Rowland, The Senators Son

Chapter 1 One Mans Memory, One Mans Promise

Rowland Jeffers stood tall beside his brothers and their family, as he stared into the hole that would be his father's final resting place. The wind whipped at his black hair, forcing him to push it out of his crystal-blue eyes.

Of all the senator's six sons, he was the one that most resembled the father they were now laying to rest. At six foot six, he also had his father's imposing height and was the tallest of his siblings.

His mind was not on the words the overly pompous priest was spouting. His father would have been telling the hideous little man to just get on with it. Unlike most senators, his father was not one for ceremony. Rowland's mind was occupied with replaying the last conversation he had had with the late Ryan-John Jeffers.

"Son, I need you to do something for me." The cancer may have ravaged his body, but his eyes were still bright as he looked on his eldest son.

Rowland clasped his father's hand and asked, "What can I do for you, old man?"

His father gave his son a wry half smile at the term of endearment.

"Not so much of the 'old', if you don't mind." He paused as a cough wracked his frail form, reduced by his illness. A mere shadow of the man he once was. The muscles of his broad strong shoulders had become nothing more than skin and bone. Rowland helped his father to sit up and gave him a sip of water from the glass by the bedside. With a nod of thanks, he continued to speak.

"Rowland, there is someone special I want you to take care of when I am gone. She will not want you to and may even fight against it, but..." another harsh cough caught him off guard, halting his words.

Once calmed, he continued "...when your mother died, I thought I would never again find anyone that would intrigue me as much as her... but I did."

Rowland could not hide his astonishment at this revelation, as his father asked, "That surprises you?"

"Well, yes..." Rowland faltered, "I know you have always been very good at keeping your private life private, but I have never seen any hint of another woman in your life."

"Well, in a way you are right... as she isn't a part of it anymore," his fathers' eyes saddened. "When I could no longer hide how sick I was... I let her go."

"Why?" It stunned Rowland, thinking his father could have had the comfort of a soft hand while he had battled the cancer, but chose not to... "Would she have not stayed?"

"On the contrary, she would have been at my side, and even now, I know that if I called her, she would be right here. But it would not have been good for her... and her well-being was my only concern." His father's eyes closed briefly as the exhaustion of the battle started to overtake him.

"What is it you want me to do, old man?" Rowland knew that would draw a response.

His father snorted softly before continuing. "I want you to look after her. Make sure she is safe and happy. She deserves that." His words were becoming softer now. "I have left a trust for her, and I want you to see that she gets it."

"I can do that, Dad." Rowland lifted his father's hand to his cheek, and then pressed his lips to the back of it, showing his love and respect.

"Rowland..." He now needed to strain to hear his father's words.

"Yes, Father?" Rowland answered gently... he could feel his father slipping away.

"You know I love you, your brothers and your mother, well, she was the love of my life, but this woman is different and I know when you meet her, you will see an inner strength you will not believe."