Lifelong Affair (4 page)

'Maybe
I am,' he nodded. 'But I have no reason to believe Courtney would be happier
with you than with us. You must work very hard, very long hours. I doubt you
would have a lot of time to bring up a young child.'

She
dismissed the wisdom of his words. Glenna had wanted her to have a part in
bringing up Court, and that was what she was going to do. 'I have a plane to
catch, Mr Hammond,' she told him briskly. I have to get to the airport.'

He
closed his briefcase with a decisive click. 'I'll come with you.'

"That
won't be necessary.

'It's
very necessary,' he told her grimly. 'I have a seat on that plane too.'

'Oh.'
Her eyes were narrowed. 'You didn't intend staying long. Or were you so sure of
what you thought my answer would be that you just expected to come here, have
me sign those documents, and then return home?' Her eyes took on a dangerous
sheen as she saw by the tightening of his mouth that that was exactly what he
had thought. 'Glenna wasn't happy with your family, Mr Hammond,' she told him
frostily. 'I'm beginning to understand why.'

'Indeed?'
he bit out grimly.

'Yes!'

'And
I'm beginning to see that you're as un
compromising as your sister was. Oh yes, we knew of Glenna's
unhappiness,' he mocked her gasp of surprise. 'She made no secret of the fact.
But I think I should point out once again that Glenna gave her son two
guardians; she didn't cut the Hammonds out of Courtney's life as if she hated
us.'

Morgan
wondered if this man had a habit of always being right; if he did it was an
annoying habit! 'Instead of arguing I suggest we get to the airport—I
wouldn't want to miss the plane. I'll just go into my bedroom and call my
mother at the hospital. She's been as anxious as I have.'

If
Alex Hammond was affected by her deliberate move to shame him he didn't show
it, settling his long length into a chair, sitting back to close his eyes with
a weary sigh.

Guilt
instantly washed over her. This man might seem like a cold robot to her, but
his brother had just died, and he had just spent all those hours on a plane; he
must be exhausted. 'Can I get you some coffee?' she offered huskily. 'Or
something to eat?'

His
eyes flickered open, silver-grey, showing no sign of the tiredness she
suspected. 'Tea?' he queried hopefully.

Morgan
smiled, and the tension instantly eased between them. 'I have tea,' she nodded.
'It's a habit I picked up when I went to England for the wedding. Milk, sugar?'

'Thanks,'
he nodded.

Her
mother came to the telephone straight away once she had been paged, and it was
the hardest thing in the world to tell her that Glenna really was dead; her
mother finally broke down now that she knew there was no hope of ever seeing
her eider daughter again. Morgan broke down and cried with her, offering no
resistance as Alex Hammond came in and took over, too overcome by grief herself
now that her shock was passing to talk coherently.

'Your mother is overjoyed by her grandson's
existence,' Alex Hammond rang off to assure her. 'She hopes she and your father
can go to England to see him soon. In the meantime, I don't think you're in any
condition to fly to England. Maybe it would be better
    
'

'I'm
coming with you,' Morgan told him deter
minedly. 'I want to sec Court-ney, and also I have to—to
attend Glenna's funeral. Someone from the family should be there.' She went to
the bathroom and washed her face in cold water. 'I take it the funeral will be
in England.'

'As
soon as—Yes,' he substituted abruptly. 'Eventually.'

Her
spine stiffened at the addition of the last word. 'I understand,' she said
heavily. 'I'm ready to leave now.'

'Are you sure
-
'

'I'm
very sure.' Her expression was stubborn.

'Your
work?'

'Will
just have to wait,' she told him with bravado, not in the least sure how the
studio would react to her taking off like this. They surely couldn't object to
a couple of days, not in the circumstances. If they did they would just have to
sue. She doubted they would want to do that. 'I intend coming with you, Mr
Hammond—make no mistake about that.'

'Then
perhaps you'd better call me Alex,' he derided. 'I don't intend calling you
Miss McKay for the next twelve hours or so.'

'Morgan,'
she supplied abruptly.

'I
know that,' he nodded. 'Glenna spoke of you often.'

She
would have liked to return the compliment, but Glcnna
  
had
  
been
  
surprisingly
  
reticent
  
about
  
her brother-in-law, talking about him little, and then
only m connection with Mark being at work. Apparently Alex Hammond kept to
himself, spending little time with the family.

'Feel
up to braving the media again?' he queried distantly. T doubt if they've left
yet. Especially if news of survivors has filtered through.

Completely
in control of herself now, Morgan was able to move determinedly at Alex
Hammond's side as they made their way downstairs to get into the cab that he
had ordered to wait for them ten minutes ago as she cried. Alex ignored the
questions thrown at them; his expression was distant, his hold on Morgan's arm
unbreakable, despite the pushing and jostling going on about them.

'The
airport,' he instructed the cab driver arro
gantly, pushing Morgan in the car ahead of him.

She
wasn't used to being dominated in this way. She had been brought up to be
independent, to stand up for herself; Alex Hammond was obviously used to being
dominant with the women in his life.

Morgan
studied him curiously on the drive to the airport. There could be no doubting
that he was very attractive, in an austere way, and yet Glenna had never
mentioned him having a woman in his life. But he certainly didn't like men! His
gaze had been critical of ber, but it had definitely been male in its intent.
No doubt there were women from time to time, just nothing serious. She wondered
why. Alex was thirty-eight, surely that was quite old for a man not to have
been married. He probably thought twenty-six was old for a woman not to have
married either! 'Something funny?'

