Protecting Her(78)

Whenever I see his daughters, I think of the one he pretends doesn’t exist. I’ve always wondered if he lied to me when he said he gave her mother money for her care. He won’t tell me anything about this woman, so I’ve been unable to check to see if what he told me was true.

“What about your other daughter?” I ask, but then wish I hadn’t. This topic always angers him so I usually avoid it.

His expression turns grim, his eyes narrowed. “I told you to never speak of her again.”

“It was simply a question. I assume the girl is well taken care of? You gave her mother a generous amount, I presume.”

“The woman has more money than she knows what to do with. And if she ever comes back asking for more, I’ll send one of our freelancers after her.”

“Royce, don’t say that. Don’t even joke about it. The child needs her mother.”

“She looks like me,” he mutters, gazing behind me as if he’s imagining her. “The damn kid looks like me.”

“You’ve seen her?”

“Photos of her. She has dark hair, the same color as mine, and her mouth…her smile…she looks like me when she smiles.” As he says it, he has that softness about him, like when he talks about his other daughters. “I have to admit, she’s a cute kid.”

It’s good to hear him talk about her this way. It tells me she’ll be safe. If he has a soft spot for her, he’ll leave her and her mother alone.

His gaze returns to me. “What can I say?” He chuckles. “I make good-looking children. Problem is, I only seem to be able to make girls.”

“There’s nothing wrong with girls,” I say, trying to keep the mood light. His mood can change in an instant and I don’t want it turning dark, like it was just seconds ago when I asked about the girl’s mother.

He walks over to the bottle of bourbon that’s sitting next to the humidor. “Victoria and I are planning to try for a boy.”

“With all those children, you’re going to need a bigger house.” I’m kidding but I know he’ll agree with the statement.

“We already bought one.” He pours himself a drink. “Did you hear that we’re moving?”

“No, I hadn’t heard that,” I say, not sure if what Jack told me was confidential.

“We’re moving to Virginia.” He takes a swig of his drink, pauses, then finishes the rest of it and sets the glass down. “I’m not sure when the move will happen. They haven’t let me know yet.”

“Royce, I should get back to the party.” I head to the door.

“I heard Garret is being assessed.”

I turn back and find Royce standing in front of me.

“Yes.” I nod. “My father set it up. I didn’t ask for that to be done.”

“Why wouldn’t you want it to be done?” He fixes his cuff link, which likely came undone while he was doing whatever he was doing with the blond woman. “Don’t you want your son to be a leader?”

“Of course I do.” I need to play along. Royce has a big mouth, and if he senses I don’t want this for Garret, he’ll tell the other members. “It’s just that he’s still very young. I’d like him to remain a child a little longer.”

“I had them assess Sadie. I’m trying to get them to consider her to be first lady someday.” He laughs. “Wouldn’t that be great? I’ll be the president, and twenty years later, my daughter will be the first lady.”

“That’s very impressive. I’m sure you’re quite proud of her.” I fake a smile. “I really need to go. I’ll see you later, Royce.”

He follows me out and goes down the hall to whatever room that woman went into.

I go back to the party and search for Rachel. As I’m scanning the crowd, Katherine comes up to me.

“Hello, Pearce.” She smiles. “How have you been?”

“Fine. But I can’t talk now. I need to find my wife.”

Katherine blocks my path. “What’s the rush?”

“There is no rush. I would just like to find her.”

“Could we talk for a moment?”

I sigh. “What would you like to talk about?”

Her hands are at her sides, rather than all over me, so that’s an improvement. When she was a teenager, she was always touching me. She must be 22 or 23 now. She looks older. She’s still very thin and lacking much of a womanly shape, but her face looks older.