Broderick scrubbed his hand along his jaw. “You’re going to tell them to break up for the sake of profit? That’s not going to float, not with our dad.”
His youngest brother’s eyes went wide with a hint of fear, giving Broderick only a moment’s notice before a familiar voice rumbled over his shoulder. “What’s not going to float with me?”
His father.
Jack Steele had arrived.
CHAPTER THREE
Broderick carefully set aside his coffee mug as he crafted an answer for his father that wouldn’t send the old man—and the table full of edgy people—spinning.
His family had a way of letting their tempers fly. Especially since the peacemakers had died…his mother, his sister. These days, Delaney often tried to rein in family squabbles, but she was only one soft voice against a tide of pushy personalities.
Just as he was about to opt for a Hail Mary distraction instead of a logical plea, he was saved from answering when Conrad stood and pulled up another chair.
“Have a seat, Jack. You’re the man of the hour. We’ve all been on pins and needles, waiting to hear from you about your, uh, news.” Conrad clapped his brother on the back.
“Thank you for meeting me here on such short notice.” Jack waved to the waitress as he took his seat. “The usual order for me, please,” he called, requesting sourdough waffles, as he had for decades. The only difference lately? These days he topped the waffles with fruit rather than syrup.
They’d gathered at this table more times than Broderick could count, until it had become a de facto family dinner table. One his father loomed large over when sitting at the head.
Being Jack’s oldest son hadn’t been easy. Broderick’s father’s boot prints in the snow were large to fill and he cast a long shadow in the business world.
But damn it all, Broderick wouldn’t stand idly by and watch the Steele business be placed at risk. He knew Glenna felt the same about her family’s legacy.
Strange to be on the same side with her.
Broderick watched his father with analytical eyes. He wasn’t going to weigh in recklessly. He needed to wait for the right opportunity and choose his words wisely. The stakes were too high for misplaced speech. The fate of his company—and his place within the family business—depended on rationality, not impulse.
Conrad took his seat again. “Thank you for putting your clothes on for us. Poor Broderick here still looks like he needs a bracing drink.”
Jack scowled, his lips so tight his mustache all but hid them. “You can zip your mouth, brother.”
Conrad smiled unabashedly. “Do we really want to talk about zippers right now?”
Leaning back in his chair, Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “My sense of humor on this has run out. You’re being disrespectful to Jeannie and I won’t stand for that.”
“Fair enough,” Conrad conceded. “You have to understand we’re all more than a little stunned by what’s transpired.”
To hell with waiting. Broderick saw the opening to take control of this conversation, not only for his family’s sake but also for Glenna’s. “We grew up believing our families to be enemies. I can’t count how many times I’ve heard you curse both of them—Jeannie and Charles Mikkelson.”
“Things change,” Jack said simply, pouring a mug of coffee. The statement was casual, as normal as the black coffee he had drunk every day for as long as Broderick could remember. “I don’t have to explain myself to any of you, but I will say that Jeannie and I love each other. Very much. We intend to be married—”
“Married?” Aiden interrupted, his voice cracking on the word.
Everyone else stared in stunned silence, then looked at Broderick as if he’d kept a secret from them. Shaking his head, he pressed his fingers to his temples against the headache forming. He’d had no sleep, instead wondering how serious his father’s relationship with Jeannie really was, if it might wane with time. A litany of questions had kept him awake. Not to mention being tormented by visions of Glenna in that tight skirt every time he closed his eyes. Seeing her again had brought back memories, vivid ones.
“Yes,” Jack confirmed, in a no-nonsense tone, the kind he’d used on his children when they were younger, “married. Sooner rather than later, especially now that our secret is out. Jeannie and I discussed it at length last night, which was why we didn’t answer any of your phone calls.”
Broderick focused on a crucial word in his father’s answer. “Sooner?”
“Yes, now that you know, why wait for the perfect time to break the news? Jeannie and I had planned to tell our children in a more…prepared, controlled manner this weekend. But yesterday afternoon’s events forced our hand. Jeannie is speaking with her children now.” He glanced at Broderick. “As I’m sure you already know from talking to Glenna.”