“Does your throat hurt bad?” Deacon asked in a calm voice.
Ethan gave a miserable nod.
Deacon kissed the top of Ethan’s head. “I’m sorry, buddy. Do you want it to go away?”
Ethan nodded again.
Deacon was vaguely aware of Callie and James watching him.
“I think I can help.” Deacon smoothed Ethan’s soft hair. “Do you like honey?”
“On toast,” Ethan rasped.
“Not on toast right now. On a spoon. It’ll help. Do you think you could swallow some honey on a spoon?”
Ethan nodded.
Deacon rose, carrying Ethan. “Let’s go to the kitchen and find some.”
“Owie,” Ethan whimpered again, as Deacon walked out of the bedroom.
“You know what will work even better than honey on your owie?” Deacon took the stairs. “The yucky medicine.”
“Nooo.”
“The trick is, you swallow just a little bit of medicine, and before you can even taste it, you pop the honey in your mouth.”
James spoke from Callie’s arms behind them. “Can I have honey?”
“Sure,” Callie said, sounding dazed.
Deacon turned on a small light in the kitchen. He located a bottle of honey and a spoon.
“What do you say, buddy?” He looked down at Ethan. “A quick squirt of yucky medicine and then a big spoon of honey?”
Ethan looked skeptical, and Deacon was afraid his ploy wouldn’t work. If it didn’t, he was calling a doctor whether Callie liked it or not. Ethan was burning up. They had to get his fever down.
“’Kay,” Ethan said in the quietest of voices.
“That’s my boy.” Relief rushed through Deacon. He held up the medicine dispenser. “I know you can do it, buddy.”
Ethan gave a brave nod.
Deacon squirted the medicine into Ethan’s mouth.
Ethan screwed up his face in a scowl, but he managed to swallow it.
Deacon quickly put the honey to his lips, and Ethan sucked the spoon into his mouth. His expression slowly cleared.
“That was fantastic,” Deacon praised him, wrapping his arms fully around Ethan’s sweaty little body.
Callie slumped against the counter, James still in her arms, a single tear escaping to run down her cheek. He held her gaze, and she gave him a shaky nod of thanks.
“Do you want to go back to Mommy?” Deacon asked Ethan.
“’Kay,” Ethan squeaked out.
Callie set James down, and Deacon handed her the limp Ethan.
Then Deacon crouched to talk to James. “Honey for you too?”
“Is Ethan okay?” James asked.
“He’s going to feel better really soon,” Deacon said. “After your honey, you’ll need to brush your teeth again.”
“Okay,” James agreed.
Deacon got a fresh spoon and gave James a small dollop of honey.
He grinned as he licked it.
Callie was sitting at the breakfast table, rocking Ethan in her arms.
Deacon took James’s hand. “Back to bed for you.”
“Okay,” James said, with a last look at his brother.
Deacon helped James with his teeth, got him tucked back in and then returned to the kitchen. Callie was still at the table, rocking Ethan.
Ethan had stopped crying. But his eyes were open, and he cringed in pain as he swallowed.
Deacon crouched beside them.
“Thank you,” Callie said, her voice breaking.
“No problem.” Deacon was incredibly glad to have been here to support her. “We can still call a doctor.”
Callie glanced at her watch. “Let’s give the acetaminophen time to work.”
“Do you want to move to the family room?” He rose and held out a hand to help her up. “It’ll be more comfortable.”
She hesitated, but then accepted his offer.
Deacon resisted the urge to put his arm around her. Intellectually, he knew their relationship had irrevocably changed. But emotionally, he still felt protective of her. He still felt close to her. He still felt like her husband.
She sat down in the same armchair as earlier, leaning back with Ethan stretched across her chest.
“Do you want a blanket?” Deacon asked her.
“He called you daddy.”
“Yeah.” Deacon’s chest tightened with the memory. It had taken him completely off guard.
Callie looked wretchedly unhappy, her voice half whisper, half wail. “What am I going to do?”
* * *
After Ethan recovered, circumstances seemed to conspire against Callie.
The boys were very obviously bonding with Deacon, and Hannah called full of excitement and ideas as she ran the bakery solo. Margo had had a playroom specially built, and couldn’t wait to show it off to her grandsons.
So on Saturday, with Ethan back at full strength, Deacon pulled the car up to the front of the castle.
Callie couldn’t do anything but stare in awe at the imposing stone structure. “It looks like a hotel.”
“This is where Frederick grew up.”
“Daddy used to live here?” James asked in wonder from the back seat.
“He did,” Deacon confirmed.
“Was Daddy a prince?”
“He was just a very lucky little boy.” There was something in Deacon’s voice, but Callie couldn’t pinpoint the emotion.
“I wish I was a prince,” James said.
Callie had to fight a smile. It was the first time she’d seen humor in the world since she’d discovered the truth.
“When I was a boy, I wanted to be a prince, too,” Deacon said.
“There’s a tower,” James said, excitement growing in his voice. “A real tower. Can I have a sword?”
A part of Callie couldn’t help being interested in Frederick’s childhood home. But mostly she was plotting their exit from Hale Harbor. The sooner she moved the boys back to their old life, the better it would be for them.
