Wild and Wonderful by Janet Dailey Page A

coldly logical reasoning that didn't take any human factor into account.
    As if reading her mind his gaze narrowed. "Your father would be the only one who would really benefit from the merger. And Coulson Mining is not a charitable institution." He turned back to her father. "This was strictly a business matter. I had to make a business decision." It was a fiat statement with no apology for the outcome.
    "I understand perfectly," her father replied. "I didn't want you to regard it in any other manner."
    There was a second's pause before Jett extended an arm to shake her father's hand. "I wish you luck, Orin."
    "A gambler can always use some of that." A wan smile pulled at the corners of her father's mouth in a weak attempt at humor.
    After he had released her father's hand, his gaze rested for a scant instant on Glenna. Then he crossed the room to the door and left without another word.
    His departure released the paralysis that had gripped her limbs. Glenna moved to her father's chair, wanting to comfort him and wanting to be comforted herself. She reached out to tentatively rest a hand on his shoulder, worried by the lack of expression in his face. He patted her hand almost absently.
    "We'll figure something out, daddy." Unconsciously she used the term "daddy" instead of dad. She hadn't called him that since she was a child.
    "No, we've lost it. The mine, the house, everything," he declared on a hollow note, staring off into space. "If a merger wasn't profitable for Coulson, there isn't anyone else who can help us. I'm through. Finished."
    "Don't say that, daddy." She knelt beside his chair, fighting the tears that were making the huge lump in her throat. "You are a Reynolds, remember? We never quit."
    He didn't seem to hear her. She searched wildly through her mind for some alternative, some other way to save everything, but there was only blankness.
    "I'm tired, Glenna," he said after several minutes. His eyes appeared empty when he looked at her. "I think I'll lie down for a while. Will you help me up?"
    The request frightened her as nothing else had. He had always been too proud to ask for help, or to admit he needed it before. His pride was broken. Glenna felt she was picking up the pieces when she slipped an arm around him to help him out of the chair. She walked with him to his bed and spread the light coverlet over him.
    "You'll feel better after you rest," she insisted in an effort to reassure herself. "Later on we'll call room service and order steak and champagne. We're going to go out in style, remember, dad?"
    "I don't think I'll feel like eating tonight." He closed his eyes.
    Glenna stared at him, then finally pulled up a chair beside his bed. He appeared to sleep. She remained near him, worried about his heart and wanting to be there if he became ill.
    At seven o'clock she had a sandwich sent up for herself and a bowl of soup for her father. She was partially reassured when he wakened and voluntarily sat up to eat the soup. He continued to be withdrawn, unresponsive to her attempts at conversation, but the leadenness of depression had left his eyes. She turned on the television for a while until he announced that he wanted to go to bed. Leaving the connecting door ajar, Glenna returned to her own suite.
     

 
    Chapter Seven
     
    MECHANICALY, Glenna changed out of her clothes into her turquoise green nightgown and matching satin robe. Too many things were running through her mind, leaving no room to think of sleep. She moved restlessly around the room, slipping in to check on her father half a dozen times.
    Her head was pounding with the effort to find a solution. Two thoughts kept reoccurring in her mind. One was her father's insistence that Jett Coulson had been their only possible source of help. The second was the remark Jett had made to her early that morning about how easy his decision would have been if she had wanted a merger with him.
    Pressing a hand to her forehead, Glenna tried to rationally think