American Frontier had that day increased Carson’s stipend for “exemplary service, going beyond the call of duty in trying times.”
But that day Stapleton had also set up Carson for a hard fall. When they’d signed the agreement Stapleton had drafted, Stapleton had waved off Carson returning the pen.
“Keep it. My gift to you,” Stapleton had said magnanimously.
So Carson had walked away, congratulating himself and carrying the pen that was now the reason he was secreted away by the FBI and DHS.
The contact smiled. It was indeed satisfying when a plan came together. And soon Darcy Wiggins at DHS would receive a surprise package—video footage of Sean Worthington and Justin Eliot’s meeting at the bar, with Jason Carson’s fingerprints all over it.
The copy Carson had made to protect himself would lead to his downfall.
Sometimes you had to catch the small fish to use them as bait to catch the much bigger ones.
NEW YORK CITY
Sean still hadn’t called his brother or his sister. He knew he was delaying the inevitable as he flipped through the stack of mail. Then he spotted the package that Thomas had given him the day they’d met in person. He held it for five minutes, turning it over and over. He lacked the courage to open it.
Elizabeth stepped back into the living room after scouting out the ingredients in their fridge. “I was thinking mac and cheese—” She eyed his expression. “Is that the package from Thomas?”
He nodded.
“Then it’s time to open it.” She perched on the edge of his large chair.
“But—” His protests were pointless. He knew she would get her way.
She rubbed his shoulder. “It’s okay, Sean. Whatever it is, or says. You need to know.”
He sighed, then eased open the package. The first object he drew out was wrapped in tissue paper.
Elizabeth nudged him gently. “Go ahead.”
The object he unwrapped gingerly was a white baby shoe, scuffed on the toes from a child’s learning to walk. Turning the shoe over, he traced the delicate lettering that said “Thomas” and, beneath it, “of Love.”
“Oh, Sean,” Elizabeth whispered.
They both looked toward the bookshelf, where another white baby shoe rested. Elizabeth got up and retrieved it. “Look.” She placed the two shoes next to each other. “A perfect match.”
Sean reached for them and turned them over. He held them together and read the message across the back of the shoes. “To Sean Thomas. A Gift of Love.”
“The missing shoe,” Elizabeth breathed. “Thomas must have had it all this time.”
Sean nodded. “But how did he get it?” He stared at it.
His mother never said she had been in contact with Thomas through the years. But she never said she hadn’t either. When she’d given Sean one of the baby shoes, all she’d said about the other was, “I no longer have the other shoe. I wish I did.” He would have to give that angle some more thought.
“What else is in the package?” Elizabeth asked, propelling him out of his reverie.
The next item was a tiny white shirt, embroidered with distinctive purple and pink flowers. He passed the shirt to Elizabeth.
She studied the soft fabric. “Those are fuchsias.”
He nodded. “They grow wild along the roadsides in Ireland, near my mother’s family’s castle. I don’t remember wearing this shirt, but I have seen a picture of me as a baby in it somewhere.”
A third item was a photo of a happy red-haired baby, revealing one tooth and clapping his hands.
“A chubby little guy. I never would have guessed,” Elizabeth teased.
There was one more item in the package. He breathed deeply before he opened it. It was an expensive, handmade leather journal that appeared to have weathered decades. Sean opened the first page, and his hand started to shake.
Elizabeth read the title of the page aloud. “The Story of My Son, Sean Thomas.” She flipped to the next page and read, “Today I discovered that I have a son—you, Sean Thomas. It has to be true because you look like me, and your mother gave you not only an Irish name, for our shared heritage, but my first name for your middle name.”
Sean held up his hand. In a broken voice, he managed, “What else is in the journal?”
She took it from his hands and flipped through it for a few minutes. “His thoughts about your mother, pictures of you growing up and from all around the globe on your travels, articles about you starting NGOs . . .”
He took a shaky breath. “No more for now. I need to make a phone call.”
She hugged him. “I understand.”
48
NEW YORK CITY
Sarah walked away from the set of The View, satisfied with her talk show performance. The hosts had been friendly and clearly were in her court politically. Her campaign team was already giving her a thumbs-up in the greenroom. Within minutes of the show concluding, her public rating had already increased by several percent. It would likely jump 3 to 5 percent more, just as it had done when she was on The Tonight Show. Sarah was the fresh voice in politics and the confident change agent that the American public, tired of bureaucratic and unapproachable men in their fifties and sixties, craved.
Though the media was clearly following her with nearly all positive feedback, she’d be glad when Sean was back. She counted on him to filter key information and strategize the next moves of her campaign.
Thinking of Sean, she frowned. He still hadn’t called or shot a text back. Good thing they had strategized early to keep a couple of days clear for her in her schedule and to allow him time to settle back in after his honeymoon.
However, they needed to talk, and soon.
Sean called Thomas. “I opened the package,” he said. “I had no idea. All these years . . .”
“Yes,” Thomas answered in a gravelly voice. “I was following you.”
“So you knew, somehow.” Sean paused. “I haven’t read the journal, but . . . when are you coming to town next?”
“Whenever you say, and as fast as you say.”
