"The baby will just need love, same as any other child," he said. "And I have no doubt that you'll be the best mother in the world."
"Oh, Sebastian." She sighed. "Sometimes I wonder what I'd do without you."
And other times she wondered why she wasn't running away, screaming.
"So does that mean you'll take me back?" Sebastian asked.
"I…I…"
She could picture him with the phone pressed against his ear, his jaw rigid as he waited for her response.
"I'll take you back." The words left her mouth in a gasp.
"Thank God." Sebastian sounded as though he was a dying man who'd just been told he was going to live. "I want to protect you. How can I do that when I can't be near you?"
"We'll have to take things slow," she warned him.
"I know." He sighed.
"Where are you, anyway?" she asked. "Are you still at Mary Lou's?"
"No, I'm waiting at your place," he said. "I thought you'd come home sooner or later."
"And Jake?" She shivered in fear. "What's happening with him?"
"My brother is tracking him," he said.
Both of them were silent for a moment. She stared down at her quivering hands.
"Sweetheart," he said.
"Uh-huh?"
"Can I come pick you up now?" Sebastian's voice was soft. "I want to bring you someplace where I can look after you."
Though she hesitated, she eventually said, "Yes."
"Where are you?"
"At my parents' house." And she knew it was time she left. "I'll drive back to you."
"I think it'll be better if I drive to you," Sebastian said.
For a horrifying moment, she imagined her dad with his gun. "Are you worried about bullet wounds?"
"Excuse me?" Sebastian choked.
"My dad might snap," she said. "When he found out I was pregnant, he didn't take it too well. He might see you and lose it."
"I think I can handle a gunshot wound."
Her eyebrow twitched. "I hate how it sounds like you've been shot before."
"Only twice," he said.
She gasped.
"Kidding," he said.
"I could kill you right now." Either that, or send him the world's dirtiest glare.
"Uh-huh," Sebastian said. "I'll make it easier for you to kill me by coming over. Give me the address."
Emmy rattled off the address, stunned that she was going to meet the man who both enthused and terrified her.
****
Emmy knew it took about an hour to reach her parents' house. And since two hours had gone by and Sebastian still hadn't arrived, she was horrified. Though the man had hidden the fact that he was a werewolf from her, she knew that he was prudent. He never would dawdle when he knew that she was waiting for him to pick her up. And that was a problem because that meant that something was really, seriously wrong.
As Emmy drummed her fingers on the table, her dad paced in front of her as her mom stirred the filling for a chocolate cream pie.
"I can see what you mean about this man being an unfit parent." Her dad checked his watch. "Can't he read a clock? It doesn't take this long to get back from Seattle."
"Maybe the traffic is bad." As her mom said the words, she cast a worried glance at the clock.
"Or he's messing around," her dad said.
"No, this isn't like him." She stood up. "I think something's wrong."
"Something's wrong, all right." Her dad groused.
Emmy didn't say anything and just stared out the window. As the ticking of the clock became louder, she thought, Maybe I should go after him. He would do the same for me. And yet she knew that would be sheer stupidity. It would be one thing to put herself in danger, but it would be another thing entirely to put her baby at risk. Right now, she had to play it safe as much as possible.
Even if it meant staying at her parents' house.
Still, as her mom turned on the mixer and made chocolate pudding, Emmy's frustration grew. And that was why, when she heard somebody knock on the door, she cried out in relief. Sebastian was here, after all. Maybe he'd had car trouble. Maybe he'd rescued a woman who was about to get squashed by a BMW. Hell, maybe an alien had stolen all of the wheels from his car. Hey, stranger things have happened, right?
Despite all of the mishaps that could have happened, her dad remained frustrated.
"About time," he muttered.
The man stomped over to the door, and Emmy followed behind him, frightened that the man might punch Sebastian instead of shake his hand. Unfortunately, when her dad opened the door, Sebastian wasn't standing on the welcome mat. It was Mary Lou instead, wearing a wrinkled blue tank top and a pair of skinny jeans three sizes too small. When her dad saw Mary Lou's outfit, he muttered a curse and clapped his hand to his head.