CHAPTER FOUR
Alex Reynolds stood in the middle of the room, eyes unfocused, shaking, the shock of his mother's words too much for him to handle .He didn't even notice Fallon fleeing the room or anything else around him. Janet came to him and put her arms around him, pulling his head to her breast. Tears were streaming down her face at the pain her boyfriend must feel when the shock wore off. Cecelia felt hollowed out. She may have flushed twenty years of her life down the toilet of her lies as well as any future she might have had. Just how bad the damage may be has her shaking in fear. She has lied to the three most important people in her life. No small lie either. A huge trust destroying, maybe a family destroying lie.
She has also incurred the wrath of a very influential man. Is he the kind to retaliate? She doesn't know. Knowing a man for a few days cannot reveal all the aspects of his character. She's seen his gentle, caring, yes his sexy aspects. She's seen his keen intelligence and deep humor. And although it was under rigid control she'd just seen his equally deep anger. It was just a flash but for a moment she'd seen what his face must have looked like peering through his gun sights.
That he hadn't erupted right there in her living room was something to be grateful for but it didn't reassure her all that much. She raised her head and looked at Alex. She spoke.
"Alex, look at me please, I'm so sorry I never meant to hurt you I just wanted to…."
There was a haunted look on Alex' face but only for a moment then it contorted in both fury and pain. "You never what Mother, never meant to tell me the truth. Did you think my father would take me away from you? Just wanted to keep me from being hurt? Well you failed. My whole life has been based on lies. I had this image in my head of a hero father that I never knew, only the story you told me and the reality is that not only is my father alive but a bigger hero than my imagination ever conjured up. And the woman I've looked up to all my life is a liar. I can't be here, I have to leave because right now I hate you!"
He turned to Trevor, "I'm sorry Dad, and I know none of this is your fault but I still have to leave. I'll talk to you. I love you Dad." He grabbed his coat and Janet's from the closet and stormed out, Janet following, never letting go of his hand. Trevor Reynolds sat down by his wife.
"I don't know what to say to you Cecelia. You've lied to me from the day we met. How could you do that? The truth wouldn't have made any difference to me. But this? I don't know if I can get past it. I'm going to see if Fallon wants to go with me then I'm going out for dinner. I will be sleeping in the guest room for the next few days until I decide what to do."
Cecelia was openly crying now, great heaving sobs that racked her whole body. Trevor stood.
Cecelia reached for him. "Trevor, please don't leave now I need you." He pushed her hand away. "Cecelia, don't. Don't say anything right now. I'm not inclined to believe anything you say."
Trevor slowly climbed the stairs to Fallon's Room. "Fallon, honey can I come in?"
"No Daddy, I don't want to see anybody right now. Please just leave me alone for a while. And tell my mother not to come up. My door is locked."
"All right honey I'm going to get something to eat. I'll talk to you later." Fallon Reynolds lay on her bed, not caring that her beautiful dress was crumpled. The broken-hearted girl was sobbing uncontrollably. She'd always thought that some boy would break her heart. She never imagined that her mother would be the one to do it. She'd seen the cold look in Jim's eyes, one that matched his father's. Father and son looked so much alike that it was scary. She'd seen, first-hand how tight knit the Rogers family was and she knew what hurt the father, hurt the son.
She wanted to call Jim up and plead; "It's not my fault." But she didn't think it would do any good at this point. Jim would be back at Annapolis in a few days and she would have no chance to try and repair the damage before he left. Love at first sight was not a romantic fantasy for Fallon. It was painfully real. So was her grief.
Kate Rogers drove her husband home. She wasn't about to let him get behind the wheel as angry as he was. Jim was following in his Jaguar. When they reached the loft and were safely inside, Kate said; "Babe we have to talk about this. Not just you and I but the whole family. You have to release the anger. Why don't you and Jim go down to the gym and beat up the heavy bag for an hour or so. Meanwhile I'll call Martha, Dad, Alexis and Jeff to come up. Well hell, we might as well make it everybody in this whole crazy clan." She knew that Javi and Kevin loved Rick like brothers and anything that affected him would affect them too. What worried Kate more than anything was how Johanna and Kiera were going to take finding out that they had a sibling they never knew about.
Heeding Kate's suggestion Rick and Jim went down to the building's gym. Rick working on both the heavy and speed bags. Jim concentrated on the heavy bag. After they finished they spent about fifteen minutes sparring. Kate was right. The workout calmed both of them down.
By the time Rick and Jim had showered and dressed the family had gathered. It might seem strange to most people to share something so intimate with anyone but immediate family but to the Rogers, Talbots, Espositos and Ryans they were all immediate family. The only ones not in on it were Alexis and Jeff's children. They were still too young.
