by Lee, Kimball
“Yes but she wouldn’t let me go into the cockpit, I could see the pilots but they told me to stay back,” he said with a look of annoyance.
“Well I have a jet here at the ranch, its sitting on the runway. If you’d like I’ll have my pilots take us up and you can take the controls and fly.”
Atti’s face burst into the biggest smile Charlotte had ever seen and he shouted, “YES! Woohoo, I get to fly a real jet!”
“So you’re going to play dirty, huh?” Charlotte whispered in Bly’s ear as Atticus ran across the tarmac and climbed the steps to the jet.
“I thought you liked it when I play dirty, Charlotte. At least from the sounds you made when you and I played,” Bly said and took her hand as she walked beside him.
“You don’t play fair, Bly. What do you want to do, send him off to school in Switzerland? You have a say in his life of course, but don’t hurt me through him. I will never let you send him far away from me,” she said and stopped squarely in front of him and her eyes were deadly serious.
“Country Day Prep is one of the best private schools in the nation and it’s in San Diego. He doesn’t have to live there as a boarder, he’ll be home at night… with us. I don’t want him living away from me any more than you do,” he said, brushing his thumb across her pouty bottom lip. “I told you I wouldn’t send a child of ours away.”
“Your twins are at boarding school in Switzerland, how can I be sure that you won’t…”
“The twins don’t have a mother who cares about them. The same nannies they’ve had all their lives are with them at school. I made special arrangements for that. When I’m not at your beck and call or tending to whatever needs my mother or Amanda throw at me, I work twenty-four-seven. I have an apartment in Geneva and I see my children at least once a month. Don’t judge my life, Charlotte. As I’ve already made quite clear, it would all be different if you and I were together,” he had to fight not to cover her mouth with his as he stared down at her. His love for her was stronger than ever now that he had met the wonderful little boy who had come from their passion and love. Charlotte also made him mad by judging him and his erection pressed hard against her as he pressed her body to his.
“Hurry up,” Atticus yelled from the doorway of the jet, “let’s go, let’s go!”
“You heard him,” Bly said, letting Charlotte go reluctantly. “What he wants, he gets.”
“No Bly, I don’t want him raised in some hermetically sealed life where he has a body guard and you will indulge his every whim,” Charlotte said, catching Bly’s arm before he walked to the jet.
“We’ll raise him the same way you have been, Charlotte, he’s a great kid. I want you to be with me, to marry me, for the love of God, and I’ll never give up on that idea. If you’ve suddenly changed your mind and have some romantic notion about your life with Finn… well, you always do what you want in the end. The truth is out in the open now, he is my son and whether you like it or not, he was born to a life of privilege. He has to be prepared for what will be handed over to him. He will go to Country Day and I think your daughter should attend the school as well so they can be together. I won’t budge on that point, he needs to understand the mechanics of society and an empire he’s destined to control.”
*
“Mom, you’ve gotta see this cockpit, come sit with us,” Atticus called over his shoulder. Once the jet reached its cruising altitude Bly had unfastened their seat belts and taken Atticus to sit in the copilot’s seat. He was in heaven, Charlotte could see that, and what little boy wouldn’t be? He asked the pilot a million and one questions and Bly kneeled between them and smiled and watched and listened to his son. Bly was different with Atticus, she could see that as well. He was softer and less tightly wound, he laughed constantly and genuinely and his sea-glass eyes sparkled so that it was impossible for her to look away. He was like a father holding his new born baby for the first time, Bly was hopelessly in love with their child.
It was nearly dark when they landed the jet and Charles was waiting to drive them back to the ranch house. He was quieter than usual, he hadn’t spoken to Charlotte or to Bly. He just listened as Atticus rattled off a rapid fire account of the day’s adventure.
“Go on inside and get cleaned up for supper, Atticus,” Charles said, and he told Charlotte and Bly he wanted to talk to them in the study. “What’s going on here, Bly? Are you so selfish that you’ll break up my daughter’s family to have what you want?”
