Family Man

she wanted him a year ago.”
    Katy smiled wryly. “Believe me, I haven't forgotten.”
    Maureen peered at her. “Good Lord. You're not still upset about that unfortunate business, are you?”
    “No, Maureen. I'm not upset.”
    “I should think not. You must be reasonable, my dear. Eden thought she was in love.”
    “And that says it all, doesn't it? Nothing gets in the way of a Gilchrist who has her heart set on something.”
    Maureen drew herself up. “If you ask me, Eden is quite right. You were the lucky one. It was my daughter who suffered. That dreadful man married her solely because she was a Gilchrist.”
    “It does appear that was a factor,” Katy agreed dryly.
    “He thought that by marrying her he could get his hands on a chunk of the company. He used my daughter.”
    “Yes, I think that's a fair assessment of the situation.” Katy tilted her head and gazed thoughtfully at Maureen. “But Eden knows that as well as anyone. She said something just yesterday about the way Nate used her. There's no reason to think she would take him back.”
    “But she's apparently seeing him again.”
    “You don't know that for certain.”
    Maureen shook her head. “Something is going on. I know it is.”
    “Even if it is, what do you expect me to do about it?”
    “I want you to stop Nate Atwood from whatever it is he has in mind.”
    Katy stared at her. “Stop him? Me? How on earth am I supposed to do that?”
    “It's quite simple. A man like that understands only one thing. Money. I want you to go to him and offer him a large sum of money to stay away from my daughter.”
    Stunned, Katy stepped back swiftly and collided with a white pedestal. The green and orange bowl on top swayed precariously and started to topple.
    Maureen shrieked in dismay. Her hand went to her throat. “Catch it before it falls.”
    Katy whirled around and stretched out her hands. The bowl fell straight into her arms. She breathed a sigh of relief and set it carefully back on the pedestal. “Sorry about that.”
    “My God, that's one of Hayden's finest pieces. Be careful, Katy. I've got a five-thousand-dollar price on that bowl.”
    “Five thousand? Maybe you could just offer Nate a few of these bowls instead of cash.”
    Maureen nodded seriously. “It's a possibility. The thing is, I don't know how much it will take to make him go away. He is a very greedy man, and he got virtually nothing out of Gilchrist at the time of the divorce.”
    “Thanks to Justine's lawyers. Maureen, if you think there's real problem with Nate, why don't you go to Justine and tell her?”
    Maureen's eyes widened. “Are you mad? She would be furious with all of us if she thought Atwood was still a problem. She hasn't forgiven Eden for marrying him in the first place.”
    Katy sighed. “I know.”
    Maureen closed her eyes in brief anguish. “Nor has she let Hayden and me forget that she blames us for not putting a stop to the relationship before it led to marriage. That old witch will probably never forgive or forget.”
    “Typical Gilchrist,” Katy said with a poor attempt at a smile.
    “This is not funny, Katy. I am scared to death of what might happen if Nate Atwood gets his hooks back in my daughter. It would be the final straw as far as Justine is concerned. She might disown all of us.”
    “Oh, come now, Maureen, she's not going to disown ninety percent of her family.”
    “Why not? She doesn't need any of us now that she has her precious bastard grandson. She's made it clear she would rather have him than us anyway.”
    “It's the prodigal son syndrome. Luke was the one she didn't have, so she focused on him. But that doesn't mean she wants to disown the rest of you.”
    Maureen gave a soft, despairing exclamation. “She'd do it if she got sufficiently angry, Katy. She's disowned family before. She'd do it again.”
    Katy frowned. “Are we talking about what happened when she kicked Luke's parents out of the fold?”
    “Yes. You weren't even born. But I had just gotten engaged to Hayden. I was there that day at the wedding when Luke's father failed to show. I saw how angry Justine was. I have never seen such rage, not even in another Gilchrist.”
    Katy bit her lip. “I guess it must have been a dreadful scene.”
    “Just as dreadful as the scene she made a month later when Thornton brought Cleo to the mansion. He wanted to introduce her to Justine and the rest of us.” Maureen lowered herself onto the small white bench near the