Along with the catfish fillets, Megan served hush puppies, crowder peas and baked potatoes. While the three of them ate, the young girl chatted animatedly of the life she’d left in Dallas.
“Our house there wasn’t nearly as big and nice as this one,” Megan went on, “but it was okay with me. Mom said she never did like this house, anyway. It was too ostentatious for her taste. Whatever that word means. But personally, I’m beginning to like it. I mean, Grandfather Joseph was an oilman. He might as well have lived high on the hog.”
Joe cleared his throat loudly and leveled a stern look at his daughter. “It’s true your grandfather made a lot of money, Megan, but he spent much more than he should have. That should be a lesson to you.”
Megan turned a pitifully innocent look on her father. “Well, he didn’t die broke! And at least he knew how to enjoy himself.” She glanced at Savanna and smiled mischievously. “My grandfather had a reputation of being Oklahoma City’s J. R. Ewing.”
Joe, who’d just taken a drink of water, coughed in earnest. “Megan, I want you to quit this exaggerating in front of Savanna! Your grandfather was nothing like J. R. Ewing. Besides, you’re way too young to have even seen that TV show.”
Megan shook her head at him. “We watched the reruns all the time and Mom took me out to the real ranch they used for the Ewing spread. I told all the other tourists there that my daddy was an oilman, too.”
Even though Megan had spoken with a great amount of pride, Savanna fully expected Joe to explode. When he didn’t, she ventured a glance at the end of the table and was surprised to see him shaking his head with wry resignation.
“I give up, Megan. Go ahead and tell Savanna my bank balance and anything else about our family that you think might interest her.”
Megan giggled as she bit into a crusty hushpuppy. “Oh, Daddy, you’re so funny. I don’t know how much money you have in the bank. And even if I did, I wouldn’t tell Savanna, ’cause I don’t think she cares about that sort of thing. She’s too nice.”
He turned a dry, almost comical look on Savanna. “My daughter doesn’t realize you have a nose problem.”
Savanna laughed softly and wrinkled her nose at him. “I’m not that nosy, Joe.”
“Maybe she’d rather hear about how Grandfather Joseph threatened to write you out of the will when you married Mom?” Megan eagerly suggested, her brown curls bouncing as she scooted to the edge of her seat.
Savanna turned arched brows on her boss. “Is that true? Did he really threaten to disinherit you?”
Joe grimaced. “He certainly did. He didn’t want me getting married.”
“Why?” Savanna asked. “Because he didn’t like your ex-wife, or was there some other reason?”
“He thought Mother was a fluff head,” Megan spoke up. “That’s what she always told me. But Daddy was more of a rebel back then and he didn’t care if Grandfather wrote him off all that loot.”
Joe muttered something under his breath, while Savanna had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing at Megan’s colorful explanation.
“I wasn’t a rebel,” Joe informed his daughter. “A rebel is someone who constantly defies authority.”
“Well, maybe you weren’t a rebel,” Megan conceded, “but there was that other time you told him what’s what and went to work for that other oil company. Grandmother said it was the smartest thing you’d ever done.”
Bending his head, Joe closed his eyes and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Megan, if your grandmother McCann said that, then she didn’t know what she was talking about. That particular oil company went broke and I eventually had to go back to McCann’s. So you see, it’s never wise to go against your father’s advice,” he said.
“But fathers can be wrong, Daddy. Grandmother McCann said Joseph wasn’t the god you thought he was.”
Apparently Joe thought his daughter had gone too far this time. Leveling a threatening glare at her, he said with a growl, “It’s a good thing your grandmother doesn’t live around here, otherwise she’d be feeding your head with more nonsense. Now be quiet and eat, young lady.”
Megan obediently snapped her mouth shut, ducked her head, then spoiled the whole effect by looking across to Savanna and giving her a conspiratorial wink.
Chapter Six
After supper Joe excused himself to make a telephone call. With her father out of the way, Megan invited Savanna to her bedroom, where the teenager proudly showed her the collection of posters she had pinned to the wall, a stack of CDs and a closet full of clothes. Once that was finished, Megan decided Savanna needed a tour through the remainder of the house.