“Then today.”
“All right. I’ll be there.”
“This time I want you to come to my place . . . our place. Elizabeth’s and mine.”
“I’ll give you an ETA as soon as I land.”
Sean’s hand was shaking slightly when he ended the call. Thomas hadn’t even asked where Sean lived. Clearly, he already knew. As crazy as it seemed, though, that didn’t disturb Sean.
Elizabeth covered his hand with both of hers. “So he’s coming?”
Sean nodded. “Today.”
“Good.” Then she chuckled. “What exactly do you feed a former president of the United States?”
He smiled at her. “The same thing we were going to eat. Homemade macaroni and cheese.”
It was one of the best dishes Elizabeth made. Her father’s favorite, it had become one of Sean’s favorites too. Sean’s housekeeper had stocked the fridge and pantry with the simple ingredients, upon his request.
A SECURE LOCATION
The call from the man was short. “I’ll be in New York City for a day or so,” he said in his gravelly voice.
“Understood.” A pause, then he asked, “Sean?”
“Yes.”
The ball had been in Sean’s court. So, he had finally called.
What the outcome would be, he didn’t know. But he had learned long ago to trust both in the man’s patience for accomplishing results and in Sean Worthington’s integrity.
Both were used to being in the line of fire.
Father and son were much more alike than even they guessed.
49
Sarah was back in her penthouse by early afternoon. Finally, she had the opportunity to call Sean again. This time he picked up.
His greeting didn’t sound like his usual nonchalant self, but she didn’t linger long on that thought. She didn’t even ask about his and Elizabeth’s trip.
“Sean, why didn’t
you tell me?” she demanded.
“Tell you what? And what’s with the full frontal assault before you even say hi?”
“That Mom had an affair?” She heard what sounded like the phone dropping on his side. “Hey, are you still there?”
“Still here,” he answered in a tone that sounded like Will’s steely one. “Could we have this conversation another time, maybe in person?”
“You knew and you didn’t tell me,” she accused. “Even more, Thomas was at your wedding. If you knew, how could you let Mom invite him to a family event?”
“No, sis, Mom didn’t invite him. I did.”
“I don’t understand. Why would you—”
“Because he’s my birth father.”
The air around her suddenly turned arctic. Her world stilled as if it were on pause.
Sean’s “Hello? Hello?” dimmed into the background. Suddenly the clues shifted into a complete picture. All made sense.
Sean’s disappearance, never explained. He must have fled after he found out the truth.
Her mother’s distress and remoteness.
The change in her father—both with Sean and with Ava. His aged appearance.
Thomas suddenly showing up at a family event after all these years.
Her parents’ second honeymoon trip.
So her mother’s secret had been revealed to Will, Sean, and Bill, but she hadn’t trusted her own daughter. The baby of the family never would grow up in their eyes, would she?
As tears clouded her eyes, she grabbed her purse and slipped out the door.
There was only one place she could go.
To Chautauqua.
Sean should have known better than to answer his sister’s call before he talked to Will to get any details of what she knew. Will would be patient and await his call. His sister, on the other hand, always demanded an immediate response. He’d picked up her call from simple habit.
Now he did what he should have done first. He phoned Will. “Talked to Sarah, and it didn’t go so well. Maybe you or Laura could call her after a while.”
“How much did you tell her?”
“That Thomas is my birth father.”
“So she knows the whole enchilada,” Will said flatly.
“I didn’t have the opportunity to say more than that. The line went silent on her end. But she knew about Mom’s affair, so I’m certain she’s now put together the rest of the pieces.” Sean sighed. “Wish I could head over to her place right now, but that’s not possible. I have a visitor arriving any moment.”
“Visitor?” Will asked. “More important than what’s going on with Sarah right now?”
“It’s Thomas. He’s on his way. I asked him to come.”
Will cleared his throat. “I see. Looks like things are heating up for our family. Okay, I’ll handle Sarah. You’ve got your hands full.”
At this moment, he missed Laura even more.
CHAUTAUQUA INSTITUTION
Sarah’s anger overshadowed her exhaustion by the time she reached Chautauqua. With her parents both in Australia, their home was empty. That was a good thing. She needed time to process, to get her emotions under control. Once in her bedroom, she donned an old T-shirt, hoodie, and sweats—comfort wear.
Her phone beeped again. She scrolled through the long list of calls from Sean, Will, and Laura. She’d ignored them the entire drive. Thankfully, she was on her agreed-upon break from campaign responsibilities to allow Sean a window upon his return, so she didn’t have to respond to any texts immediately.
At that moment she saw a single text from Jon. She frowned. He had to know about Thomas. Jon was Sean’s best friend. Was this what Jon had been trying to tell her when she cut him off and ordered him out of her penthouse? Had he stayed silent up until then because Sean had asked him to?
She called Jon. “You know, don’t you?” she fired at him as soon as he picked up.
“Know what?” he said in his maddeningly calm manner.
“About Sean. Where he came from?”
Jon chuckled. “You mean from the moon?”
“That’s not funny. No, that he came from—my mom’s affair.”
