9. Holding Onto A Secret

9

HOLDING ONTO A SECRET

I t'd been six days since he'd seen Kelsey.

They ended their date with a scorching kiss telling him that he wouldn't be able to see her again until he let her father know who he was and that he was on the island.

There was so much going through his mind and things he wanted to know.

Did his grandfather's business partner know what an asshole the old man was that he'd wiped his daughter from his life and let her fend for herself with a dickhead husband?

What man doesn't go to his own daughter's funeral, but then leaves millions to his only grandson? That was cash and investments alone. Not even his assets. Thirty-six years of his life and he'd never met the man once.

None of this made sense to him.

He had Kyle's information from his attorney and thought it was odd the guy never reached out to him.

He'd emailed last night and wasn't surprised to receive a reply this morning that they could meet today and Kyle was looking forward to it.

The guy sounded friendly enough.

Listening to Kelsey talk about her parents and their businesses made him feel like he was holding onto a secret and it hadn't sat well.

And though he hadn't seen Kelsey in days, they did text back and forth and talked once.

He was keeping in contact just enough so she didn't think she was being blown off.

Once she found out who he was, she might be the one blowing him off and he'd have to accept that.

He finished his run realizing that he'd pushed himself harder and faster than normal. Had to be the thoughts in his brain stressing him out when he hadn't felt much stress in the past few months living here.

He always knew he'd reach out to Kyle Raymond but was just biding his time until it felt right.

He wasn't so sure this was the right time, but Kelsey felt right so he had to push up his agenda.

When he stopped in his driveway, he was bent over gasping for breath feeling as if he was trying to outrun his life and memories.

Only he had no memories of his grandfather other than what he'd found in the house.

One photo of his mother as a child with whom he suspected was his grandmother. There were two of him as a child too, but nothing more. Like baby pictures. Birth and a year could be. He didn't know exactly.

It was beyond creepy in some ways. Yet he took the inheritance when everything in his brain told him not to.

His heart said his mother would want this and he was going to lead with that feeling.

Just like that same feeling he had with Kelsey days ago.

Once he was showered and dressed, he grabbed his keys and climbed into his truck. Nice and early he'd be meeting with Kyle. Might as well get this over with so he could figure out the rest of his life.

He pulled into a building that had a bunch of small businesses around it. He knew Kyle's office was there. He'd driven by many times wondering if he'd have the nerve to enter.

He parked and sat in his truck for a few minutes to get his bearings and then got out and opened the door.

"Donovan. I'd know you anywhere."

"It's Van," he said. "Not Donovan." He hadn't heard that name in years. His mother had named him, called him Donnie once in a while until his father said it was too wussy sounding. That Van had more of a masculine ring to it.

Funny how he remembered shit like that.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Kyle. I've been waiting for you to make the move. How do you like living on the island?"

His jaw dropped. He'd never said he was living here. Just said he'd like to meet and could as soon as Friday. Never said if he was visiting or anything.

Kyle smiled. "We have a lot of resources on this island. Just like I'm positive you know a lot about me since we are business partners. More than your grandfather's attorney would have shared."

There was no reason to hide that fact. "I know some. Not all, I'm sure."

"No," Kyle said. "Please, come into my office and we can talk privately."

Van looked around the office. Saw a woman sitting at the desk typing away. She looked up and smiled at him, then he followed Kyle down the hall where there were more offices and people in them.

"It's quiet in here," he said.

"Yes," he said. "I've got a lot of employees and businesses, but we do all the administration of those businesses here. It's normally a bit more relaxed, but they knew you were coming."

"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked. He pulled out a chair in Kyle's office. No reason to wait to be told to be seated. He owned some of those properties and businesses Kyle talked about.

"I think they wanted to make a good impression. They work for me, but you know, you do own three hotels with me."

"I don't know the first thing about any of this," he said. "I'm glad there is a property manager for the other rentals."

"Robert works for me," Kyle said. "Barry didn't like the guy he had the past few years. He thought Nolan was taking advantage of things. Your grandfather was cutting back on his work and felt comfortable paying me an amount to have my staff deal with things."

He hadn't known that. "If you knew I was living on this island, why didn't you contact me first?"

Kyle leaned back. He could see parts of Kelsey on the man. The blonde hair and around the eyes, but nothing more. Kyle was a big man and he was assuming Duke got that from his father based on the family picture he saw hanging on the wall, and Kelsey's size from her mother.

"I know your situation is unique. You've only met your grandfather once."

"What?" he asked. "No, I haven't."

"You weren't even two," Kyle said. "Barry met with your mother to meet his first grandchild. He hadn't known you existed for a good year. There is a lot you don't know and I'll tell you when you're ready. I don't think you are yet. But Barry asked me to give you a year. If you hadn't reached out by then, for me to do it. I'd always honor that."

This was too much to process. "No one ever told me I met my grandfather."

"Are you ready to know more about the situation? I want to say it's one-sided, but nothing in life really is."

"I've got no one to confirm or deny anything you say," he said, crossing his arms.

"You'd be surprised what your grandfather left behind for you to know the truth," Kyle said. "But when you're ready." Kyle moved to a picture on the wall and took it down. Van saw the safe in the wall and then the code punched in. When it was opened, he saw lots of papers in there and some cash. A man like Kyle probably had safes and cash in multiple locations. A big envelope was dropped on the desk. "For you to take your time looking through. It's from Barry."

