Tudor Redemption (Tudor Dynasty Book 4) (7 page)

Hours
later, I was interrupted by the growling of my stomach. I glanced at my phone.
It was almost midnight. I’d been at it for hours. No wonder I was hungry. I put
the guitar down and decided on a sandwich. Except for the glitch of the morning
and the weather, it’d been a productive day.

I
sat back and began to think on the events of some twenty-plus years ago. Had I
been that naive not to have realized what was happening with Beth?

I
recalled going to Beth’s house, having not seen her around at school. The two
of us had been rather close. Beth had been my first and I hers. I had been just
a hormonal, horny teenager. It was one of the perks of being in a band. The
young women. That’s how I’d really met Julia. Though we were in the same class,
as was Beth, neither of them hung out together. Looking back now, I could see
why.

Julia
and I had married the summer after we graduated. I knew no better. Beth’s
disappearing without so much as a word had made me do stupid things. Our
parents, not wanting the scandal of Julia being pregnant, agreed to a small,
quiet affair in the backyard of my parent’s home.

Oh
hell...the realization of what happened all those years ago. How could I have
been so stupid! I should have seen it then. Julia’s way of manipulating every
situation to her benefit. Even back then.

****

Rain
is what I awoke to the next morning. I’d been up late writing and quite pleased
with the results. However, spending another day locked inside was not how I’d
planned this trip. I didn’t need to be alone with my thoughts inside the cabin
of a sailboat.

I
knew I wasn’t far from the island Amadeus and Zara lived on. I’d planned a
visit as I always did, just not this soon. A change of plans never hurt in one’s
adventure. If nothing else, I’d have a dock I could tie up to.

Digging
out my raingear, I donned it and headed outside. Before long, I was underway.

As
I neared the island, I sent my brother a text, letting him know I was heading
his way. He was quick to respond.

Wet, matey?

Brat.

Yeah, brat.

I
approached his dock and shut the engine off, letting the boat glide into place.
I headed to the bow to secure the bowline. As I did, I noticed Amadeus
approaching. He walked down the dock and grabbed the stern line.

“Thanks,”
I said. “I never saw this coming.”

“No
problem. Didn’t you check the weather last night?” he drawled, grinning at me.

“No.
I was writing.”

“Good
for you. Come on, let’s head up to the house. This should break later this
afternoon. You can get your stuff then.”

I
nodded, and we hurried inside. Shedding the rain gear, I hung it up in the
mudroom off the kitchen. Zara was fixing lunch.

“Damien,
good to see you,” she said as she continued with her task.

“Sorry
to drop in, but I didn’t think I could spend another day cooped up.”

“Not
a problem, you know that,” she replied. “How has your trip been so far?”

“Wet,
but interesting.”

“Yeah,
so Court said.” Amadeus quipped.

“Courtney
called you?” Of course, she did.

“Come
on, you two, get yourselves something to drink. You can carry on at the table.”

We
sat down, and Zara put plates in front of us. Sometimes, I wondered if my
brother knew just what a gem he had in Zara. He could be a real jerk at times.

I
pulled out my phone and sent both girls a text telling them where I was. “You
said Court called you?” I asked when I was finished.

“She
wanted to know if I remembered a Beth Asher. I told her I didn’t. Told her you
were older, and at that time, I wasn’t privy to all your friends.”

“Yeah,
we ran into her on Bainbridge. Seems she’s moved back and is living there now.”

“She
also mentioned that Beth’s son was there. Ethan Maverick, the mega huge rock
star. Said he was the spitting image of you, Dame. Now why would she say that?
Something you’ve been keeping from us?”

“No.
I haven’t been keeping anything from anyone. I didn’t know until yesterday.”

“Know
what?” Zara asked, picking up Wolfgang.

“That
Ethan Maverick is my son. There’s no denying it either. He looks just like me.”

“Yeah,
Court sent a picture of the two of them she took before she left Bainbridge.”
Amadeus snickered.

“I
asked Beth not to say anything to her...”

“She
didn’t, but Court said you left abruptly, and Beth followed you. She just put
two and two together.”

“Okay.
Short version. Yeah, Ethan’s my son. Happened before Julia and I married. Her
parents sent her away.”

“So,
what are you going to do?”

“Nothing,
right now. I don’t know what to feel or think.”

“Why
didn’t she contact you after she arrived?”

