Page 29 of To Have and To Hold

Colin secretly hoped his grandfather didn’t change his mind. He wanted to marry Coco and knew that if his grandfather changed his mind, then he might lose Coco again. He felt his heart race and his fingers curled into the denim of his jeans.

“Yes, I tried, but grandfather is holding firm.” Jacob answered curtly and rubbed his hand through his dark tresses in aggravation. There were new lines in his face from worrying about his daughter. His brother was always put together and even in jeans and a t-shirt, but tonight his clothes were not pressed but wrinkled. His hair had grown out a bit since his search for Sierra.

“Did you tell grandfather about Kaitlyn?” Dyson questioned.

“No, I don’t want him to worry about that right now. Everything is going well, and I will tell him once we have the date of the surgery.”

“Where is Sierra staying while you wait for the operation?”

“She is staying at a hotel for now at my expense, but then moving in with us while they both recuperate. She will use the guest house by the pool.”

“Is that a wise decision having her so close?” Colin questioned.

Jacob sighed. “It’s the least I can do, especially since she doesn’t have any money and can’t afford the physio that she still needs. She is walking now with the help of a cane.”

“Has she changed any?” Abbott asked.

“I don’t know nor care. The only thing I need from her is the marrow and then after she is well enough to travel, I will be sending her back where she belongs.” Jacob said coldly.

The rest nodded in agreement.

“I can’t believe we all have to get married.” It was Rafe’s turn to rake his hands through his curly dark locks. “And in such a short amount of time.”

“Any progress other than just me?” Colin turned to look at his brothers.

Rafe shrugged, “We all agreed if we didn’t have someone, then we would give them some money and get them to sign an agreement that when the marriage was terminated, we would set them up for the rest of their lives.”

Matt frowned. “Yes, but that is cold, and grandfather wants us to find love.”

Colin nodded in agreement now with Matt before speaking, “Yeah, well grandfather believes in miracles, and I get why he wants this for us.”

All eyes turned to him. He shrugged. “I want my marriage to Coco to be real and hope that after all this, she will want the same as me.”

“Are you saying you have fallen in love with her?”

“I made a mistake a long time ago and grandfather has given me a chance to now correct it,” was all Colin offered. He didn’t want the first time admitting his love for Coco to be for his brother’s ears. He wanted her to be the first to hear it from him.

They continued eyeing him.

“Well, we don’t have an ex-girlfriend to fall into our lap like Coco. I always liked her as your girlfriend in high school. Glad it is working out for you.” Abbott reached over and patted his brother’s arm.

“If it could happen for grandfather a second time around, then it will happen for you all as well.” He dropped a bomb on his brothers, surprising them.

“What do you mean by that?” The chorus of voices of his brothers echoed through the car.

“I think Grandfather is smitten by Coco’s grandmother.” Colin grinned.

“Serious?”

He laughed at the memory. “Coco had walked me out to head back to her grandmother’s house and when we exited, we heard a woman giggling and then the husky tones of Grandad Norris. Requesting a kiss. Mrs. Hunt told him that he would need to earn one from her.” He remembered the surprised lookon Coco’s face and how she cupped her mouth to keep her laughter from breaking free and revealing their eavesdropping.

“So that’s why Granddad said he had to go away for business when I called, and when I asked him about what, he told me to mind my business.” Matt laughed.

“Which reminds me how did the business with Normack go in London? And thank you for going in my place. Did he consider working with us?” Jacob questioned.

“Yes, our law department is going over the contract that Normack sent over from London and I am due to fly out again in two weeks to discuss our next step if the contract is okay.”

“When did you go to London?” Colin asked because he didn’t know his brother had left the states and the times they had met up; he didn’t mention it. This was unusual for Matt as he liked to talked business, now that he was working with Jacob and Abbott to help with the company, especially with their grandfather stepping down.

---