A Brother's Honour

Richard heard his name and recognized the voice. Jace. His firstborn grandson. The one he had dreamed of one day taking over the family business for future generations of Grangers. He forced his eyes open and fought to keep them there as he stared up at the faces staring down at him. They were here. All three of them. Somehow, in his heart, he knew if he ever needed them, they would come. So sorry this time it was to say goodbye. But first...

“Jace. Caden. Dalton.” His voice sounded weak and slurred, even to his own ears. “I need to tell you something. I need—”

“Granddad. Don’t try to talk. You need to save your energy for—”

“No. Listen and let me talk.” He saw the defiance in Jace’s eyes and then he pleaded in a hoarse tone, “Please.”

Jace held his gaze for a second and then nodded. The three grandsons crowded closer to the bed. Richard forced his eyes from Jace to settle on Dalton. He wasn’t as close as the other two. The youngest even now wanted to be detached from the others. But no more.

“Dalton?”

He saw the surprised look on his youngest grandson’s face when he called Dalton’s name. It was only then that Dalton moved closer. “Yes, Granddad?”

Richard swallowed back both pain and regret. “I only wanted to make you a better man. You were Sylvia’s baby. She spoiled you rotten. Things came too easily for you, and you were beginning to act entitled. But I’ve kept up with you over the years.”

He saw the surprise that lit Dalton’s eyes. “Yes,” Richard said unashamedly. “I kept tabs on you even when you didn’t know I was doing so. You made your own way to success, and I can look you in the eye and say that I am proud of the man you’ve become...without my help or that of the Granger name.”

Richard paused a moment when he felt a sharp pain slice across his chest, and for a few moments he felt dizzy as the faces of his grandsons swirled around him.

“Granddad, you okay? Get the doctor, Caden.”

“No,” Richard said in as firm a voice as he could manage. “I need the three of you to listen carefully. First, the company. I know you all have your own lives, but Granger Aeronautics is your legacy, and I need you to claim it. Something is going on. I don’t know what. Promise me that the three of you will work together to bring the company back. I delegated responsibilities to the wrong people, and only the three of you can turn the company around.”

Richard coughed a few times, which caused Jace, Caden and Dalton to move closer to the bed and lean down to listen when Richard said, “I need your promise that you won’t let the company fall. Promise me.”

“We’ll take care of the company, Granddad,” Jace said. He glanced around at his brothers before adding, “We’ll do it together.”

“I need your individual promises,” Richard implored. “Caden?”

“I promise to do what I can, Granddad.”

Richard nodded. “Dalton?”

“Same here. I promise,” Dalton said.

Richard nodded. “And another promise I need is for you to try to free your father. Prove he’s innocent. Promise me you’ll try.”

Again, his three grandsons made promises.

A satisfied smile touched Richard’s lips. Now he could go. “Thank you. And remember everything I taught you. Always watch each other’s backs.”

And then Richard closed his eyes, never to open them again.

Chapter Six

Sutton Hills.

Jace stepped out on the porch in the early morning with a cup of coffee in his hand and glanced around. Although he wished he could deny it, it felt good to be back at Sutton Hills. However, he would be the first to admit it felt strange without the presence of his grandfather. The adjustment would be hard, just as it had been when he had to make peace with the loss of his parents. One through death and the other through incarceration. It hadn’t been easy during his teen years without them, and it wouldn’t be easy without the old man.

Sutton Hills encompassed over two hundred acres near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains. A thirty-minute ride from Charlottesville, the area consisted of the most beautiful land anywhere. The sunrises and sunsets were spectacular and could honestly take your breath away.

Located at the main entrance to Sutton Hills was the equestrian center where the horses were kept. His father’s and grandfather’s pride and joy. Even now, Sutton Hills was considered a horse ranch because of the beautiful Thoroughbreds here.

The acreage was divided into four major plots. First, there was the main house where his grandparents had lived, a mile down from the equestrian center and sitting on fifty acres of land. The two-story structure was an architectural masterpiece and backed up against Mammoth Lake.

