Building a Perfect Match

by Arlene James

  For once, she decided, she was going to give the couple a bit of a nudge. Oh, it wasn’t matchmaking. Not really. She had strict rules about matchmaking. She’d just give them a helpful nudge and leave the rest up to God.

  She carried the portfolio downstairs to the library, where Odelia, Kent and Magnolia waited to go over last-minute details. To her surprise, Hypatia found her niece Dallas also in attendance. Apparently, she had come to admire her handiwork, as she sat smiling at Odelia and Kent, who whispered and cooed together at one end of the long table there. Magnolia rolled her eyes as Hypatia made her way to a chair.

  “Before we begin, may I make a personal request?” Hypatia asked.

  Kent chuckled. “Who do you want us to invite to the wedding?”

  Hypatia frowned. “What makes you think I want you to invite someone to the wedding?”

  Dallas tucked something into her small handbag and rose. “I’ll be running along now.”

  “Must you?” Odelia asked, sounding disappointed.

  “People to see, things to do,” Dallas replied airily, moving toward the door. “Have a good one, gang. Ta-ta!” She went out of the room, leaving Hypatia feeling that all was not quite right.

  She turned back to the table just as Odelia sighed and laid her head on Kent’s shoulder. “Can you believe it? We’re getting married tomorrow!”

  “At long last,” Kent said. Then he leaned forward and addressed Hypatia. “You were saying, dear lady?”

  Shaking her head, Hypatia returned to the issue at hand. “I’d like to make a slight change in seating arrangements for the reception.”

  Kent and Odelia exchanged complacent looks. “Whatever you’d like, dear,” Odelia chirped.

  As if! Hypatia thought, but she merely smiled. “I’ll take care of it later then.”

  Even as she pulled her checklist from the portfolio, her lips curled in a satisfied smile. Despite all that remained to be done before the wedding, she thought she could manage to alter one little seating chart.

  * * *

  The morning turned out to be a productive one for Petra. Even with her head in the clouds and so many uncertainties on the horizon, she felt more settled than she had in weeks. In reality, nothing had been settled. Nothing at all! Except that she knew she would continue to see Dale Bowen at every opportunity. She didn’t have to wait long. He showed up with lunch at half past twelve.

  “What’s this?” she asked as he dropped the fast-food bag onto her desk.

  “You said no to dinner, not lunch.”

  She laughed. “I was going to work through, make up for the personal time I took this morning.”

  “That’s about what I figured,” he told her, pulling a chair to the end of her desk while she took the burgers from the bag. “A very conscientious worker, our Petra.”

  “Wouldn’t you want a worker in your employ to be as conscientious?” she asked.

  “Yep,” he admitted, “so I propose we discuss business, make it a working lunch.”

  She smiled. “Okay. What business did you have in mind?”

  Dale peeled back the paper on his burger. “The spa presentation to the BCHS.”

  They discussed her ideas on that. He gave her several suggestions and tips concerning the likes and dislikes of the executive committee members. Then he casually asked, “Have you ever worked for a construction company?”

  “Once,” she said. “That’s part of the reason Garth picked me for this job.”

  “I see. Thought that might be the case. You do seem to understand the terms and processes.”

  Petra shrugged. “I suppose. Why do you ask?”

  “Thinking of doing some reorganization in the management of Bowen & Bowen,” he said. “Thought I might pick your brain about that.”

  The idea made perfect sense to Petra. With his father stepping back in the near future, Dale would have his hands full, so a reorganization was needed.

  “You’re a hands-on kind of guy,” she noted carefully. He nodded in agreement. “Seems to me you’ll want to hire a full-time manager then, someone to schedule jobs, pay the bills and the help, negotiate contracts with suppliers. That will leave you free to handle the actual construction end of things.”

  “Just what I was thinking,” Dale said, finishing off his burger.

  They ate in silence for several seconds before Petra asked, “Do you have anyone in mind?”

  “I do,” he told her with a small smile. “I surely do.”