“Your mom and Thomas.” Jon clicked into reporter mode. “Is that what you mean?”
“So you knew and you didn’t tell me?”
“No, I didn’t know, but I started to guess when I saw Thomas at the wedding. I had already received an anonymous tip at the news desk about your mother having an affair. So that was in the back of my mind. When Sean and Thomas were standing next to each other on the boat, they looked so much alike. With their shared middle name and the timing of the affair . . .”
“How could I have missed that? I’m an attorney, for heaven’s sake,” she said in a choked voice.
“So that’s why he disappeared. Why he went dark,” Jon reasoned aloud. “He had to think things through. His whole world got turned upside down.”
“Oh.” For the first time, Sarah realized the pain Sean must have gone through. Sorrow flooded over her. Her anger dissipated. “Jon, I really hammered him. And you. You tried to tell me about the affair, and I—”
“You didn’t know,” he said. “By the way, where are you?”
“Chautauqua.” Unshed tears clogged her throat. “I need to go.”
“No, you don’t.”
She hung up.
Creeping into her mother’s green room, she sank onto the floor, hugging her knees.
“Why didn’t you tell me, Mom?” she whispered.
Then the tears descended.
50
NEW YORK CITY
Sean’s cell rang. It was Jon. He picked up immediately.
“Just talked to Sarah,” Jon said.
“Is she all right?” Sean asked.
“I know about Thomas, and who he is to you. I’ve been putting together the pieces for a while now. We can talk about that later. Right now my concern is Sarah. She’s at Chautauqua.”
Sean blew out a breath. “Thank God. Then she’s safe.”
“Physically, yes. Emotionally, no. I’m on my way. Pushing the speed limit to get there as fast as possible.”
“So she knows you’re coming?”
“No, she hung up on me.”
Sean sighed. “That sounds like my sister.”
“But I’m still going. You know I love her, right?”
“Yes, I know.” Sean couldn’t resist adding, “As much as you tried to waffle on the subject.”
“And you’re good with it?”
“Couldn’t be better.”
“Then give me the code to the front door in case she won’t let me in.”
Sean laughed. “You got it.”
Will sat in his living room, massaging the tension out of his neck. He hadn’t been able to reach Sarah. He’d made a quick trip to her penthouse, but she wasn’t there. The doorman said she’d asked for her car to be brought and had left with just her purse hours earlier. So where was she?
Will’s cell rang. “Oh, Elizabeth. Have you—”
“She’s at the summer house,” Elizabeth declared. “Sean’s talking with Thomas, but I wanted to let you know.”
Will scowled. “She drove all the way there in that condition? What is she think—”
“Don’t worry. She got there safely, and Jon’s on his way.”
“Jon?”
“Yes, Jon.” There was a smile in Elizabeth’s voice.
“I see,” was all Will said before he hung up.
He shook his head. If Laura were there, he knew what she’d be doing. She’d be looking at him, hands on her hips, with a bemused expression that said, “Back off, buster. They’ve got things to discuss. More than just Sean.”
Will knew better than to step into any womanly territory, especially with the Worthington women. Even if Laura was a world away in Malawi.
Thomas sat with Elizabeth and Sean at their dining room table for a belated dinner. “This is delicious,” he said, savoring the last spoonful of Eli
zabeth’s macaroni and cheese.
“Simple,” Elizabeth replied, “but we love it.”
It amazed Sean how comfortable Elizabeth was talking with a man who had just entered their lives and was the ex-president of the United States. Her relational ease and unpretentious ways had smoothed any tension. Sean was grateful.
“And now I owe you a story,” Thomas said. “One long overdue.” He looked at Sean. “But only if you want to hear it.”
Elizabeth reached for Sean’s hand and squeezed it.
“We both do,” Sean replied.
“From the instant Ava and I met in college, we had a special connection. We quickly became good friends. Bill was a sophomore when we three had a class together. We hit it off and forged a friendship over three years of university, slogging it out over difficult subjects. Bill graduated a year earlier than Ava and me and plunged into work at Worthington Shares. But before he left, he asked Ava to marry him after she graduated. She was stunned, starstruck that someone like Bill wanted to marry her.”
Thomas took a sip from his water glass. “Ava had no idea how much I cared for her. Our senior year, the two of us spent even more time together. She was lonely, missing Bill, who rarely visited. I told her he was just busy setting up a career. I came up with all kinds of excuses for his seeming lack of attention. I truly wanted the best for both of my friends, and I assumed that best meant each other. Still, I couldn’t help my feelings. I loved and respected Ava. She was the only one who saw the potential in me. I chafed against regulations and what people told me I had to do, and dreamed of influencing the world in my own way.”
Elizabeth smiled at Sean. “Sounds like somebody else I know.”
Thomas went on. “It’s because of Ava that I changed my path from law to politics and the presidential race. She believed in me—the immature boy I was then, and the man I could become. We graduated but kept in close contact. I was best man at their wedding. I flew in to town to see Will the day he was born. When I saw the love and joy in Ava’s eyes as she held her baby and realized how I still felt about her, I knew I had to step away. I had to build my own life, separate from her and Bill.
A Primary Decision Page 18
