The Marcelli Princess

18

The fear lived inside of Mia, growing, sucking her strength, making her want to fall to the ground and beg for mercy. Only there was no one to bargain with. She left the prayers to the Grands and their rosaries. She preferred action.

“How long?” she demanded.

Joe typed on the computer. “Fifteen minutes, tops.”

“It’s hot,” she reminded him. “Too hot for a little boy to be out riding. The best we can figure is he’s been gone an hour.”

She tried to stick to facts because thinking about what could be happening to her son could very easily drive her to madness. She paced the length of Joe’s office, then looked out the window.

“Rafael will be here soon,” her brother told her.

“I wasn’t sure he should come,” she said. “Maybe he would do better to search the roads.”

“It’s too early. There’s no way that pony is going to make it through the vineyard in an hour. I’m guessing Danny is lost in the vines, and as soon as the GPS is up and running, we’ll find him. Go back to the house, get your supplies, and wait for Rafael. I’ll call you in less than fifteen minutes.”

Mia nodded, then ran to her car. Three minutes later she was at the house.

The Grands had already prepared a backpack containing a first-aid kit, water, and cut-up fruit. There was also a hat for Danny, to help keep the sun off him.

“You’ll find him,” Tessa said through her tears. “I’ve been praying.”

“We both have. God protects the wee ones,” Grammy M told her.

Mia wasn’t so sure God protected little boys who willfully ran away, but she couldn’t say for sure either way.

“Keep praying,” she said. Maybe it would help.

Tessa touched her arm. “We’re sorry.”

Mia paused in the act of dropping her cell phone into her shorts front pocket. “What? Sorry?”

She looked at their stricken faces, not liking how fear aged them. “No,” she said firmly. “This isn’t your fault. Danny was watching a video when I went in the library to finish my on-line registration. I should have checked on him. I didn’t know he was still mad about Rafael. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”

“You are not to blame.”

The statement came from behind her. She turned and saw Rafael standing in the doorway.

“I am the one who encouraged him to do as he pleased,” Rafael continued. “He ran off because he is the heir, and the blame is mine.”

Without thinking, Mia rushed toward him. He caught her against his body and held her tight.

“I am sorry,” he whispered in her ear. “So sorry.”

His arms were strong and supported her. He was Prince Rafael of Calandria, she thought. He would insist on finding his son. He would move heaven and earth to make that happen. For once, Rafael’s imperious determination was a good thing.

“It’s not your fault either,” she said. “He got mad. He acted up. Now we have to find him.”

“We will,” he promised, and she believed him.

Just then, the back door burst open and Brenna came in with an armful of maps. As Rafael and Mia stepped apart, she put them on the kitchen table and unrolled them.

“Once Joe gets the coordinates, I’ll tell you what vineyard that is.” She traced the road that led to the hotel. “This is where he wanted to go, but hey, the kid is four. Who knows where he actually went.”

Rafael bent over the maps. “There are dozens of acres.”

“Hundreds,” Brenna said unhappily. “Especially if you consider the Wild Sea vineyards butt right up to ours. If Danny headed that way, he would never find his way out on his own.”

She squeezed Mia’s arm. “But he’s got the tracking thingy on, right? So it’s okay.”

Mia glanced outside and wished it were a little less hot. The weather might be perfect for grapes, but it would be hell on a little boy trapped in the sun.

Rafael traced possible paths. When Mia’s cell phone rang, she grabbed it.

“You have him?” she demanded.

“Yes. Put Brenna on. I’ll give her the coordinates, then meet you.”

Mia handed over the cell phone. Brenna listened, then looked at the map.

“Okay, yeah. I’ve got it. Uh-huh.” She glanced at Rafael. “Are the moron twins joining us?”

He grimaced. “Yes, Oliver and Umberto are waiting by the car.”

“We have a team,” Brenna said into the phone. “Uh-huh. Sure.”

She hung up and handed Mia the phone. “Joe has the location. He’s going to stay where he is and monitor the GPS. He’ll call every ten minutes with updates. We’ll take carts as close as we can, then walk in.” Brenna smiled. “We found him, Mia. He’ll be fine.”

