A Vow to Love

by Sherryl Woods

  "Brandon, I told you we should have called first," her grandmother said. "Penny probably has plans for the evening."

  He waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Oh, fiddle-faddle, she can always throw us out, if she needs to leave." He regarded her hopefully. "You got a date?"

  "No."

  "Oh," he said, clearly disappointed. "Thought maybe you and Sam might have plans."

  "Now why would you think a thing like that?"

  Her grandmother shot a warning look at her grandfather. For once, thankfully, he took the hint and dropped the matter.

  "So, this is your apartment," he said, pacing around the tiny living room. "Not much space."

  "I think it's charming," her grandmother said hurriedly. "You've fixed it up beautifully. I love all the plants in the windows."

  Her grandfather scowled. "Didn't say she hadn't. I just hate to think of her all cramped up."

  "I love it," she reassured him. "It's cozy. Can I get you something? A drink? Coffee? Tea?"

  "Tea would be nice," her grandmother said. "Then we'd like to take you out to dinner."

  Penny had the oddest feeling that dinner would be a very bad idea. Her grandparents clearly had something on their minds and she had a hunch she didn't want to know what it was. "Actually, I'm afraid I can't join you." She gestured toward the hastily stacked papers and books on the coffee table. "I'm working on a paper for class."

  "Nonsense," her grandfather said. "You have to eat. It won't be a late evening. After our trip we don't want to be out so late ourselves."

  They followed her as she went into the kitchen, lingering in the doorway when they realized there wasn't room for all of them in the cramped space. She put the teakettle on. "You still haven't said what you're doing here. You didn't mention any plans to come to Boston the last time I talked to you."

  "You know your grandfather," her grandmother said, gazing at him with amused affection. "He was getting restless."

  Feeling left out was more like it, Penny thought. He probably figured things were going on in Boston that he ought to be controlling and manipulating. Things like her relationship with Sam.

  "I was not restless," her grandfather countered. "My first great-grandbaby's birthday is this coming weekend. Do you think I wanted to miss the celebration?"

  "That's right," Penny said. She looked at her grandmother. "Elizabeth Lacey's going to be ten, right?" She grinned, recalling the stories of how that birth had disrupted her grandparents' wedding reception. "And you two are celebrating a tenth anniversary. Any big parties planned?"

  "That's why we stopped by, actually," her grandmother said. "Besides taking you out to dinner, I mean. We wanted to invite you to come out to the Cape. Kevin and Lacey are inviting the whole family out for the weekend. They'd really like you to come. They said they haven't seen hide nor hair of you since you've been in Boston."

  "I know," Penny said, thinking of her mother's half brother and his wife, whom she'd barely gotten to know all those years ago at the christening and hadn't seen since. "I've been meaning to call, but getting settled has taken every spare minute I've had. I have talked to Dana a few times, but our schedules are so hectic we haven't been able to get together."

  Her grandfather snorted disparagingly. "How long could it take to settle into a place this size?"

  "Brandon!" Her grandmother frowned at him.

  "Oh, hell, Lizzy, I just think she ought to be someplace where there's room enough to turn around. A man feels like he's suffocating in a space this size."

  Penny grinned at him. "Then it's a good thing no man is spending much time here, isn't it?"

  Her grandfather scowled at her. "Is that a hint?"

  "Take it however you like."

  "Okay, okay," he grumbled. "We'll get out of your hair, as long as you promise to come out to the Cape on Friday."

  "I don't have a car," she reminded him before she considered what the consequences of that remark might be. She could just envision Sam once more being drafted into duty.

  "Then we'll pick you up at the lab," her grandmother offered hurriedly just as her grandfather started to open his mouth. He glared at his wife.

  "Now, Lizzy, you know we were going to drive out early. I have the perfect solution, though..."

  Elizabeth Halloran had not held out against Brandon's wiles for months without having a well-developed stubborn streak of her own. "We will pick her up, Brandon." She patted Penny's hand. "It won't be a bit of trouble, dear. What time can you get off?"

  Oddly disappointed, Penny said, "I suppose I could arrange to leave by four."

