The Successor (The Holbrook Cousins Saga Book 1) Read online

  To add on to the stress, Grant had to field calls from his father about his actions in Ethiopia.

  During one such call, his father yelled, “What are you doing, Grant? You’re going to ruin the company! The Chinese are going to come after us. You need to pull out of the deal.”

  “Do not fold,” Danielle hissed in his ear after he hung up the phone. “If you fold, you show weakness. I will not tolerate weakness.” She was worming her way into his head. Her voice was in his thoughts.

  “I don’t want you to be like your father,” she continued. “He’s weak and a liar.”

  “You’re the liar,” Grant countered, “and you murdered your children. Walter hates you and for good reason.”

  “I highly doubt that,” she said, “He is still infatuated with me. That’s why he picked you to be his heir and not one of his other children.”

  Grant felt his stomach sink.

  “Oh, you didn’t know about his other bastard children?” Danielle said. “I bet he hasn’t mentioned his older half-brother, either, has he?”

  Grant was still reeling from the information. He had living half-siblings. “Where are they?” he asked.

  Danielle looked at him triumphantly.

  “We’ll talk about it when we have our mother-son bonding time.”

  One night, he lay awake, wondering if this deal was going to come crashing down around him.

  “I need a backup plan,” he muttered and opened up his laptop. He looked up one of the Norwegian soldiers he had fought with in Afghanistan. He remembered the man saying that his father worked at a shipping company. A short bit of Googling later, and Grant realized that the soldier’s father actually owned this shipping company. He messaged him and crossed his fingers.

  He prayed that the Norwegian soldier would help him out, because Grant could barely contain his stress with the Ethiopian mining deal in constant danger of spinning out of control.

  “Almost there,” Danielle said. “They are prepared to sign on Friday.”

  “I sure hope so,” Grant replied, leaning back in the car seat. He was going to develop an ulcer.

  He also had to fend off his father, who wanted to be present for the signing as well. If Walter saw Danielle, he might just skip the ceremony and shoot Grant in the face instead.

  Finally, that Friday morning, the deal was signed. Grant drank tea with the other higher-ups of the mining company. He could barely believe it was over as he and Danielle drove to the airport.

  On the tarmac before they climbed up into their respective private planes, Danielle hugged him and said, “I held up my end of the bargain. Now it’s your turn.”

  Before she climbed the stairs into her plane, Danielle kissed him on the cheek. It felt like a death sentence.

  Chapter 53

  Kate

  Kate and Walter arrived back in the States the day before Ginny and Eric’s rehearsal dinner. They would all have to leave very early the next morning to drive to the Davenports’ estate in the Hudson River Valley.

  As soon as Kate’s phone connected to a tower when they landed, she got a series of messages from Alan. She wished she had told someone about what was happening. She thought she could handle it herself, but it wasn’t going to work. Now it was too late.

  “Is everything okay?” Walter asked her with concern when they arrived at the estate.

  She nodded and tried to smile.

  “Let’s finish up going over the things we need to follow up on,” he said, motioning her to his study.

  Grant was sitting at the desk, talking on the phone.

  Sorry, he mouthed. Walter waved him to stay put, and he and Kate went onto the terrace.

  “Probably better to stand after that long flight,” Walter said.

  They were wrapping up their discussion as Grant came out.

  “We’re about to start moving forward on the mining project in Ethiopia and Eritrea,” he said with a grin.

  “Wow,” Walter replied. “That’s impressive.”

  “And I have another contract up my sleeve, but I don’t want to spoil the surprise in case it doesn’t work out.”

  Walter shook his head, laughing, then grabbed Grant and pulled him into a hug. Grant wrinkled his face and pretended to struggle out of his father’s grasp.

  “Kate!” Grant said, coming over to her and sweeping her up. “I haven’t seen you in forever.” He broke out into an old song about getting married in a wedding chapel and danced her around the terrace.

