Absolutely, Positively

damned ivory tower. You'd have been a vice president today if you'd joined the company when you first came to Seattle.”

    “Not likely,” Harry said. “You and Gilford would have fired me within three months. I would never have fit in around here.”

    “Because you lack the discipline to fit in,” Parker retorted. “That's your problem, Harry. You're too damned arrogant and bullheaded. It's your father's fault. He deliberately turned you against your heritage. It was his way of thumbing his nose at all things Stratton. It was his final revenge against me, that's what it was.”

    “I think we've covered this territory fairly thoroughly in the past.”

    Parker's jaw was rigid. For a moment it looked as though he was prepared to continue the old argument. Then he lounged back in his chair. “What's this I hear about you having a new lady friend?”

    Harry raised his brows. “Word gets around. Her name is Molly Abberwick.”

    “Danielle says she appears to have moved in with you.”

    “She has. For a while.”

    Parker scowled. “You know I don't approve of that kind of thing.”

    “I know.” Harry steepled his fingers. “Let's get back to the subject of Brandon.”

    “There's nothing to discuss. Don't expect me to encourage him in this idiotic scheme to go into business for himself. He has a duty to his family.”

    “Danielle is afraid that you'll disinherit Brandon if he goes off on his own.”

    “I will,” Parker said immediately. “Told him as much the other day.”

    “Skip the threats. Give him your blessing, Parker.”

    “Why the devil should I?”

    “Because he's going to go off on his own, anyway, and because it would be a lot less nerve-wracking for Danielle if you tell her it's okay by you.”

    “Why should I make it any easier for anyone?”

    Harry waited a heartbeat or two until he knew he had Parker's full attention. “You owe Danielle this much.”

    “I owe her? Are you crazy? I've given my daughter everything. Given everyone in the family too damn much. That's half the problem around here. They're all spoiled.” Parker beetled his brows. “What do I owe her?”

    “She helped you save your precious company after your oldest daughter ran off with my father,” Harry said evenly. “She did what my mother was supposed to do for you. She married Dean Hughes. Because of her you got the infusion of cash you needed so badly at the time. And you got the Hughes connections. They were worth even more than the money, weren't they?”

    Parker stared at him, openmouthed, for a few seconds. Then his teeth snapped together. “How dare you imply that I forced Danielle into that marriage! As if I could. This isn't the Middle Ages.”

    “It might as well be, as far as you're concerned. You're still trying to run people's lives as if you were some feudal lord.”

    “I have a right to run a few things around here. I built this company. If it wasn't for me there would be no Stratton Properties, Inc.”

    “You had a little help along the way,” Harry said softly. “Specifically from your daughter Danielle. She stepped into the breach when my mother ran off with my father. You owe her, Parker.”

    “I don't owe her a damn thing.”

    “You owe her big time, and you know it. She endured a hellish marriage for the sake of the family business. If it hadn't been for her, Stratton Properties would have gone under thirty-five years ago. It's payback time.”

    “What's this sudden concern with whether or not your aunt had a happy marriage? Most people don't have happy marriages, you know.”

    “My parents did,” Harry said softly.

    Parker flushed with rage. “Sean Trevelyan stole my little Brittany from her family. He seduced her, by God. He came like a thief in the night. He took her away from her home and her heritage and everything that was rightfully hers.”

    “And he kept her happy.”

    “He never gave her what she should have had, what she deserved.”

    Harry met his eyes. “If you want to see what would have happened to my mother if she had been married to Dean Hughes for a few years, take a look at Danielle.”

    “How dare you!” Parker roared. “At least she would still be alive.”

    Harry felt as if all the air had suddenly been sucked out of the room.He was too late. They were both dead. And now he was going to die, too. He would never reach the surface in time. Too late. Too late .

    Emotion howled like a cold north wind across his soul. For a