His mother’s cabin was located further away from the MC’s group of cabins, all the way on the other side of the property. A white Lexus was parked outside the two-story cabin, and Ransom pulled up beside it. Carrying Evan in her arms, he led her up the porch steps, then opened the door so they could go in.
Isabelle stepped inside, looking around the surprisingly plush surroundings. While Ransom’s cabin had been masculine and functional, this cabin was utterly feminine and luxuriously tasteful. Pure white couches sectioned off the living area from the rest of the space. Art books lay artfully on the glass and metal coffee table, and a chandelier hung overhead. From what she could tell, everything had that sheen of newness, including the car outside.
“Welcome,” a feminine voice said.
She turned her head toward the staircase, where a woman dressed in white linen pants and a cream-colored shirt slowly made her way down. Her honey blonde hair was arranged carefully in a twist, and her ballet slippers barely made any sound as she walked toward them.
“You must be Isabelle.” Her voice was crisp, like freshly-fallen snow. Though her words were friendly, the smile she had on her face didn’t quite reach her cool blue eyes. “And this must be Evan.” She acknowledged the baby in her arms. “I’m glad to meet you. I’m Joanie.”
“Nice to meet you, too, Joanie.” Though she attempted to sound warm and friendly, her wolf was wary, as it cautiously eyed the other Lycan.
“Can I offer you a drink?” Joanie padded over to the glass cabinet in the corner of the dining area. “Wine? How about some rosé? Or something harder, maybe a martini?”
“Um …” She was still reeling from the fact that this was Ransom’s mother. Why, this woman looked more like she belonged in a country club in Long Island, not married to a Lone Wolf biker in the Kentucky Mountains. “Actually, I’m good with water, if you have it.” However, upon closer inspection, she could sense something … not quite right. Joanie was classically beautiful, but there was a hard, flinty quality in her eyes that said she had seen many things and been through a lot.
A blonde brow rose. “Of course. Ransom, will you be a dear and help me get the food out?” Pivoting daintily on her heels, she headed for the kitchen.
“Why don’t you and Evan sit down.” He motioned to the sleek white dining table that had been set so lavishly. “I’ll be out in a bit.”
Though she still felt like she was in a bizarre, alternate universe, Isabelle managed to sit down. Since they hadn’t thought to swing by for Evan’s high chair, she placed him on her lap. “Isn’t this a strange place?” she whispered to Evan. He didn’t seem to pay her any mind as he reached for one of the crystal glasses on the table. “No, baby!” She snatched it away just in time before for his small fist caught it.
“Everything all right?” Joanie came out, a salad bowl in her hand, Ransom following behind her with a casserole dish.
“It’s fine.” She looked over to Ransom. “That smells good.”
“Oh, it’s just something I had in the freezer,” she laughed. “I was caught by surprise. By your visit, I mean.”
It rankled her, the way Joanie had said ‘visit’, but Isabelle knew she couldn’t complain. She and Ransom hadn’t talked about what was going to happen after all this business with the mages was done. “It was a surprise for us all,” she managed to say.
Joanie set the salad bowl down, and Ransom followed suit, then sat down next to her. “Now, let’s eat,” she began as she offered the salad to Isabelle. Since she had her hands full with Evan, Ransom served her some salad before taking some for himself.
“So, Ransom,” Joanie began. “I need to tell you about this new restaurant that just opened in Mercer. They have the best.…”
Joanie’s words washed around her. The casserole felt like ash in her mouth, but she was starving, so she ate it to feed her growling stomach, while feeding bits of vegetables to Evan. Joanie continued talking about her mini vacation at a spa in Mercer City, or rather, she talked about it to Ransom. While she wasn’t mean or outright nasty to Isabelle, it was like there wasn’t anyone else in the room. Once in a while, Ransom would include her by asking a question, but ultimately, Joanie would find a way to refocus the conversation to things and people only she and Ransom knew about. For someone who ‘really wanted to meet’ her and Evan, Joanie seemed distinctly uninterested in getting to know them.
“Dessert?” Joanie asked sweetly. “It’s just ice cream.”
“Thank you,” she said. “That would be nice.”
“Ransom, dear?”
He immediately got up. “Of course, let me get it.”
An uncomfortable silence filled the room once they were alone. “How old is he?” Joanie asked, finally acknowledging Evan’s presence.
“Ten months,” she answered.
“How … nice.” She reached into the pocket of her linen pants and took out a gold cigarette case and a lighter. “You don’t mind, do you?”
She did, but it was Joanie’s home. “Not at all.”
“So,” she lit up the cigarette she had taken out of the case, “Ransom tells me you’re from New York.”
“Yes,” she said. “Have you been?”
“No.” She took a deep drag and blew the smoke out. “Not in a long time,” she added, as if she’d changed her mind.
Just then, Ransom walked in with the ice cream and bowls. “Mother,” he said disapprovingly at the lit cigarette in her hand. “Please don’t smoke around my son.”
“What?” She waved it around, smoke billowing around her. “Isabelle says it’s okay. And I smoked around you all the time, remember? We didn’t always have the luxury of
