The Hamilton Heir (12 page)

She was trying so hard to avoid looking at Tim she almost missed seeing his mother’s smile of recognition.

Nora approached, carrying her plate. “Hello there! I wondered why I didn’t see you out front. Did you have a good time last night?”

“Wonderful. Thank you so much for letting me borrow your beautiful jewelry.”

“You’re more than welcome to wear it any time you want,” Nora said amiably. “With the exception of last night, it hasn’t been out of the safe for over a year. Seems a shame not to wear it but I don’t go out much anymore.”

“You will again. We’re all praying for Wallace’s recovery.”

Tears misted in Nora’s eyes. “Thank you. That means a lot to us.”

“All of you?” Dawn glanced at Tim. Still in line, he’d just chosen a slice of ham and was busy piling chips onto his paper plate beside it.

Nora nodded. “Some men are quieter about their faith than others. Wallace was more like Tim until recently. Just because Tim doesn’t get on a soapbox about what he believes doesn’t mean there’s nothing deep there. Give him time. You’ll see.”

“It’s really none of my business,” Dawn said.

“I wouldn’t be so sure. I must have invited my son to come to church with me and the family a hundred times. He didn’t accept until after he’d
spent time with you. Seems to me you have to take some of the credit.”

“I just want to see him happy,” Dawn said quietly. “Ever since I came to work for him, he’s struck me as kind of a loner.”

“He tends to be a private person,” Nora explained. “Jeremy, Chris and the girls have always been more gregarious than Tim. He’s my serious one. A man like that can always be trusted to tell you the truth, regardless of the consequences.” She smiled. “In some cases, that’s a definite advantage, don’t you think?”

“I…” Before Dawn could answer fully, Tim joined them. One look at him and her mind was wiped so clean of coherent thought she was surprised she could manage an intelligible greeting. “Hi.”

“Hello.” Tim gifted her with a broad smile. “I see you have another talent you didn’t tell me about.”

“Huh?”

“Kitchen staff? You are working here, aren’t you? I saw the apron and I assumed…”

“I help out once in a while.”

“Do they let you sit down and eat? We can save you a place at our table.”

She shook her head. “We all grabbed a bite beforehand.”

“Okay.” He turned his attention to his mother and began shepherding her toward an empty table. Dawn heard him ask Nora, “What can I get you to drink?” before she ducked into the kitchen and flattened her back against a wall.

Gabi trailed her. “What’s wrong? You sick?”

“Yeah. Sick of myself,” Dawn muttered. “Did you hear me babbling out there? I hardly knew my own name.”

“I heard you talking to Mrs. Hamilton. You seemed okay then.”

“I was, until Tim walked up. Then I sounded like a dunce. He asked me to sit with them and I told him we’d eaten.”

“Well, we have. We always snack while we wait. What’s wrong with that?”

Dawn rolled her eyes. “Nothing. Nothing at all. Except that I could have taken off my apron and at least sat with them. Instead, I acted like the poor man had invited me to a hanging or something.”

“I doubt it was that bad.” Gabi was chuckling and staring at her as if she were deluded. “Look, if it’s that important to you, why don’t you go keep them company? It’s not too late.”

“Sure it is. I already begged off. I could kick myself.”

“Please, not on church property,” Gabi teased. “It’d be bad for Northside’s image if folks started going home from our services all bruised.”

Dawn shot her a derisive look. “Yeah, right. I’m in the middle of a crisis here and you’re cracking dumb jokes.”

“Oh, go get a piece of pie or something and take it to their table. Trust me. They won’t think it’s strange.”

“They won’t?”

“Of course not. That is, if you really want to
spend a few minutes with them. Sure looks to me like you do.”

“I don’t want to seem pushy.”

“Nonsense.” Gabi peeked around the corner. “Heather’s there with Ethan and Amy brought Bryan and Dylan. Tim and Nora make seven, so there’s still an empty place at their table. If you hurry…uh-oh.”

Dawn stiffened. “What?”

“See for yourself. Lauralee Seeger just grabbed the last chair.”

“Lauralee? Where? Let me look.” Leaning around Gabi, Dawn made a sound of disgust. “Humph. If she scooted any closer to Tim she’d be sitting in his lap.”

“I know. And he looks pretty uncomfortable about it. Too bad. If you hadn’t stood here arguing with me, you’d be in that chair.”

Dawn whipped off her apron and shoved it at Gabi. “Here. Cover for me.”

“Where are you going?”

“To the rescue,” Dawn said. “This is the first time Tim’s been in church for ages and I’m not going to let somebody like Lauralee scare him off.”

“Atta girl.” Gabi giggled. “Every congregation needs a few superheroes to step up and make things right.”

Behind her, Dawn could hear Gabi working into a good belly laugh. She snagged a piece of pie and a plastic fork as she passed the assorted desserts and never missed a step.

Arriving at Tim’s table with a wide, innocent
grin firmly in place she tapped Lauralee on the shoulder. “Excuse me? I believe you’re in my seat.”

The other woman twisted to scowl up at her. “Nobody was sitting here.”

“I just went to get some pie,” Dawn said. “I’m sorry my friends didn’t mention it before you got settled.” She put her dessert on the table so her hands would be free. “Here. I’ll help you get moved. No, no, don’t thank me. Glad to do it.” She grabbed the woman’s plate and cup of lemonade and started to walk away with them. “Here we go. I think I see an empty place by Pastor Abernathy. Yes, I do. You’re in luck.”

Tim was chuckling behind his napkin when Dawn returned a few seconds later. “Nice save,” he said as he held the chair for her.

“Thanks. You looked like you might appreciate a little breathing room.”

Across the table, Nora was actually snickering. “I thought Tim was going to need some of his father’s bottled oxygen before that girl was through. Talk about desperate!”

“Hey, I was the desperate one,” Tim said. “Thankfully, not all the women in my life are like that.”

“Hear, hear,” Heather cheered, winking at Ethan, the newspaper photographer who had stolen her heart. “We wouldn’t want to see you settle down or anything.”

Ethan played along. “No way, man. Besides, who would take your wedding pictures if Heather and I are away on our honeymoon?”

That comment made Tim’s cheeks rosy. He cleared his throat. “Can the wedding talk, Ethan. I’m a long way from being ready for anything like that.” He cast a sidelong glance at the table where Dawn had deposited the hopeful other woman. “Especially lately.”

“Then again,” Nora piped up, “you never know. The perfect woman might be right under your nose and you just won’t admit it.”

T
im had given his mother’s comment about recognizing the right woman more consideration than he liked during the following week. He couldn’t seem to get the notion out of his head. The only suitable candidate he could imagine in any scenario was Dawn Leroux.

Admittedly, he and Dawn came from diverse backgrounds, yet she was intelligent and open-minded. Perhaps, if he gave her a more in-depth view of his life away from the office, they could tell if their relationship had potential. It was worth a try. All he had to do was come up with something they could do together that was indicative of his interests without being business-oriented.

Days later, he was still mulling over the problem. The amazing thing was how little he actually did that wasn’t somehow tied to Hamilton Media. Finally, he settled on golf. It was a nonthreatening
pastime and would get them out of their usual haunts without giving Dawn the impression he was actually courting her. If and when the time came for getting serious, he’d ask her out on real dates. For now, a turn on the golf course would be fun, and since she’d never played before, he’d have the opportunity to teach her about the game, too.

The ideal occasion was coming up in a little over two weeks, Tim realized. There was a local tournament on the schedule at the country club where he always played. That would do. He’d casually mention the event to Dawn and see what her reaction was before making solid plans.

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 inter
ested 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?”