Maggies Marriage (Cloverleaf #2) (11 page)

***

Maggie arrived at the doorsteps of Rachel’s little yellow-painted home. It sat across the street from a park that Maggie recalled playing in when she was a child. In the door was a pretty stained glass depiction of a hummingbird flying among some purple flowers. She heard voices behind the door as she knocked. Rachel appeared a moment later, greeting Maggie with a huge smile.

“Come on in,” Rachel said as she opened the door, allowing Maggie to enter. The inside decor matched Rachel perfectly. The warm tones of her furniture, splashes of colorful art on the walls, and the lovely smell of fragrant candles filled the air. Maggie enjoyed coming to Rachel’s home; it was inviting, and they had shared dinner and many laughs there over the last month.

A slender, tall blonde popped up from one of the couches, an unsure smile on her face. “Hi, I’m Chelsea,” she said, extending her hand. Maggie ignored her hand and scooped her in for a hug.

“Great to finally meet you, Chelsea. I have heard so much about you.”

Chelsea appeared to be taken a little off guard by the simple gesture of affection. Rachel quickly ushered them to sit down in the living room. Chelsea took her place next to Rachel, as if to say she had been Rachel’s friend first and that she hadn’t quite warmed up to Maggie yet.

“So, you are Liam’s sister, right?” Chelsea asked.

Maggie nodded as Rachel added, “And she is Patrick and Daniel’s sister too.” She looked at Maggie. “I can’t wait for her to meet your family, Maggie.”

“When did you get in, Chelsea?” Maggie asked politely as she found herself mesmerized by how beautiful and movie star-esque Rachel’s friend looked.

Chelsea looked up toward the ceiling as if searching for the answer. “Two days ago, I think.”

“What do you think of Birch Valley?”

“It’s a pretty little place. Very different from where we’re from,” Chelsea explained. “I can’t get over how blue the sky is here, and the trees, wow, there are so many of them.”

“Yeah, it’s a great place.”

Rachel nodded in agreement. “I love it here.”

“It wasn’t that long ago you almost wanted to come home, so I’m thinking it’s something more than all the scenery.”

Maggie couldn’t help but laugh at Chelsea’s remark. “I have to agree with you.” The ice was starting to break between Chelsea and Maggie, which came as a huge relief.

Rachel huffed. “Okay, okay, I admit it’s more like someone has made me love it here, but it’s still very pretty and totally different than Newport.”

“Well, at least she admits it now. Trust me it took her a while to admit that she was even interested in Liam,” Chelsea said.

Rachel got up from the couch and as she headed toward the kitchen she asked, “Can I get you guys anything to drink? Maggie, what would you like?”

“Whatever you have is fine,” Maggie answered as she suddenly felt a ticklish sensation flutter in her belly. “I think I just felt the baby move.”

“No way! Oh, that’s right, you’re preggers. Congrats!” Chelsea squealed, her eyes wide with excitement.

Maggie smiled. “Yeah, I’m a little over four months along.”

“You have a daughter, right?” Chelsea asked

“Yes, Melanie, she’s six.”

“Oh, I bet she is thrilled about becoming a big sister,” Chelsea said as Rachel returned with three large glasses of iced tea.

“What did it feel like, you know, the baby moving just now?” Rachel asked, and Chelsea moved in closer as if Maggie were going to share the biggest secret ever.

“Well, to be honest, it almost feels like gas. Gross, I know, but it feels like a tiny bubble or something,” Maggie explained. She wished she could have made it sound more enchanting, but the truth was it did feel like gas, at least in the early stages. Later on it would feel like there was gymnast living inside of her, flipping and tumbling.

Rachel seemed even more curious as she asked, “When will it start really kicking?” Rachel and Chelsea’s eyes were glued to her.

“Well, with Mel, I really felt her later on the pregnancy. We could even see her move. Michael would be sitting across the room, and he could actually see her outline as she was moving around.”

“Uh, that’s kind of creepy, sort of like an alien inside of you,” Chelsea blurted out.

“Yeah, I guess so.” Maggie didn’t quite view it that way, she was more amazed and excited when they could see their baby. Feeling her baby move had also reassured her that the baby was healthy.