“I’ll believe that when I’m holding him.”

Five minutes later they were in three golf carts and heading out into the heart of the Marcelli vineyards. The sun beat down mercilessly. Mia drove, closely following Brenna’s cart, while Oliver and Umberto maneuvered the last one. Rafael sorted through the contents of the backpack.

“Your grandmothers have thought of everything,” he said.

“They feel horrible about what happened. I hate them blaming themselves.”

“As do I.”

She glanced at him. “I meant what I said. I don’t blame you.”

“You do not have to. I still blame myself. If he is hurt…”

His voice trailed off. Mia didn’t want to think about that either. She wanted to find Danny perfectly healthy and safe, and very sorry for what he’d done.

“Thank God for the tracking system,” she said. “If he didn’t have on that bracelet, I have no idea how we’d find him.”

“So my deception has one bright spot,” Rafael said grimly.

“Not just that one,” she told him. “I can see you’re trying to change and I appreciate it.”

“But you still do not trust me.”

“At least I didn’t assume you’d kidnapped him. That’s something.”

She slammed on the brakes after Brenna did the same. Even as everyone scrambled out of the carts, Mia pulled out the cell phone and tossed it to Rafael.

She had to. She couldn’t talk, couldn’t breathe, could only panic when she saw the pony standing alone in the center of the path.

“Are you sure about the location?” Rafael asked into the phone. “We have found the pony and Danny is not here.”

He listened, then looked at Mia. “Joe still shows Danny about a half mile from here.” His face paled.

“What?” Mia demanded. “What?”

“Danny’s not moving. He hasn’t moved since Joe first found him.”

“Oh, God,” Mia said, pressing a hand to her stomach. “Oh, God.”

Rafael hung up and handed her the phone. “We must hurry,” he yelled to the others. “Umberto, the pony.”

The bodyguard raced to Gaspare and led him out of the way. Rafael guided Mia into the passenger seat, then pushed the backpack into her arms and got behind the wheel. Brenna took off at full speed and he did the same. Oliver came up behind.

“He’s fine,” Rafael said, as much to convince himself as Mia. “It is very hot. He stopped to rest and Gaspare ran off. That is all.”

Mia rocked in the seat. “Please, God, let him be all right. Please.”

He heard the pain in her voice and felt it himself. At that moment, he would have given anything to have Danny in his arms. All his money, all his privilege was useless in finding one small, lost boy.

A few minutes later, Brenna came to a stop. She jumped out of the cart and pointed to a vineyard.

“In there,” she yelled. “Joe has the coordinates, but we don’t exactly have street signs, so we’re going to have to walk through. It’s this vineyard, though. It has to be.”

Rafael took the backpack and stepped out. Mia hurried to his side.

“We’ll split up,” she said. “Brenna, go with Oliver. You have a cell phone, right?”

Both held one out.

Rafael reached for Mia’s hand. “We will go this way,” he said, pointing to the right section of the vineyard.

Mia squeezed his fingers. “What if he fell off? What if he’s hurt?”

“Then we will take him to the hospital.”

He spoke with a calmness he didn’t feel, but there was no point in upsetting her more.

“Danny,” she yelled as they stepped between the rows of vines heavy with ripe grapes. “Danny, where are you?”

“Danny,” he called, hearing Brenna and Umberto in the distance. “Danny.”

He paused to listen. There were only the sounds of insects and the rapid beating of his heart. If something had happened to his son…

He pushed the thought away. He would not consider it. Danny was fine. He had to be fine. Rafael could not imagine any other possibility.

They walked deeper into the vines. Both called. Brenna’s and Oliver’s voices came from farther and farther away. Beside him, Mia stumbled, then began to cry.

“Why isn’t he answering? What if he has sunstroke? It’s hot and he’s so small.”

“We will find him,” he promised, then yelled, “Danny? Can you hear me?”

For a moment, he thought he’d heard something. Mia stared at him.

