Breath of Scandal(100)
278
Sandra Brown
Breath of Scandal
279
before deciding to tackle another renovation project in Charleston. Jade, working through a realtor in New York, had signed a lease as soon as the house became available.
Cathy would love the sunny kitchen and screened back porch, which would undoubtedly remind her of her house in Morgantown. The deep, tree-shaded backyard was encircled with azalea bushes. Jade had designated one of the upstairs bedrooms as Graham's. He would like the built-in shelves where he could arrange his stereo system.
Enthusiastically, she had described the room to him via long-distance. "It's got three large windows that overlook the front yard and a walk-in closet with so much more space than you've got now. You're going to love it."
He was still feeling some uncertainty and reluctance. It sounds okay, I guess. How far is it from where you , re building the plant?"
"Several miles. Why?"
"Just wondering. Dillon said maybe I could come out there sometime."
Dillon had been introduced to Graham in New York when he dropped in at the office one afternoon after school. They had met only one other time, but Graham frequently mentioned the man. Hank was the only adult male Graham was close to. Jade reasoned that his idol worship of Dillon was harmless, as long as it went no further. Although Dillon Burke was exactly what she needed to build TexTile, she wasn't certain that he was a suitable role model for her impressionable son, especially since Dillon might be looking to replace the son he had lost.
She knew more about Dillon than he suspected. Besides herself, the contractor would be the most important individual on the project. During the two-week interval between their meeting in Los Angeles and his appearance in New York, Jade had utilized GSS's wealth of resources to delve into his background, hoping to prove that her instincts about him were right.
She now knew about his troubled childhood, the time he had spent in a detention center, and his college career. She knew about Pilot Engineering Enterprises and his difficulties
with the new management after it was acquired. The tragic deaths of his wife and child explained his cynicism. She had learned from former employers who remembered him that he was an exceptional but wasted talent.
When she had asked him for references, it had been to test his integrity. His truthfulness had convinced her that she had made the right choice. He had personal reasons for wanting to tackle this project. They weren't as strong as hers, but they were powerful in their own right. If he hadn't shown up in New York, she would have returned to L.A. and sought him out.
It was decided that Graham and Cathy would stay in New York until Graham completed the school term. If the prospect of seeing Dillon again made him more agreeable to relocating, fine. However, Jade didn't want him to regard Dillon as a playmate. She was confident that once Graham started school in Palmetto next fall, he would make new friends and adjust quickly.
Although he had grown up with two women, he was a well-adjusted boy, without any ambiguities regarding his sexuality. He was four when he had first asked, "Mom, where's my dad?" They had just moved from Morgantown to Charlotte, and Jade had enrolled him in a preschool. He was bright and inquisitive, so it wasn't surprising that, after his first few weeks in the school, he had noticed that his family lacked what all others seemed to have.
do "You don't have a dad," she had gently explained. "You n't need one. You've got Cathy and me, and before he died, you had Poppy. You're very lucky to have this many people who love you so much."
He was temporarily pacified, but the topic came up again after a visit from Hank. "is Hank my dad?"
"No, darling. He's just a dear friend who loves you." Graham's stubborn streak had grown in proportion to the rest of him. The twin bars of his eyebrows drew closer together over the bridge of his nose, and his blue eyes darkened mutinously. "Then who was my dad? I had to have one."
"You had one, but he isn't important."
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Sandra Brown
On the contrary, having a father was extremely important to a seven-year-old. Unlike before, the topic wasn't so easily dismissed. "Are you divorced from him?" he asked. "No. "
"Can he come to see me sometime?" "No.-
"Didn't he like me when I got borned?"
"He wasn't there. Just me. And I loved you enough for ten people. A hundred." By then he had reached an age where hugs were unwelcome, but he had let her hold him in her arms for a long time that night.
There had come a time when he dealt with the problem in his own way, sometimes deviously. It got back to Jade that Graham was spinning tales about a father who died while saving a baby from a burning building-
"Why did you say that, Graham?" She posed the question gently, not as a reprimand-
He shrugged. He was pouty, but his eyes were shimmering with tears he was too manly to shed, having just turned ten
"Do the kids at school tease you about not having a father?"
"Sometimes." Her hopes that Graham wouldn't feel short-changed had been unrealistic. Having only one parent made a difference. Much of her youth had been spent in a single-parent home, but during her formative childhood years her father had been there. After his death, she had photographs and memories of him to sustain her. She had never forgotten their quiet talks together, his warm, encompassing hugs, his goodnight kisses, or his whispering to her," Don't ever be afraid, Jade. "