Suddenly, the mood got heavy in the room as Rachel let out a long sigh. Maggie could see that Rachel looked uneasy. Rachel was about to speak when Chelsea blurted out, “We think Rachel might be pregnant.”

Maggie coughed as she almost choked on her drink. “What?”

Rachel rolled her eyes. “Thanks, Chelsea.” She looked at Maggie. “Okay, so that’s partially why I invited you here tonight. Chelsea thinks I should take a test.”

“You haven’t yet?” Maggie asked. “Have you told Liam you think you might be pregnant?”

“No, to both questions. I don’t even think I am, I mean, I would know, right?”

Chelsea patted Rachel’s leg. “You see, Maggie, my dear little friend here hasn’t been feeling well for a couple weeks. She thought she had a touch of the flu, or maybe just a little under the weather. Then when her period didn’t show up, like it does religiously every single first of the month since we were twelve, she called me, and here I am.”

“Rachel, I think you might be. You really should take a test.” Maggie watched as tears started to form in Rachel’s blue eyes. “Oh, Rachel, it’ll be okay,” Maggie said as she got up from the opposite couch to hug her friend.

“I know, it’s just, I don’t know if I want to be pregnant. Liam and I are still trying to figure things out and are barely starting to date,” she babbled as the tears trickled down her face.

Chelsea looked at Maggie as she enveloped Rachel in their arms. “I bought a test from the grocery store when Rachel was at work. I have been trying to convince her to pee on it since she got home.”

Maggie took hold of Rachel’s petite shoulders and softly said, “Rachel, why don’t you take the test since we are all here now?”

Rachel nodded. “I don’t know if I want to know. It changes everything, Maggie. What if I am, I mean, God…” She broke down again.

Maggie could relate to the fear that Rachel felt. Granted, when she became pregnant with Melanie, she and Michael had been together for several months. Liam and Rachel were barely scratching the surface of their relationship, and her heart went out to her friend. Maggie also knew what it was like to be pregnant and stuck in uncertainty; she still didn’t know what was going to happen in her own marriage.

“Rachel, it will be fine,” Maggie said, attempting to sound reassuring as she stroked and patted Rachel’s back.

“Probably something in the water up here, I mean, look, Maggie’s pregnant, now maybe you. I’d better stick to bottled water while I’m here,” Chelsea teased as she tried to lighten the mood.

Both Rachel and Maggie laughed. “Okay, I’ll go and take a test.”

Chelsea practically leaped from her spot on the couch and ran down the hall, only to emerge within seconds carrying a plastic bag. She pulled out a small box that contained two tests. It wasn’t all that long ago that Maggie held a similar box. Tearing open the package and pulling out the contents, Chelsea started to read the directions. She handed Rachel one of the two white test sticks.

“Do you want us to be in there with you?” Chelsea asked.

Rachel shook her head no as she got up and made her way down the hall to the bathroom.

It felt like a lot of time had passed, and Chelsea looked concerned. “You think she’s okay?”

“Should we go check on her?” Maggie asked.

Just then they heard the bathroom door open and watched as Rachel appeared. Her eyes and nose were a little red from crying. Maggie and Chelsea hurried to her. Rachel was clutching the stick tightly in her hand.

“I just don’t how this is possible.” Her voice wavered, and she started sobbing.

“Well, I can tell you how it happens, if you want,” Chelsea joked. Maggie could tell that Rachel’s friend always tried to keep things light and fun, as if anything serious made her incredibly uncomfortable.

Rachel released her strong hold on the test, handing it off to Chelsea, who stared in shock at the two pink lines behind the plastic window of the test.

“Rachel, it’ll be okay,” Maggie soothed. Granted she wasn’t a hundred percent certain it would be, but she knew her brother would probably be excited. At least she hoped he would be, for Rachel’s sake.

“I want to take another one. Maybe it’s broken, don’t false positives happen all the time?” Her blue eyes searched Maggie’s.

“False negatives are a little more common, but let’s take the second test just in case,” Maggie said as she gently rubbed Rachel’s back.

Rachel nodded, and Chelsea ran to get the other test, quickly giving it to her. “Don’t wait in there so long this time, maybe just bring it out with you, and we can all wait together,” suggested Chelsea.