“Was that a cry?”

They listened again. Sure enough, in the distance came a small sound.

“Danny?” Mia screamed. “Danny, is that you?”

Rafael began to run. He pulled her along with him. “Danny,” he called. “Danny, answer us. Answer us so we can find you.”

“Over here. I’m over here. Mommy? D-Daddy?”

Rafael heard the voice more clearly now and he knew his son was crying.

“He’ll be fine,” he promised Mia and himself. “He’s just scared.”

He saw a flash of color and broke through one of the neat rows. Danny sat in a small patch of shade. His T-shirt was torn, his face dusty and red, and his eyes filled with tears.

“Danny!” Mia dropped to the ground and hugged the boy. Rafael sank next to her and put his arms around both of them.

“Are you all right?” she asked. “Are you hurt?”

“My head hurts and I’m thirsty.”

“Of course,” she murmured. “We have water.”

But she didn’t let him go. Rafael slipped off the backpack and pulled out the water. He gave one bottle to Mia, who offered it to the boy, but only let him take small sips, and used the other to dampen one of the washcloths the Grands had packed.

“Put this on the back of his neck,” he instructed. “It will help cool him down. He might have heatstroke.”

Mia did as he told her. He saw her hands were shaking. His weren’t that steady either. Relief joined with the fear of what could have been.

Danny stared at them both. “I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I was bad.”

“Yes, you were,” Rafael told him. “We’ll talk about that later. Right now, let’s get you back to the house.”

He opened Mia’s cell phone and called Brenna. Next he phoned Joe. Once they had been notified, he picked up Danny and carried him back to the cart. Mia walked with him, constantly touching Danny’s hand and arm, as if reassuring herself that the boy was really all right.

Rafael understood her actions. Had he not been carrying the child, he would have needed reassurance as well. Danny was no longer just his heir. Danny was a piece of Rafael, as much as his arm or his thoughts or his heart. They could never be apart. Not him from Danny or Danny from his mother.

Which made for an interesting quandary.

“Wine and cookies,” Katie said as she sat in the chair by the desk. “This is the good life.” She nodded at Mia’s barely touched glass. “You okay?”

“No,” Mia admitted. “Every time I think about what nearly happened, I start to shake.”

“It’ll take a couple of days to feel better,” Francesca told her. “The doctor said he was fine and Danny said he was fine. You need to start believing that.”

“When I think about what could have happened…” Not that she wanted to, but she was having trouble thinking about anything else.

“Let it go,” Brenna said. “We found him. You may not be drinking, but I am. Pass the wine, please.”

Francesca handed the bottle over to her twin. They were sprawled on Mia’s bed. Mia sat in the window seat and did her best to forget the horrible afternoon.

“You guys didn’t have to come all the way over here,” she told her sisters. “Katie, that’s such a long drive.”

“I was already on my way,” Katie admitted. “More details for David’s wedding. But I’m happy to stay and offer support. You must have been terrified.”

“That’s as good a word as any,” Mia admitted. “I felt desperate and unable to cope. I know none of you like him, but Rafael was really there for me today.”

To her surprise, her sisters didn’t say anything. Instead they exchanged odd glances.

“What?” she demanded.

Brenna shrugged. “We don’t hate Rafael so much. You’re right. He was great today. He even called the kid Danny. Who knew a royal could unbend that much?”

Mia had noticed that as well, but in the trauma of the moment, she hadn’t thought to mention it.

“I appreciate what he did with Kelly,” Francesca admitted. “He saw what none of us could. What if he hadn’t been here? How long would Kelly have gone on hating her life because she was too embarrassed to tell us the truth?”

“Good question.” Brenna cleared her throat. “You know, he’s, ah, well, come to see me a couple of times.”

This did cause Mia to gulp her wine. “Why?”

“To talk about you and how to make things right. The first time I told him exactly what I thought of him.”

“Wish I’d been there,” Katie said with a grin.

“Me too,” Mia said. Brenna being totally honest was always entertaining.

