153. Chapter 153

Chapter 153

The alarm sounded on Castle's phone, and he reached for it, his hand flopping a couple of times on the nightstand searching for it before he was able to turn off the obnoxious noise. It woke Kate, too, and she moved closer to kiss him before she said, "Get up, Writer-Man. It's a work day. Time to go and charm people into buying your new book so they can see how good you are at writing them." Pulling her silk robe on, she promised, "I'll start the coffee."

He groaned. "How can you be so awake at this hour?"

"I'm not. That's what the coffee is for. And besides, this isn't such an awful hour. Go make yourself pretty for the cameras."

"I'm always pretty," he answered mischievously, rubbing his hands over his face.

"You are to me, but the fans might appreciate it if you get that bed head under control," she called equally mischievously from the doorway. "I'll have coffee waiting by the time you finish your shower."

He dragged himself into the bathroom and took his shower; and true to her word, Kate had coffee waiting on the bathroom vanity after Rick had dried off. Enjoying a good swig of coffee, he took care of shaving and sipped at the rest as he went through his morning book tour preparations.

By the time he was dressed, room service was delivering breakfast. She handed him tip money and said, "I'll let you take care of that. I'm not ready for public viewing yet."

He stole a kiss as he took the tip money from her, then answered the door, handed it to the hotel employee, and said he'd take the cart in himself. "I wish I didn't have to rush out," he said as they ate their breakfast. I don't want to wake Jamie up, but I hate to leave without saying goodbye."

"I'll tell him you were thinking about him, and we'll see you after the signing this afternoon."

"Don't forget, dinner after the signing."

"Don't worry. I'll come dressed appropriately."

"I won't worry. You're always pretty, too. That's how we made such a good looking little boy," he teased, leaning to kiss her head. "See you later."

Not long after the door closed, Jamie came wandering out of his room, holding Bear by one of his paws. "Is Daddy at work?"

"Yeah. He said to tell you he's going to miss you."

He scrambled sleepily into Kate's lap and she cuddled him close until he was awake enough to want his juice. Then she sat with him while he had breakfast and asked if he wanted to play in the pool that morning, and he looked more like he was ready to start his day

xxxxx

The early morning live TV spot was the first thing on Castle's agenda. He and Paula were at the studio for the show early enough for his short session in the make-up and hair chair, and he was called on camera while Paula waited with her coffee. She always kept an eye on things so she could intervene if necessary.

The woman hosting the interview asked a few work related questions, flirted shamelessly with him, and asked him to talk about his newest book. She had obviously read it, and made comments and asked a couple of questions. Then she flirted a little more and asked suggestively what he was doing while he was here on his own…away from home.

"I'm not here on my own," he answered. "My wife and three year old son are with me."

"I thought she would be in New York. Isn't she a police captain?"

"Kate is on extended maternity leave," he explained happily. "We're expecting a daughter…due in the fall. She and our son went on another tour with me for a couple of weeks about a month ago. We've enjoyed it."

"You're enjoying all this travel with a three year old?" she asked incredulously.

"Well, he is ours, and we actually like him a lot. He's a great kid."

"Don't you have a daughter who's probably old enough to be in college? How does she feel about having a three year old brother?"

"I do. As a matter of fact, she just graduated, summa cum laude, and she starts medical school in the fall. She and her husband both spend a lot of time with Jamie."

"So what are you doing with a wife and a three year old son while you're here?"

"Yesterday we went to Hyde Park, did a lot of walking and took him to the playground, rented paddleboats. We enjoy being parents. I like being a dad. Best job in the world."

"That isn't what I expected to hear, but you're very convincing. I think that's the best smile I've seen since you got here. And congratulations on the new daughter."

"Thank you. Both of my children and Kate and I are anxious to meet her."

The host mentioned the name of the new Heat book and where to find the signings that day and the next, then said, "Richard Castle, Ladies and gentlemen."

There was applause from the audience as he waved on his way off the stage. Some of the staff backstage congratulated him on the new baby, and he stopped to talk for a few minutes.

Bentley Keane's Black Pawn staff was expecting him for a meeting, and he had about an hour to get there; so he had Alton take Paula back to the hotel and come back to pick him up at a coffee shop he had spotted on their way in. He took his time, indulged in decent coffee, and relaxed before Alton returned for him. Arriving for the meeting a few minutes early, he met Gina in the lobby; and the two of them checked in with the receptionist and were ushered into one of the conference rooms for the meeting.