“Charles, that boy is my son, now maybe you knew that or maybe you’re a fool, but I’m entitled to what’s mine,” Bly said, settling casually into a chair facing Charles.
“I’m no fool, but I know what’s right and the child loves his father. He loves Finn and you will cause him a world of pain if you try and change that now, is that what you want? Is it what you want Charlotte?” her father asked as he chewed the end of an unlit cigar.
“Dad, I want…”
Bly’s cell phone rang and he cursed and answered it, “Billy, what is it? I’m in the middle of something important. When? Alright, assemble a team and get on it, find him and do it quickly.” Bly closed his eyes then ran his hand through his hair before he stood up, “I have to go back to California. My cousin Bennet is missing. He was being transported from prison to a psychiatric facility, he killed the driver of the transport van and two guards as well. The guards were shot and the driver’s throat was cut. There’s a statewide man hunt and Billy Kipling will put together a group of operatives to find him and deal with him one way or another. Charlotte and the kids should stay here until we find him, Charles. Do you understand that Charlotte? I don’t want you to leave this ranch until he’s been found. Are you listening to me, this is serious,” Bly snatched her out of her chair and kissed her, he didn’t give a shit what Charles Tremont might think. Bennet Sommerfeld was out there and he would want to settle a score with the man who shot him and put him in prison. That man was Finn and his wife and children would most certainly become his targets.
“We’ll stay until I hear from you,” Charlotte said, and her face was flushed as she glanced at her father.
Chapter Five
Charlotte worried about Bennet Sommerfeld being loose in the world. She knew he was probably scheming to kill her and Finn, or worse yet, the children. The murders he had committed were horrific and it chilled her to the bone to imagine that she had been his target years before. She kept her mind busy by spending quality time with her kids including Matilda and Cuatro. Hadley slept in a guest bedroom with Charlotte and late at night Matilda would come in to lie across the end of the bed and talk. She was a wealth of knowledge in all things concerning fifteen year olds. Matilda liked confiding in Charlotte, she said, mainly because her own mother was clueless and too old to be cool.
She confided in Charlotte that she wanted to be kissed by an exceptionally handsome boy and that she already had a lot of practice. None of the boys she knew rocked her world, there were only the red necks that worked on the ranch and a couple of preppies from school who were mildly interesting. All the guys she had let kiss her were sappy fools and nowhere near worthy of her attention. The man she would love had to be blazing hot and sexy, and definitely brilliant. She wanted a convertible Bentley and no matter what her mother said, she was getting one when she turned sixteen. Most importantly she intended to be a lawyer and the first female president of the United States. Other than that she couldn’t wait to get out of Texas and live anywhere that people weren’t stuck in the dark ages, maybe California where smoking pot was legal.
“I’m gonna be cool and smart and beautiful like you, Charlotte,” Matilda said, as she pulled her hair back into a ponytail.
“You’re already very pretty, Matilda, and it’s obvious you’re smart or you wouldn’t be planning for the future. Are you sure you want to be president, that’s a lot of responsibility? Please don’t smoke marijuana, that would definitely be bad for your brain cells and your political career,” Charlotte said, and
she wondered if Matilda was just trying to sound grownup or if she should mention it to Belinda.
“I like having absolute power and I want to go into politics, so why settle for anything less than the highest office available? Most of the kids at school smoke pot and a lot of them steal their parent’s prescription meds. My dip-shit mother thinks because I board at Saint Mary’s Hall during the week that I’m immune to the whole drug thing. She has no idea, kids who have money and rich parents have no problem getting their hands on world class drugs.”
Charlotte hated to be a snitch but the girl was fifteen years old and talking casually about drug use. She was for sure going to have a talk with Belinda and her father in the morning. The part that seriously bothered her was what Matilda said about drugs being so readily available to kids with lots of money. Saint Mary’s Hall was a prestigious private school in San Antonio much like Country Day. Kids were going to come in contact with drugs and smoking and drinking no matter where they went to school Charlotte reasoned. She would see to it that Atticus and Hadley were thoroughly indoctrinated against the evils of drug and alcohol abuse, which meant she was giving up drinking from that day forward.