  “Well, that’s good,” she said, watching him dredge a handful of fries in ketchup and carry them to his mouth. “It always helps if you can reorganize with someone specific in mind.”

  “Seems like I’ve always got someone in mind these days,” he commented softly, his gaze focusing on her.

  Her heartbeat sped up just a bit. She hoped that he meant her, of course, and that eventually he’d have more in mind for her than business luncheons.

  * * *

  Somehow, Petra managed to get through her daily list before she had to leave the hotel. She worked hard at it after Dale’s surprise luncheon, as she didn’t intend to be in the office the next day. Knowing that her parents and brother Phillip would be arriving from out of town, she’d arranged ahead of time to take off the entire day Tuesday, the day of Odelia’s wedding.

  Petra found herself actually looking forward to the wedding. She’d dreaded it before, but Odelia’s joy in every little detail of the day, coupled with her obvious love for Kent, promised to make this a very special event, perhaps because Petra wasn’t afraid to enjoy a romantic moment herself now. She could even admit that a part of her had always yearned for romance, a part that she had tried very hard to bury beneath her need to succeed.

  At quitting time, Petra jumped up and rushed out of the building, knowing that she only had minutes in which to get home and change. She saw an unfamiliar car pull up to the curb as she hurriedly moved down the sidewalk, but she didn’t expect Garth to hop out and stride toward her.

  “What are you doing here?” she asked.

  “This is my hotel,” he pointed out with a wry smile.

  “I know that. I just meant, why aren’t you in Colorado?”

  “Colorado can take care of itself for a while. I’m glad I caught you, though. I wanted to suggest that we go to the wedding together tomorrow.”

  “The wedding?” Petra echoed, surprised. “I wasn’t aware that you’d received an invitation.”

  He reached into the pocket of his suit coat and brought out a familiar-looking ivory envelope. “I’ve got it right here.”

  Now that was odd. Odelia and Kent had wrangled with Hypatia over every name on the guest list. Hypatia had even remarked that if she left it to them, they’d invite the whole town. No doubt, they’d decided to invite Garth in deference to the fact that he was her boss. She wished she’d known. She’d have advised against it.

  “I’m sorry,” she told him gently, “but my brother Phillip will be escorting me. We so seldom get to see each other, you know.” It was entirely true. The two of them had jokingly arranged to be each other’s escort for this wedding last month at Asher’s, since it had seemed that everyone was pairing off but them.

  To her relief, Garth accepted this graciously. “Very well. I’ll just see you there, then.”

  “Of course.”

  Petra made the drive back to Chatam House for the second time that day and changed into a flowing pantsuit of turquoise silk before hurrying to the new suite, but when she looked in, the sitting room was empty. She turned around again, and Hypatia stood there, her handbag dangling from her wrist.

  “He just carried down the last load,” she said with a small, knowing smile.

  Petra didn’t pretend that she was not looking for
Dale. Instead, she ran to catch him. She found him loading tools into the back of his truck.

  “Wow. Look at you,” he said, doing just that.

  She laughed and quipped, “What? This old thing.”

  “You look like a million bucks,” he told her softly. “Then again, your parents being doctors, I suppose you had a pretty privileged upbringing.”

  “Not really,” she hastened to assure him. “Mom and Dad were quite strict about money and…” She realized that he was looking at the house behind her. She hadn’t grown up in a mansion, but her parents’ house was large and lavish. She suddenly didn’t want him to know that, though. She didn’t want him ever to think that he might not be good enough or rich enough for her, but she didn’t know how to tell him that without sounding as if she hoped for more from him than she had a right to expect. “I’ll tell you something,” she began carefully. “I’d trade all the privilege of my upbringing for a family as close as yours.”

  He traced the curve of her jaw with his fingertips. “That’s good to know.” He dropped his hand then. “But it’s not too late. I mean, maybe a closer relationship with your folks begins with you. Maybe all you have to do is reach out. Maybe they’re waiting for you to make the first move. Did you ever think of that?”