It seemed that the staff, most of whom he didn't know, simply wanted to meet Castle and ask questions. Bentley explained that the large reception they had planned for Castle would be in Paris, allowing for the rest of his family to join him if they were so inclined; so this was the only chance his London staff would have to meet him. He was allowing some social time before a smaller, more business oriented group would meet to talk about the rest of the tour and future book plans. Castle signed some books for the staff and patiently spent time with them before the meeting actually started. He noticed that Bentley spent most of the social time talking to Gina.

When the meeting started, Bentley sat Gina at his right and Castle at his left, and reviewed the tour schedule to be sure nothing had changed. He had insisted that the big reception in Paris should be left for him to plan, so he laid out the plans and let them know what to expect. Then he asked about future Nikki Heat books and another possible series.

"I had to speak with Brad Myers recently, and he was telling me you brought him a couple of children's mysteries. Are you ready to take your writing in a new direction?" Bentley asked. "I don't want to be behind the times over here if anyone asks me."

"I haven't decided about those books yet," Castle answered. "There are six books that were written for no one but my daughter when she was preschool age, and I hope to do the same for my son. As she got older, she had some input in the stories, but the stories were only intended for us. She's encouraging me to publish them, but I'm having a little more trouble with sharing the personal nature of the original intent. The sentimental dad side of me, I guess."

"Well, it sounds like Brad and Walter are ready to publish any time you're ready to start the process."

"They must have been good," Gina interjected. "Richard was supposed to see Brad before he left Black Pawn that day, but Brad burst in on our meeting as we were finishing it, talking about the books being award worthy."

"Brad doesn't make that sort of statement lightly. Maybe you should consider it, Rick," Keane answered.

"When we left, he was planning to talk to Walter, but I didn't know Walter had agreed. It isn't something I ever planned on doing."

"Would it affect the Heat books?"

"Not that I foresee."

"Will those continue for a while longer? I know there's a new one due out around the end of the year, and I know it's the last one we're contracted for. Will there be more?"

"As many as I can make happen without losing the full essence of the character. I won't publish anything that doesn't meet the standards of the other books."

"Well, I hope you remain inspired. Nikki has been good for all of us. Unless someone has further business, I think we can adjourn and let Rick have a little breathing space before his other obligations."

"Gina, will you be riding with me to the bookstore?" Castle asked. "I'd like to have something for lunch before the onslaught."

"Bentley and I have a little more business to attend to, so I'll meet you there."

Rick said his goodbyes and called Kate on his way out of the building.

"Hey, Handsome. Are you missing us?" she asked.

"Maybe. Are you at the pool? I know that's what you planned this morning."

"We just got back and cleaned up."

"Great. Want some ruggedly handsome company for lunch?"

"Other than my son?"

"I was hoping you'd be happy to see his father, too."

"We'd love it."

"Alton just drove up, so I won't be long. I don't have a lot of extra time, though. I'll meet you in the hotel restaurant. Order for me. You know what I like."

"Okay. See you soon."

They had lunch together and talked as they ate. "You know, I think I might have caught a little vibe of interest between Bentley and Gina. He was paying a lot of attention to her this morning while we had some socializing time with his staff before the actual business meeting. He practically ignored everybody else."

"Does that bother you…his attention to Gina?" Kate asked.

"No. Why would it?" He looked up at her and saw something he didn't expect. "If anything comes of it, I'll be happy for them, but no, Kate. It doesn't bother me at all. It might even make me feel better." Taking her hand, he said, "I thought we were past even tiny feelings of doubt."

"I don't doubt you. But she was a big part of your life for a while. I was just wondering…"

"Not bothered," he answered. "Just curious. You'd probably translate that as nosy most of the time. If he were looking at you that way, I'd be bothered."

"Okay."

"Always, Kate. Only you." He lifted her hand and kissed it, and they returned to their meal and talking to their son. A few minutes after they all finished, he said, "I have to go. I told Alton to be back about five minutes from now." After he took care of the bill, he stood and asked, "Am I presentable? Didn't spill any lunch on my tie or anything?"

"You look good. Go make your fans happy," she said as they walked across the lobby.

"Don't forget. Bentley is taking all five of us to dinner tonight."

"Especially Gina?"

"I'm beginning to think so," he answered with a smile. "We're meeting him at the restaurant. I'll call when we're on the way back here so you can meet us out front."

