A Man's Promise (4 page)

Seven

S
hiloh spun around, recognizing Caden’s voice immediately. And he stood there in her cellar as if he had every right to be there. The shock of seeing him was replaced with anger, and she raised her chin and narrowed her gaze while trying to ignore how good he looked in his business suit. When he performed he wore casual attire—a nice shirt with either jeans or slacks. Seeing him standing there looking as if he had stepped off the pages of a
GQ
magazine almost took her breath away.
Almost...but not quite.

And why did he look more handsome than ever? His neatly trimmed beard might have something to do with it. Did he have to look so sexy standing there and staring at her with those gorgeous light brown eyes of his? And his nutmeg-colored features appeared creamy smooth against the whiteness of his dress shirt.

“What are you doing here, Caden?” Her tone was sharp, and she meant for it to be.

“I came to see you.”

Her eyebrows shot up. He had to be joking. “Why would you do that when you told me just last month that you couldn’t stand the sight of me?”

“I was wrong, and I came to apologize, Shiloh. I said a lot of things that night that I had no business saying. I know the truth now, and I should have listened to what you had been trying to tell me.”

She wondered who’d told him anything, but it truly didn’t matter. “Yes, you should have listened to what I had to say, but you didn’t. Not only that, you showed me how much faith and trust you had in me, Caden. A whole lot less than I had in you.”

“What was I supposed to think, Shiloh?”

It infuriated her that he would have to ask. “That nothing short of death could have kept me from marrying you that weekend. But you didn’t think about that. You thought I would lie around on the beach with another man. So much for what you thought of my character.”

“But there were pictures, and when I tried calling, a man answered the phone. Of course, I now know all of it was arranged by your father.”

“And that made you believe the worst about me?”

He didn’t say anything for a minute and then said, “I was wrong. I’m apologizing. Like I said, I thought—”

“I know what you thought. I get it. Now, will you please leave?”

He shook his head at that request. “And I know about the baby. Our baby,” he said instead. “I wish I could have been there with you,” he said softly.

A pain sliced through her heart. Caden was forcing her to remember a period in her life that had been so painful. She didn’t want to recall that she had wanted him there. The pain of broken bones had been bad enough, but then to be told she had lost their child had been an agony no one should go through. Even now, an ache still remained inside of her. And she often wondered if her child had survived whether it would have been a boy or a girl. It would not have mattered to her. She would have been a better parent to that child than her parents had ever been to her.

And she had cried every night for Caden to come, refusing to believe her father when he’d said he’d contacted Caden. Her father had told her that Caden didn’t want her and that he couldn’t have cared less about her pregnancy.

“What about you, Shiloh? It’s been four years. If you had so much faith in me, why didn’t you contact me and tell me about the baby?”

His words made something inside her snap. “I
did
try to contact you. For months, while I lay in that hospital bed, broken up and in pain, I didn’t believe any of the things my father was telling me about you. He even showed me newspapers that listed where you had gone on tour and the women the tabloids claimed you were sleeping with. I didn’t want to believe it. I refused to believe it.”

She paused a moment. Later, when she’d been released from the hospital, she
had
discovered that he’d been sleeping around with those women. “And when I could travel, I found out where you were. I wanted to know why you had betrayed me and why you hadn’t come to me when I needed you. I believed there had to be a reason, and I needed you to tell me that reason. But when I attended your concert, you had Security escort me out. Again, you didn’t want to hear what I had to say.”

Caden cursed himself, shamed by the memory. Yes, after he had received those photographs and had believed the worst, he had begun having affairs, hoping she would hear about them. He had wanted to hurt her the way she’d hurt him. Seeing her in the audience at one of his concerts had been a huge distraction and he’d acted like a fool. He’d had no idea she had come to tell him about the baby.

He looked over at her and saw her lips trembling, saw the anger in her eyes in a way he’d never seen before. He had wronged her in so many ways. Yet, she had come to pay her last respects to his grandfather by attending the memorial service. And she could have been spiteful during the board meeting, voting against him and his brothers to prevent them from retaining control of Granger Aeronautics.

When she had discovered the truth of what her parents had done, she had sought him out again, and he had said words to her that no man should ever say to the woman he loved.

