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“Julia, I need to talk to you if you have a minute…privately,” Kyle said.
Grant heaved a sigh as he rose. “Actually, Kyle, I wanted to speak with you privately first, if you don’t mind.”
Julia slid her gaze between the two of them, so much alike, yet so unwilling to admit that. She swallowed hard, wondering if she should stay close. “Can I trust you two not to get into a fistfight if I leave?”
“Yes,” Grant said. “We’re not adding anything else to your plate today. I promise.”
Julia studied his features for a second before she nodded and flicked her gaze to Kyle.
He held his hands up. “I’ll find you when we’re finished.”
“Behave,” she said before she crossed to the door. “Both of you.”
With one final glance between them, she slipped out of the office. As she mounted the stairs, she tugged her phone from her pocket. Her fingers trembled as she found her college friend’s number and opened a text message. Hey, Ava, it’s been a while. I’m so sorry I haven’t kept in better touch. And I’m double sorry, but I have a big favor to ask. I completely understand if you say no, but I’m desperate.
She hesitated at the top of the stairs, her thumb hovering over the send button as she second-guessed herself. Was this a mistake? Could she trust them or was she sentencing Sierra to public embarrassment?
CHAPTER 5
GRANT
The quiet click of the doors as they closed behind Julia made his heartache. Her presence alone brought him a measure of comfort that he desperately needed at this moment. They’d never intended for Sierra to find out about the threat to her image.
His firecracker daughter was a wild card. He only hoped that he wouldn’t soon hear shouting from upstairs. With any luck, Lydia had left the house after their confrontation. They’d really have to work to manage her so she couldn’t do any damage.
He felt the worst for Julia. She’d probably listen to most of Sierra’s rantings and spend the most time trying to convince her to stand down and let the plan play out. His daughter was not patient. Neither was he. But he had age on his side to temper his more brash emotions. Sierra was still young enough to miscalculate her reactions.
With a deep sigh, he slid his eyes to his other child. Another powder keg waiting to blow. He and Kyle were like oil and water. They didn’t mix. And a misstep between them at this point could ruin everything. He desperately wanted to avoid that.
“Should I pour myself another drink and settle in for a lecture?” Kyle asked.
“No,” Grant answered, trying to keep his temper under control. Kyle was already pushing his buttons. Maybe the private conversation was a bad idea.
Kyle flicked his eyebrows up, a flicker of fake surprise crossing his otherwise composed face. “Really? That’s good.” His features twisted into a mask of disdain as he tightened his hands into fists, a sign of his growing agitation. “Because I’m not sure I can stand to hear your sanctimonious bull.”
The muscles between Grant’s shoulder blades tensed as a dull thudding started at his temples. He forced himself to try to channel Julia’s calm, kind demeanor. “Why don’t you pour a drink for us both? I really want to talk, not lecture you.”
“You want to share a drink with me?” Kyle asked.
Grant studied his son’s icy blue eyes, a match to his own. An emotion clouded them, but he couldn’t read it. Was Julia right that he wanted to be accepted?
“I do. I think we need to try to take another step forward.”
Kyle narrowed his eyes at Grant, his scrutiny intense. “Really? Well, that’s convenient.”
Grant held his ground, desperately trying not to be goaded into the argument that Julia worried about before she’d left the room. Instead of answering right away, he strode to the drink cart, and poured them each a bourbon, offering one glass to his son.
Kyle reluctantly accepted it, staring into the liquid as though it held the answers to life’s questions.
“Look, Kyle,” Grant began, “I’m really trying here. What Julia said…she’s right. Our relationship…is difficult. We both jump to the worst conclusions about each other as a first response.”
Kyle downed a swallow of the bourbon before he nodded. “Yeah, but in my case, I’m right.”
“You’re n–” Grant sucked in a breath, cutting his own words off as he tried to muster a shred of the fatherly concern he’d just shown Sierra rather than the reactionary one he usually showed toward Kyle. The man’s interest in Julia didn’t make it any easier. His constant attempts to expose Grant’s flaws to her made it difficult not to react.
“I know you think I’m not worth your time–”
“You’re definitely not worth Julia’s time.”
