Losing Control (14 page)

“I have thick skin, Ms. Hamilton.
Your lame attempts to wound me do not succeed. I think you should talk to your
father. If you care for him at all, you will see that a decision must be made,
and quickly.”

“And just where will you send us if
we accept your proposal? Will we vanish from the Earth, just as Taury’s real
mother did?”

Elizabeth Trahern’s face registered
an abrupt, seething scowl. Greg and Henry glanced at each other, surprised.

“I can’t imagine what you mean.”

“Of course you can. You know exactly
what I’m saying.”

“And where did you learn this
information?”

“From Taury; he’s known about her
since his father died.”

“I don’t believe it!”

“How else could I find out?”

“If he knew, why didn’t he tell me?
Why hasn’t he tried to find her … or, has he?”

“No, he figured she wasn’t interested
in knowing him. And as for why he didn’t discuss it with you, well, maybe he
was afraid he’d lose his temper and slap you or something! You certainly
deserve it!”

“Little bitch! I took Taurus as my
own after my wretched husband had an affair with a maid, of all people! I was
horrified, and humiliated, but I took him in, and loved him as if he were mine!
Hell, he is mine! I want him to marry someone with class and breeding. Someone
who will give me beautiful grandchildren I can be proud of. And no barren
little nobody like you is going to take that dream away from me! Just see that
you talk to your parents, and give me an answer soon! I’m tired of waiting!”

She snatched up her raincoat and
stormed out of the room, followed by her henchmen.

Fawn had stifled her tears until the
woman was out of sight – now they streamed from her eyes, and dripped wet
shadows over her robe.

She picked up the phone. “Yes, please
can you put me through to the Bayview Hotel? Thank you,” she said, wiping the
tears with her sleeve. “Yes, hello. Could I speak to Mr. or Mrs. Kent Brennan?
Their room number is
five twenty two
, I believe. Thank you.” She waited.
“Mom?
It’s me. Yes, we need to talk. Come over, now.” She
hung up without further explanation, looked out the window and sighed heavily.
“Taury, please come to me! I need you so much!”

She stepped into the bathroom to wash
her face and slip on something more attractive. He’d brought her prettier robes
but she hadn’t felt like wearing them just yet. Now she was determined to be as
strong and confident and attractive as possible. No one was going to control
her or get the best of her in any situation ever again!

Her parents arrived about fifteen
minutes later, both looking guilty and haggard.

“So, what’s the big secret, Dad?”
Fawn asked her father as he sat in the darkest corner of her room. He sipped at
a half-empty glass of water while June nervously twiddled her fingers. Fawn
examined them as if they were strangers which were what they seemed to be – her
parents never let any problem wear them down. They approached things
rationally, calmly, without emotion. These two people looked about ready to
collapse in utter exhaustion and worry.

“I didn’t want you to know about our
situation. It has nothing to do with you.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Your father made some bad
investments, Fawn. We lost our savings. Then he was laid off from his job.” Her
mother seemed to be on the edge of a breakdown. “We couldn’t pay the mortgage
on my income. The final blow was my losing my job at the real estate office.
The house … the house is in foreclosure…”

“My God! Why didn’t you tell me? I
have the divorce settlement. I could help you pay the mortgage!”

“You’re going to need that money for
property taxes. I’ve heard
Malibu
has some of the highest in the
state. Besides, we couldn’t accept anything from you.”

“Why not, Dad?
You paid my way for eighteen years,
from birth to high school graduation. Why can’t I help you now?”

“I can’t bring myself to accept
charity from my own child. Look, I know I’ve been an ass. And I apologize. I
thought ruling your family like a king was what men did. And I’ve come to see
Richard Hamilton for what he really is … a complete fool. When he got back to
San Diego
he had the nerve to hit me up for a
loan! He said that young woman conned him out of his divorce settlement, even
lied about being pregnant. And he wanted me to fund his new business! But,
anyway, I’m sorry I talked you into marrying him. I’m sorry for what he put you
through. Most of all, I’m sorry we weren’t there for you when you needed us.
But we can’t handle losing everything. If you’ll stop seeing this boy…”

“I’m not seeing a boy. I’m in love
with a wonderful man! Taury is my soul-mate! I’d sooner die than be without him.
I don’t get why you think it’s okay to take blackmail money and not okay to let
me help you instead.”

“I don’t see it as blackmail, Fawn. I
fully intend to repay Mrs. Trahern when I’m able.”

“Then borrow it from me, and pay me
back!”

“You couldn’t possibly have enough to
cover everything we owe! We need more than two million dollars!” June cried.
“Just leave the man alone! You’re both young enough to find someone else!”

“We don’t want anyone else!”

“Fawn, please, we almost lost you.
The doctors told us that. And I don’t want to upset you. You’re my child. My
only child. But if you do this one thing, we’ll help you get over him. We’ll
take care of you. Just don’t make us beg.”

Fawn looked at them; they lowered
their gazes. She thought of Taury, of what it would be like without him;
imagined the loneliness and the misery. Saw herself facing all the mood changes
and hot flashes that an early menopause would inflict upon her now, without his
cheering her on. He’d talked about it, had done research online. He was more
than willing to help her through, to give her ice baths or hold her while she
cried or calm her when she raged at the unfairness of it all. How could she
survive alone? She needed him, loved him, wanted him to be near her always. But
her parents were in trouble. And there was only one way out for them, or so
they believed.

“So that’s it?
Elizabeth
has won?”