While she helped Ethan out of his car seat, Deacon opened the opposite door for James.
The castle’s grounds were vast. Summer flowers were blooming in dozens of garden beds. The lawn was a smooth emerald carpet. Oak trees lined the wide, exposed aggregate driveway. And two lion statues flanked a wide staircase that led to arched oversize wood-plank doors.
The castle was three stories high, with a tower on each of the front corners. She could see at least three gardeners on the grounds. While off to the left side, there was a six-car garage.
“This is ridiculous,” she muttered under her breath.
“Down,” Ethan said, kicking his legs.
Callie set him down.
He immediately ran for the lawn.
“Don’t touch the flowers,” she called after him.
James trotted after his brother, while Ethan dropped and rolled in the lush grass.
The door to the castle yawned open. Callie half expected a butler to emerge. But it was Margo and Tyrell who appeared. With them was a young woman who looked to be in her early twenties.
“Who’s that?” Callie asked Deacon, dividing her attention between the porch and the boys.
Ethan had spotted a row of rhododendron bushes, and she could almost see his little mind working.
“I don’t know. It’s not Aaron’s wife.”
“Another long-lost relative?”
“Not that I know about.”
The trio started toward them.
Although it was a warm Saturday, Tyrell was dressed in a business suit. Margo wore tan slacks and a sleeveless patterned silk top. Her grey hair was wispy around her face, while a pair of designer sunglasses were perched on her nose. The other woman was dressed in jeans, a white capped-sleeve T-shirt and fla
t sandals. She had long blond hair in a sporty ponytail.
“James,” Callie called out. “Can you bring Ethan back?”
James trotted over to his brother and took his hand. Ethan pointed at the pink rhododendrons, but James tugged him along.
“I just can’t get over it,” Margo said as she watched the boys come toward them.
“The genes are strong,” Tyrell said.
Callie had learned from Deacon that James and Ethan bore an uncanny resemblance to their uncles, Aaron and Beau.
“I’ll have to show you some pictures,” Margo said to Callie.
Although she greeted Callie with a squeeze on the arm, Margo didn’t acknowledge Deacon.
It was growing clear to Callie that Margo didn’t like Deacon. It didn’t take a genius to figure out why. It wasn’t Deacon’s fault that Tyrell had an affair with his mother. But it seemed as though Margo was determined to hold Deacon responsible.
“Callie, this is Dee Anderson,” Margo said. “Dee has a degree in early childhood education, and she’s joined our household staff.”
Callie let the phrase “joined our household staff” roll around in her brain for a moment.
“Hello, Mrs. Holt.” Dee offered her hand.
The name jolted Callie, and she stumbled in her response. “Please, call me Callie.” She studiously avoided looking Deacon’s way.
Deacon had spent a lot of time at work the past few days. In the evenings, he’d been a big help with the boys. But they’d tiptoed around each other when they were alone. She hadn’t talked to him about her immediate plans to stay or go, and he hadn’t brought it up.
“Grandma has something special to show you,” Margo said to James and Ethan.
James hung back, but she captured Ethan’s attention.
“Candy?” asked Ethan.
“It’s not candy,” Margo said with an indulgent smile.
Ethan frowned.
Callie moved to take each of her sons’ hands, putting a cheerful note into her voice. “Why don’t we see what Grandma wants to show us?”
James hung on, while Ethan tried to pull out of her hold.
“Do you want some help?” Deacon asked Callie.
“We’ll be fine.” Margo waved him away and started walking.
“My name is Dee.” Dee introduced herself to the boys as she fell into step. “You must be James, and you must be Ethan.”
“Ethan,” Ethan said.
“It’s nice to meet you, Ethan.”
“Have candy?”
“Ethan,” Callie warned. “You’ve only just finished breakfast.”
“Dessert,” Ethan said with authority.
“You know we don’t have dessert with breakfast.”
“Do you like slides?” Dee asked.
James spoke up. “I like towers.” He craned his neck as they walked toward the castle.
Instead of heading for the front door, they took a walkway along the south side of the castle, coming to a chain-link gate that led to a fenced area with a giant, colorful playset of swings, slides, bridges and ladders with safety rails.
James’s eyes went wide.
“Slides!” Ethan squealed.
Dee opened the gate, and both boys dashed inside.
“It’s...” Callie didn’t even know what to say.
“It’s consumer tested and very highly rated,” Margo said.
“The best safety rating,” Dee said.
“I was going to say enormous.” Callie stared at straight slides, covered slides, curving slides.
Ethan started up a ladder.
Callie checked his path, looking for the danger zones, deciding where best to stand to spot him. But she didn’t see any flaws in the design. There were no spaces where it looked like he could fall. And Dee was right behind him, laughing and asking him what he wanted to try first.
“They seem to like it,” Margo said.
“I don’t know any kids who wouldn’t.” Callie looked a little further around. The area was completely fenced. The boys couldn’t wander away.
“Would you like to sit down?” Margo gestured to an umbrella-covered table. “I’ll have some iced tea brought out for us.”
Callie got the feeling she’d been separated from Deacon for a reason. But the boys were happy. Margo was being very hospitable, and Callie preferred to keep her distance from Deacon anyway.
