Читать книгу Rebecca's Little Secret - Judy Christenberry, Judy Christenberry - Страница 7

“Oh, Joey, no!” Rebecca said, but it was too late to undo what Joey’s excitement had done. “I’m so sorry, Chelsea,” she hurriedly said, and began handing her all the napkins she had. “Joey, you need to apologize to Chelsea.”

“I’m sorry. Mommy, can I go play with Derek?”

“No. Go get some more napkins for Chelsea,” Rebecca ordered.

“More napkins won’t help!” Chelsea snapped. “Look what he’s done! My outfit is ruined and this is the first time I’ve worn it!”

“I’ll pay to have it cleaned, Chelsea. Perhaps the cleaners can repair the damage,” Rebecca said, hoping to satisfy Chelsea.

“I’m not sure they can do any good.”

Joey returned with more napkins. “Here, Chelsea. I’m sorry I spilled my drink,” Joey said, showing true contrition.

“You need to be more careful,” she said, standing and backing away from him.

Jeff spoke for the first time. “I’d better take Chelsea home.”

Rebecca nodded, biting her bottom lip to keep herself from responding to Chelsea’s lack of understanding, and noting that Jeff didn’t really stand up for his son or acknowledge that it was an accident.

Jeff rubbed Joey’s hair and said, “I’ll see you soon, Joey, okay?”

Joey nodded, but his gaze went to his mother, as if he wasn’t sure that was a good idea.

Rebecca could understand her son’s hesitation if seeing Jeff again meant seeing Chelsea. But she knew the woman wasn’t used to being around children. She smiled encouragement to Joey. To Jeff, she said, “We’re sorry. Please let me know how much the dry cleaning costs. We’ll be glad to pay for it.”

Jeff nodded and smiled, but Chelsea was standing by the door, her toe tapping out the seconds he kept her waiting. After Jeff reached her and held open the door, both Rebecca and Joey gave a sigh of relief.

“Now can I go play with Derek?”

“First you have to eat your hamburger. I’ll get you some water to drink.”

“But I want another soda.”

“I think we’ll stick with water.”

His face took on a stubborn look. “I want a soda.”

“You’re not going to get a soda. If you’re nice, you can play with Derek. If not, we’ll just go home.” Rebecca kept her voice calm, leaving the choice up to him.

“I’d like some water, please, Mommy.” Joey even managed to smile, determined he was going to play with his friend.

“Very nice. I’ll be right back.”

She brought him water, and he finished his hamburger in rapid fashion. Then he politely asked if he could go play with his friend.

Rebecca agreed, warning him they would have to leave in twenty minutes. After he ran to join his friend, she wished Jeff had been there to see his good behavior. And Chelsea, too. If she was going to be his stepmother, Rebecca wanted her to know that he could behave properly. He’d just gotten excited about seeing his friend.

REBECCA WASN’T EAGER TO GO to her job the next day. She was afraid Jeff would make remarks about Joey’s behavior. It was important for Jeff to like Joey. Joey’s self-image was at stake. She admitted to herself that his acceptance of Joey mattered to her, too. She wanted Jeff to believe she’d done a good job of raising their son.

Which also forced her to admit that Jeff’s opinion about everything mattered to her, even if he was marrying another woman. All these years, even though she hadn’t told Jeff about his son, she’d held him in her heart. She might not be able to have Jeff for her own, but she at least wanted her son to have him in his life.

She warily entered the law office that afternoon. When she barely avoided running into a tall, handsome man—not Jeff—she abruptly forgot her problems. “Oh, excuse me!” she exclaimed.

“I’m sure it was my fault. I was in too much of a hurry.”

She smiled and stepped back, assuming he was on his way out of the office.

“Are you here about a legal problem?” he asked, not moving.

“No,” Rebecca said, still smiling, “I work here.”

“So do I.” He gave her a curious look.

“Oh, you must be Jeff’s new partner!” Rebecca exclaimed just as Harriet came out of Jeff’s office.

“Oh, good, I see you two have met,” Harriet said with a smile.

“Well, not exactly,” the man said. “She’s figured out I’m Jeff’s new partner, but neither of us knows the other’s name.”

“Well, then, let me introduce you. Rebecca, this is Bill Wallace, Jeff’s new partner, as you suspected. Bill, this is Rebecca Barlow, our part-time help.”

