A Man's Promise

by Brenda Jackson

  Jules couldn’t help but smile. There was no need to inform her father she’d been with Shana when she’d purchased the pregnancy-test kit. “Now, Dad, you give me way too much credit.”

  Ben snorted and sat in the chair across from Jules. “So what do you think of Jace Granger?”

  Jules shrugged. “I haven’t met him yet.”

  Ben raised an eyebrow, surprised. “You haven’t?”

  “No. I knew about him, but our paths had never crossed. Shana was in denial about her true feelings for him, and then I finally got her to admit otherwise. Right after that, Shana found out she was pregnant. When I left town on that case, she hadn’t even told him.”

  Jules paused a minute and then said, “I heard about Jace Granger’s kidnapping. I called Shana and got the details firsthand. She also told me that she and Jace had resolved their issues—she’d told him about the baby, and they were getting married.”

  Ben nodded thoughtfully. “She’s happy.”

  “And I’m happy for her. I was beginning to think Jonathan had ruined her for any other man. She had trust issues.”

  “And you think Jace Granger can be trusted?”

  Jules wondered why her father was quizzing her. He was a good judge of character, so if he had doubts about something...

  “Dad, you met Jace Granger. Is there a reason you’re asking me these questions about him?”

  Ben held her gaze for a minute and then said, “I like him, but I know you. There’s no way you haven’t had him investigated, the same way you checked out Mona.”

  Jules didn’t say anything. Her father was right. He knew her. “He’s clean, a regular nice guy. I haven’t met him, so I’m going on what I’ve learned. However, there is the issue of his father being charged for his mother’s murder. I understand Jace doesn’t believe his father is guilty.”

  “Well, someone had to have killed her.”

  Jules nodded, knowing her father was thinking like an ex-cop, and so was she. If Sheppard Granger hadn’t killed his wife, then who had?

  “Sheppard Granger has already served fifteen years with another fifteen years to go. If he’s really innocent, then he’s had a raw deal.”

  Wanting to change the subject, Jules asked her father about Mona and saw how his face lit up when he began talking. He truly loved the woman, just like Shana had said. Seeing her father fall in love wasn’t as bad as she’d thought it would be. It just needed some getting used to.

  Something her father said caught her attention. She raised her eyebrows. “New York? You’re taking Mona to New York?”

  “Yes, to see a Broadway play. Do you want to come?”

  Jules knew he only asked because he knew she would not go. “Thanks, Dad, but no, I don’t want to go.” She leaned over and smiled before saying, “You can let go of your breath now.”

  * * *

  A couple of hours later, Jules entered her condo thinking there was no place like home. Since January, she hadn’t spent more than fifty days here. The others had been spent traveling while handling cases. Now that she was back, she intended to get in her bed and sleep for the next two weeks. She chuckled, wishing that were possible. But like always at the end of a case, there was a lot of paperwork to do.

  But once all that was done, she would enjoy some time off for a while with no interruptions. One of the advantages of using a fictitious name for her P.I. agency was not having to worry about anyone tracking her down, making a nuisance of themselves. To everyone in the business, she was known as J. B. Sweet, using her initials and her mother’s maiden name. She got a kick out of answering her phone saying, “The Sweet agency.”

  Another advantage to using a fictitious name was that clients didn’t know whether she was male or female until they met her face-to-face or spoke with her on the phone. It also helped when she had clients who assumed she was a man and were surprised to find out differently once they’d met her. The looks on their faces were always priceless.

  Deciding to touch base with her sister before she got too comfortable, she pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket to call Shana. According to her father, Shana had gone to the mountains with Jace this weekend but had called a couple of hours ago to let him know she had returned. More than likely, she and Jace would spend the rest of the day...and the night together.

  Her sister answered on the first ring. “Jules, tell me you’re back.”

  She heard the excitement in Shana’s voice. “Okay, I’m back.”

  “Seriously?”

  Jules laughed. “Yes, seriously.” She moseyed to the kitchen, grabbed an apple from the refrigerator and bit into it. “So what’s going on with you other than being knocked up?”

  “Hey, behave yourself. I can’t wait for you to meet Jace.”

  “Oh, you finally want to introduce me to your man? The same man you claimed for months you weren’t interested in?”

  “And you know why I was reluctant in the beginning.”

  Yes, Jules knew why. But she believed this time would be different for her sister. Although she hadn’t met Jace Granger, she had a feeling he would be a positive influence in Shana’s life. “So what are you doing later today? I might stop by after my nap.”

  “We’re going to Jace’s family estate for dinner with his brothers, but I intend to be back here by eight. Why don’t you drop by and meet Jace then?”

  “I think I will, if I don’t oversleep. My bed is calling my name big-time. If I don’t make it tonight, let’s do dinner tomorrow at Lenny’s around five.”

  “That would be nice. You get your rest. You’re tired. I can hear it in your voice.”

  “I will. Talk to you later.”

