Page 129 of Christmas with the Elkin Billionaires

Her son looked to her and nodded his head in a way that reminded her of Jonas. “Okay, okay,” he told her before running over to them and flopping down on the floor.

Rachel took a steadying breath; the sound of the door clicking into place meant she wasn’t going to get what she wanted. Again. It didn’t help that she felt every inch of her apartment around her right now—the worn furnishings, the breakfast dishes still on the table, and the toys scattered all over the floor. She could see it in her mother’s constant need to catalog all the ways Rachel didn’t measure up as her daughter.

“I just want you safe.” Her mother’s expression brightened into a parody of excitement and love. “And I want you to be cared for.”

She stopped herself from rolling her eyes, but it was a near thing. “I’m an adult, Mother. I’m managing fine on my own.” Never mind that Annabeth had stayed the night—that wasn’t a sign of a bad mother or an incapable one. People needed help sometimes. Something she needed to keep reminding herself of.

“But wouldn’t it be better if you married that Elkin?” Ah—thatwas why she looked so excited. She’d checked him out and found him to be a suitable candidate for a senator’s son-in-law. “I know he’s interested. We both do. Unless you somehow botched that deal up too.”

Wow.Rachel wanted to say so many things, but she couldn’t choose just one, and they withered and died before she could select the perfect retort. That left an opening for her mother to continue.

“And if youdidbotch it, then I have other candidates. Daniel is still willing to take you back, even though you embarrassed him.” She hiked the strap of her purse higher on her arm.

So much for her hopeful mood. “I embarrassed Daniel? He’s the one who cheated on me. If anything, he should be begging me to take him back.”

Her mother actually sputtered at that. “Well, you weren’t even married yet, so it’s not as if he actually cheated on you.”

“Oh, you did not just take his side. You need to leave. Now.”

Her mother’s eyes burned with a fervency that made Rachel want to vomit. “I’m concerned for you, Rachel, that’s all. If you’re out here alone, then you’re vulnerable. If your photography business went under, what would you do?”

Susan pressed her fingertips to her lips as if she was sick with worry about Rachel’s business. “It seems to me your career is hanging in the balance, and if you were to lose all your work, then you might not be able to care for Scott.”

Rachel pushed away the thought that her mother’s comments sounded less like concern and more like a threat.

Keep cool. Don’t give her the satisfaction of losing it on her.“I will always be able to care for my son,” Rachel said in the most even voice she could muster. “If my photography studio had to close, I’d find another way to make money.”

“And how long would you go without?” Susan raised her hands in front of her like Rachel was committing to closing the studio today, with no plan. “If you didn’t have the money to take care of Scott, then you know that we, as your parents, would have to step in.”

Step in.Such small words, suddenly that small threat was looking enormous.Stepping inmeant using all her power as a senator to take custody of Scott. Rachel saw it play out before her eyes—the court hearings where she’d get steamrolled, no matter how good a lawyer she hired. The inevitable ruling in her mother’s favor. Even her mother loading Scott into the back of her car, the same pinched look on her face. Her mother would consider it her highest duty to raise Scott “properly.”

Time to give her mother a taste of her behavior. “I don’t think that’s in Scott’s best interest. Or yours.”

Her mother’s eyebrows shot up, and Rachel continued. “Having an out-of-wedlock single mother as a daughter who isalsoan unfit mother would be the last thing that would look good on the campaign trail, especially if that daughter wound up talking to the press. What would people think?” Rachel pretended to think about it. “They might wonder how a woman like you raised such a terrible child.”

“This kind of talk is completely unnecessary.” There—there it was. She was leaning back on her own self-righteousness. “You know I would only do this to save Scott from harm.”

“He’s not in danger of being harmed.” This time, some of the acid in her heart leaked into her voice. “If you think that, then you’re delusional. And you should back off right now before I have you removed from the building.”

Her mother sniffed, and for a moment, Rachel felt the woman who had been so domineering all her life rise like a giant shadow that encompassed the room. It was like she was sixteen again, and in trouble for missing curfew by five minutes, only the stakes were so much higher. “Fine.” A tight reply from her mother. “I only wanted to discuss things with you. You’ve been having a difficult—”

“Mother.” She kept her voice sweet because Scott was in the room, but she couldn’t have felt less sweet. “I’ll have you removed from the building. And while I wait for security to arrive, I’ll call the local news.”

“You are insufferable.” Susan turned on her heel, not bothering to look at Scott, and wrenched open the door. “I’ll wait for you to come to your senses,” she said over her shoulder, and then she was gone, out into the winter morning.

When the door shut behind her, Rachel felt like a book was closing, or a doorway—or both. That chapter in her life was over. Her mother had crossed too many lines this time, and in a way, it freed her. She did not, under any circumstances, have to maintain any sort of relationship with the woman who threatened to take custody of her son.

“Mama. Pick up,” Scott said, and Rachel scooped him up into her arms and pretended to tickle his belly. This made him laugh, a deep belly laugh. Rachel never actually tickled him and that was a game between them.I’m free,she thought wildly.We’re both free.She reached for her phone on the table next to the couch, flipped through the contacts, and blocked her mother’s number. Paused, and then also blocked her stepfather and her chief of staff.

Yes!She had never felt more triumphant, except on the day that she gave birth to Scott—that was the strongest she’d ever been in her life. Except for now. “I did it, buddy. Mommy did it.”

He clapped his hands, cheering for her, even though he had no idea what she’d done. It would be a long time before he understood, if he ever did. The two of them danced around the living room in the bright light. There was no music playing, just the beat of Rachel’s own heart.

She hadn’t felt this fierce in a long time. Confident. Strong. And ...alone. When she set Scott down on his feet, he dove back into his blocks.

Threatening custody. What had ever given her mother the nerve? Years of being clear with her, of trying to set boundaries, and it had come to this.And you shut it down,she thought.You sent her packing.

Celebrating with Scott felt good, although Rachel ached to share her victory with someone else. Someone who would understand and rejoice with her. Hug her.

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