Bayou Baby - Lexi Blake Page 0,104

other fight. When he’d died, she’d put this off and hoped for the best, but deep down she’d always known she would have to stand alone. Oh, her family would be behind her, but she had to do this on her own. “Luc is my son. I don’t have to tell you a thing about him.”

“Is Luc my grandson?” Celeste’s words came out measured, but Sera had learned that sometimes a snake was perfectly still right before it struck.

“Luc is my son and he has my name. I had him by myself and I’m raising him by myself.”

“Only because his father died,” Celeste said between clenched teeth. “Tell me I’m wrong.”

There was a bit of sympathy for Celeste inside Sera’s heart. She had no idea how she would handle it if anything ever happened to Luc. Devastation. It was what Celeste had to be feeling. The poor woman was a tidal wave of grief and rage, but Sera wasn’t going to let herself drown in it no matter how much sympathy she felt. “I don’t know what would have happened if Wes had lived, but I do know Luc is my son and I get to make the decisions concerning him. Now that Harry has made one of those decisions for me, I suppose we should talk.”

She could be calm and rational.

“It wasn’t Harry’s fault,” Angie said.

He might not have said the words out loud, but Celeste had figured it out because he knew. All this time she and Angie had managed to keep the secret. Harry had known for one day and it was already out.

“We’ll do more than talk,” Celeste commanded, ignoring Angie completely. “You’ll bring that child to me. You’ve had years with him. You took him from me. You stole years of my grandson’s life.”

“And what would you have done if I’d come to you?” Sera asked, surprised at how steady her tone was. The time she’d spent with Celeste had made her understand the woman wasn’t all bad. And Wes had truly loved her.

“I would have done what I’m going to do now. I would have called a lawyer and asserted my rights.” Celeste proved she could revert to her normal, controlling, arrogant self with ease. “You should leave my house now and get ready because I’m coming for you, Seraphina. You need to think seriously about every move you make because I will have private investigators watching you twenty-four-seven.”

Sera felt her stomach clench. She’d known there would be lawyers, but she hadn’t thought about investigators. They would be tracking her, trying to find ways to make her look bad.

“Aunt Celeste.” Harry started to move in front of Sera, as if he could protect her.

He couldn’t. He’d gotten her into this mess, but he was going to find out he couldn’t do a damn thing to get her out.

Celeste simply moved around him. “They’ll watch your every move and document it until I can prove you’re an unfit mother.”

She heard Harry gasp in shock.

Poor Harry. He was going to lose a lot today and she felt for him, but she couldn’t ease his soul now.

“I’m not. I’m a good mother,” she replied, holding her ground. “And I assure you my son loves me. I’m willing to talk about letting you get to know him if you can be reasonable, but if you think I’m giving you control over anything concerning him, you’re insane.”

Celeste’s lips curled into a smile, but it was a hateful thing. “You might be a good mother, but you can’t keep a job. You’re aimless and without means. And how about the people you surround your son with? Your momma is half crazy and everyone knows she’s practically a criminal. And your younger brother is a menace.”

“Zep is all right,” Harry argued. “He’s actually a pretty good guy. Cal likes him, too. And Delphine is a good grandmother, a good person.”

“She’s not the kind of person who should be influencing my grandson,” Celeste insisted.

“And you wonder why I kept this secret?” Sera shook her head. “I didn’t tell you before because I knew this would happen. I knew you would come after Luc, and I know how Wes felt about his father.”

Celeste pointed her way. “Don’t you tell me a thing about Wes. You don’t know any of us.”

Sera was calmer than Celeste, and that seemed to give her the upper hand. “But I do. I know you far better than you can imagine because I was the one who listened to