that."
It didn't surprise Kathryn that Ron's wife was acutely aware of any social slights. That was the kind of thing a woman would be more concerned about than a man.
"I think it's natural for a father to want the best for his daughter, especially since you're his only child."
"He probably wanted a son instead."
Kathryn supposed that was a big worry for every girl in a family without boys. When you were the only child, it had to be even more troubling. "I don't know if your father misses having a son, but he's never said anything that would indicate he isn't perfectly happy with you."
"He'd want a son to go into business with him."
"Women are rising to all levels in business these days. Your father said women had given him some of his hardest fights."
"He never talks business with me. He only wants to know who my friends are and what parties I've been to. Thank goodness I won't have to deal with a debutante ball now."
"There's no reason you can't still make your debut."
"I don't want to."
"Have you told your father?"
"Yes, but he won't listen to me. He says I'm too young to know what's best for me."
"You're not too young to know what you want in this case. I think he ought to consider your wishes."
"Will you talk to him?"
"Sure."
"Do you think he'll come back when he said?"
Kathryn wasn't willing to share her own doubts with Cynthia. "You know your father better than I do."
"Daddy's usually very good about keeping his word - Margaret says you can swear by it - but nobody's ever asked him to miss a meeting."
"Or possibly lose a big deal."
"Yeah," Cynthia added, clearly not encouraged by that thought. "What he needs is something more important to him than this deal."
"What he needs is something that's more important to him than his work. Your baby might be that. Some men are crazy about their grandchildren."
"He's not going to get his hands on my baby," Cynthia cried, suddenly very upset. "This is my baby."
All the warning signs Kathryn had observed earlier sprang to mind. There was something wrong here, and she had to find out what it was.
"What he needs is a wife," Cynthia said. "Do you think you can find somebody to marry him?"
Kathryn was certain her laugh sounded forced. "I run a shelter for young women, not a dating service for their fathers."
"He dates all the time. I'm talking about someone who'll marry him. It shouldn't be hard to find somebody. He's good-looking and rich. Leigh says he doesn't even look old. Don't you know some nice woman would like him well enough to go out with him?"
Kathryn didn't want to tell Cynthia how easy it would be for a woman to like her father very much. Neither did Cynthia need to know Kathryn found her father so attractive she temporarily forgot that though they seemed to have a lot in common they disagreed on most fundamental matters.
Kathryn got up to refill her coffee cup. "Your father will remarry when he's ready."
"Not if he never stops working."
"I'm sure he meets lots of women in his work."
"Not the kind I'd want him to marry. He needs somebody who'll take care of him, somebody who's not interested in him becoming the most famous businessman in the world. He needs someone like you."
Kathryn didn't like shocks, especially when she was pouring hot coffee. They were unpleasant and caused her heart to beat uncomfortably fast.
"A woman like me wouldn't know what to do with a man like your father."
"Why not?"
"Well first of all, he travels all over the world all the time. I prefer to stay close to home. He doesn't seem to need friends and family. I think friends and family are very important."
"But you don't have any friends and you hardly ever see your family."
Kathryn looked down at her coffee as she stirred in the artificial creamer. "I wasn't talking about myself."
"You said you thought - "
"That was a slip of the tongue."
"I think you'd be perfect for him. You're beautiful, smart and you know how to meet important people. That's just the kind of wife he needs."
"That may be, but I'm not the wife he needs." Kathryn picked up her cup and came back to the table. "Besides, we have some fundamental disagreements about what things are important in life. Starting with you and your baby."
"If he got married, he wouldn't have time to worry about me and the baby. Besides, he'd probably