Someone To Believe In (30 page)

Jon closed his eyes. He didn’t know what to
think. And he was tired. “I guess it doesn’t really matter.”

“Look, let’s table this. You don’t need all
that on your mind now. I think you should come to the town house
and stay with me for a few days. I’ll arrange for a car to take us
there.”

He liked having his dad make this decision.
“Shouldn’t I go back to school?”

From the doorway, a doctor said, “In a few
days. Now, you should be with somebody because of that concussion.
Go home with your father.”

“Okay, sure.”

After the doctor gave instructions to Jon,
his dad stood. “I’ll be right back. I’m going to talk to somebody
out there about a car.”

As his father headed out, Jon called after
him. “Thanks, Dad.”

Clay turned at the doorway. “For what?”

“For coming here, helping, not being
pissed.”

“I’m pissed about your underage drinking. But
for the other, you can count on me, Jon. I wish you’d believe
that.”

“I hear ya, Dad.”

BAILEY SAW HIM come toward her from where she
sat in the waiting room of Kingston Hospital. His clothes were
wrinkled, his hair a mess; he looked tired and unhappy but not
worried. She stood and gave him a hug. He hung on. “Jon’s all
right,” he said when he pulled back.

“Thank God. Do you know what happened?”

“He was drinking. They made a human pyramid
when they were hammered. What the hell’s the matter with him?”

“College kids aren’t known for their common
sense.”

“He had a fight with Karen.” Clay told her
the details. “Then she casually flew to the Bahamas without
thinking what the lack of resolution might do to Jon.”

“Well, like I said before, she has to be an
idiot for cheating on you.”

He reached out and swiped his fingers over
her lips. “Thanks. Listen, I’m taking Jon back to my town house. He
needs rest. I’m going to call for a car.” He watched her. “You’ll
have to catch the train back by yourself.”

Bailey knew he didn’t want that.

Tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, he
shook his head. “I hate sending you off alone.”

“I’ve taken thousands of trains alone,
Clay.”

He nodded to the hospital rooms. “We have to
think about telling him.”

“We’ll do it. But tonight wouldn’t be good.
He’s already upset.”

Leaning over, Clay kissed her nose, then
reached out his hand and took hers. “Come on, I’ll get you in a cab
to the station.”

They turned then, and found Jon standing
before them. “Well, so much for honesty, Dad. Geez, you and Mom are
a pair.”

SIXTEEN

“WHAT ARE WE doing, Mommy?”

“We’re soothing troubled waters.” Standing on
the stoop of Clay’s town house, Bailey held Rory’s hand and clasped
the dessert she’d made in the other. Clay said Jon liked sweets so
she’d made him a chocolate ice cream roll. As far as peace
offerings went, it sufficed.

Rory jumped from one foot to the other.
Dressed in jeans and sneakers, he insisted on wearing his Jeter
shirt under his jacket. “We’re gonna meet Clay’s son, right?

“Right.”

“How come we never met him before?”

The sixty-four thousand dollar question.
“Well, you will now.”

Thankfully the door opened. Clay stood there
in a forest green sweat suit, his color high. He must have gone
running. “Hey, hi, guys.” Bending down he picked up Rory. “Ready to
meet Jon?”

Quietly, she asked, “Is Jon ready to meet
him?”

“I think so. He’s been surly and out of
sorts, but part of that is because he’s in pain.”

They entered the living room.

“He hasn’t said much since the ride
home.”

Bailey nodded. “He didn’t say much then,
either.”

“He won’t talk about it. Just vegges in front
of the TV. So I thought we’d take the bull by the horns.” He
ruffled Rory’s hair. “I figure this little guy can charm anybody
out of their funk.”

“Oooo, that’s a bad word. Mommy uses it
sometimes.”

“Not funk, buddy. Something else is a bad
word.” He smiled at Bailey over Rory’s head. “Being in a funk means
you’re sad.”

They took the stairs up and found Jon, fully
dressed, on his bed, watching the pregame show for the first leg of
the World Series. “Hey, Jon, I have someone for you to meet.”

Jon looked up, his expression souring even
more when he saw Bailey. “I already met the Street Angel.”

“This is Bailey’s son, Rory.”

