Princess, Without Cover (22 page)

Stephen grabbed her and pulled her close, as she buried her face into his shirt, inhaling his familiar scent. 

“Sydney, listen to me.  This is over.  I’m not dead and you’re safe now. I promise you, I will hold you every night for the rest of your life.  You’ll never need to be afraid again.”

His voice was assured and strong and she didn’t argue with him.  Instead, she changed the subject.

“Is Tom okay?  I haven’t seen him.”

“He’s fine.  He’s awake now and chatting with the paramedics while they check him out.  The man is a talker.  And he seems completely unfazed by all of this. What a remarkable guy!”

Sydney nodded.  She couldn’t agree more. 

“Will you take me to him?”

“Of course.” 

Stephen guided her lightly with his hand against her back, keeping her within an arm’s reach at all times.  Sydney felt confident that he wouldn’t allow her very far out of his sight for awhile and that was perfectly fine with her. 

The paramedics had Tom reclined in the living room, resting comfortably on a couch.  He had an IV tube running into his arm, but other than that, appeared normal.  His wrinkled face lit up in a grin when he saw her.

“Sydney!  I’m happy to see you safe and sound.”  He reached out for her hand and she took it, enjoying the warmth of his large gnarled mitt.

“Tom, I’m so sorry that I got you involved in all of this.  I am so grateful to you.  I’ll never be able to repay you.” She squeezed his hand as he looked at her with twinkling eyes.

“Oh, yes you can.  You’ve got connections, little girl.  Maybe you could talk to your father about increasing tax breaks for farmers.”  He laughed.  “Oh, I’m only joking.  Kind of.” 

Sydney laughed, delighted that she was still able to do so.  After the horror of her day, it wouldn’t be unheard of if she didn’t find anything funny for quite a long time. 

“Tom, do you need anything?  Should we send someone out to your house to feed your animals or anything?”

Tom shook his head. “Nope, little girl.  They’re telling me that I can go home here in a bit.  I can take care of everything myself. But thank you kindly, just the same.” He paused for a moment, his eyes gleaming kindly.  “I’m very sorry about your mother.” 

Sydney felt a pang in her heart and bent down to hug the wrinkled man, whispering in his ear.

“Thank you.  For everything. Any time you need anything, you call me.” 

He nodded.  “Sure will.  And Sydney, that works the other way, too.  Call me anytime.  I get lonely sometimes, so you can even just call me to talk.  I don’t text, though.  Never could figure out the fascination with that.”  He shook his head in annoyance at the thought and Sydney smiled. 

“Okay, Tom.  I’ll call you in a couple of days to check up on you and I promise that I won’t text you.”  She smiled at him again before making her way across the room to where Stephen was waiting for her. 

“Syd, Agent Briggs just spoke with the hospital.  Your dad was just admitted for surgery.  He’s in critical but stable condition. They think he’s going to be just fine.” 

Relief surged through every cell in her body as she processed the information. 

“Thank God,” she whispered.  She leaned up to kiss Stephen on the cheek.  She looked down at her blood covered clothing.  It was even dried into her hair in clumps.

“I’m going to take a quick shower and then how about… we go up to the hospital?” 

He smiled gently down at her. 

“Sydney, I would follow you to the ends of the earth.  I hope you know that.”

She smiled back before she walked away.  She knew. 

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

“Only three more hours until I get to see you again.” 

Stephen’s deep, husky voice filled Sydney’s ear and she smiled into the phone.

She was sitting in her new apartment with her long legs draped over the side of an overstuffed white chair, staring out her living room window. 

Lucky for her, her father had been in total agreement that she could live off-campus in an apartment rather than living in a dorm at Notre Dame.  She wasn’t sure that dorm life would agree with her now.  She valued her privacy too much.  After everything that had happened, she had chosen to attend Notre Dame rather than Columbia, because Indiana was so much closer to home. It was only an hour and a half drive, if she drove fast- which of course she always did.    

“Only three hours, hmm?” she murmured into the phone.  “I wish you were here right now.”

“I do, too. But I’m on the toll-road now and I’ll be there soon.  I’m sorry that I had to go on this book tour, sweetheart.  I wish you could’ve come with me.  You should see New York!”