As Savanna walked through the large, richly furnished rooms, she was inclined to agree with the former Mrs. McCann. The place was a little too much for her taste. It was all very beautiful, but it certainly didn’t have a warm, inviting feel to it. But then, maybe that was because Joe had lived alone for so long the house had forgotten how to be a home.
In order not to disturb Joe’s phone call, the two of them avoided the small study he used as a home office and eventually wound up in the living room. With her arm still looped through Savanna’s, the teenager guided her toward the fireplace where several photos graced the rock mantel.
Taking one down, she handed it to Savanna. “This was my grandfather Joseph,” she said proudly. “He’s almost as handsome as Daddy, don’t you think? Mom says I have a personality just like him. But I don’t know if that’s true or not. I was only six when he died and I wasn’t around him that much.”
Savanna studied the man standing at the base of a massive oil rig. Like Joe, he was a tall, lean man. Because he was wearing a hard hat, it was impossible to see the color of his hair, but from the look of his tanned complexion she assumed it was similar to Joe’s. His arm was slung casually around the shoulders of the man standing next to him. They were both giving the camera wide, toothy grins, as though they’d just hit pay dirt. She wondered if Joe had ever looked like this. Like a man happy and proud of his accomplishment.
“He was a very handsome man,” Savanna quietly agreed.
Megan took the framed photo and handed her another. “This was Daddy a long time ago when I was just a baby,” Megan explained.
Savanna studied the young Joe in the colored photo. He was a bit thinner, his tawny hair longer on his collar, but the most startling difference apparent to Savanna was his face. There were no obvious lines of stress and fatigue. Even a smile dimpled his lean cheeks.
“What was he doing with this strange-looking truck?” Savanna asked curiously.
“Oh, that’s a seismograph buggy. You see, Daddy is actually a scientist. In that picture he’d been making tests to see if that section of land might have gas or oil beneath it.”
Totally surprised, Savanna looked up at Megan. “Joe is a scientist?”
Megan nodded. “He knows all about seismology and he has a degree in geochemistry. I don’t know exactly what all that is, but I do know that it used to be really important to him. Now he doesn’t do it anymore because Grandfather Joseph died and he had to take over the business part of the drilling company.”
Savanna glanced down at the photo in her hands. Joe certainly looked as if he was in his element here, she thought. “Your father didn’t mention he was a scientist. But then, I’ve only been his secretary for a few days.”
Megan’s young voice was suddenly tinged with sadness. “I’m not surprised. Daddy doesn’t talk about it anymore. He says that part of his life is over.”
Savanna continued to study Joe’s seemingly happy face in the photo. “Hmm. I can’t imagine wasting all that education,” she murmured thoughtfully.
“That’s what Grandmother McCann says. She thinks Daddy would be much happier if he was doing geology work like he used to.”
Savanna handed the photo back to Megan. “And what do you think?”
Megan shrugged, then turned and positioned the photo back on the mantel. “Oh, he doesn’t talk to me about work much.
But then, Daddy’s not a talker. Unless he’s laying down rules I’m supposed to follow, then he goes overboard with the talk. But I know he doesn’t like his job.”
“What makes you say that?”
Megan grimaced. “Because every night he comes home like a bear. He either needs a different job or another wife. But I haven’t figured out how to convince him of that yet.”
Another wife? Savanna couldn’t picture Joe with a woman. At least, not in the family-type way Megan was thinking of. Or was it that she simply didn’t want to think of Joe with a woman?
Shaking the disturbing question out of her mind, Savanna asked, “Would you like to have a stepmother?”
A wide smile spread across the young girl’s face. “Yeah! I’d like to have a brother or sister and since Mom isn’t going to have any more babies it’s all up to Daddy.”
Savanna breathed in deeply and told herself it meant nothing to her if Joe married and had another child. It was none of her business. But the whole idea bothered her. Much more than she ever cared to admit. “Uh, have you told Joe that you’d like to have a brother or sister?”