Rick stood up. "There is no easy way to say this so straight out is the best. You all know that I was no saint in my younger years and that Kate and I went through a very rough patch shortly before we were married.* Mother, Alexis and Kate know this part, the rest of you don't. Mother, Alexis and I went on a cruise to England. While on board the ship I had a brief affair with a woman named Cecelia Clark. I told her flat out that it was a shipboard romance only. She accepted that. We only had sex twice. I was careless and assumed she was on the pill.
I saw her once, in a mall about two months after the cruise, at which time I told her that I was with Kate and that wasn't going to change. She accepted it and we parted amicably. You've all met the girl that Jim has dated a couple of times, Fallon Reynolds. Earlier today Jim was invited to her house for Christmas dinner. Jim called Kate and I to go over there, urgently."
Rick paused and took a healthy slug of single malt Scots whiskey. "When we got there, we received some shocking news. Fallon is Cecelia's adopted daughter. Much worse than that is that Cecelia has a nineteen year old son. MY son and that damn woman never told me! Worse, she never told him the truth either. I've had a son for nineteen years that I never knew about. I should have had some time with him. All of us should have had time. Damn that woman to hell!"
There were shocked exclamations all over the room. Kate immediately came and leaned against Rick's side. Every person in that room knew how much Rick loved his family and how much this new revelation must hurt. Rick's three daughters and Martha were first to come to him, hugging and reassuring him. The entire family had sympathetic looks on their faces but Javi, Kevin and Lanie followed that with looks of anger. Lanie burst out. "I'm gonna find that bitch and smack the hell out of her. Nobody messes with my family!"
Javi's voice was low and angry. "Yeah, what Lanie said." Kevin's voice was a voice of reason, he asked; "What are you going to do?"
"I don't know, yet. A lot of it depends on Alex. I do know that I don't have the time to deal with it right now. Kate, the girls and I are supposed to leave for London the day after tomorrow. We're to spend the New Year with The Duke and Duchess in our Sir Richard and Lady Katherine personas. Then I need to talk to my estate manager and give a series of lectures at the defense ministry and Kate has a lecture at Scotland Yard so we won't be back till the fifteenth.
Whatever the situation is or will be I will not let it disrupt our plans or cause problems with the family I already have."
"Well, whatever you decide to do, we have your back, Bro." Javi said.
Kate spoke. "Let's table this discussion for the time being. It's getting close to dinner time. Alexis, Jenny and Lanie please help me prepare it. Johanna, Kiera, Sarah Grace please set the table. The women went to work like the practiced team they were while the men went into the den for a pre-dinner drink.
After dinner Kate asked Jim to come into the study. She said; "What are you going to do about Fallon?" Jim looked uncomfortable and shifted his eyes away.
"What do you mean do about her Mom?"
"Don't play dumb Jim. I never let your father get away with it and I'm not about to let you."
"What is there to do? You were there today, you saw and heard what her mother said and did."
Kate shook her head. "She is not her mother. Maybe you didn't notice her face but I did. She was horrified. She didn't know any more than the rest of us. Jim. That girl likes you a lot, maybe too much for such a short acquaintance and she's a sweet girl."
"But what's the point Mom? I'm going back to Annapolis in a few days. Even if I do feel something for Fallon it's not fair to curtail her social life." Kate was starting to get a little angry. Jim could be as stubborn as his father. "I'm not asking you to commit anything to her I'm just asking you to let her know that you're not angry with her. She certainly wouldn't be able to tell from the look on your face as you followed your father out. I want you to be the gentleman your father and I raised you to be."
"Okay Mom I'll call her first thing in the morning."
"No Jim, call her right now you have no idea how much she's suffering. I have a pretty good idea I remember how it felt when I thought your father hated me." Jim sighed. There was no use arguing with his mother when she got her steam up.
Fallon was still sobbing so hard that she almost didn't hear her phone ring. She recognized the Anchors Aweigh ring tone but felt so miserable that she didn't want to answer but knew that it would be a total disaster if she didn't.
Her voice shaking she answered. "Hello Jim."
"Hi Fallon, I'm sorry about how I acted yesterday. I want you to know that I'm not angry with you. It wasn't your fault but what your mother did was so horribly wrong I couldn't stay. I, like my father might have done something stupid."
There was relief and even hope in her voice when she said; "Thank God, Jim I can't stand the thought of you being angry with me. Can I see you tonight?"
Jim sighed. He hated hurting this lovely girl but he didn't see any other choice. The situation was impossible as it was and a clean break was the most merciful thing. "I'm sorry Fallon, I don't think that's a good idea. As I said, I'm not angry with you but you know that this thing between our families makes a relationship impossible. On top of that I'm going back to Annapolis and you need your own social life her in New York. Good bye Fallon."
