Crowns & Courtships Compilation Volume 1

by Carol Moncado

“And in those twenty or so years, until the last few months, how many days have we not spent at least part of together?”

  “None, give or take.” Jordan started to see Dare’s point.

  “Exactly. We’ve spent at least part of almost every day together for the last...” Dare had to be doing mental math. “...7300 or so days together. We’ve played hockey together for at least half of those. Why do you think we won that last game? Because you, and I, and everyone else had played together so long we could read each other’s minds. So even though I wasn’t sure what was going through your head the other day, when you bolted, I followed. No questions. That’s what we do, remember? Why did I go left? Because you always go right. Or you always go right because I always go left. I’m not sure which, but the point is, that’s how it’s always worked.”

  A memory flooded Jordan’s mind. “Except that one game.”

  “Exactly. And that’s why it worked. Because you gave me a signal, we switched it up and surprised them. You’re my best friend.” Dare’s voice softened. “You’re closer to me than a brother. It’s a good thing you’re not my brother, because I married your sister.”

  Jordan groaned.

  “You’re closer to me than any brother I could have,” Dare continued. “I will always have your back, just like you’ll always have mine. That includes your wife, your daughter, and any other kids you’ll have. Just like I know you’ll take care of my wife and kids, and not just because she’s also your sister.”

  “I don’t ever want to have to.”

  “I don’t either, but it’s part and parcel of being besties.”

  Jordan half-groaned, half-laughed. “When did you start saying that?”

  Dare chuckled. “When I knew what kind of reaction it would get out of you. Now, why are you in the office?”

  “Because I’m supposed to be working.”

  “Are you accomplishing anything?”

  “What do you think?”

  “Then go find your wife, find your daughter, and be together, even if you just sit on the couch and watch Sofia sleep.”

  Jordan turned that idea over. “That sounds great.”

  “Do you know what Betsy’s gushed over the most, besides Sofia being all right?” Dare’s voice had lowered to almost a whisper.

  “What?”

  “Being on a first name basis with a whole royal family. The king actually sounded almost offended when she called him ‘Your Majesty’ and curtsied.”

  That made Jordan laugh for several reasons. “Remind me to tell you what I was wearing the first time I met him. Right now, I’m going to take your advice and go find Astrid. I’ll let you know when it’s good for you to come visit. Wait.” He actually snapped his fingers like they did in the movies. “I know when. There’s an event...” Jordan outlined his whole plan to Dare and said he’d try to get tickets for the four Canadians.

  “That sounds perfect. We can make a weekend of it. Let me know.”

  They said their good-byes, and Jordan hollered one over speaker phone to Betsy, then hung up. He told Thomas where he’d be then went to the kitchen. He found a fresh batch of chocolate chip cookies, wrapped up a few, and headed to the nursery where he was sure to find the two girls in his life.

  32

  Astrid wasn’t prepared for the crowd that greeted her outside the Garden Club. At least not their numbers. A small group outside a luncheon like this wasn’t unusual, but there had to be several hundred people. She and Jordan had attended one event together a couple days earlier, but neither one of them had been fully comfortable with it. They trusted Gretchen, but there could be no substitute for being there themselves.

  At least the police had finally announced publicly that they expected the investigation to be finished in the next couple days. As police investigations went, it hadn’t been that long, though it seemed an eternity to Astrid.

  Glancing at the signs and faces of the crowd, it seemed to be mostly friendly. Thank God for small favors.

  Someone opened the door for her, and she took the offered hand to climb out of the car.

  “Thank you,” she murmured. Did she work the line? Or wave and walk through?

  Mostly cheers greeted her ears. Very few angry voices came through. Okay. Short visit.

  She walked along the line, shaking hands, taking pictures, accepting flowers, answering questions superficially. Yes, Sofia was doing well. That was about the extent of her answers regarding the incident. The other questions she ignored. After about ten minutes, she stepped back from the line, arms overflowing with bouquets she promised to take to Sofia. She could only manage a small wave with her fingertips because there were so many.

