A Lover's Vow

by Brenda Jackson

  “You were committed to remaining married,” Jules finished for her.

  “Yes,” Sandra Timmons said quietly. “We were committed to remaining married.”

  “So how did he become involved with Sylvia Granger?” Jules asked.

  Jules watched as Sandra Timmons dropped gracefully onto the sofa and she and Shiloh sat down, as well.

  “Sylvia used him.”

  “For what reason?” Jules heard herself asking.

  “She wanted knowledge of his business. For what reason, I don’t know. I never confided in her about my history with Vance and, like any other man she saw and wanted, she figured she could go after him. I detested her for that.”

  Jules wondered if Sandra Timmons realized she was giving herself even more of a motive to get rid of Sylvia Granger. “You detested her?”

  As if realizing what she’d said, Sandra Timmons corrected herself. “But I got over it quickly. If I had shown my anger to her, she would have wondered why. Besides, Vance was a grown man who could do what he wanted.”

  “Were there any other men that you know Sylvia was involved with besides Vance Clayburn?”

  “There was Michael Greene, but she joked about using him, too.”

  “Using him how?” Jules wanted to know.

  “She didn’t elaborate, and I didn’t ask.”

  Jules then asked, “Where were you on the afternoon Sylvia Granger was killed?”

  The anger in Sandra Timmons’s gaze was undeniable. “You would like to pin her death on me, wouldn’t you? Well, sorry, you can’t. I didn’t kill her.”

  “Then tell us where you were”

  Sandra Timmons nervously began twisting her hands together. “I was nowhere near Sutton Hills.”

  “Then why won’t you say where you were?” Shiloh asked her mother.

  Sandra Timmons stood again, but Jules and Shiloh remained seated and watched her begin pacing. “I was somewhere else...with someone.”

  “Who?” Jules asked. “And where?”

  Sandra Timmons was annoyed. That much was obvious. She was also frustrated and nervous. That was obvious, as well. She then turned and faced Jules and Shiloh. “I was somewhere with Vance.”

  Now Shiloh stood on her feet. “Why, Mom? I knew there was not a lot of love, if any, between you and Dad. So why sneak around? Why didn’t you get a divorce if you wanted to be with Vance Clayburn?”

  Sandra Timmons shrugged. “It would not have been that easy. Our parents established the terms of our marriages, and there was no way I could ever get out of it with enough money to support you and Sedrick. They made sure of it.”

  “So you were willing to sneak around, betray Dad, take chances and even let a woman you considered your close friend sleep with him?”

  “What happened between him and Sylvia wasn’t his fault. She tricked him. Used him. He explained things to me, and I forgave him.”

  Jules nodded. “And are you forgiving him for marrying Nannette Gaither, Ms. Timmons? You’re free, and so is he. If you and Vance Clayburn have this great love affair, why aren’t the two of you together now?”

  Before she could answer, Shiloh asked a question of her own. “And why did you and Dad begin hating the Grangers? Why did Dad start treating Caden and his brothers like they were the scum of the Earth and forbid Sedrick and me to have anything to do with them? Why?”

  Sandra Timmons sat back down, but Shiloh remained standing. She looked at her daughter. “That was my fault. Samuel began suspecting I was having an affair. He just didn’t know with whom. One day he returned unexpectedly from a business trip, and I came home and found him here, sitting in a chair upstairs waiting. He knew I had been with someone and was full of accusations. At first I told him there was no one else, but he got mean, hateful and almost violent. I knew I had to tell him something. Give him a name.” She paused a moment. “So I told him I was having an affair with Sheppard.”

  “What?” both Jules and Shiloh exclaimed simultaneously.

  “You led Dad to believe you and Mr. Granger were having an affair?” Shiloh demanded.

  “Yes,” she said nervously, wringing her hands.

  “No wonder Dad hated Mr. Granger. But there was no reason to treat his sons the way he did.”

