One Last Objection_A Small-Town Romance

by Nancy Stopper

  Michael hugged her to his shoulder and she felt wetness on her cheeks. She couldn’t believe she was crying. Standing around this room was everything she had always hoped for and never had. Her hands drifted to her belly and she sent her baby a silent message. I promise you, I’ll give you a good life. Your Mommy loves you.

  “Are you okay?” The heat of Michael’s voice tickled her ear and sent shivers through her body.

  She nodded, afraid of what would come out of her mouth if she spoke. She swiped under her eyes, hoping no one saw her crying. But as she peeked around the room, she wasn’t the only one who’d teared up. Rachel was tucked under Sawyer’s arm and he whispered in her ear. Lucas had picked up Lily and the three of them hugged. Joey had both of this arms around Brittany from behind and his chin tucked on her shoulder.

  And Maggie’s heart broke.

  Evelyn poked her husband in the belly. “Well, Matthew, now that you have all of us ladies in tears, let’s eat.”

  The chatter grew as they all made their way to the huge kitchen table. Had they always had a table this large, or had it grown as fiancées and boyfriends joined the family? Michael led her to a chair near the door and slid it out for her. His brothers did the same. Their parents had raised gentlemen, all of them.

  Rachel slid into the chair to Maggie’s right and smiled at her. Rachel had to know Maggie was nervous, although her clients never saw the real her. She only showed them the professional side of herself, the put-together, educated counselor, not the poor housekeeper, terrible cook, and disorganized woman who had emerged over the last few months.

  “So, Maggie, tell us a little about yourself.” Evelyn rested her elbows at the foot of the table in her chair closest to the stove. She’d discarded her Christmas apron and wore a sweater similar to Maggie’s.

  “Let’s see.” What could Maggie tell Michael’s mother that didn’t make her childhood sound pathetic compared to this. “I’m an only child and I grew up in New York.”

  Across from Maggie, Brittany’s eyes brightened. “I lived in New York… before I met Joey and moved to Oak Grove. I lived in the West Village.”

  Maggie would never have thought Brittany a city girl, with her comfortable style and easy-going personality. “That’s great. I lived on the Upper East Side. But as soon as I could, I went away to college.”

  Brittany smiled at Joey beside her. “I did just the opposite. Grew up in Montana and ran to the city first chance I got. Where’d you go to school?”

  College was a comfortable subject. Maggie didn’t have to divulge any more about her dysfunctional childhood or her absent parents. She doubted anyone around this table would understand her upbringing. Or how lonely it had left her. “University of Pennsylvania, undergrad and grad school. I had a practice in Philadelphia for a number of years until I heard there was a need in Oak Grove.”

  While they talked, bowls were being passed. Before Maggie knew it, her plate was piled high with chicken, ham, sweet potatoes and green bean casserole.

  Sarah used her napkin to swipe at Lily’s mouth. Maggie’s mother had never doted on her that way. The few times they’d eaten a meal together, it had always been the model of decorum. But Sarah was able to tend to her daughter lovingly while still carrying on a conversation. “I moved from Philly, too, about eighteen months ago. My sister still lives there.”

  “I make it back once in a while. My mentor has his practice at UPenn and, well, until recently, Michael lived there.”

  Michael nuzzled her neck. “But we’re both here now.”

  Heat rose on her cheeks. She’d never been comfortable with public displays of affection. But as she looked around the table, she noticed something. Everyone in this family was affectionate. Brittany fed Joey from her plate, and Sawyer stole a kiss from Rachel after she swallowed a bite. Matthew gazed down the table at Evelyn with love in his eyes.

  As they continued eating, Lucas and Sawyer discussed some of the recent calls they’d been on while Brittany and Rachel chatted about their volunteer work at the women’s shelter. Joey and Michael were betting on the football game due to come on later in the day.

  Tears sprang to Maggie’s eyes.

  Michael leaned his head over. “Are you okay?”

  She nodded and stifled a laugh. “I am. I’m just… I’m happy.”