  Rather than going inside, she turned and went back to the car. Her driver, not her usual one, but a man she didn’t know well, waited by the door. He helped her lay them neatly on the back seat.

  “Thank you, all!” she called. “That way they won’t get dropped or misplaced inside!” She gave a real wave and walked through the doors.

  The luncheon was as enjoyable as it could be with her mind still planted firmly in the nursery a few miles away. Jordan had promised he wouldn’t leave Sofia while she was gone. The company was polite, asking about Sofia but not pressing, and certainly not shouting invectives like a few people outside had been.

  In less than two hours, she was headed back to the palace. A good event for her to get her feet back under her on her own. After thanking her driver, she took one of the bouquets and headed upstairs. She’d already texted Jade to make sure the others were spread around the palace.

  Familiar sounds greeted her as she neared the door to the family quarters. Were those happy shouts? Little girl squeals even?

  “Look out Hayley! Sofia’s coming!” Jordan shouted.

  Astrid looked in the nursery to see Sofia waving a sparkly pink hockey stick in the air and doing her little hop in place thing.

  “My win! ‘Gin, Papa!”

  “This time I’m going to try to stop you.” Jordan, on his knees with a navy blue hockey stick the same size as Sofia’s knee-walked in front of the goal. “See if you can get it past me.” Were those knee-pads?

  Sofia hit the foam ball gently a couple of times then whacked it.

  Right between Jordan’s knees.

  He gaped and looked down like you see in movies. Astrid slid further back out of sight and stifled a laugh.

  “My win ‘gin, Papa!”

  A four-word sentence? Look at her go!

  Jordan laughed and picked her up. “You did, sweet girl. You’re getting the hang of it. We’ll go skating with Mama soon, okay?”

  “Yay!”

  Astrid knew the second her daughter saw her. Sofia wiggled out of Jordan’s grasp and ran to Astrid. “My win, Mama!”

  “I saw.” She swept her daughter into her arms. “Great job beating Papa.” It felt natural to refer to him that way.

  But when she looked at him, he seemed to struggle to stand up. When he made it to his feet, Jordan groaned and stretched his back. “I’m not as young as I used to be. Playing on your knees is for kids.”

  Astrid laughed. “You’re not exactly old.”

  He grinned as he walked toward them. “No, but I made you smile.” After a quick kiss, he took Sofia from her. “Why don’t you show Mama?”

  Sofia ran off to pick up her stick as Astrid leaned into Jordan’s one-armed embrace.

  “Who’s Hayley?” she asked.

  “Hayley Wickenheiser. She was the first woman to play professional hockey and not be the goalie. A Canadian, of course, but she had to play in Europe. The game’s not quite as physical there, and there weren’t as many barriers to her playing in a men’s league. She was one of Sports Illustrated’s twenty-five toughest athletes in 2008. She has four Olympic golds and a silver.”

  Astrid leaned her head on his shoulder as they watched a very serious Sofia try to get the foam ball to stay where it was supposed to. “You have all that memorized?”

  “E
very Canadian kid has that memorized. Our San Majorian kids probably will, too.”

  Her conversation with her father came back to her. “Papa told me something today. Once the investigation is over, they’re going to propose a change to the law. As long as the member of the royal family is the living parent, regardless of gender, the non-royal step-parent can adopt a child without the child losing their place in line.”

  He moved slightly away. “So I could adopt her?”

  “If you still want to.”

  The grin on his face gave her the answer before any words could. “I won’t love her any more if it does pass and I can, or any less if I never do. You know that, right?”

  “I know. I think everyone knows that, but still. The way the law is written now is stupid.”

  He chuckled and pulled her close again. “I can’t say I disagree.”

  Sofia finally got the ball to sit still and swung at it, smacking the floor behind it.

  Astrid winced.