  Sandra drew in a deep breath. “Samuel felt justified. Anyone could see how close you and Caden were becoming, closer than ever. We knew that would eventually lead to a romance of some sort between the two of you. Samuel refused to let that happen. He refused to accept the son of the man he assumed was my lover as a future son-in-law. When Sheppard went to jail, he saw the perfect opportunity to force a wedge between the two of you. But he even went further. He wanted to make sure Jace, Caden and Dalton were ostracized by the community, as well. He set up this vindictive campaign to hurt them.”

  “And you let him,” Shiloh said in disgust.

  “Why didn’t you tell Mr. Timmons the truth, Mrs. Timmons? Give him Vance Clayburn’s name? Why did you continue to allow your husband to assume Mr. Granger was your lover?” Jules asked.

  She didn’t say anything for a minute. “It made perfect sense at the time. Sheppard went to prison for killing Sylvia, and it was reported in the news that another woman was involved. Samuel assumed I was the woman. He believed Sheppard killed Sylvia to be with me and thought his going to jail was his just reward. I thought it was the perfect solution. I could keep Vance’s name out of it, since Sheppard wouldn’t be around, anyway.”

  Jules was stunned. What she was hearing was unbelievable. It was bad enough that a man had been in prison almost fifteen years for a crime he hadn’t committed, but he’d also been wrongly accused of taking part in an affair he probably knew nothing about. And Sandra Timmons was standing here admitting that she had seized an opportunity to benefit from Mr. Granger’s incarceration.

  “Why were you protecting Vance Clayburn, Mom? Why?”

  Sandra sprang from the sofa. “I had to. If your father had found out the truth that...”

  Shiloh lifted her brow when her mother’s voice faltered. “That what? If Dad found out the truth about what?”

  “It doesn’t matter. He found out, anyway,” Sandra Timmons said softly, anguish forming in her features.

  “What did Mr. Timmons find out?” Jules asked, determined to find out for herself.

  Sandra Timmons walked to the window, glanced out and stood there a moment before turning back around. Instead of answering Jules, she spoke directly to Shiloh. “He found out...when you were in that bad accident a few years ago and you needed a blood transfusion. The only person who could give you the blood to save your life was Vance.”

  Jules watched as shock tore into Shiloh’s features, and she held on to a table for balance. “What are you saying, Mom?”

  Regret shone in Sandra Timmons’s eyes when she said, “Vance Clayburn is your father.”

  Shiloh crumbled to the sofa beside her, and Jules reached out and took her hand as Sandra added, “So now you know why Vance is marrying Nannette. He hates me and will do anything to hurt me. Mainly because he had a child I never told him about...until I needed him to save your life.”

  Thirty-Nine

  A few hours later, Jules stood in front of her investigation wall. Though she wished she had gone home after leaving Shady Pines, she hadn’t. She had come here. Knowing what she knew now she was determined more than ever to free Sheppard Granger.

  She rubbed her hand down her face and remembered what had happened after Sandra Timmons’s announcement. Shiloh had gone into shock. Sandra Timmons had fled the room, and Jules had had to handle things from there.

  Shiloh only wanted Caden at that point, so Jules had contacted him right away and asked him to get over to Shady Pines immediately.

  Caden had arrived in what Jules knew was less than
half the time it would normally have taken to get to Shady Pines from downtown Charlottesville. He had walked into the room and gone immediately to his wife, who was still sitting on the sofa in a daze.

  Jules watched and felt a sharp tug at her heart as Caden, without asking any questions, kissed his wife on the lips before sweeping her into his arms. Moments later, just before leaving, he thanked Jules for calling him, and then they were gone. He hadn’t taken time to ask questions or seek answers. It was as if he knew what Shiloh needed, and the first thing was to get her away from Shady Pines.

  Jules shook herself, trying to step away from the ugly scene she’d been a party to at the Timmons estate. If she lived to be a thousand she would never forget the admissions she’d heard from Sandra Timmons.

