Big Easy Temptation (The Perfect Gentlemen #3)(37)

Especially after last night. He’d made love to her over and over again. She’d felt perfectly right in his arms. In the morning light, he had to think about the repercussions.

Could he ask her to give up her career? Or give up his? It was naive to think that a long distance relationship could work for them. She wouldn’t know where he was most of the time and he wouldn’t be able to call or talk. That wasn’t a life she wanted. It wouldn’t make her happy. More than anything, that’s what Dax wanted to give her.

Their relationship was just starting out and despite the fact that they’d obviously wanted each other for years, he had to accept that sharing their feelings was new and what lay in their hearts was fragile. It could be easily broken.

“Good morning, son.”

His mother’s familiar voice jolted him out of his thoughts. Dax smiled and jogged up the big wraparound porch to join her. She sat in a rocker, a cup of coffee in her hands. Despite the earliness of the morning, she was already perfectly dressed in slacks and a silk blouse, her hair and makeup done with an expert hand.

“Were you waiting for me?”

She set the cup down on the saucer and placed them on the table beside her. “It wouldn’t be the first time I waited up for you. I have to admit, sending you to boarding school saved my sanity. I can’t imagine how I would have worried during your high school years.”

He grinned and took the adjoining seat. “It was for the best. How are you this morning?”

The smile on her face didn’t reach her eyes. “Lovely. Your friends are fun companions. Augustine arrived last night and the four of us had a very nice dinner before she adjourned upstairs to unpack. Gabriel and I played backgammon. He’s such a nice young man.”

“And Mad? Did he go out?”

His mother sighed. “No. I believe he turned in early.”

He was going to beat the shit out of Maddox, who was very likely not sleeping in his own fucking bed. “I’ll handle the situation, Momma.”

“Don’t you dare. Augustine has always been a spirited young lady. She’s smart. She knows what she’s doing.”

So did he. Gus was doing Mad. “She should have a little more respect.”

His mother frowned, chiding him with soft brown eyes. “Respect for what? For my tender feelings? I’m not an idiot, son. I know that Augustine has run through most of the men in this town, and god only knows what she’s been doing in D.C. Maddox is a lively young man who looks as if he knows what he’s about. I’m not upset with Gus, just a little envious. She has a career she loves and she’s good at it. She does what and who she likes, when she likes, and she doesn’t answer to anyone. I wish I’d had that freedom when I was younger.”

He hadn’t thought of it that way. “I’ll ask them to keep it down.”

His mother waved a hand. “Gus will likely tell me all about it when she gets up this morning. We’re quite close, you know. I listen with a good ear. Would you like to talk about your night? Did you finally properly make love to Holland? You better have treated her right, Dax. She’s a dear friend and I don’t believe she’s had any sexual relations lately.”

His jaw dropped and he couldn’t help but stare at his very genteel mother.

She reached for her porcelain cup once more. “Oh, wipe that shocked expression from your face. I’m not a prude. And I’m not foolish. I know why you’re really here. I was hoping Holland would distract you, but you’ve brought her into your little investigation, haven’t you?”

He forced his mouth closed and whispered a curse. “How did you know about that?”

She sighed. “I always knew you wouldn’t let it lie. It’s not in your nature. I doubt Gus has, either, though she’ll go about it differently. I don’t like to think about it much myself. I wish you would concentrate on your relationship with Holland. She’s such a nice woman. She would make a perfect wife for you.”

He agreed Holland would make a perfect wife if they could figure out their issues, but he had a job to do, too. He’d never meant to discuss this with his mother. Not until he’d cleared his father’s name. “You think he was guilty, don’t you?”

He couldn’t not ask the question. He needed to know. They’d sidestepped the issue so many times he couldn’t count anymore. It was finally time for the truth.

She looked away for a quiet moment, and Dax wondered if she’d go silent on the subject again. Finally, she set her cup aside and turned to him. She patted his hand with her own. “I loved your father. We were so in love in the beginning. But sustaining love can be difficult, son. Years go by, and one day you realize that you’ve changed. Your spouse has changed. You’ve grown apart.” She sighed. “Do I believe your father raped that girl? No. He didn’t need power over someone else to feel big and he didn’t have that sort of violent streak. Do I believe he could have been mistaken about her age and gotten into a situation he shouldn’t have? Yes. I do believe that because he’d done it many times before.”

Dax felt his gut twist. His father?

“Dax, I’m not trying to disillusion you or make you think less of your father,” his mother said quietly. “This is something I wish you never had to know. He was human. I know he seemed like he was larger than life and so heroic, but he was flawed like the rest of us.”