  Lucas tapped his glass and rose to his feet. “I have an announcement to make.”

  “We already know you’re engaged, Lucas. No need to try and steal the spotlight.” Joey nudged his brother, altogether pleased with himself. Maggie was just glad his bad mood seemed to have evaporated.

  “Very funny, Joey. Sarah and I have picked a date. We’re getting married the third weekend in May.”

  Maggie cupped her belly. Right around her due date. Would she and Michael still be a couple then? If he had his way, they would be.

  “And I get to marry Lucas, too!” Lily cried out from her seat on the other side of Sarah.

  The men stood and shook hands, and the ladies chatted over the table about locations and dresses and flowers. The animated conversation continued until plates were emptied and chairs were pushed back from the table.

  Michael leaned into her. “I think now’s as good a time as any. What do you say? Are you ready?”

  Maggie’s heart raced and her hands trembled. Michael’s brothers were getting married, yet he was the one having a baby. She nodded. It wasn’t like they could hide her condition much longer anyway.

  Michael stood and tapped his own glass. “Lucas isn’t the only one with an announcement.”

  Rachel vibrated beside Maggie while a surprised expression crossed Evelyn’s face. Michael wrapped his hand around Maggie’s shoulder. It was the only thing keeping her in her chair.

  “Maggie and I… we’re having a baby.”

  At the end of the table, tears pooled in Evelyn’s eyes as she clasped her hands together. Lucas and Joey rounded the table and smacked Michael on the back.

  Rachel’s arms flew around Maggie. “Oh, Dr. James, Maggie, I’m so excited for you. I’m going to be an aunt… again. I can’t wait. Tell me all about it. When are you due? Is it a boy or a girl?”

  “Chill out, squirt. Give Maggie room to breathe.” Thank God for Michael. Maggie hadn’t expected quite the excitement.

  When Maggie got around to announcing her pregnancy to her parents, she expected raised eyebrows at the fact she was unmarried or perhaps a calm “Congratulations.” Now that the Bennetts had been told, Maggie probably should call her mother. At times like this, Maggie missed wine the most. It usually took a couple of glasses to mellow her enough to deal with her mother.

  Michael smiled at his oldest brother. “…and then we’ll be getting married.”

  The entire room grew silent and then exploded in cheers and raised voices.

  Did he just tell his family that they were getting married? She’d never agreed to that. He did not. This was just too much.

  Where was her purse? She needed her coat. She had to get out of here. Dammit, Michael had driven. She sucked air through her gritted teeth to keep from saying something she would later regret.

  This had been a mistake from the beginning. Michael had been patronizing her all this time, saying what she wanted to hear, pretending to woo her, when all he was doing was waiting for a time to steamroll her into agreeing to something she didn’t want.

  “Are you all right?” Michael’s brows furrowed and concern crossed his face as he wrapped his arm around her shoulder.

  “I’m not feeling well. We should go.”

  Michael’s look grew to panic as he sank into the chair beside her. “Is it the baby?”

  “No. I’m tired and I have a headache.” He’d have a headache of his own as soon as she got him alone.

  “Okay, well, we’ll go. Let me grab your coat.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  MICHAEL GRABBED MAGGIE’S coat from the closet. What if something was wrong with the baby? Headaches could mean high blood pres
sure. Maybe he should have Lucas check her out before they left… or swing by the ER on the way home. Nothing could happen to the baby… or Maggie.

  He wrapped her coat around her shoulders where she stood with his parents. “Ma, Dad. Sorry to cut it short. Maggie’s tired.”

  He kissed his mom and she patted him on the cheek. “That’s all right, honey. I remember what it was like being pregnant. You just get her home, prop her feet up, and pamper her a bit. She deserves it.”

  Evelyn turned toward Maggie. “Maggie, it was so nice to meet you… and welcome to the family.”

  Maggie nodded and headed toward the door.

  As soon as they stepped around the corner, Maggie spun around. Her brows shot down like darts between her eyes and her lips were pursed. Her jaw ticked as she glared at him. “What in the hell did you just tell your family?”

