In Pursuit of His Wife(25)

A span of silence passed before Stella spoke again. "All right, but be  quick about it, and if he becomes too upset, I implore you to end the  conversation."

"I promise I will."

"Then wait a moment and I will bring the phone to him."

Nasira heard indistinguishable sounds then James's careworn voice  saying, "Hello, Nasira. Stella tells me you want to talk about my  Martha. She was a jewel of a woman...."

She listened patiently as her father-in-law extolled the virtues of his  late wife, and with great interest when he finally arrived at the  fateful day in question. The information was both stunning and  troubling. By the time the conversation ended, Nasira was no less clear  on what she should tell Sebastian. The truth could truly set him free,  or sever their marriage once and for all.

She had no choice but to reveal everything, every last dreadful detail,  and prepare for the predictable fallout after she confessed to him she  was pregnant.

* * *

Sebastian was beside himself. Nasira hadn't called to say why she had  been detained, and her phone was going directly to voice mail. That  caused him great concern. He should have given her a ride to the diner.  He should have rented a second car. What if she had been in an accident,  or at the very least, found herself lost on some dilapidated Texas back  road? If she didn't arrive soon, he would contact the law and organize a  search party.

After he heard the front door open a few minutes later, though, he  finally relaxed...until he noticed the distressed look on Nasira's face  when she entered the great room. He shot off the sofa, his nerves on  edge. "What happened to you?"

She tossed her bag on the coffee table and collapsed in the club chair  across from him. "The meeting with Violet went longer than planned."

It was so unlike his wife to blatantly lie, but she had. "I called Violet. She said you left the diner an hour ago."

Nasira averted her gaze. "I suppose I did at that. I was on the phone and lost track of time."

He was plagued by an immediate surge of jealousy. "Were you talking to that McCallum fellow?"

She nailed him with a glare. "Do not be absurd, Sebastian. I haven't spoken with Mac since the night you arrived."

Only minimally relieved, Sebastian lowered onto the sofa and leaned  forward to look for any sign of deception in her eyes. "Who else in town  would you be talking to if not him?"

She kicked off her sandals and curled her legs beneath her. "I never  said I spoke to anyone from Royal. For your information, I was in touch  with London."

He couldn't seem to contain his sarcasm. "It's no wonder the call took  so long if you talked to the entire city. Could you possibly be more  specific?"

"If you must know, I spoke with Stella."

He worried the news might involve his father, and it might not be good. "What did she want?"

"Actually, I called her."

"To check in on our status?"

"To gather the details of your mother's death, which I did."

He waffled between resentment over the intrusion to borderline anger.  "Forgive me if I'm feeling somewhat betrayed. The least you could have  done was tell me your plans to contact her."

"I understand, but I felt it was of the utmost importance you know the whole truth."

"I don't see why any of it should matter now."

"It does, Sebastian, and you'll realize why as soon as I tell you what I've learned with your stepmother's assistance."

For some reason, he experienced trepidation over the possible contents  of the conversation. "I'm quite surprised Stella would tell you what she  knows, if she really knows anything pertinent beyond what I've heard."                       
       
           



       

"I learned the facts from your father, not Stella."

The revelation took Sebastian aback. "My father doesn't remember what he had for dinner."

"He does still remember the past, and quite well."

Sebastian couldn't argue with that observation. "I'm not certain I care to hear his version of the truth."

"You are going to hear it," she said almost forcefully. "And I believe you will be glad you did."

He believed she would be sorely disappointed. "I'll be the judge of  that, but please, continue. I enjoy a good fairy tale now and then."

She shifted her weight slightly, a certain sign of her uneasiness.  "First of all, your mother was not pregnant at the time of her death."

"Of course he would say that-"

"She was pregnant not long before her death," Nasira proclaimed before  he could finish his sentence, then added, "A fact unbeknownst to  everyone, including your father."

Sebastian allowed the astonishment to subside and logic to come into  the picture. "I have a difficult time believing a straightforward woman  like my mother would conceal a pregnancy from anyone, let alone her  husband."

A strange look passed over Nasira's face. "She had her reasons,  Sebastian. Some might say good reasons under the circumstances."

He saw no excuse for blatant dishonesty, and he had a difficult time  believing his own mother-the one he remembered-would engage in serious  subterfuge. "And what would those reasons be?"

"She kept the pregnancy hidden because your father was adamant she not  have another child due to her multiple miscarriages. He sided with the  physicians, not your mother, although he claimed that was agony. He  loved her so much he hated not giving her a baby."

He had never known his father to agonize over anything other than the  state of the global economy. "Clearly James was not without fault in the  matter since I assume he was present when she conceived."

"Yes, but she lied about using birth control because she wanted another baby that badly."

Exactly what Nasira had initially done to him, as if history were bent  on repeating itself. "Did the pregnancy directly cause her demise?"

"Indirectly. She apparently had another miscarriage and chose not to  tell anyone, including her physician. That led to a lethal infection and  subsequently, her untimely death."

He took a few moments to digest the information, then summarily  rejected it. "It would be just like my father to twist the truth to  relieve himself of all culpability."

"He has no reason to lie, Sebastian. Stella told me he has lived with  horrible guilt since the day your mother passed away. He blames himself  for her decision to keep quiet about the baby. He believes if he had not  been so set against her conceiving, she would have told him about the  pregnancy and he could have prevented her death."

He acknowledged the scenario made sense, yet he had trouble trusting  the source. "I'm still having a great deal of difficulty believing my  father remained totally in the dark."

"Stella suspected you would, so she offered to give you the official certification."

"That only confirms the cause of death, not my father's claims."

Nasira impaled him with a glare the likes of which he'd never  witnessed. "If you will stop being such a buffoon and search your soul,  you might finally realize that your mother was not a saint, and your  father is not Satan."

He suddenly felt extremely drained. "I'll attempt to come to terms with  the information, but I cannot promise I will feel any differently."

He could tell by the lift of her chin and the defiance in her eyes she  wasn't quite finished with the lecture. "It is high time you call an end  to your suspicions and resentment. If you don't, you will possibly  regret the decision after it is too late to make amends with James.  Believe me, that is a burden you will not want to bear."

Sebastian wanted to debate the pros and cons of forgiveness, but his  emotions were too tangled in turmoil. He rested against the sofa and  feigned a calm demeanor. "Did you enjoy your time with Violet?"                       
       
           



       

Nasira's dark eyes widened with disbelief. "You wish to know about my day after what I revealed?"

"I see no point in dwelling on the past."

"I do if it relates to our future, and our present situation."

"This information has no bearing on us, Sira, aside from the fact it  does reinforce why it's not wise for you to become pregnant again."

"As I have said before, I am not your mother. I am healthy and able to  bear more children. Women have babies every day without incident. Life  holds no guarantees and comes with a certain amount of-"

"Risk," he finished for her. "I understand that, but it's a risk I  don't care to take with your well-being. And if you don't mind, I would  like to move off this subject for now."