“Hello, Rebecca,” Bill immediately said. He extended his hand, and Rebecca placed hers in it, assuming he wanted to shake hands.

Bill, however, just held her hand, smiling at her. “I must say Jeff has shown great taste in hiring you.”

Embarrassed, Rebecca tugged on her hand. “Actually, Harriet hired me.”

“Then Harriet has shown good taste,” he said, a teasing smile on his face as he continued to hold on to her hand.

Jeff walked out of his office. “What’s going on?”

“I’m just making Rebecca’s acquaintance,” Bill assured him, his smile growing.

Jeff frowned. “I need to see you in my office, Bill.”

Slowly Bill released Rebecca’s hand. “I’ll see you later, Rebecca,” he promised before he turned and followed Jeff into his office.

“Close the door,” Jeff snapped.

Bill did so, but his expression showed concern.

“What’s wrong? Did I commit a faux pas?”

“I just wanted to warn you about flirting with Rebecca.” Jeff sat down behind his desk. “I don’t think it’s a good idea to mix business and personal interests.”

“So she means nothing to you? Personally, I mean.”

Jeff glared at him. “She’s the mother of my son.”

“Your son? I didn’t know you had a son.” Bill stared at him.

“I didn’t know, either, until yesterday,” Jeff admitted. “Rebecca and I had a—a relationship five years ago. I left rather suddenly and moved to Texas to be with my aunt and uncle. Because my aunt was dying of cancer, I didn’t call Rebecca as soon as I’d wanted. By the time I tried to get hold of her, I couldn’t find her.”

“And she didn’t contact you at all?”

“No.”

“Must’ve been a real shock. How did Chelsea take it?”

“As well as could be expected. It will take Chelsea time to adjust to the change.” He wasn’t sure Bill would believe him since he’d met Chelsea several times when they were talking about being partners.

“Yeah, I can imagine. Chelsea’s used to getting her own way. You’ve spoiled her rotten.”

“I have? Her family has certainly spoiled her, but I don’t think I’m guilty of it,” Jeff unhappily asserted.

“Well, Chelsea is the kind of lady you have to take a hard line with, to counterbalance her behavior.”

“When I want your advice on how to handle my fiancée, I’ll ask for it, Bill. Until then, mind your own business and keep away from Rebecca.”

“Wait a minute! You’ve got Chelsea. Where does Rebecca fit in?”

“I told you. She’s the mother of my son.”

“So she has to take a vow of chastity?”

“I don’t think she’d be interested right now.”

“But if she indicates that she is, then there’s no reason I can’t get to know her better?”

“I told you I don’t like mixing our personal lives with our business.” Jeff frowned at his partner to emphasize his point.

“Jeff, she’s a part-time worker, not another lawyer, or even my secretary. I’ll be careful.” With a triumphant smile, he left the office.

Jeff sat there, staring at a painting on the wall without even seeing it. He hated to admit it, but Bill was right. He didn’t have the right to warn Bill away from Rebecca. Not when he was engaged to Chelsea.

And he was committed to Chelsea, of course. But when faced with Rebecca, living and breathing right there in front of him when he’d thought she was gone from him forever, he was growing more and more confused by the minute. He wasn’t sure what he was feeling.

Still, Jeff tried to put aside his emotions and get to work. But he made sure Rebecca was kept busy. Too busy to be available for any flirting with Bill.

EVERYTHING WAS GOING SMOOTHLY. Rebecca was working diligently at the sudden increase of duties she’d received since Jeff returned to work.

He’d offered to take them to the zoo on Saturday. Again Rebecca had tried to convince her son that her presence wasn’t necessary, but Joey had disagreed with her and so had Jeff.

Rebecca worried that she wasn’t fighting hard enough. She knew she wanted to be with Jeff, but she had to realize he was engaged to Chelsea. Her son had a role in Jeff’s life, but Rebecca didn’t, and she tried to remind herself of that fact at every turn.

Then Thursday afternoon came and all hell broke loose….

“Rebecca, you have a call…and the woman sounds upset,” Harriet warned as she held out the phone for Rebecca.

“Hello?”

“Hi, it’s Betty. Peter was playing ball with Joey and—and it was an accident, but the ball hit him in the mouth. Oh, Rebecca, it knocked his tooth out! We didn’t know what to do. I wrapped the tooth in a cold wet cloth, but who do we take him to?”