Looking at her now, he knew those same words applied to himself. She couldn’t stand the sight of him.

Caden knew he had to plead his case and hoped she would give him another chance. He took a step toward her and felt agony all the way to his feet when she took a step back, away from him. “You have every right to despise me, Shiloh,” he said in a soft tone. “And I deserve all the hatred you might be feeling toward me right now. I let you down. I did the one thing I’d always promised not to do, and that was to let your father come between us again. And you’re right. You believed in me more than I believed in you.”

He paused a moment and then said, “There has been a lot of hurt and anger on both sides. I suggest we pick up the pieces and move on. Together. And I think—”

“Right now, I don’t care what you think, Caden,” she said, interrupting him. “I hurt too much to care. The only thing I want you to do is leave me alone. I want to move on...without you.”

He stared at her for a moment, not believing she could really feel that way, and he knew now was not the time to push. But he definitely needed her to understand something. “I love you, Shiloh. I know you doubt that right now, and I understand. But if there’s one thing you should know about me, it’s that I’m a survivor. I survived the death of my mother and the injustice done to my father. Right now, the only thing that threatens my survival is you, because I need you...and I always have. And I intend with every breath in my body to make you believe in me again. I will regain your trust.”

He paused to get himself together. At that moment, he was filled with all kinds of emotion, and at the top of the list was the fear that he might have lost her for good. What he’d just told her was true. He was a survivor, but only because he’d always known she was there and always would be.

“I’m making you a promise, Shiloh—a man’s promise to the woman he loves. I promise that I will do what it takes to win you back. I promise to regain your love and trust.”

Shiloh shook her head sadly as tears filled her eyes. “I’m not sure that’s possible, Caden. So much has happened, so many hurtful things have been said. Things I’m not sure I can forgive you for saying. Like I told you, I just want to move on. If you love me as much as you claim you do, you’d let me do that.”

Caden drew in a deep breath. “And because I love you as much as I do, I
can’t
do that.”

She stared at him for a moment and then, without saying another word, she turned and quickly headed toward the elevator.

* * *

Shiloh barely made it to her office, closing the door behind her. Leaning against it, she tried to stop the tears that flowed from her eyes but could not. How could a man say he loved her but trust her so little? He had taken one look at those pictures and accepted them at face value, assuming she had betrayed him. Knowing that was something she couldn’t get beyond.

Her cell phone began ringing and she recognized the ringtone immediately. It belonged to Sedrick.

Wiping the tears from her eyes, she tried to speak in a normal voice. “Hello, Sedrick.”

“Did Caden Granger contact you?”

She frowned. “You knew he would try?”

There was a pause on the other end before Sedrick answered. “Yes, he called me here at the hospital and asked me how to find you.”

“And you told him?” she accused.

“He would have hunted you down eventually. He was desperate to talk to you. I would have called sooner to warn you but I had an emergency with one of my patients.”

“Who told him what had happened? How did he find out?”

“Mom. He said she came to see him. She assumed he already knew. Figured you told him that night.”

“I would have had he wanted to listen to me,” she said angrily. Pain settled around her heart every time she thought of that night. “Why would Mom go see him anyway?”

“I guess she was reaching out to him to help patch up things between the two of you. Shiloh, she regrets what she did, and one day, you’re going to have to meet with her and talk about it. Hear her out. Like I said, you and I both know the old man had her under his thumb.”

There was a moment of silence, and then Sedrick asked, “Well, did he contact you?”

“He came here to tell me how sorry he was for what he did and said.”

“And did you and Caden kiss and make up?”

Was she hearing hope in her brother’s voice? “Is that what
you
want?”

“It’s not what I want, Shiloh. It’s what you want. Whatever will make you happy.”

She thought about her brother’s question. She’d always thought being with Caden would make her happy. It seemed she had loved him forever. She had never imagined the day would come when the thought of him would fill her heart with so much pain. And, for some reason, she was having a problem getting beyond it. Those two years when they’d become lovers had been the best she’d ever had. But now all she felt was heartache and anger.

She was doing the very thing she’d said she would never do, and that was cry over Caden Granger. But she refused to do so again. “What will make me happy is what I plan to do, and that is to move on. I can’t imagine having Caden back in my life. Too much has happened. Too much has been said. I need to get beyond that, Sedrick. For years, my life had been wrapped around Caden’s, even those years when Father forbade me to have contact with him.”