  "Wonderful! That will be just fine, won't it, Brandon?"

  Her grandfather looked as if he wanted to protest, but he finally heaved a sigh of resignation. "If it's what you want."

  Elizabeth Halloran beamed at him as if he'd bestowed a special gift of diamonds on her. "Thank you, dear."

  He shook his head. "Don't know how you do it, woman. I'll swear my mind's made up about something and next thing you know I'm agreeing to do the exact opposite. I thought marriage was supposed to be a compromise."

  "It is," her grandmother said sweetly, linking her arm through his. "And you do it very well."

  Chapter 6

  The message at the top of the stack on Sam's desk was succinct. A weekend at the Cape. Be there by seven on Friday. Dana.

  Without glancing at his calendar or giving it a second thought, he automatically reached for the phone and called his sister at work. While he waited for her secretary to pick up, he continued shuffling through the rest of the messages. It took a dozen or more rings, but Dana finally answered herself, sounding breathless and distracted.

  Sam didn't even waste time on hello or asking why she was picking up her own phone. He just announced, "You know I can't get away from here on the weekend."

  "Hello to you, too," she retorted. "Not good enough. That's what you've said every other time I asked."

  "Because it's been true every other time you asked. Gang warfare doesn't take the weekend off. In fact, that's when things tend to really get out of hand. Something bad's coming down. I can feel it. We're barely into summer and the kids are already getting restless."

  The comment was greeted with silence. Sam knew instinctively what she was thinking. She was worried and fighting to keep from letting it show.

  "And you have to be in the middle of it?" she asked finally, wearily.

  "I have to do what I can to keep these kids from killing each other," he countered patiently.

  It was a familiar argument and they both had their parts down pat. By now they were pretty much going through the motions. He wondered why she'd even bothered with the invitation. It must have been a slow day at Halloran Industries.

  "Not this time," Dana said.

  Something in her voice alerted Sam that his big sister meant business. No matter how she worried about him, she rarely took a stand when it came to interfering with his job. When she did, she pulled out all the stops. He braced himself for whatever heavy artillery she planned to fire.

  "Your niece, your goddaughter, is celebrating her tenth birthday at her grandparents' house and she wants you at the party. You will be at her party."

  Her tone left no room for argument. The shot she'd fired was a good one, all right. Guilt sliced through him. "Hell, Dana, you know I would be if--"

  "Oh, no," she said, cutting him off. "No ifs. You missed last year and the year before that and the year before that. You always have a good reason. She'll be old enough to go to college before you run out of excuses. This time I'm not taking no for an answer. You'll break her heart."

  Sam envisioned Beth's huge blue eyes filled with tears of disappointment and something flipped over inside him.

  "Doesn't she know she shouldn't count on me?" he muttered under his breath. He'd spent his whole life trying to make sure nobody counted on him. But even though he'd tried hard to steel himself against attachments of any sort, he had a soft spot in his heart for his
sister's first child, his goddaughter with the golden hair, angelic smile and mischievous twinkle in her eyes.

  With something akin to a fierce ache in his chest, he recalled the chaotic day Beth had been born as if it were yesterday. Dana's untimely labor pains had arrived only moments after she and Jason and Kevin and Lacey had renewed their wedding vows. Granddad Brandon had married his long-cherished love, Elizabeth Forsythe Newton, in the same ceremony. When Dana had announced that the baby didn't intend to wait for the cutting of the cake, the whole family had trouped to the hospital for the joyous event.

  Sam recalled vividly the outpouring of love in his sister's hospital room after the birth. He'd never experienced anything like it before or since. Nor had he ever felt more alone. With the birth of that baby, his sister had solidified her place in that huge, loving family. But no matter how he'd been welcomed into the fold, they hadn't been his family. They never would be. Not really.

  His family consisted of a father who'd cut them loose, never to be seen again, and a mother who'd never recovered from his departure, dying a short time later. Sam knew a lot about abandonment and very little about commitment. Even his devoted sister had moved on to a new life, a life she deserved.

