The Drake Unwound Complete Collection (The Drake Series Book 9)(61)

"You as well, young man,” Ethan replied, smiling. “You're a hero with all that's happened this past week."

I shook my head and put my arm around Kate, leaning back. "I'm no hero. Liam's my son. It was the least I could do."

Elaine returned with the flowers in a vase. "Katie, do you want to help me in the kitchen?"

Kate stood up to leave, but when she got to the door, Ethan’s cell phone rang and he looked at the call display.

"Oh, damn," Ethan said, shaking his head. "Gotta take this, Drake. You relax for a bit, read the paper, watch some headlines."

He handed me the channel changer.

"No problem, Ethan. I had a busy morning so I'm glad to take it easy for a moment."

I leaned back on the couch and put my feet up on the coffee table. Kate stood in the doorway as if unable to decide what to do. I caught her eye. "Were you going to help Elaine?"

She seemed startled but finally nodded. “Of course.” Then she left me alone.

While she and Elaine fixed lunch, I scanned the television channels for news headlines and then I searched for the paper. I found it and flipped through the pages, searching for sports highlights, eager for some lunch.

In about ten minutes, Kate returned and startled when she saw me.

"Is lunch ready?" I said, wondering about the expression on her face.

"Yes," she said. "Come to the table. I'll get my father."

I nodded and folded the paper, placed it on the coffee table and then made my way down the hall. Kate went to her father's study to let him know lunch was ready so I went to the dining room. Elaine was there, putting a bowl of salad on the table.

“How is Liam doing?” Elaine asked, an expression of sympathy and concern on her face.

“He’s doing as well as can be expected,” I said. “He’s had his bone marrow destroyed and my stem cells transfused. He’ll be a very sick boy for a few weeks.”

Kate returned and stood in the doorway, looking strangely anxious. I smiled, and she smiled back and then entered the dining room. I pulled out a chair for her and seated her, bending down when she was settled to kiss her neck in a moment of affection, hoping to calm her down about whatever it was that was making her anxious. Ethan arrived just as Elaine came in with a big plate of pasta.

"Sorry I'm late," he said. "Miniature crisis at the campaign office. Some mix up about my record as a judge, rulings on controversial issues. Had to clear it up. Don’t want false data circulating. Someone from the office gave out inaccurate information and we got a call from a reporter hoping to drum up a scandal."

"Was the information good or bad?" Elaine asked, as she passed the salad.

"Bad for me, unfortunately," Ethan replied. "Some people don't like my rulings on certain cases, but my record is my record. Don't want anyone to think I'm being deliberately misleading."

"Honesty is the best policy," I said. "In politics and life, it's better to clear up any misunderstandings as soon as possible, to avoid looking like you're being deceptive."

"Absolutely," Ethan replied, smiling at Elaine when she handed him a plate of pasta. "Get the facts out there so there's no misinterpretation."

I let go of Kate’s hand and then passed her the salad.

"You all right dear?" Ethan asked Kate. "Your cheeks are red."

"Just the heat from the stove, I guess," Kate said, forcing a smile. She turned to her father. "Did the person who released the wrong data do it deliberately to make your record look better than it is?"

"No," Ethan said, shaking his head. "He used data that was preliminary instead of the final data. It wasn't deceptive, just incorrect. Unfortunately, it makes my staffers look either like liars or bumbling incompetents, so either way it's not a good news day for me."


"That's too bad, Ethan," I said, hoping that the screw up didn’t hurt Ethan’s campaign. I knew he’d make an excellent Congressman if elected. I intended to do what I could to help him get there. "What will happen to the staffer?"

"He'll have to be reprimanded of course,” Ethan replied. “He shouldn't have released the data until he cleared it with Greg, but I'll have to have a little talk with him, make sure he wasn't doing it to hurt the campaign. You know, sabotage it. Can't ever know what's going on in someone else's heart, can you?"

I nodded, for it was true. You never knew what someone else was thinking or feeling. I glanced at Kate and thought how well I usually read her and right then, she looked extremely nervous about something.

Ethan didn’t seem too worried about the mix-up, and dug into his pasta with gusto.

"Darling,” he said and turned to Elaine. “I do believe this is the best you've ever made."

Elaine smiled and I turned back to my meal and wondered what was up with Kate. Was she coming down with the virus and not feeling well? I couldn’t figure out what was wrong with her, but I knew something was bothering her.

"Drake, is it not to your liking?" Ethan asked.

"Hmm?" I glanced up to see Ethan eagerly eating his meal. "Oh, sorry," I said. "No, I was just thinking about what you said." I lifted a fork to my mouth and then smiled at Elaine. "The pasta is delicious. Worthy of a restaurant. Bravo."