He grabbed his keys and headed out. Kate put her hand on his arm. He paused.
"Did you call her?" Kate asked.
"Yes Mom."
"What did she say?"
"Not much Mom, I didn't let her. All I told her is that I wasn't angry with her but that we can't see each other again. Let it go Mom, she's just a girl and I'm just a guy she'll get over it."
Fallon didn't sleep well Christmas night, waking up the next morning with red, puffy eyes. She recalled Jim's statement which set off another wave of tears. There was only one person she could think of to turn to. She called Janet. Alex had been with Janet all night and was in no better shape than Fallon. The three agreed to meet for lunch to try and figure out the impossible situation at home.
Cecelia Reynolds lay in her lonely bed. She was dry-eyed now, there were no more tears left to cry, she had cried all night. Alex was probably at Janet's but she wasn't sure of that. Fallon had locked her door and wouldn't respond. Trevor hadn't come in till three in the morning, going directly to the guest room. Cecelia was consumed with guilt. Her lies had probably destroyed her family. She knew that she couldn't stay in bed all day and the longer it went without her doing something about the situation the worse it was going to be. She looked at her watch and was shocked to see that it was 10:30.
She got up, showered applied her make-up and dressed. Entering the kitchen she instinctively knew that the house was empty. She wasn't hungry but knew that she had to eat something. She brewed a pot of coffee and toasted a bagel. She added cream cheese and ate the bagel, not really tasting it. Gathering what courage she had she first called Alex and as she expected it went to voice mail as did Fallon's. She then called Trevor. He at least answered. "I am busy right now Cecelia and what we have to say to each other should not be said over the phone. I will be home about six. We'll talk then." Her heart clenched. There was no warmth in his voice.
Cecelia had to make one more desperate call. She'd managed to track down the Rogers' home number. She made the call. Kate Answered.
"Rogers' residence, Kate Rogers speaking." Kate always answered formally when she didn't recognize the number of the caller.
"Mrs. Rogers this is Cecelia Reynolds I need to speak with Rick, urgently or better yet meet with him. I need to really explain things." Kate's mind boggled at the audacity of the woman.
"Mrs. Reynolds I don't think you have any possible explanation that would satisfy my husband or me. Or the rest of our family for that matter. Furthermore if you ever do meet, it will be with both of us. If you haven't figured it out by now, my husband has a temper. You do not want to be on the receiving end. I will speak with my husband about this and if he agrees I will let you know. But don't expect it to be any time soon. By the way you have no right to address my husband by his proper name. He is General Rogers to you. Don't try to contact us again. If there is any further contact I will initiate it."
Fallon, Alex and Janet met at Bill's Burger's and Barbecue. Fallon was surprised. Despite her emotional turmoil she was starving. She ordered a barbecue chicken sandwich with a side salad and a coke. Janet took charge. "Look, this discussion will probably be pretty tough so why don't we eat and then stop at Starbuck's pick up coffee and go to my apartment and talk. They finished their food in relative silence then did as Janet suggested.
Alex started off. "I'm so confused. I don't know what I'm going to do. I won't go back to the house, I can't. It's so damn hard to accept what my mother did. I'm so mad at her I don't even want to admit being related to her. I'm not mad at dad. I don't know whether to be mad at my biological father or not." Despite her own pain Fallon reached out to her brother.
"There's no reason to be mad at General Rogers. I've seen him in his home. He loves his very extended family. I know that he never knew about you. If he had, he'd have spent as much time with you as he could. You have every right though to be furious at Mom. Ugh, I don't even want to call her mom. She's hurt so many people with her lies." Suddenly she began crying again.
"Damn her. Because of her I've lost any chance I ever had with Jim." Janet put a reassuring hand on her arm. "Not necessarily. A boy who gives a girl a Tiffany bracelet isn't just casually interested. Give it some time. Just maybe there's a way back. If his family is as loving as you say it is that has to have rubbed off on him." Janet then took Alex' hand. "You need to give it some time too. You're staying with me for the time being. I'll go by your house and pick up some of your things. You know, also after a little time, maybe you can reach out to General Rogers. Who knows, he might even come to you."
The next few days passed in a whirlwind for the Rogers family. Rick, Kate, Johanna and Kiera were off to London. Jim stayed to celebrate the New Year with the rest of the family and reported back to Annapolis on January second.
*for the full background on this story see chapter 5 of my story Wings of Fury and chapter 2 of Tales From the Citadel as well as the first two chapters of this story under the separate title Sins of the Mother. On line under Swordwriter.
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