  She came back to reality. She took a look at her own life, accepting that she had fallen in love with Dalton. There was no need to deny it, because it was true. But if nothing else, she knew from their time together on Sunday that Dalton would never see her as anything but a sexual object. One he was now trying to possess by wanting them to be exclusive. She couldn’t let him do that. She wanted the kind of love Shana had with Jace, the kind Shiloh had with Caden. Since there was no way Dalton could or would ever provide that kind of love to her or any woman, she might as well cut her losses and move on.

  She needed to concentrate on this investigation and not become distracted. And Dalton was a distraction. A delicious one, but a distraction, nevertheless. Next time she saw him, she would let him know her decision—it would be best if they didn’t see each other again.

  She checked her watch. It was late, and there was so much at stake right now. Manning had left for home hours ago, and she’d told him she wouldn’t be long in leaving the office herself. But she was still here. She had stayed back to finish up her notes on the meeting with Sandra Timmons and to review everything she knew about Vance Clayburn. Sandra Timmons claimed the two of them were together somewhere on the day Sylvia Granger was murdered. Was that true? Jules would certainly check that alibi. Where had they been? Was she telling the truth or was she protecting Clayburn again? It wouldn’t be the first time she’d gone out of her way to protect him. She’d even let her husband believe she was having an affair with Sheppard Granger to protect him. And, of all things, the man was Shiloh’s biological father. What a mess.

  It was getting late, and she was tired. The first thing on her agenda tomorrow morning would be to go talk to Mr. Clayburn himself. And she would refuse to be put off. Grabbing the files off her desk and her coat from the rack, she drew in a deep breath and left her office, heading for home.

  * * *

  Bruce studied all the computer components on the table in front of him. He had received verification that Brandy Booker’s computer had been wiped clean, as he’d suspected.

  It was late, but he just couldn’t let this problem go. He was convinced things were just as he’d explained to Marcel and the Grangers earlier today. Someone had created this spyware and installed it in a set of headphones. So far, only two pair of headphones had turned up, and both had been owned by employees of Granger. Were Granger employees being targeted for some reason? But what if—and he was allowing his imagination to run wild—what if other corporations had been targeted? What if they didn’t know about it? What information was being collected and why? And who would benefit?

  He picked up his phone and dialed a private number only he and one other person knew. They could connect with each other when one of them needed to bounce an idea off the other. His friend lived in DC and worked for one of those federal agencies most people didn’t even know existed.

  As soon as the person came on the line, he said, “I need you to put your thinking cap on. I want to run an idea by you, and I need you to confirm whether it has merit.”

  * * *

  Jules let her head fall back after looking out her peephole. Dalton was standing there. There was no doubt in her mind that she would let him in, but wasn’t it just earlier that day in her office that she’d decided to stop seeing him because he was a distraction? But it was about more than being a distraction. She had fallen in love with a man who didn’t want or deserve her heart.

  So why was she thinking that she would break it off with him another day? Not tonight, not when her heart was pumping fast just knowing he was standing on the other side of her door. Not when there was this deep stirring in the pit of her stomach at the thought of just what he would do once he got inside.

  The latter is what had her opening the door, taking a step back and saying, “Come in, Dalton.”

  His gaze raked over her as he stood there in the doorway. “Miss me?”

  So now he wanted to collect, she thought. Okay, she would be honest with him. “Yes, I miss you.”

  A smile spread across his lips. And it happened just the way she had known it would, just as she’d been hoping. Expecting. He slammed the door shut behind him, swept her into his arms and headed for her bedroom.

  * * *

  A short while later, when Dalton slid off Jules to lie beside her, he gathered her into his arms and whispered against her damp cheek, “I think you’re trying to kill me.”

  Smiling ruefully, she snuggled closer to him. “I was just thinking the same thing about you.”

  Dalton knew he would never, ever tire of this. A willing woman. An insatiable woman. A very beautiful woman.

  A woman he loved.

