Starting Now (Blossom Street #9)(27)

Lydia stared at her blankly. “How do you mean?”

“If … if Casey is pregnant, you’ll need to find out who the father is. If he’s over eighteen then it’s statutory rape. Criminal charges will need to be filed. Do you know if Casey has a boyfriend?”

Lydia nodded. “She does.”

“How old is he?”

“I … I don’t know. I think they’re about the same age. He’s in junior high; they’re in the same class.”

“Thirteen?” Libby didn’t know if it was possible for a thirteen-year-old boy to father a child—she was utterly inexperienced when it came to such matters.

“Children having children …” Lydia whispered.

“What are you going to do?” It wasn’t her business, Libby realized. If she were the one facing this delicate situation, Libby would be at an utter loss as to how best to handle it.

“I … don’t know. I … I need to talk to my husband.”

A partner in life, someone to share her burdens, someone to cry with and laugh with. Libby had relinquished all of that, and for what? On the other hand, during the last six months of their marriage all Joe and Libby had seemed to do was disagree. She worked hard all day and often after hours as well, and when she got home she was tired. Joe was far more sociable than she. Coming from a large family, he was accustomed to being around people. Then there was the matter of starting their family. The timing had been all wrong for her. Nonetheless, she still thought about Joe now and again. She sincerely hoped he was happy, and she was pleased that he’d moved on in life. “Brad will know how best to handle this.”

“I’m sure he will,” Libby whispered.

The bell continued to chime and Lydia looked up at the same time as Libby. The shop had a number of customers.

“Margaret needs my help.”

Libby nodded and left soon afterward. She returned to her apartment but couldn’t settle down. She wanted to apologize and tell her friend how sorry she was to be the bearer of bad news. Instead of feeling better she felt ten times worse. She hoped Lydia and her husband would find out what they needed to know and then deal with it in a way that best suited Casey. Then again, it might be Ava.

Her cell chirped and she retrieved it from her purse. It was Robin.

“So did you talk to Lydia?”

“I did.”

“How did it go?”

Libby wasn’t sure what to say. It’d been horrible. She hurt for her friend and felt responsible even though she’d tried her best to help. “She was shocked, of course.”

“I’m sure she was.”

“She’s going to talk to her husband first and then to Casey.”

“You did the right thing,” Robin assured her.

Libby believed that, too, which made her appreciate how difficult it’d been for Phillip to seek her out.

Even more depressed than usual, Libby sat down in front of her computer and checked the job sites she’d been searching. She didn’t know why she bothered.

Her cell rang again. She checked the caller ID and saw that it was Sarah. They hadn’t talked in a couple of weeks now. Libby wasn’t sure she was up to chatting.

Their conversations had grown shorter as the months had passed. Outside the office they had little in common. Libby felt compelled to put on a good front, convincing both Sarah and herself that it was just a matter of days before she found another position. It was becoming more and more difficult to continue the lie.

She answered on the fourth ring just before the call went to voice mail.

“Hello.”

“Libby,” Sarah whispered as if she feared being overheard. “Mrs. Reed was in this afternoon.”

Martha Reed. Libby had worked extensively on setting up the older woman’s estate, creating a number of trusts. She liked and admired Mrs. Reed.

“She’s not happy,” Sarah continued, keeping her voice low. “I heard her complaining to Hershel. She asked about you and said Ben Holmes isn’t half the attorney you are. She said she’s thinking of moving her business.”

“She said that?” Libby instantly perked up.

“She doesn’t like Ben working on her foundation business.”

“What did Hershel say?” Libby was all ears. This was the first bit of encouraging news she’d had in weeks.

“Just that she was one of the firm’s most important clients and he would do whatever it took to make Mrs. Reed happy.”

Libby sincerely hoped that meant he would consider hiring her back.

At one time she would have taken a great deal of pleasure in turning him down, refusing him and walking away with her head held high. That was then, and this was almost five months post employment. If Hershel were to phone she’d swallow her pride, sincerely thank him, and show up chipper and happy with her briefcase in hand.

Chapter 10

Lydia Goetz couldn’t hold still. The conversation with Libby Morgan had upset her terribly, and while she tried to hide it from Margaret, her sister knew something was drastically wrong. She tried several times to get Lydia to talk, but she remained tight-lipped and agitated the rest of the afternoon.

Casey pregnant? She couldn’t stop thinking about what that would mean to their family, and how she and Brad would deal with the situation. When they’d decided to adopt Casey they’d accepted that this wouldn’t be a smooth road. While their daughter was thrilled to be part of a family, she continued to have issues, but this was far and away more than either Lydia or Brad had expected. Pregnant at such a young age. It just didn’t seem possible, and yet …