The Hamilton Heir Page 13

  Thoughts of failing made him clench his teeth and focus on his family. He waved goodbye to Richard, tossed his golf bag into the trunk of his car and slammed the lid closed. Maybe he’d swing by the hospital and say hello to his father before he went home, instead of coming back later during visiting hours.

  The vision of Wallace’s deteriorating condition made his stomach clench. Every time Tim saw the once-virile man in that hospital bed it was harder to take. After the experiences of the past few months, just walking in the door of Community General and smelling the antiseptic air made him ill.

  Tim took a deep breath and steeled himself. There were many things he didn’t relish doing, yet duty forced him to face them head-on. This wasn’t a game like golf, it was a real life-or-death battle. Tim knew no one lived forever but he couldn’t get his mind around the concept of his father’s eventual death. It was simply unacceptable.

  Driving away from the golf course, Tim dialed his mother’s cell phone number. She answered on the first ring.

  “Are you at the hospital?”

  “Yes. I’ve been here since right after church. Heather and Amy were, too, but they left.”

  “I’ll be there in about fifteen minutes. How’s Dad doing?”

  He could tell by the muted sound that Nora had cupped her hand around the receiver’s mouthpiece. “Better, I think. Dr. Strickland gave him something to help him sleep. He’s so weak, but he won’t quit fighting to stay awake.”

  “Do you think it would be better if I visited later?”

  “Probably.”

  Tim’s conscience knotted, arguing that it was wrong to be glad of the reprieve. “Okay,” he said. “How about you? Are you going home soon? Can I take you out for Sunday dinner?”

  “Not today, honey,” Nora said. “I’m just going to rest here until your father wakes up.”

  Tim had assumed those would be her plans but had felt compelled to ask. “Call me when he’s up to having company, will you? I want to tell him how well the get-together at Opryland went last night.”

  “Good news only, I hope. It would be hard on him to hear otherwise.”

  “Very good. Everything’s fine. He’ll be pleased.”

  “What about your date? Did that go well, too?”

  “It wasn’t a date,” Tim argued. “I simply took my executive assistant with me to help her get acquainted with some of the board members and important stockholders.”

  “Of course you did, dear. Heather tells me the dress she and Dawn picked out was sort of silvery.”

  “Heather must be color-blind. It was blue, the same as Dawn’s eyes.” He thought he heard his mother snicker. “What’s so funny?”

  “You are,” Nora said. “You’re so busy trying to fill your father’s shoes, you’re overlooking the part of him I love the most—his zest for living. If he were really the consummate business tycoon you seem to think he was, he’d have had a booming media company and that’s all.”

  “Meaning?” Tim swung his car onto Highway 24, headed north.

  “Meaning, where do you think you children came from, baskets on our doorstep?”

  Tim refrained from mentioning Jeremy’s origins even though that was the first thought that popped into his head. Instead, he turned the erstwhile maternal lecture into a joking exchange by saying, “I don’t know about myself, Mom, but I’ve often wondered if you got Melissa from some passing vagabonds. She sure has the wanderlust.”

  “Melissa will be fine. She was raised right and she’ll remember that eventually,” Nora said. “I’m proud of all my children. You’re individuals but you’re still a family. I’d admire you kids even if we weren’t related.”

  Even the black sheep among us? Tim wondered. Undoubtedly. Nora was a better person than he was. That notion made him smile. Of course she was. Mothers were supposed to be models of proper behavior, even if they slipped now and then.

  He said, “Thanks, Mom. I’m passing the off-ramp to the hospital. You sure you don’t want to go grab a bite with me while Dad’s sleeping?”

  “No, thanks. I’m fine. I may stop off at Northside on my way home tonight. They’re having a potluck.”

  “So Dawn said.”

  “Oh? Are you going?”

  “I hadn’t planned on it.”

  “Why don’t you come? You can pick me up so I won’t have to drive.”

  “You’re a better driver than I am,” Tim countered.

  “True. I haven’t damaged any cars lately. I just thought, if I could count on you to take me over there, I wouldn’t have to worry about dozing off at the wheel. I really am beat.”

  “I know you are.” Tim was penitent. “All right. What time do you want me to come and get you?”

