Page 9 of The Unforgiven
“Oh, I’m fine. Don’t worry about me. I must admit, I’m overwhelmed. A daughter!” Seth said, his voice filled with wonder. “Kathy had a mouthful. That’s my ex-wife. Said I’m even more irresponsible than she thought, and wanted to know how many more children I have scattered throughout the world.”
He got into the car and pulled away from the curb, heading toward the Garden District. “Look, Quinn, I can only imagine what you must think of me, given the, eh… circumstances, but please give me a fair chance. I’m not a violent person, nor am I someone who disrespects women. I have no clear memory of that night, but in my gut, I know I didn’t do what you’re accusing me of. I obviously had sex with this woman—your very existence proves that—but it had to be consensual. It had to be,” he added, his tone desperate.
Quinn had absolutely no reason to trust him, but something in his eyes told her he genuinely believed what he was telling her and he was desperate for Quinn to not think badly of him. “Give me time,” she replied.
Seth nodded and looked ahead at the heavy traffic. “Of course. Take all the time you need. I’m not going anywhere.” He made a sharp turn into a less congested street. “I’ve actually prepared a few things for you,” he added shyly. “Some photo albums and mementoes. I thought you’d like to see them. You must have a lot of questions. You can ask me anything, you know. Anything at all.”
Quinn stole a sideways peek at Seth. Now was as good a time as any, but she dreaded bringing up the topic. He didn’t strike her as a spiritual person, so he would probably laugh at her and think her a kook.
“Seth, is anyone in your family gifted with psychic ability?”
“What?” He turned to gape at her and nearly ran a stop sign. “No. No psychics. Sorry. Why would you ask that?” He looked at her again, one hand casually on the wheel. “Are youpsychic?” His expression fell somewhere between horror and amusement, much as she’d expected.
Quinn shook her head “No, just curious. I heard there was lots of black magic in Louisiana. Voodoo and all that,” she added, feeling foolish in the extreme.
“Sorry, not a witch doctor among us. That kind of stuff came over with the slaves from Africa and the Caribbean. Is that something you’re interested in?”
“History is something I’m always interested in, but today, I want to know more about yours.”
“I’ll be happy to tell you anything you want to know.” Seth pulled into his driveway and shut off the engine. He turned and gave Quinn a goofy grin. “I know what the lab report says, but deep inside, I still can’t quite believe you are my girl. My God, what a shock to the system! Wait till I tell Brett. I hope Kathy hasn’t spilled the beans yet. She’ll probably take extreme pleasure in making it all sound as sordid as possible.”
“I thought you said you were on good terms.”
“We are, for the most part. We keep things civil for Brett, but she’s still angry and bitter. Can’t say I blame her. If I had to do it over again, I would have appreciated her more. She’s a good woman, Kathy. Solid. I was the one who screwed up.”
“How do you think Brett will take the news?” Quinn asked, recalling Jude’s resentful expression when he’d met her. Brett seemed a lot more easygoing, but then again, he hadn’t expected to ever see her again, especially not in the role of long-lost sister.
“Oh, he’ll be thrilled. Brett always wanted us to have more children, but Kathy just wasn’t on board. Never wanted to have kids. I begged her not to have an abortion when she got pregnant with Brett. Took some convincing. She’s a pediatric oncologist. Did I tell you that? Her career always came first. Brett said that other people’s children were her first priority, and he wasn’t all wrong.”
Quinn followed Seth up the steps to the house. Dolores opened the door and invited them to follow her into the dining room.
“I asked Dolores to make us some breakfast. It’s always easier to talk over food. Don’t you find? I didn’t know what you might like,” Seth added when Quinn gaped at the abundance of food. There was some sort of egg casserole, hash browns, pancakes, spicy-smelling sausage, and something that looked like fried dough sprinkled with powdered sugar. “Those are beignets. They are my particular weakness. Delicious, but not so good for the old waistline.”
Quinn sensed Seth’s nervousness and was glad he felt anxious too. This was awkward for them both, and he was trying to make it easier. “They look wonderful.”
“I made you a pot of English Breakfast, Miss Quinn,” Dolores said as she placed a lovely flowered teapot with a matching cup and saucer in front of Quinn. “Mr. Seth got the tea specially, and the teapot,” she added with a smile.
“Thank you. There was no need to trouble yourself,” Quinn said as she took a seat. She was touched by the gesture and wondered if Seth had bought the china himself or sent Dolores to the shops.
“He buy it himself,” Dolores said, her tone confidential, as if Quinn had asked the question aloud.
“That was very kind, Seth.”
Seth blushed and smiled. “It was nothing.”
“I serve you?” Dolores asked.
Quinn couldn’t refuse, so Dolores piled her plate with eggs, hash browns and several links of sausage.
“You eat savory first, then sweet,” she explained. “That’s how Mr. Seth like it.”
Quinn took a forkful of egg casserole. She had no idea what type of spices Dolores used, but she’d never tasted eggs quite like this before. She’d triedshakshukain Jerusalem, but these flavors were unique to Louisiana. The sausage was spicy, and the hash browns soft on the inside but crunchy on the outside—fried to perfection.
“Beats beans on toast, ha?” Seth asked happily. “Here, try one of these.” He slipped a beignet onto her plate.
“My God, this is…” Quinn couldn’t find the right word.
“Orgasmic is what it is. Sorry, can I say that to a daughter?” Seth blushed and she laughed at his unexpected prudishness.