He picked it up and saw his name on it. Donovan Harlowe. He put it down. He wasn't ready to open it just yet.

"Everything in there is supposed to make me believe things I never knew?" he asked lifting his eyebrow.

"No," Kyle said. "It's just the start."

This was all too much for him to take in.

"I'm not sure what I expected. I thought I'd come here to talk about business. I'll be honest and say I don't know the first thing about running a hotel."

"Don't worry about it," Kyle said. "We've got employees for that. Lots of employees." Kyle was laughing. "I'm not hiding anything from you and wouldn't. I had a great deal of respect for your grandfather. Do you want to talk about business now and put the personal stuff aside?"

"Sure," he said. He'd have to start somewhere. "How did you end up partners with him?"

"Your grandfather owned these three properties himself. About twenty-five years ago he'd fallen on to hard times. Some poor investments. Things happened. Nothing unheard of. He was looking for investors to help renovate to make his hotels more attractive and competitive. You've got to spend money to make money. He knew that."

"But he didn't have it?" he asked.

"No. I was slowly building my portfolio. I've got my fingers in a lot of pies, you could say."

"I'm sure, along with a trust fund being from the Bond family," he said.

"Definitely," Kyle said, lifting his eyebrows. "There were businesses handed down to me over the years. Some I've sold, others I've kept. Times change and you need to be ahead of the curve. Your grandfather knew that."

"Did he approach you?" he asked.

"He did. He was smart enough to know my name and family background carried a lot of weight. I bought into the three hotels and maintained forty-nine percent of the shares. I offered to buy him out the past few years when he was cutting back."

"I bet," he said.

Kyle smiled again. A smirk almost like Kelsey's. "He always had the same answer. Want to know what it was?"

"You're going to tell me," he said.

Kyle laughed this time. Van knew he was being more of a hard ass as if he were interrogating someone. It was difficult to get his law enforcement past out of his blood, but he wasn't showing his cards either.

That he was so emotionally messed up over this.

"He wanted to leave his legacy behind for his grandson. You're the last of his blood. It would have gone to your mother had she'd lived, though Barry would have put clauses in there that your father could never touch it."

"He didn't care for my father?" he asked.

"I'm not sure you're ready for all of that," Kyle said. "But the simple answer is no. He felt Adam brainwashed your mother and stole her away. Maybe Barry was harsh early on, cutting her off, but when he found out about you, he wanted to make amends."

"It obviously didn't happen," Van said drily.

"I believe your mother wanted to try, but your father was against it. The two of them never got along."

"My father would have wanted the money that came with it," he said. "I'm almost positive."

His father didn't know he was here and inherited any of this. It was the one thing he'd kept quiet about. He told no one anything other than he was moving. He didn't even tell his father he was moving, and if Adam Harlowe found out, it would be through a third party.

"Most likely," Kyle said. "I only know what I was told, as I didn't come into your grandfather's life until you were in school. But I know what I know and what I've seen for the past twenty-five years. You can't fake or lie for that long. Not about how you really feel."

Van wanted to believe that but was having a hard time. "He didn't even go to her funeral," he snarled.

Kyle's eyes saddened. "He didn't know Lauren died. He was devastated. He hadn't known she was sick either. It broke his heart that he couldn't be there for her in the end. That he couldn't try to find resources to even help her."

"Bullshit," he said. "My mother's best friend told me at the funeral that my mother asked my father to contact my grandfather. Fiona was upset that Barry didn't show up."

"I don't know what to tell you," Kyle said. "But your grandfather found out over a year later when he had someone we use in the family look in on your mother. He did it often. Every few years. He was kicking himself for not doing it sooner."

"What do you mean look in on her? Like spy on her?"

"We have our resources," Kyle said. "Again, Barry had other ones he wasn't happy with and then finally went to our internal guy. He was only trying to keep her and you in his life the only way he could. I think his heart started to fail when he found out about Lauren."

Van wasn't sure how to process any of this. "Is that how he died? His heart?"

"Yes," Kyle said. "It was weak and he'd had some surgeries. He was cutting back. He passed away in his sleep. I guess that's the best way to go."

"Yeah," he said, thinking of his mother. It was the same for her. He hoped she'd felt no pain at that point.

"Listen," Kyle said. "This is all a lot for you to take in. If you'd like to know more about the business, I've got all day to go over things with you. Anything and everything. Not just today but as much and as long as you want to meet. I know you're working though you don't need to."

"I've got to stay busy," he said.

"Understood. Things can stay exactly how they are. I can run it and you'll get the monthly stipend as your income. Nothing has been changed on the business end, and if you want changes or if I do, we have to go over that together. There is a lot to understand, but I'm here."

"Thanks," he said. "I don't suppose you could send me things to look at. Reports, financial and otherwise. Summaries you might have of the hotels? Things like that."

"I've got everything you might need," Kyle said. "We've been preparing them for a good year knowing that the time would come when you might become involved. Or you could sell me your half. I'm not pushing either way, just giving you options."

He could take the fast money and run.

He was sick of running.

"I'd like to stay for now. See what I can understand and go from there."

"I'm glad," Kyle said. "Your grandfather would be too. Is there anything else I can help you with today? I don't want to overwhelm you."

"Nothing other than I should tell you I've had two dates with your daughter," he said.

Kyle's eyebrows lifted and he knew he finally caught the man unaware. But he wasn't so sure how he felt about that either.