  “You’re not dozing off to sleep on me, are you?” he asked, leaning over and nudging her.

  Her lips curled into a smile as she reopened her eyes. “While you’re in my bed with the stamina of a bull? Never.” She paused a moment and then added, “Although I did have one hell of a day.”

  He tightened his arms even more around her. “So I heard. We were at the office, ending our meeting with Marcel and Bruce, when Caden got your call. It’s been years since I’ve seen him move that fast. Didn’t know he still could.”

  “His wife needed him. And he came. Took charge. Swept her into his arms and saved the day.”

  Dalton kissed her cheek. “Are you getting sappy and romantic on me?”

  Jules shrugged. “I guess I am.” She glanced up at him. “Is that bad?”

  He shook his head. “No, it’s just not you.”

  “And it’s not you, either.”

  But it could be, he thought. It could be both of us. Dalton knew now would be a good time to tell her how he felt about her, but knew she wasn’t ready to hear it. Or accept it. For one, she probably wouldn’t believe him. She would have to see his transformation gradually. He would love her forever. And only her. That was a lover’s vow. One he intended to keep.

  “Have you heard from Caden?” she asked, cutting into his thoughts.

  He decided to change the subject somewhat. “Yes. He called back later to tell us what happened, and I gotta say we were all stunned when we heard the news. There is a lot to process, especially for Shiloh, but Caden did assure us several times that Shiloh was okay.”

  “I knew she would be,” Jules said seriously. “She just needed Caden. And she’s going to need some time to figure out what happens next, as far as her family is concerned.”

  “Yes, and at some point, she’s going to have to deal with the fact that Samuel Timmons wasn’t her biological father. Personally, I’m glad he wasn’t.”

  Jules shook her head. “And to think Sandra Timmons allowed her husband to believe she was having an affair with your father to safeguard her secret. And what is even sadder is that I honestly think she believes your father killed your mother.”

  “That just goes to show how demented she is,” Dalton said, glancing down. He hadn’t covered their bodies, and he enjoyed seeing them lying together like this. Naked. Limbs entwined.

  “She claims she and Sylvia were close friends.”

 
“I always thought they were. But who remains close friends with a woman who sleeps with your former lover?” He couldn’t help looking at her breasts and thinking she had the sexiest nipples.

  “You have a point there. But according to Sandra Timmons, she never told your mother of her and Vance’s history. And since she hadn’t told Vance of her friendship with your mother, she forgave him for it.”

  “Big heart,” Dalton said sarcastically.

  “I’ll say.” She paused for a minute. “There was something else she said that I want to investigate further.”

  “What’s that?” Dalton asked, feeling himself getting hard again.

  “That your mother was using Vance Clayburn to gain information about his business. Why would she want to know about a computer business?”

  “You got me. Let me know when you find out. But for now, all I want to do is this.” He leaned down, tightened his hold and kissed her.

  Forty

  The next morning Jules walked into Vance Clayburn’s office and was surprised when his secretary smiled and said, “He’s expecting you, Ms. Bradford.”

  Really? This ought to be interesting. Jules followed the woman into Vance Clayburn’s office.

  “Come in, Ms. Bradford. Please have a seat,” Clayburn said, offering her a chair across from his desk. “I got a call from Sandra Timmons last night. I figured after your meeting with her that you would probably have a few questions for me.”

  “Thank you for seeing me, Mr. Clayburn,” she said, sitting down in the chair. “And you’re right. I do have some questions for you. Several, in fact.”

  He leaned back in his seat. “Fire away. I have nothing to hide.”

  Jules nodded. “Do you mind if I record our conversation? Makes it easier when I need to write up my notes.”

  “I don’t have a problem with it. Like I said, I have nothing to hide.”

  “That’s good to hear,” she said, starting her mini-recorder. “Now then, before we get started I just want to let you know that I am reopening the Sylvia Granger murder investigation. I have questions for several people, and my first question for you is where were you on the day Sylvia Granger was killed?”