“Everything all right?”came his mother’s voice, concern lacing her tone.
“We’re good.We’re on our way now,” Smokey called back as he reached down and took her hand.
Tania gave him a tremulous smile, steeled her back and walked beside him into the family room, her head held high.She didn’t know how they would react to the news he was about to drop on them but she could control how she behaved.She clung to that as she felt she was walking out in front of a firing squad.
“Oh, I didn’t realize you weren’t alone.”Sophia Hamilton, Smokey’s mother, dropped the footrest on her recliner and started to stand.“I should get some refreshments.”
“Don’t worry about it, Mom.They’re family, not guests.Sit down.I’ve got someone I want you to meet.”Smokey approached the recliners sitting side by side with only a small table between them.
“Tania, is that you dear?I haven’t seen you in an age.How are you?”Sophia turned to her son.“I don’t need to meet her, I’ve known Tania for years, Tim.What are you talking about?”
“Here.”He bent and set Carter in her lap.“Meet Carter.”
“Why are you holding on to her like that?”Eddie, Smokey’s father, asked, his tone brusque, as if he didn’t approve.“She’s a married woman, not one of those girls that hang around your club.”
“I’m well aware of who and what she is, Dad.”Smokey reached up and slid her sunglasses off her face.He folded them and hung them in his collar again, like he’d done when he pulled them off in the grocery store.Had that only been a few hours ago?So much had happened since then it seemed more like days had passed.
“Who did that to you?”Eddie’s tone didn’t change much but enough to let her know he was outraged by the black eye.She didn’t know if he’d seen the bruises around her neck, but she’d decided while Taylynn had been documenting her injuries that she wasn’t going to hide or lie about them.If someone asked, she would tell them the truth.She opened her mouth to tell her it had been her husband, but Smokey’s mom spoke up, distracting her.
“Tim?”Sophia broke in, her gaze still on Carter.“What’s going on?Is this who I think it is?”She glanced up at him then back to the baby.
“What do you mean?”Eddie demanded looking from face-to-face.
“Who do you think Carter is, Mom?”
“I-I’m almost afraid to say.”Sophia looked up at her son with wide eyes, and Tania thought she saw...hope?
“You’ve been hounding me for grandkids for the last year.When I give you one, you question me.Maybe Dad will react better.”Smokey bent like he was going to pick up Carter, but Sophia wrapped both arms around the baby.
“Just try it, mister.”She glared at him through narrowed eyes, as if she thought he was going to hurt the baby instead of picking him up.When he straightened, she looked back down at the baby sitting in her lap, babbling as he tried to eat his hand.She laughed and started playing with him, seeming to not care about anyone else in the room.
“I’m going to need you to tell me what’s going on.”Eddie’s gaze darted back and forth between Smokey and Tania.Then he glanced down at Carter, who was playing peekaboo with Sophia.Eddie seemed to soften some as he watched his wife and only grandchild both so happy.
“Let’s sit down.”Smokey motioned to the sofa a few feet away.“It’s a lot.”They moved to the sofa, where between the two of them, Smokey and Tania explained how she managed to have his baby while she was married to someone else, yet she hadn’t cheated on anyone.She kept as many of the sordid details out as she could but Tania couldn’t help the embarrassed heat that flooded her when Smokey had revealed her showing up at his place, drunk.
“We’ve all done something similar, dear.”Eddie had patted her hand then moved on.She wondered if Sophia had ever done such a thing to Eddie but couldn’t even pull up a mental picture.She couldn’t imagine them at her age now, though she knew they had to have been at one time.“Obviously you can’t go back, dear.”He patted her hand again before turning back to Smokey.“What’s the plan?”
“They’re staying with me for now.”
“At the clubhouse?”Sophia said from her chair where she still played with Carter.“Are you sure that’s appropriate?”
Smokey took a deep breath and let it out slowly.
“There’s a lot going on right now.After last night and what he did to Tania, I want to make sure they’re somewhere safe.”
“They can stay here,” Eddie spoke up.“I can make sure he doesn’t get to them.”
Smokey met her gaze.She knew he was trying to tell her that he needed to tell his father more and was asking her for permission.
“Why don’t you take your dad in the other room where the two of you can talk without having to worry about upsetting me?I’ll stay and talk to your mom.”Tania pulled her hand from his, then stood and made her way over to Eddie’s recliner.“Isn’t he just the sweetest thing?He had a touch of colic when he was about two months old but, thankfully, it didn’t last long.”
Tania looked up to see Smokey ushering his father from the room, then turned back to Sophia.That she already loved the baby was clear to anyone who bothered to look.Tania’s heart swelled and she was filled with warmth.She’d been afraid they would be angry, they would yell and blame her for keeping Carter from them all this time, but Sophia had been nothing but gracious.She should have expected better.
