Sweet Fortune

father-and-son team. We didn't get along.” Hatch shoved aside the memories of the weak, whining, bitterly angry man who had raised him. “Not that I was a model son, you understand. I was in trouble from the time I was nine years old. At any rate, when I left home, I lied about my age and found work on a ranch in California. Dad died in a car accident two years later.”
    “Then what happened?” She was riveted now.
    “I went back to Oregon, sold the ranch, and used the money to pay off the bank. The place was buried in debt. My father was not much of a businessman. Hell, he wasn't much of anything. After he died I told myself I was going to prove him wrong.”
    “About what?”
    Hatch studied his thick, dark coffee. “He had a habit of telling me I was never going to amount to anything.”
    “Well, he was certainly wrong about that, wasn't he?” Jessie's eyes flickered briefly to the gold-and-steel watch on his left wrist.
    Hatch smiled grimly. “I guess you could say that everything I am today I owe to my old man.”
    “What about your mother? Is she still alive?
    “Yes.”
    Jessie chewed thoughtfully on her lower lip. “Ever see her?”
    “Not much.” Hatch swallowed another bite of cereal. “I call her every Christmas.”
    “That's not very often, Hatch.”
    Her reproachful eyes refueled his irritation. “For God's sake, Jessie, let the subject drop, will you? It's none of your business, but the fact is, she's no more interested in hearing from me than I am in hearing from her. She built a whole new life for herself back East. She's got two more sons, both lawyers, and a man who makes her a lot happier than Dad ever did.”
    “But what about you?”
    “I haven't been real fond of her since she walked out and left me alone with that sonofabitch she married the first time around.” Hatch shrugged.
    “She should have taken you with her.”
    “Yeah, well, she didn't. I probably reminded her too much of my old man. Jessie, I do not want to discuss this any further. Is that clear?”
    “Yes.”
    Hatch took a deep breath and made another grab for his self-control. His past was not one of his favorite topics. He glanced at his watch. “I'd better get moving. Got an early-morning meeting with the site manager on the Portland project.” He stood up, automatically checking his pockets for keys and wallet. “See you this evening. I'll probably be home around seven-thirty or eight.”
    “Home? Are you talking about here?”
    “Right.”
    “Now, wait just a minute, Hatch. I've got plans for today. Maybe for tonight too. You can't just move in on me.”
    “Sorry, Jessie. I'm in a rush. Haven't got time to argue.” He took one stride that brought him around the end of the counter, kissed her lightly on the forehead before she could protest, and then headed for the door.
    “Dammit, Hatch. Just because you spent last night here does not mean you're going to make a habit of it. Do you hear me?” She was on her feet, coming after him.
    “We'll talk about it later, Jessie.”
    “Oh, yeah? Well, I've got news for you. I don't serve dinner after eight o'clock at night. If you come here that late, don't expect to get fed.”
    “I'll bear that in mind.” He gently closed the door behind him, cutting her off in mid-tirade.
    He paused a moment, smiling a little as he heard her slam the dead bolt home. Then he went down the stairs feeling reasonably satisfied. Small battles won here and there led to major victories.
    At least he was now fairly certain he finally had her full attention.
    Jessie might not want to admit it, but the fact that he had spent the night on her couch was a turning point in their relationship. It added a whole new layer of intimacy to things. The very fact that she had not awakened him and kicked him out last night said a lot. Probably a lot more than she wanted to acknowledge.
    Sharing the adventure of the break-in at three o'clock this morning was another binding clause, however unplanned, in the contract he was forging.
    All in all, Hatch decided as he walked outside and got into the Mercedes, the business of courting Jessie Benedict was finally starting to come on-line. He sensed success in the offing.
    This was one merger he was definitely looking forward to consummating.

    Jessie studied the notes she had made on the pad in front of her as she listened over the phone to David rattling off the information he had managed to dig up at Butterfield College.
    “Good luck with