Maggies Marriage (Cloverleaf #2) Read Free Page A

response, he explained that her due date was around the start of fall. The doctor wrote a prescription for prenatal vitamins and asked her to schedule the ultrasound with the receptionist.
    Well, it was confirmed. Maggie knew eventually she would have to tell Michael. He would be thrilled, of course, he had been pestering her for awhile about having another child. She had been putting it off for as long as possible, not that she didn’t want another child, but to throw a baby into the mix now, when things were so difficult, wasn’t something she had been interested in doing. She had hoped to add to their family once Michael got his priorities straight, once things settled down. Now it didn’t matter what she was interested in doing or what Michael’s priorities were, they were going to have a baby.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Two
     
     
    The wind was starting to pick up as the sun strained against the cold day in Seattle, letting everyone know that winter was hanging around for a little longer. Maggie could feel the chill as she waited for Melanie to exit the school. Swarms of children came pouring out of the building as a loud bell sounded. Skipping and grinning around a mouth of missing teeth, Melanie’s short red hair bounced happily as she saw Maggie.
    “Hi, sweetheart, how was school today?” Maggie asked with heightened enthusiasm.
    “It was great, we are going to have our spring concert on Friday. I’m so excited, Mom.”
    Maggie could see her daughter was thrilled about the idea of performing. She was the complete opposite of her mother. Melanie was so much like Michael, confident and almost showy. They loved attention, and jumped at any chance to capture it. Maggie, on the other hand, liked to keep under the radar and not draw too much focus to herself. Coming from a large family with three older brothers, it was fairly easy to get lost in the shuffle, but her mother, Mary O’Brien, made sure she kept a close eye on all her children. Her mother also respected that Maggie, her only daughter, was of the more quiet variety and liked her alone time.
    Maggie had been attracted to Michael’s confident manner. He wasted no time playing games, and when he saw something he wanted, he went after it. He was the polar opposite and they complemented each other well, at first. Over the last several years, after Melanie was born and Michael grew more insistent about his pursuit of success, Maggie felt herself again getting lost the shuffle of her own life. She had a hard time remembering who she was; she was known to everyone as either Michael’s wife or Melanie’s mother. There was no one who knew her as just Maggie.
    She felt a tug on her sleeve, and looked down to see the concerned face of Melanie staring back up at her. Maggie’s thoughts had sent her far away.
    “Mom, I’m hungry.”
    “Let’s head home, sweetie.” Maggie steered her daughter toward her parked car.
     
    ***
     
    “Daddy, I’m so glad you aren’t at work right now,” Melanie’s voice chimed as she fiddled with her kid-sized chopsticks.
    They were seated around their dining room table together, which was rare these days. Various large white paper cartons filled with Chinese food surrounded them.
    Michael was serving himself some more beef and broccoli when he bent toward his daughter and gave her a kiss on her head. It warmed Maggie’s heart to see him act so tender and sweet to Melanie. It was moments like these that made her fall in love with him all over again. These moments were fleeting, and she wanted Michael to see that.
    “Mel, you want some more?” Maggie offered as she lifted a container filled with fried rice.
    “No, I want to save room for my fortune cookie,” Melanie answered as she struggled to grip her chopsticks.
    “Daddy, are you excited about my concert on Friday?” Melanie gazed up at her father with the admiration that only a child can possess.
    Michael looked at Maggie. “I can’t wait to see you