She smiled again at his enthusiasm and didn’t bother to mention that she had seen New York numerous times.  And all of the brilliance of the lights of the Big Apple didn’t compare to how she felt when she was with Stephen. 

“I finally got everything unpacked.  And I hung all of your clothes in the spare bedroom closet.  I’m sorry, but I took up all of the space in ours.” 

She laughed lightly, because she knew he wouldn’t care.  On their first night in the new apartment, they had eaten cold Chinese on an overturned moving box.  Stephen had told her right then and there that he didn’t care what happened in life but that he wanted to spend every moment with her. 

“I also took the liberty of turning that bedroom into an office for you.  I hope you don’t mind. You need somewhere to write if you’re going to keep me in the lifestyle that I am accustomed.”

She grinned even though he couldn’t see her.

He laughed huskily into the phone. “Woman, I miss you.  You’re too good to me!”

She was just about to jokingly agree when the doorbell rang.  She glanced up in surprise.  She wasn’t expecting anyone. 

“Stephen, someone’s here.  I’ll have to call you back, okay?  I love you.”

She tossed her phone onto the couch as she crossed the room to the front door.  She peeked through the peephole, only to find Christian Price standing in the hallway with flowers in his hand.  Her breath froze in her throat as old emotions came rumbling back.  They hadn’t exactly parted on the best terms.  She opened the door.

“Christian!  What in the world are you doing here?”

She smiled, but her expression was puzzled. 

“Shouldn’t you be at Princeton right now getting ready for a big game or something?” She tried to keep her voice light, but underneath the surface, she was boiling with curiosity.

“Yes.”  Christian grinned the dimpled grin that used to take her breath away. “But I’m home for the weekend. And I needed to see you.” 

He handed her the flowers.  “These are for you, of course.”

“Um, thanks.  But what are they for?  It’s not my birthday.”

“Well, let’s just say they’re a peace offering.  Can we do that?”  His smile was hopeful, as he reached for her hand.  “I know that I let you down.  And I feel really guilty about that.”

She drew her hand away. 

“No offense, Chris, but you’re not getting into my pants.”

She smiled jokingly, which he immediately returned.

“Um, no offense, Syd- but I’ve been there, done that.” He dodged as she slugged him on the arm.  “Ow- you’ve gotten a pretty good right hook since the last time I saw you.”

“I’ve been taking self-defense lessons,” she replied proudly.  “I could lay you out if I wanted to.”

“Well, let’s not get too carried away,” Christian grinned. 

Sydney shook her head and let it slide.  It had been easy to slide back into their old joking relationship style, but she knew he was here for a reason. 

“Chris, it’s nice to see you.  But why don’t you come in and tell me why you are here?” She swung the door open and gestured for him to come in. 

“Can I get you anything to drink?” 

He settled himself into the couch as Sydney went into the kitchen to put the flowers into water.  “A water would be nice- thanks!”

He looked around her cozy living room. 

“Nice place, Syd,” he said approvingly.  “I couldn’t get my parents to agree to off-campus living.”

Sydney handed him a bottle of water.

“Well, my dad has been very accommodating.  Since everything…” her voice trailed off. 

It had been several months since everything had happened and she still didn’t like to talk about it.  She wasn’t sure that she ever would.

“That’s why I’m here.” Christian spoke so low that Sydney had to strain her ears to hear him.  “I’m sorry, Syd.  About everything.”

She glanced at his handsome face in surprise. 

“You drove all the way here to apologize?  You could’ve called. My number is still the same.”

“It wouldn’t have been the same.  The FBI agent… what’s his name?  Agent Briggs?  Anyway, he had to do some follow-up interviews with me and he told me that the police detective had told you that I said that the baby wasn’t mine and that you were probably knocked up at a party… all kinds of things.”

Sydney nodded painfully.  The memories were still fresh and Christian’s lies were still hurtful- even though they had been overshadowed by everything else. 

“Sydney, he lied.  I never told him anything like that. You can ask my parents, if you don’t believe me. They were there during my interview with him.  I told him the truth- that you and I had been dating for months and that I loved you, but I just wasn’t ready to be a dad.” 

He stared pensively out the window. 

