Family Fortune

Family Fortune
Roz Denny Fox

The LYON LEGACYA family's fortune is more than its money.In the Lyon family, old secrets give rise to new onesThe Lyon family matriarch has disappeared. And now her money's disappearing, too–bit by bit. Margaret Lyon's grandniece, Crystal Jardin, who looks after the family finances as well as those of the business, is growing more concerned every day.The Lyons wait anxiously during this time of crisis, hoping for word of Margaret. Then, as if Crystal's life wasn't complicated enough, she meets Caleb Tanner–and she falls for him. Hard. Even though Caleb's everything she doesn't want. He's too handsome. Too confident. And far too relentless. Can she afford to take a chance on her feelings?Margaret's not there to give her advice, but Crystal knows what she would have said: Follow your heart.

Kissing Caleb Tanner was good. Very, very good. (#u60286ece-caee-5047-b691-6501cbe81b85)Letter to Reader (#uab8787ea-5b4c-5b41-ab94-04b3c5108bb2)Title Page (#uddfc8483-1034-54d3-abf1-d1d83b0832c0)CHAPTER ONE (#uc79bc8d8-d4ca-5359-a3b4-7b6b37525b77)CHAPTER TWO (#u396a2ffe-a0d2-5332-9e97-a78b9bd920ca)CHAPTER THREE (#uadb2dfe6-d7c6-56d6-9e73-4f760e858734)CHAPTER FOUR (#u6027b3e2-c4f4-525b-b883-3c7c661c5b10)CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER THIRTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER FOURTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)CHAPTER FIFTEEN (#litres_trial_promo)FAMILY REUNION (#litres_trial_promo)Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)

Kissing Caleb Tanner was good. Very, very good.

But mere kissing wasn’t enough. Not nearly enough. Crystal felt a feverish need for more. Crazy thoughts cartwheeled through her brain. She wanted to explore all that heat and muscle held in check by the cloth she twisted beneath her hands.

Caleb hauled in a ragged breath. “Oh, baby,” he muttered. “Where have you been all my life?” Dipping his head, he brought his Ups to hers again, and Crystal experienced the sensation of a weightless free fall.

Nothing like this had ever happened to her. She never lost control around men. Never. Panic reared suddenly, shutting off her intake of air. It made no sense. The faces of people she’d loved, people who’d left her, beat at the back of her eyelids. Her mother and now Margaret Lyon. Her dad. Her fiancé.

She couldn’t breathe. Words of warning shrieked in her ears. Back off Back off! You’re nothing to Caleb Tanner. You’re a fool to fall for him!

But maybe some men were different.... Crystal willed the panic to subside. They each eased back a little. Crystal released his shirtfront, wishing he’d say something. But why should he? He might have laid the fire, but she’d struck the match.

Dear Reader,

I’ve loved reading family sagas since I picked up my first Edna Ferber novel quite some time ago. And I think many people enjoy reading about complex families playing out destinies of power and conflict and—of course—love.

It’s been a wonderful challenge to be one of three authors privileged to take Superromance readers on a fifty-year journey with the Lyon family. From the sultry swamps of Bayou Sans Fin to the lush Garden District of New Orleans, I’ve helped the family forge one of Louisiana’s most powerful broadcasting businesses.

But life is never simple in any dynasty Fortunately love is ultimately the legacy that holds the Lyon family together. And up till now, Crystal Jardln, a Lyon first cousin, has had precious little love in her life. But Skipper West, an Injured child she befriends, and Caleb Tanner, a hero in every sense, are going to change that!

I hope you enjoy Family Fortune and the other

IYON LEGACY books.

Sincerely,

Roz Denny Fox

Yes. I love to hear from readers. You can reach me at:

P.O. Box 17480-101, Tucson, Arizona 85748

Family Fortune

Roz Denny Fox

www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)

CHAPTER ONE

September 1999

ANOTHER THREE THOUSAND DOLLARS withdrawn from Margaret Lyon’s private bank account! Crystal Jardin scowled at her computer screen. In the past two weeks, there had been identical withdrawals from Margaret’s bank account via an ATM. Always on a Monday. And from an unknown automatic teller. Crystal found that the most worrisome. She wouldn’t be as concerned if she hadn’t just seen a WDIX-TV segment on a computer hackers’ convention. She’d learned that bank officials haunted the convention, hiring the brainy kids who could get into bank systems and putting them to work writing codes to plug this very type of break-in.

The segment stuck in her brain because, in addition to her duties as the business manager for the family-owned, New Orleans-based Lyon Broadcasting Company, she served as personal financial adviser to Margaret, the principal stockholder, and to a few other family members, as well.

Granted, the amount of the withdrawals wasn’t particularly alarming. Margaret was an extremely wealthy woman, and prone to shopping sprees. And Crystal hadn’t been too concerned when Margaret disappeared without informing the family of her whereabouts. Until today. She recalled that the last time they sat down to go over finances, which they did regularly, Margaret hadn’t been herself. Who’d expect her to be? It was just after her beloved husband Paul’s death.

Crystal understood that Margie needed time alone. The woman had loved Paul Lyon for nearly sixty years. Losing him suddenly to a heart attack—after doctors had twice snatched him from the brink of death—had shaken the entire family, and no one more than Margaret. Not only that, the funeral had been overwhelming, with half of New Orleans turning out. The many heartfelt eulogies given by colleagues in the broadcasting business for the man known as the Voice of Dixie must have added to the weight of Margaret’s sorrow.

