CHAPTER TWO
“Thanks, Mr. Taylor, it’s been a pleasure doing business with you.” Michael extended his hand to the man who’d just helped secure his future in Oak Grove. A year ago, if you had asked him whether he’d leave the practice in Philly and return to his hometown, he would have laughed. Well, he wasn’t laughing now. Two months ago, he’d been planning on making partner at Newland, Pearce, and Locke, and now everything had upended his quiet life in Philly.
He tucked the papers transferring Jeff’s practice to Michael into his briefcase. Michael’s initial client base would be small, but expanding into general practice instead of specializing opened up opportunities in Oak Grove and the neighboring towns. And he would finally get the break he’d needed for the last eighteen months.
“Son, you coming home happened at just the right time. I really wanted my Owen to take over the practice, but he had other plans.”
“I heard him playing at J.J.’s a few months back. He’s really good.”
“Yeah, he is. I’m so proud of him, even if he didn’t want to follow in his old man’s footsteps. But that left me without someone to hand the practice to. A Taylor has hung a shingle in Oak Grove for five generations.” Jeff sighed.
“I know it can’t be easy retiring after all these years. I’ll make you proud, sir.”
“I know you will.” Jeff tucked his copy of the papers in his drawer. “I’m sure your Mama’s thrilled to have you moving home.”
Oak Grove hadn’t been Michael’s home for a long time. As soon as he’d graduated college, he’d packed up and headed to Philly. He’d attended law school at UPenn and then made a life for himself in the city. Sure, he visited Oak Grove, but he never expected to find himself moving back.
Ma was thrilled. Lucas was engaged, Joey had a serious girlfriend, and Rachel had finally left that bastard Shane and started dating Sawyer. Michael relocating was just the icing on the cake for his parents.
He hadn’t seen either of them since he’d found out Rachel’s secret. His gut had dropped to his shoes when she revealed that his parents had separated when he was a child and that Rachel’s father was another man. The news had driven him to Maggie’s condo on his last trip.
At the same time, Rachel had asked Michael to look for her biological father. She shouldn’t be looking for him after all this time. She’d be better off letting sleeping dogs lie. But she’d asked Michael to look into him. And he’d never been able to refuse his baby sister anything.
The private investigator on retainer with his old firm had run into several dead ends but he’d finally found some information. He’d handed off his notes to Michael before he left, and what Michael had read was like a stab to the heart.
He checked his watch. Eight-thirty. He still hadn’t eaten dinner yet, and the movers were arriving tomorrow to pack his condo in Philly.
As much as he could use the break, he didn’t have time to stop by Maggie’s. He hadn’t seen her in way too long. Now that they would finally be living in the same town, maybe they could have more than hit-and-run hookups. A real relationship even. She was the first woman who’d intrigued him in a long time.
When they’d first met, they’d agreed to keep it casual, to meet up when they were both free. That worked for him at the time, with his over-the-top hours at the firm and zero desire for a clingy girlfriend. But emotionless hook-ups with Maggie followed by long periods of silence had grown unsatisfying. And he regretted his radio silence over the past few weeks, but his job had been running him ragged.
Seeing his siblings paired off had ignited feelings deep inside him he hadn’t realized he had.
He couldn’t worry about the status of his relationship with Maggie now. He barely had time to grab a quick bite and head back to Philly. So he dashed off a quick text to Maggie, just to check in, and hopped in his car.
* * *
“Michael.” Joey motioned from behind the bar. Michael waved, and by the time he climbed onto a barstool, a cold beer was sliding toward him across the dark wood. He didn’t waste any time drawing a huge swallow.
“You okay, man?” Joey flung a bar towel over his shoulder and leaned on the bar. Did they teach that at bartender school because every barkeep Michael knew did the same thing.
“Yeah, just got a lot on my mind.” None of which he could tell Joey. He shouldn’t have agreed when Rachel had asked him not to share her secret. He didn’t like hiding things from his brothers. But wasn’t that exactly what his parents had done for years?
Rachel shouldn’t be afraid of how Lucas and Joey would react. They all loved their sister and would do anything for her. Knowing about her biological father wouldn’t change that. The fact that she didn’t trust them deep in her gut troubled Michael. Sure, Rachel had been the only girl in a family of boys, but she was clawing her way back from her relationship with Shane and processing what she’d learned, with Maggie’s help. Ultimately, whether he liked it or not, Michael had to respect Rachel’s timeline, so he shoved the words down every time he talked to his brothers.
Carla danced through the swinging door behind the bar. Her face brightened. “Hey, Mikey. How ya’ doin’? Joey looking out for you, because if he isn’t, you just tell me and I’ll take care of him.”
“Like you could,” Joey quipped, never even turning around.
She bounced on her toes and punched her fists in the air like a prize fighter. A five-foot-five prize fighter with blonde curls… definitely a lightweight.
Michael chuckled “Actually, I’d love to get a burger and fries.”
One of Carla’s punches landed on Joey’s shoulders. “Why didn’t you tell me?”
Joey raised his hands and stepped back. “Hey, I didn’t know. He just walked in the door.”
“I’ll get Diego going on that.” Carla laughed her way back into the kitchen.
“She’s great. You’re lucky to have her.” Michael drank more of his beer. The liquid was cold going down but did nothing to cool his nerves. Between his change in career, Rachel’s secret, and the fact he hadn’t seen Maggie in way too long, it might be time to reevaluate his aversion to Maggie’s couch. Her counseling couch, that is.
