The Hamilton Heir

by Valerie Hansen

  Tim was about to call her into his office and open conversation regarding the golf outing when his sister Amy popped in and distracted him.

  “Morning,” Amy said. “There was a message on my voice mail that you wanted to see me.”

  “I do.”

  She approached his desk. “Okay, what’s up?”

  “I’ve been thinking.”

  “Uh-oh. Sounds serious.”

  “It is. I’ve think we’ve been patient long enough. It’s time we contacted a private detective about bringing Melissa home.”

  “That isn’t necessary.”

  “Yes, it is. Dad’s getting pretty worried. He doesn’t say much about it but I know him.”

  “I’ll have a talk with him and calm his fears,” Amy said. “Trust me. Melissa’s fine.”

  “How can you be so sure?” Watching his sister’s expression, Tim concluded that she knew more than she was admitting.

  “I told you I’d talked to her,” Amy said defensively.

  “Not recently, you didn’t. Has she called again?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, why didn’t you say so?” Tim knew his voice was raised but he was too upset to care.

  “Melissa asked me not to tell anybody. I respected her wishes.”

  “What about the rest of us? What about our feelings?

  Amy shook her head sadly. “She made me promise to keep her call a secret. What could I do?”

  “I don’t believe this. Why you? Why didn’t she call the house?”

  “Probably because she didn’t want to take the chance of getting a lecture if Mom or Dad answered instead of Heather. If I were her, I know that’s the last thing I’d have wanted.”

  “Is she okay?”

  “Relatively. I suspect she’ll be heading home soon. Sounds to me like she and Dean aren’t getting along very well anymore.”

  “It’s about time she saw him for the creep he is.”

  “That’s what I told her.”

  “Terrific.”

  Tim was about to deliver a tirade worthy of their father when Dawn rapped on the half-open door, stuck her head in and said, “Excuse me?”

  “What is it?” In spite of Tim’s efforts to temper his reply it came out sounding terse.

  “Your ten o’clock appointment is waiting,” Dawn said, indicating with an exaggerated roll of her eyes that the other party was close by. “If you two are going to continue to discuss your sister, you might want to close this door.”

  “I was just going,” Amy said. “I have a magazine to run and deadlines to meet.” She breezed past Dawn, giving her a wink as she passed. “See ya.”

  Tim was miffed but he saw no advantage to insisting he and Amy finish their conversation at that time. Later, when he had a free moment, he’d visit her in her own office and find out what else she might be keeping from him. In the meantime, he had a company to run.

  Straightening the knot of his tie and smoothing the lapels of his jacket, Tim calmed himself. “All right. You can send in the ten o’clock, Ms. Leroux. And as soon as we’re finished, I’d like a private word with you.”

  “Yes, sir.” She lowered her voice to speak aside to him. “I couldn’t help overhearing. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s not why I want to see you,” Tim said. “And before you ask me again, no, I am not planning to fire you over it. Okay?”

  He was rewarded with one of her typical grins. “Yes, sir. That’s good to know. Thanks.”

  “Don’t mention it.”

  As she left his office, Tim found himself mirroring her infectious smile and feeling a whole lot more lighthearted in spite of everything that had just occurred.

  That was what seeing Dawn always did to him. Especially lately. It didn’t mean anything, of course. Lots of people had the innate ability to make others feel good. That preacher, Abernathy, was one of them, too. His welcoming words and handshake when they’d met at the potluck at Northside had been so genuine it had taken Tim by surprise. The guy was a great salesman, even if Tim wasn’t buying the Pollyanna attitude he was peddling.

  The door opened. His appointment entered. Tim offered his hand and a pleasant greeting.

  Pushing other thoughts aside and getting down to business had always been one of Tim’s natural gifts. This time, however, he found himself struggling to concentrate on the subject at hand. That was disquieting. So was his subconscious dread that something in his life—something important—wasn’t quite right.

