Page 118 of Deadline

“Oh. Dawson.”

Headly waited her out, and she was the first to look away. Taking her foot off the brake pedal, she rolled forward only a few yards before having to stop again. “Dawson and I didn’t get off to a great start. Did he tell you about our initial meeting?”

“He began playing with the boys on the beach. Things went from there.”

“More or less,” she murmured.

“Huh. More, I think.”

When she said nothing, he chuckled. “Okay. Keep that story to yourselves. Back to my original question.”

“What do I think of him? In what way?”

“In any way.”

“He’s good with the boys.”

“Surprisingly.”

“Why?”

“He has no former experience with kids. He was raised an only child. He was around our daughter, Sarah, a lot, but she’s a few years older, so they squabbled as much as they played.” He told her that Sarah was married and living in London.

“Children?”

“Not yet. My wife drops hints about as subtle as crashing meteorites.”

Amelia laughed. “In the meantime Dawson receives parental doting from you and Mrs. Headly.”

“Which he resists, of course.”

Temporarily stopped in the logjam, she looked at him. “Why ‘of course’?”

“The detachment that makes him a good journalist carries over into his personal life. He sets himself apart, sees himself only as an observer, a loner. That’s why he’s never married. Why he hasn’t even come close.”

She gave him an arch look. “Mind you, I didn’t ask.”

“No, but I figured you wanted to know.” He grinned at her and winked. “Oh, there have been a few women who stayed on longer than others. A couple of them were lovely ladies, who met Eva’s rigid standards. But even with them, once things got too warm and fuzzy, he called it quits.”

“Commitment issues are common. Especially for a man who’s a loner.”

“I didn’t say he was a loner.”

She looked at him with puzzlement. “You just did.”

“I said he sees himself as a loner.”

“What’s the difference?”

“His true nature. Would a natural-born loner have gravitated to your children the way he has?”

“Wait.” She held up her hand, wanting to understand. “You’re saying Dawson fights his natural tendencies?”

“With a vengeance.”

“Why?”

“It’s a defense mechanism.”