Giggling impishly, Megan shook her head. “Only that he should get married again. Not the brother or sister part. But when I find the right woman for him I will.”
Before Savanna could even think of a reply to that, Megan latched onto her arm once again and tugged her away from the fireplace. “Let’s go to the kitchen. If you’d like you can make coffee. Daddy probably won’t be off the phone for ages yet.”
Megan’s prediction turned out to be true. It was nearly an hour later when Joe appeared in the kitchen. By then Savanna was thinking it was time for her to go home. She’d already had a long, enlightening visit with Megan. As for Joe, she hadn’t been invited here tonight to spend time with him.
“Sorry I was on the phone so long,” he said to Savanna as he took a seat beside her at a small breakfast bar. “But it was business.”
Surprised that he was being apologetic, she said, “Think nothing of it. Megan has been showing me the house and how she decorated her room.”
“With all those clothes, you mean?”
“Oh, Daddy,” Megan groaned. “My bedroom isn’t that bad. I’ll bet Savanna’s room was just as messy when she was my age.”
The girl looked to Savanna for support, and Savanna had to laugh. “My bedroom is still messy,” she confessed.
Joe wasn’t surprised by this news. At work, Savanna’s desk was already a mass of clutter, so it was easy to imagine what her bedroom looked like. The bedcovers would be tumbled, her dresser would be littered with bottles of perfume and makeup, satiny scraps of lingerie would be lying wherever she’d decided to take them off. Oh, yes, he thought, an uncomfortable heat rising up in him, he could picture Savanna’s bedroom without any effort at all. Even worse, he could see Savanna in it, her feet bare, her hair mussed, her luscious curves barely covered with black lace.
“Daddy? Did you hear me?”
Megan’s voice finally penetrated his thoughts, but he had no idea what she’d been saying to him. “Sorry, honey, I was thinking about…something else.”
“I was talking about my room. Savanna said it looked okay to her. She says I should get marks for having the bed made, and for not having dirty dishes or food smashed into the carpet.”
What in hell was going on? Joe suddenly wondered. One day Savanna Starr walks into his office, the next she’s sitting in his home, influencing his daughter with her lax ideas about living and filling his head with crazy, erotic notions that could only lead him down a path of mental destruction. He had to stop this before it got out of hand.
“If you want good marks from me,” he said to Megan, “you’re going to have to get all those clothes up and get them packed into a suitcase. We’ve got to fly to Houston on Monday.”
Surprised, Savanna looked over at him. Even though Joe had mentioned that he sometimes had to travel out of town, she hadn’t expected it to be so soon.
“You’re leaving this Monday?” She blurted the question.
Joe nodded. “That’s what the call was about. I’ve got to meet with a few businessmen. Leonard Brown in particular. He’s thinking about contracting McCann’s to drill a well in eastern Oklahoma.”
“Oh. Well, that’s good,” she said, wondering why she suddenly felt so deflated. “I mean, that is what you want, isn’t it? More work.”
Feeling as though the space between their bar stools had shrunk to an inch or two, Joe got to his feet, moved over to the cabinets and leaned against the counter. “Yeah. That’s exactly what I need.”
He didn’t sound very enthusiastic. But what did Savanna know about it? The man didn’t seem to get excited about anything, except his secretary being late for work.
“Why do I have to go?” Megan groaned the question at him. “I don’t want to stay in some stuffy motel room while you talk to a bunch of old men. It’ll be boring, boring.”
Sighing, he said, “There’s no point in arguing, Megan. You’re far too young to be left at home alone. You’re coming with me.”
Megan, who was perched on a step-chair, jumped to her feet and folded her arms against her chest. “I won’t go!” she said defiantly. “Not unless Savanna comes with us!”
Savanna jerked her head around to see Joe staring at his daughter in disbelief.
“Megan, don’t be difficult. Savanna needs to be here to keep the office open.”
