Texas Ransom

Michael drained his champagne and reached for another. “Because he’s as mule-headed as you are. And he probably didn’t want to admit that the company’s hit a rough spot. Not to you. Not after all this.” He turned toward the windows and gestured with his hand at the twinkling lights of the Houston skyline. “You’ve got it all, Graham. You’ve won. Now you can afford to be generous. Especially when it comes to family.”

Graham shoved his glasses up his nose as he studied the skyline. He didn’t feel as if he’d won anything. He’d busted his ass to get where he was today. And, yes, Hollister money had helped him get there faster, but he didn’t appreciate Michael’s implication that his success was the result of some kind of contest with his brother.

“I just wish someone had told me before now how bad things were at the company,” he muttered.

Michael glanced over at him. “Does that mean you’ll sign the papers?”

“Of course, I’ll sign. The company means a lot to our family.”

Michael let out a breath of relief. “We never had this conversation.”

Graham shrugged. “Fine. Then I guess you’ll want me to tell Terrence the news.”

“What news?”

Graham turned in surprise. He hadn’t expected his brother to show up tonight even though he and his wife, Ellie, had been issued invitations weeks ago.

Graham felt the same old pang of resentment he always experienced in his brother’s presence. Terrence was three years older, and, right up until Graham had turned eighteen, he’d been at least three inches taller. A late growing spurt had put Graham at eye level with his brother, but somehow he still had the impression of having to look up to him.

Growing up, Terrence had been everything that Graham was not. A star athlete with almost palpable charisma, he’d been big man on campus in both high school and college while Graham had been hardly more than his quiet, more intellectual shadow.

Terrence was just like their father and Graham had always envied their closeness. But no matter how hard he tried, there had always been a distance between him and the old man.

Rugged, handsome, and gregarious, Nate Hollister had been a real man’s man. He hadn’t known how to relate to a son who didn’t excel at sports and who spent most of his free time in his room studying and reading.

Graham swallowed past his resentment and smiled. “I’m glad you guys came tonight.”

“We wouldn’t have missed it for the world.” Ellie stood on tiptoes to brush her lips against Graham’s cheek. “This place is amazing. I’ve watched it go up from the day the slab was poured, but seeing it now all lit up against the skyline and knowing that you designed it…” She trailed off with a shiver and held up her arm. “See? I’ve got goose bumps.”

Graham laughed and gave her a light hug. No matter how awkward and uncomfortable he often felt in his brother’s presence, Ellie had a way of making him relax. She was seven months pregnant with their third child and it obviously agreed with her. Her eyes and complexion glowed as she beamed up at him. Tiny and blond, she was still as lovely at thirty-eight as she had been back in high school when she and Terrence had been voted the most popular couple.

“I didn’t exactly do it on my own,” Graham said. “I had a little help.”

“It was still your vision. We’re all so proud of you. Aren’t we, Terry?”

His brother’s gaze didn’t quite meet Graham’s. “I’m just sorry Mom couldn’t be here tonight.”

“She’s where she needs be.” Their grandmother had fallen a few days earlier and broken a hip. Their mother, Audrey, had driven up to Lufkin to be with the older woman while she underwent surgery and physical therapy.

Michael placed his hand on Graham’s shoulder, a friendly reminder of their earlier conversation. “I need to mingle. I’ll see you later.”

After he was gone, Graham and Ellie chatted for a few minutes while Terrence watched the crowd with a brooding scowl. When there was a lull in the conversation, Graham said, “I’ve had time to think about our earlier discussion. I’d like to drop by and sign the papers in the morning before Kendall and I head back to Austin. That is, if you’ve got time to see me.”

Terrence’s gaze narrowed. “Are you sure you want to do this? Once those papers are signed, it’ll be a done deal. I don’t need you coming back in a few days accusing me of having railroaded you into this.”

“I’m sure,” Graham said, trying to tamp down a spurt of anger at his brother’s tone. “I don’t know why I was so resistant this afternoon. It just made me think of Dad—”

“Yeah, I know.”

Their gazes finally met, and for the first time in a long time, an unspoken understanding passed between them.

Ellie, who was never one to allow a silence to grow awkward, slipped her arm through her husband’s. “I’m dying for a drink, honey, and I haven’t seen anything all night except champagne.” She patted her stomach. “Do you think you could find me a ginger ale?”

“Sure. Be right back.”

Once Terrence disappeared, Ellie moved closer to Graham. “Thank you.”

“For what?”

“You know for what.”

He shrugged. “Like I said, I should never have been so resistant.”

“And Terry shouldn’t have been so pushy. I know how he gets. Especially with you. He’s like a bulldozer.”

“It’s not just him. We rub each other the wrong way. Always have and probably always will.”

“That makes me so sad.”

Graham smiled. “Don’t let it get to you. It’s just the way things are.”

“But it shouldn’t be that way. You two are brothers. You should be closer. Especially now that—”

“Now that what?” Graham asked curiously.

She hesitated, her gaze scanning the crowd. “Now that you have a new niece or nephew on the way,” she murmured.

“I can still be a doting uncle, just like I am with Ashley and Caitlin.”

Ellie and Terrence’s two daughters were ten years apart. Ashley was fifteen going on thirty, a blue-eyed blonde who looked just like her delicate mother but with her father’s propensity for hell-raising. That she was causing Terrence the same kind of grief he’d put their mother through at the same age was completely lost on him. It was strange because when they’d been teenagers, Graham had never been able to relate to Terrence’s rebellion, but now he was often the one Ashley turned to for advice.

The younger girl, Caitlin, not only looked like her mother, but also had Ellie’s sweet disposition. Nothing ever seemed to faze the five-year-old, even the occasional scream fests between her father and older sister.

And now they had another one on the way. Graham loved his nieces dearly, but sometimes after they’d all been together for a holiday or birthday, he was left wondering if he was cut out to be a father. He hadn’t said anything to Kendall about his doubts, but he might have to because lately she’d been bringing up the subject of children a lot.

“Where’s Kendall?” Ellie asked as if reading his mind.

“I’ve been wondering the same thing. She went to powder her nose a little while ago and I haven’t seen her since.”

“Is she okay?”

“Why wouldn’t she be?”

Ellie hesitated. “We had lunch today and she seemed—I don’t know—quiet. She said she felt fine, but I thought she looked a little stressed.”

“She’s probably just worn herself out making all the arrangements for our trip.”

“Oh, yes, that trip.” Ellie sighed. “I’m so envious. What I wouldn’t give if Terry and I could get away for a whole month. But once you have kids, everything changes. I doubt we’ll be able to manage more than a weekend getaway for the next eighteen years.” She adjusted her beaded jacket over her stomach. “Sometimes I wonder what we were thinking. Then again…thinking had very little to do with it.” She paused with a chuckle. “You know, a trip like that…just the two of you…I wouldn’t be surprised if Kendall came home pregnant.”