“So you’ll go to law school and then run for president, sounds like a plan to me. Where do you think you’ll go to college?” Charlotte asked, she picked up her cell phone and scanned the messages hoping against hope for some word from Finn.
“Well, my mom went to SMU,” Matilda said, scrolling through her own rhinestone encrusted phone, “she was into all the sorority bullshit. Oh sorry, I guess I shouldn’t cuss in front of you. Anyway, everyone on my dad’s side of the family are total Longhorn lovers, they wouldn’t dream of going anywhere but the University of Texas. They all hate Aggies and practically bleed burnt orange, if you know what I mean. I’m breaking with tradition and going to Georgetown or Stanford, that’s where you have to go to make any political connections,” she said, chipping away at her blue fingernail polish. “Are you in love with Mr. Bly?”
“No,” Charlotte said quickly and the thought that she might not be in love with him was such a strange notion that it was frightening to her. “Why would you think that? I’m married you know.”
“Yeah well, forgive me for saying it, but that man is hot. I guess Atticus is gonna look just like him when he grows up, except that he has your big blue eyes which is totally cool. I can already see that kid’s gonna be a serious chick magnet.”
“Matilda did you hear something about Mr. Bly and Atticus?”
“Not about Atti being Mr. Bly’s kid, I just figured that out on my own. I’m not stupid, it’s like the man is totally gonzo over you. I can’t wait for some guy to look at me like that someday, I know it will happen. Like I said, I like to be in control, I’m going to use men as love slaves. The men who love me will do whatever I want.”
“I’m tired, Matilda. You’d better go on to bed, I’ll see you tomorrow,” Charlotte said and she couldn’t imagine that a girl so young was already thinking about using drugs and scheming to make men her love slaves. Matilda for president, that would definitely be interesting and the girl might just make it happen someday, she was heir to billions of dollars after all.
*
“Charlotte, come home,” Bly said as soon as she answered the phone. “Bennet is dead, he was burned to death in a motel room last night.”
“You’re kidding, what happened?” Charlotte asked and she was already headed upstairs to start packing her bags.
“He was on the run and he checked into a seedy motel in South San Diego near the Mexican border. He was smoking in bed, he had robbed a drug store earlier and got away with a huge amount of pills, so he either overdosed or passed out. The mattress caught fire and burned down half the motel, thank God everyone else got out safely. I’ve sent the jet for you and the children, it will be there in a couple of hours. I’ll see you when you get here, there are some details I need to attend to with my mother and her sister.”
Charlotte packed her bags and the children’s, but Hadley was intent on staying at the ranch until her daddy came to get her.
“Hadley, it’s time for us to go home. You know your Gran Georgina is missing you terribly, she will be so sad if you don’t come home now,” Charlotte said, kneeling down and taking her daughter in her arms.
“Mommy, Belinda and Granddaddy are taking me to see the real live Peter Pan in San ‘tonio. He’s gonna fly across the stage for real and I think the crocodile is real too. Daddy would let me stay, he knows I’m gonna be a movie girl and I need to learn about plays and stuff,” Hadley said and Charlotte could tell from the look in her big blue-grey eyes that it was an argument she wasn’t going to win.
“I’ll bring her home in a few days,” Charles said, he scooped Hadley up and she held fast to his neck and gave her mother a triumphant smile. “Maybe you and Atticus should wait to go back, darlin’. Is Alex sure it’s safe, has the body… has a positive identification been made?”
“Bly wouldn’t let us come back if it wasn’t safe, Dad, there’s nothing to worry about now. Alright Hadley, you can stay a little longer, four days and that’s it. Atticus is starting his soccer camp as soon as we get home and you know your daddy wants you to play soccer too.”
“Nope, no soccer, just ballerina girl lessons,” Hadley said, then she squirmed out of her grandfather’s embrace, gave her mother a dozen kisses and ran off to see if Cuatro wanted to play like they were Peter Pan and Wendy.