Maggie watched as Rachel hurried back to the bathroom and closed the door.
Poor thing, how scared she must be.
Chelsea joined Maggie back in the living room, and they sat across from each other on opposite couches. “Wow, huh?” Chelsea said, still a little shocked.

“I know.”

“I honestly didn’t think she was going to be pregnant, I was sort of just kidding. She had complained about not feeling so great, and then her period was late, she said it was probably just all the stress at work. I feel so bad for her, I mean, no offense to your brother and stuff, but I don’t know how she is going to handle this,” Chelsea rambled.

“I’m worried about her too. You know, we just had a conversation about my pregnancy, and then she told me how she didn’t think she would make a good mother, she even asked if Liam wanted kids. So, looking back on it, I’m thinking she might have suspected she was pregnant, or that this is a really funny coincidence,”

Rachel came down the hall as Chelsea was about to speak, and placed the test on the coffee table. She dropped her head in her hands, Maggie looked down at the test, and two clearly visible lines stared back at her. The room was quiet, except for the sobs coming from Rachel.

Chapter Nine

Maggie opened the door to greet Rachel and Chelsea. Mary had insisted that Rachel come to Sunday dinner and for her to bring her friend along, so the family could meet her. Maggie gave Rachel a nervous smile. “How are you doing?” she asked, then glanced at Chelsea and gave her a kind and polite smile.

Rachel nodded. “I’m okay, well, no, not really, but I’m trying to be.”

Chelsea rubbed Rachel’s back. “She’s still a little in denial, but we are working on it.”

“Have you told Liam yet?”

Rachel shook her head. “I haven’t, I want to make sure that it really is positive, you know?”

Maggie gave her a tight lipped frown. “You need to kind of let him know.”

“I know, and I will, I promise, please don’t say anything, Maggie,” Rachel pleaded.

“I won’t, it’s yours to handle. I’m just advising you to say something soon. He deserves to know, and he’ll be there for you.”

“What if he freaks out?” Chelsea asked, her eyes wide and filled with concern.

“My brother’s a good guy, besides he’s never felt this way about another woman before,” Maggie said, defending Liam. Granted, her brother had never been put in this position before, but it wasn’t like he was a young, ignorant kid. He was reaching thirty-four, and as a grown man he should have taken precautions to prevent something like this.

Mary made her way to the entry, where the three women were deep in conversation. “Rachel, how lovely to see you,” Mary said as she embraced Rachel.

“Mary, this is my best friend, Chelsea,” Rachel introduced her friend. “Chelsea, this is Liam’s mother, Mary O’Brien.”

Chelsea offered her hand to Mary, who ignored the outstretched hand and scooped Chelsea up in a hug. Chelsea’s reaction was a little less surprised this time, but her body was still rigid. Maggie and Rachel held back their laughter as they followed Mary.

Mary looped her arm through Chelsea’s and led her toward the living room. “Chelsea, dear, I would like you to meet the rest of the O’Brien family.”

Maggie could see that Chelsea looked nervous, but she flashed her Hollywood smile and put on a good show.

Liam stood up and moved toward Chelsea. They had already met, and after Chelsea gave him the interrogation of a lifetime, she decided she absolutely adored him. She thought he was perfect for Rachel to date. Liam gave Chelsea a slight hug from the side, and then maneuvered so he was standing next to Rachel, instantly wrapping his long arms around her waist.

Daniel practically bounced up from the leather couch and raced over to meet Chelsea. “Hi, I’m Daniel.” He stood tall and was puffing himself up to look larger, a male peacock trying to show off his wares.

“Nice to meet you,” Chelsea said, looking beyond him. Maggie could see that something more interesting had caught her eye.

Patrick reluctantly got up from his spot as he moved toward them. “I’m Patrick.” His tone was cool and flat, but Chelsea’s eyes sparkled with interest.

Maggie was used to women always acting goofy or attempting their most sexy glares when they came into contact with her oldest brother; it had always been like that, even when they were kids. Granted, who could blame them? Patrick was incredibly handsome. His dark hair set him apart from the rest of the O’Brien siblings, but he still had their emerald green eyes.

“I’m Chelsea, so nice to meet you, Patrick,” said Chelsea, her words leaving her mouth slowly and seductively. Maggie could see Daniel was annoyed, and he excused himself politely.

