My tongue was on the verge of severing from the pressure I was applying with my teeth.
Was I tasting blood?
“How can you be so certain?” Sparrow asked. “Allister Sparrow wasn’t exactly known for his monogamy.”
Something like a huff came from Mrs. Sparrow. “Sterling, we lived in a different time. Such as I said before, today’s world is toxic. Back in the day, we took care of things.”
“Who took care of things?” I asked.
“Abortions?” Sparrow asked.
“Yes. Your father wasn’t alone in his needs. Other men—Rudy, Rubio, and Wendell, just to name a few—had the reputation. As wives and mothers, we women made sure things stayed…shall I say, acceptable.”
“Through what means?” Sparrow asked, standing, his presence dwarfing that of his mother.
“Whatever means necessary, Sterling,” she answered with her neck and shoulders set. “Instead of glaring at me, you should thank me. You won’t have some bastard coming and claiming part of what is yours. Allister made his place in this world with the help of money I brought to our marriage. I would not allow his wandering to affect what was my son’s.”
“Mother, what are you saying?”
She shook her head. “I’m saying nothing more. We women had our ways.”
I stood. “Car accidents?”
Her neck straightened. “Excuse me, Mr. Kelly, I don’t believe this concerns you.” She took a step back. “You may think I’m blind. My blindness was self-imposed. I didn’t want to know all of your father’s doings or even what you do. However, if either of you are going to point at me for cleaning up messes, you should look in the mirror. We can be called many things, but saints without blemishes wouldn’t be one.” She sucked in her breath. “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I need to prepare for my luncheon engagement.”
“Does the name Alycia Tate ring a bell?” Sparrow asked.
She lifted her chin. “I didn’t try to commit any to memory.”
“She would have been pregnant about the same time as you.”
Mrs. Sparrow’s head shook. “I had a difficult pregnancy. I understood that your father had needs I couldn’t satisfy…I won’t say anything else.”
She turned to walk away but stilled when Sparrow spoke. “Mother, tell me the truth. Are you saying that you called for the car accident, not my father?”
Genevieve spun toward us. “Your father was too busy with his next whore to worry about his last. It was a full-time job securing your future. I did it. I’d do it again.” She nodded her head. “I will need to ask you both to leave.”
Madeline
The cellular phone Patrick had given to me this morning before breakfast sat upon the kitchen counter. Its presence pulled my attention away from the laptop. Technology was at my fingertips, and yet it wasn’t. Somehow, I didn’t care. Similar to the iPad that had been given to Ruby, the laptop allowed me to search and read but not interact. Since all of my personal accounts had been set up by Andros’s people, they were now out of my reach. The telephone only gave me access to the people in Patrick’s inner circle.
Truly, I wasn’t upset about the lack of connectivity.
I wanted no part in alerting Andros or Marion of my location.
The only people who contacted me through those other accounts were those associated with Andros and Marion and of course, Ruby. Since my daughter was curled up on the sofa, wearing headphones and watching a movie on an iPad, I didn’t need remote access to her.
Many times I found myself staring at her across the room.
It was surreal that we were together and safe.
I couldn’t recall another time in her sixteen and a half years that I’d felt this way.
Strangely, having everything right made me tired.
I realized that I should be energized, but that wasn’t the way I felt.
It was as if a nearly seventeen-year marathon had finally come to the finish line. My energy to fight and resist was depleted. I’d run a good race, one that wasn’t without pitfalls and mistakes, yet I’d succeeded, crossing the finish line.
No matter what happened to me or in the future, I believed that Ruby was finally safe.
“Mom?”
I looked away from whatever was on the laptop, turning back to Ruby. “What, honey?”
“I didn’t know you were planning on going to another tournament next weekend.”
My stomach dropped as I stepped down from the stool at the kitchen bar and walked toward Ruby. “I’m not planning on going anywhere.”
“We can’t stay locked up in here forever.” She tilted her chin toward the windows. “It’s clear now, but the forecast is for more snow. Can I go with you to New Orleans?”
“No,” I said out of habit. “You’ve never gone with me. You know Andros…” I let out a long breath and sat in the theater seat beside my daughter. “I’m sorry. It will take me some time to not think about Andros’s response.”
“Worry about it, you mean?”
I forced my lips to curl into a grin. “None of it matters now.”
“Did you and Patrick work things…? I mean, is this real? It seems rushed. And I think it would be best for me to go back to school. I don’t mind the break, but honestly, it’s kind of boring here.”
Settling against the sofa, I wrapped my arms around my midsection. “I know it’s hard to understand, but boring is the best possible scenario.”
Ruby reached out to my elbow. “I wish you’d tell me what’s happening. I’m not a kid. I know things. I see things.”
Letting out a ragged breath, I lifted my jean-covered legs and sock-clad feet beneath me and stared into my daughter’s eyes. “Someday you’ll understand how much as a mother you want to protect your child.”
“I’m not a child.”
My cheeks rose in a smile as I scanned her beautiful face—high cheekbones, naturally long lashes surrounding her vivid blue eyes—down to her slender neck and over her maturing curves currently covered with a soft sweatshirt and leggings. “You’re not. Still, there are ghosts better left in the past.”
“Did he hurt you? Now that we’re gone, you can tell me.” When I didn’t answer, she clarified, “Andros.”
“Now that we’re gone,” I said, “we can move on.”
“You did a good job protecting me. I don’t think I realized how much until seeing you here. I was so used to it, you always being worried, concerned, and on alert. Watching you last night at dinner, this morning at breakfast, and here now, you seem…I don’t know if it’s good or bad. I think you’re not as stressed, but you also seem out of it.”
Laying my hand over hers, I confessed, “I’m all of that. I have so many things on my mind. First and foremost, I’m happy you are here and I’m here. I’m a bit in shock that we made it.”
“What if Patrick changes his mind?” Ruby asked. “It’s a big adjustment to find out your wife is alive and she had a daughter over sixteen years ago.”
“What if we change our minds?” I asked.