Lifelong Affair Read Free

small black-haired woman of fifty, filled with a restless energy
that put younger women to shame. 'Alex Hammond called us a short time ago, so
at least we didn't hear that way.
    Alex
Hammond. A picture of a tall dark-haired man with a remote manner, autocratic
features; piercing grey eyes, aquiline nose, thinned lips, determined jaw, and
a lithe athletic body came to mind. Mark's brother, the elder by eight years at
thirty-eight, he ran the family business like a well-oiled cog, had little time
for the rest of the human race, having no wife and apparently no steady woman
in his life either. Morgan had met him only once, at the wedding two
years ago, and she hadn't liked him, not his arrogance or his haughtiness.
    'I
would have telephoned you at the studio,' her mother continued, her voice
showing some sign of strain now. 'But I've been busy with—Your father
collapsed, Morgan,' her voice broke, still a little trembly as she continued.
'He answered the telephone to Mr Hammond, and he seemed all right at the time.
Then he just—he's had a heart attack!'
    This was worse than a nightmare, the whole
world was going
crazy! 'I—Is he  
    'He's
in hospital, but his condition has stabilised,' her mother hastily assured her.
'The doctors are sure he's going to be all right.'
    Tm
coming hom e        '
    No!
Morgan, I told Alex Hammond we would be coming to you—that was before
your father collapsed, of course. He said he would get in touch again when he
knew anything more than that Glenna and Mark were on the plane.' The line went
silent for several minutes, as her mother fought for control. 'He was expecting
to know more later today.'
    Alex Hammond would be
the type of man who demanded, not asked for, that information. And he had such
a presence of authority that he would get the answers too!
    'I'd
rather come home. Mr Hammond will realise I'm there when he gets no answer
here.'
    'I'm
not at home, Morgan,' her mother told her softly. 'I'm going to stay at the
hospital with your father tonight.'
    'Are
you sure there's no danger? Morgan asked sharply, wondering if her mother was
telling her everything.
    'The
doctors assure me there isn't,' she was hastily assured. 'But I'd rather be
with him tonight. Please stay in Los Angeles and wait for Mr Hammond to contact
you. I'd hate for us to miss his call.'
    Her
mother was right, she knew she was, and yet she felt she should go to her
lather. But if Alex Hammond should telephone while she was in tran sit . ..! 'I'll wait, Mom,' she said softly.
'And I'll call you at the hospital as soon as I know anything.' There was only
one hospital in the small California town her parents lived in. 'Give Dad my
love.'
    'I
will, dear. And don't worry, things could still be all right with Glenna and
Mark.'
    She
couldn't move after putting down the receiver. Her mother was being optimistic,
and they both knew it. Glenna was going to be dead, Mark too, and their poor
little baby that hadn't even begun to live. And no matter how light her mother
made of the heart attack she knew her father was gravely ill.
    'I thought I heard the telephone           '
    With
a strangled cry she turned and flung herself into Sam's waiting arms, a dam
seeming to burst as she sobbed it all out to him, finding comfort in his lean
strength as he led her back to the lounge, holding her close against his chest
as she sat close beside him on the corner unit.
    'She
was so beautiful, Sam,' she choked, her tears
    having
wet his shirt front. 'I can't believe she's dead— and in that way. No
wonder Dad took it so hard, she shuddered.
    'I
know, honey. I know,' he soothed, smoothing back her hair with a gentle hand,
surprisingly so considering their size and strength. Tall and slender as she
was, Sam made her feel cherished and cared for, his manners were always without
fault, never too forward, but always friendly.
    'You
never met Glenna, did you?' she mumbled into his shirt.
    'I've
seen her in the movies. She was beautiful,'