There was a long pause. "Fine. I'll come this weekend. But Dad, I can only stay for a day, two at most."
"That'll have to do."
Robert turned to Margaret after hanging up. "My son has changed," he said quietly. "Or maybe he hasn't changed. Maybe I just never saw who he really was."
Margaret heard the worry in his voice. "What do you mean?"
"Thomas was always ambitious, always driven. I thought I was teaching him to be a strong businessman. But I wonder now if I taught him the wrong lessons. If I taught him that profit matters more than people."
"Then teach him different lessons now," Margaret said simply.
"I'm going to try. But I don't know if he'll listen."
Thomas Harrison arrived in Magnolia Ridge on a Saturday morning in mid-September. Like his sister, he came in an expensive car. But unlike Katherine, his expression wasn't one of joy or relief. It was one of barely concealed impatience and discomfort. He was a tall man in his early forties, with dark hair beginning to gray at the temples, and sharp, calculating eyes that took in everything and seemed to find it all wanting. His suit probably cost more than Margaret made in six months.
He embraced his father stiffly at the hospital. "Dad, I'm glad you're alive. We've all been very concerned."
"I'm sure you have been," Robert said, studying his son's face. "Thomas, I want you to meet some people. This is Margaret Henderson and her daughter Sarah. They're the reason I'm alive."
Thomas turned to look at Margaret and Sarah, and Margaret saw something flicker in his eyes. Not gratitude, but assessment. He was evaluating them, calculating their value, their angle, what they might want.
"Mrs. Henderson," he said, his voice polite but cool. "My sister tells me you helped my father. The family is grateful. We'll make sure you're compensated appropriately for your time and expenses."
Margaret bristled at his tone. "I don't want compensation, Mr. Harrison. Your father has already paid the hospital bills. That's more than enough."
"Nevertheless, we'll arrange something suitable. Dad, are you ready to go? I've arranged for a medical transport to take you to Atlanta. We have excellent doctors there who can—"
"Thomas," Robert interrupted. "I'm not going to Atlanta. Not yet."
Thomas's jaw tightened. "Dad, you need proper medical care. You need to be somewhere with resources, with specialists. This hospital is—" He looked around with barely concealed disdain. "It's not equipped for someone with your needs."
"The doctors here saved my life. They're perfectly equipped. And I'm not ready to leave yet. I need time to recuperate. And I need time with Margaret and Sarah. They're family to me now."
Thomas's expression grew colder. "Family? Dad, I know you've been through a trauma. Brain injuries can cause confusion, emotional instability. You don't know these people. They're strangers who—"
"They're not strangers," Robert said, his voice hardening. "They took me in when I had nothing. They fed me, clothed me, cared for me. Margaret signed away her financial future to pay for my medical care. That's more than strangers do, Thomas."
Thomas turned to Margaret, and now there was something sharper in his eyes. "You signed for his medical care. Why would you do that? You didn't know who he was. How did you plan to pay for that?"
Margaret met his gaze steadily. "I planned to work. To take extra jobs. To do whatever was necessary. Because your father would have died without treatment."
"How noble," Thomas said, and the sarcasm in his voice was unmistakable. "And now that you know he's Robert Harrison, founder of a multi-million dollar corporation, I'm sure that sacrifice feels like it was worthwhile."
"Thomas!" Robert's voice cracked like a whip. "That's enough. You will not speak to Margaret like that. She had no idea who I was. No one did. She helped me because she's a good person, not because she expected anything in return."
Thomas looked at his father, and something complicated crossed his face. Frustration, worry, and something else. Fear, maybe. Fear that his father really had changed, that the man he'd known was gone. "Dad, can we speak privately?"
Robert nodded. "Yes. But before we do, I want you to do something for me. I want you to stay here in Magnolia Ridge for two weeks. I want you to see how people live here. I want you to understand what I've learned."
Thomas laughed, a short, harsh sound. "Two weeks, Dad? I can't be away from the company for two weeks. Do you know how much needs my attention?"
"The company managed without me for three years. It can manage without you for two weeks. This is important, Thomas. More important than any business deal."
"What's important is getting you proper medical care and getting you home where you belong."
"What's important," Robert said quietly, "is that you learn what I've learned. That you see what I've seen. That you understand that the way we've been running our business, the way we've been living our lives, is wrong."
Thomas stared at his father. "Wrong? Dad, the company is more successful than ever under my leadership. Profits are up 38% over the past five years. We've expanded into three new markets. Our stock price has doubled. How is any of that wrong?"
"And how did you achieve those profits, son? By raising wages? Improving working conditions? Investing in communities?"
Thomas's expression turned defensive. "By running an efficient operation. By keeping costs down and productivity up. By making smart business decisions."