"We'll be ready."

He planted a kiss on his son's head, ruffled his hair, and said, "I'll be back later, Buddy." Then he gave Kate a little peck on the lips and said, "Love you. See you tonight."

xxxxx

Paula was ready to push Gina into paying attention to Rick at this signing; and after the formalities with the store staff were complete and Castle was doing his reading, she became insistent.

"Just this once, Gina. I didn't believe it, either, but you'll see. Here. This chair is yours. Don't leave it until his first break. You don't get a book to read, a restroom break, coffee, or anything. Just watch what he does."

"Fine, but I still think it's ridiculous," Gina answered grumpily. However, she did sit down just as Castle finished his reading.

Following the applause from his audience, the store manager invited the fans to queue up to have their books signed, and Gina watched, looking bored. About twenty minutes into the signing, her expression began to change and she seemed to be paying more attention as Castle gave his customary attention to each person who approached the table. His first break wasn't for another hour.

Anticipating the break for their guest of honor, one of the store employees had provided coffee along with some pastries for the Black Pawn personnel to choose from, and the employees took his break as an opportunity to talk to Castle while he was there.

"Did you see it?" Paula asked Gina as they watched Castle being as generous with his goodwill toward the employees as to the fans. "And then, instead of demanding a few minutes to himself, he does this before going back out there."

"He's already tired and has two more sessions to go, and still…" Gina's voice drifted off.

"I know," Paula answered. "You and I were always so focused on the money that came with the good publicity that we never saw it being more than just signing the books to him. He's always so gracious and easy about the way he interacts with people that we couldn't see where the complaints of being exhausted came from when it was all over."

"I was married to the man for two years, and I didn't see any of that."

"No offense, Gina, but I was there. I saw you put the books first and the man second an awful lot. But I didn't catch this either, until Kate made me think about it. That man is the center of her world, and if we keep taking advantage of him, she's going to give us trouble…rightfully. We've been doing that; and as much effort as he puts into making all of us look good, he doesn't deserve it."

"Okay, I get it. We worked with both of them for this tour. We'll just have to keep it up." Pausing and looking thoughtful for a moment, she said, "She really does care about him more than money…or whatever, doesn't she?"

"She really does. If he lost it all, I think they'd still be together for the rest of their lives. He puts her first, too…and their family. I think he finally has the kind of family he's always wanted, and he's very protective of it. If we want him to cooperate, we have to work with that."

"You're right. And you were right to make me pay attention this afternoon. I guess I really didn't pay enough attention to him when we were married. I had no idea. What else did I miss?"

"Looks to me like Bentley is interested. Maybe you could start by paying more attention there. You know. Just in case."

"He has been pretty attentive," Gina answered, looking pleased. "I do like him. We got along well the last time he was in New York for meetings, but we never went out or anything."

"He's your type. Handsome, eligible, well-off. Not a bad start."

"Paula Hass, are you playing matchmaker?"

Paula laughed. "Just saying…" She waved over her shoulder as she went to steer Richard Castle back to his fans, leaving Gina smiling.

The line was long, and the signing went about twenty minutes past the allotted time, but Castle didn't like leaving disappointed fans. They came to support his work, and he had always felt he owed them enough appreciation to seem grateful for that. The overtime was the result of his own his own methods, so he dealt with it.

Gina let Bentley know when the signing ended and she and Paula were on the way to the restaurant. "Richard is going to the hotel to pick up his wife and son, and meeting us at the restaurant," she told him.

"Then I'll have the pleasure of your company a little longer," he answered. I'm on my way."

That left Gina smiling again.

When Alton stopped the car at the hotel, Kate and Jamie were waiting, both dressed to give appropriate respect to dinner with the top man at Black Pawn in Europe. Jamie wore his vest and tie again, and Kate wore a nice dress that wouldn't look out of place next to what Paula and Gina would have worn to a book signing. She had taken time with her hair and makeup to impress her husband as much as his publisher's representative.

He took Jamie from her and strapped him into his car seat then offered his hand to help Kate into the car, getting in after her and wrapping her in a hug accompanied by a quick kiss." We're ready when you are, Alton," he said and then returned to kiss his wife long and slow.

"Why do you and Mommy kiss all the time?" Jamie asked.

"Because we like kissing," his father answered, giving her another little peck, both parents laughing.

