Risking the Crown (The Crown 2)

That came before anything. It had to.

There was a pile of bills on the desk. I took a sip of coffee and sat down to face the inevitable.

I had work to do if I was going to keep the Dunes running.

Last night was the first time I had actually put in words what this place meant to me. What I wanted it to mean for Grayson. If he grew up and hated it, he could sell it. He’d make millions. But I wanted him to have that choice. I wanted him to be the one to decide his future.

I checked my phone. I didn’t have anything from Amber.

I called her, waiting for her to answer.

“Do you know what time it is?”

“I called to say hi to my son.”

She put Grayson on the phone without an explanation. “Hi.”

His voice was small.

“Hey little man. How are you?”

“Watch Thomas.” He giggled.

“Thomas the Train?” I asked.

“Yep.”

I wished he was here or I was there. I hated splitting time with Amber. I liked the sticky Cheerios and the trains he left all over the place. Becoming a father was the most unexpected best mistake of my life.

I never would have volunteered to have a child with Amber, but Grayson was such a part of my life. The kid was my heart. I couldn’t imagine not having him. I wouldn’t undo that decision if I had the choice. He was here for a reason, even if it meant I had to face up to my sins and work to be a better man.

“I can’t wait to see you next week. I just wanted to say hi.”

There wasn’t much to a conversation with a two-year old, but the sound of his voice was enough to get me through this stack of bills.

He reminded me I had a purpose here.

“Bye-bye. Bye-bye,” he repeated.

“Bye.” I hung up and faced the mountain in front of me.

I drank my coffee and looked out the window in time to see Kaitlyn.

I could come up with a hundred distractions, but as long as she was in Padre I wasn’t going to forget last night.

14

Kaitlyn

I looked around my motel room. I couldn’t stay in here all day and hide out from Cole. I threw a bottle of sunscreen into my beach bag and one of the towels he had brought yesterday. A day at the beach was in order and I deserved this. It was my vacation.

I twisted the key in the lock and pulled my sunglasses over my eyes. The sun was blaring.

“No, I understand, but if you could just give me until the end of the month—” I heard Cole’s voice. It sounded like he was near the ice machine. “I have reservations the rest of the month, if you would just let me keep the account open until then.”

He sounded like he was in the middle of a negotiation. It was unmistakably about the Dunes. “Right, I know you have a business to run. I’m just asking as a favor—only until the end of the month.”

The call must not have turned out the way he wanted, because I heard the ice machine take the brunt of his anger.