  What was she all fire mad about? They’d been thrilled that Maggie was having a baby, like he’d expected. And Maggie had been having fun. He could tell. When did that change? “What did I say?”

  “You told your brother that we’re getting married… loud enough for the entire family to hear.” She marched toward the car and he hustled to catch up.

  Why was she pissed at him? Marriage would prove he wouldn’t leave her like she feared. But instead of being happy, she was mad. “Oh, that. It’s not like we haven’t talked about it. It makes sense, Maggie. I mean, come on. We’re great together and we’re having a baby. Why shouldn’t we get married?”

  She spun around and poked her finger into his chest. “Why? Because I don’t love you… and right now, I don’t even like you very much. You had no business telling them that. That’s not what we agreed to.” She threw up her hands and scoffed. “I should have known. All of this, the dates, the dinners, you were just biding your time until you could spring this on me in a situation where I couldn’t possibly deny it. It was all a game to you, wasn’t it?”

  Of course not. But the fact she’d reacted so harshly had him concerned. He wanted to edge her in the right direction, and instead they seemed further apart than ever. He opened the door so Maggie could slide into the SUV. He then stepped beside her. “This is not a game. I thought we were on the same page and all you needed was a little nudge.”

  She yanked on the door handle and practically shoved him out of the way. “That just goes to show how little we know each other. Now are you going to take me home or am I going to have to call someone to come get me?”

  “I’ll take you home.” He closed the door and ran his fingers through his hair. What had he done? He was just so excited about the baby and the fact that his family was happy for him. Sure, he got a little carried away talking about marriage, especially after Lucas and Sarah had just announced their date, but he assumed Maggie would come around. After all those years thinking he didn’t want marriage and a family, he’d found someone that changed his mind. How is it that he happened to fall in love with the one woman who didn’t want to get married?

  Maggie didn’t say a word when he climbed in the car and pulled away from the curb. He was surprised he didn’t catch fire from the angry glares she threw his way from time to time. Okay, he had to fix this.

  “I’m sorry. I guess I was wrong.”

  “Ya think?”

  He stretched his hand across the console, but she snatched hers back and tucked it into her lap. “I told you my family would be happy about the baby.”

  “Yeah, but now they think we’re getting married. How will I face them after they find out we’re not actually getting married?”

  “Well, you won’t have to if you agree to marry me.”

  Her eyebrows shot up. “Have you not heard a word I’ve said? I’m not marrying you. I’m not even sure we should see each other anymore.”

  Pain speared his heart. What in the hell was she thinking, spouting off like that? Didn’t Maggie understand that he loved her? “Maggie, you don’t mean that.”

  “Oh yeah, why don’t you tell me what I mean, because you seem to be speaking for me a lot these days.”

  That shut him up. She was right.

  How was he going to fix this if she didn’t want to see him? He pulled into a parking spot at her condo and helped her out of the car.

  “I don’t think you should come up. I need some time to think.”

  Michael’s heart sank. “How much time?”

  “I don’t know. Time. The sonogram is next month on the eighteenth.”

  “Next month! Come on, Maggie. Let me come up and we’ll talk about this. Please.” He wasn’t above begging at this point.

  She backed toward the door, her hands raised. “No, Michael. I need to be alone right now.” She cupped her belly and then turned and fled into the building, leaving Michael standing with his mouth gaping and his heart breaking.

  A HUGE ARRANGEMENT of Gerbera daisies arrived at Maggie’s office the next day. She didn’t need to read the note attached to know they were from Michael. She snatched the card before her receptionist started asking questions Maggie wasn’t ready to answer.

  Had she overreacted to Michael’s declaration? Could she really have just a co-parenting relationship with him with the sparks that flew between them every time they were in the same room?

  The day after that, a box of chocolate wrapped in a big red bow was sitting on her doorstep when she got home from work. She slipped a delicious heart-shaped candy into her mouth as she shooed Rascal away from the door on her way in. “At least he’s got good taste.”