Alton was again smiling without commenting. He seemed to be enjoying the little family he was assigned to.

Dinner was enjoyable. Not having spent much time with Kate, Bentley was careful to be sure she was included in the conversation and fascinated to find that the stories he had heard of Castle's work with her NYPD team were actually true. Were you aware of all that as it happened?" he asked Gina. "Weren't you worried that he could be in danger?"

"He didn't tell Paula or me much other than that he was consulting with them on cases. We honestly thought he was just enjoying the idea of playing cop. He didn't want to drop publicity on the police work and was afraid we wouldn't be able to restrain ourselves. We had no idea of his full involvement until he tried to shove her out of the way of a bullet. And he wouldn't even let us play that up."

"That's… I don't know what to say, Rick. That was honorable," Keane commented.

"I wasn't doing it for publicity. It felt good to know I could help, and they treated me like I was one of them. It felt wrong to publicize it for the books."

"And all of us appreciated it…in spite dealing with his constant wild theories of CIA plots, the supernatural, aliens, mythical creatures, superheroes, etc." Kate added. "He could be a handful in the midst of a serious investigation, but then he'd come up with something that pointed us toward breaking the case…and had lightened up the frustration of being stuck for a while along the way."

"And she decided to keep me," Castle added proudly.

Looking over at Jamie, Bentley Keane smiled. "And it looks like that turned out well. "I hear you went to play on the pirate ship yesterday, Mr. Jamie. Did you have fun?"

Jamie nodded enthusiastically. "Oliver played with me and we drove the ship." Castle and Kate threw in a word or two of explanation as their son talked and Bentley commented and asked questions. "And we went in boats and Mommy and Oliver's mommy drove."

"The women drove?" Gina asked, with raised eyebrows. "Does that mean you made them row?"

Kate laughed and explained the entire paddleboat situation, including Castle's craziness with the boys, and Castle seemed unperturbed at the stories.

"Little kids need entertainment," he said. "I provided it, and they liked it."

"Daddy's silly," Jamie proclaimed. "It was funny."

"We all know Daddy can be silly," Paula agreed.

"Do you have children, Bentley?" Castle asked. "You seem to know how to talk to them."

"I love kids," he answered. "I just don't want the responsibility for them full time. I'm happy to play with somebody else's now and then…help them build something, chase pigeons, make crazy faces. I would probably have enjoyed that paddle boat ride."

"Good to know," Castle answered with a grin. The server stopped to ask if they wanted dessert, and all of them ordered, Jamie and Bentley asking for ice cream.

When their orders came, Jamie started poking his ice cream with his spoon. Kate started to correct him, but Bentley asked what he was doing. The idea of chocolate mush-mush came up again, and Bentley joined in.

Kate groaned and said, "You're encouraging him?"

"Don't say I didn't warn you. Just don't make a mess, Jamie," the publisher told his little partner in crime. When both of them had reduced their desserts to the state of soft ice cream, he whispered across the table to the toddler, "Chocolate mush-mush?" and pointed to their bowls.

Jamie nodded and laughed, surprisingly with no ice cream on his clothes, and took the first bite. Bentley made a little show of trying his first bite and then announced how good it was, laughing with the little boy across from him as they both went back for more.

"I think you might be a bad influence," Castle told Bentley.

"Probably no worse than you," Kate answered. "We don't dare let Bentley get together with you and the rest of the men in the family. My dad is pretty well behaved until he gets around the rest of you."

"Are they part of the family meeting you in Germany?"

"Yep. All of them."

"Then I need to meet them," he said with a conspiratorial grin.

"And he looked so dignified right up to the chocolate mush-mush debacle," Kate said to Gina.

"I was thinking the same thing," Gina answered looking over at Paula, who just laughed.

After the meal, Paula joined the Castles on the way back to the hotel, leaving Bentley and Gina on their own for another drink. "I felt like a fifth wheel," she explained. "I don't know what's going on, but I'm letting it happen without me. I have a new book waiting for me in my room."

"So it wasn't my imagination, huh?" Castle asked, and both women shook their heads in agreement.

All the rooms were on the same floor, so they went back to their rooms together. Paula tickled Jamie's tummy and said goodnight before she went to her room, and Castle finally felt he could completely relax.

"It feels so good to be back here with just us."

