laid out Darrell Collier’s photos on the desk in front of him. As he studied each one, his father’s voice seemed to call out from the grave. “Always remember that one day you’ll be King.”
One wild night thirteen years ago he’d rebelled against the rules governing his royal life with this the result.
He actually had a son from his own body named Phillip.
Alex was a father!
Dear Lord—how could he just fly back to Switzerland as if nothing had happened, his secret safely hidden forever?
Maybe an ambitious king with no soul, or an unscrupulous man with no moral conscience, was capable of it. Ms. Collier had made a promise he would never hear from her again, that Phillip would never learn his father’s identity. Alex believed her.
But he knew himself too well. There was no way he could turn his back on his own flesh and blood no matter how the reality would impact his personal or political life. The knowledge that he had a son living in Denver, Colorado, would eat him alive.
Phillip hadn’t asked to be born.
He was the innocent product of an irresponsible twenty-year-old and an underage teen! By some miracle Darrell Collier had been there to mother Phillip and do the job Alex should have been doing all along.
Twelve years without a father.
Alex couldn’t imagine it, not when his own father had been such a dominant force in his life.
Without hesitation he buzzed his pilot. “I’m not leaving Denver yet. Stand by. I’ll get back to you as soon as I know my plans.”
He then rang the agent who’d brought him the ring. “Get everyone ready. I have a visit to make to Ms. Collier’s home.”
After a strange silence, “Yes, Your Majesty.”
DARRELL got in her car and drove over to the Holbrooks’s to pick up Phillip. En route she phoned to tell him she was on her way.
It was ten to six in the evening when she pulled up in front and honked. Phillip was waiting for her, and came out the door with his sleeping and duffel bags.
Hugs from him had been on short ration over the last year, but he actually gave her one after getting in the car. It melted her heart.
She’d been away three days, the longest separation they’d ever had. Over the years the two of them had enjoyed her airline perks. They’d gone on many vacations to fun places around the U.S. and Hawaii. But the trip to Bris had been for her eyes only, which meant Phillip had to stay with his best friend. Many weekends she’d let Ryan sleep over at her condo while his parents were out of town.
“How did it go while I was away?”
“Okay.”
“Tell me about the swim meet.”
“I didn’t place.”
Then he didn’t try hard enough because he usually took more firsts than the other guys on the team!
“Oh well, There’s always next time.”
“How come you didn’t take me to Chicago with you?”
She drew in a deep breath. “I couldn’t. It was an exhausting business trip. But I have an idea. After we get back to the condo and I freshen up, how would you like to go somewhere for dinner? You name the place.”
“Why do we have to go out? Can’t we just stay home?”
To her disappointment, he was more truculent than usual. She reached out to squeeze his arm. “Sure we can. I’ll fix us some tacos and we’ll just hang out.”
When he didn’t respond she said, “I don’t know if I told you Danice was transferred to Washington D.C. She’s invited us to spend the Fourth of July with her. That’s the day after tomorrow. We’ll watch the fireworks from a boat on the Potomac. It’ll be fabulous. What do you say?”
“I’d rather not go.”
Darrell moaned inwardly. “How come?”
“Danice treats me like a little kid. I hate it.”
Danice was her good friend, but right now Phillip didn’t care how he sounded. She started to feel panicky. His depression was definitely worse.
“Here we are,” she said unnecessarily as she pulled into the garage of their condo. “Take your clothes into the laundry room and we’ll get a wash started.”
“Mrs. Holbrook already did mine.”
“That was nice of her.”
When Darrell reached for her suitcase and saw the Zurich tag on the handle, she tore it off and stuffed it in her purse before entering the hallway.
She was convinced he was suffering more than usual because he’d just come from Ryan’s, whose father was known as Mr. Dad.
Phillip only had a mom. Life was unfair.
It was unfair.
Darrell no longer had a sibling. With her grandmother already passed away, Darrell had been virtually alone when she’d taken on the role of mother to raise Phillip.
Over the years she’d dated off and on. She’d even come close to marrying her boss earlier this year. But he was too soft on Phillip who needed a strong hand. Darrell had feared her son would always be in the driver’s seat after they married, so she’d stopped seeing him except in connection with her work.
Since then she hadn’t dated anyone.
“Phillip?” she called to him. “I’ll be upstairs changing, then I’ll come down and fix us a meal.”
“Okay.”
The condo felt like an oven. On the way up to the bathroom she turned on the air-conditioning to cool off the house.
Once beneath the spray, she quickly lathered her hair, then used the blow dryer until the strands swished soft and silky against her shoulders.
Afraid to keep him waiting too long, she applied a fresh coat of coral frost lipstick, then slipped on white shorts and a sleeveless navy top. Dispensing with shoes she hurried downstairs. He needed to talk.
She knew the drill. They would discuss all sorts of things, but inevitably he’d bring the conversation around to the father he was growing to hate for not being there for him.
It was so sad he’d reached the age where he understood about a man sowing his wild oats without compunction, and one had taken root in the Rocky Mountains.
Heartsick for Phillip who was acting out with increased frequency, she walked
