Maggies Marriage (Cloverleaf #2) (10 page)

Michael ran his hand through his wet hair. “Right now?”

She could tell he was frustrated, but she wanted to figure things out before she continued letting her heart and body become more entangled with him. “Yes.”

He sat down on the bed and then stretched out. “Fine, let’s talk.”

“Michael, I love you, but I want to be able to make love to you without feeling like it’s the only time we connect. I want to feel secure when we are together, I want to know if we are even going to stay married.”

“So what do we do?” he asked, his voice low.

“Honestly, I don’t know. I think right now we need to cool things a bit.” Maggie touched him and instantly regretted putting her hands on him. The smooth, taut muscle of his flat stomach begged her to stroke it, her eyes followed the light spray of fine black hair that traveled from his navel to other regions she was more than familiar with. She gulped, trying to swallow some air to cool the heat that was starting to simmer inside her. The devil on her shoulder told her to just enjoy this physical need, to give in to the pleasure she knew she would share with him.

As Maggie struggled to gain her composure, Michael looked longingly at her. “I know we need to, but I can’t think straight when I’m around you. I never have been able to.” He moved from his position on the bed and slithered closer to her, the pesky towel now pooled to his side, leaving his body fully exposed.

“Oh, Michael.” Maggie felt her internal heat rising. The angel on her other shoulder pleaded with her to reconsider, that this was not the way to get her point across, that she needed to be strong and not be ruled by her desire. She shoved that angel aside and let the devil lead her into temptation, and welcomed Michael’s fully nude body as he draped his toned leg over her thighs, pinning her gently his large hands, snatching her wrists and holding them over her head as his tongue traveled down the length of her body. Maggie found herself hopelessly giving in, and their sheets were quickly tangled around them.

If he had been home more and spent more nights like this with her, Maggie wouldn’t have moved to Birch Valley, and they probably would have had many more children.

Chapter Eight

Rain splattered hard against the living room window, and Maggie poured herself another cup of coffee. Melanie watched cartoons and ate a bowl of some sort of sugary cereal that made Maggie feel pangs of guilt each time she allowed her to eat it. Michael had left again, but would be returning that afternoon after tying up some loose ends. The funeral was scheduled for tomorrow. Maggie hoped this rain would pass, but every service she ever attended was gloomy and full of drizzle, as if funerals weren’t sad enough already.

Maggie felt a little restless in the condo. She cleaned the place from top to bottom, she had spoken to her mother a couple of times, and she had had another chat with Rachel, which was a nice distraction. She itched to get back to Birch Valley.

Michael and her had had a long drawn out discussion the night before after another round of passionate love making, which wasn’t helping with the tension and anxiety she already felt. The conclusion of their conversation wasn’t pretty, but it was decided, although not mutually accepted, that Maggie would return to Birch Valley the day following the funeral. She offered to hang around a little longer, and she wasn’t quite sure what spurred her to make that offer, but Michael rejected it, saying that if she wanted to go she could leave at any time. It didn’t feel right, leaving Michael before the funeral; she wanted to see how he coped after the final heap of dirt covered his father’s casket. She wanted to be there to comfort him, to make sure he was going to be okay.

The day continued to drag on, and Maggie ran out of things to occupy herself. She strained to focus on the book that was in her lap as she sat on the couch when Michael arrived through the front door.

“You’re home.”

“Very observant, Maggie.” His chilly tone was snarky. She knew he was still pissed at her. She blamed herself, all too aware that she had sent him false hope each time they wound up in bed together.

“Hi, Daddy,” Melanie chirped from inside the dining room where she was coloring.

“My little girl,” Michael said, his hand ruffling her russet-colored hair, which caused Melanie to laugh.

Maggie watched as he started for the fridge in search of something to eat. “I was thinking we could order a pizza or something, I wanted to wait until you got home to see what you wanted,” Maggie said as she closed her book and set it gingerly on the end table. She got up from the couch.

“Whatever you guys want. I’m not that hungry.”

His back was to her, she could see the muscles tense at the sound of her voice. “Okay, that’s fine.”

If this was how the evening was going to be, he might as well have stayed at work. Maggie sat next to Melanie and grabbed a crayon. Melanie looked up at her and smiled. “I’d like pizza for dinner.”