“Said
she knew it would just be a matter of time before Ethan and I ran into each
other. The reason she’s giving me is they didn’t want me to think they were
after my money. And Beth was unaware that Julia and I were divorced. Or so she
claims.”

“So,
what do you want to do, Dame?” Zara asked gently.

“Right
now? Enjoy this time to myself, polish up some songs I’m working on, and sail.
Things will fall into place as they’re supposed to. The past is the past, and I
can’t change a thing.”

“You’ve
been trying to get your business ideas off the ground. It didn’t work with
Alana. Perhaps Ethan could be your answer.”

“What
are you saying? He’s got representation, Amadeus. Collaborate with him?”

“Perhaps
not right away, but it’s certainly something to consider. You’re going to get
to know him, you know that right? You’ve wanted to produce...here’s your
chance.”

I
took a bite of my sandwich, thinking about what Amadeus had just said. It made
perfect sense, but would Ethan want it? I also realized I hadn’t eaten anything
but sandwiches since I’d left Bainbridge.

“You
might have something, A. I’ll consider it. Only once we all get to know each
other. For all I know his personal persona could be just like his public, and
that won’t fly. Not if he’s a punk.”

Amadeus
and I spent the better part of the day in his studio working. When the girls
called later in the afternoon, I explained as best I could what had happened.

“You
mean Ethan Maverick is my brother?” Brittney squealed. “No fucking way!”

“Language,
Britt.”

“Well,
you can’t deny it, he certainly looks like you. I never put it together until I
saw him up close,” Court interjected.

“So
when do I get to meet him? Can we have him and his mom over, Daddy?” Britt
asked, barely able to contain her enthusiasm.

“We’ll
see. I’m on vacation, remember? We’ll discuss it when I get home.”

Amadeus
had a stupid grin on his face when I finished with the girls.

“What?
What’s so damn humorous?”

“That
I’m not the lone ranger in out of wedlock children.”

“Damn,
you sound right out of the sixties or something. You’re right, but it was
different back then. Girls weren’t allowed to go to high school pregnant. Beth’s
parents sent her away. That was pretty much the norm.”

“Like
you said, the past is the past.”

Chapter
Ten

After
texting and talking, Beth and I decided the five of us should meet. Just us, no
one else. Get to know each other. The kids especially. I’d be lying if I said I
wasn’t nervous as hell.

I
decided to sail over. The weather was perfect, and I wanted some time with the
girls. In the car, they’d be texting or something. On the boat, they had jobs,
things that kept them busy.

We
neared the island, and I gave Court the directions on how to get to Beth’s
place.

I
glanced around me, and at Court. She seemed to be managing just fine. I’d
taught her well.

“You
doing okay there, sailor?”

“Yep,
not rocket science. She’s just bigger than
Andiamo
.”

“That
she is.”

“Okay,
I’m fine.”

Within
a few minutes, we saw Ethan waving us down at a dock.

“Turn
the depth finder on, Court. Let’s see what we’ve got.”

“Okay.
Looks like there are people with sailboats here.”

“I
know, but we’re at low tide. Let’s make sure before we get too close.”

Courtney
jumped off with the bowline, securing it in place. I passed the stern line to
Britt, who’d done the same. Ethan stood back, making me wonder if he’d ever
been on a boat.

I
began to secure the main sail as Court unhooked the railing and hopped back on
board. She motioned to Ethan to join us. Surprisingly, he did.

“She’s
a beauty, Damien.”

“Yeah,
she is. I haven’t had her long.”

“And
she still doesn’t have a name.” Courtney snorted, heading up to the bow to
secure the jib.

“You
sail, Ethan?”

“I’ve
been out a few times with friends here. Some out on Long Island Sound when I
was younger.”

“And?
Do you like it?”

“To
be honest, I can’t really say. I was out with friends. It was more about having
a good time than it was serious sailing.”

“Daddy
won’t let us take his boat out.” Britt retorted, raising an eyebrow. “For that
very reason. You can get into trouble if you don’t know what you’re doing.”

“Let
me know if you ever want to learn.”

“I
will. Thanks. Right now, though, my schedule is getting hectic. I won’t have
much time for personal stuff like sailing.”

“There’s
always time. That’s one of the tricks of surviving this business. You have to
take time for yourself. Sailing helps me relax.”

“Besides,
in this family it’s almost an unwritten rule that you have to know how to sail.
Both of Daddy’s brothers have boats,” Courtney added.

“Yep,
even my crazy brother Angus has crossed over to the dark side,” I quipped. “Isn’t
that right, girls?”

