Read Online President's Girlfriend 06 - The Sins of the Fathers by Mallory Monroe - Free Book Online Page B

then he would pick it up and attempt to throw it back to
his mother.   The boy was smart for his
age, but he wasn’t exactly athletic.   His
aim would miss the mark badly every time.   But Gina, in her cute pink warm-up suit, her short hair in a gorgeous
free-flow, would jump up and down and applaud his effort and make him feel like
the most beloved child in the world.  
    And Dutch
sat there staring at her.   She was such a
special person to him, a woman with a heart of gold.   She was strong, and opinionated, and
sometimes angered him in ways very few others ever could.   A weak man couldn’t be her man.   She’d run all over a weakling.   And although many people were certain that
Dutch had Gina well in hand and that there was no way she could ever run over
him, he knew better.   He knew, unlike
anyone else knew, that Gina was his weakness.   His strength, which was legendary to every world leader on the face of
this planet, was mush when it came to Gina.
    And then it
happened.   Little Walt actually caught
one of Gina’s passes.   Forget that she
was practically standing toe to toe with him when he caught it, the fact that he caught it was definitely cause for celebration.   And Gina was celebrating, jumping up and down
again and giving Little Walt a high five that knocked him on his rump.   Dutch laughed so loud that Gina somehow heard
it and looked up.    When she saw that
Dutch was sitting there, she pointed to him.
    “Look,
Daddy’s here,” she said to Little Walt, who was asleep when Dutch arrived home
early this morning.   Little Walt saw his
daddy waving at him on the terrace and he took off, with football in hand,
running like a pint-sized sumo wrestler.   Gina, laughing herself now, took off behind him.   The nannies took off behind them.
    Little Walt
held the rail, but was able to waddle his way up the side stairs that led to
the second-floor terrace.   Gina was right
behind him, in case he slipped, but allowed him to make   the journey all by himself.  
    When he made
it onto the terrace, he dropped that football and took off toward his father,
his little arms outstretched.   Gina took
note how Dutch, thrilled to see him too, remained in his seat with his arms
outstretched.   Any other time and Dutch
would have been out of that chair and would have run to hug his son.   He didn’t this time, Gina suspected, because
he didn’t have the energy to do it.
    But he did
lift Walt into his arms as soon as he made his way to his chair.  
    “Daddy!” Walt said as Dutch lifted him up.   Dutch
had his eyes closed as he felt the bones of his son, inhaled the sweet smell of
his son.  
    “I missed
you,” he said as he looked at Walt, at his thick brown hair, at his stunningly
adorable green eyes.
    “ Me and Mommy miss you too.”
    “Bet I miss
you more.”
    “We miss you
a lot.   Mommy says you were in hell.”
    Gina
laughed.   “Hel-sin-ki, Walter.   Not hell.   Helsinki.”
    “Which
amounted to the same thing,” Dutch said, considering the zero results those
three intense days of talks netted.   He
looked at Gina.   Gina was leaned against
the rail staring at him.
    “You okay?”
she asked him.
    “I’m sure
the papers this morning are ravaging the summit and my lack of influence
there.”
    “They are,”
Gina admitted, “but who cares?   Are you
okay?”
    Dutch
smiled, the lines of age appearing on the side of his eyes.   Only Gina bothered to ask.   “I’m okay,” he said.
    Then, coming
up the side stairs, was Allison, Dutch’s former press secretary and new chief
of staff.   “Good morning, Mrs. Harber,
Mr. President.”
    “Good
morning, Ally,” Gina said.
    “Good
morning,” Walt said.
    Allison
smiled, bent slightly down.   “And good morning to you, too, Mr. Harber.   How are you this morning?”
    “Fine,” Walt
said.
    Then she
looked again at the president.   “Your
cabinet has assembled in the Situation Room, sir,” she said.
    Gina saw a
look