  Leaving her kitchen, Jules went into the living room and checked the incoming messages on her landline. Dale Henslowe had called a number of times while she’d been away, and she wished he hadn’t. She had told him the last time he called that she had no time for players or wannabe players. To be honest, she didn’t have time for nonplayers, either. A man was the last thing she needed in her life. They all had a tendency to complicate things. Her work was her life, and that was enough.

  Now that Shana was making her an aunt, she would be satisfied with that. Aunt Jules. She liked the sound of that and smiled as she headed to her bathroom for a shower.

  * * *

  Caden brought his car to a stop in the circular drive of his grandfather’s home at Sutton Hills and glanced over at Shiloh. He could tell she was nervous about being here. He wanted to make her feel comfortable before they went in to meet Jace and Shana, who were waiting for them. Dalton would be joining them as soon as he took care of an errand—right in time for the dinner Hannah was preparing.

  “Remember that tree over there?” he asked her, pointing to a huge oak at the side of the house.

  She smiled. “Yes, I remember.”

  When they were kids, the two of them would sit up in the tree and talk for hours. He had tried talking his grandfather into building a tree house in it, but his grandmother had been dead against it after Dalton had fallen out of the tree and broken his arm.

  Shiloh looked past the tree to where the roof of his parents’ home could be seen in the distance. “You and your brothers still haven’t gone back there?”

  He followed her gaze. “No. Neither have we gone to the boathouse. For a while, I thought Granddad would tear it down, but he didn’t.”

  “You think your father will when he’s released from prison?”

  Caden thought about her question for a minute. “I honestly don’t know. When Dad is released, he will have a lot on his hands just getting acclimated back into society. A lot has changed, although he’s managing to keep up with changing technology. My dad is a very intelligent man.”

  Shiloh heard the admiration in his voice and recalled it had always been there whenever Caden talked about his dad. Even when they had been kids. On the other hand, she and her own father had never been close. Samuel Timmons had pretty much alienated both of his
kids. She knew that Sedrick and their father had made some kind of peace. However, during the time she had moved back home when he had become ill, he had ignored her. He had acted as if she didn’t exist. And she knew why. She had gotten pregnant by Caden, and he had told her that he would never forgive her for doing that. Not that she had cared how he felt at the time.

  “Can I ask you something?” Caden asked, breaking into her thoughts.

  She looked over at him. “Yes.”

  “What is your fondest memory of Sutton Hills?”

  She knew the answer without thinking about it. “Spending time here with you.” And she really meant that because, in her mind, Sutton Hills and Caden went together like wine and cheese. Whenever she had come here, it was to play with him.

  He smiled. “Good. Now you’re back. To spend time with me again.”

  She didn’t say anything as she thought about what Caden had just said. Although the two of them had admitted to still loving each other, they both knew they had work to do in order to fully heal their relationship. And they were willing to take the time to do that, while at the same time trying to find answers to things that were still confusing to them.

  “Ready?” he asked her, opening his car door.

  “As ready as I’ll ever be. I figure Dalton likes me a little better now since he kept telling me how good breakfast was, but now I have to win Jace over.”

  He touched her arm. “You don’t have to win anyone over. I love you, and that’s all that matters. My family knows you and has known you for years, Shiloh. They know we’ve always had a close friendship even as kids growing up. And they also know why our friendship ended. They don’t blame you for any of it, like I never blamed you.”

  And then he leaned over and placed a kiss on her lips. “Come on. Everyone is waiting.”

  Moments later as they walked up toward the front door, he took her hand in his, leaned close and whispered, “You’re going to like Shana. She’s just what Jace needs.”

  Shiloh smiled while thinking that Caden was what she needed, as well.

  * * *

  Caden was right, Shiloh thought a short while later. Shana was a nice person and just what Jace needed. She had to say that everyone treated her like an old friend. Hannah was Hannah and made her feel immediately welcome, saying that she had known Shiloh was coming and she had prepared a batch of her favorite brownies in her honor. The older woman still remembered her favorite dessert.

  Jace gave her a hug, and if he was surprised to see her and Caden together, he didn’t show it. He told her he was glad to see her again. No one mentioned running into her last weekend at the restaurant, and she was glad. She still had the issue of Wallace to resolve and didn’t look forward to it because of Sedrick. He would be upset about it and understandably so, since he’d asked her more than once if she was truly ready to move on in her life. At the time, she had thought she was, but now she knew differently.

  Dalton joined them a few minutes later and was his playful self again, but things turned serious when Caden began telling Jace about what had happened the previous evening.

  Just as Dalton had, Jace clung to his brother’s every word, and the emotions that appeared on his face told Shiloh everything. The three brothers may have gone their separate ways after leaving here for college, and only hooked up occasionally, but the love she saw between them was real. The three of them agreed it was imperative to find Striker to thank him for his act of heroism.

  “And you didn’t see the car while crossing the street?” Shana asked, pouring gravy on her mashed potatoes. They were all seated at the dinner table enjoying the delicious meal Hannah had prepared.

  “No. The car was parked, and when I was crossing the street, he suddenly pulled out. I would not have seen it if Shiloh hadn’t screamed.”

  Shana asked him a few more questions, and then Dalton suggested they change the subject to discuss something he’d noticed at the office.