  "Sis, don't let her rely on me," he said. "I'm a lousy bet when it comes to stuff like this."

  "Too late. She does count on you and that's that," Dana retorted. "She's a smart kid who adores her uncle. She thinks you're handsome and brave and just this once you will not let her down."

  Sam knew when he was beaten. The drive would be a killer, but maybe he could get to Cape Cod long enough for the birthday party at least. "What time's the party?"

  "Be out at Lacey and Kevin's by seven on Friday."

  There was something a little vague about the reply that worried him. "Is that when the party's planned?" he asked suspiciously.

  "Just show up and don't plan on leaving until Sunday night."

  "Dana! Didn't you hear a word I said?"

  "Every one of them. This time, though, you're going to pay more attention to your family than you do to those hellions on the streets," she declared, an unexpected trace of anger in her voice.

  Before he could protest the unfairness of that, she hung up on him. As usual, she had gotten the last word. It was probably just as well. Anything he might have said would have been a lie.

  Dana was right. He didn't pay nearly enough attention to either his sister or her children. After all she'd done for him, he figured one weekend out of his life wasn't such a big price to pay. But Cape Cod? For an entire weekend? He'd be bored by bedtime on Friday and there would still be two endless days stretching out ahead of him.

  He wondered if Dana steamrolled over Jason the same way she'd just hoodwinked him. Of course, judging from the adoration on her husband's face, Dana merely had to whisper her slightest desire and Jason would travel the globe if necessary trying to fulfill it. They had a good marriage, a rock-solid marriage.

  Sam wondered what the odds were of that happening for a kid whose father had vanished and whose mother had died of a broken heart. A hundred to one? More like a million to one. Dana was the one in a million who'd lucked out. He'd always figured that lightning couldn't possibly strike twice. He'd go through life solo before he'd risk a lousy marriage. Everyone knew cops were bad bets. Lousy schedules, low pay, constant fear. And occasionally they wound up dead. All of it guaranteed misery for the women who loved them. He wouldn't do to some women what his father had done to his mother. He wouldn't leave her to struggle through an uncertain future alone, maybe even to raise his kids alone.

  Getting time off had been amazingly easy. Apparently Sam wasn't nearly as indispensable as he liked to think he was. In fact, his boss had said something to the effect that it was about time he'd decided to take a break, that tired cops made mistakes.

  So there was to be no salvation from that direction, he thought ruefully. He had his three days off.

  That Friday by the time he arrived on Cape Cod, he was already dreading the endless hours with nothing to do. Endless hours closed up in a house with three little munchkins, albeit adorable ones. He shuddered at the thought of it. He figured he'd last through lunch on Saturday before he lost it and tore back to the city, disappointing Beth and infuriating Dana.

  When he pulled into the driveway of the cozy beachfront cottage where Kevin and Lacey Halloran lived year-round now, he drew in a deep breath and willed himself to get into the spirit of the occasion.

  Before he could solidify his resolve, the front door flew open and Beth raced out. Obviously she considered herself to be hostess to any arrival. The expression of delight that spread across her face when she saw him more than made up for his reluctance to come. All at once he felt as if some great weight had been lifted from his shoulders, even though there was something a little scary about being loved so unconditionally.

  "Uncle Sam, you're here! You're really here. Mom said you were coming, but I was so afraid something would happen."

  Chubby arms circled his waist. He glanced over her blond head and met Dana's eyes. She grinned unrepentantly, her I-told-you-so look.

  He picked the ten-year-old up, groaned dramatically and set her down again. "It's true," he complained. "You are definitely grown up. What happened to the little kid I could toss in the air without breaking my back?"

  "You saw me at Easter, Uncle Sam. It's only June. I haven't grown that much since then," Beth protested.

  "Must be the light, then. You look like a young lady."

  She giggled and clutched his hand. "Did you bring a present?" She glanced at her mother and hurriedly amended the question. "You didn't have to."

  "Oh, in that case, maybe I'll take it back."

  Worried blue eyes met his. "No, please. What is it?"

  He grinned at her. "It wouldn't be a surprise if I told you, would it?"

