The Prodigal Son. Beth Andrews

going to happen. That weren’t meant to be.

      She sat down, and after a moment, put the folder back in the bottom drawer.

      “CAN’T YOU DO SOMETHING that will guarantee he’ll agree?” Diane asked Aidan later that day as they waited for Brady and Matt in her large kitchen.

      “No problem.” Aidan sat at the table, tipped his head side to side in an effort to ease the tension tightening his muscles. “If Matt shows up, I’ll put him in a choke hold so you can point a gun to his head.”

      Diane’s mouth flattened into a disapproving line. “I’m being serious, Aidan.”

      He drummed his fingers where a shaft of sunlight hit the table through sliding glass doors that led to a bricked veranda. “We both know Matt will draw this out for as long as possible. You didn’t really think he’d go along with this idea willingly, did you? Or make it easy on any of us?”

      “A mother can hope,” she murmured, wiping nonexistent crumbs from the granite kitchen counter with a dishcloth. She scrubbed at a spot by the stove. “Is it so wrong for me to want my sons, all three of my sons, working together?”

      And that question was as loaded as the hypothetical gun Aidan had just mentioned. “What if one of those sons doesn’t want to be a part of the Diamond Dust?”

      “Matt wants to be a part of it.” Crossing to the opposite wall, she wiped fingerprints from one of the double, stainless steel ovens. “He just doesn’t realize it yet. Just as Brady didn’t realize it until you convinced him.”

      Convinced? Aidan rose and walked over to the fridge. Lily, who’d been napping in front of the large stone fireplace in the connecting family room, padded over to him, her nails clicking on the tile floor. He hadn’t convinced his brother to do anything, he thought as he got a can of soda. Nothing short of dynamite could move Brady once he’d set his mind to stay still. A trait all the Sheppards shared. No, it’d taken a good dose of blackmail to get Brady to start working at the winery.

      Seemed his mother didn’t have a corner on that market after all.

      But Brady’s situation had been different. Aidan hadn’t been trying to get him on board for his own personal agenda or to fulfill his father’s greatest wish. He’d done it for his brother.

      Brady had been lost. Floundering. Drinking too much and being a complete ass—nothing new, really. But he hadn’t even wanted anything to do with his own kid after getting J.C. pregnant. Of course, J.C. being the sister of Brady’s ex-fiancée had complicated matters.

      As did Brady continuing to hold on to feelings for his ex.

      So when he’d pitched the idea of J.C. selling her home made chocolates at the Diamond Dust’s gift shop, Aidan had agreed—on the condition that Brady came to work for him.

      His motivation was totally different from Diane’s when it came to Matt. To all of them.

      Leaning against the wide, center island, he crossed his feet at the ankles. “Have you considered what this is going to do to your relationship with Matt?”

      Diane frowned at him. “You don’t agree with what I’m doing.”

      “No. I don’t.” He didn’t agree with her taking away his control. With her changing everything without get ting his opinion first. Without asking him what he wanted.

      For the first time in his life, he could sympathize with his youngest brother.

      “I just hope you’re willing to accept any fallout this decision might have,” he continued.

      Diane refilled Lily’s water dish then slowly faced him. “Do you really think he’ll hold this against me?”

      Aidan narrowed his eyes at her. Had he detected a nervousness in his mother’s voice? No sooner had the thought entered his mind than he brushed it aside. His mother didn’t get nervous.

      “You’re asking him to give up a lot. Think about it. Brady has nothing to lose and everything to gain by this. But Matt?” He shook his head. “You and I both know he has what it takes to become one of the top names in the wine industry. And now he has to give up everything he’s ever wanted to save Dad’s company? To be honest, Mom, what you’re doing is pretty shitty.”

      Her throat worked as she swallowed. “Desperate times and all that.”

      But though her words were said lightly, her voice wobbled. Just a bit. Enough for Aidan to realize this hadn’t been an easy decision for her. “Desperate how?” he asked. “I don’t see why it’s so black or white… Why is it Matt or none of us? Surely there are other options.”

      But just like she didn’t get nervous, Diane Sheppard also didn’t back away from something just because it was difficult. Like him, she ran toward those situations, ready to prove herself more than capable of handling everything on her own.

      He just hoped that she hadn’t sacrificed her relationship with her youngest son.

      “You’ve mentioned how this will affect Brady and Matt,” she said, ignoring his blunt questions. “But what about you?”

      “I have nothing to lose.”

      He’d already given it all up.

      Reaching down, he rubbed Lily’s head when she nudged his thigh. “You should know what you’re getting into by asking Matt to come on board. We’ve always done things a certain way here—Dad’s way. But that might not be good enough for Matt. He’s not going to be happy running a small operation. You know his motto has always been Bigger Is Better.”

      She waved his words away. “Oh, I’m not worried about that. I know you’ll make sure anything’s that done is what’s best for the Diamond Dust.”

      He shoved his hands into his pockets, his fingers curling. And hadn’t that been the story of his life? Doing what was best for the winery. Putting his father’s company, and his family’s wants and needs, ahead of his own.

      “Right.” He cleared his throat. “You know you can count on me.”

      To keep things running smoothly. To fix any problems that might arise—whether those problems were his fault or not.

      She laid her hand on his arm. He forced his muscles to relax. He loved his mom. He really did. But there were times when he just got tired of being Mr. Fix It.

      “Have I told you how much I appreciate you?” Diane gave his arm a squeeze. “I couldn’t have gotten through your father’s death, kept the company going…any of it really…without you.”

      And as quickly as it had come, his anger dissipated with his mother’s sincere words. How could he be angry about fulfilling his responsibility? Taking care of his family?

      He kissed her cheek. The softness of it, her floral scent, so familiar to him. “You’re one of the strongest people I know. You would’ve gotten through just fine on your own. But I’m glad you didn’t have to.”

      Stepping back, she sniffed and dug a tissue out of her sleeve. Taking off her glasses, she dabbed at her eyes as the back door opened.

      “Am I late?” Brady asked in his low voice as he shut the door behind him.

      Aidan finished his drink. “No. We’re still waiting for the man of the hour.”

      Lily trotted over to Brady, her tail wagging. He sat in the chair Aidan had vacated and scratched the dog’s ears. “Anyone consider what’s going to happen if Matt says no?”

      His question hung in the air for a moment. Their mother kept her gaze on the floor, her fingers entwined.

      “The way I see it,” Aidan said, rinsing out the soda can and putting it in the recycling bin, “no matter what he decides, we’re going to be dealing with a whole new set of headaches.”

      They’d have the tension of trying to run a