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Not missing the innuendo, Sebastian tilted his head. Though his smile didn’t falter, the sincerity behind it faded.
“This is your daughter’s home as well.”
“Of course.” Elaine straightened, extending her slender body to its full height. “I’m sorry,” she offered, turning to face Taylor. “I’ve rehearsed this moment a million times in my head, but I still don’t know what to say. Thank you for trying to put the past aside and welcoming me into your home. I know that couldn’t have been easy for you.”
Her throat tightened. Swallowing hard, she blinked against the burgeoning threat of tears and nodded. “It’s okay…Mom.”
She closed her eyes, drawing reassurance from Sebastian as he rubbed slow circles against her lower back and kissed the side of her temple.
“Dinner should be done, baby. Let’s carry the food to the table and get your mother something to drink.”
Nodding mutely, she let him steer her into the more private seclusion of the kitchen. The concern in his eyes made her heart hurt even more as he stared down at her and brushed a thumb across her cheek.
“I’m sorry,” she said, her voice unstable and shaky. “I don’t know what I was expecting.”
“It’s okay,” he soothed. “I just don’t like seeing you under this much strain. It’s not good for you.”
“I’ll be fine. I just need to work through this. I’ve dreamt of her coming back into my life so many times, Seb, but I never once imagined things would feel this distant. It’s almost like meeting a total stranger.”
He frowned. His expression was full of empathy as he ran his fingertips over the tiny swell of her belly. “A lot of time has gone by, baby. Just sit tight. Hopefully things will get easier. I can’t make any promises, but I will try to do whatever I can to help you here.”
She tried to smile but memories of Christmas Eve and their dinner party with Irene tumbled through her head, and she was sure the gesture came across as more of a pained grimace. Inviting her mother into their home was a bad idea on so many levels, but there was nothing she could do now but try to get through it.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
His stare weighed heavy, calculating both mood and condition. She could feel the reluctance thrumming through him and the atmosphere shifted, darkening like a gathering of clouds. Sebastian’s guard was going up and his tolerance down, neither of which bode well for the situation. He’d always been hyper-vigilant and queued into her every mood and reaction, but now that she was carrying his child, Sebastian was on constant edge. She loved him for his protectiveness, but she also knew if she didn’t find a way to ease the tension of the evening, he would kibosh the whole thing before it even had a chance to begin.
A few moments later, she’d set the fresh dinner rolls down and settled into her chair. Thin tendrils of steam rose from the baked ziti, carrying the rich aroma of olive oil and garlic she’d chosen in lieu of marinara. Her mother forced a tremulous smile over the rim of her white wine as Sebastian took his seat at the head of the table.
“It smells wonderful.”
Taylor couldn’t help but feel a small burst of pride. “Thank you.”
Dishing a liberal portion onto his plate, Sebastian then passed the bowl. “Your daughter is an amazing cook,” he agreed. “She keeps me very well-fed.”
“Not too well,” Elaine stated, seeming to relax a little. “You seem fit. I imagine that is part of your job though.”
“Yes. I suppose it is.” Sebastian turned his attention to his meal, his expression contemplative.
Taylor buttered her roll. So many questions flitted through her mind. “Please don’t take this the wrong way, Mom, but it’s been so long since we talked. How did you find me?”
Elaine’s fork hovered in midair. Round grey eyes locked with Taylor’s across the table. The careful mask of composure her mother wore faltered for a mere second before the regal mask slipped back into place.
“I visited your uncle last week. He was kind enough to fill me in on your current situation.”
Sebastian frowned and set his glass down. “What situation is that?”
She remained aloof and collected. The brief purse of her painted lips was the only sign she felt anything other than what her expression indicated.
“Roy told me my daughter had moved to Flagstaff. It wasn’t hard to find you, once I had a name. You appear to have provided for her quite well, Agent Baas. She seems happy and healthy. Seeing that much at least has helped ease some of my reservations.”
The soft clink of silverware hitting a plate filled the room. Nauseas, Taylor closed her eyes and rubbed a shaky hand over the lower half of her face.
“Mom…”
“It’s alright, Taylor,” Sebastian said. “I am curious, Elaine. Just what might those reservations be?”
“From my understanding, you isolated my daughter and cut her off from her family. This raises some concerns in my eyes.”
“I see,” Sebastian stated, leaning back in his seat. “Let me ask you something. Roy is your brother, correct?”
“Yes.”
Taylor’s heart sank as she watched the cold, calculating gleam flare to life in her lover’s eyes. He nodded stiffly at her mother’s response, his mouth hardening into a grim press.
“I am sure you were well aware of your brother’s situation. You knew the man could barely make ends meet, yet you abandoned your daughter at his door, knowing he would never be able to provide for her. She grew up feeling she was nothing more than an added burden and an extra mouth to feed. Where was that concern then?”
“I left her with family,” her mother countered.
“A loose definition of the word at best. There was never any real sense of love or belonging. Instead, she was made to feel indebted to those people. People who in turn used her and betrayed her trust. Your brother and his son tried to pin their moonshining operation on your daughter and were more than willing to let her take the fall so they could go free. You have no idea how many strings I had to pull or the amount of cajoling it took to keep her out of jail, so you will have to excuse me if I fail to see things from your perspective.”
“I don’t think you understand my point, Agent Baas.”
“You are correct,” Sebastian agreed. ?
?You have no point. I didn’t tell your daughter to stop associating with those people in an attempt to control her. I did it to protect her. If not for me, she would have been behind bars. If I truly wished to cut her off from her family, you would not be here.”
“What about her friends?”
“I am a private man. I admit to being jealous and overprotective at times, but I am not petty. Taylor keeps in touch with a young man she went to school with. If my intentions were as trivial as you claim, another man would be the first to go.” He spread his hands, his smile taut and unforgiving. “Yet here we are. They talk often and she’s asked Daryl to escort her down the aisle.”
“I see,” her mother stated, focusing her attention on her plate just long enough to sneak in a quick bite. “What about her job?”
Sebastian sighed. “Your daughter was exhausted and working herself to the bone. I make more than enough to sustain us. I saw no reason for her to continue driving herself into the ground.”
“So you told her to quit?”
Taylor stared across the table at her, grappling with a heady mixture of annoyance and disbelief. The constant barrage of questions was bad enough without the woman acting like she wasn’t sitting right there in the same room with them. The brittle threads of self-control she’d been clinging to frayed and snapped, much like the illusions of love and security she’d wrapped herself in as a child. Mother or not, she was not going to sit back and let this woman dismantle her life all over again.
“Sebastian didn’t tell me to quit. He never once demanded that of me. He asked if I would give him a chance to take care of me. To give us taking care of each other a chance. What did I have to lose? I was working twelve to fourteen hours a day at a truck stop. It’s not as if I gave up some exciting and successful career.”
“I know, honey,” her mother soothed.
“No. You really don’t, and I don’t see any reason why we should have to explain everything to you.”