To the east of that was what had been his parents’ homestead and where he had lived for the first sixteen years of his life. His grandfather had closed up the house after his father had been convicted. After the trial had ended, they had gone back just long enough to pack up their things to move to the main house with their grandfather.

Jace looked to the west to where the boathouse was located along with the entertainment center where his parents had hosted most of their parties. But his gaze stayed fixed on the boathouse because it was there, one noonday in late October, that his mother had been found dead. Shot to death. And according to the authorities, their father’s fingerprints had been on the murder weapon.

“Hannah still makes the best coffee,” Dalton said, opening the door to join Jace on the porch.

Jace turned, grateful for the interruption. He was about to travel too far down memory lane to suit him. “See what you were missing all those years you refused to come back here?”

“Yeah, I see.” Dalton got quiet, and Jace figured he was thinking, about the past, about the present and now the future. Jace pondered the future. They had made promises, but none of them had talked about those promises since making them at their grandfather’s deathbed.

Their grandfather had flatlined immediately after his last words to them, and they’d finally had to accept that Richard Granger was now gone from their lives. It had been hard going to Sutton Hills to deliver the news to Hannah and even harder to notify his father and make funeral arrangements without him.

Yesterday’s memorial services had brought out people Jace hadn’t seen in years, trickling in to pay their last respects to a man a few might have feared, others respected and some would have envied. What others thought of him didn’t matter to Jace. To him, Richard Granger was a man to be admired. A man who didn’t take crap from anyone, and he had raised his son the same way. Except that Sheppard had a softer side that he’d inherited from his mother.

One or two mourners who’d attended had asked about Jace’s father, but most made solicitous statements about the old man and avoided the topic of Sheppard Granger altogether. The services were short. That’s the way Richard would have wanted it. It was over, but the grief was still there for Jace. Every room in the house held memories.

“I wondered where you two had gone off to,” Caden said, stepping out on the porch, as well.

“Where were you?” Dalton asked, deciding to ease down to sit on a nearby step.

“Talking to my manager. I’m supposed to be in New York for two concerts in a couple of weeks.”

When his brothers just stared at him without saying anything, Caden said, “And no, I didn’t forget the promise. However, I made a commitment that the band and I need to keep. I do have a life.”

“You’re not the only one,” Dalton mumbled. “I can’t believe we made that promise. Shit, I haven’t done this kind of work in years.”

“You mean prostituting yourself to the oldest bidder wasn’t real work?” Caden sneered. “Being a boy toy has it benefits, evidently.” He had met Dalton’s lovers on two occasions, and both had been old enough to be his mother. Caden really shouldn’t be surprised. Dalton was thought of as the extremely handsome Granger with looks that could turn heads no matter the age. And because of those looks, women had always been his baby brother’s weakness.

“Hey, don’t hate me. And didn’t you hear what Granddad said before he died? He was proud of me because I had made something of myself.”

“Evidently, he knew something that we don’t,” Jace said, rubbing his chin as he gazed at Dalton. He had wondered about the old man’s words, but he’d been too occupied to dwell on them until now.

Dalton met his brothers’ gazes, smiled and then bragged, “I’m a billionaire.”

It seemed the air vibrated under Dalton’s words. Jace heard Caden’s chuckle of disbelief. But for some reason, Jace believed Dalton. “And how did you manage that?” he asked. “Did your duchess die and leave you a few castles, a number of pubs and a boatload of expensive jewelry?”

What Jace thought of as a devilish grin tugged at Dalton’s lips before he said, “Victoria’s not a duchess, she’s a lady—of English nobility—and she’s very much alive.” He took a sip of his coffee and then asked, “Have you ever heard of Stuart Hunter, Earl of Falmouth?”

Jace raised a brow at the name and before he could respond, Caden piped in and said, “If Jace hasn’t, I have. He’s a well-known English investor. Filthy rich. Invests in a lot of Hollywood movies as well as space travel.” Caden stared at his brother. “Why?”

“I met him while in England at a party. We hit it off. He became my mentor. He’s also Victoria’s father.”

When neither Jace nor Caden said anything, Dalton added, “So with Stuart’s help, I made a lot of nice financial moves that paid off. And for the record, Victoria and I are nothing more than friends with benefits.”