  If Dawn hadn’t had so much to do at her desk she’d have given in to the urge to pace while she waited to find out why Tim wanted to see her privately. Lots of possibilities came to mind. Thankfully, since he’d vowed he didn’t intend to fire her, the choices weren’t all that dire.

  She smiled and shook her head in self-derision. She didn’t know why that negative idea kept popping into her head. Maybe it was because she’d grown up listening to her parents fret over a lack of steady work for her father. Those had been hard times.

  Oh, they’d tried to hide their concern from her and Phil, but she and her brother had both figured it out pretty quickly. Kids weren’t stupid. And now that Phil was dependent upon their parents for nearly everything, her continuing employment was a critical factor in the whole family’s well-being. Little wonder she tended to worry about job security.

  Dawn closed her eyes for an instant, fingers resting on the edge of the computer keyboard. “Thank You, God, for finding me a job I love and one that makes such good use of my skills.”

  Tim’s office door clicked open. She alerted and smiled at the departing client. “I trust everything went well?”

  “Fine, fine.” He dismissed her with a wave of his hand as if she were a pesky mosquito and stalked out.

  “And good morning to you, too,” she muttered as soon as he was out of hearing range. “I’m certainly glad I’m not your executive assistant.”

  The intercom buzzed. “Dawn? Please come in now.”

  “Yes, sir.” She gathered pad and pencil and paused a moment to dig up her wayward smile before she squared her shoulders and entered Tim’s private office.

  “Sit down,” he said, indicating a leather side chair.

  “Okay.” Tim looked grim. Whatever was bothering him seemed to be serious, at least in his opinion. Chances were good he was still stewing over Amy’s visit. It would be just like him to dwell on something negative like that.

  “Have you placed all the employees from accounting?”

  The question caught her off guard. She frowned slightly. “Yes, sir. I put that information on your desk last week.”

  “Right, right. I do remember seeing it. Good job.”

  Watching him twist a pen in his right hand and sensing the tension he was trying to hide, Dawn wondered what had him so dithered. Had she committed some error he was stewing about? Had she unknowingly offended a client? Had she…?

  Oh, stop, she told herself. Imagining things like that is stupid. If Tim had a problem with your work he’d simply say so. He has before.

  She folded her hands in her lap and forced herself to display outward patience. Tim Hamilton wasn’t one for wasting time. Surely, he’d get to the point soon.

  “There’s a golf tournament coming up at the country club,” he finally said.

  Dawn smiled. “That’s nice. Are you playing in it?”

  “I hadn’t intended to participate but I do plan to watch. I wondered if you might like to go with me.”

  “Golf?” She tried not to look incredulous.

  “Sure. Why not? You’re always saying you’re open to learning new things.”

  “I am. I’m just a little surprised, that’s all.”

  “Then it’s settled. It’s a week from Sunday.” He leaned forward to make a note on his desk calendar. “The first team tees off at eight so I’ll pick you up at seven-thirty, sharp. Wear walking shoes. And bring a hat. Even in October the sun can be brutal.”

  She scowled. “It’s when?”
/>   Tim glanced at the calendar pages he’d just leafed through and cited the exact date.

  Sunday. It echoed in her whirling thoughts. More importantly, Sunday morning. Didn’t he realize that was the only time she wasn’t available, or didn’t he care? That was the most likely assumption. Tim saw no good reason to go to church so he’d summarily discounted her commitment. She knew how his mind worked—if worship wasn’t important to him, why should it be important to anyone else?

  She shouldn’t have been taken aback or disappointed by his selfishness but she was, just the same. Getting to her feet and facing him across the desk she forced herself to act calm and polite. “Sorry. But thanks for asking.”

  “What?”

  She remained firm, shoulders back, chin jutted. Obviously, the man was not used to being turned down. Well, too bad. It was about time somebody stood up to him and his high-and-mighty opinions of himself. There was more to life than pleasing Tim Hamilton, and if she’d been appointed to demonstrate that salient fact, then so be it.

  “I said no.” Turning, she started for the door then paused to glance pointedly at her watch. “It’s nearly lunchtime. I’ll be out of the office for the next forty-five minutes or so.”