She paused a moment and then said, “Caden told me he loves me.”

“Do you believe him?”

“No. What man can love a woman and treat her the way he treated me?”

“He thought you had betrayed him, Shiloh.”

She was irritated by his words. “Why are you defending him?”

“I don’t think I’m doing that. I just want you to make sure you know what you’re doing because, personally, I don’t see Caden giving up on you. I heard it in his voice today.”

She couldn’t help but remember the promise he’d made to her. A man’s promise. If his promise was meant to give her hope, it had missed the mark because, at that moment, all she felt was regret. “It doesn’t matter what he does. I intend to live my life without Caden in it.”

“Shiloh, I know how much Caden means to you. To be fair to my colleague Wallace, I don’t think you should get involved with him until you’re sure that you are over Caden.”

“I am over him, Sedrick. Caden coming here today means nothing to me. I don’t know how much plainer I can be.”

Sedrick didn’t say anything for a minute and then asked, “So everything is still on for this weekend?”

She drew in a deep breath. “Yes, everything is still on.”

* * *

Caden got into his car and had buckled the seat belt when his cell phone went off. The ringtone meant it was Dalton. “Yes, Dalton?”

“What are you doing in historic downtown?”

Caden cursed under his breath, recalling the tracker his brother had placed on his phone. “None of your damned business. What do you want?”

“A little grouchy, are we?”

Deciding now was not the time for Dalton to get on his last nerve, he said, “Unless there’s a reason for this call, I suggest you call me back later.”

“Oh, there is a reason for it. Big brother asked me to call and inform you of the meeting at Sutton Hills. Don’t ask me what it’s about, because I don’t know. I think his Wonder Woman is going to be there. And he included Hannah.” Hannah had been the family’s housekeeper for years and had grown to become more than that. She was like a part of the Granger family, and he and his brothers simply adored her.

Caden eased into traffic. “What time’s the meeting?”

“As soon as you can get here. Jace and Wonder Woman are on their way. Tonight’s Ladies’ Night at McQueen’s, so I’m missing out on checking out several hot babes. This damned meeting better be good.”

Caden rolled his eyes. “I’m on my way.”

After he clicked off the phone, he couldn’t help wondering about the meeting Jace had called away from the office. Was something going on that made Jace feel they couldn’t have a secure conversation at Granger Aeronautics? Had Shana and her team uncovered another diabolical plot against the company? But then, Dalton had said Hannah would be attending the meeting, so maybe the meeting had nothing to do with the business after all. He would know soon enough. Jeez, he longed for the days when all he had to worry about was his concert-tour schedule.

Deciding he didn’t want to dwell on work problems for the moment, he turned his mind to his own major problem. Shiloh. Regaining her trust wouldn’t be easy, but he was determined to do it.

His goal was to put her back in his life, where she belonged.

Eight

“W
elcome to Sutton Hills, Shana.”

Shana smiled over at Jace. “This place is beautiful.”

Jace told her Sutton Hills, the Grangers’ estate, encompassed over two hundred acres near the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains and consisted of the most beautiful land anywhere.

As they drove on the long winding road canopied by large oak trees, he pointed out several places of interest. “That’s the equestrian center to your right. Those horses are my father’s pride and joy. And my grandfather felt the same way.”

She looked over at him. “There are so many horses in the pastures.”

Jace chuckled. “Yes. Sutton Hills is considered a horse ranch because of the beautiful Thoroughbreds we have here. A number of them are entered into the major races each year.”

Shana knew that managing the stables alone was a huge undertaking. “Who handles the horses while you’re running Granger Aeronautics?”

“We have a ranch foreman who takes care of that end of things for us. Patrick has been with Sutton Hills for over forty years now, since before I was born. He’ll be retiring next year, and his son Clyde has already been groomed to take his place.”

Shana nodded. She had heard about Sutton Hills. Had even read about it during her research. She’d known it was large, but hadn’t imagined it was this immense.

“Sutton Hills is divided into four major areas,” Jace continued. “My grandparents lived in the main house, which is probably a mile or so from the equestrian center, and it sits on fifty acres of land. It’s two stories and backs up against Mammoth Lake.”

