Baby Love(115)

"You have it Dad," I replied, though I knew that in his judicial capacity he could have ordered it without my consent.

By the time we reached my father's estate Trey had arrived. I saw coming down the stairway as we came into the entrance hall. I flew into his arms. Dad carried a sleepy Preston up from the limo. I took her from him and headed upstairs to our suite. Trey stayed downstairs talking with my father presumably about what we had learned on our trip to Vidalia.

I changed Preston's diaper and stretched out on the bed with her so that she could nurse comfortably. Trey joined me in the suite several minutes later. He sat down on the bed next to us.

"You've had quite a day it seems," he remarked.

I nodded not trusting myself to speak for fear I would burst into tears at any moment.

"You know sweetie, it is okay to feel emotional about this. You learned some very disturbing things today. That is why I am here with you now. You don't have to go through this alone."

"I know Trey," I sobbed. "I just don't want to think about what my mother endured because of me."

"She loved you sweetie. Would you have done any less for Preston?"

I looked down at my baby who had fallen asleep cuddled against me. Trey lifted her from me and carried her into the adjoining nursery. He placed her in the crib.

He rejoined me on the bed, pulling me into his lap. He rested his chin on the top of my head; his strong arms were wrapped tightly around me

"Tell me what you're feeling baby?"

"I feel so many things I guess. I feel sadness for the loss of my mother; I feel anger that Maggie didn't do the one simple thing that my mother had asked her to do."

"Anything else?"

Trey knew me so well.

"Okay yes, there is something else. I feel sort of angry with my father. Why in the hell didn't he check on her after he walked out? If he loved her why didn't he see that she was protected? My God, he knew the type of man Matthew was at that point."

"Aren't you a bit angry with your mother?" he asked quietly.

"Why would I be mad at her? She was the victim in all of this. I have no right to be angry with her."

The tears started rolling down my cheeks as I continued to deny any anger towards my mother.

"Tylar you have a right to feel however you feel. Feelings are not right or wrong - they are what they are."

He was rocking me gently back and forth in his arms. I knew that he understood me totally and how I rolled. I couldn't deny those feelings to him any more than I could deny them to myself.

"Okay yes then. I do feel angry with her. Why didn't she go to my father? She would be alive today if she had done that. I just don't get it. She died and left me with Maggie. It was wrong."

Trey lifted me up and turned me around to face him. He gently brushed my tears away with his thumbs. He leaned over and kissed my cheeks and my nose. I looked up at him and realized that whatever pain and suffering I had endured along the way to finding him had been worth it. How could I be mad at anyone for that?

He tilted my chin upward and kissed me warmly on my lips. I laced my arms around his neck and kissed him back loving the taste and feel of him.

We nestled under the covers of the bed tossing our clothes to the floor. Trey made love to me slowly and sweetly in my father's house.

I awoke from my nap feeling Trey's arm wrapped around me and feeling someone's eyes on me.

It was Ms. Deeny. She was standing at the foot of the bed watching us. I had no clue as to how long she had been there. She gave a slight smirk as she saw me looking at her.

"The judge sent me up to see if you and Mr. Sinclair will be joining him for dinner. It's in ten minutes," she said turning to leave.

"Oh I took the liberty of caring for your baby while you and Mr. Sinclair . . . slept."

She was out the door. I threw the covers back rousting Trey. He had napped through the one-way conversation that had just taken place.

"That gnarled up old bitch," I hissed.

"Who?"

"Ms. Deeny, my dad's head of staff. She was just in here watching us."

Trey was up and out of bed now putting his clothes back on. I headed into the bathroom to freshen up.

"What the hell? Are you talking about that short lady with the long nose?"

"Yes and apparently that long nose serves her nosiness well. She totally gives me the creeps. I hate the thought that she took Preston out of the nursery."

"What?"

"Yeah that's what she said. Let's hurry up and get downstairs for dinner. I don't like the idea of her being near the baby."

"Tylar your dad wouldn't let anything happen to Preston. My God he is totally infatuated with her."

When we got downstairs Preston was playing happily on a blanket on the floor with a multitude of toys strewn about. My father was on his phone with someone. She crawled over to Trey as soon as she saw him.

"Da-da," she said tugging at his pant leg.

"Yes sweetie," he laughed, scooping her up and kissing her cheek.

"Da-da has missed you."

She snuggled up in his arms resting her head against his broad shoulder. How perfect they looked together. I looked at my father as he continued talking in hushed tones to someone on the phone. He was a handsome man as well. I wondered what it would have been like growing up here with him.