Brenda Jackson - A Lover's Vow

The three of them had returned to Charlottesville when their grandfather, Richard Granger, had suffered a fatal heart attack. What they hadn’t counted on was making a deathbed promise to him to take over the family business, Granger Aeronautics. They hadn’t expected a failing company, one deep in the red. But they had made the promise and rolled up their sleeves. Hiring Shana’s crisis management firm had been the smartest decision they could have made. She’d discovered employees divulging trade secrets and helped expose someone they thought was a family friend as a killer.

“Caden, are you listening to me?”

No, he wasn’t really. But he knew he should. This issue Dalton had with Jules wasn’t good and could cause lots of problems in the long run. “Yes, I’m listening,” he lied. “You were talking about Jules. Let’s look at this logically for a moment, Dalton. Have you considered the possibility that when you did find Jules that you came on a little too strong? That maybe you were too focused on what you expected? You probably walked into her office with a hard-on.” The look that suddenly appeared on Dalton’s face let Caden know he’d guessed correctly.

“So what if I did? Like I said, she knew the score,” Dalton countered.

“And you would have taken her right there in her office.”

Dalton shrugged unashamedly. “I had no problem doing that. It would have saved time.”

Caden shook his head. It was hard to believe the audacity of his brother at times. As the youngest Granger, Dalton had grown up spoiled and pampered...especially by their mother. Things came easily for him, at times too easily. As a result, he often had an air of entitlement about him. “And you assumed she would feel the same way you did?”

“Don’t see why not. She did challenge me to find her. Besides, spontaneity is the spice of life, Caden. But I wouldn’t expect you to understand that. You’ve been living in Shilohville for too long.”

A smile couldn’t help but touch Caden’s lips. “And what does Shiloh have to do with this?”

“Admit it. You’ve loved your wife forever, even when you were kids and didn’t know what love was. Granted, the two of you were apart for a few years, thanks to her bastard of a father, but you never hired anyone to find her. You didn’t go to bed every night dreaming about what you would do to her when you did. You never—”

“Okay, Dalton, I get the picture, although I don’t agree with everything you’re saying. No man should expect a woman to put out on their first date. Hell, it wasn’t even a date . You just showed up at her office. I can just imagine how surprised she was to see you there.”

“She should have known I would eventually find her. She should have expected it, and she should have been ready—definitely more accommodating. Instead, she all but gave me her ass to kiss, and for that reason...”

Caden listened as Dalton continued with his tirade; coming out with crap he hoped like hell his brother would regret saying later. One thing was for certain; Jules Bradford had pissed him off big-time, ruffled a few of those manly feathers. He wouldn’t be surprised if she had been the first woman to do so, definitely to this degree.

“I happen to like Jules,” he broke in to say. When Dalton gave him a look that was sharper than glass, he added, “After all, she did find out who tried to kill me. And it didn’t take her much time to do it.”

“Fine. Shana’s Wonder Woman, your wife is the Wine Lady and Jules is Miss Whirlwind. If she hadn’t figured things out, someone else would have.”

“Not me, for sure,” Caden said, remembering the period of time he was trying like hell to forget.

“Then you owe her. I don’t,” Dalton said, easing out of the chair.

“Shana’s dinner party this weekend should be interesting with both you and Jules there.”

Dalton glanced over at Caden. “No, it won’t be, because I don’t plan to attend.”

Caden frowned. “Why?”

“We just discussed it. I tolerated Jules’s presence at the rehearsal and the wedding, but I’ll be damned if I’ll be in the same room with her again when I don’t have to.”

“But this will be Shana’s first dinner party that she’ll be hosting as a Granger.”

“Won’t be her last. Maybe she should have stayed a Bradford.”

Caden just stared at Dalton. He knew that although Dalton wouldn’t admit it, he liked Shana a lot. And he probably disliked her sister just as much. “At some point, you and Jules need to forget the past and move on. Shana is her sister, and Jace is your brother.”

“So?”

“So you’re both driving us all crazy. And since she probably dislikes you as much as you dislike her, I can just imagine what Shana is dealing with.”

“Not my problem. Like I said, I won’t be coming.”

“Now that Jace has married Shana, we’re all practically family.”

“Like hell. That’s like saying that now you’re married to Wine Lady, your in-laws are family, as well. There’s no way Sandra Timmons or Dr. Sedrick Timmons will ever be considered family to me.”

Caden didn’t say anything for a moment because he was finding it hard to consider them family, too. “I hope that you reconsider coming on Saturday night, Dalton. It would mean a lot to Jace and Shana if you did.”

Dalton shoved his hands into the pockets of his slacks. “If they feel that way, then I hate to disappoint them. But I will have to.” He glanced at his watch again. “I have a meeting with my security team. I’ll see you later.” He turned to leave.

“Wait. When you came into my office, you said you thought you were being followed.”

Dalton turned back around. “I’m sure I’m just imagining things. Both you and Jace recently came within an inch of losing your lives, so I’m starting to get a little paranoid. And I don’t like it worth a damn.”

* * *

An hour later, Dalton entered his own office at Granger Aeronautics, the company his great-grandfather, Sutton Granger, had founded. He was sure that when the old man had done so, he’d believed he was starting a legacy for all Grangers to follow. And they had for a while. As expected, his grandfather, Richard, had followed in Sutton’s footsteps, and Dalton’s own father, Sheppard, had done likewise, working beside Richard to build a dynasty to pass on to his three sons—Jace, Caden and Dalton.

There was no doubt in Dalton’s mind that things would have continued that way if his mother, Sylvia, hadn’t been murdered, and his father arrested for the crime. Jace had been sixteen, Caden fourteen and Dalton only twelve. His mother’s death had hit him hard, but his father’s imprisonment had been even harder. Neither he nor his brothers believed their father capable of killing their mother, but a jury had found him guilty and sentenced him to thirty years.

Dalton drew in a deep breath. Instead of sitting down at his desk and diving into some of the emails that were mounting up, he walked over to the window and looked out. Nice view, although he thought the ones seen from Jace’s and Caden’s windows were better. Every once in a while, he enjoyed ribbing them about that.

He stood there a moment, staring out the window and remembering his conversation with Caden. Leave it to Caden to bring out Jules’s one redeeming quality. She was a private investigator and was good at her job. So what? Maybe he did owe her for that, just like he owed Shana for her part in saving Jace’s life. Shit, he didn’t like owing anyone anything. But he did love his brothers, and the thought of anything ever happening to them was too much to think about.

And it was time for him to pay his father a visit. Jace had gone to see him right before the wedding, and Caden had gone just last week. Caden said their father had asked about him. Dalton needed to go before his father got some crazy idea about why he hadn’t been visiting.