  Swinging by her desk, she hesitated only long enough to pull her purse from the bottom drawer and grab her keys. All she wanted to do was get out of there before she wept. Anger did that to her. Come to think of it, most strong emotions made her cry. It was a trait she considered a fault but one over which she had little control.

  Disillusionment filled her heart and soul, robbing her of rational thought. Tim had seemed to be coming along so well, to be accepting the faith she and his family shared. But she’d been fooling herself, hadn’t she, by wishing for a change in his attitude toward worship. How much had she simply imagined because it was what she wanted to see?

  Probably plenty, she decided. Whoever had said love is blind had certainly had the right idea.

  Tim sat at his desk and watched Dawn flounce out of the room. He was dumbfounded. What in the world had set her off like that?

  Getting slowly to his feet he walked to the window that looked down on the employee parking lot. It didn’t take long to spot Dawn. She came out of the door and ran to her car as if she were being chased by a swarm of killer bees. What was wrong with her?

  Tim cursed under his breath. Her? What was wrong with him to think she might care, might actually want to spend quality time with him? Clearly, that was not the case.

  He turned away, trying not to worry about her safety as she sped out of the lot. So she wasn’t interested in developing a relationship. So what? He knew from experience that there were plenty of others who were. If he ever decided to marry he wouldn’t have to try very hard to find a suitable partner.

  Only simple suitability wasn’t enough anymore, Tim realized with a start. He wanted a soul mate, not just any willing partner. Considering his own financial position and his family’s collective wealth he knew he’d have trouble weeding out the fortune hunters, too. What he wanted, what he needed, was a woman who liked him for himself and didn’t care about the money. A woman who saw his prosperity as a detriment, not an asset. A woman who had character and high moral principles. A woman like Dawn Leroux.

  Disgusted, he sat back down and stared at the walls, unseeing. Every word of their last conversation was as clear as if he’d recorded it for playback. For the life of him, he couldn’t spot one error in anything he’d said or done.

  Tim snorted in disgust. What good was an analytical mind if the actions of all parties weren’t equally logical? What good was anything?

  Dawn drove straight to the hospital administrative offices to see Gabi. She didn’t even slow down at the reception desk, plunging instead into her best friend’s presence unannounced.

  “Whoa! You look awful,” Gabi said, rising to meet her with a hug. “Who died?”

  That little bit of compassion was all it took to set Dawn off. Tears rolled down her cheeks. “I feel like I did,” she blubbered. “I thought…I thought…”

  “Sit down, blow your nose, pull yourself together and tell me about it,” Gabi said tenderly. “Whatever it is, it can’t be that bad.”

  “Oh, yes it can.” Those words triggered more shuddering sobs as Dawn fought to regain control of her turbulent emotions. Finally she managed to add, “Tim asked me out.”

  “Oh, well, that explains it. The cad. How dare he want to see you socially.”

  Dawn grimaced. “It’s not funny.”

  “It is from where I’m sitting,” Gabi said. “What’s so bad about having another date with him? I thought you had a blast at that fancy dinner he took you to.”

  “I did. But mostly because Tim was there.” She sniffled and blotted her tears.

  “So? What’s wrong?”

  “He wanted me to go to a golf tournament on Sunday morning.”

  “Okay. I can see the problem with that. What did he say when you told him you were busy then?”

  “I didn’t.”

  “What? Why not?”

  “Because he should know me better than that. I’ve never made any secret of my involvement at Northside. Of my commitment. When he asked me to go somewhere on a Sunday, it was clear he didn’t care.”

  Gabi rolled her eyes. “Oh, brother.”

  “Well, it was. Look at it from my point of view. Every time our church meets I see dozens of women who are there by themselves because their husbands refuse to come. I don’t want to join their ranks. Period. It doesn’t matter why they’re alone, they just are. And it’s so sad.”

  “Some are widows, like me,” Gabi said softly.

