His Southern Temptation

chapter Twenty-Five


“Mother, thank you.”

Taylor glanced across the kitchen island at the woman she realized she didn’t know at all. She didn’t know how long she’d sat on those cold steps after Lucky had left the house with a violent slam of the front door. She’d called his name, although there was no point since nothing had changed in the few seconds since she’d told him she couldn’t stay. The hurt and pain on his face was imprinted on her heart, her head—hell, her whole body hurt like it had suffered direct impact.

“What are you thanking me for, Mary-Taylor?” Marian asked.

“For putting me back together. For kicking my ass.” Taylor almost laughed at the displeasure her mother unsuccessfully tried to hide. She’d been a trouper when she’d found Taylor crying at the bottom of the stairs. She’d forced her to eat, shower, and move forward with her plans. “Thanks for not saying ‘I told you so.’”

“I might not approve of your choice, but I’m your mother first. I never wanted to see you hurting like that. All I did was comfort my child, and I was very sorry I had reason to.” She sipped her coffee. “I am sorry you’re leaving so soon. It would have been nice to have you around a little while longer.”

“I have to get back.” I have to get away before I change my mind. “I need to do some things before I can open, and I can’t do them from here.”

“I understand. Still, it would be nice to have someone else in this big house with me.” Her mother paused flipping through a decorating magazine on the counter. She had plans to spruce up the place. When her mother spoke again, her tone was cheerful and excited. “Teague is going to help me find a job. He suggested something at one of the local colleges. Not teaching of course, but I do have some mad organizational skills.”

“Mad what?” Taylor swallowed down her coffee quickly with her laugh. She was stunned her mother even knew slang, much less let it pass her lips.

“And then I might join one of those dating sites. You know, for more mature people like myself.”

“Mother! I don’t know whether to applaud or tell you to have your doctor check your meds.”

“Oh, my meds are fine.” She dismissed her with a giggle and wave off. “I just look at you chasing what you want and all I can think is, ‘I want that too.’ So, if you can make a hard choice and go back to Hawaii, I can spread my wings a little too.”

“Good for you.”

Taylor pushed down the lump of emotion lodged in her throat. Her mother had taken quite the body blow when her father had left, but her bravery was admirable. She could have stayed in Florida, but she’d come back to Elliott to face her demons and move on. Maybe her mother could reverse some of the regrets she had about her life.

There were so many things she was leaving behind—her mother starting over, the friends she’d made in Elliott, and most of all, Lucky. But this wasn’t about having it all. That wasn’t possible. This was about making the smart choice, the logical choice. Not the emotional or risky choice.

Looking out the window, the mountains towered in the background, their deep foliage shrouded in the bluish fog cover of early morning. Hawaii was beautiful and lush, but she would miss that ridge of peaks and valleys. She would miss so many things.

“Are you okay, Mary-Taylor?”

“I think so. I don’t know.” She leaned on the counter, swirling her coffee in the mug, trying to organize her thoughts.

She’d known this was going to be hard. She loved Lucky—no use in lying to herself about it—and that made any type of commitment with him terrifying. If she cared about him less, if he factored less in her happiness equation, then she might have stayed and figured out what to do about her career. But the risk that one day he would discard her and move on to something better and shinier was a risk she could not take. So, the logical choice was to leave and protect her heart.

“It’s not too late.” Marian said.

“Yes, it is. Just drop it.”

“Call Lucky. Talk to him. It can’t make this any worse.”

“Yes it can, Mother. It really can.”

The doorbell rang and Taylor jumped up to answer it. They’d already been over this, and she didn’t want to go over it again. Her mother called after her, but she missed it as she padded down the hallway, the wooden floorboards cool and smooth under her feet.

She opened the door, and the morning sunshine reflected off the bald head of her visitor. Her reflexes were too slow to close the door on his face. Apparently, her day was about to get worse.