He had no issues with her living room couch, or her bed, or the kitchen table, for that matter…
A hand landed on Michael’s back as Rachel slid beside him, her arm snaking around his waist. “I didn’t know you were in town.”
He kissed the top of her head. “I just signed the final papers to take over Mr. Taylor’s practice.”
A huge smile broke across Rachel’s face and his gut tightened. She knew he had information on her biological father, and every time he saw her, he held his breath. Eventually she’d be ready to hear what he’d found out. No matter how much he thought she should leave it alone, when Rachel was ready, nothing would deter her. And Michael refused to lie about what he’d uncovered.
He studied his baby sister. The dark circles beneath her eyes and the sunken cheekbones from this summer were nowhere to be seen. In their place, her eyes were bright and her cheeks were full. And the shadows that haunted her were all but gone.
If only he’d warned her about Shane’s reputation when they’d first started dating. Michael would have to live with the fact that maybe if he’d insisted, she wouldn’t have suffered as she did. But limiting his time in Oak Grove to a few hours a month didn’t give him insight into how bad her relationship had gotten until it was too late. By then, Rachel didn’t want to hear anything bad about Shane. Not that he hadn’t still tried. Hell, he’d never forgive himself that he’d been stuck in Philly working on a huge case when Shane had finally been arrested and she’d landed in the Emergency Room.
What did all those long hours and time away from his family get him? Nothing.
It wouldn’t be long now before he’d be back home full time and could keep an eye on his baby sister like a big brother was expected to do.
“I’m so proud of you. And I can’t wait to have you home for good.”
He hooked her around the waist and pulled her close. “Me either, squirt.”
“Are you staying the night?”
He shook his head. “Can’t. Gotta meet the packers tomorrow early, and I’ve got a bunch of cases to document before I hand them over. I’ll be back next weekend to bring some stuff.”
Carla bumped through the swinging door. She slid a plate across the bar. “Here it is, sweetie. Hot and ready to go, just like me.”
“Thanks, Carla.” Michael snatched up the burger and took a huge bite.
Rachel snuck a fry off his plate and shoved it into her mouth.
“Hey, Rachel, am I paying you to eat or to work?” To someone who didn’t know better, Joey’s words would sound harsh, but Michael’s younger siblings were very close. They teased and tormented as much as they supported each other.
Rachel grabbed the towel off Joey’s shoulder and flicked it at him before popping a kiss on Michael’s cheek. “I gotta dash. Need to finish up so I can meet Sawyer.”
“See ya later, brat.” As she waltzed off, a knot unwound in Michael’s gut.
All around him, his friends and family were pairing off. But he sat here alone. Now that the rest of his siblings were happy, Ma would probably start bugging him about a girlfriend. Being back in Oak Grove, maybe he could finally give Ma an answer she’d be happy with.
He could introduce Maggie to his family. Was she his girlfriend? Not technically.
Maggie was Lucas and Rachel’s counselor. Would they accept her as his girlfriend? And was he ready to call her that? Maybe not yet. His new practice would take a lot of time at first, more than the pressure-filled hours at the firm. He couldn’t start a serious relationship with Maggie just to leave her hanging while he worked late every night. That was why their arrangement had worked so well in the first place.
He glanced at his cell. She hadn’t answered his earlier text, or the one he’d sent on the way into town this morning. That was unlike her. Even if she couldn’t meet, she usually had an inappropriately sexy response or funny quip in return. He probably should have called her or come into town to see her sooner. He hadn’t even had a chance to tell her he was moving back home. Although, in a town like Oak Grove, there were no secrets. The entire town had probably been buzzing from the minute he’d reached out to Jeff Taylor.
“Hey, Michael. Lucas wants to know when you need help moving that furniture into your new office.” Joey slid his phone across the bar to Michael.
“Saturday after Thanksgiving, if that works for you guys. Then I can get everything set up and ready to go before Christmas.”
Joey gestured to the phone. “Tell him. I don’t need to know.”
“Oh, yes, you do. You’re helping.”
“Who says?”
“I said.” Brittany, Michael’s future sister-in-law, stepped up behind Michael and stretched over the bar to kiss Joey. She grabbed a fry off Michael’s plate and slid onto the stool beside him. “Hey, Michael. So glad I caught you. I’ve got those renovation plans for your office in the car.”
“Thanks, Brittany. Just in time, too. I signed the papers this afternoon.”
“Great. My guys are ready to go and they’ll have the reno done in a couple of weeks.”
“That’s great. I was just telling Joey that we’ll be set to move the furniture right after Thanksgiving.”
Michael’s law office renovation was no challenge for Brittany, certainly not as difficult as the homes with accommodations she designed for the veteran’s organization Jayden’s Hope and definitely not like the high-end condos she’d designed at her previous job in New York City. But he’d gladly accepted her help.
He checked his watch. “Geez. I gotta get on the road. I didn’t know it was so late.” Maggie still hadn’t responded to his texts. They’d never gone this long without being in touch. As she’d said the last time he was in town, she was his friend, and he cared about her. Something must be really wrong for her to not even answer.
Tucking his phone in his pocket, he checked his watch again. Yeah, he was running late, but that wouldn’t stop him from dropping by Maggie’s condo to check on her. She’d never ignored his texts before.
Something had to be up with her.