  “We’ll work on form as she gets older,” Jordan whispered. “We’ve got all the time in the world.”

  “Are you sure we should do this?”

  Jordan turned to see Astrid lagging behind, Sofia in her arms. “We don’t have to, but I think it would be good to see how she does.”

  They’d been home over a week. They were meeting with the investigators in a few hours.

  “If she freaks out, we’ll go back, but we need to know.”

  Astrid sighed and started walking again. “I know.”

  “This is how we get places,” he reminded her.

  Sofia reached for him, and he took her from Astrid.

  “I know.” His wife brushed past. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it.” She pushed the heavy door open. It now sounded an alarm if left ajar longer than a minute.

  Jordan followed her down the stairs, paying close attention to the body language of the little girl in his arms. She didn’t stiffen or cling. She just looked.

  They weren’t going in the water. The most they’d do is let the water get Sofia’s toes, but only if she seemed comfortable or wanted down.

  Crossing the sand didn’t take long, but still seemed to take forever. Jordan kicked his sandals off before reaching the water’s edge.

  Sofia lunged for the ground. “My s’im!”

  Jordan closed his eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. “We’re not swimming today, sweet girl. We’re just going to get our feet wet.” He set her on the ground but kept a firm grip on her hand. Astrid took the other one. “Here comes the water!”

  Sofia giggled and kicked with one foot as the small wave came in. She did the same with the next one and the one after that. A few minutes later, a little bigger wave, this one slightly “rogue” for the area, came at them. Without needing to talk to each other about it, he and Astrid lifted her, swinging her over the wave. She giggled as it splashed around Jordan’s upper shins. Then he realized what had likely happened to cause Sofia’s near drowning. He’d have to tell Astrid later.

  After a few more minutes, Astrid told Sofia it was time to go inside. She didn’t want to, but agreed when Astrid offered to play hockey with her.

  “This I gotta see,” Jordan chuckled as he leaned over to pick up his sandals. Barefoot, they walked back to the stairs. “Hey, Sofia,” he started, picking her up. “Can you do something for me?”

  “Yeah, Papa.” She fiddled with the ribbing at the neck of his t-shirt.

  “I need you to never, ever go down these stairs by yourself, okay?”

  Sofia nodded. “‘Kay, Papa.”

  He used his free hand to tilt her chin so she could look at him. “I mean it, superstar. You can’t ever go down the big beach stairs without a grownup. Mama, or Papa, or Gretchen, okay?” There were others on the list, but that would work for now.

  “My not.” She pointed at stairs. “Yockey, Mama!”

  Jordan trotted up the stairs with her in his arms, thanking God the whole time that she wasn’t scared of the beach. It would have curbed the beach-y lifestyle they enjoyed and made it more difficult to get off San Minoria, but mostly it would have bothered him that Sofia was so scared.

  Back in her nursery, she gave Astrid the pink sparkly hockey stick.

  “This one is yours.” Astrid tried to hand it back.

  “Mama’s.”

  Astrid shrugged. “Thank you for letting me use it.”

  “You can use my knee pads if you want,” Jordan told her, picking up his camera and sitting on the floor.

  Her nose wrinkled. “I’ll be okay.”

  “Suit yourself.”

  Watching the two of them was the most fun Jordan had had in a long time. Neither of them had a clue how to play, but Sofia had clearly made up rules in her head. Those rules, of course, benefited her each time.

  After they played for a while, the three of them ate lunch someone brought up. Sofia laid down for her nap. Gretchen stayed in the room with her, though out of sight of the crib. No one was taking any chances.

  They walked to the conference room in Astrid’s office and watched out the window as her family walked up the beach.

  “We should put a sidewalk or stepping stones of some kind there,” he told her. “I’m kind of surprised there isn’t already.”