  “Oh, honey.” Dawn gave her a brief hug and grabbed another handful of tissues. “I know that. I don’t mean those who have no choice. I’m talking about the women who knew their partner wasn’t interested in sharing their faith and married him, anyway.”

  “I’m sure some had no idea.”

  “That’s true. And I’m not saying they don’t have great marriages in every other way. A lot of them do. I’m just not going to put myself in that same position when I can already tell that Tim doesn’t value my beliefs.”

  “Okay. I guess you’re right.”

  “You know I am. Remember the verse about being unequally yoked?”

  “Among others. Look. It’s almost time for my lunch break. What do you say we both go drown our sorrows in enough chocolate to give us zits?”

  Dawn’s reddened eyes widened as she realized exactly what her friend had implied. “Oh, dear. I’ve been thinking only of myself. I’m sorry. What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing new,” Gabi said with a short laugh. “I’m just taking advantage of this opportunity to pig out without guilt. Friends should never let friends eat medicinal chocolate alone. It’s practically a law.”

  “If it isn’t, it ought to be,” Dawn agreed. She blew her nose and disposed of the tissue in Gabi’s wastebasket. “Thanks for being so understanding.”

  “Hey, I’m a sucker for a love story.”

  Dawn huffed. “My relationship with Tim is hardly that.”

  “Maybe not yet,” Gabi said. “But I’m starting to see that nothing is impossible for God.”

  “Who brought Him into this?”

  Gabi laughed. “You did, kiddo. The minute you put going to church above your own desires you chose up sides. There’s nothing wrong with being dedicated. Nothing at all.”

  “But?”

  “But, you might want to keep in mind that the Lord really does work in mysterious ways. If I were you, I’d want to make mighty sure I was in God’s will before I cut myself off from Tim Hamilton simply because he made one little mistake.”

  “It wasn’t little. It was a biggie.”

  Watching her friend’s dark eyes sparkle with repressed mirth, Dawn heard her say, “Big to you, maybe. I doubt it was even a hiccup in God’s opinion.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Dawn dreaded having to go back to wo
rk after lunch. If she hadn’t felt that it would be dishonest, she’d have called in sick. Truth to tell, she and Gabi had binged on so much junk food she didn’t feel all that spiffy, but she wasn’t actually ill. Not yet, anyway.

  When she reentered the office and found Tim gone she couldn’t decide whether or not to be glad. She supposed she ought to be thankful, since his absence meant less conflict. But she also missed him; all six, tall-dark-and-handsome feet of him. Even when he was acting grumpy she wanted to be around him. Maybe not to talk to him directly, but to know he was there. That was crazy, she knew. It was also brutally honest as well as pretty scary.

  Circling her desk, Dawn checked for messages before getting back to the reports she’d been typing. Except for calls from a couple of hopeful salesmen there was nothing pending. Good. That would give her more time in which to try to sort out her confusion.

  Some of Gabi’s advice had been valid, Dawn knew, yet she couldn’t stop assuming that Tim had purposely dismissed the importance of her Christian practices. It wasn’t excuse enough that Nora thought her son was simply reticent. It was much more than that.

  The question was, did Dawn want to confront Tim about it and chance making things worse, or should she simply let the matter drop? If she forced the issue and Tim actually expressed disdain for her faith, would she be able to continue working for him or would she see him in such a negative light that she would be eventually forced to quit her job? That was the true crux of her dilemma. Logically, she was probably better off not knowing how he felt.

  She was about to return the salesmen’s calls when the office door burst open and Ada Smith entered on Tim’s arm.

  “Looky who I found downstairs!” Ada announced. “He showed up just in time, too. Those gargoyles in the lobby were about to throw me out, sure as the world.”

  “Louise and Herman Gordon are practically part of the furniture around here,” Tim explained, avoiding eye-contact with Dawn. “They mean well. And they do a wonderful job of protecting us and keeping track of our staff.”

  Ada beamed up at him. “Well, if you say so.”

  Dawn had never seen the prim old woman look so radiant. Apparently, the effects of Tim Hamilton’s charisma were not limited to ladies of his own generation.