“I don’t know, but I’ll be right there,” she promised, and hung up the phone. “Sorry, Harriet, but Joey’s been hurt. I have to leave.”

“Jeff will drive you.”

“No, that’s not necessary,” she protested, grabbing her purse and hurrying to the door.

Jeff came out of his office. “Did you call me, Harriet? Where’s Rebecca going?”

“Joey’s been hurt. She’s going home.”

“Does she have her car here?”

“No, she walked, as usual. I said you would drive her but she said it wasn’t necessary.”

“Take care of things,” Jeff ordered over his shoulder as he hurried after Rebecca.

AN HOUR LATER, CHELSEA arrived at the office. Jeff had said he would take her to the French restaurant they’d skipped Monday evening.

She was not happy to discover that her fiancé had left with Rebecca because Joey had gotten hurt. When she expressed her displeasure, Harriet asked, “Shall I call Rebecca’s house and see if they can tell me when Jeff will return?”

“Of course I want you to do that!” Chelsea snapped. She paced the office as Harriet made the call.

“I see,” Harriet said into the phone. “Will you have him call the office as soon as you hear from him? Yes, thank you.”

Chelsea stared at her. “Well?”

“He and Rebecca took Joey to Jeff’s dentist, but they have to wait until he’s dealt with his other patients. They’re not sure when he’ll be back.”

“And I’m supposed to hang around waiting for him?”

Bill stepped out of his office. “What’s wrong?”

Harriet explained the problem while Chelsea frowned at him.

“That’s too bad. How about I take you to the coffee shop until Jeff can get back? Give your cell phone number to Harriet and she’ll call as soon as she gets some news. Isn’t that right, Harriet?”

“Yes, of course,” Harriet agreed readily.

“Good. Come along, Chelsea, my girl. We could both use a cup of coffee today.”

And with that, Chelsea found herself swept out the door, much to Harriet’s relief.

JEFF AND REBECCA SAT with Joey between them. He leaned against his mother most of the time, but Jeff kept a hand on his shoulder. “Are you hanging in there, Joey?” he asked.

As Betty had said, Joey’s tooth was wrapped in ice, and Joey held a bag of ice on his mouth, too. He lowered the ice. “Sure. It doesn’t hurt much.”

“Keep the ice on your mouth, sweetie,” Rebecca said, squeezing Joey’s hand. “It shouldn’t be much longer.”

“No, it shouldn’t since Dr. John’s last patient went in half an hour ago. Then we’ll find out what can be done for your tooth, Joey.”

“I’m sure it was a baby tooth,” Rebecca said again, as she had several times earlier. “His adult teeth won’t come in for a couple of years.”

“We’ll wait and let Dr. John decide that.” Jeff stretched out his legs, trying to ease the tension he felt. He’d found it more difficult to withstand Joey’s pain than anything he’d ever suffered himself, including a broken bone when he was playing football in high school.

The nurse returned to the waiting room to call Joey in. Both Rebecca and Jeff got up and accompanied him to the door.

“Hello, Jeff,” the man in a white coat said in greeting. “Why don’t you introduce us?”

“Sure. This is my son, Joey, and his mother, Rebecca Barlow.”

“Hello. I’m Dr. John Ballard. Now, let’s see what happened, Joey. Can you smile for me?”

Joey took down the ice pack and bravely tried to smile.

The dentist patted Joey’s back. “Good try. Now I’m going to lift your lip, okay?”

Joey nodded.

The doctor looked at Joey’s gums. Then he asked if the tooth had been saved.

Rebecca handed him the tooth wrapped in a clean cloth and buried in a bag of ice.

Dr. Ballard set the bag of ice down on a nearby table, withdrew the cloth and unwrapped the tooth. “This is a baby tooth. There doesn’t appear to be any damage to his gums or any future teeth. His replacement tooth might not come as soon as we’d like, but it will come in.”

“Is there anything we should do?” Rebecca asked anxiously.

“You might give him some children’s Tylenol to ease the pain, and use ice until the swelling of his lips goes down. If he continues to have pain, call me.”

“Thank you for seeing us today,” Rebecca said with a genuine smile.

“Yeah, John, we appreciate it,” Jeff added.

“You might want to get his teeth cleaned in six months or so. Give my nurse a call.”

After they left the dentist’s office, Rebecca said, “I like him. I may start going to see him, too.”

“He’s married.” Jeff was trying to eliminate the dentist from any potential flirting with Rebecca, just as he had Bill.