They
nodded their heads. “Yep, he thinks he’s a regular Popeye the sailor,” Britt
replied.

“More
like Captain Hook.” Courtney snickered. The two of them began giggling.

“I
think I’m going to go inside and see if I can help your mom out.”

“Sure.
She’s going full tilt in the kitchen, I can assure you.”

“Lead
the way,” I said.

Ethan
led us all into the house, and he was right. Beth was busily working in the
kitchen. I had to grin to myself, remembering that she had been such a cute gal
when she was younger. She tucked her hair behind her ears as she saw us enter.

“Can
I get you something to drink?” Ethan offered. “I’ve got some great local craft
beer.”

“Perhaps
later. A bottle of water would be nice right now.”

He
opened the refrigerator and, finding a bottle, passed it to me. I nodded at
him, still finding it hard not to stare at him, or Beth for that matter.

“Courtney,
Brittney? Come on, there’s a fridge outside we can grab something from. You can
help me get the grill ready,” Ethan announced.

“Tell
me again why you didn’t get in touch with me?” I asked Beth after the kids
left.

She
turned around and stared at me. “Um, I told you, Dame. I didn’t want to cause
any problems between you and Julia.”

“You
didn’t think I’d want to know I had a son?”

“I
explained that to you, and yes, I figured you’d want to know.”

“Then,
why did you never try after Julia and I divorced?” I kept my eyes on her. She
was thinking very hard, and she was fucking hot at that moment. What the hell?

“Life
got in the way. I told you that. Then, Ethan’s career began to take off. He
doesn’t trust just anyone with his business matters. He’s been my whole life,
Dame. Especially since my husband died.” There was a hard edge in her voice. “I
figured, and so did Ethan, that eventually we’d all meet.”

“So,
are you still helping Ethan with his career?”

“Yes.”
She looked at me with those beautiful, deep blue eyes.

There
was something else I wanted to know before we proceeded any further. “Boyfriend?”
I sucked in a breath as I waited for her answer. There was a twinge of jealousy
I didn’t know still existed.

She
cocked an eyebrow in my direction and crossed her arms. “Girlfriend? I seem to
have read you were engaged.”

“No,
old news. You must have missed all the press Alana made of our break-up. No
girlfriend, fiancé, or anything other.” I grinned at her. “You haven’t answered
my question either. I asked first.”

“No,
no boyfriend. Satisfied?” She sounded a bit pissed, but at the same time, she seemed
amused.

“That’s
good to know,” I replied, taking a swig off my water bottle.

“So,
Damien Tudor, what are you up to? I believe I heard Ethan say you are into
producing and artist management. I was only partially listening to him when he
told me.”

Oh
fuck, let the games begin. This is the Beth I remember. “Yes, or was. Alana was
my first, but as you can guess, that all went to hell when we broke up. I’m
looking for new talent. What I foresee is having a one-stop shop. So to speak.
A publishing arm, public relations, management, producing. Everything.”

“Sounds
ambitious, but you always were a perfectionist.”

“It
is, and yes, I still am that.”

“Sounds
right up your alley.”

“I
had to figure out something. I can’t tour like I once could, but that’s for
another conversation.”

“I
can’t wait.” She was nervous, and she was so sexy when she was.

Time
to disarm her. “Tell me, Bethie, what would you be doing if you and Ethan hadn’t
run into the girls and me today?”

She
cracked a smile, thinking she knew what I was up to. “Um, probably catching up
on laundry or something boring like that.”

“Really?”
I was thoroughly enjoying her being thrown off balance.

“Okay.
I might have been out pulling up weeds. Satisfied?”

“Yeah.
For now.”

Though
my head still hadn’t wrapped around the fact that she was standing there in front
of me for the first time in twenty-plus years. I had to admit this was a good
idea. She relaxed me, just being around her. Beth had always been good at that.

“Why
don’t we go join the kids? Everything here is under control.”

I
watched as she pulled her hair back and let it fall again. Fucking amazing.

I
followed her through the house to the deck. I ran my hand through my hair as my
cock twitched in my pants. I had the urge to reach out for her and do a hell of
a lot more than a kiss on the cheek. Rip her clothes off was more like it.

What
the hell? Where was this coming from?

“Nice
place,” I casually remarked as I tried to get my dick to calm down.

“It
is. I knew when Ethan said he wanted to move to Seattle, this is where I wanted
to live. It’s just far enough away from the big city.”