Jon inspected Rory as if he were a bug that
had just crawled into his bedroom. “Yeah, hi.”

Rory hugged Clay’s leg. “Hi.”

Jon’s eyes narrowed on the movement. “He
knows about you two?”

“Yes.”

“How long?”

“What?”

“How long has the kid known?”

“Awhile.”

“Can I watch the game with you?” Rory asked,
glancing at the TV.

Ignoring the boy, Jon asked Clay, “Why’re
they here?”

Clay said, “Jon, don’t be—”

Bailey stepped forward. “We wanted you to
meet my son. And I wanted to talk to you. Clay, would you take Rory
downstairs for a bit? Jon and I need to get acquainted. Alone.”

Protectively, he put his hand on her
shoulder. “You think that’s a good idea?”

Jon jutted out his chin. “I do.” The
challenge was evident.

When the guys left, Bailey sat down on a
chair near the bed. She knew she needed to be direct. “The secrecy
about my relationship with your father was my doing, Jon. I should
have cleared that up right away.”

“The night of my grandfather’s party, Dad
lied to me outright when I asked if there was another woman
besides Jane. If he lied about that, how do I know he’s not lying
about everything else?”

“You mean what your mother told you?”

“Crap, he shared that with you about why they
broke up?”

“Uh-huh. He’s not lying, Jon.”

“Sure.”

She scowled. “Did you hear what I said? Your
father wanted to go public with our relationship right away. I
insisted on keeping it quiet.”

“Why?”

“For obvious reasons.” None of which she’d
worked out in her mind, so it was hard talking to his kid about it.
“I don’t fit in your dad’s world.”

Shaking his head, Jon leaned back against the
pillow. “I get it. This is just some sleazy affair between you
two.”

“I’ll let that pass because you’re upset. And
because all this is new to you. I’ll even address it. This isn’t
some sleazy affair. But it’s more complicated than you know. So
I’d appreciate if you didn’t make things more difficult for your
father than they are.”

“Why the hell are you together anyway?”

Bailey laughed. “I wish I knew. It just
happened.”

“You still gonna keep it a secret?”

“I don’t know what we’re going to do. We
weren’t planning to tell you yet.”

“Oh, that makes me feel better.”

“A lot’s at stake here, Jon.”

“I’m his son! I should have known. He said
he’d be honest with me and he wasn’t.”

“At my insistence. Cut him some slack; this
is an unusual situation. We both have a lot to lose.”

“What?”

She explained her side, about the publicity,
then tackled her background, and what that would mean to Clay’s
reputation.

Her honesty seemed to soften him. “I get it,
for you, anyway. Still...”

“You’re his son and you feel left out. That’s
okay—you have a right to those feelings. As a matter of fact, if I
were you I’d be royally pissed. You’ve told him all that, now put
it behind you and go from here.”

She could tell from the look on Jon’s face
that was exactly what he wanted to do.

Jon cocked his head. “You’re good with kids,
your know that.”

“I hope so. It’s my job.”

“That’s why you run that place.”

“Yeah.”

“What are you and my dad gonna do about your
job, your differences?”

“I have no idea. For now, we’re coasting.
We’d like you to keep this quiet, not tell anybody, either.”

“Your kid can do that? He’s little.”

“We told him it was a game. One of my
brothers knows.”

Wearily, he laid back into the pillows. “I
wish I had a brother.”

She stood. “I think this is enough for
now.”

“You can go get Rory. He can watch TV with
me.”

“Why don’t you come downstairs and we’ll
watch the game all together.”

“You like baseball?”

She gave him a withering look. “You’re
kidding, right?”

Jon smiled. It was so reminiscent of Clay’s
it made her reach out and squeeze his arm. “I made you an ice cream
cake.”

“You did? Why?”

“As a peace offering. Since I was responsible
for this latest rift with you and your dad.”

“Okay. I guess I can come downstairs.” He
slid off the bed. She stretched out her hand and they shook.

She held on to him. “He loves you so much,
Jon. He wants your relationship to flourish. Work with him, would
you?”

“You’re crazy about him, aren’t you?”

“Yes.” she said simply. “I am.”

