The Baby Claim. Catherine Mann

Steele had arrived.

       Three

      Broderick carefully set aside his coffee mug as he crafted an answer for his father that wouldn’t send the old man—and the table full of edgy people—spinning.

      His family had a way of letting their tempers fly. Especially since the peacemakers had died...his mother, his sister. These days, Delaney often tried to rein in family squabbles, but she was only one soft voice against a tide of pushy personalities.

      Just as he was about to opt for a Hail Mary distraction instead of a logical plea, he was saved from answering when Conrad stood and pulled up another chair.

      “Have a seat, Jack. You’re the man of the hour. We’ve all been on pins and needles, waiting to hear from you about your, uh, news.” Conrad clapped his brother on the back.

      “Thank you for meeting me here on such short notice.” Jack waved to the waitress as he took his seat. “The usual order for me, please,” he called, requesting sourdough waffles, as he had for decades. The only difference lately? These days he topped the waffles with fruit rather than syrup.

      They’d gathered at this table more times than Broderick could count, until it had become a de facto family dinner table. One his father loomed large over when sitting at the head.

      Being Jack’s oldest son hadn’t been easy. Broderick’s father’s boot prints in the snow were large to fill and he cast a long shadow in the business world.

      But damn it all, Broderick wouldn’t stand idly by and watch the Steele business be placed at risk. He knew Glenna felt the same about her family’s legacy.

      Strange to be on the same side with her.

      Broderick watched his father with analytical eyes. He wasn’t going to weigh in recklessly. He needed to wait for the right opportunity and choose his words wisely. The stakes were too high for misplaced speech. The fate of his company—and his place within the family business—depended on rationality, not impulse.

      Conrad took his seat again. “Thank you for putting your clothes on for us. Poor Broderick here still looks like he needs a bracing drink.”

      Jack scowled, his lips so tight his mustache all but hid them. “You can zip your mouth, brother.”

      Conrad smiled unabashedly. “Do we really want to talk about zippers right now?”

      Leaning back in his chair, Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “My sense of humor on this has run out. You’re being disrespectful to Jeannie and I won’t stand for that.”

      “Fair enough,” Conrad conceded. “You have to understand we’re all more than a little stunned by what’s transpired.”

      To hell with waiting. Broderick saw the opening to take control of this conversation, not only for his family’s sake but also for Glenna’s. “We grew up believing our families to be enemies. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard you curse both of them—Jeannie and Charles Mikkelson.”

      “Things change,” Jack said simply, pouring a mug of coffee. The statement was casual, as normal as the black coffee he had drunk every day for as long as Broderick could remember. “I don’t have to explain myself to any of you, but I will say that Jeannie and I love each other. Very much. We intend to be married—”

      “Married?” Aiden interrupted, his voice cracking on the word.

      Everyone else stared in stunned silence, then looked at Broderick as if he’d kept a secret from them. Shaking his head, he pressed his fingers to his temples against the headache forming. He’d had no sleep, instead wondering how serious his father’s relationship with Jeannie really was, if it might wane with time. A litany of questions had kept him awake. Not to mention being tormented by visions of Glenna in that tight skirt every time he closed his eyes. Seeing her again had brought back memories, vivid ones.

      “Yes,” Jack confirmed, in a no-nonsense tone, the kind he’d used on his children when they were younger, “married. Sooner rather than later, especially now that our secret is out. Jeannie and I discussed it at length last night, which was why we didn’t answer any of your phone calls.”

      Broderick focused on a crucial word in his father’s answer. “Sooner?”

      “Yes, now that you know, why wait for the perfect time to break the news? Jeannie and I had planned to tell our children in a more...prepared, controlled manner this weekend. But yesterday afternoon’s events forced our hand. Jeannie is speaking with her children now.” He glanced at Broderick. “As I’m sure you already know from talking to Glenna.”

      The mere mention of the Mikkelson CFO drew a few raised eyebrows at the table. His siblings looked at him with sidelong glances, understanding that their father had tipped the balance of power in the conversation. Shifting slightly in his chair, Broderick pushed the image of Glenna and her sunset-blond hair out of his mind. Far away.

      Broderick had no intention of letting his father distract them from the topic at hand. After all, the old man had taught that diversionary tactic to each of his kids.

      Leaning forward with elbows pressed on the wood table, Broderick levied his own power. “Let’s stay on target, Dad. You’re here to fill us in on your engagement plans to a woman we thought you didn’t like. Do I have that right?”

      “More than engagement plans. As I said, we are getting married.” His tone was as stern and certain as an Alaskan winter.

      “A long engagement?” Broderick said it hopefully.

      The extra time would give their relationship a chance to cool. Perhaps even allow Jack to see the madness of this whole situation. To really evaluate what this meant for their companies.

      Jack’s eyes warmed, wistful and sentimental. Something Broderick hadn’t seen in his father’s expression since before the plane crash.

      “Short engagement.”

      “How short?” Naomi asked. She was more of a daddy’s girl than she liked to let on.

      Jack waited until the waitress set his waffles in front of him and walked away before he continued. “Jeannie and I are getting married on my birthday. Surefire way I’ll never forget my anniversary.” A smile cracked his wind-weathered face and a slight chuckle escaped his mustached lips. Jack had clearly amused himself.

      The hair stood up on the back of Broderick’s neck. A guttural, visceral reaction to the realization of what his father was saying. “Your birthday is—”

      “In two weeks.” Jack’s chin dipped with a quick affirmation.

      “Oh God,” Naomi whispered, but every member of the Steele clan felt the words echo deep in the pit of their stomachs.

      Broderick sagged back in his chair. He sure as hell hadn’t seen that coming. Anger simmered deep in his gut. He’d let go of Glenna after one of the most memorable weekends of his life because of family loyalty. Even now, when he should be concentrating, he could almost taste her full lips... And yet he had pushed their attraction aside. He’d given everything for the Steele mantra of Family Above All Else.

      Where was family loyalty now?

      The anger kept his mouth closed tight. He didn’t trust himself to speak and not say something he would later regret. His siblings had no such problems. Their shocked words tumbled on top of each other in a jumble that made it tough to gauge who said what.

      Broderick pried his thoughts away from Glenna and back to the future of the Steele oil empire. “And the business leaks about stock sales? Does someone else already know about your relationship? If you’ve been meeting in the office, then others may already be talking. Dad, you have to know the implications to the fiscal health of both companies.”

      “Yes, about that...” Jack sawed into his waffles and speared