Eclipse Bay

descended on him.
    “Daddy, wait until you see the maze I built.”
    “Daddy, Daddy, I want to show you my picture.”
    Brad crouched to greet his children and the family cat. There was genuine pleasure on his face.
    Hannah watched the intimate little family ritual of greeting daddy and was horrified when she detected a hint of dampness on her own lashes. She blinked hurriedly and looked away. What was wrong with her today? At this rate she would soon be an emotional basket case. She had to get a grip on herself. Pamela was watching her with gathering concern.
    “Are you okay?” Pamela pitched her voice below the hubbub taking place in the front hall. “Something wrong?”
    “No, of course not. I’m fine.” Hannah took a long, reviving swallow of tea. “I’ve been a little tense since the scene with Rafe this morning, that’s all. I’ve got to do something about the problem of Dreamscape, Pam. The situation is a mess. It has to be resolved.”
    It was Brad who responded. He wandered into the living room, Rose and Mark bobbing around his legs. “From what I heard this afternoon, Rafe Madison has his own plans for Dreamscape. What’s going on? Are you going to sell him your half of the house?”
    “He isn’t offering to buy it,” Hannah said dryly. “He’s proposing a partnership.”
    Brad considered that. “Maybe he can’t afford to buy out your half.”
    “From what I can tell, money is not a problem for Rafe,” Hannah said.
    Brad met her eyes. “Then what’s the issue? Pamela has told me something about the history of the Hartes and the Madisons. I got the impression that there was no love lost between the two clans.”
    “I’ll admit that we haven’t socialized much in the past three generations.”
    “Why would Rafe Madison want to get involved in a business partnership with you?” Brad asked.
    “Beats me.” Hannah decided it was time to change the subject. “How’s tricks with you, Brad?”
    “As a matter of fact, I have some good news. I got a call from the director of the institute this morning. He offered me the joint appointment. I start the first of the month.”
    “Yahoo!” Pamela leaped off the recliner and threw her arms around Brad. “Congratulations! I knew you’d get it.”
    Brad grinned at Hannah over Pamela’s head. “I think I may have had a little help from my friends. Rumor has it that Perry Decatur mysteriously withdrew his objection to the appointment.”
    “That little S.O.B.” Pamela made a face. “I knew he was the one who was holding up the process. He’s jealous as all get-out. He’s afraid you’re going to show him up for the lightweight he is once you’re on the faculty there. Which you will, of course. Wonder what made him back off?”
    “Why don’t you ask Hannah?”
    Pamela swung around, a hundred questions in her eyes. “What’s going on?”
    “Not much,” Hannah said mildly. “Perry asked me to attend the Thornley reception last night. He wanted to impress everyone at the institute with his contacts. You get the picture.”
    “Got it,” Brad said. “The Hartes are one of the most important families in town. Having a representative from the family there last night would have been a coup for Decatur.”
    “As it happened,” Hannah continued, “I discovered that a former Weddings by Harte client was also scheduled to attend the reception. Perry was angling to get him to endow a research fund at the institute.”
    “Tom Lydd,” Brad said.
    Hannah nodded. “You are good. Something tells me you’ll go far at the institute.”
    “And you had a word with Lydd, I take it?”
    “All I did was mention that I knew the institute’s selection committee had your name under consideration for a joint appointment and that you would make a wonderful addition to the faculty. Tom Lydd took it from there.”
    Brad exhaled deeply. “Decatur must have blown a gasket.”
    Pamela slapped a palm across her own mouth and then exploded with laughter. “A classic Harte tactical maneuver. Your folks would be so proud of you.”
    “I owe you,” Brad said to Hannah. He looked serious.
    “No, you don’t.” She grinned, feeling somewhat cheered for the first time since the scene at Dreamscape that morning. “Perry Decatur owed me for something that happened eight years ago. It was payback time.”
    Brad shook his head. “You Hartes sure do have long memories.”
    Hannah wasn’t sure that he meant it as a compliment.

    She drove back to the