Protecting Her(23)

There’s another man on Pearce’s side, holding the car door while Pearce gets Garret out of the back seat. He meets me on the other side and we walk to the door as one of the men drives our car around to the back of the house.

Pearce rings the doorbell and a woman in a maid’s uniform answers. “Hello, sir.” She bows slightly to Pearce. “Madam,” she says to me.

She shows us to the living room, and as we’re walking I realize I forgot to check my shoes for dirt. I check the white tiles behind me. They look clean and shiny. I glance up and almost run right into a statue. It’s just a tall marble rectangle but it probably cost a fortune. There are big statues everywhere I look and large paintings on the walls.

“Pearce. Rachel.” Eleanor comes up to us. “I’m pleased you could make it.”

“Thank you for inviting us,” Pearce says as she gives him a shoulder hug. Eleanor doesn’t give full hugs. It’s shoulders only and it’s always quick. She gives me the same type of hug, and as she’s doing so, I see Holton coming up behind her.

“Pearce,” he says, holding his hand out.

“Father.” Pearce shakes his hand.

I do not understand this odd relationship they have. They act as though they just talked last week, when in fact they haven’t talked in over a year.

“Hello, Holton,” I say, since he didn’t acknowledge me.

He just nods. He has the same scowl on his face that he had the last time I saw him. I guess it’s permanent.

“Holton, meet your grandson,” Eleanor says, nudging Holton to the baby carrier that Pearce is holding.

He steps up, glances at the baby, then steps back again, next to Eleanor. That’s it? This is the first time he’s seeing his grandson and he just takes a quick glance at him? It infuriates me.

I pick Garret up and hold him. Now I regret coming here. I thought this would be a fresh start. I thought Holton might accept us now that Pearce and I have a child together, but he’s just as cold and awful as always. And this house is cold and uncomfortable. I just want to leave.

Garret seems to agree. He starts fussing and then he cries. Holton glares at him, as if babies shouldn’t cry. It angers me even more.

“It’s okay,” I say to Garret, bouncing him a little.

“Let’s take him upstairs,” Eleanor says, sensing Holton’s temper rising the more the baby cries.

“What’s upstairs?” I ask.

She smiles as she leads me to the stairs. “I set up a nursery for when he comes over.”

A nursery? Here? I don’t think I like that. Garret is not going to be over here enough to need a nursery.

I look back at Pearce and he nods at me to go along with it. I go up the long winding staircase to the upper level. It’s huge. There must be at least ten rooms up here. Eleanor shows me to one that’s halfway down the hall. The room has cream-colored walls and a dark wood crib and matching changing table. There’s a light-blue upholstered rocking chair off to the side.

“You could add your own personal touches if you’d like,” she says. “I simple bought the furniture. We weren’t using this room, so I converted it to a nursery so that Garret would have a place to sleep if you and Pearce ever stay here overnight, or want us to babysit.”

She smiles, and I see that she’s just being nice. At first, I thought she was being controlling, assuming I’d let her keep Garret overnight, or longer than that. I’m so used to both her and Holton trying to control everything. But I think she’s just trying to be helpful.

“If you need to change him, there are diapers and other supplies on the changing table.”

“Thank you, but he’s fine.” I hold him against my chest. He stopped crying as soon as we got away from Holton.

“Go ahead and put him down,” she says. “We’ll join the men for cocktails.”

“Oh, um, I don’t want to leave him up here. I’ll just take him downstairs.”

“This evening is for adults. The baby can stay up here. He’ll be fine. I’ll have the maid check on him.”

“No.” I hold Garret even closer. “I’m sorry, but he needs to be with me. I’m not leaving him up here.”

She rests her hand on my arm. “Rachel, I know as a new mother it’s hard to detach yourself from your child, but it’s just for a few hours. Certainly you can be apart from him for a few hours. He’ll be right here. You can check on him whenever you’d like.”