Family Man

Quinnells and Justine had endured over the years in spite of a friendly rivalry between the two growing restaurant chains. When Justine's son, Thornton, had asked Katy's mother, Deborah, to marry him, Justine had made no secret of her satisfaction. She had even broached the possibility of a merger between the two restaurant corporations. Richard Quinnell, who had recently lost his wife, agreed.
    The marriage and the merger had been big news in Seattle's business community. The combined events had filled the papers, and the guest list for the wedding had been impressive.
    When Thornton Gilchrist failed to show up at the church, Justine was deeply ashamed. The Quinnells and the Gilchrists had gone their separate ways after the debacle. Both businesses continued to thrive, but there was no more talk of a merger.
    When Richard Quinnell had collapsed from a heart attack sixteen years ago, his West Coast chain of innovative fast food restaurants had been on the verge of going into the international market.
    Unfortunately, Richard's successor, Katy's father, had not had Quinnell's magic touch when it came to running a business empire. Under Crawford Wade's control the Quinnell chain had floundered, eventually going bankrupt.
    “I probably should have been more diplomatic with your grandson.” Katy turned back to the scene outside the window. “But he really annoyed me, Justine.”
    “I can imagine.”
    Katy considered the approach she had taken with Luke, searching for flaws in her plans. It was true she had lost her temper with him, but he had deserved it.
    “You wouldn't believe how he's living,” she said. “He just sits there all alone in that awful old house and makes money day after day. He doesn't even seem to be enjoying it. The place needed painting, and the furniture was old and shabby. As far as I can tell, his only friend is a large, vicious-looking dog.”
    “Good Lord.” Justine sounded genuinely alarmed for the first time. “I do hope he isn't turning into another Howard Hughes. Did you notice if his hair and fingernails were getting overly long?”
    Katy smiled wryly. “Don't worry. He hasn't flipped out completely, at least not as far as I could tell. He needed a haircut, but other than that he looked reasonably normal.”
    For a Gilchrist .
    Hah. Who was she kidding? Katy asked herself silently. She had been fascinated by him. Another of those unsettling little chills of sensual awareness went down her spine at the memory of Luke's sorcerer's eyes and coiled grace. She was still having problems dealing with the realization that he had affected her so strongly.
    For one thing, she simply did not understand her own reaction to him. Never in her wildest dreams would she have envisioned herself attracted to such a man. And she could not believe he had been attracted to her.
    Rumors about his beautiful wife had circulated among the Washington State members of the Gilchrist family at the time of Luke's marriage. Katy had once seen a photograph of the pair in a trade magazine. Luke and Ariel had obviously been perfect for each other, a dark, brooding warlock and his exotic witch of a wife.
    “So his inheritance means nothing to him after all.” Justine rested her head against the back of the chair. “I must admit I had rather hoped to lure him to us with the promise that I would reinstate him in my will and turn complete control of Gilchrist, Inc. over to him.”
    Katy cleared her throat. “I did not exactly offer him Gilchrist, Inc., Justine. To be perfectly honest, I didn't tell him that you were willing to put him back in your will, either.”
    Justine's brows rose slightly. “But I thought that was the whole point of trying the personal approach, my dear. He has steadfastly refused to have anything to do with me, but when he agreed to see you, I was certain we had a foot in the door. He seemed prepared to listen to my proposal delivered through you.”
    “Well, he didn't exactly agree to see me, either,” Katy admitted. “I know I gave you the impression that he had, but the truth was, I got so annoyed with him when he didn't bother to respond to my calls and letters that I just decided to get in the car and drive down to Oregon to confront him.”
    There was a pregnant pause. “I see,” Justine finally murmured. “How did you locate him? All we had was a phone number and a post office box address. Did you hire a private detective?”
    “No. I stopped in the town where he keeps the post