did your PI find anything else?”

  Michael handed over the rest of the file containing some general information about her siblings.

  Rachel studied the papers for a moment and then raised her head. “So, what do I do next?”

  Sawyer wrapped his arm around her shoulder. “I think the first thing you do, Rachel, is to let this sink in a little bit.”

  Her shoulders fell and she sighed. “I guess you’re right. I’m just so excited about the fact I have siblings—”

  “Who may or may not know about you, or the fact that their father had an affair in the first place. Their mother may still be alive,” Sawyer added.

  Rachel turned back to Michael, her expression wary.

  “Is she?”

  “She is. At the bottom of that file, you’ll find some information about her. Rachel, you need to think seriously about your next steps. Remember how you felt when you found your birth certificate? This family may be equally devastated to find out their father and husband had an affair and a child.”

  She sighed. “Yeah, I know you’re right.”

  He hated disappointing his sister. “There’s one more thing we need to discuss. When are we telling Joey and Lucas?” Lucas would be upset at first, but Michael knew he’d handle this news well. Michael was more worried about Joey. He was liable to go off the rails and lash out at Mom.

  If Michael were in the same situation Dad found himself in all those years ago, he didn’t know if he’d have the strength to rebuild the relationship. Family dinners had been tense recently, presumably a result of Rachel’s revelation. The conversations had been strained and Mom and Dad hadn’t been nearly as affectionate as they had been in the past. Hopefully after everything was out in the open and they could discuss what happened as a family, things would calm down.

  Rachel wrung her hands. “I’ve been thinking about how to broach the subject with the boys. I want them to know. What’s the best way to tell them? Lucas will be okay but Joey’s a wildcard. With Christmas coming up, there’s a lot to consider.”

  She’d pegged Joey and Lucas exactly right. No matter what, though, he wouldn’t let Joey blame Mom. “Do you want to tell them together or separately?’

  “I don’t know. If I told them separately, I would definitely talk to Lucas first, but then Joey would get upset. I think maybe we should tell them together.”

  “We?” Michael should have expected this. Of course Rachel would want him there. And he wanted to support her. But he secretly wished she’d handle this alone so they had a chance to adjust to the fact that Michael had known this information for months and hadn’t told them.

  “You already know and you should be there anyway. As a family. I’d like Sawyer there, too.” She patted her boyfriend’s hand. “I want to get this over with. Why don’t we schedule something next week? We’ll have them come here, if that’s okay.”

  At least they’d be on neutral territory. And once she’d told Joey and Lucas about her biological father, Michael’d finally have someone else to talk to. He didn’t know how much longer he could go on lying to them.

  He could always talk to Maggie, but they had more pressing matters on their plate.

  Rachel was right—Christmas wasn’t that far away. Maggie will be showing soon, and she wouldn’t be able to keep her pregnancy a secret, especially since she already told Rachel about them dating. Maybe they could announce their wedding at Christmas. He’d make sure to invite Maggie to dinner at the house… and tell Ma that he was bringing a guest.

  Rachel tapped on the desk. “Michael?”

  “Yeah, sorry. Sure, we can meet here. Just pick a time and I’ll reach out to Joey and Lucas.”

  Rachel and Sawyer stood. As Michael rose, Rachel circled the desk and flung her arms around his waist. “Thank you so much. I know this hasn’t been easy for you, keeping this from the boys.”

  He kissed her hair. “I love you, squirt. Always remember that.”

  She pulled away and swiped under her eyes. “I know. I love you, too. And I’m so glad you’re home. And we are not done talking about that other thing.”

  Michael laughed as Sawyer dragged Rachel out the door before she could say anything else.

  Chapter Ten

  MAGGIE HAD JUST set her briefcase down when the doorbell rang.

  “Hello, Michael,” she said as she opened the door and turned back to the couch. This was the first day since forever that she didn’t feel like she needed to throw up. Couldn’t she just have one Michael-free day?

  “How’d you know it was me?”

  “You mean outside of the fact you’ve been by almost every day in the past couple of weeks about this time? I gave Rachel about twenty-four hours before she came and talked to you, and…” She flipped her wrist and pretended to look at a watch. “Yep, right on schedule.”

  Michael sank onto the couch beside her. His lips were pursed into a straight line, and the crease between his eyebrows was pronounced.

  “What’s wrong?”

  “Have you given any more thought to my proposal?”

  “Michael, I’ve only had a few days. I need to think. This is a big change.”

  “That’s not the only big change going on. If we’re going to get married, there’s a lot that has to be done. We’d have to book a venue, unless you just want to get married at my parents’ house. You’d need to get a dress and I’d need a tux.” He
rattled off some other things after that, but Maggie couldn’t hear the words over the roaring in her ears.

  She held up her hands. “Michael, stop!”

  His mouth hung open wide… before he snapped his jaw shut. He sank back into the cushion. “I’m sorry.”

  She and Michael went about things so differently. This was why they were better as lovers than potential husband and wife. “I know you mean well. And I know you… you need to have a plan for everything. I bet you have a list of items to be done before a wedding tucked in your briefcase, don’t you?”

  A pink tinge colored his cheeks. She was right.

  “I promise you, I’m thinking about your proposal.” She’d hardly thought about anything else. “But I need more time. We go from not seeing each other for several months to you dropping by almost every day and proposing to me.”

  He wrapped his hand around hers.

  The warmth of his touch calmed her prickly nerves. This touch was not sexual, but tender, and that was a problem.

  “I’m sorry, you’re right. I’m just so excited about the baby and there’s so much to do.”

  She chuckled but the sound stuck in her throat. Michael may have his lists, but to her, everything that had to be done was a big jumbled mess in her head. Doctor’s appointments, clothes shopping, medical tests, birthing classes, finding a pediatrician, fixing up a nursery. And the list went on. “You’re right. We can at least discuss some things.”

  Maggie really did laugh when Michael whipped a notepad out of his bag. He snatched a pen off her coffee table and clicked the button. Such a lawyer. “Okay, I’m ready. What did you want to talk about?”

  “Why don’t we make a list of some of the things that have to be done for the baby?”

  For the next few minutes, she and Michael talked about a lengthy list of things to do. At one point, he pulled out a book and opened to a page that included everything a baby needed before they came home from the hospital. The more things they wrote on their own list, the faster Maggie’s heart beat. Her skin started tingling. After a few minutes, Michael stopped scribbling on that blasted pad and slid it onto the coffee table. Thank God.