  “A little before six will be fine. At the house. And Tim? Stop off at the grocery store and pick up some bags of chips or something like that, will you? Vera Mae has the day off so I can’t ask her to fix anything and we don’t want to show up empty-handed.”

  “Okay.” He sighed noisily. “I need to give back your necklace, anyway. I’ll see you around five-thirty, quarter to six.”

  “Fine. After church we can come visit your father together.”

  “Church?” His brow knit. “I thought you said we were going there for a meal.”

  “We are. There’ll just be a short service first. It won’t kill you.”

  “It might,” he grumbled. “If the roof caves in because I’m there, I won’t be responsible.”

  His mother laughed warmly. “I’ll take my chances.”

  Dawn had volunteered to help in the kitchen so she wasn’t in the sanctuary to see Tim arrive. The first she heard of it was when Gabi rushed up to her and announced the surprising news.

  “He’s here!” Gabi shouted, crossing the fellowship hall at a trot and pointing. “Right out there, big as life.”

  Dawn frowned. “Who is?”

  “Tim Hamilton, that’s who.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  Gabi pressed her hand to her throat and struck a pose of innocence. “I do not kid about things like that. He just walked in.”

  “I’d better go welcome him, then.” She started to untie her apron.

  “He’s not alone. He’s with his mother,” Gabi said, handing two bulging plastic grocery sacks to one of the other workers. “They gave me these.”

  “Oh.” Dawn felt deflated. “I thought maybe he came because I invited him.”

  “Maybe he did. Who knows? At least he’s here.”

  “That’s true.” She eyed the sacks. “One thing is for sure. Tim bought that stuff. He’s big on over-supply. Which reminds me. I have new hairbrushes for the girls and you. Lots of them. I left them in Tim’s car but I’m sure he’ll return them to me.”

  “Hairbrushes?”

  Dawn was sorry she’d mentioned the brushes because that meant she’d have to confess what had happened to her fancy hairdo. “It’s a long story. I felt funny with my hair up so I decided to take it down—sorry—only I didn’t have a brush with me. Tim went into a store to buy me one and came out with dozens of them.” She smiled. “It was kind of sweet, actually. He said he wanted me to have a choice.”

  “Sounds like a guy who can’t make up his mind to me.”

  “Cynic.”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Look at all the chips he bought.”

  “They’ll be put to good use. What we don’t eat tonight we can serve to the youth group as snacks when they meet. See? God provided.”

  “No, Tim Hamilton provided. I refuse to believe that God has any influence over that man.”

  Sobering, Dawn sighed before she said, “I sure hope you’re wrong about that. I truly do.”

  Dawn fidgeted for the entire twenty-five minutes it took for Pastor Abernathy to address the congregation, ask the blessing on the food and dismiss everyone to eat. Although she’d assured herself she’d play it cool when she saw Tim, she broke into a silly, elated grin the moment she spotted him.

  “Do
wn, girl,” Gabi warned.

  “Oh, hush. I’m not going to do anything stupid.”

  “Don’t count on it. I doubt most folks would look that pleased if the President of the United States walked in and grabbed a plate.”

  Dawn had to agree. This was the first time she’d seen Tim dressed casually. Even during his visit to Stuart’s, when he’d removed his jacket and tie to make it easier to stage the war, he’d still started out looking like a high-powered executive.

  Tonight, however, in keeping with the more relaxed atmosphere of the evening service, he was wearing khaki slacks and a polo shirt. Dawn assumed that Nora must have told him about the unwritten dress code for the evening service because she couldn’t imagine Tim going anywhere without a necktie.

  Wearing a tie had always looked uncomfortable and seemed silly to her, especially in hot weather. In that respect, women were far more liberated than men, weren’t they? If they didn’t want to wear a stiff collar and knot a piece of fabric around their necks like a noose, they simply didn’t do it.

  The parishioners formed a line and slowly filed past the buffet-style arrangement of food. Dawn, Gabi and three others waited aside, ready to remove an empty dish and replace it with another that hadn’t fit on the crammed serving tables initially.

  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.”

  Chapter Twelve

  Tim 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.