“Hell, yeah, it’s me.”
“I thought you weren’t coming,” Jace said, squinting against the bright light and inwardly downplaying just how good he felt that his brother was here.
“I changed my mind.”
Caden tossed off the blanket and sat up on the cot. “Fine time for you to show up, just when we were trying to get some sleep.”
“Go to hell.”
Dalton then glanced past them to the man lying in the hospital bed. And as if what he was seeing was way worse than he’d expected, he leaned back against the hospital room door and said, “Holy shit.”
Chapter Five
“Just what had you expected to find when you got here?” Jace asked his brother when he and Caden found themselves downstairs in the break room drinking coffee once again.
Dalton, his face still ashen from shock, shrugged. It was obvious he could have used something a lot stronger to drink than coffee. “Hell, I don’t know. But the last thing I expected was for the old man not to look like himself. Flat on his back. Shit. I don’t recall him ever being sick or looking this bad. He was always bigger than life. Strong as an ox. Unconquerable.”
Caden rolled his eyes. “He had a heart attack, Dalton.”
“Yes, and so did Victoria’s grandmother. But the old girl was up and about and back to playing bridge with her friends a few weeks later,” he explained, then took a sip of coffee as if it would calm his frazzled nerves.
“She probably had a light heart attack,” Jace said and had a sudden flashback of this Victoria, the older Englishwoman his brother had been involved with for a while. He’d had a chance to meet her when Caden had performed in Paris. She looked good for her age, he would give her that. But a twenty-year difference? Christ. As far as he was concerned, that was too wide a gap.
He took a sip of coffee, deciding the less he thought of his brother’s affairs, the better. “According to Dr. Timmons, Granddad suffered a massive one. It destroyed most of his heart muscles. I told you over the phone how serious it was,” Jace said, then sipped his coffee again.
“But I didn’t fully believe you. I thought you were just saying that to get me home,” Dalton responded.
“I’d never pretend about something like that. And if you didn’t believe me, why are you here?”
Dalton didn’t say anything for a moment and then, “I figured the old man and I had a few things to discuss.”
“Like you pressing him to lower the age for your trust fund?” Caden said, sitting upright and glaring over at his brother.
Dalton glared back. “And if I was, it’s none of your business. Besides, I don’t need the trust fund now.” He quickly decided to change the subject before he was asked to elaborate. “Did you get to talk to Dad when you called to tell him about Granddad?” he asked Jace.
Jace shook his head. “No. I spoke with the warden. He’ll get the word to Dad.”
Dalton nodded slowly. “And how is Dad?”
“You wouldn’t have to ask if you took the time to go see him for yourself,” Caden said angrily.
“Fuck you, Caden. I was talking to Jace.”
Caden leaned over the table, nearly in Dalton’s face. “And I was talking to you. When was the last time you saw Dad? Five years? You’re one damn poor excuse for a son.”
“Hell, you don’t understand. I’m not like you and Jace. I can’t handle seeing Dad that way. Locked up, talking to us through a damn glass partition and wearing that same blue outfit. We’re not talking about some street bum, gangster or drug pusher. We’re talking about Sheppard Granger, respected businessman, wealthy entrepreneur, law-abiding citizen, who never had as much as a speeding ticket.”
“So your infrequent visits had nothing to do with your thinking that perhaps Dad was guilty after all?” Jace asked calmly while watching Dalton with an intense gaze.
“What the f—? No. That’s not the reason,” Dalton said, looking first at Jace and then at Caden, who was staring at him just as intently. “How could you guys even think something like that?”
Jace shrugged. “Because it’s been fifteen years, and whether we want to discuss it or not, we of all people have reason to think Dad had the motive, especially after the argument we heard that night and what was said.”
Silence ensued for a few moments, and although no one said anything, they were each remembering that last night their mother had been alive and the heated argument their parents had had. They had heard it, yet when the authorities had questioned them together and then individually, they had denied knowing anything. They had refused to say anything that would have incriminated their father even more.
Even at their young age, they’d had enough sense to talk with Hannah, who had heard the argument, as well. She had encouraged them to discuss the matter with their grandfather, and the five had decided in their hearts there was no way their father could have done such a thing, no matter what threats he’d made against their mother that night.
“You never said why you stopped visiting Dad,” Jace said to break the silence. “Not to me, Caden or Granddad. And especially not to Dad. He never asked, but he wondered if that was why. That you had begun to doubt his innocence.”
“Well, that’s not it. Because I knew—” Dalton caught himself and stopped talking in midsentence. Not meeting his brothers’ gazes, he lowered his head to sip his coffee.
Caden wasn’t going to let him off that easily. “Because you knew what?”
“Nothing,” was Dalton’s quick response.
Jace had opened his mouth to say something when a nurse suddenly appeared seemingly out of nowhere and stood beside their table. “You have to come quickly. Mr. Granger is awake and asking for you.”
The three were out of their chairs in a flash. “He’s awake?” Caden asked.
“And talking?” Jace inquired, remembering what Sedrick had said about the danger of their grandfather regaining consciousness and then overexerting himself.
“Which one of us does he want to see?” Dalton asked as all three of them quickly followed the woman to the nearest elevator.
She waited until the elevator door swooshed closed before providing any answers. She turned to Caden. “Yes, he’s awake.” Then to Jace she said, “He’s talking, but we’re keeping him calm as much as we can.”
To Dalton, she simply replied, “He’s asking for all three of you, and Dr. Timmons sent me to find you.”
* * *
Sedrick was standing in the hallway near the door when the Granger brothers arrived on the floor. “We heard he’s conscious,” Jace rushed over and said.
Sedrick didn’t say anything for a second and then, “Like I told you earlier, it was as if he was holding on for a reason. Evidently, it was for the three of you to arrive, because he’s asked to see you.”
Jace frowned. “But I thought you said the less talking he does, the better it will be for him.”
Sedrick nodded. “Yes, but he’s determined to say what he has to say, and I think he should.” He then looked past Jace and Caden to Dalton. He stretched out his hand. “Dalton, you probably don’t remember me but—”
“I know who you are,” Dalton said, not bothering to accept the man’s hand. “You used to be a good friend of Jace’s.”
Dalton’s actions and sarcasm weren’t lost on anyone, and Sedrick blushed with embarrassment. “Yes, when we were teens.”