Wanting to talk about anything other than his family, Grant spun the conversation back to hers. “So, what’s your brother’s story?”
Thanks to the file he had on Brynnon, he already knew the basics but was interested to see what she’d share.
A laugh escaped from her lips, the sweet sound one he could listen to endlessly. “Going with the spin. Youhavebeen around politicians too much.” She sighed again. “Fine. We won’t talk about you. Let’s see...the cliff-notes version of Billy is, he’s a brilliant man with the potential to do great things.”
“But?”
“But, over time, he’s gotten...lost.”
“Lost?” Grant slid his eyes to her and back again. “He seemed pretty confident to me.”
“I think the word you're looking for iscocky. And that’s what you saw because it’s what Billy wanted you to see.” Brynnon frowned. “It breaks my heart, really. Back when my dad still owned his construction company...” She paused and turned to him. “Wait, did you know about that?”
“Cantrell Construction?” Grant nodded. “Your dad told me about it the last time I worked security for him. He sold it about six years ago, right?”
“A little over five, yeah. Anyway”—she got back on track— “Billy used to work for Dad. Was in charge of the supply orders for the bigger jobs. It was an important position, and he was great at it.”
Grant thought for a moment. “Billy’s a couple of years younger than me, right? So, he would’ve only been, what, twenty-nine when the company was bought out?”
“Yep. He was twenty-four when Dad promoted him to head sales manager.”
Grant blew out a low whistle. “Bet that pissed some people off.”
Brynnon chuckled. “Oh, yeah. There were a handful of employees who resented him for it at first. But, over time, Billy proved himself to be a solid asset to the company.”
“So, what happened?”
“When Dad decided to run for office, he didn’t want his personal business to be viewed as a conflict or a distraction. The way he explained it, too many politicians in the past had been accused of mixing company finances and contacts with their political agendas. Could make things murky. Anyway, a couple of larger companies had been sniffing around for several months, wanting to buy us out, so Dad contacted them when he was ready to sell. The company with the top bid won and my father never looked back.”
“And Billy?”
“He signed on as Dad’s co-chief of staff with Martin. I could never work with the man, but those two seemed to do really well together. At first.”
“What happened?”
Her face fell. “Our mother died. It happened shortly after Dad first took office.”
Grant’s fists tightened over the steering wheel. “I’m sorry.”
“Thanks. It’s been almost five years now, but it still hurts, you know?”
More than you realize.“How’d she die?”
“Car wreck. Dad had only been a senator for a few weeks. He had a meeting with a bunch of big-wig politicians that day. About forty-five minutes before it was scheduled to start, he realized he’d left some documents at home that he needed. Dad called mom and asked if she could bring them to him. Told her to hurry.”
Brynnon turned to face the passenger window, but Grant still saw the tears in her reflection. The sight hit him with such force he damn near pulled the truck over just so he could pull her into his arms just so he could make them go away.
Discretely swiping one away, she cleared her throat and told him the rest. “Mom knew how crucial Dad’s meeting was, so she rushed to get the papers to him. She took a curve too fast and lost control of the car. The doctors told us she died instantly.”
“Damn, Bryn. I’m sorry.”
She offered him a watery grin. “Thanks.”
“So, Billy took it hard, huh?”
Brynnon sniffed, blinking away her unshed tears. “Oh, yeah. I wasn’t kidding when I said Billy was a total mama’s boy. Don’t get me wrong, my mother loved me very much. But my family had stereotypical dynamics. Dad and I always had a special bond, as did Billy and Mom. After she died, my brother started going downhill almost immediately.”
“How so?”