Her smile faded as she realised he was looking at her.
'Not really, she dismissed. 'Is Courtney at your home?' Alex shook his head.
'He's being kept in hospital for a few days. It's a standard thing for new
babies,' he added at her worried frown, 'He really is very well, Morgan.
Perfectly healthy, even if he is eight weeks premature.' 'Thank God!' she
shuddered. 'Yes,' he agreed curtly.

All
was chaos at the airport; the members of the media who had been outside her
home had obviously telephoned ahead to their colleagues, for a dozen or so
reporters were continuing the harassment. Morgan wasn't in the least surprised
when Alex secured a private lounge for them, and strode off to deal with their
seats himself.

Morgan
took this opportunity to call Sam and Jerry, something she hadn't had time to
do in the trauma of the last hour. Sam was very understanding, and Jerry had
already rearranged the work schedule to allow her to take a week off. A week
should be long enough to convince the Hammonds that Glenna's baby belonged with
her.

'Just
don't be any longer than that,' Jerry warned in a growl, 'or the wrath of Zorbo
will come down around your head!'

Morgan
laughed softly, ringing off. Frank Zorbo was a small Greek man,
the
head of A.M.X.
Broadcasting Company, and quite harmless until something put out his carefully
organised programme schedule. Then he was like a roaring tornado.

'Everything
is organised,' Alex came back to assure her. 'We'll be boarding in a few
minutes.

For
the moment it just felt good to let him take over the details; her mind was not
functioning as fluently as it usually did. Alex looked as if nothing ever
deterred or upset him.

It
came as a surprise to her when she was shown into the first class section of
the plane, to the seat next to Alex Hammond. She had been booked into a scat
much farther down the plane, had been told that there were no other seats
available.

'I
already had a scat reserved for you,' Alex told her at her qustioning look.

Her
eyes widened. 'You
knew
I would be coming with you?'

'I
told you, Glenna talked of you a lot, I was able to assess what your reaction
would be.'

But
you flew over here yourself anyway?

'It
was worth a try,' he shrugged.

'Never,'
she shook her head firmly. 'I'll never give Courtney up.'

Alex
sighed. 'I suggest we save any further talk of the baby until a less emotional
time.'

Morgan instantly felt guilty. This man had
another long flight in front of him—he was likely to meet himself on the
way back!—and what he needed at the moment was to rest. She deliberately
stopped talking,
although
her tension began to rise as the engines of the plane roared for take-off.
Everything had happened so suddenly, so quickly, that until this moment she
hadn't given a thought to the flight itself. Glenna and
Mark had
just died in an aircraft very similar to this one, what if

'It
won't happen, Morgan.' Strong fingers clasped about hers, gently reassuring.

She
had never thought of herself as a weak or dependent woman, and yet at that
moment she was petrified, turning into the comfortable width of shoulder at her
side, clinging on to Alex Hammond as if they were lovers.

Only
when the plane was safely in the air did she move away from him. 'I'm sorry,
her lashes were downcast in her embarrassment at breaking down in that way.
'I'm not usually—well, I don't nor
mally—'

'Forget
it,' he dismissed abrupdy. 'I already have.
^v

It
wasn't the normal reaction a man had to holding her in his arms, and it irked
her somewhat that this man was so immune to the female form. The man was a
damned robot!

It
didn't in the least surprise her when he fell asleep shortly after take-off,
and she remained quietly at his side, guessing that he needed the rest. And if
the truth were known she needed a little time to herself, to think quietly, to
realise that she and the man at her side had sole responsibility for a tiny
baby who would never know his real parents, who would be denied a mother's
love. Morgan vowed on that long flight that she would be the mother to Courtney
that Glenna had intended her to be—no matter what the Hammonds said or
did!

Alex
had left his Mercedes parked at the airport, and with the ease with which she
was coming to expect from him he saw them through Customs and into the car,
driving them to the Hammond house in Surrey himself.

'Courtney
--
'

'I'll
drive you to see him tomorrow,' Alex interrupted abruptly. 'I believe we may be
able to bring him home then.'

Morgan
couldn't help the sudden rush of colour in her cheeks. It sounded curiously
intimate for the two of them to be bringing home a baby. Obviously Alex thought
so too.

'A nanny will be engaged for him,' he added
harshly.
              

'No!'

'It's the best way
'

'It
may be your best way, Alex,' she scorned, ignoring the tiredness still about
his eyes, the fact that he must be feeling exhausted, knowing only that if she
gave in to him over this then she would be continually doing so, 'but I happen
to believe Courtney needs a mother's love, not the impersonality of a transient
nanny.'

'A
mother's love is something we can't give him!' Alex rasped.

'I
can,' Morgan told him heatedly, her eyes flashing deeply green. 'I intend
adopting him as my own son.'

Grey
eyes snapped with anger. 'That might be a httle difficult,' he ground out.

She
eyed him warily. 'Why?

'Both
guardians have to agree to any plans involving Courtney,' he pointed out
grimly.

She
stiffened, turning in the leather seat to look at him, aware that he looked
very weary, lines of strain beside his eyes and mouth, the latter a taut line
of aggression. 'And you won't agree to my adopting Courtney?' she asked softly.

TMo.'

'Why?'

'I
don't believe it would be in his best interests.'

"Don't
talk down to me, Alex Hammond!' she snapped, 'just say what you mean. You don't
think a "fun-loving young actress with no morals" a suitable mother
for him, that's it, isn't it?'

He
sighed heavily. 'I wish I'd never made that remark. I suppose I'm to have it
thrown up at me periodically during our association?'

'That
won't be for long! I'm returning to Los Angeles as soon as possible.

'Without
Courtney.'