“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.