  She honestly hadn’t. All these years, had she been waiting for everyone else to reach out to her? Had that made her seem standoffish and cool? She felt a spurt of shame that such might have been the case, but now was not the time to discuss it.

  “I have to run,” she said regretfully. “The others will be waiting for me. I just wanted to say good night.”

  “See you tomorrow,” he told her, tapping her chin. She laughed because he seemed to like her version of the Chatam cleft.

  “At the wedding,” she confirmed. “And Wednesday for breakfast.”

  “And Wednesday for breakfast. Just let me know where and when.”

  She nodded, smiling, and he got into the truck. After starting the engine, he lifted a hand in farewell then backed the truck around the corner of the house. She followed on foot, watching until the white pickup turned onto the street, then she joined her aunts and Kent in the town car.

  * * *

  No one was surprised when Petra’s parents called to say they couldn’t make the rehearsal. Petra stood in for her absent father, dutifully walking Odelia down the aisle. The rest of the time, she was able to sit quietly and think about what Dale had said to her. She concluded that she had been somewhat petulant in her attitude toward her immediate family. Apparently, that disgruntled little girl had not quite grown up, and it was past time for that to happen. She promised herself that she would no longer sulk about the lack of attention that she’d received from her parents and siblings. She would, instead, begin to pay attention to them.

  Given the lighthearted mood, the rehearsal dinner turned into a jovial affair. Nevertheless, the aunties wanted to make an early night of it, so they returned to the house around eight-thirty to find that Phillip had arrived from Seattle. He stood in the entry hall surrounded by a trio of bags. Before the aunties could even get over their surprise, Petra went to hug him. Her tall, lanky brother, who had dark, wavy hair to go with his copper-brown eyes, seemed almost taken aback.

  “What? I’m not allowed to miss my brother?” she teased, adding playfully, “Don’t forget you’re my escort to the wedding.”

  “As if you need my escort,” he said.

  “Oh, no,” Petra ribbed, shaking a finger at him, “you’re not getting out of it that easily. We had a deal.”

  “Very well,” Phillip agreed, smiling. “You’re in a happy mood.”

  Dallas wandered out of the parlor just then, their parents in tow.

  Once again surprised, Petra turned her attention to Maryanne and Murdock. She noted the anxious look in her mother’s eyes, and for the first time considered that it might have less to do with her perceived “failures” than her attitude.

  “Mother,” she said, then immediately amended the greeting to, “Mom. I didn’t expect you and Dad this evening.”

  “I know we missed the rehearsal,” Maryanne told her, “but we decided to come tonight anyway.”

  It was typical Maryanne and Murdock to show up late, but Petra supposed it was characteristic of most doctors. She determined to put aside her resentment and just enjoy the company of her parents for a change. Walking forward with outstretched arms, she said, “I’m glad. Gives us more time to visit.”

  She caught the look of surprise on her father’s patrician face as she enveloped her mother in a hug.

  That’s one more to Dale Bowen’s credit, Petra thought.

  Thank You, Lord, for bringing such a wise man into my life!

  Chapter Thirteen

  When Petra entered the vestibule of the chapel at Downtown Bible Church the next evening with her parents, she immediately saw her brother Asher, looking handsome and distinguished in his tuxedo. He chuckled at something her sister-in-law Ellie said and wrapped his arms around her. Ash had always seemed older than his years, Petra mused, and it was only partly because of that prematurely graying hair of his—if graying was the right word for the distinguished slashes of champagne-pale hair at his chestnut temples. He had always seemed to carry the weight of the world on his athletic shoulders, but now he looked so relaxed and happy. Ellie tipped her head back, smiling, and Ash kissed her, long and sweetly.

  Oh, how she wanted that, Petra mused, more than she’d ever imagined! She supposed that she’d always wanted it in the secret recesses of her heart, but only since meeting Dale Bowen had she realized it. Was that a sign of God’s will for her life? Had God picked out Dale for her? She hoped so. All this time, she’d eschewed romance and assumed that she should concentrate on her career. No wonder she hadn’t found her calling yet. She’d been looking in all the wrong places.