  “And what have you noticed?” Jace asked with concern in his voice. Things had been running pretty smoothly ever since that kidnapping attempt, but Shana’s presence in the office sent a message that the company was still trying to find ways to reinvent itself.

  “Brandy.”

  Jace rolled his eyes. Brandy Booker was one of the administrative assistants. She was attractive, young, single and flirty, and Dalton had had the hots for her from day one, which was why Jace had refused his request that Brandy be his personal administrative assistant. “What about Brandy? You’ve been noticing her from day one. What else is new?”

  “I think she’s a spy.”

  Now, that got everyone’s attention. “What makes you think that?” Shana asked, on full alert.

  “I noticed things.”

  Jace rolled his eyes. “Could you be more specific?”

  Dalton didn’t say anything for a moment and then said, “She deliberately hangs back after I leave.”

  “Since you leave early almost every day,” Caden pointed out, “how would you know?”

  “I forgot something last week and had to come back to the office. She was still there, claiming to be working late on some special project.”

  “And she probably was, Dalton. You know we have a number of employees working on special assignments. I still don’t understand your concern,” Caden said.

  “She was in my office.”

  Jace frowned. “Your office? Don’t you lock your office every day?”

  Dalton answered Jace. “I thought I did, but when I asked her how she got in, she said it was unlocked and that she needed a file.”

  “Did she say what file she needed?” Shana asked.

  “Yes, the one about the Evander Project. I told her I didn’t have it and that Caden did.”

  Caden frowned. “I don’t have it.”

  Dalton smiled. “I figured if she really needed the file like she claimed she did, then she would ask you for it. Since you didn’t mention anything about this, I knew she’d been lying. So I set her up.”

  “Set her up? How?” Jace asked.

  Dalton smiled. “I had Security install a camera in my office.”

  “And?” Jace asked.

  “And she was recorded entering my office again a few evenings later...with a key.”

  “Where would she get a key?” Caden asked.

  “Not sure, but it opened the door. And she was looking on my desk and trying to go through my drawers, but they were locked. She also spent some time looking behind the pictures on my wall, like she figured there was a safe or something behind them. And she used a mini-camera to take pictures.”

  “Of what?” Shana asked.

  “The framed pictures on my wall. She took several shots of one particular picture.”

  “Which picture was that?

  “The one showing fireworks for a Fourth of July celebration.”

  Jace frowned. “Why would that picture interest her more than the others?”

  “I don’t have a clue,” Dalton said, taking another sip of coffee.

  Jace stared hard at his brother. “And why is this the first time I’m hearing about any of this?” he asked, and it was apparent he was trying to keep his anger under control.

  “All this was revealed to me Friday afternoon,” Dalton said calmly. “If you recall, you and Shana left the office early to get a jump start on your weekend trip to the mountains. And of course, it was one of those very rare moments when Caden had left early, as well.”

  “Did you ask Brandy about it?”

  “No. It was late evening when Security brought me the footage, and she had left for the day.”

  “Isn’t she still involved with Shelton Fields?” Caden asked. Fields had been second-in-command under Cal Arrington, who’d been indicted for sharing trade secrets with a rival company.

  “No. That little affair ended right after Jace’s kidnapping,” Dalton said. “I figured Shelton was so afraid Jace was going to terminate him because of his involvement with Brandy that he dro
pped her like a hot potato. If you noticed, Shelton doesn’t come within five feet of her anymore.”

  “I noticed,” Jace said.

  “So have I,” Shana added.

  “Well, I haven’t,” Caden said, frowning.

  “Probably because your mind has been rather occupied lately,” Dalton said, grinning over at his brother. He then said to Jace, “So, what do you think we should do?”

  Jace put it back on him. “What do you think we should do?” He’d placed Dalton in charge of security to keep him out of trouble. Now it seemed as if trouble was going to knock on Dalton’s door regardless.

  “I suggest we, along with Security, confront her about it when she returns to the office.”

  Both Jace and Caden nodded, agreeing with Dalton’s suggestion.

  “And if it’s okay,” Shana said, “I’ll have Bruce check out her computer to make sure she hasn’t sent any Granger Aeronautics files to anyone outside the company.” Bruce Townsend was a computer whiz who worked on occasion for Shana.

  “You think she might be divulging trade secrets like Arrington was doing?” Jace asked.

  “Not sure, but I’d love to look at that video you’ve got, Dalton,” Shana said.

  “No problem. I’ll order you a copy from Security. And I checked the calendar on Friday. Brandy has vacation scheduled for the first two days of next week and won’t be back in the office until Wednesday.”

  “Then we’ll meet with her on Wednesday. First thing,” Jace said.

  * * *

  A few hours later, on the drive back to Shiloh’s place, Caden asked if they had bored her to tears when they had been discussing business, and Brandy in particular.

  She shook her head. “No, I find it all very interesting, and it seems as if you and your brothers have adapted.”

  “Adapted?”

  “Yes, none of you entered the corporate world after college, but you were forced into it recently. Yet, you seem to be adjusting and taking care of business. It’s as if the three of you are naturals.”