“That’s where you’re staying now? In your grandfather’s home?”

“Yes. If you look through those trees, you’ll be able to see the roof of my parents’ home. After Mom died and Dad went to prison, Granddad closed up the place and brought us to live with him. None of us has been back in that house ever since.”

Shana could understand why they wouldn’t want to return. Through the trees, she saw an outline of the structure’s rooftop. It was huge.

“And over there,” he said, slowing down. “At the mouth of the lake is the boathouse.” Quietly, he added, “That’s the place where my mother was found murdered fifteen years ago. She had two gunshot wounds in her chest.”

Shana did not say a word. She knew Jace had more to say.

He paused a moment, then said, “Dad found her. He went into the boathouse, and one of the first things he saw when he walked in was his gun lying in the middle of the floor. I wish to hell that he hadn’t picked it up—it turned out to be the murder weapon. Then he went toward the back of the boathouse, and that’s when he found Mom, lying on the floor in a pool of blood. He called 911. Within hours, he was arrested for her murder. Since only his fingerprints were found on the gun, he ended up being charged with her murder.”

Shana decided not to ask if anyone had been to the boathouse since that tragic day. In all likelihood they had not. Jace told her he’d been sixteen when his mother was killed, Caden fourteen, and Dalton had been about to celebrate his twelfth birthday.

Changing the subject and the somber mood, Jace said, “You’re going to like Hannah, and she’s going to like you.”

Shana smiled. “What makes you so sure of that?”

“Because I like you. Better yet, I love you.”

A warm feeling always stole over Shana whenever he told her that. “How do you think everyone will react once they know about us and the baby?”

Jace chuckled. “My brothers have suspected something for a while, although I’ve never owned up to it. But after that little scene with you during my rescue, there is no doubt in their minds that we are more than business associates.”

Shana grinned sheepishly. “I couldn’t help myself. I was so scared that we wouldn’t find you, and then, when we did, nothing else mattered to me. Certainly not our secret affair.”

“I felt the same way. At that point, I didn’t give a damn who knew about us. And as far as the baby news goes, I think once the shock wears off, my brothers will love the idea of being uncles. Hannah will be beside herself. She’s been hinting at me to settle down, remarry and make babies for years. I told you that she didn’t like Eve.”

“Yes, you told me.” Shana didn’t say anything, but she was tempted to say that after meeting his ex-wife, she could see why Hannah hadn’t liked her.

“Here we are.” Jace pulled into the circular driveway of the largest house Shana had ever seen. The lawn was immaculate, and the architectural structure of the house was breathtaking.

“Jace, it’s beautiful.”

“Thanks. It was built and designed by my great-grandfather. I see Dalton’s and Caden’s cars over there. That means they are here already,” he said, bringing his car to a stop behind Dalton’s two-seater sports car.

After killing the ignition, Jace glanced over at her and smiled. “Ready for us to go tell everyone our good news?”

Shana couldn’t help smiling back over at him. “Yes, I’m ready.”

* * *

“Your email in-box full again, Mr. Granger?”

Sheppard Granger glanced over at Ambrose Cheney, one of the prison guards, and smiled. “Yes, it looks that way. How are your sons doing?”

The two of them exchanged pleasantries for a few minutes before Ambrose moved on. Shep knew that, as prisons went, he’d been pretty damned lucky. When he’d entered the prison system fifteen years ago, he’d been assigned to Glenworth. He had refused to get an attitude about being wrongly convicted or about being sent to Glenworth. Instead, he’d decided to make the best of the situation he was in. While there he had met fellow inmates with the same mind-set...like Luther Thomas, who’d been wrongly convicted of rape. Together, he and Luther had begun programs in prison such as Toastmasters, Leaders of Tomorrow and the GED program. Their efforts had been successful and were recognized by the media and even the governor. And together, he and Luther had helped to turn around the lives of several inmates like Lamar “Striker” Jennings, Quasar Patterson and Stonewall Courson.

Luther was eventually acquitted and was now a minister in Hampton, Virginia. Five years ago, after serving ten years of his sentence and being termed a model employee and a born leader, the governor had approved Sheppard’s transfer to Delvers, a prison that housed low-risk offenders. He worked closely with the warden as a trustee, initiating various projects to ensure that the less-serious offenders didn’t become serious offenders in the future.