  "I guess not. Wait till you see who's here. Even Great-Grandpa flew in. He said it was a very special occasion and he had to be here," she said, obviously brimming over with self-importance.

  Sam's gaze shot to Dana. "Brandon's here?"

  She nodded. "And Elizabeth."

  He couldn't quite identify the feeling that stole over him. "I suppose that means Penny will be here, too?" he asked, hoping he sounded more nonchalant than he felt.

  Dana chuckled. "Did you imagine we could leave out any member of the family within a hundred-mile radius?"

  "Does she know I'm coming?"

  "I didn't discuss the guest list with her, if that's what you're asking."

  Sam's stomach knotted. It was definitely going to be a long weekend, though he supposed it was far better that she was here rather than back in Boston where he'd be worrying about her running into Tank. Here he'd only have to worry about keeping his own hands off of her. It ought to be an interesting test of his willpower. He glanced at Dana and saw that she was regarding him with evident curiosity.

  "Something up between you and Penny? I didn't realize you knew each other that well."

  "Not as well as Granddad Brandon would like," he retorted, leaving his own misguided desires out of it. "It promises to be a very long weekend."

  His sister's lips twitched. A twinkle sparked in her eyes. "You're kidding?"

  "I wish I were."

  "Amazing."

  "What's so amazing about it? The man certainly did his share of meddling to assure you and Jason got together."

  "No. I meant it's amazing that Penny's never said a word to me about it."

  This time it was his turn to be startled. "You've seen her?"

  "We've talked on the phone a couple of times. We've been trying to get together for lunch but our schedules haven't meshed yet."

  "And my name hasn't come up?"

  She grinned at him. "Disappointed, little brother?"

  "No. I'm just surprised."

  Her expression sobered. "I like her, you know. She's got a lot of spunk."

  "Spunk? That's not the description I would use."<
br />
  "Oh? What would you use?"

  He thought about it for a minute, instantly envisioning that honey shade of her hair, the silkiness of her skin, the imagined warmth of her lips beneath his. He sure as hell wasn't about to mention any of that. Apparently his silence had gone on too long. Dana was watching him speculatively.

  "I see," she said with obvious amusement. "She's left you dumbstruck."

  "Oh, for heaven's sake, don't you start," he muttered. "Let's get inside. I want some birthday cake."

  "Then you're in for a disappointment," she said, linking her arm through his. "The party's not till Sunday."

  "You brat!" he accused, laughing as he tossed her over his shoulder and carried her into the house.

  Just inside the door, he ran smack into Penny. She shook her head as she looked from him to Dana and back again. He got the feeling she was recalling the way he'd recently carted her around the same way.

  "Must be some caveman thing," she commented drily, but her eyes were sparkling with laughter.

  She was wearing shorts that exposed surprisingly long, shapely legs and a halter top that would have been banned by the Boston city fathers if she'd worn it on the streets there. For an instant Sam forgot all about his wriggling sister, who was pummeling him and demanding to be let down. His breath lodged in his chest and left him disgustingly tongue-tied. This thunderbolt effect Penny Hayden had on him was bad, very bad, he told himself.

  And it was only the beginning of three days of pure, sweet torment.

  Penny had guessed that Sam would be on the Cape for the weekend. She'd told herself that his presence wouldn't make a bit of difference. She'd handle it like a mature adult, avoiding him when at all possible. He'd probably be delighted to help her out with that, glad to leave her to the other almost instinctive bodyguards in the Halloran clan. Their paths wouldn't even have to cross except at meals.

  That plan did not take into account the possibility of rain. When the skies opened up about eight o'clock Friday night, it sent them all scrambling indoors with their plates of clams and coleslaw and their iced mugs of beer. The house was large enough to accommodate a lot of Hallorans, but it couldn't give the same illusion of privacy that Penny could achieve at an outdoor clambake. In fact, with all of them crowded around the dining-room table, it was downright cozy and intimate. Lacey had insisted on lighting the room with old-fashioned hurricane lanterns, which created an all-too-romantic ambience.