  Kate felt her heart melt. She was like a teenager pining after her crush. But between her feelings for Grant, the grueling travel schedule, and the problems with Alan, it was all too much.

  She held it together until she arrived back at her grandmother’s house, where she ran upstairs to her room and collapsed on her bed.

  Kate was sobbing in her room as her grandmother came in.

  “What is the matter, dear?” her grandmother asked as she rocked her and stroked her hair. “Come now. Let me fetch you an ice pack for your face. We need to make sure you have everything you need for the wedding.”

  “I don’t want to go,” Kate said.

  “Of course you do!” her grandmother replied. “Ginny is a good friend of yours, and you’re in the wedding. Take a nap, and you’ll feel better.”

  Kate did not feel much better when she woke up. She slowly packed, and Maria helped her steam her dress.

  She received another text from Alan requesting yet more money. What was he spending it on? Wasn’t he getting a paycheck?

  Kate didn’t know how she was going to give him the money and make it to the rehearsal on time. Exhausted, she lay down to sleep, then she woke up the next morning several hours later than she had planned.

  She raced downstairs and demanded, “Why didn’t you wake me up?”

  Her grandmother was taken aback. “You needed the sleep.”

  “I’m going to be late for the wedding rehearsal.”

  “No, you won’t,” said Margaret. “You have plenty of time.”

  Kate silently fumed. It was her own fault. She couldn’t tell her grandmother she had to make a detour because of Alan. She threw her suitcase into the car and sped off.

  Chapter 54

  Grant

  Grant barely had a moment to recover from landing the mining deal before he had to go to the Davenport wedding.

  As he started packing, he grimaced, thinking about how his mother had helped him land that contract. He knew he couldn’t have done it without her, and that terrified him. He did not want to be reliant on Danielle. That was not a safe option.

  At least he was able to present his case to the Norwegian shipping company about using Holbrook for their logistics. In contrast to the Ethiopians, doing business with the Norwegians was a clean, orderly, and positive experience.

  “How is it so much easier dealing with northern Europeans than with East Africans?” he muttered. But he hadn’t been hired to go after European contracts. He had been hired to win one in a developing country. He still wanted this shipping contract, however. Fortunately, it looked as if it was going to happen. They were going to sign contracts after the wedding. Hopefully.

  Now that he was back in the States, he would at the very least be able to spend time with Kate. He had been so ecstatic to see her. All the stress of dealing with his mother and the sales deals he was trying to land dissipated when he held her in his arms.

  Stefan entered his room as he stared out the window while his thoughts wandered.

  “No, no, you cannot wear that,” Stefan said, shooed Gus off of the makeshift bed he’d made in the pile of Grant’s clothes, and started repacking the suitcase.

  The next afternoon, Grant and his father arrived at the Davenport estate in the Hudson River Valley. It was a large piece of land and contained, among other buildings, an enormous house. There was also a large pavilion outside, where the wedding would take place.

  “The Davenports use this as an inn for retreats, weddings, and
such,” Walter explained. “There is a farm-to-table restaurant with two Michelin stars. It’s the wife’s hobby.”

  As they walked up the path to the large historic house, Walter called out, “There’s the man of the hour!”

  Eric and Ginny waved and walked over to them.

  “You’ve got quite a catch,” Walter said, shaking Eric’s hand.

  “Yes, I did,” he replied, smiling down at Ginny.

  Grant felt suddenly jealous. He wanted it to be him and Kate. He was forced to abandon that line of thought when two men wearing the tan service B uniforms approached them.

  “My favorite nephews!” Walter exclaimed, bounding over and sweeping the two young men in a bear hug.

  Both name tags said Holbrook, and by the insignia, Grant knew the lower-ranking one was Carter.

  He looks like trouble, Grant thought. The other one must be Mark.

  “So you’re our famous long-lost cousin,” Carter said, eyeing him critically.

  “He’s a Medal of Honor recipient,” the older brother, Mark, chided. “It’s an honor to meet you, Grant.”