***

Maggie reached for Michael’s hand as they stood under the canopy that shielded her father in-law’s casket from the constant rain. He almost flinched from her, which broke her heart even more. They were among a great deal of people dressed in various shades of black and gray, sharing black umbrellas, who were there to mourn Michael’s father. His casket was a shiny, deep, mahogany wood, lined with gold handles. A simple spray of white flowers sat neatly on top. The hired preacher didn’t know the man he was praying for, but his words were thoughtful and kind, and Maggie wasn’t the only one moved by him. The rain never let up, it pounded the bright, green grass and made the soil muddy and squishy underneath Maggie’s heels. The air was chilly as the storm swept through, bringing more misery to an already awful day.

The service ended, their friends all left to get in dry in their cars, and the men who operated the large, yellow backhoe to fill the hole that her father in-law now occupied waited patiently beneath a nearby sycamore tree. Michael just stood there, looking down at the ground. He hadn’t spoken much at all. Maggie wanted to touch him, to reassure him that things would be okay, but how could she when she was going to leave him the next day, alone to handle his grief, without her or Melanie? She felt cruel and awful, but his cold demeanor and silence cut her deeply.

***

Maggie woke up early. It was still dark outside, but the rain had finally stopped. She felt like that was a good omen. Michael had already left, but she wasn’t all that surprised. After the funeral he basically shut down. He quit speaking to her and just spent time with Melanie while Maggie packed their bags. She even loaded the car with more stuff than she had brought the weekend before. This was going to be permanent. She was going to return to Birch Valley, to her job, to her family, to her new life, and there would be no going back to Seattle.

The drive to Birch Valley was quiet, except when she chatted with Melanie, who was quite excited to go back to school the following day. They pulled into the small town fairly early; it wasn’t even ten yet. They had made excellent time, but Maggie felt exhausted. It wasn’t the journey that had wiped her out, but the emotional last couple of days she had spent in Seattle. She prayed she never had to go back there.

“Grams!” Melanie shouted as she exited the car and leaped into Mary’s arms.

“My precious little one.” Mary hugged her tight and planted a kiss on top of her head.

Maggie gave her mother a weak smile.

“I just put the kettle on for some tea,” Mary said as she led them both into the home. Maggie felt like crying. It felt wonderful to be back in the cozy O’Brien home, the place of her childhood, but she also couldn’t help but feel like it wasn’t her home. That was something she had to figure out.

Melanie spotted her Uncle Daniel and bolted in his direction, leaving Mary and Maggie. They headed to the kitchen, where Mary placed two large cups on the dining table. She set out some Earl Grey tea, cream, and sugar.

“Sit,” Mary instructed Maggie, who quickly plopped down. “How are you, dear?”

“Oh, Mom.” Maggie knew the tears were coming. Mary captured her daughter in a secure hug, only releasing her when the kettle started to whistle.

“Tell me everything, sweetie.”

Maggie brushed away the large droplets that were trailing down her cheeks as her mother poured the hot water into the cups. “I don’t even know where to start.”

“Well, you went to your husband, you were there for him in his time of need. And somehow you came back here.” Mary had an unhappy look on her face.

“I know.”

“Oh, Maggie, love, I wish you could have tried to work it out with Michael.”

Maggie felt a sudden burst of anger erupt inside her veins. “I did try, Mom. I begged, I pleaded, and I loved him with every inch of my being, and have done just about everything in my power to save my marriage.”

Mary frowned and added cream to her tea. Maggie couldn’t stand the disappointed look on her face. She got up from her seat and stormed to her bedroom.

Maggie didn’t leave her room for the remainder of the day. Instead she hid under her blanket, nestled in its warmth. She could stay there forever, but her bladder begged her to get out of bed. After relieving herself, she spied down the hall to see if any of her family were out and about. When she didn’t see anyone, she snuck back into her room. There she slept until the room grew dark as night took over.

She heard the door handle jiggle loudly, and Melanie’s little round face peeked in. “Mom, are you awake?”

“Yeah, sweetie.”

“Grams says that dinner is ready, and it would be good for you to eat. She said that there’s a baby in your tummy that might be hungry.” Melanie wore a confused expression.

Thanks, Mom.
Maggie gritted her teeth quietly. She hadn’t told Melanie she was pregnant yet, especially with everything that was going on. She worried it might be too difficult for her daughter to understand. She waved at Melanie to join her on the bed. After Melanie cuddled up close, Maggie circled her arms around her, placing her head on top of her daughter’s. She could smell the lingering scent of a fruity child’s shampoo, inhaling it deeply, she said, “Mommy does have a baby in her tummy.”

