Witchcraft

neither can I give you back everything you threw away twenty-eight years ago."
    "You can give us great-grandchildren," Wesley Marland stated gruffly. "You wouldn't deny us our great-grandchildren, would you, Kim?" Anne asked desperately. "I don't have any to offer you," Kimberly pointed out simply. "Yet," Cavenaugh interjected coolly. She wasn't going to argue with him now. Kimberly was feeling emotionally drained. There wasn't enough energy left over for an argument with Cavenaugh . Besides, there was nothing left to argue about. An awkward silence descended on the table as the four people sitting around it confronted one another and themselves. Then Wesley asked cautiously, "Would it be too much to hope you and Darius will join us for dinner, Kim?" Too much to hope? These proud, wealthy, influential, eminently respectable people had reached the far end of their lives and found themselves reduced to begging for some time with their granddaughter. Twenty-eight years ago they could not possibly have dreamed that it would all turn out this way.
    Twenty-eight years ago they had probably assumed money could buy them anything. They had learned the hard way that it had its limits. It could not buy a meal shared with a granddaughter. They could only hope that the granddaughter would grant it to them. Cavenaugh waited for her answer along with the Marlands . He made no effort to force her into the next step of the fragile relationship. " Cavenaugh and I will have dinner with you," Kimberly said quietly. The relief and gratitude in the proud eyes of her grandparents were eloquent thanks. But it was the satisfaction in Cavenaugh's gaze that roused some of Kimberly's anger and despair. Who did he think he was to play God with her life like this? Sitting next to her, Cavenaugh felt the immense effort of will Kimberly was exercising to maintain a cool, polite facade, and his own sense of foreboding increased. He had been so certain that the way he had chosen to handle the situation was the best, so convinced of the rightness of his instincts in the matter. Now he was not so sure.
    Starke had warned him that women didn't like surprises. Cavenaugh watched Kimberly as she carefully chatted with her grandparents. She was behaving very civilly now, although there was not yet any sign of her relaxing. There was even an occasional smile. It was almost painful to see how eagerly the Marlands greeted the faint hints of Kimberly's softened mood. They couldn't be any more grateful than he was, Cavenaugh thought as he finished his drink. For a while there he thought he'd set a match to a powder keg. Now, although the threat of immediate explosion seemed to have passed, he knew he was still dealing with a woman on a very short fuse. She wasn't used to having someone else in her life, he assured himself as they all rose to go into dinner in the hotel dining room. Kim was so damned independent, so accustomed to making her own decisions without any input from people who cared, that it was probably difficult for her to adjust to what he had done tonight. But she was an intelligent, sensitive woman and she would understand that he'd handled this the only way he could. Ultimately, Cavenaugh decided as he ate his trout mousse, Kim would relax and accept the situation. Afterall , just look how much progress had already been made. Here she was communicating quite politely, if a little stiffly, with people she had once sworn to never even contact. But even as he tried to cheer himself with that thought, Cavenaugh couldn't shake his own sense of apprehension. He was both thankful and wary as the evening drew to a close. "I want both of you to feel free to visit us at the winery soon," Cavenaugh said as he shook Wesley Marland's hand in farewell. "Thank you," his wife answered gratefully. "We'd like that very much." She looked uncertainly at Kim, obviously not sure how to say good-bye to her newfound granddaughter. Cavenaugh realized he was holding his breath but he needn't have worried. Kimberly hesitated and then leaned forward to quickly kiss her grandmother's pale cheek. Mrs. Marland patted her awkwardly on the shoulder and then turned away with tears in her eyes. "You've made her very happy, Kim," Wesley Marland said quietly. "We shall always be grateful for your generosity tonight."
    "Don't thank me," Kimberly said. "Thank Cavenaugh . It was all his doing." Marland shook his head. "He set things up but you're the one who made it work. Good night,