Page 12 of The Duke's Brother

They all laughed. They pulled up into Grevena to fierce winds. Palm trees lowered horizontally and bits of debris whipped past them. The town seemed locked down and secured. As they crept through the silent and deserted streets, Tripp was glad all seemed well there.

A huge clap of thunder shook the air above their car. Then bits of shingles and wood and roofing whipped by them. “That doesn’t look good.”

As they rounded a corner onto the next street, the source of all the storm debris panned out to their front. A fire in an upstairs window was quickly getting doused by torrential rain pouring through a broken roof. A tree branch jutted out of a hole above the room with the fire. Tripp’s heart clenched. A lone woman stood out in front of the building, drenched through. “It’s Jenneca.” The limo pulled in to the front of the store and the brothers poured out. Nico was already on the phone asking for help. Shop owners from the stores on either side stepped out onto the street.

Tripp stepped slowly, carefully. Jenneca’s body was tense, her face in agony. He placed a hand on her shoulder. She jumped. “Oh!” When she saw him, the worry lines relaxed and she fell into his arms. He wrapped her in his embrace, wishing he could do more to warm her. “Is your mother well?”

She nodded. “She’s in the other room.”

“Help is on the way.”

She turned her wet face to him. “We can’t pay for the repairs. The bakery is struggling. Whatever you arrange, just know it has to be the cheapest option.”

The bakery was struggling? “The palace will take care of the expense.”

A stubborn glint hit her eye but before she could respond, Jo approached with Mrs. Faluna, wrapped in a blanket. A huge umbrella covered them both. “Let’s get you both to the palace. We can send someone back for incidentals tomorrow.”

Jenneca hesitated and then said, “Thank you. I’m still packed, my suitcase is just inside the door.”

Lucan shut the door, her suitcase trailing behind him.

“And you’ve taken care of that too.” Jenneca looked to each one. “Thank you.”

“The emergency team will just get out the fire first—” The fire truck pulled up in that moment. “And secure the store, sealing up the hole. We will send in a construction crew later when we can assess the damage.”

“I don’t know what to say.” Jenneca’s lip lowered, but her eyes shown with gratitude. “You are the best and kindest people.”

Jo called from inside the limo. “Let’s get in the car. Please. You are drenched. And we are freezing.”

Jenneca jumped. “Of course.”

They climbed in, and her mother’s eyes twinkled at her. The wind rattled the windows and the limo moved through the village. No other shop seemed affected yet. Many had windows boarded up. Everything was quiet and still, expect for the elements.

Tripp’s arm rested across her shoulder. They had pulled out several blankets and wrapped her and her mother in them. They sat in the quiet. Tripp pulled her closer, and she nestled into him. And his heart pounded with the importance of her quiet trembling frame next to his. This remarkable woman was shaken, in agony, when he saw her. He wondered at the burdens she bore, and his very core strengthened at the thought that he could assist her.

Jo’s fingers flew across her phone. “Oh my dear. We will get you all warmed up. We’ll put you and your mother in a set of rooms in the west side.”

Trane’s wife, Seraphina snorted. And then turned to Trane and hid her smile. Tripp ignored them. Jo and Phina had both stayed in those rooms when they had come to stay at the palace before they were married. It had become somewhat of a joke between them that they give the prospective girlfriends the best rooms in the house to win them over. So the fact that Jo placed Jenneca in the west rooms told him Jo was already seeing what Tripp saw in Jenneca. The thought made him smile.

They pulled into the palace and the staff was there to greet them. Instead of pulling into the outer courtyard, they went straight to the garage. The shiny metallic walls gleamed at them. The line of Valdez cars were parked in a row, with another set above on the car elevators. He glanced up at his Maserati in the upper far left platform. Maybe he could take it out with Jenneca. Now that he knew she lived so close, and even in his own palace for the next little bit, he planned to make the most of the opportunity. No matter what she saw in Jorge or any other man, no matter her schedule, he would do his best to give them a chance to see what could come of them being together. He had never been more intrigued by a woman, never cared to pursue anyone seriously until he met Jenneca. And that was before he had seen her ski. His mouth broke into a smile.

Jo and Phina surrounded Jenneca and her mother, and before Tripp could say another word to her, she was clustered off toward a hot bath and her rooms. Her mother walked slowly. He remembered her hip. And then before he could say anything, a staff member showed up with a wheelchair. Jo turned to look at him and winked. She was a wonder, that Jo.

“What? You look like the Cheshire cat, brother, and that’s the truth.” Thad shoved him. “Gloat much?”

“Gloat? I have nothing to gloat over. So far this woman has rejected every effort I’ve made to spend time with her…except the day we spent skiing because she came to save me from an avalanche.”

Daniel snorted. “Save you? On the ski slopes?”

Lucan crossed his arms, their muscles rippling. “Yes, she’s J. C. on the women’s ski team, recovering from ACL surgery.”

Tripp turned to him but before he could say anything, Trane just rested a hand on his shoulder. “Get used to it. Lucan knows everything.” Phina had been trailed by Lucan’s men while they were dating. Lucan worked as the country’s minister of defense and security. And personally headed up the palace security team. He kept tabs on everyone close to the crown. And so the fact that he had already investigated Jenneca shouldn’t surprise him but it did. “But Lucan, how could you even know? I didn’t even know her until last week.”

“You played together as children.”

Tripp’s mouth opened.

“Plus she works in the village and came home mid semester so I had her checked out long before you showed up at her shop last week and came home with extra baked goods and starry eyes.”

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