“Really?” She could feel Melanie pull away to look at her. “Wow, so Grams was serious when she said I was going to be a big sister. That is so cool, Mom.”

Maggie was thankful that her daughter was happy, at least for now, with the prospect of having a sibling. Maggie had been the youngest in her group of siblings and never got to experience how it felt to be a big sister.

“So is that why we moved here, Mom?”

Maggie considered her daughter’s question for moment. A distinctive yes was all that came to mind. “I think it is a big reason why we are here. I think it’s important for you and this baby to be around family.”

“What about Daddy?”

Maggie knew this was coming. “Well, we need to pray that he can join us here.” What else could she have said? Maggie felt like all of their futures were up in the air.

“Mom, I’m excited that we are having a baby, I wonder if it will be a boy or a girl,” she said as she softly rubbed Maggie’s flat belly. “So will your tummy get really big?”

Maggie chuckled. “Yes, it will. I was huge when I was pregnant with you. As far as what the baby will be, that is part of the fun, it’s a surprise.” They didn’t find out Melanie’s gender when they were pregnant, and took it as the one complete surprise that life offered. They couldn’t describe how exciting and thrilling it had been to find out when Maggie made her final push in the delivery room.

Maggie and her daughter lay on the bed together and discussed all the things Melanie wanted to name the baby. She came up with some really silly ones, but one stuck out that was quite promising. Maggie would keep that one in mind.

***

Maggie was thankful to be back to her new, real life. Melanie had linked arms with her as they practically skipped their way to the school. The air was warming up and filled with floral scents as flowers everywhere bloomed into colorful displays. They arrived at the school, happy and ready to take on the day. Melanie led Maggie into the building, chattering away. Maggie caught sight of Rachel behind the counter talking with Karen.

“Good morning, ladies,” Karen said as she gave them a wide smile.

“Good morning,” Maggie and Melanie replied in unison. Melanie let out a giggle.

Rachel’s brow bent with concern as she gave Maggie a tight-lipped smile and hugged Maggie. “How are you guys doing?” she whispered in Maggie’s ear.

“We’re doing okay.”

“Well, hello, Miss Melanie, are you ready to do lots of learning today?” Rachel asked, her voice pitched high as she squatted down to Melanie’s level.

Melanie nodded happily as a loud bell chimed throughout the building. Before she scurried off toward her class, she gave Maggie a tight squeeze.

“Have a good day, love you,” Maggie called after her.

Rachel stood close to Maggie and watched as Melanie joined the group of children headed to their classrooms.

Rachel’s eyes focused in on Maggie. “So how are you feeling?”

“Fine.”

“I mean like the pregnancy and stuff?” Rachel asked carefully.

Caught a little off guard, Maggie answered, “I guess that is going fine too. I don’t feel nearly as sick now, so that is a relief.”

“Well, that’s good, right?”

Maggie nodded in agreement. “Rachel, do you think you’d ever want to have kids?”

Rachel’s mouth twitched. “Gosh, I honestly don’t know. Like, when we went camping together and the kids were in that RV with me, I thought, wow, I could totally be a mom. But that’s quite different, I was really more of a babysitter.” Rachel laughed uncomfortably. “You already know how my mom is, so I’m not really sure I would be a good one.”

Maggie considered that for a moment. “I think you would be wonderful. You are a loving person, and look at how amazing you are with the kids here at the school. They adore you, Rachel.”

“Do you think Liam wants kids?” Rachel asked.

“Probably, he’s always talked about settling down someday.” Maggie was curious where all these questions were coming from.

“Well, coming from the type of family that you guys are from, I’m not all that surprised.”

“I think he would make a great dad,” Maggie added.

“I bet he would. Well, I’d better get back to work,” Rachel said as she glanced at the thin, silver watch on her wrist.

“Me too.”

Rachel paused as she started to turn toward the hallway. “Maggie, my friend Chelsea is visiting, you want to come over tonight?”

“Sure, that sounds like fun,” Maggie said. Something struck her as odd with Rachel, but she couldn’t quite put her finger on it. She hoped everything was going well between Rachel and Liam.

“Great, see you tonight.” Rachel strolled down the hallway toward her office. Maggie watched her disappear, and then headed out of the school, giving Karen a wave before she exited.