A Brother's Honour. Brenda Jackson

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СКАЧАТЬ promises, Dalton.”

      How could I forget? Dalton thought. The last time he had asked Jace to make a promise had been during their father’s trial. He wanted Jace to promise him that their father would not have to serve time, and that he would be back home with them when the trial ended. They’d already lost their mother, and the thought of losing a father had been unbearable to Dalton. Jace had refused him that promise, and Dalton was glad he had. It would have been a promise that was broken.

      “Yes, I know,” Dalton said. “I forgot. I usually don’t get out of bed before noon, and my brain was not functioning so well this morning.”

      “But I see your eyeballs are,” Jace said. “When you were checking out that receptionist this morning, I could swear you had X-ray vision.”

      Dalton chuckled as he loosened his tie a bit. “Wish I had. Damn, she looks good. I want her for my office assistant.”

      “If you do get an office assistant, I’m going to make sure she is not on the list.” Jace eased down to sit on the edge of the table. “Speaking of your own offices, they’ll be ready for you to move in before the end of the day.”

      “I only want an office if I get to pick my office assistant, and I want her on the list, Jace,” Dalton said, grinning. “And I don’t want my office next to Caden’s unless it’s soundproof. You know how he has a tendency to play his sax at odd times.”

      Dalton had expected Caden to come back with some ear-blistering retort, and when he didn’t, Dalton turned to gaze over at his brother. Jace looked over at Caden, as well. Caden had gone back to staring out the window, dismissing their presence.

      “I think what Shiloh did at the meeting got to him,” Dalton whispered under his breath.

      “You think so?” Jace asked. Personally, he thought so, too. And he had a feeling there was something else going on there but had no idea what. Why was Caden acting so uptight about a woman he hadn’t had any contact with for close to fifteen years?

      “Which office do you get?” Dalton broke into Jace’s thoughts to ask, deciding to leave Caden to whatever thoughts were going through his mind.

      “The one that was Granddad’s. I’m keeping Dad’s office the same way Granddad has kept it all these years. Intact.”

      Richard had always assumed his son would be freed and had kept Sheppard’s office basically as he’d left it. Jace planned to do the same. That was another promise they’d made, the one regarding their father. And it was another he intended to keep.

      “I want to go see Dad.” Dalton broke into Jace’s thoughts.

      Jace looked at Dalton. He noted from the corner of his eyes that Dalton’s statement had also grabbed Caden’s attention.

      “I suggest we all go see him,” Caden said, moving closer to the table. He dropped down in one of the chairs.

      “Sounds like a plan. I’m sure losing Granddad was hard on him,” Jace said, glancing at his watch. “Getting out to visit him today or tomorrow might be difficult with everything that is going on. I’m trying to set up a meeting with Shana Bradford as soon as I can. According to Vidal, if anyone can get us out of the red, she can.”

      * * *

      Shana Bradford smiled up at the man who’d made her coffee. “The coffee is great as usual, Dad.”

      He was the one man she most admired. Widowed, her father had raised her and her sister Jules alone, which hadn’t been easy while working as a policeman defending the streets of Boston. He had retired a few years ago, wanting a quiet life, and had decided to settle in Charlottesville, the place where her parents had first met while attending college.

      Jules had been the first to follow their father to Charlottesville, where she established a private investigating firm. Shana had begun liking the area more each and every time she came to visit and, three years ago, after her breakup with her steady boyfriend, she decided to move her own firm here. She was glad she had. She loved Charlottesville and liked having her family close by again. And she made certain that she carved out time during her busy schedule to drop by to visit her dad and grab a cup of coffee, bring him lunch or show up for dinner.

      She took a sip as she watched her father move around the kitchen. The space wasn’t all that large, but he actually looked lost. That was unusual, since her father generally exuded a strong presence. She immediately read the signs. Something heavy was on his mind.

      “Dad, is there something bothering you?”

      He quickly turned and looked at her, and she immediately noticed that his smile was tentative, nervous. He placed the dish towel on the counter, moved back toward her and sat down with her at the table. “No, there’s nothing bothering me, but there is something that I need to talk to you about.”

      She lifted her brow as she set her coffee cup down. She couldn’t hide the concern in her features. “Okay, what is it?”

      He didn’t say anything for a moment, and then he looked at her and gave her that same smile she’d grown accustomed to over the years while growing up. It was that smile that let her know everything was going to be all right and that he would be there for her, no matter what.

      She waited...and then he released the bombshell by saying, “I’m thinking about remarrying.”

      Shana was glad she had stopped drinking her coffee, because otherwise she would have choked on it. Remarry? Her father? She drew in a deep breath before saying, “I wasn’t aware you were seeing anyone.”

      Had Jules known and just not mentioned it? No, there was no way. That would have been headline news in Jules’s book, and her sister would have had the woman thoroughly vetted by now.

      “I’m not seeing anyone, technically. Mona and I run into each other every so often in the grocery store.” He chuckled. “We talk over the fresh vegetables, but haven’t gone out on an official date.”

      Shana was trying desperately to follow him. “And already you’re thinking about marriage?” she asked. Those had to be some strange-idea-inducing vegetables in that grocery store. Her father had to be the most logical man she knew, and she was beginning to worry because he was thinking illogically.

      “Yes, just thinking of the possibility. She’s the first woman I’ve had thoughts about since your mom, so that must mean something. You know the story of how your mom and I were attracted to each other at first glance when we met that day in class?”

      Yes, she had heard the story and had always thought it was special that the two had begun dating in their sophomore year and married a month after graduation, two years later.

      “So tell me, what is there about her that makes you think of marriage?” she asked, picking up her coffee cup and taking a sip.

      “She’s pretty. Dresses nice. Smells good.”

      He’d gotten up that close to the woman? “What do you know about her, Dad?”

      Her father leaned back in the chair and the smile that appeared on his face at that moment was one she had never recalled seeing before. It was different somehow from the ones he had for her and her sister, Shana thought.

      “I know she’s СКАЧАТЬ