  Her parents traded looks beside her, silently watching their son and daughter-in-law embrace. Petra noticed that her father’s hand came up to rest possessively in the small of her mother’s back. They were not demonstrative people, but Petra saw in that one small gesture a fondness that she had always sensed yet rarely witnessed between her parents. She saw, too, the quiet pleasure they took in Asher’s happiness. Maybe the Chatams would never tease with the ease of the Bowens, and they would certainly never live together in one house again, but they loved each other and they could share that love openly—with a little encouragement.

  So caught up in each other were the young couple that they only broke apart when Murdock cleared his throat.

  “Ah,” Asher said, spinning about, “there you are. Glad you’re early. Aunt Odelia is worried you won’t know how to give away the bride.”

  “I’d better go to her,” Murdock announced. “I’ll see you all later.”

  Ellie offered to show him where to find his sister, and they went off together. The door opened again just then. Asher turned, ready to do his duty as an usher, only to relax as Phillip joined them, then looked around and asked, “Where’s Dad?”

  “Where do you think?” Petra returned. “With the bride, of course.”

  “Of course. What about Dallas?”

  “Right here,” came the answer. She must have caught the door before it closed behind Phillip. “And look who I found on the sidewalk outside.”

  Petra turned to find Garth smiling at her. He looked stunningly handsome in a suit that probably cost more than Odelia’s bridal gown, and Petra wished mightily that he had come just a little later, especially when he so determinedly set out to charm her mother and brothers. He had met everyone but Phillip in the months that she’d worked for him, and they seemed to like him well enough, Dallas especially. Petra had reason to wish him all the way back to Colorado a few minutes later when he somehow managed to maneuver it so he, instead of P
hillip, wound up sitting next to her in the pew near the front of the chapel. Dallas played a part in that, too, and Petra determined to speak to her sister later in private about her tendency to meddle.

  The only man who interested Petra was Dale Bowen, and she would proudly admit it.

  * * *

  Don laughed when Dale came downstairs in a new dark blue suit and tie.

  “Well, I think you look very nice,” Sudie told him, straightening the knot in his blue-and-green patterned tie, which he wore with a snow-white shirt.

  “Thanks, sis,” he said, breathing a tiny sigh of relief. He couldn’t help remembering Garth Anderton’s expensive tailored suits and hand-sewn shirts, though. Even the best that Buffalo Creek had to offer wouldn’t equal a cuff link at Anderton’s wrist, but Dale had done the best he could.

  “Say hello to Petra for us,” his mother called as he hurried from the house with the heavy package that she had wrapped for him, antique fire tools for the fireplace in Odelia and Kent’s suite.

  He drove his mom’s sedan to the church. Petra’s brother, Attorney Asher Chatam, greeted Dale with a handshake at the chapel door.

  “Bride’s side or groom’s?” Asher asked, smiling.

  “I imagine your sister is sitting on the bride’s side,” Dale mused aloud.

  The tuxedoed attorney’s eyebrows arched at the same time that his lips curled up. “Of course. Both of them.”

  “I don’t suppose you could find me a seat near Petra?” Dale asked.

  Asher grinned and handed him a pink program. “I think that can be arranged. Follow me.”

  Dale smiled when he saw that Petra sat on the end of a pew near the front of the church. She had put up her pale gold hair in a sleek, sophisticated roll against the back of her neck. All Dale could see of her hot pink dress was the back of the high, round neck and sleeveless bodice. A triangular cutout exposed the delicate curves of her shoulder blades. He wondered if she was too cool in the chilled room and imagined wrapping his arms around her. Waving off Asher’s assistance, he quietly walked up and laid a hand on her shoulder. She glanced up and smiled before making room for him to squeeze in next to her. That’s when he realized that Garth Anderton sat on her other side.