  “I suppose I should salute you, but fuck you,” Carter said to him.

  Grant doubled over laughing, while Mark looked appalled.

  “You guys and your inside jokes,” Walter said, bemused.

  Eric grinned at the three cousins. “I really shouldn’t have had you in my wedding. You’re going to upstage me in your uniforms.”

  Carter threw an arm around his shoulders and said, “Yes, Eric. Yes, we will.”

  Eric gave him a playful shove.

  Carter caught himself then said, “Ginny, if you would like to downgrade your male selection, may I offer you an uneducated, soon-to-be-unemployed lance corporal?”

  Ginny snatched his hat and put it on her head.

  “You really aren’t selling it at all, Lance Corporal,” she told him coyly.

  Carter grimaced. “In all honestly, I’m probably about to get busted down to private first class.”

  “Again?” Walter said. “Dude, you need to straighten up.”

  Grant felt out of place. They all knew each other and had known each other for decades. He felt like an imposter. He wished Kate were there. Where was she?

  “We’ve got rehearsal in a little bit,” Eric reminded them.

  “We’re still waiting on Kate,” Ginny said. “Brandy told me she’s running late.”

  Grant wondered what happened. There wasn’t any traffic when he and his father had come over. Where could she be? He wondered if her absence had anything to do with the man who had attacked her on the trail on Martha’s Vineyard.

  He texted her, feeling worried.

  Are you okay? Where are you?

  Thankfully, she immediately responded.

  Fine. Running late.

  He tried to put it out of his mind and not let his paranoia run rampant, and followed his cousins to the pavilion for the rehearsal.

  Grant had never been in a wedding, and the wedding planner snapped at him when he wasn’t exactly on beat.

  “Didn’t you learn how to march in the Marines?” she asked snidely.

  “No, because I was too busy, you know, actually fighting,” he snapped.

  Carter snickered, and the wedding planner gave him a nasty look.

  “We don’t need the commentary. Let’s do it again.”

  “Sorry,” Ginny said to him after the rehearsal. “She’s more stressed than I am, I think. All you need to do is stand there and look handsome!”

  “It’s fine,” Grant lied. “It’s your big day. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

  Ginny kissed him on the cheek and said, “You’re sweet. You’re going to make some lucky woman very happy.”

  Chapter 55

  Kate

  Kate was stuck in traffic. She should have woken up earlier since she had to make this detour to give yet more money to Alan. He was doing a writing workshop near the Davenport estate, but it wasn’t as close as she’d thought. The roads were winding and bumpy with potholes. To make matters worse, there was a tree down that had cars backed up while it was being cleared. She didn’t even exit her vehicle when she arrived at the writing workshop. She just threw the envelope out of the car at Alan’s feet and turned back onto the main road. During the drive, she felt sick. At least she had been losing weight thanks to not eating due to the stress.

  She screeched into the lot of the Davenports’ estate. If she ran, she could make the last of the rehearsal.

  “Where were you?” Brandy demanded when she almost crashed into her running up the path. “The rehearsal’s already over.”

  “Walter and I returned yesterday. I had stuff to finish up,” Kate lied.

  “It’s fine,” Ginny said, giving Kate a hug. “You’ve been in weddings before. You know how it goes. This rehearsal was really just for the boys. You should have seen them wandering around like puppies. They had no idea what was going on!”

  Kate smiled, and Ginny grabbed her arm and led her to the outdoor area set up with tables and chairs in a clearing amongst some old-growth trees. Grant and Walter, along with several other people who weren’t in the wedding, were already seated. Basically everyone who wanted to come was invited to the rehearsal dinner.

  “My dad said that if they were going to bother to make the trip, he might as well feed them,” Ginny told her, squeezing her around the waist then skipping off to talk to another guest.

  Kate was assigned to a table close to the one with the bride’s and groom’s families. Grant and his cousins were seated there along with Walter, and she tried to force herself to seem happy and carefree.

