|
COMMON GROUND
It
was just about midnight and there were still lights on in the dining
room of Llanview’s Palace Hotel.
Owner Renee Divine, formerly Mrs. Asa Buchanan, sat at one of the
empty tables reviewing the numbers from that night’s business and
adding up the columns with ease. The hotel and restaurant turned a nice profit for her, but
the money they brought in was nothing compared to the cash she once
generated as an upscale high-priced madam.
The
hushed murmur of a male voice drew Renee’s attention to the other side
of the dining room. Her grandson Kevin Buchanan sat quietly entertaining a
beautiful female guest. Technically
Kevin was her step-grandson, but Renee had been in and out of Asa’s life for so long that she
considered all the Buchanan children her grandchildren.
Kevin’s
choice of companions made her happy.
Renee knew, though, that after his last disastrous relationship
he would not be receptive to any suggestions she might make on the
subject. Still, she would
do everything in her power to foster Kevin’s growing friendship with
attorney Evangeline Williamson.
Renee
laid her pencil down and made her way across the room.
Kevin and Evangeline took one look at her and began to apologize
profusely. “That’s
enough, you two!” Renee gently chided the pair.
“I didn’t come over here to throw you out.
I just wanted to ask about Clint.”
“He’s
fine,” Kevin replied. “He
wasn’t in London when the terrorist attack occurred.
He and Dallas had gone away for the week.”
“That’s
why no one could reach him at home,” Renee realized.
“Well, now that you know your father is safe you can relax a
while.” The older woman
turned to Evangeline. “Evangeline,
can I rely on you to make my grandson take a few moments for himself?”
Evangeline
flashed Kevin a beautiful smile. “You
can count on me, Renee. I
know how to handle his kind.”
“Oh,
you do, huh?”
Renee
left the pair exchanging playful insults.
She doubted that either Evangeline or Kevin realized that they
were firmly on the road to something magical happening between them.
They had both been so badly burned by dysfunctional partners that
neither one could even hear the word ‘relationship’ without running
for cover.
~Wyndemere,
4 days after the attack ~
|