“I
know what you mean. Amadeus and his wife Zara have my old place on one of the
islands. I used to feel the same way. Plus, it was great after coming off the
road.”

“Why
did you give it up?”

“That’s
a story for...”

“Another
time. I understand. So, where are you living now? You said Angus has your parents’
old place.”

“Condo.
It used to be Amadeus’s. We did a swap. It worked out perfectly for all of us
at the time.”

“You
sound as though you’re tired of living in town.”

“Sometimes,
but until the girls are on their own, it’s where I need to be.

She
turned and stood to face me. I walked near, just needing to be close to her. Beth
smelled amazing—the scent took me back to years ago. I wanted to touch her, but
I was afraid to. My head was spinning in too many directions right then.

“You’ll
know when the time is right,” she whispered.

“So,
does Ethan live here with you?” Might as well ask. Why the hell not?

“When
he’s not touring.”

“He
can stay here with no one bothering him or you?”

“So
far.” She gestured toward the door.

I
nodded my head and held it open for her. What I was feeling was confused, and I
don’t do confused. It’s not in my makeup. When I want something, I make it
happen.

The
kids were deep in conversation, laughing. God knows what over.

“Hey,
Daddy,” Court greeted me.

I
nodded and sat down next to her. Right now, she and Britt were my safe place. “I’ll
take that beer now, Ethan.” I didn’t know what the hell to say to him. Maybe I needed
to talk to Amadeus and Zara. They had sort of gone through this.

“You
got it.” He stood up and walked over to a bar against the side of the house. I
watched as he pulled out three brews. Passing one to Beth, he gave me the next.

“Damien
was telling me he used to live on one of the islands, but now he lives in town,”
Beth said.

“Yeah,
Courtney was telling me that. Which do you like best?” Ethan asked me.

“Living
in town served its purpose. I was closer to my doctors and things. There was a
lot of other stuff going on as well. In retrospect though, I miss living out on
the island. The privacy, the peace. Not that the condo doesn’t have that. It’s
in a secured building. But I miss the outdoors.” Why in the hell was I telling
him this? “It’s been great for Amadeus and Zara though, and the kids.”

“Yeah,
Uncle A took what was the guest cottage and turned it into a bad-ass recording
studio,” Britt added.

Odd,
the child had never acted as though she cared about music. Oh, but now there’s
Ethan to impress.

“Really?
That’s awesome. The girls were also trying to explain the family dynamics.”

“Oh
boy.” I chuckled. “I can only imagine.”

Beth
was watching, and damn, she was making me have to move around, so it wasn’t obvious
what was going on with me.

“Explain
it to him, Daddy.”

“Let’s
see. You know who Angus is—Destiny’s father. He’s a prankster, so beware.
Amadeus, well he’s the real talent of the three of us. He’s done well. Married
Zara a few years ago, and now, they’ve got two kids of their own. Plus Logan.”
I took a hit off my beer. “In case the girls didn’t tell you, Logan’s a love
child of Amadeus’s. Similar circumstances. He never knew about Logan until the
boy’s mother died.”

“Yeah
and he’s hormonal as hell,” Courtney laughed.

I
gave her the eye.

“Well,
he is. A klutz.”

“Your
mother remarried?” Beth asked. “I would have never thought she’d marry anyone
if anything happened to your dad. He was great.”

“Yeah,
he was. But she and Peter MacNichol hooked up and fell madly in love. I think
them both having lost spouses brought them together. Peter was sort of Amadeus’s
mentor. Long story, but Peter’s a great guy.”

“You
have two sisters too?” Ethan asked, sitting up, listening to everything I was
telling him.

“Yeah,
my sister Mary lives in New York right now with her husband Daniel.”

“Who’s
a rockin’ violinist,” Britt added. “He and Aunt Mary went to Julliard together
and met back up in London.”

“Yeah,
that’s right, and Mary’s quite a talented violinist and pianist herself. Anne,
well, who knows what’s going on with her.”

“So,
it runs all through the family.”

“Pretty
much. Even Courtney isn’t immune.”

“Daddy!”

“So,
what are your plans, Ethan?”

“That’s
a loaded question. Write, record, tour. For now. My head’s exploding with
ideas. Things I want to do, both now and in the future.”

“Nothing
wrong with pursuing your dreams. It’s the only way to make them happen. Isn’t
that right, Court?” I glanced over at my daughter, who was reading a text.
Rude. “Courtney? What have I told you about that?”