The Favor

“Why is he so desperate to have a share of yours?” Simon asked, his eyes still narrowed. “He can’t have squandered all of his own.”

“Probably not all of it,” said Dane. “He received it in three separate, age-dependency payments over the years. He received the final one at the age of thirty. I doubt he’s spent all of it, but I do think he’s banked on having his share of mine.”

“He’s thought of it as a fourth payout, so he hasn’t been careful with his own,” guessed Simon.

“What about Kent?” asked Wyatt.

“He always swore he’d give me his share of my fund,” said Dane.

Wyatt tilted his head. “But you don’t trust that he will.”

“The only person I trust is Vienna,” Dane told him, sounding so utterly sincere I wanted to believe it was true. “She’s never betrayed me. Never let me down. Never asked or expected anything of me. She won’t even let me buy her a new car,” he grumbled.

“You did it anyway,” I pointed out. The brand-new vehicle had appeared in the garage a day ago.

Dane’s mouth twitched. “You’ll use it eventually. I’ve seen the way you look at it.”

Melinda sighed. “I want to believe that you’re all about Vienna; that your marrying her so soon isn’t whatsoever connected to the stipulations of your trust fund. But the timing just seems too coincidental.”

Dane shrugged. “I can’t make you believe me. If what I’ve shared with you here hasn’t rid your mind of doubt, there’s nothing more I can do.”

“I do appreciate that you told us all this—I know it couldn’t have been whatsoever easy,” she went on. “It’s just … I have to feel sure of you, because Vienna’s heart is on the line.”

I straightened. “I’m sure of him.”

“I know that,” she said. “But sometimes we can be so emotionally wrapped up in a situation that we don’t see it logically. I want to be positive that you’ve made the right choice,” she said, like I was naïve and didn’t know my own mind.

Okay, that got my back up. “Really? Heather splits married couples up on a regular basis. Couples like you and Wyatt, only rich. She uses one man after another just because she can. That’s not the ‘right choice.’ You’ve ignored it. You’ve pretended it away. You’ve never once lectured her over it or been rude to her partners, most of whom were still married at the time she introduced you to them. But you’ll question my ability to make a rational decision, and you’ll expect Dane to explain himself to you? Sorry, but that seems just a little bit shitty.”

Melinda grimaced. “Vienna—”

Dane cupped my jaw. “Don’t, baby girl. Don’t let this cause an argument. Travis would just love it if this created so much drama that you felt you had to choose between me and your family. Don’t give him that power.”

“We’d never ask her to choose us over you,” Melinda told him.

“We just worry for Vienna,” said Wyatt.

“I understand that,” said Dane, sliding his hand from my jaw to my nape. “I’m glad that you care for her as much as you do. I invited you here tonight and shared these things with you because I don’t want Travis to come between her and the three of you. I don’t want her to lose the people she loves. As I said, I can’t make you believe me. But I’d ask that you don’t make this difficult for Vienna. Don’t make her suffer for whatever doubts you may have. She’s never done anything other than believe in me. She doesn’t deserve to be punished for that.”

“We don’t want to punish her for it or cause problems for her.” Melinda looked down at her hands. “We made mistakes with Heather. There are things that you may believe we should take her to task over. But if we do that, she might keep Junior from us.” She met my eyes. “We couldn’t handle that.”

“I know,” I said. “But if you’re going to sit back and let her live her life as she pleases, you can surely do the same for me. That’s all I’m asking.”

Simon sighed and rubbed at the back of his neck. “I know what it’s like to be let down by family, Dane. I know what that does to a person. So I know it couldn’t have been at all easy for you to let Vienna in, to let yourself love her.” He paused. “You married her solely because you love her? Really?”

Dane nodded once. “She’s the only woman I ever have loved.”

“I believe that,” said Simon. “More, I believe in Vienna. If she says that this isn’t about your trust fund, I’ll accept that. And I definitely won’t give your asshole of a brother the satisfaction of creating a divide between me and my daughter. But, having said that, if it ever turns out that my faith in you is misplaced, we’ll be having an entirely different conversation, and it won’t end pleasantly.” His gaze slid to me and softened. “Love you, sweetheart.”