The Doctor's Baby(26)

“I’d better let you go—”

But Lexi’s hand on her arm stopped her retreat.

“July, I’m sorry I didn’t tell you about Mary Karen being David’s sister from the beginning. My only excuse is that I really believed it was the perfect place for you and thought you wouldn’t give her a chance if you knew she was David’s sister.” The words flowed from Lexi’s lips like a fast-moving river that had been dammed up and had just been re-opened. “My decision to hold back that information walked the line of ethical behavior. If the situation had been reversed, I’d have wanted to know. Can you forgive me?”

“Of course I forgive you.” The sincerity in the social worker’s voice tugged at July’s heartstrings. “No hard feelings.”

As she accepted Lexi’s apology, July realized this is how it should be. If you wronged someone, you asked for their forgiveness. It shouldn’t have to be so difficult….

“Maybe you and I could get together for coffee sometime?” The hopeful gleam in the social worker’s eyes took July by surprise.

“I’d like that,” July said, realizing it was true. It had been a long time since she’d had a girlfriend. “I’ll give you a call the first of the week and we’ll set something up.”

“Perfect.” Lexi hesitated. “As long as you don’t mind if I bring Addie with me. After working all day, I don’t like to leave her with a sitter at night.”

“No problem at all,” July said offering up an understanding smile. “I planned on bringing Adam with me for the same reason.”

The two exchanged a smile and a warmth filled July. Her intuition told her she and Lexi stood a good chance of becoming friends. It was a new experience. Oh, she had A.J., but being friends with a guy was different. What was crazy was that in the short time she’d been in Jackson she’d put down more roots than she had during the twenty-six years she’d lived in Chicago.

The time here could be the start of a better life for her. A richer, fuller one than she’d known before. If she was strong enough to take that first step…

July reached out and grabbed Lexi’s coat sleeve when she turned to go. “One more thing.”

“Yes?” Lexi smiled.

“Do you know the name of a good counselor?”





Chapter Nine




Last night July had told A.J. about her appointment with the counselor, but they’d been talking for almost a half hour and he hadn’t mentioned it yet. Not that she really wanted to talk about it. She glanced at the clock on her bedside stand. “It’s getting late. I suppose—”#p#分页标题#e#

“How did the therapy session go?” A.J. asked.

It was a good thing she’d arrived early. She’d sat in her car for fifteen minutes before she’d gotten up the nerve to walk inside. “Okay, I guess.”

“That bad?” Disappointment filled his voice. “Just because that one didn’t work out doesn’t mean—”

“No. No. He worked out just fine,” July reassured him. “Dr. Allman reminds me of a teddy bear. It was like talking to Winnie the Pooh.”

“How much did you tell him?”

“Everything.” Her session was supposed to last fifty minutes but she’d been there almost two hours. She’d relayed her story matter-of-factly, without embellishment. “I cried a little. But he told me tears were good. That they always tell us something and we can learn from them.”

“O-kay….”

July smiled. A.J. had never been big on tears. Neither had she for that matter.

“Did you feel better afterward?” he asked. “Are you seeing him again?”

“Yes and yes.” July leaned back against the pillows she’d propped against the headboard and kicked off her shoes. “It’s not cheap but you’re right. We—I’ve—got to get rid of this baggage.”

“Good for you,” A.J. said, sounding strangely subdued. “What did he suggest you do about David?”

“He gave me homework. Can you believe it?” July laughed aloud but stopped when Adam stirred. “I’m supposed to apologize to an inanimate object then work my way up. Sort of a desensitization kind of therapy.”

“I don’t get it.”

July hadn’t understood it either until Dr. Allman had patiently explained it to her; not only how to do it but the theory behind it. “Instead of starting out with David, I apologize to some object, say one of Adam’s toys. Then when that goes okay, I move on to the dog, then to my baby. The goal is to work my way up to David. It makes sense to me.”