At the time Margie went missing, everyone in the family assumed she’d gone off alone to grieve. But when she didn’t call or show up at one of the ocean resorts she and Paul had always favored, her son, André, and his wife, Gaby, began to panic. And now, this complete elimination of a paper trail in Margie’s bank transactions was beginning to panic Crystal, too.

At seventy-seven, the family matriarch excelled in anything relating to the TV station she’d brought to life fifty years ago. But the woman Crystal loved like a grandmother didn’t have the skill to hack into a bank computer system.

So she’d enlisted someone’s help. Whose? And why go to such extremes? Crystal racked her brain for other possibilities. She avoided terms like kidnapped. André, Paul and Margaret’s only child and general manager of the business, had tiptoed around the term at breakfast, too—though Crystal knew it was on his mind today when he’d debated whether or not to file a missing-person report with the police.

André. was torn between allowing his mother the independence she’d always demanded and being horribly remiss if anything was wrong. Crystal felt the same pressure now. She wanted to show him the account—except that Margaret insisted on keeping her financial dealings private. Besides, if she’d fallen victim to theft, wouldn’t the criminal clean out her account and be done with it? Crystal thought it more likely that Margaret, always a headstrong woman, had bullied a banker friend into freeing her from a cloying family for a few weeks. The days after Paul’s death and before the funeral, family members had closed ranks, hoping to ease her pain. “Smothered” was how Margaret had described it to Crystal the morning of the service. So after a lengthy internal debate, Crystal decided to respect her client’s wishes—for now.

Just as she finished making her decision, her friend and junior accountant tapped on her open office door. “I’m leaving, boss. Here are the vouchers you asked me to draw up for the news department. All they need is your signature.” The perky redhead zipped into the room.

“Thanks, April.” Crystal accepted the forms, her gaze straying to the clock. “Yikes. When did it get to be five-thirty? I promised to be at the Tulane Medical Center by five-fifteen.”

“Are you playing your saxophone in the children’s ward again?” April asked as Crystal hastily shut down her computer.

“Probably. The boy I told you about—Skipper West? He underwent another spinal operation today. His foster mom has four other kids, three of whom have chicken pox. I promised Beth I’d visit Skip tonight since she can’t.”

“You want a lift? I’m taking the accounting class you recommended. The medical center’s on my way.”

“You’re a lifesaver, April.” Crystal gathered her belongings and flashed her friend a smile. “How’s the class going?” she asked as they walked out together.

“Great. I’m learning as much as you said I would, if not more.”

As Crystal locked her office, a dark-haired, dark-eyed man, at least ten years her senior, stepped out of an office across the hall. He pulled the key from his door before shrugging into a cashmere suit coat. Glancing at the women, he singled out April. “Sucking up to the boss again? Or do you prefer women over men, hmm?”

April’s face erupted in red blotches as she sputtered indignantly.

“Watch it, Raymond,” Crystal warned coldly. “Your name might be Lyon, but that doesn’t exempt you from the company harassment policies.”

Ray, third son of Charles Lyon—Paul Lyon’s brother and the lesser company stockholder—ignored Crystal. He leered at April, instead. “You’ll soon see you’ve aligned yourself with the wrong side of the family, baby doll. If you’re a little nicer to me, I might ask Alain to keep you on when he takes over as general manager.”

“If that ever happens, God forbid,” Crystal said, thrusting her saxophone case between the two of them, “most of the staff, including me, will volunteer to join our competition. What are you and Alain up to now? Don’t you two get it? Nobody cares what went on fifty years ago.” She was aware, too, that her being promoted over Ray no doubt stuck in his craw.

“Grandpa Lyon shafted my dad when he left Uncle Paul controlling interest in WDIX,” Ray said. “That’s fact. You should side with us, considering that he excluded your grandmother altogether. Attitudes like yours, cousin dearest, will make revenge sweeter when Iron Margaret’s dynasty crumbles at her feet.”

He deliberately brushed against her on his way to the men’s room, and Crystal recoiled from his touch. “The sky could fall, and I wouldn’t side with you,” she muttered.

April rallied. “All of Charles Lyon’s sons are creeps, except Scott.”

“Jason’s not so bad, although he’s had his moments. Shall we go? I’d rather not be around when Ray comes out of the john. I may kill him and end up in jail.”

The two women were in April’s car heading toward the university when suddenly April said, “I know I’m fairly new here—but how did I miss hearing that you’re related to the Lyons? Alain isn’t really going to oust André and Gabrielle, is he?”

“That threat is older than dirt. As far as my relationship to the family goes, I’m a second cousin to Ray and his brothers—my grandmother, Justine, was Charles and Paul Lyon’s sister. She never inherited shares in the original radio station. Great-grandpa Alexandre subscribed to the school of thought that women didn’t belong in business. At first she had a generous allowance. But even that reverted to the family after she died giving birth to her only child, my dad. He was whisked out of New Orleans to be raised in Baton Rouge by her husband’s family, the Jar-dins. I was more or less estranged from the Lyons, but the rift between my grandmother’s brothers is legendary. I grew up hearing all the rumors, and the stories intrigued me so much I applied to work here after I graduated from college. Margaret found out and more or less bundled me out of my apartment and into the family home—Lyon-crest. She and Paul and the others have always treated me as more than a second cousin. In any event, I’ve never seen a shred of evidence that the old rumors are valid.”