“Yeah, it was fun,” Brenna told them. “But the second time he was…I don’t know. More sincere, I guess. I’m kinda willing to give him the benefit of the doubt. Not totally. Just a little.”

Who would have guessed, Mia thought. She looked at Katie. “What’s your excuse? He hasn’t saved your world.”

Her oldest sister smiled. “How can I hate the guy my baby sister is in love with?”

Ouch. “You noticed that, huh?” Mia had been hoping she’d kept her feelings to herself.

“You can’t turn off love,” Katie reminded her. “You’ve loved him for over five years and you two have been apart. Being together would either destroy your feelings or make them stronger. It didn’t seem to me you were any less interested.”

“Great. So he’s not horrible all the time and I’m still in love with him. Now what?”

She thought of mentioning his “marriage of convenience” proposal, but decided it would only make things more complicated.

“You have to decide if you trust him,” Francesca said. “He should have to earn it, of course, but are you willing to let him try?”

“I don’t know,” Mia admitted. “How can I make myself that vulnerable again? Okay, he’s getting the law changed in Calandria, which means he won’t be able to keep me from Danny, but still. What’s real and what’s lies? How do I know he’s not playing me for a fool again? He was a total sleaze.”

“Total,” Brenna said.

“But he’s Danny’s father.”

“And he’s not going away,” Katie said. “You’re stuck with him. So how stuck do you want to be?”

Mia leaned back against the window. “I don’t know,” she admitted. “My head tells me one thing and my heart says the opposite. Which should I listen to? How do I figure it all out?”

“You need a sign,” Francesca said.

Brenna rolled her eyes. “Gee, Dr. Marcelli, is that your professional, psychologist opinion?”

“Sure.” Francesca smiled. “It’s as good a way to pick as any.”

“I had a lot more respect for our higher education system before she said that,” Brenna muttered.

Mia laughed. “Okay, fine. What kind of sign?”

“A really big one?” Katie offered.

They were all laughing when the loud noise cut through the quiet of the night. Darkness faded into an ever-growing bright white light.

“Oh, my God,” Brenna said as she scrambled to her feet. “It really is a sign.”

The four of them put down their glasses and ran downstairs. The Grands were already there, as was Rafael, who was spending the evening with Danny.

They stepped outside and saw a large helicopter setting down on the driveway.

“That can’t be good,” Mia muttered, wondering if something had happened to Darcy’s father. She couldn’t imagine anything but presidential disaster bringing a helicopter.

She heard another engine and turned to see Joe driving toward the house.

“Do you know about this?” she asked over the rising noise of the helicopter.

“No, but I’ll guess he does.”

He pointed at Rafael. Mia felt herself go numb.

“No,” she screamed as she ran back to the small crowd. She shook Rafael by the arm. “You can’t. You can’t. I won’t let you.”

“Mommy, see the helopter? It’s so big.”

She reached down and picked up her son. “You can’t,” she repeated.

Rafael grabbed her. “I’m not. I swear. I have nothing to do with this. Mia, look at me. I’m not taking Danny away.”

She tried to think, tried to breathe. Where could she go? How fast could she run?

The helicopter touched down. As the wind kicked up, she pressed Danny’s face into her shoulder and wondered if it was possible to get to her car in time. Only her keys were inside the house and if she stopped to get them, it would be too late.

“Mommy, don’t be scared,” Danny said as he peered over her shoulder. “I won’t let the helopter hurt you. Oh, look. There’s people.”

She turned to watch two soldiers step off the helicopter. Next a set of steps appeared. Overhead, the blades slowed to a stop.

Mia stood there clutching her son as an older man walked off the helicopter and onto her front lawn. She’d never seen him in person before, but she recognized him from the pictures.

King Xavier of Calandria.

“Rafael, there you are,” the king said. “You are well?”

“Yes, Father.”

The king glanced at all of them, then settled his gaze on Danny. Mia took a step back.

The king nodded at Danny. “Is that him?”

Rafael took a step forward. “Yes, he is my son.”

“Good. Take him and we will leave.”