"You're really tired, aren't you?" she asked as she unbuttoned Jamie's vest. "Let me take care of Jamie, then I'll see what I can do for you," she promised. She took the little vest off her son, loosened his tie and took it off, and said, "Let's get you into your pj's. It isn't bedtime quite yet, though; so you can play for a little while longer." That seemed to placate her little boy, and he went with her willingly while Castle sat on the sofa with his head resting on the top of the cushions and his eyes closed.

When she came back to check, Castle seemed content right where he was; so she played with Jamie for a little while in his room, read him a book, and went to get Castle when it was time to tuck him in. Castle took over from there. Kate kissed their son goodnight, and then led her husband toward their room. "Come on. Quick shower and I'll give you a back rub. Today was a long one." After the back rub and shoulder massage, Castle pulled his wife close and thanked her, then they both fell asleep.

The next day allowed them an extra hour to sleep in. Castle had a mid-day signing and then they would be on a plane to Oslo late that afternoon. That day's signing was in a huge London bookstore…eight floors of everything a reader could want. Kate spent the morning packing everything so their luggage would be in the car when she and Jamie went to meet Castle at the bookstore. She had their luggage waiting in the lobby when Alton arrived to pick them up, and he stowed it all in the trunk before they left. Then she took Jamie into the bookstore and up to the children's section, where there was so much to choose from they didn't know where to start. Kate just picked up a book and they started looking from there. They left with enough new books for Jamie that he could almost have filled his little suitcase with those alone.

When they met Castle after his signing, she had a sheepish look to accompany the stack of new books, and said, "I'm not sure what we're going to do with them." And Castle laughed.

"The first time I brought Alexis here, we had the same problem. We ended up shipping some things home to have room for them. And had to do it a couple of other times before the tour was over, I think. We'll do that again if we need to. We're supposed to enjoy the trip and take home souvenirs. How are you and Peanut holding out?"

"We're good. We're having fun and enjoying being with Daddy and Big Brother."

"I love you." He kissed her and then turned to the little boy holding her hand and asked with wide eyes and a shocked expression, "Where did you find all those books, and how did you get Mommy to buy you so many?"

His son giggled and said, "We liked all of them."

"Well, we can read some of them on the plane. We might have to take some of your toys out of your suitcase so you have room for them, though."

"Where will my toys go?" Jamie looked concerned.

"We'll put them in my suitcase for now," he promised. "We won't leave them here, I promise. Do you have Bear?"

"He's in the car with Mr. Alton." Then he grinned and said, "Mr. Alton made him have a seat belt."

"Well, we know he's safe, then. It's time for another plane. Are you ready?" When Jamie nodded, he picked him up, took Kate's hand, and said, "Then let's go find Mr. Alton to take us to the airport."

Alton took the Castles' bags from the car and helped him load a luggage rack when they reached the airport. "Thank you, Alton. It's been a pleasure," Castle said as he gave Alton a very generous tip.

Kate echoed his words and added, "Thank you for your patience and the help with the little side trips for Jamie and me. You've made our stay easier for us."

"Thank you, Sir…Ma'am. It was a pleasure for me as well. I enjoyed working with you. If you're ever back in London, I'd be honored to assist again."

"Count on it," Castle promised as they went inside. The second driver pulled up when Alton was getting into the car, and he and Bentley Keane helped Paula and Gina with their bags. Paula pushed the luggage cart inside, and Bentley leaned to leave a kiss on Gina's cheek.

"I'll look forward to seeing you in Germany," he told her.

She placed a kiss on his cheek as well and said, "So will I," giving him a quick smile over her shoulder as she opened the door.

Then it was security checks, a blessedly shorter plane ride than recent trips, and another hotel room, this time in Oslo. By bedtime, Jamie was tired and fussy, so both parents took time to read him some of the books they had bought that afternoon. While Castle read, Kate put Jamie's things in his room so some things looked familiar; and they eventually settled him in bed for the night…baby monitor in place for peace of mind.

There was an afternoon signing followed by a one hour flight to Stockholm that evening. Kate didn't even try to take Jamie out the next day. They spent a quiet day at the hotel and were ready to load the car when Castle returned. The day in Stockholm went about the same way. There were things that looked interesting for children in both cities; but they had very little time to find them, and there would be another plane to Copenhagen that night. They thought it wise to keep their three year old calm, knowing they knew they had a day free at their next stop and could spend the entire day together.

The next morning, they slept until eight-thirty and had to wake their son to get him ready for an adventure day in Copenhagen.