  “I think there used to be, but no one’s lived here full time in a long time. When my parents would come visit, they’d go to the dock and drive over.” Her hand slid through his arm. “What would you think about putting a desk in here for you? As long as I’m not on the phone with state business or we’re both on the phone at the same time, it would work. We’ll get you a cordless phone so you can take it to your office if you need to.”

  Jordan wrapped his arm around her waist. “You mean so I can lose track of it?”

  She shrugged, her face the picture of innocence. “You said it, not me.”

  “I love the idea if we can make it work.”

  “My parents do, and I know you’d love this view.”

  “That’s not why I’d enjoy having a desk in here.”

  “I know.”

  Before he could kiss her, they heard her family entering the office. Jade walked in behind them. “The investigators have arrived, ma’am. They’ll be up momentarily.” Nerves made small talk impossible until they arrived.

  They shook hands all around, introductions made where necessary, then the lead investigator suggested they all have a seat. He hooked his laptop up to the projector as Jade lowered the shades to make it a little easier to see.

  Finally, he turned to face all of them and nodded to one of the other men. That man set a recorder on the table.

  “For the record, please state your name, title if appropriate, and that you know this meeting is being recorded,” the second man told them.

  One by one, they went around the room, each giving their name and title.

  “Jordan Haines, Prince of San Majoria and Duke of Bevingdale,” Jordan said when it was his turn. “I know this meeting is being recorded.”

  “Before we get started, Your Royal Highness. Last time we spoke, you told me you weren’t sure what your legal last name was, but you presumed it was still Haines, though no one used it any longer. Have you confirmed that?”

  Jordan looked over at the king who didn’t give any indication one way or the other. “I have not. With everything else going on, checking into it slipped my mind. I will look into it this week.”

  “Very well. This meeting is to report on the findings into the near drowning incident that took place at the San Minorian Palace on October 23, 2016 at approximately 1400 hours. I won’t go over the details of the incident as I’m sure you’re all more aware of them than I am since the child is your daughter, stepdaughter, granddaughter, and niece. What we’re going to outline here is the findings about how Princess Sofia came to be on the beach unattended and whether or not any criminal charges will be filed.”

  One whole side of the table held their collective breath and willed the man to
get on with it. To tell them whether there would be charges before he laid out what they believed happened. The longer he went without saying there would be no charges, the more afraid Jordan was that there would be some.

  And his wife was the most likely target.

  Jordan reached over and took her hand, trying to convey to her his belief that it would all be okay.

  He hoped she believed it, because he wasn’t sure he did.

  33

  Astrid forced herself to breathe normally, or as close to it as possible. She loosened the death grip she had on Jordan’s hand, otherwise he’d lose circulation.

  But rather than just getting right down to it, the guy blathered on.

  “There are several nanny cams in the nursery. One faces the door, which was left slightly ajar. The nanny, Ms. Lynch, is seen sitting in a chair, presumably with the book she mentioned reading. She doesn’t move from her seat, nor does anyone enter the room through that door.”

  As they already knew.

  “Princess Sofia was laid down by Ms. Lynch at approximately 1215.” They showed that portion of the video. “After several minutes of activity, Princess Sofia settles down, and goes to sleep.” The video was fast forwarded over an hour, allowing them to see that nothing of interest happened anywhere near the crib. “Around 1340, Princess Sofia wakes up. Using her blanket and two stuffed animals later discovered to be a turtle and a moose, she managed to get her leg over the side of the crib railing. From there, she climbed out. Quite well, actually.”

  The video forwarded through Sofia wandering around her room, playing with this toy and that one, though none of the noisy ones.

  “After several minutes, she started walking around the room, running her hand along the wall.”

  Something Sofia did all the time and drove Astrid crazy while they were walking through hallways. More than once, she’d had to pull her daughter away from some priceless artifact or other.

  And then the Sofia on the screen peeked behind a tapestry hanging in her room. Astrid meant to have it removed, but hadn’t yet.

  Sofia disappeared behind the tapestry, but didn't emerge.