Page 53 of The Prince of New York

“Definitely not with the extent of bruising on Baby,” my sister agreed, careful to keep her voice low. “I’ve seen that level of bruising before.”

She had. On me.

“We’re going to need therapy,” I muttered.

Rachel nodded. “We’re going to be on our death beds, old and wrinkly, and our therapists are going to be trying to work with us one last time.”

The mental image of that happening amused me enough I chuckled. “First one to graduate therapy is owed a horse.”

“You’re on. Ethan, you get to referee it and confirm the victor.”

“Why are you dragging me into this?” my Californian friend complained. “I can’t win no matter which one of you wins.”

“I solemnly swear I will not seek vengeance should my brother outclass me for once in his life,” Rachel swore.

I scowled. “That was New York mean, and I shouldn’t be praising you for that, but I must. Well done, Rachel. But know I’m going to bust ass to win this competition. You have many horses. I have one.”

“Please don’t squabble in the courthouse,” Ethan requested. “If you need to work out your nerves, you can do so on the mud run, just without injury this time.”

I eyed Terry, who had taken a guard position nearby. “Are the safety improvements installed?”

“They were installed today, so if you would like another chance at defeating the run, you may do so. While the course isn’t necessarily appropriate for the children, there are sections of it they can play on as well.”

“Then it’s settled. I’ll finish marrying you off to the Californian, and then we’ll go home and play in the mud. After today, I feel we could both use the exercise and outlet for our nerves.” I did my best to make myself comfortable with a little girl sleeping on my lap. “I’ll even let you decide if we’re going to be competitive. We’ll have three free passes for any obstacles we can’t cross alone.”

“I wish to be competitive, but we better give ourselves five free passes. The course is long, and we’re not going to make it to the end as it is. Ethan doesn’t think he can make it to the end with his dignity intact.”

“I watched the test run footage of the RPS doing it during the longer waits here, and it’s a slaughter. Some of the RPS agents can’t make it all the way through,” the king confirmed. “Even with five free passes, if you make it to the end, I’ll be impressed.”

I regarded my sister, who narrowed her eyes and nodded.

Judging from Terry’s pained sigh, he understood our fate: we would make it to the end of the course come hell or high water.

“You’re going down, little sister.”

“We’ll see about that. And once I win, you will give me your jerky and confirm I am the better of us.”

My brother-in-law snickered and shook his head. “You better contact Dr. Stanton, Terry. We’re going to need her by the time these two are done.”

FIFTEEN

New York’s politicians would have kittens upon finding out what I’d done.

Judge Mason legalizedmy sister’s union with her Californian in fifteen minutes, laying to rest any potential issues with her marriage. He also handled the formal paperwork transferring custody of the two girls to me. My sister and Ethan were put on the form as next in line should anything happen to me.

To my relief, Daphne had volunteered to be the third custodian, so no matter what happened, the girls would have somewhere to call home.

There would be no temporary fostering. The girls were mine, and I’d do my best to set a good example for all other single men caring for children. Some would judge me, but I refused to care about them.

Baby and May would have joyful childhoods, and by the time they grew up, they would know what it meant to be loved, without conditions.

The girls slept the entire time, and when we were scheduled to leave, I handled the toddler while Daphne somehow managed to pick up the older girl without waking her.

Practice likely had something to do with her skill, and I meant to learn the trick of it sooner than later.

“Is the palace going to be ready for two children?” Daphne asked, careful to keep her voice low.

Terry nodded. “I already sent word to the RPS, and I asked them to recruit parents among the aide staff to divide and conquer to get everything they might need. Anything that isn’t used can be donated to charity. I assumed you would want to handle that out of your personal account, Your Royal Highness.”

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