Rebecca gasped. “Should that make a difference?”

“I just wanted you to know,” he said, shrugging his shoulders, hoping she wouldn’t guess his reasoning.

“All right.”

They got into Jeff’s car and rode silently back to Vivian’s home. Jeff got out of the car with them and came in. As soon as everyone knew they were back, they crowded around Joey as if he were returning from war.

Betty offered Joey a bowl of ice cream. Peter offered to do anything Joey wanted. Vivian was sure he needed to go to bed at once. Will promised to teach him how to avoid such pain in the future, and Vanessa was giving him kisses.

“I feel totally useless,” Jeff muttered.

“You weren’t useless at the doctor’s office,” Rebecca told him. “That’s the first time I’ve had someone to rely on when we had an emergency. I appreciate it.”

“Have you had a lot of emergencies?”

“Once, when he was eighteen months, he swallowed a penny. Another night, he ran a very high fever, and I had to take him to the emergency room because I was afraid he had some horrible disease. The waiting is painful when you’re the only adult, and you’re not sure if you’re doing the right thing.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t there with you.”

“Well, we both know that’s my fault.” She moved away to stop the conversation. “I think Joey needs to go to bed, and I’ll bring him up a tray of food. Maybe a grilled cheese sandwich and some tomato soup, Betty, if that’s possible?”

“’Course it is. I’ll have it ready in fifteen minutes.”

“Thank you so much. Tell everyone good-night, sweetie.”

“But, Mommy, I think I should get to watch television,” Joey informed her.

Rebecca didn’t get angry. She just smiled and said, “And I think you should do as I said. Up the stairs and into your jammies.”

He gave in easily, which showed her how tired he really was. Trauma always wears out a person.

“May I help you put on your pajamas and get ready for bed?” Jeff asked.

“Hey, yeah, ’cause we’re both boys,” Joey agreed, intrigued with that idea. “Mommy, can he help me?”

“Of course. That would be nice. I’ll go find your pajamas while you wash your face and hands.”

The three of them left the family and climbed the stairs. “I can see why Joey might be spoiled a little. They’re very loving,” Jeff said.

“I don’t think you can have too much loving. When we lived in Arkansas, there was only me and Joey, and Mrs. Button, who baby-sat him. We’ve really enjoyed having family here.”

“I know what you mean. I haven’t had any family since my uncle died. At least none that I knew of.”

Rebecca refused to say anything else about their situation. Joey and his dad took a long time in the bathroom. Rebecca handed in the clean pajamas. Then she told them she was going down to get Joey’s dinner.

When she came back up with the tray, Joey was in bed and Jeff was reading him one of his favorite books. She waited until Jeff finished the book. Then she asked him to pile up the pillows so Joey could eat. They both teased him into eating most of his dinner.

Rebecca gave him two children’s Tylenol tablets and watched his eyelids grow heavy. She kissed him good-night and encouraged him to hug his daddy’s neck. Then she told him she would leave the light on in the bathroom and he should call her if he needed her.

“Maybe I should stay. I could sleep in the other bed in his room so he won’t bother you.”

“He won’t bother me. I said that so he’d know he wasn’t alone, but he’s going to sleep well tonight.”

“I feel like I’m not being very helpful.”

“I told you I appreciated your going with us to the dentist. That helped a lot.”

As they came down the stairs, Betty came running down the hall. “Mr. Jacobs! I forgot to tell you to call your office when you got back. Your fiancée was there waiting for you.”

“Oh, I’m sorry, Jeff. You shouldn’t have gone with us. I didn’t know you had a date with Chelsea.” Rebecca felt terribly guilty.

“Damn! May I use your phone?” he asked Betty.

“Of course you can. And Miz Vivian said to ask you to stay for dinner. It will be ready in five minutes.”

“Let me see how things stand with Chelsea. Then I’ll let you know.”

Rebecca was going to excuse herself, but Jeff caught her hand and stopped her from leaving the library. “Chelsea? I hope Harriet told you about the emergency.” He stood listening for several minutes. Rebecca looked away. “I see. Well, then, I’ll see you Saturday morning. I’ll pick you up at nine, okay?”

After a brief moment, he hung up the phone. “That’s interesting,” he said.

That remark got her attention. “What was interesting?”

“It appears Bill took Chelsea out to dinner and then took her home. Her only complaint is that he refused to kiss her good-night.”