A New Foundation Rochelle Alers (read aloud .txt) 📖

Taylor rested both hands, palms down, on the countertop. “I’ve been trying to be polite and patient while you got, as you said, your head together. Well, my head is totally together, and I want and need to know what you want from me.”

Sonja closed her eyes and sighed. “I need you to be honest with me, Taylor.”

“What about trust, Sonja? Weren’t you the one who declared that trust is more important than love, or maybe even honesty?”

“Yes. And I’m being honest when I tell you that nothing happened between me and Dominic. I went to Bainbridge House to ask him about something I’d discovered in one of the trunks. He told me what I needed to know, and then made me promise never to tell anyone. It’s when I promised him his secret was safe with me that he hugged me. End of story. It had been more than ten years since I’d allowed a man to touch my body or make love to me because I didn’t trust them not to go from Dr. Jekyll to Mr. Hyde. You were that man, Taylor, and when you accused me of cheating on you with Dominic it was as if I were reliving what I’d gone through with my ex. He accused me of sleeping with any and every man that glanced at me, so many that I lost count after the four or fifth one. And that was something I did not want to experience with you.”

Taylor rounded the bar and eased her off the stool. “I’m so sorry, darling. I’ve been a fool and it was only after you’d left me, and Viola told me what you’d gone through with your ex that I had to apologize to Dom.”

With wide eyes, Sonja stared at him not daring to believe what she’d just heard. “You approached him about me?”

“I did.”

“To tell him to stay away from you.”

“You didn’t!”

“Yes, I did because I was jealous, Sonja. And angry. I saw how he’d linger outside the library door, waiting for you to open it.”

“You’re a fool, Taylor. I’d text him to come and pick up a crate I’d finished to take back to the cellar. He’d wait until I opened the door to come in. It was more than I could say for you when you’d walk in without bothering to knock and lock the door behind you.”

She turned her head to hide a smile when his expression became sheepish. It was during those times when he’d come in to massage her back and shoulders and they’d end up kissing and touching each other, stopping short of making love.

Taylor rested his hands on her shoulders. “You enjoyed those impromptu visits as much as I did.”

“I did. What did Dominic say when you accused him of fooling around with me?”

“He told me in no uncertain words that I wasn’t his boss and couldn’t tell him what to do. But he did promise to stay away from you because he didn’t want to cause any trouble between us.”

“Wouldn’t it have been easier to tell him that I’m your fiancée?”

“But you weren’t, Sonja. I know we talked about marriage, but we hadn’t made a formal announcement.”

“You’re right about that. Maybe if I’d been wearing an engagement ring Dominic would’ve reacted differently to my agreeing to keep his promise.”

Taylor’s hand went to her waist, pulling her close. “I’m so sorry for not trusting you. Will you forgive me?”

“I’ll think about it.” Sonja wasn’t going to let him off that easily.

“You said you wanted honesty, and I’m going to tell you something about myself because I love you and want to spend the rest of my life with you.”

“Is it something most people don’t know about?”

He nodded. “Yes.”

Sonja cradled his face, her eyes making love to it. Talking with her mother had made her look at life differently, that as a thirtysomething woman she couldn’t continue to run away when she had to stand and work out her problems. Spending time away from Taylor had made her realize how much she loved and missed him, and the next time he proposed marriage she would give him a resounding yes without any attached stipulations.

“What’s said in this house will remain in this house.”

She rested her forehead against his chest, holding back tears when he told her he never knew the man that fathered him because he’d deserted his mother when she told him she was carrying his child. And he didn’t remember his mother, who’d died from kidney disease when he was three. He had gone to live with an aunt who neglected him, and it wasn’t until he’d entered the first grade that the school social worker intervened and he was placed in the home of Conrad and Elise Williamson as their first foster child.

“It took a while to adjust to wearing clean clothes, sleeping in my own bed, having enough to eat and calling a woman that looked nothing like me Mom. It took me a while to trust her when she said I could live with her for as long as I wanted. That’s when I told her I never wanted to leave, and I would always be her son. She was able to convince Conrad to apply for more foster children, and that’s how I ended up with a sister and three brothers. The day we were all legally adopted we promised one another not tell folks we weren’t biological brothers and sister even though we don’t all look alike.”

Tilting her chin, Sonja smiled up at Taylor. “Your parents were truly remarkable people.”

“My Dad was, and mother is,” he said proudly.

“And they raised a remarkable son and daughter.”

“My other three brothers are also remarkable.”

“I can’t wait to meet them.”

Taylor’s inky-black eyebrows lifted. “Are you saying you want to join my remarkable family?”

Sonja couldn’t help smiling because she was so happy she feared her heart would burst. “If it means becoming your wife, then my answer is yes.” Tightening his grip