A Billionaire's Redemption - By Cindy Dees Page 0,34
attack dog. Is Cujo for sale, do you suppose?” On a more serious note, she added, “Oh, and I’ve got a charity thing tonight.”
“What charity thing?”
“Vengeance Ladies’ Auxiliary Annual Ball and Auction. Raises money for some scholarship fund or other.”
Gabe made a face. She privately shared the sentiment, but habit prevented her from agreeing aloud. She was all for helping charities, but sending the child of an already wealthy auxiliary member to college tuition-free wasn’t exactly her idea of a worthy cause. She would feel better if the money went to a homeless shelter or battered women’s support group. She knew firsthand just how hurt and confused and terrified women could feel after being attacked by a man they’d trusted.
“I guess I’ll have to dust off my tuxedo, then.” Gabe sighed.
“Excuse me?”
“I’m going with you.”
Her jaw dropped. Gabe Dawson never showed up at these local charity affairs. He was infamous for his steadfast refusal to participate in the Vengeance social scene. The charity-minded ladies of the auxiliary would dearly love to get their claws into his billions...not only for their pet charities, but also for themselves.
“Why would you subject yourself to such a thing?” she asked, flabbergasted.
“If you think I’m letting you out of my sight any time soon, you’re sadly mistaken, Miss Merris.”
“But the break-ins only happen at night. You must need to rest after all the excitement last night. And you do have a life of your own. A company to run. I’ll be fine.”
“You’re not fine,” he disagreed. He didn’t raise his voice or sound in any way angry, but he made it clear he wasn’t standing for any arguments. Her father could be stubborn the same way. She’d never bothered to fight with him, but she tried with Gabe, anyway. “Aren’t you worried about what people will say if you finally show up at one of these events? They’re going to expect you to donate a lot of money to their cause.”
He shrugged. “I don’t care what anyone says, and I’ll give my money to whomever I please. Though their little scholarship fund for one of their own isn’t high on my list of worthwhile charities.”
“You have a list?” she asked in surprise.
He looked abruptly uncomfortable. “Yes, actually.”
She planted her elbows on the table, fascinated. Gabe Dawson did charity work? “Do tell.”
“I support a women and children’s shelter in Dallas. And I fund a food bank for senior citizens. It’s also a pet food bank so the elderly won’t feed their pets their own food and go hungry themselves. Oh, and I built the Vengeance library building.”
That raised her brows. The anonymous donor was widely thought to have been her father, and John Merris had let people make the assumption without correcting them.
“Why a library?” she asked curiously.
“Books gave me an escape from the bad times in my life. And they showed me there was a big, wide world out there waiting to be experienced.” He shrugged. “They taught me to dream bigger than Vengeance.”
Huh. Who’d have guessed Gabe Dawson was a closet bookworm?
He continued, “Of course, I build schools in every place Dawson Exploration drills in for oil. They’re pretty well publicized, though. My company’s PR people have a field day with those projects.”
“Why schools?”
“I figure if we’re removing one natural resource from an area, we should replace it with a more valuable one. And what’s more valuable than education?”
“Hey, I’m a teacher. You’re singing to the choir.”
“And then I own an elephant sanctuary.”
“Elephants?” she exclaimed.
“We rescue them from zoos and circuses, mostly. And give elderly elephants somewhere to retire in peace. We help them form family bonds. For many of them, it’s the first time they’ve ever been with another elephant. Did you know they make friends with each other and are inseparable from their BFFs?”
Willa studied Gabe’s face with interest. He was animated and happy when talking about the elephants and books and his schools. The guy truly cared about his various causes. This wasn’t the coldhearted shark she’d grown up hearing vilified by everyone in Vengeance.
“Since when did you become such an avid philanthropist?” she asked.
“It takes having money to give it away. Melinda got me started, I suppose. Even before I made my first million, she was railing at me to give back to society.”
“She railed at you?”
He smiled wryly. “On a good day. On the bad days, I’d describe it as simple screaming.”
“Is that what broke up your marriage?”
He frowned. “It was a combination of things. I was traveling so