“Let’s have you meet my husband and his father, they’re in the den,” Mary said to Chelsea as she pulled Rachel’s friend away from the living room, leaving the rest of the group.

“You guys want to sit down?” Liam offered as he ushered them toward the couches.

Patrick sat next to Maggie, and Liam with Rachel on the opposite couch. Maggie couldn’t help but feel bad for Liam. There he sat next to a woman who was pregnant with his child, and he had no clue. Yet she had a lot of sympathy for Rachel, who wasn’t unlike herself, unsure and scared out of her mind. Maggie just hoped that Rachel told Liam soon; it was starting to make her feel uncomfortable.

They sat around for a little while, discussing mundane things until Mary returned with Chelsea in tow and announced that it was time for dinner.

Everyone sat at the enormous table, but Mary had already fed the children, and they were now in Melanie’s room playing.

Chelsea’s steady gaze on Patrick made Maggie a little irritated. Did this woman have to be so obvious?
We get it, he’s gorgeous, move on.

“Chelsea, what do you think of Birch Valley?” Grandpa Paddy asked as he added a helping of vegetables to his already full plate.

Not taking her eyes off of Patrick she said, “It’s beautiful here, I can see why Rachel loves it so much.”

Daniel smirked as he loaded up his plate with pot roast. “We’re glad Rachel moved up here.”

Oh boy.
Maggie felt bad for Daniel’s bruised ego, but this wasn’t the first time a lady had passed him over in order to get a chance at Patrick.

“I’m glad she did too,” Liam added, looking lovingly down at Rachel, who sat next to him. Her cheeks turned a pale pink.

The conversation continued. They learned a great deal about Chelsea, mainly from stories about Rachel and her growing up. Maggie wasn’t too impressed as she listened to the tales, and now that she was getting to know Rachel’s friend a little more, Chelsea seemed a bit shallow and completely different than the Rachel she knew. She hoped Patrick wasn’t interested, as Chelsea kept flirting with all her might to get his attention. Patrick was used to women practically throwing themselves at him. Maggie didn’t notice one flicker of desire, in fact, he seemed bored.

Once the table had been cleared of their dinner, Mary served everyone homemade peach pie with tea. It wasn’t long before the men excused themselves and left the women alone at the table.

“Chelsea, dear, what exactly do you do back in California?” Mary asked sweetly, genuinely curious.

“Well, you mean like a job?” Chelsea replied.

Rachel quickly jumped in and said, “Chelsea and her mother are well taken care of. I have told this girl she needs to go to school and find something she loves doing.” Rachel looked at Chelsea and grinned.

Maggie knew what Rachel was trying to do: soften the blow that Chelsea was a spoiled brat who never worked a day in her life. She was probably one of those girls who relied on daddy for everything, and spent her days spending his money with reckless abandon. Maggie couldn’t explain the irritation she felt toward Rachel’s friend. Maggie worried that if Rachel was best friends with a person like Chelsea, what was Rachel really like? Was she a snob too, like Liam originally suspected? She silently prayed that Rachel was the real deal. Maggie liked Rachel so much, and now that she knew that her friend was pregnant with Liam’s baby there was a good chance she would be her sister in-law soon.

After chatting for a while, only pie crust remained, and tiny crumbs were left on their plates. The ladies cleared the table again and prepared to leave. It was already turning into night as everyone said their goodbyes. Rachel practically had to drag Chelsea away, but she managed to give Liam a quick kiss before they left.

Patrick gathered his twins and was headed out the door when Maggie went up to him. “Wow, Chelsea sure thought the world of you,” she said, teasing him.

“Not my type, so don’t get any funny ideas,” Patrick responded as he hefted up one of his sons.

“Just making sure you aren’t interested.”

“Trust me, I’m not. She’s cute enough.” Patrick paused, as though he was choosing his words carefully now that he realized that Maggie must not be Chelsea’s biggest fan. “I’m actually surprised they’re friends, to be honest.”

“Yeah, I know, I kind of thought the same thing when I first met her, but she seemed okay. Tonight, though, I feel like I really got to know her, and I’m not sure I care for her.” Maggie grimaced as she recalled listening to Chelsea talk all evening.

“Well, don’t worry, little sister. I don’t have any plans to see her, though she did ask me if I would take her to dinner while she was visiting. Maybe I should show her what Birch Valley has to offer.” Patrick gave Maggie a rare mischievous grin.