Megan’s chin jutted stubbornly outward. “Then I’m staying here, too!”
Muttering a curse under his breath, Joe walked over to his daughter and laid a hand on her shoulder. “Don’t be childish about this, Megan. There’s no reason to drag Savanna to Houston with us.”
The teenager whirled away from him, then flounced over to the bar and plopped down beside Savanna. “If Savanna went with us, I’d have someone to talk to. It wouldn’t be boring and lonely.”
Joe tilted his head back and stared helplessly at the ceiling. Did all teenagers think it was their God-given right to be entertained every minute of the day? he wondered.
“You could try talking to me,” he suggested.
Megan’s head whipped back and forth. “You’ll either be studying a bunch of reports or talking to those oilmen.”
Joe could hardly argue that point. The majority of the time spent in Houston he would be reading reports or talking to businessmen. Still, Megan needed to know she couldn’t always have her way.
Deciding it was time to change tactics, Megan said, “Daddy, Savanna really should go for your sake, anyway.”
Joe’s expression turned mocking. “She needs to go for my sake?”
“That’s right,” she said smugly, then smiled at Savanna, who appeared to be totally bewildered by it all. “If you have your personal secretary at the meeting with you to take notes and all that stuff, it’ll make you look more…well, more important.”
Joe studied Megan through narrowed eyes. She was stubborn and contrary, yet she was also smart in ways that reminded him of Joseph. To have Savanna with him would make a better impression. A man who could afford his secretary to travel with him didn’t run a fly-by-night drilling business, and Leonard Brown was a man who took note of everything. Maybe this was the right time to listen to his daughter, he pondered.
Turning his gaze on Savanna, he allowed himself a lingering look at her sultry brown eyes, the sensual curve of her lips, then finally her shapely legs. He’d be lying if he said he didn’t enjoy the sight of her. He also had to admit there was a foolish part of him that wanted Savanna’s company on this trip, too.
“You’re right, honey,” he said to Megan, though he continued to look at Savanna. “I think Savanna should go with us.”
Savanna’s mouth virtually dropped open. “Joe, I think—”
Before she could say more, Megan squealed loudly and threw her arms around Savanna’s neck.
“Isn’t it great, Savanna? You’re going to Houston with us!” Jumping to her feet she
ran over to Joe, hugged his waist, then hopped on her toes and kissed his cheek. “Thanks, Daddy!” she cried excitedly. “You’re wonderful!”
A joyous smile lighted her face and Joe was amazed at how good it felt to make his daughter happy. Maybe he was spoiling her, but for now he wasn’t going to worry about it. He actually felt a little happy himself.
“I’m wonderful?” he asked wryly. “I thought you said I was a stuffed shirt?”
Megan giggled. “Well, not always,” she said, then, turning, she raced toward the hallway and her bedroom. “I’m going to start packing right now!”
Once the girl was gone from the room, it was absurdly quiet, as though a tornado had just ripped things apart and the dust was silently drifting down to the rubble.
“Joe, I think—”
“Savanna, I know—”
They both spoke at the same time.
Laughing, Savanna spread her palms upward in a gesture of invitation. “You go first,” she told him.
Now that the two of them were alone, reality was settling in on Joe. None of what he’d just done made sense. Sure, he’d let Megan’s reasoning validate taking Savanna to Houston with him. But who was he kidding? He was becoming addicted to the sight, the sound, the simple presence of Savanna Starr. And that disturbed the hell out of him.
Raking a hand through his hair, he said, “I was just going to say that I know you probably hadn’t expected to be traveling out of town on this job. But I would consider it a favor if you would agree to go. Of course, I’ll pay all your expenses and overtime wages for the extra work.”
He made it sound so businesslike, Savanna thought. So why didn’t she think of the whole thing as simply a job she was being asked to do?
“I don’t want overtime. That isn’t necessary. But I do wonder what made you change your mind. Earlier, I got the impression you didn’t want me to go,” she couldn’t help saying.
Daddy Lessons Page 7