“Five years old and already determined to have her way. How on earth am I going to handle that girl when she’s a teenager?” Charlotte said, and her Dad smiled and shrugged his shoulders.
“Darlin’ don’t do anything rash, these kids need their father and by that I mean Finn,” Charles said as he carried Charlotte’s bags downstairs and set them by the front door.
“I won’t Dad, I wish Finn would come back, we have things to talk over.”
“Alex is a good man and he told me that Atticus will inherent the Bly corporation. I like money as much as the next person, but that’s an enormous responsibility for a young man. I just hope Finn makes it home and you all work things out, Atticus needs a lot of stability in his life right now. Ah Charlotte, I don’t need to tell you any of this, you only want what’s best for those kids, that I know for sure.”
“Don’t worry Dad, I’m through thinking about what I want. My kids are all that matter.”
*
Billy Kipling and his daughter Vivi arrived on the jet to collect Charlotte and Atticus later in the evening. Atticus and Vivi played well together on the way back to San Diego. Vivi laughed and listened intently as Atticus told her about jets and battleships and everything under the sun that was of interest to a pair of seven year olds.
Bly met them at the airport and drove them to his house, Charlotte started to protest but Atticus jumped out of the car, excited by the grandeur of the mansion.
“Whoa, this is awesome! Do you live here Alex?” Atticus asked, running ahead of Bly into the enormous front hall with its wide curving stairway and walls hung with priceless art. “It looks like a museum, this painting is my favorite; it’s a Gauguin. Mom taught me all about him.”
“It’s my favorite too,” Bly said, standing beside Atticus with his hand on his shoulder. He knelt down beside him and told him about the painting, “This painting belongs to you, Atticus, I bought it for your first birthday. I’m saving it for you until you’re eighteen, then you can decide if you want to keep it or sell it. I think you should keep it because it’s very special. Would you like to see the rest of the house?”
“Yep, but first I want go upstairs and slide down the stair rail,” Atticus said and started toward the stairs.
“No, Atti. The top of the stairway is really high, you could fall and hurt yourself,” Charlotte said, and she looked to Bly to back her up.
“She’s right, it’s a long way down. Let’s do that another day, I promise when you’re a little older you can slide down all you want,
” Bly said, taking his hand and leading him through the myriad rooms and out onto the terrace. The moon was full and the ocean seemed luminous as it crashed against the rocks at the bottom of the cliff. The air was warm and the sound of the waves was like a lullaby. Atticus broke free from Bly’s grasp and ran to edge of the cliff and leaned over to look down.
Charlotte gasped and Bly was next to him quickly, pulling him back. “That cliff is awfully steep Atticus and we don’t want to make your mother nervous, so why don’t we go back inside. You can come back out in the morning and have a look, you can see for miles across the Pacific from here.”
“Are we sleeping here tonight?” Atticus asked looking up at Bly and then at Charlotte.
“You can stay here as long as you want, this is your house.” Bly knelt down and hugged Atticus to him, then he brushed the lock of hair away from his forehead and studied the beautiful little face, “everything else I have is yours as well Atticus, even my jet.”
“Let’s go Atticus,” Charlotte said, taking his hand. This was not how she wanted Atticus to find out that Bly was his father. Finn needed to be a part of it and it made her furious that Bly thought he could just buy her son’s affection. “Can Billy drive us home or should I call a cab? I don’t want to argue about this Bly, I want to go home to my own bed tonight, we can talk tomorrow.”
Bly was ready to go to war with her, having his son in the house had set a fire in his heart. He loved Charlotte and she would have to leave Finn and marry him if she wanted to be a part of raising Atticus. He hated to have to give her an ultimatum, but he had the power to get full custody and he was prepared to do it. “Please stay here tonight, Charlotte, it would mean the world to me to have you both under my roof safe with me.”
“I can’t Bly, Atticus starts soccer camp tomorrow; he needs to get a good night’s sleep.”
“Alex will you come watch me play soccer tomorrow? You won’t believe how fast I am when I have the ball.” Atticus said, looking up at Bly hopefully.