“Get your wicked butt home, Patrick,” Maggie said as she lightly slapped at him. He laughed and headed out the door.

Maggie went back into the living room, Daniel was stretched out on one of the couches, he had turned off most of the lights, leaving on a single table lamp.

“Hey, Daniel, you doing okay?” Maggie asked quietly.

“Yeah, I’m good.”

Maggie could see the stinging remains of Chelsea’s rejection still bothered him. “So, that was Rachel’s friend.”

“Yep, not sure why Rachel would be friends with a girl like that, but whatever,” Daniel stated as he closed his eyes, trying to escape in a nap.

“Rachel is a lot different. I just hope those are her true colors, you know,” Maggie said. She hated even questioning Rachel’s character. She knew deep inside from the time she spent with Rachel that she was kind and caring, but when she saw her friend interact with Chelsea, there had been a glimmer of snootiness that couldn’t be mistaken.

“Rachel’s a good person, Maggie. But I know what you mean. When Chelsea was going on and on about all their adventures, I saw Rachel a little differently. I mean, they grew up as a bunch of rich kids, their dads are both plastic surgeons,” Daniel explained.

Maggie suddenly worried that maybe Rachel was terrified to tell her parents. She remembered Rachel telling her how much her mother wanted her to marry someone that held enough value in their social circle. Liam couldn’t be further from that circle. He was a country guy, not interested in material things, and didn’t like having to play up to people. He drove an old pick-up and fished, he got his hands dirty, and he would hardly be the type to run around with Rachel and Chelsea’s crowd back in California.

“Maggie, you okay?” Daniel asked, breaking into Maggie’s thoughts.

“Sorry, I kind of spaced out there. Pregnancy brain, I guess. Well, let’s not worry too much about Rachel, she’s been more than sweet to us, even to you, you big goof.” Maggie socked Daniel’s shoulder playfully on her way out as she headed to tuck in Melanie and go to bed herself.

***

Maggie was humming along to a song on the radio while filing some papers at the shop when she noticed Chelsea saunter in.
Good grief.

“Hi, Chelsea, how’s it going?” Maggie asked kindly.

“Hey, Maggie, I was just seeing if Patrick was around.” Chelsea had a wicked Cheshire Cat grin on her lips, and it threw Maggie for a loop. Maybe Patrick was going to explore Chelsea’s invitation after all.

“He’s out on a job with Daniel, was he expecting you?”

Chelsea shook her head, her pale blonde ponytail swished back and forth. “No, but I wanted to see him before I left. My flight leaves tomorrow, and I thought maybe I could steal him away for a bite to eat.”

Thank God.
Maggie was relieved, she was worried for a moment that her brother had taken the bait.

“Well, I can tell him you stopped in,” Maggie offered, but she had no plans to even mention that Chelsea had stopped by.

“I appreciate it. So, what do you do here?” Chelsea was peeking over the counter at Maggie’s desk, and looked to be taking in the environment.

“I just help my brothers out with some paperwork and stuff.”

“You’re married, right?” Chelsea questioned, apparently suddenly interest in Maggie.

“Yep.”

“Where’s he at? Does he work here too?”

Apparently Rachel didn’t share with Chelsea any of the problems that Maggie was having with Michael, and that instantly helped remedy her ill feelings toward Rachel. She appreciated that her friend had kept their conversations just between them, and that proved more than anything that Rachel was indeed the real deal, a real friend who Maggie could trust and rely on.

“Actually no, he’s an attorney.” Maggie tried to stay as vague as possible; she couldn’t quite get a good read on what Chelsea was after.

Chelsea turned to Maggie, “Really? So why are you working?”

“Because I want to help my brothers out.”

Chelsea let out a sigh. “So does Patrick own this shop?”

Ah ha, there it was, she was sizing up Patrick, wanting to see if he was worth more than just his good looks.

“My grandfather, who you met on Sunday, started the business and it has stayed in the family ever since.”

“That’s nice.”

An awkward silence floated above them until Chelsea cleared her throat. “I’m just looking out for Rachel, she’s my best friend in the whole wide world, and I love her to death.”

“She’s a great person,” Maggie said, waiting for what was going to come out of the debutante’s mouth.