“Do you think you can ever forgive me for that, Syd?  For not wanting to be a dad?”

Sydney’s heart throbbed.  At one time, she had wanted to strangle him for leaving her to face everything alone. But she could see now that he was still the same Christian- the one that she had fallen in love with.  Loveable, playful Christian.  And of course he hadn’t been ready to have a child. With his personality, he probably wouldn’t be ready until he was 40.  She leaned over and squeezed his hand.

“Chris, I meant what I told you at the time.  I didn’t hold it against you then and I still don’t.  That was your decision and you had every right to make it.  But I am very happy to hear that the detective was lying.  It broke my heart at the time.” 

He leaned over to hug her. 

“Sydney, I haven’t been able to forget something you said once.  You said that every girl remembers her first and that you wanted me to remember you, even though you weren’t mine.” 

She nodded.  She remembered that conversation clearly.

“I’ll always remember you.  Everything about you—the way you twirl your hair when you are relaxed, the way you laugh when you are nervous, the way you drive much too fast… we’ve known each other a long time.  And a piece of me will always love you.  I’m really, really sorry about everything that happened.  You didn’t deserve any of it.” 

He leaned over and hugged her tightly again and she let him, closing her eyes at the familiarity of his scent.  He had worn Hugo since they were in junior high.  And it suited him.

“Christian, you’re a really good person.  I’m glad I was with you and I wish you nothing but the best.”  She kissed his cheek and sat back in her chair, studying him curiously.

“So, tell me.  Who’s the new chick?  Because I know you have one.” 

He laughed as he allowed himself to be led into a lighter conversation. 

“Well, obviously she isn’t you, but she’s still pretty great.” 

And for the next fifteen minutes or so, he shared details of his life with Sydney and she listened with friendly interest.

“So, let me get this straight.  You forgot to pick her up at a restaurant and she didn’t even get mad?   You’d better keep her.”  Sydney swirled her water around in the bottom of the bottle while she laughed. 

Christian laughed too and glanced at his watch. 

“Okay.  As much as I hate to, I should probably get going.  I’m supposed to have dinner with my parents.” He grimaced as he stood up.

“Well, by all means, give them my love.”  Sydney smiled as she allowed Christian to pull her to her feet. 

He wrinkled his brow.  “I’m sorry about that, too, Syd.  You know, about the way my mom treated you.  She… has a temper sometimes.” 

“Don’t worry about it.” And Sydney meant it.  Christian’s mom had been worried about her son’s future.  It was a natural reaction and she wasn’t going to hold it against her. 

“Don’t be a stranger, Syd.”  Christian leaned down to kiss her cheek.  “Call me anytime and come up to a Princeton football game sometime.  I could use a familiar face from home in the crowd.”

“Maybe I’ll do that.  Good-bye, Christian. Drive safely.” 

He looked back one time and then strode confidently down the hallway.  Sydney watched his retreating back with a reminiscent smile. She had been speaking the truth. She was glad that they had been together.  She had learned so much. 

Digging through the couch cushions, she found the television remote and clicked the TV on.  The local news channel was running yet another follow-up story on the whole Ross family scandal.  It seemed that she would never be able to escape it. 

The reporter dressed in a dark mauve suit matter-of-factly discussed the fall-out from the scandal. 

“Yes, Maureen… today, Illinois Senator Randall Ross returned to Washington after a several month hiatus.  He has been in seclusion in his Highland Park mansion for months after his wife conspired with an Illinois policeman to murder her own family. 

“Luckily for Senator Ross and their daughter, Sydney, their devious plan wasn’t carried out, although several others lost their lives in the brutal attack, including Ohio senator Paul Hayes.  Senator Ross returned from his hiatus only this week and says that he is feeling much better and is looking forward to once again serving his constituents.” 

Sydney stared at the smiling picture of her father and sighed.  She loved her father and was so happy that their relationship had taken on a healthy, new life.  She was also thankful that Jillian and Harrison’s lies never saw the light of day. 

But none of that changed the fact that she was probably never going to enjoy the political lifestyle.  She hated living in a fishbowl.  Even here, in the smallish town of South Bend, she was recognized where she went.  The only place she had any privacy was in her apartment. It was her very own fortress of solitude.