Page 16 of The Prince of New York

I nodded. “Don’t let Agent Niell fool you. Sure, he married into the Niell family, but he lives and breathes his work. Don’t tell him I said this, but I’m pretty sure he views my sister as his little sister at this point, and he’s a doting family man.” As Terry likely had his first little one on the way, judging from the behavior of his new wife, I expected his tendencies to mature over the next few months. “It would not surprise me if there’s a little prince or princess showing up in the next seven to eight months. Of the Montana variety.”

According to Dr. Stanton, my sister was almost healthy enough for her to be comfortable with the thought of an heir on the way.

Madelyn’s eyes widened, and she grinned. “But what of the New York variety?”

As the rumor mill already had run wild with my sister’s health progress, I saw no need to hide the truth. “I am quite hopeful I will have a little niece or nephew to dote upon within the next year or two.”

“The queen has improved that much? She was so ill when she came back to New York.”

I wished I could undo the damage my sister had endured, but I couldn’t. Rather than beat myself up over what I couldn’t change, I replied, “She’s been doing really well. I mean, I’m here because she tried to take me out like I’m one of her chocolate milkshakes. If it wasn’t for hitting my head, she probably could have kicked my ass at the mud run.”

“No, I don’t think so. Not yet. You were helping her a lot, although you were trying your best to hide the fact you were helping her.”

Crap. Madelyn had been watching us? “All right. I’m a little guilty of helping her, but she needs more confidence, and for the most part, I only helped when she was really struggling. I’m not afraid of heights like she is.”

“She turned ghost white when she got to the top of that net, so that I can believe. Had my brother done the course with me, he would have knocked me off just to hear me scream.”

“Don’t get me wrong, Madelyn. I have tossed my sister into the pool before, and I will toss her into the pool again. If it’s a body of water, I’ll chuck her in for the fun of it. However, it was obvious she was scared, and I didn’t want to frighten her further. I want her to be able to conquer the run, not develop a phobia to the net climb.” The net climb would be an issue moving forward, especially if my sister worried about someone getting hurt again. In good news, she hadn’t injured me on any of the actual obstacles, and I trusted Terry to improve the safety of the course to better handle rowdy royals in the mood to play. “Now, if you decide to challenge me to that mud run, I will not make any promises that I won’t toss you into the mud, but I will do so in a safe fashion. If you’re scared of the net climb, I’ll throw you from a lower height.”

“How considerate of you.”

I allowed myself a grin. “If you ask, I’d be game to do a timed cooperative run. As we would be trying to defeat the clock, I wouldn’t want to lose precious seconds throwing you into the mud. I save that for when I’m competing against someone.”

“But especially your sister.”

I nodded. “And she got the last laugh on that one. She’s going to be freaking out about this for weeks, and it wouldn’t surprise me if she panics at the thought of me flying anywhere when my brain might escape out of my skull.”

“Is it possible for that to happen to your brain?”

I shook my head. “Not with this level of concussion. If it’s anything like normal, I’ll be monitored for talent usage for the next day, and if there’s no difference in my magic, I’ll avoid using my computer for a few days, get someone to drive me around, and take it easy. I’ll have to wait for doctor’s clearance to drive. There’s a chance I might pass out from the concussion, have a dizzy spell, and so on.” Between the medication Dr. Stanton had given me and her magic, I would dodge a headache for a few hours. I expected a doozy of one would start right around bedtime. With luck, Dr. Stanton would take pity on me.

She might not if she felt I earned the headache.

“Is it your first time having a concussion?”

“I wish I could say it is, but it’s really not.” Over the years, I had bumped my head more than a few times. Of all the incidents, I could think of one that might amuse Madelyn. “When I was a teen, King Patrick of Texas gave me a horse and taught me how to ride. I didn’t know how much I loved horses until then, but my first ride on my new horse did not go precisely well. I was sick with some cold or flu, and I got on, but rather than stay on my poor horse, I toppled right off the other side and landed right on my head. Since I’m a New Yorker, I just jostled the rocks in my brain around. After making sure I wasn’t going to die from the incident, he helped me get on with a little more success the second time.”

As hoped for, the woman giggled. “You just toppled right off the other side?”

“I really did. Went up, over, and kept on going over until I landed right on my head. King Patrick looked underneath my horse and asked if I was all right. Rather than say yes, I tried to dig into the sand. I was sick enough I might have shed a few tears because I hadn’t wanted to fall off, and I hated looking stupid in front of the Texan royals.”

“Were you afraid of how your parents would react?’

The softness of Madelyn’s tone startled me, and I stared at her. “I mean, had it been in New York, it wouldn’t have ended well for my ass. I might have injured the horse. Honestly, Pat told me I didn’t need to worry and that everybody falls, but normally, people managed to sit in the saddle a little first.” I smiled at the memory. “I learned to get back up right away, and it was one of the most important lessons in my life.”

While I hadn’t gotten the important life lessons from my parents, the Texan monarchs had tried—and in some ways, they had succeeded. The years and bitter experience had cemented my determination to buck the trend of being a New Yorker. After meeting Madelyn, I’d stopped participating in the charity auctions, and I’d distanced myself from most single women.

I wanted what so many of my friends had won for themselves, a love that would last through any trial.

Could I have such a thing with Madelyn? I wanted to find out, but I feared the truth would become a mountain neither of us could climb. Our ranks alone would create problems. Fortunately for my sister, Ethan brought rank, wealth, and prestige with him. I could bring all that and more to Madelyn, but until someone else became New York’s heir, I would have to abide by the smothering laws in place. Either that, or my sister would have to bring change to our kingdom with the force of a wrecking ball.

She would, too.

“Is it true that the monarchs beat you?”

“My parents were not kind. Most of my brothers and sisters bent at the first sign of pressure from our parents. I took the hits so Rachel wouldn’t have to.” I sighed at the memories. “Well, as many of the hits I could. They had their way of punishing her, and in some ways, I feel they would have done less damage if they’d kept their discipline to leaving behind bruises.”

For the most part, they’d limited their beating to a few solid smacks across the ass or the face, but I’d pissed my father off enough a few times he’d left me barely able to move the next day. I’d learned to turn to better take the blows.

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