A Man's Promise. Brenda Jackson

friend at the time, Cindy Brooks, to give to her. You would have thought Cindy had handed her a million dollars that day.

      Bringing her thoughts back to the present, she checked the clock on the wall. In a few hours, she had an appointment with Nannette Gaither, the woman coordinating Charlottesville’s annual Live-It-Up Ball to benefit cancer research. Shiloh was on the committee that met every two weeks, but since the event was next month, they were getting together more regularly.

      She and Nannette had attended high school together, and instead of moving away for college, Nannette had remained in Charlottesville and attended college here. She was engaged to marry Vance Clayburn, a wealthy businessman who’d moved to town a few years ago. Shiloh had never met the man, but it was rumored that he was old enough to be Nannette’s father.

      Deciding she had been held up in her office long enough, Shiloh stood and was headed toward the door to go check on things below when the phone on her desk rang. Tess was transferring a call that had come in through the boutique.

      She went back to her desk and picked up the phone. “Yes, Tess?”

      “A Mr. Caden Granger is on the line and wants to speak with you.”

      Shiloh drew in a deep breath. She should take the call and at least thank him for the flowers, but then she thought better of it. The last thing she wanted to do was encourage Caden. If he thought he was breaking down her defenses, he would continue with this, and she preferred that he didn’t.

      “Tell Mr. Granger that I’m busy, Tess.”

      “Okay, I’ll tell him.”

      Tess hung up on her end, and Shiloh hung up on hers. If Caden thought he would get close to her with a bouquet of flowers, he was sadly mistaken.

      * * *

      Caden held the phone in his hand a full minute before hanging it up. Shiloh had told her employee to tell him she was busy. That was fine. He wouldn’t push for now, but he damn well wouldn’t give up. He knew all about the grand opening of her boutique next weekend, and he intended to attend.

      He glanced toward the door when he heard the knock. “Come in,” he called out and then wished he hadn’t when Dalton walked in. “What do you want, Dalton?”

      Dalton smiled as he plopped down on the chair across from his desk. “Still in a bad mood, I see.”

      “What do you want, Dalton? Some of us have work to do.”

      “So do I,” Dalton countered. “I just came from that meeting with those Security guys, and you wouldn’t believe some of the technical shit they have now. Trying it out, I felt like a regular James Bond. And just so you know, you don’t have to tell me why you were in the historical district yesterday.”

      “I don’t?” Caden asked, staring hard at his brother.

      “No, you don’t. I was able to backtrack all the places you went yesterday with the tracker I put on your phone.” A huge smile spread across Dalton’s lips. “Why didn’t you tell me Shiloh owns a wine shop?”

      “Does she?”

      “I’m sure you know that she does. So tell me, what’s the real deal with you and Shiloh? And don’t tell me there isn’t one. All it will do is keep me digging.”

      Caden leaned back in his chair and built a steeple with his fingers while staring at his brother. “Has it ever occurred to you that it’s not any of your business?”

      Dalton continued to smile. “Yes, that did occur to me, but I dismissed it as a crazy idea.”

      “And why would you do that?”

      “Because you’re the middle child, and I promised Dad I would keep an eye out for you, so everything you do is my business, Caden.”

      “Bullshit. But two can play your silly little game. Where were you yesterday? On the way out, I asked Brandy to let you know I was leaving the office, and she mentioned you hadn’t returned from your appointment with a private investigator. Why were you meeting with a P.I.?”

      Caden watched the expression on his brother’s face, and it was apparent he didn’t like being the one in the hot seat. In fact, Caden noticed that Dalton actually seemed to be squirming.

      “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

      No doubt it will be damned interesting, Caden thought, keeping an eye on Dalton. “Try me.”

      Dalton was silent for a minute, then he said, “I hired a private investigator to find a woman for me. I met her in a nightclub, and she left without telling me who she was and how to contact her.”

      “And you hired a P.I. to find her?”

      “Yes.”

      Caden couldn’t help but chuckle. “You’re right. I don’t believe you.”

      Eleven

      Shana grinned over at Jace. They were on their way to her father’s home, and he’d gotten quiet all of a sudden. “If I didn’t know any better, I would think you were nervous, Jace.”

      He took his eyes off the road when he brought the car to a stop at a traffic light. “I am. It’s not every day I meet the father of a woman and tell him I got his daughter pregnant and ask for her hand in marriage in the same meeting.”

      Shana smiled. “Take it easy. Dad’s a swell guy. Besides, he’s wanted grandkids for the longest time...as well as a son-in-law. Now he’ll get both. But you better be glad my sister, Jules, is out of town and won’t be here. She would give you a hard time just for the hell of it.”

      She paused a moment and then said, “Your family seems to have taken the news well. Except maybe for Dalton. It was obvious he was kind of put out about it.”

      “You should know Dalton by now. Dalton is Dalton,” Jace said as the car moved forward again. “The thought of my having unprotected sex was beyond his comprehension.”

      “You didn’t tell him what happened?”

      Jace shook his head. “No. It’s none of his business. Let him think whatever he wants, which is Dalton’s way.”

      “Caden seemed preoccupied with something last night. Is everything all right with his band?”

      “Yes, everything is fine with the band. It’s an issue concerning Shiloh Timmons.”

      Shana’s brow bunched. “Timmons? Where do I know that name from?”

      “Probably from seeing it in the listings of all our shareholders. Samuel Timmons was her father, but he died several months ago. All his shares in the company went to Sandra Timmons, her mother. In our board meeting a few months ago, when Titus Freeman tried to take over Granger Aeronautics, Shiloh saved the day by casting her mother’s votes our way.”

      “That was pretty darned nice of her.”

      “Yes, it was. Without those votes going our way, we would have been prevented from running the company the way my grandfather wanted us to.” He paused a moment and then said, “If Samuel Timmons had been alive, he would have voted with Freeman and, to this day, I don’t understand what happened.”

      She looked over at him. “What happened about what?”

      “My parents’ relationship with the Timmonses. They used to be close friends, and we all did things together...which is why their son, Sedrick, and I were close while growing up, and why Shiloh and Caden were close. But after my mother was killed, they, like everyone else, were convinced my father was guilty. They even testified at Dad’s trial about overhearing one of my parents’ arguments when Dad threatened to kill Mom.”

      Jace paused a moment and then said, “Caden, Dalton and I overheard a similar argument. The night before Mom died. But we knew he was upset with her and that it was an idle threat.”

      “Even