He almost said it out loud, but when he met Luke's puzzled eyes, he hesitated.
Perhaps in Luke's heart, he had never thought that his father might still be alive.
James withdrew his hand from the top of his head and forced a smile. "I never said you couldn't go back to see your family. Didn't you say your grandfather and aunt are still there?"
"It's getting late today. I'll take you to see them tomorrow."
James hugged Nita and looked at Freya, who was driving.
"Freya, help us find a place to stay."Freya, sitting in the front seat, nodded and headed towards the largest five-star hotel in Michigan.
After arriving at the hotel, James booked three rooms.
Although he wanted to accompany the two children, he knew that they needed some time to adjust. These two children had suffered too much outside.
After watching Luke and Nita fall asleep, James sat alone in front of the bed for a long time.
He looked at the moon outside the window and slowly lit a cigarette.
"Mary, it would be so good if you were still alive."
The cigarette burned out, but James didn't dare to light another one. The smoke would be bad for the two children in the room.
After returning to his own room, James called his uncle Smith Chad.
Firstly, he reported that the two children had been found and were safe.
Secondly, he asked his uncle to help keep his identity a secret and give Luke some time to accept it.
The next day at noon, James's room door was knocked open and Freya walked in with an appointment letter.
"General, this is from the Marshal," Freya carefully placed the documents on James's desk, looking at the ashtray full of cigarette butts with a hint of heartache.
Although he had found his children, it would be difficult for the general to overcome the pain of losing his wife.
The general was not a talkative person, but every time he celebrated a great victory and got drunk, he never failed to mention his wife and children.
"The Marshal?" James looked at the documents with some confusion, "Just tell me what's going on."
"Okay." Freya nodded and unfolded the documents.
"It's an appointment letter. The Marshal hopes that the General can take up the position of Governor of Alaska."
"Governor?" James smiled, it was not a small position. In ancient times, it was equivalent to a second-rank official, in charge of a county. In modern times, it was the top position in the entire province.
This was not a small offer.
"If I want this power, does it mean that this position is like a beggar's job?" James looked out the window, his eyes showing no emotion, and asked calmly.
"Yes!" Freya answered confidently, this was beyond doubt.
The general had fought for the country for six years, with no less than a hundred battles, and had never lost a single one. If it were not for the general's young age and lack of desire for power and wealth, he would not have only been the general of the southern border.
"I am the commander-in-chief of the entire Texas army!"
These were the words spoken by the commander himself.
Unfortunately, the military had no interest in fighting for these titles. Whoever wanted it, the commander would simply give up his hard-earned power and return home.
So, the appointment letter given to Freya was not necessarily compensation for the military, but rather a guilty conscience on the part of the commander.
"Never mind, it's not important," James waved his hand casually. "Let the commander take this thing back. I can lead soldiers in battle, but I can't handle being an official. I hate trouble the most."
James lit a cigarette and stretched lazily.
"Let's go. I need to take my children to their uncle's house. If we're late, they'll worry that I've abandoned them."
He extinguished the cigarette in the ashtray and strode towards the door.
But as soon as he stepped outside, a commotion caught his attention and he furrowed his brow.
He saw Luke being held by two security guards, and even Nita was knocked down by someone!
At the entrance of Room 633.
The cleaning lady pointed at Nita lying on the ground.
"You two beggars have some nerve sneaking into a hotel to sleep!"
"You're pretty clever, finding the best room."
"But do you know how much it costs to sleep in this room for one night? You couldn't even afford it if you sold yourselves!"
The cleaning lady ranted, not caring that Nita was already on the verge of tears.
"Auntie, we paid for the room."
Luke explained repeatedly, he had lost count of how many times he had said this.
"You paid?"
The cleaning lady grabbed Luke's clothes, "You two look like beggars, how could you afford it?"
"Auntie, it's true. You can go to the front desk and check, you'll find out..."
"Check what?!"
The cleaning lady interrupted Luke's words with a shout.
"I said you snuck in, so you snuck in. No need to find evidence!"
"What authority you have!"
James walked over angrily and grabbed the cleaning lady's hand.
"Since when do you have the final say in this hotel?"
"And why do you need to check"?
Someone intervened, and the cleaning lady instinctively took a step back, but when she saw James's attire, her face turned even worse.
"What, do you have the final say or do I?"
"I bet you brought these two beggars here with you," she said.
"Idiot." James cursed and waved to Freya directly.
"Let their manager come over within a minute. A five-star hotel without even basic service quality?"
"Okay."
Freya took out her phone and quickly dialed a number. "One minute, Room 633. You're not here yet? Get lost."
After speaking, Freya hung up the phone directly.
Yesterday, she had thought that in the future, she would stay in Michigan with the military lord and simply buy the hotel with full capital as a gift for him.
But she had not expected that today, some people with no eyesight would come and bully the two young masters.
"Tsk."
The aunt sneered at James and Nita. "You even called our manager and spoke in such a tone?"
"Please, at least act realistically when you're acting."
"Our manager is a top figure in Michigan. Even the children of those big families have to give him some face. What are you guys to order him around?"
Faced with the aunt's ridicule, James just crouched down and patted the dust off his body.
"Nita, don't be afraid. I will handle this matter."
"The person who kicked you just now, I will make him pay back ten times or a hundred times."
James did not rush to hold them accountable. He whispered to Nita to comfort her until she calmed down. Then, he looked at the two security guards who were holding Luke.
"You'd better put him down first. If you act now and put him down now, and I won't hold you accountable."
"Hold us accountable?"
The two security guards looked at each other and burst into laughter.
"Hey, hey, do you think that we, as security guards and cleaners, would not have this much insight?"
"We can easily tell whether it's a lion or a dog with just a glance. As for the manager, I don't think he'll be able to make it. And let me tell you, I'm the one who kicked that little girl."
"If you're smart, you'll get down on your knees and lick my shoes clean, and we'll call it even."
"No, wait. I also want to spend a night with the hot woman behind you. Then we'll turn a blind eye and let you three beggars go."
"What do you say?"