Maya Banks - Colters’ Lady

They hurried into their sleepwear and then went into the next room where Holly was arranging the plates on the small dinette.

“I have to say, Mom, you may not cook worth a darn, but you know good food,” Callie said as she surveyed the array of entrees.

Lily’s mouth watered as she looked from the filet mignon to the lobster tail to the grilled shrimp skewer and the jumbo fried shrimp on a separate plate. There were steamed vegetables, rice and bread rolls.

And the piece de resistance: cheesecake with caramel topping.

Lily flopped into the chair. “Oh God, I don’t even know where to start. It all looks wonderful.”

“Which is why you take some of everything,” Holly said.

“A very sound idea,” Callie said as she reached over to snag a shrimp.

The women piled food onto their plates and chatted while they ate. Lily was glad she’d asked them to come. Not that Seth, Dillon and Michael wouldn’t have come in a heartbeat, but she wanted to surprise them with the tattoo. More importantly, she wanted to confront Charles on her own, and she was pretty certain the guys would never allow her to go near him. They’d want to be the ones to confront him, and it would probably be with their fists.

“Are you nervous about tomorrow?” Holly asked gently.

Lily stirred from her thoughts and looked down at her half-eaten food. It did probably seem like she was distracted and maybe worried about the upcoming visit to her past. But in an odd way she was at peace. She’d already done the hard part.

“I’m not nervous about confronting him. I’m more nervous about seeing the place where my daughter was born and spent the first weeks of her life,” Lily said in a quiet voice. “It’s important to me that I don’t come across as a raving lunatic. I don’t want Charles to think he has any power over me. I need to be calm and rational when I tell him how wrong he was. Breaking down hurts my credibility.”

“You’re going to do fine,” Callie said firmly. “I don’t doubt you for a moment. When I think of all that you’ve endured and the fact that you still have such a warm, loving and generous spirit… It just amazes me. Most people wouldn’t even find the strength to go on. But you survived and you didn’t lose yourself in the process. You’ve given so much to my brothers. To our family. To me,” she added.

“You girls need to stop or we’ll all be crying,” Holly said.

Lily smiled. “I’m so glad I’ll have you as family. When I think back, I realize how meeting Seth was such a godsend. I truly believe that God sent him to me,” she said softly. “Or maybe He sent me into that soup kitchen that day. It’s not a place I went often, but that day I was lonely and hungry and for just a little while I wanted to be somewhere that filled both needs.”

“And I happen to think that God sent you to us,” Holly said as she squeezed Lily’s hand. “You brought Seth home to us, and for that I’ll always be grateful to you. You’ve united us again, Lily. My boys are happy.”

“Mo-om, stop,” Callie wailed. “For God’s sake, you’re the one who said we were going to make you cry. If we keep this up, we’re going to be masses of hormonal, deranged women.”

“According to your fathers, we already are,” Holly said with a grin.

“So what’s the plan tomorrow, Lily?” Callie asked. “Do you want us to take you to your old house?” Lily slowly shook her head. “I’d prefer for you to stay here. I’ll take a cab. I don’t know how long I’ll be. I need the time to think. You’ve done more than you’ll ever know just by being here with me and offering your support.”

“Okay then. We’ll be waiting here in the lobby for you and if you need us for anything at all, you call and we’ll be there.”

“Thanks, Holly. I can do this, though.”

Holly stood and kissed both Callie and Lily on the forehead and stroked a hand over their hair. “Don’t stay up too late. Lily needs her rest. Tomorrow is going to be tough. We’ll go celebrate after she comes back from telling her ex to kiss her ass.”

Laughter rang out through the room, and Lily felt courage lift her in its firm embrace.

Lily stood on the sidewalk in front of the two-story house that had been her home for such a short period of time. She stared at it, gauging her emotions. Aside from nervous butterflies scuttling around her belly, she was numb. And maybe she had to be to get through what she was about to do.

It was a Saturday, but there was no guarantee that Charles would be home. He often worked weekends when they were married. Long nights. Seven-day weeks. He hadn’t known the meaning of family time.

And he certainly hadn’t shared the responsibility of the child they’d made together.