He was proud that, so far, all the men whose lives he had helped turn around at both Glenworth and Delvers had stayed on the straight and narrow. They came to visit from time to time now that they were on the outside, and he was proud that they were making positive impacts on their communities. And what he liked more than anything was that, from time to time, when they couldn’t visit, they would send Sheppard an email to let him know where they were and how they were doing. Some had gone back to school, many even to college, and others were business owners—successful men in their communities.

He opened an email from Andrew Logan. Andrew had been in trouble since the age of ten, when stealing had been his favorite pastime. He had been in and out of youth detention as a way of life. Now Andrew had a college degree and worked on the right side of the law as a police detective in Alexandria.

Like most of the other emails he’d opened so far, Andrew’s reported that he had heard the reports on the radio and television about Jace. Although they’d never met Jace, they knew Jace was his son. They had all written because they knew Sheppard would be upset and feeling useless since he couldn’t do anything to help his son while he was in prison. They all said how glad they were that Jace had been rescued before anything bad had gone down during the kidnapping.

Shep drew in a deep breath, thinking that no one was gladder about that than he was. If anything had happened to Jace or any of his three sons, Shep didn’t know what he would do. Thank heavens, the FBI had gotten there in time, and he appreciated Dalton for putting that tracker on Jace’s phone.

At the end of the email, Shep tried not to get emotional when he read what Andrew had written:

Mr. Granger, a lot of the guys whose lives you touched at both Glenworth and Delvers got together this past weekend at my place. We went to a ball game then came back here for chips and beer. Matthew Fontane was here, and since he was the last one released from Delvers, he brought us up to date on everyone and assured us you were doing well...at least as well as can be expected under the circumstances. We all know you’ve been given a raw deal, being an innocent man in prison and all. And I hope this doesn’t sound selfish, but we all agreed that we thank God that you were at Glenworth and Delvers for us. We all know that if it hadn’t been for you making us see the light, the majority of us would still be serving time. Now, you of all people know I’m not a religious man...as much as Reverend Luther Thomas wishes otherwise...but we believe there was a reason you were sent to prison. Because someone knew you were needed for the six guys who’d lost their way. So, although you may have lost time with your three sons while being locked up, we all want you to know that you’ve gained six others. And one day, when you’re finally found innocent and released from prison, we’re going to make sure all nine of your sons get together and give you the biggest homecoming party ever.

Shep leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes for a second. He’d done what any other human would have done for those guys. They’d been young, foolish and like Andrew had said...lost. But he’d looked beyond their tough and rough exteriors and had seen guys who’d been denied love and affection, attention and a chance to succeed. Some even had the attitude that the world owed them something. He would be the first to admit it hadn’t been easy getting through to some of them, and Andrew and Matthew had been two of the hardest.

He opened his eyes and chuckled. But then, Courson and Striker had been real badasses, too. In the end, he’d gotten through to them and was proud they were back on the outside as productive citizens.

Shep went through several more emails before coming to one with a sender name he didn’t recognize. He started to delete it, but something about the subject line—
Suggest You Read This
—aroused his curiosity, so he clicked on it.

Granger. You don’t know me, but I know you. If I were you, I would make sure your sons don’t get it into their heads to prove your innocence. Something tragic could happen.

Breath was snatched from Shep’s lungs, and for a moment he found it difficult to breathe. Once he got his breathing under control, he looked at the sender’s email address and frowned. Again. He didn’t recognize the name and figured it had been sent from a public computer.

When he saw Ambrose making his rounds across the room, Shep called out to him. He’d grown close to Ambrose, who, in his middle forties, was a hard worker, a dedicated and fair prison guard, and a family man with a wife and two sons who were the same age Caden and Dalton had been when Sheppard had gone off to prison.

“Yes, Mr. Granger? You need something?”

Shep nodded. “I need to get in touch with my attorney right away.”

Ambrose lifted a brow. “Is something wrong?”

“Yes.” Shep slid his chair out of the way and motioned for Ambrose to take a look at the email that he still had up on the computer screen.

He watched as Ambrose’s eyes sharpened to a steel-blue. “Holy Toledo! I’ll contact your attorney right away.”