Reluctantly Royal by Nichole Chase Read Free Book Online

me into doing what she wanted.

FIVE
    I TOOK A DEEP breath and let the charade fall away. I was so relieved that he hadn’t told me no, I had thought I would faint. Walking into that home—the home of a ruling family—had been strange enough. Hell, Alex was next in line for the throne and he’d seemed normal enough. But to walk in and ask for something as odd as for one of them to carry a casket? Yeah, that had given me a sour stomach. Who else did I have to ask, though?
    And now. Now I needed to go home and let my father know that he would also be a pallbearer. I had no idea how that would go over. It probably depended on how much he’d had to drink already. A shudder racked my body and I fought the tears that quickly followed. I needed to be able to see to drive. Taking a mighty sniff, I reined in my tears. My father was the one person who never did anything I needed. And if I asked for something? All hell usually broke out.
    Damn you for leaving me with him, Granddad . Anger made me grip the steering wheel a little tighter and I had to take several breaths to calm myself. It wouldn’t do to run off the road because I wasn’t thinking straight. I was the only person Marty had left.
    Lead filled my stomach at the thought and my hands steadied on the wheel. The only other person who was a fixture in Marty’s life was my father and he wasn’t exactly what you would call steady or secure. The urge to update my will and up my life insurance policy hit me hard. Sometime during all of this planning of the funeral, I needed to make sure Marty would be okay if something happened to me.
    As I made the two-hour drive home, I had the horrible thought that I really didn’t have anyone to help with Marty were something to happen to me. Before I had moved to Lilaria with Granddad, I would have thought my best friend, Karey, would take care of him, but now I wasn’t sure. We had grown apart as I’d tried to carve out a place of my own in this new world where I was living. Was she even in a place where she could raise a boy?
    By the time I got home my stomach was in knots. I thought I’d feel better after asking Max to be a pallbearer but instead I had obsessed over scary things.
    “Mom! I beat level six!” Marty ran down the stairs and held his arms up in victory. I clamped down on worries and focused on the happy little boy staring at me.
    “Way to go! That’s the one with the evil robot doctor, right?” I followed him up the stairs so he could show me.
    “Doctor Gear. He’s been kicking my butt for weeks!”
    “Don’t say butt .” I frowned. Living in a home like Thysmer Manor and rubbing elbows with royals and rich people, I’d begun to realize how different we talked and behaved. I’d started correcting Marty so that he would fit in a little better, but at the same time, I didn’t want to change his personality. I wanted him to fit in, but not conform. No reason to lose his sense of self. After all, he was a pretty awesome little boy, if I do say so myself.
    “Should I say a—”
    “Don’t finish that if you want to ever see your game system again.” I raised an eyebrow.
    “Sorry, Ma.” He jumped on his bed, not even a little bit worried. “Look! I left it on the screen with the medal. I can’t believe it. Isn’t that awesome?”
    “Completely.” I reached out and tickled his side.
    “Mom!” He wiggled out of my grasp. “I’m being serious. This was hard!”
    “Huh. We should celebrate.” I tapped my chin. “How about ice cream for lunch?”
    “Really?” He looked at me with big eyes.
    “Really.” I’d do anything to keep that happy look on his face.
    “You. Are. The. Best!” He jumped off the bed and did a little dance. “Oh yeah!”
    “I’ll tell Sarai.” I stood up off the bed. “Go beat level seven while I handle some stuff.”
    “Okay, but don’t forget the ice cream.” He held out his pinky and I twined mine with it.
    “Pinky promise.” I kissed his forehead and pulled