For too long she’d willingly shouldered the blame for it all. But she wouldn’t do it any longer.

With a deep breath, she walked up the stone path leading to the front door. She knocked before she gave herself time to back out, and she waited, each second an eternity.

When the door opened, she was surprised to see a woman standing there, a baby that could be no more than eight or nine months old on her hip.

“Can I help you?” she asked in a friendly voice.

For a moment Lily couldn’t find her voice. She stared at the happy, gurgling baby who had his fingers wrapped around his mama’s hair. The woman gently pried his hand away and then refocused her attention on Lily.

“Does Charles Weston still live here?”

“Yes, he does. I’m his wife, Catherine. Can I help you with something?” It hurt her more than it should. She didn’t want to react to the fact that Charles had obviously moved on and replaced not only her but Rose as well. But the pain was there, beating steady inside her chest.

“Can you tell him that Lily is here and would like to speak to him for a moment?” she asked in a soft voice.

Catherine’s entire demeanor changed. Her eyes rounded in shock and her mouth opened in surprise.

“Lily?” she whispered. “Are you Lily Weston?”

Slowly, Lily nodded.

Catherine stepped back and opened the door wider. “Please, come in. I’ll tell Charles you’re here.” Surprised by Catherine’s invitation, Lily hesitantly stepped inside the house that used to be hers.

“If you’ll follow me,” Catherine said as she swapped the baby to her other hip.

Lily took the familiar path through the foyer and past the formal living room to the family room on the other side of the formal dining room. As they approached, Lily saw a toddler scamper across the room with a squeal, and then she saw Charles sweep the child up and toss her high over his head.

She closed her eyes. Oh God, she couldn’t do this after all. Before the sob choking her could escape, she turned, ready to flee. Catherine’s plea stopped her.

“Lily, please don’t go. I know this must be hard, but please talk to Charles. Hear what he has to say.

He’s looked for you for so long.”

Lily froze and carefully turned around until she faced Catherine again.

Catherine held out her hand. “Please, just come with me. Charles will be so glad to see you.” Feeling like she had been plunked down in some bizarre alternate reality, Lily took a step forward and then another until she stood in the doorway just behind Catherine.

“Charles,” Catherine called softly. “There’s someone here to see you.” As he looked up, the toddler still firm in his grasp, Catherine stepped aside so that he got a full view of Lily.

He paled and slowly let the child slide down his body until she found her own footing. He let her go, and she ran pell-mell across the room to where Catherine stood, shouting “Mama” the entire way.

“Lily?” he croaked. “My God, is it you?”

“Charles,” she said by way of acknowledgement.

“Dear God.”

Catherine tugged at the toddler and then looked to Charles. “I’ll leave you two to talk.” With that, she walked out of the family room, leaving Lily and Charles staring at each other across several feet of distance.

“I came because there’s something I need to say,” Lily said evenly. She was proud that she hadn’t broken down even if her heart was breaking on the inside. How long had he waited to remarry and have other children? Had she and Rose meant so little? Had he grieved at all?

It hurt her to look at those children, images of Charles, when her own baby had been taken from her.

A child she’d never get back. It wasn’t fair. He’d gone on as if nothing had happened. As if he’d lost nothing. He’d gained a new family. New kids. While she’d spent the last three years living in the agony of the fiercest pain a mother can ever know.

She wanted to scream at him. She wanted to call him a bastard. She wanted to slap him as hard as she could across the face. But she did none of those things.

“Okay,” he said. “I’m listening.”

“You were wrong. It wasn’t my fault what happened to Rose. You were wrong to say it. You were wrong to throw me out of our house when I was so destroyed by grief that I couldn’t even function. You turned your back on me at a time I needed you the most. You turned your back on your daughter when you refused any responsibility in her care.

“I was your wife. That should have meant something. I needed you desperately. Needed your help. I was so close to utterly breaking. I couldn’t hold it together for another minute. I went to sleep because I’d gone without for night after night.”

Her voice trembled, and it took every ounce of control she could muster not to allow the tears knotting her throat free.

“And she died.”

She sucked in breaths through her nose. Charles’ eyes glistened with tears, and his own face was ravaged with grief, and oddly, regret.