“The hell she has!” A lyrical voice
shouted from the doorway.

FIFTEEN

Fawn turned to see Taury standing
there like a knight in shining leather. He tore off his wet slicker and swept
her gently into his arms.

“Were you giving up so easily? I
thought you’d at least fight a little to keep me.”

“Oh, I would, you know that!”

“Son, I can see how much you care
about our girl, but I have no other recourse. I’ve told your mother I could pay
her back eventually, and I hope to be able to, once I get some strong
investments going.”

“I think I have a different option,
if you’ll hear me out?”

“I’m listening.”

“You have some shrewd business sense,
I know. A man doesn’t lose that simply because he made a bad investment or two.
I’ve done some research into your background, Mr. Brennan, and I’d like to hire
you to run the
Los Angeles
office of my company.”

The Brennans glanced at each other,
wary. Fawn gasped a little, threw a puzzled smile at Taury.

“You’re not serious?”

“Yes, Mr. Brennan, I am. You see, I’m
locked in a tug of war right now with my CEO and my conniving secretary. They
think they have enough brownie points … that is, shares … to take over my company
and sell it to the Clanton-Laredo Group…”

“That’s a bloodthirsty bunch of
raiders! I hope you have your ducks in a row!”

“I thought I did. But I need a new
perspective. Would you be willing to step aboard and help me stop them?”

Kent Brennan looked at his wife. She
shrugged, nodded her head. He turned to Fawn; she did the same.

“Well, I can try, son, I can’t
promise I’ll succeed.”

“That’s all I could ask of anybody.
Come with me now, if you will. We’ve got to move fast!”

“Taury, what about me?”

“I wanted to take you home, but the
doctor won’t agree to it. He doesn’t want you flying for at least three more
weeks. But I’ve found a way to get you out of the hospital, anyway. I have a
place just up the coast, in
Bodega
Bay
, a beautiful house near the sea. It
reminds me a lot of Connie’s bungalow.”

Connie’s bungalow; oh how she missed
that house! She thought of all the times she’d spent there with Connie, and
then with Taury. The tears swelled in her eyes; made her sight blurry.

“Will you go there with me?”

“I can’t yet. I’ve got to straighten
out this trouble. I love my company, Fawn. I’ve got to save it, for the
employees as well as myself.”

“I understand. But what will
Elizabeth
say about all this?”

“She’s taking sides with the enemy. I
never would’ve believed it, but she wants the money she can get out of the
sale; hasn’t got one bit of interest in keeping the company going. If they get
all of her shares, I’m lost!”

“You’ll figure something out for him,
won’t you, Dad?”

“I intend to try. And, Fawn, let me
again say how sorry I am, about everything.”

“It’s all in the past; time to wipe
the slate clean, and start over.”

“Do you mean that, Fawn?” her mother
asked.

“Of course I do, Mom. If you can
accept me for who I am?”

“I can; I should have a long time ago.
But I let my own sad childhood color every choice I made. It took almost losing
you to make me realize how precious you are. Forgive me?”

“Sure, Mom, of course I do.” She
turned to Taury. “How do I get to your beach house?”

“I’ve hired an ambulance to take you
and your mother there. And I’m sending a nurse, old Brisby, to do everything
for you. She was my nanny, once upon a time. It’s a great place, Fawn. You’ll
be comfortable and safe. And I’ll come for you as soon as possible. I can deal
with this mess easier if I know you’re okay.”

“You’ll call me?”

“Every day, every night, maybe every
half hour; your voice will give me the strength to hang on.”

“And yours mine. Kiss me?”

He moved his lips to capture hers;
they lost themselves in the sheer warmth and comfort of each other’s arms. Her
parents awkwardly averted their gazes; her father scratched his head, her
mother twiddled her fingers.

When they finally broke loose, Taury
aimed the deep set blue eyes straight into hers. Without a word she knew what
he was saying. She nodded slightly, her hazel eyes glistening with tears.

“Time for us to go, Mr. Brennan…”

“Please, call me Kent.”

“All right. Fawn, the ambulance is waiting
but don’t rush. The papers are signed. All you have to do is ease into a
wheelchair and ride down to the parking lot. Call me on my cell as soon as you
arrive, okay?”

“Got it!”

He grabbed his coat, ushered Kent
Brennan towards the door. Fawn noticed a heartfelt, wordless exchange passing
between her parents. Once the men had left she turned to June.

“You really do love each other, don’t
you?”

“Of course we do, Fawn. Why would you
think we didn’t?”

“I assumed that you couldn’t love
anyone, I guess.”

“I love him, and you. I loved Connie,
too, and my father. It was torture not being able to show it. I still feel
uncomfortable trying. Will you help me, Fawn? Or do you think it’s too late?”

“It’s never too late, as long as
you’re breathing!”

June came to her, there was an
awkward moment then Fawn fell into her arms and sobbed like a long lost child
who’d just been found.

The ride to
Bodega
Bay
was slow and tortuous. All Fawn
could see from her gurney viewpoint were the stark storm-torn skies through the
back windows. The wind was angry, pushing at the ambulance walls. Her mind was
on Taury; she was already missing him, asked a couple of times to turn back but
the driver had his orders and the stern nurse, Ms. Penelope Brisby, sitting to
her left, had hers. June, on her right, tried to talk to pass the time,
pointing out odd sights and wondering if the town looked anything like it had
when Alfred Hitchcock filmed
The Birds
there so many years before.