  “Kate!” Carter hollered, “The prettiest Kate! Kate of Kate Hall!”

  He patted the seat next to him. He and Mark had Grant sandwiched between them.

  “Close your eyes, Mark,” Carter said to his brother. “We’re about to fraternize with a member of the opposite sex.”

  “How are you two doing?” Kate hugged the two marines before she sat down. “Aren’t you almost out?” she asked Carter.

  “I have one year, seven months, eight days, and six hours left,” Carter replied. “But who’s counting?”

  “Are you staying in?” Grant asked Mark.

  “I don’t know. I have another year before I have to decide, but I guess I should start thinking about it.”

  “There’s a bright, sunshiny new day waiting for you outside of the military,” Grant said.

  “I know, but…” Mark took a gulp of his wine and lowered his voice. “I’ve never seen combat.”

  “So?” Carter said. “That’s probably a good thing. One of us has to stay sane.”

  “I just…” Mark took another drink of wine. “I should have… I don’t know…”

  “Aren’t you in IT?” Grant asked.

  Mark nodded.

  “Then they aren’t going to risk you. Combat is for idiots like me.”

  Kate wasn’t sure if she should put herself in the middle of that conversation. She didn’t know what it was like to be in the military, especially not during a war. She didn’t understand why Mark wanted to see combat so much.

  “There’s always a place in Holbrook Enterprises for you,” she said to him. “Grant’s been crushing it in sales, and I’m sure he could use some backup. He was telling me he had new ideas for products that you could help develop. I know your parents miss you as well.”

  Mark looked pained. “I’ll think about it.”

  Kate poured him some more wine. “Have another drink.”

  He smiled softly at her. “I missed you, Kate.”

  She thought she saw a murderous look flash across Grant’s face, but maybe it was just her imagination.

  As she drank more wine and ate some of the delicious food, Kate felt herself relax. Alan was off her case for a few more days. So what if her bank account was drastically lower? She was still employed. Maybe she would even be awarded a bonus for all her hard work over the summer. She was de
termined to enjoy the wedding and hope that it would all work out in the end.

  “I’m off,” she said after the last of the toasts were made and she had drunk an after-dinner sherry. “We have to be up at four in the morning to start doing makeup.”

  “Me too.” Walter stood up. “You three don’t stay up drinking,” he added as one of the waiters plunked down a bottle of expensive whiskey.

  “Off to bed?” Brandy said as Kate left the clearing. “I’ll have to entertain the boys on my own!”

  Chapter 56

  Grant

  Grant saw Brandy coming toward their table. He ducked down then hightailed it away from the rehearsal dinner. He did not want to deal with her. As he walked around, trying to clear his head, he came upon a small gazebo nestled in one of the gardens, and he gratefully sat down on a bench in it.

  Grant thought he ate too much and probably drank too much at the rehearsal dinner. He’d never attended a real wedding before, with a planner and thousands of dollars in flowers. He thought maybe he would never get married. Grant had always thought that the marines he’d known who had married were making terrible decisions. They women they picked stole all their money, ran up credit card debt while their husbands were deployed, and neglected the house and the kids.

  He didn’t know anyone who had a happy marriage—certainly not his adoptive parents. He hoped Ginny and Eric would be happy.

  Could I be happy with Kate? he wondered.

  “Contemplating the meaning of life and your existence?” Carter said as he ducked into the gazebo. He had a bottle of whiskey and some glasses, and he poured Grant a generous amount.

  “What do you know about Kate?” Grant asked after taking a swallow of whiskey.

  Carter laughed. “She was my babysitter when I was little.”

  “Good God.”

  Carter doubled over laughing as Mark came into the gazebo as well.

  “What are you two laughing about?” he asked as Carter handed him a glass.

  “Kate.” Carter snickered.

  Grant could see Mark turn slightly red in the dark.