A Brother's Honor (Grangers) - By Brenda Jackson Page 0,57

each and every time?”

No, he didn’t have to remind her of that, but since he had, she might as well come clean. “I want to meet Mona.”

He cocked a brow. “You want to meet her or check her out and then report back to Jules?”

Shana’s features broke into a wide smile. Busted. “I guess you know your daughters.”

Ben shook his head. “Yes, I guess I do.” He pushed away from the staircase. “Well come on, and don’t complain about my driving.”

* * *

The ride wasn’t so bad, Shana decided while browsing through the aisle of the grocery store. Instead of going to one of the major chain stores, her father had driven here to this quaint little market nestled near a pizza shop, hair salon, drugstore and phone store. She liked the architecture, finding the Victorian-style buildings that lined the cobblestone street lovely.

The place reminded her of the general store right off the set of The Waltons, and she expected to run into Corabeth at any moment. When they arrived, she read her dad’s expression and saw he was disappointed. Had he expected to run into Mona here as soon as he arrived? Had the two talked and planned to meet up? She knew not to ask him, but she couldn’t help but be curious.

So he wouldn’t think she was trailing him, she decided to leave him for a while and go pick up a few things she needed or pretended to need. Although she didn’t plan to skip lunch next week as she had for the prior two weeks, she wouldn’t take a sandwich to work. She would take Jace’s administrative assistant up on her offer to arrange for lunch to be delivered to her.

Shana was about to head over to the section of the store that sold homemade ice cream cones when she glanced over to where she’d left her father earlier. Her gaze latched onto him the moment a huge smile lit his face. She then shifted her gaze to the woman walking toward him.

She would put the woman’s age in the fifties, just as her father had said, although she could probably pass for somewhere in her forties easily. She was no taller than five-three, if that. Like Ben, she was wearing a pair of jeans and a shirt and a pair of comfortable-looking sneakers on her feet. The shirt was tucked inside her jeans and showed off a slim waist that flared into a pair of curvy hips.

Shana thought that Mona had a very pretty face. Creamy brown skin. Dark brown eyes. Full, glossy lips and a perky nose. Her hair was cut short, with curls cascading around her face. Shana could see why her father had taken another look at Mona when he’d met her here in this store.

Standing unnoticed in a corner, Shana watched the couple’s interactions when they came face-to-face, right in front of the veggie bin. Shana stood there and watched, and a few seconds later, her heart caught at what was becoming obvious.

Mona was blind.

* * *

“Your daughter is here?” Mona asked, smiling brightly. “I’d love to meet her.”

“And I’m sure she would love meeting you, as well,” Ben said, smiling. He tried not to stare, but he thought Mona was simply beautiful. The grace, charm and strength in her features were enhanced every time she turned her mouth up into a smile. Long lashes swept across exotic-looking cheekbones. She told him that her grandparents had come to this country from Jamaica, and he saw a trace of the island beauty in her smooth, caramel-colored skin, full lips that rounded perfectly over even, white teeth and a slanted nose. He wished he knew how to paint, because he would love capturing her exquisiteness on canvas.

Shifting his gaze, Ben glanced around for Shana and saw her standing near the refrigerated items, staring at them. He called out to her to join them. “Shana, come over here. I want you to meet someone.”

Shana felt her feet moving, and the closer she got to Mona, the prettier the woman seemed to get. “Dad,” she said when she reached them.

Ben smiled down at his daughter. “Shana, I want you to meet Mona Underwood. Mona, this is my daughter Shana.”

Mona turned toward Shana and reached out and grasped her hand. “Shana, I’ve heard so many nice things about you and your sister from your father. I had hoped to meet you someday.”

“Thanks, and I’ve heard a lot of nice things about you, as well.” But