  But no matter what he did, it couldn’t make up for how he’d humiliated her in front of his family. His parents.

  Matthew and Evelyn would be her child’s grandparents, and Maggie wanted them to like her. No, she needed them to like her, for the baby’s sake. Michael had made that nearly impossible now. What would they think about the fact that she wasn’t marrying Michael? She didn’t care how traditional their family was. She was not marrying him just because she got pregnant.

  The next day, just as soon as she sloughed off her coat and hung it on the rack, the doorbell rang. Damn him. Did he really think that a couple days of gifts would soften her up? Granted, she’d struggled to maintain a healthy anger as she enjoyed the candy last night. It was hard to be anything but happy while eating chocolate, after all. But when she peeked out the peephole, a stranger holding a plastic bag between his fingers and wearing a ball cap stood on the other side.

  She swung the door open. “Can I help you?”

  “Maggie James?”

  “That’s me.”

  The man extended the bag. “This is for you.”

  She turned to grab her purse. “Hold on a minute.”

  “All’s paid for, ma’am, including, might I add, a very nice tip.” He raised his hand in a mock salute. “Good evening, ma’am.”

  The scent of a greasy cheeseburger had her stomach growling. Rascal wound around her legs as she headed to the kitchen. “Hey, Rascal. Wanna share Mommy’s dinner?”

  “Mew.” Rascal leapt onto his chair and plopped down, waiting patiently for his turn.

  Daggone it, Michael. Why couldn’t he just leave her alone to process everything that had happened?

  As she slid into her chair, she dashed off a quick text. Thanks for dinner. Smells yummy.

  His reply came quickly, like he was waiting by the phone for her to reach out. You’re welcome. Have a good night.

  That’s it? No begging for another chance? No asking to come by? She didn’t know what to make of the mixed messages he was sending her.

  Rascal was the lucky recipient of the next day’s gift—a feather tail strung on a long pole. He and Maggie spent the next couple of hours chasing the feather across the floor. Maggie checked her phone from time to time… no messages. No texts. No calls. Just a string of gifts day after day. She had to hand it to Michael—taking care of her cat had softened her resolve just a bit.

  “DR. JAMES, ARE you all right?”

  Maggie focused on the sad e
yes of the man sitting across from her. What had he said? “I’m so sorry, I got a little distracted there for a minute.”

  “That’s okay. I was just saying that I was going along so well and then—boom—out of the blue, something reminds me of Sally and I’m right back there again, beside her bed, holding her hand as she fades away.” Tears welled in Austin’s eyes.

  “Grief can be a funny thing, Austin. You can have a lot of good days, almost forgetting about the sadness and only remembering the positive, and then something can draw you right back into the pain. It’s important that you take care of yourself so when you have those periods of sorrow, you’re equipped to handle them. You have the number for my service, right?”

  She, Barry, and a couple of other counselors in the surrounding area shared an answering service. None of her patients would spiral down and hurt themselves or someone else because they couldn’t find help.

  “I do, yes.”

  “The next time you feel that coming on, call the service and I’ll get back to you. I can talk you through some coping techniques while it’s happening, all right? Promise me you’ll call.”

  “I will, Dr. James. It’s just tough. I walk in the house and expect her to still be there. Some days, I can almost smell that damn floral-scented body wash she always used.”

  Maggie understood. There was no other explanation for the fact that she hugged the pillow Michael’s head had laid on every time she climbed into bed. Or the fact that she refused to wash the T-shirt he had left behind.

  Austin cleared his throat. “So, who sent you those beautiful flowers?”

  A huge bouquet of a dozen red roses accented by baby’s breath had arrived around lunchtime. They brought a smile to her face. Michael hadn’t been deterred, she’d give him that. Although he hadn’t contacted her except to respond to her texts, he’d kept up the barrage of gifts for two weeks. She’d almost relented and invited him over last night, but all she had to do was picture his mother’s face at the dinner table and that idea was quashed.