CHUCK STEWART SAT at the round table and
smiled at his committee. He seemed rested, less care-worn, since
his announcement not to be considered for VP. “Are the states all
ready to give their reports?”

His administrative assistant nodded. “Yes.”.
We need to set up a schedule, then let the states know their time
slots ASAP, if we’re going to have a decision by Thanksgiving.”

“It’s the agenda for today.” They talked some
about time frames when the committee members could meet.

When it was his turn, Clay cleared his
throat. “I have a problem.” Which was a huge understatement.
Mostly, Bailey was a
crisis
in
his life, though she’d worked miracles with Jon.

“Go ahead.”

“My committee wants dual representation.”

Jane’s father, Tom, spoke up. “Why the hell
is that? We’re all on those task forces. Each senator is
reporting.”

“Well, our committee was divided. Half of
them want the Street Angel to come to our meeting.” He rolled his
eyes. “Apparently they don’t believe I’ll give an unbiased
report.”

“What?” Carol Jenkins quipped dryly. “People
don’t trust politicians?”

Everybody laughed. Clay opened his Palm
Pilot. “Here’s some dates she can come to town. I’d like to
accommodate her on this, rather than antagonize her off at the
outset, if any of these times are available. The first one is the
best for her. It’s next week, though.”

Bailey’s choice of a time was a go. Clay had
meant what he said about setting the tone, but there was another
reason why he wanted the first date—because Bailey could get free
and spend the weekend before with him in D.C. Apparently Rory was
doing a camping thing with Liam’s scout troop. It felt like stolen
time.

Dates were set for the other states. When the
meeting broke up, Tom Carter approached him. “Clayton, would you
have a drink with me?”

He hedged. “I’m not sure I’m free.”

“You are. I checked with Bob. I’d like to
talk to you.”

Irked at the older man’s
presumptuousness, Clay remembered Bailey’s comment,
How do you live like that?
Some
aspects of his life in Washington he really did resent.

Nevertheless Clay accompanied Tom to
Barlow’s, a small club on C Street where senators often socialized.
It was quiet and catered mostly to people on the Hill.

When they reached Barlow’s, Clay was shocked
to find his father sitting at a table waiting for them. Tall, fit
and as imposing as ever, Clayton Sr. was unsmiling.

“What’s going on?” he asked Tom when they
reached the elder Clayton.

“Sit down, Clay,” his dad said.

They did. The buzz of low conversation filled
the silence until they ordered drinks. Then Tom dove right in. “I
asked your father to come for a drink when I found out he was in
town. We both want to talk about your erratic behavior of late
“

“What behavior is that?”

Clayton Sr. sat back and steepled his hands.
It was a gesture Clay knew well. “For one thing, this temporary
separation from Jane.”

He arched his brows. “I didn’t break it off
temporarily.”

“Did she?” Clayton Sr. asked Tom.

“Of course not. She was expecting a ring
after your party.”

Clay sipped his scotch, wishing he’d ordered
a double, “I meant that I broke it off permanently.”

“Jane doesn’t know that.” This from a clearly
disgruntled Tom Carter.

He faced Jane’s father squarely. “Jane
doesn’t want to know that. I told her point-blank our relationship
was over. Fm sorry, Tom, but that’s the way it is.”

Clayton Sr. spoke up. “Jane’s a perfect wife
for the vice president of the United States.”

He studied the staid man before him. “Aren’t
we jumping the gun here?”

“No. Before a choice is made, you should be
married.”

Clay shook his head. “I
should
marry someone I
love.”

Obviously uncomfortable with the situation,
Tom stood. “I’m going over there to speak to Jackson Jones for a
minute.” He nodded to another table. “Talk some sense into him,
Clay.”

When Tom walked away, his father shook his
head. The stern, disapproving look on his face was all too
familiar. “What’s this about?”

“I’m not in love with Jane, Dad

“I’m sorry to hear that.” He sipped his
drink. “But it’s not uncommon to marry somebody you don’t
love.”

“I know, I already did it once. To please you
and Mother, I think.”

“Really? I had no idea.

Of course you
wouldn’t
. Clay was hit with a blast of resentment so
hard it made him speechless. But it also made him strengthen his
resolve to keep working on his relationship with Jon.