It didn’t matter where he was, or what he was doing. She wasn’t even going to think about him.
* * *
As Deacon signed the paperwork at the boardroom table in the castle’s business wing, Beau burst through the door.
“You can’t do this,” Beau shouted at his father.
Tyrell glared at his son for a beat before answering. “Hello, Beau.”
“Aaron just told me what’s going on.”
Tyrell’s tone was clipped and even. “Had you not missed the last three board meetings, you might have known sooner.”
Beau stalked across the room, making a beeline for the paperwork in front of Deacon.
When Beau reached out to grab it, Deacon jumped from his chair, grabbing Beau’s lapel and pushing him back into the wall.
Beau doubled up his fist, and Deacon braced himself for a hit.
“Stop!” Tyrell bellowed.
Beau glared into Deacon’s eyes.
“You need a two-thirds majority,” Beau spat.
Deacon narrowed his eyes, trying to gauge if Beau was bluffing.
“No,” Tyrell said, staying in his seat at the head of the long table. “You need a two-thirds majority to overturn the decision.”
Beau broke eye contact with Deacon to look at his father.
Deacon took a chance and relaxed his hold.
Beau pushed to break free. “Are we going to let the lawyers duke it out?”
Aaron appeared in the doorway, and Deacon felt distinctly outnumbered.
“Do you have the authority to make this deal?” Deacon asked Tyrell.
“Yes,” Tyrell said, his voice definitive.
“I will fight you,” Beau said. “You are not having this...” He rounded on Deacon. “This person replace Frederick.”
“He’s not replacing Frederick,” Tyrell said.
“No?” Aaron walked in and took the chair to the right of his father. Aaron’s tone was far more reasonable. “You’re giving him Frederick’s company shares. He married Frederick’s wife. He’s here. What more is there to replacing Frederick?”
“We should throw him out,” Beau said.
“Beau,” Tyrell snapped.
“You’re not helping,” Aaron said to his brother.
“You’re welcome to try,” Deacon said easily.
“I’ll tie you up in court so long, you’ll be bankrupt or retired before we’re done.”
Deacon sat back down and signed the final paper with a flourish. “Do that, and you’ll never see my sons again.”
Deacon knew full well Callie could walk away at any moment, and he’d be the one who’d never see James and Ethan again. But for the moment, they were his best leverage point with the Clarksons.
“The price is too high,” Beau said to his father. “Even you have to know it’s way too high.”
“They’re my grandsons,” Tyrell said. “They’re the future of this family.”
Beau walked around the table and dropped into a chair. “I’ll get married,” he said. “You win. I’ll get married and give you legitimate grandchildren.”
“You had your chance,” Tyrell said.
Deacon couldn’t help but glance at Aaron. Aaron was married. Was there some reason he wasn’t having children? From the tight expression on Aaron’s face, Deacon guessed that must be the case.
The reason for Tyrell’s offer to Deacon was be
coming clearer. James and Ethan weren’t just his first grandsons. They might well be his only grandsons.
“What’s your beef with me?” Deacon asked Beau.
Beau shot a sneer across the table. “Are you kidding me? The mere sight of you is a knife in my mother’s heart.”
“Not my fault,” Deacon said.
“Shouldn’t we be talking about his credentials,” Aaron asked. “What does he know about running the port? We don’t need a useless drain on the system with twenty-five percent voting power.”
Deacon was getting tired of this argument. He looked to Tyrell. “Do we have a deal, or don’t we? Because I’m the legal guardian of those two boys, and their mother is madly in love with me.” The last part was a gross exaggeration at this point, but Deacon liked the way it added to his threat.
Tyrell stood. “There’s something you need to see.”
At first, Deacon thought Tyrell was talking to him. But it was clear he meant Aaron and Beau.
“What?” Beau asked.
“You can’t run this place by decree,” Aaron said.
“Will you follow me?” Tyrell’s exasperation was clear.
Both men reluctantly followed their father out of the room.
Curious, Deacon went along. Whatever it was Tyrell had up his sleeve, Deacon could only hope it settled the deal.
They made their way along a hallway, through a formal dining room, to a set of glass doors. The doors led to a patio. And when they walked outside, Deacon could hear James’s and Ethan’s shouts. He also heard a woman’s laughter. He guessed it was Dee.
The play area was off the edge of the patio, and both Aaron and Beau moved closer to look. They stopped at the concrete rail, and Deacon watched their expressions as they stared: Aaron at James and Beau at Ethan. It was clear they saw what everyone else did. It was as if they’d been cloned.
Aaron spoke first. “How could that...”
Beau brought the heels of his palms down on the rail, a note of awe in his voice. “Do you think Frederick could see it?”
Tyrell’s bet seemed to have paid off. It looked like Aaron and Beau would close ranks around their nephews.
Deacon caught a glimpse of Callie. She was laughing, looking relaxed while she chatted with Margo. She looked unexpectedly happy, and he was jealous. He saw her every day, but he missed her desperately.
The Illegitimate Billionaire (Whiskey Bay Brides Book 4; Billionaire & Babies) Page 13