Christine Johnson - Groom by Design

That sobered Jen for only a second. “We’ll use leftovers, scraps. You can work miracles with fabric. You design the gown. We’ll help put it together. But we have to do it quickly.”

“Why?” Ruth wasn’t sure she wanted to know the answer.

“There’s a dance at the Grange Hall next Friday,” Minnie replied.

“A dance?” Ruth did not dance. “I couldn’t.”

“Dances are the perfect place to meet men and get to know them,” Jen insisted. “There are lots of people around, so it’s not at all risky.”

That might be the case for Ruth’s sisters. Every one of them danced beautifully, even Jen. Of course! Jen. Ruth’s clumsiness could provide just the excuse to bring Sam and Jen together.

“I’ll go if you go,” Ruth said.

Jen paused. She seldom attended dances. Minnie was the one who loved them. “Me?”

“Yes. All of us. If we’re going to do this, then it has to be all of us.”

Minnie agreed right away. Jen looked uncomfortable but made the sacrifice. Now all Ruth would have to do was get Sam and Jen together on the dance floor. Her job would go easier if they’d already had a chance to talk. The hubbub following the church service might not be the ideal time. She needed another venue.

The Highbottom family walked past the shop carrying a heavy basket. The children raced ahead, eager to get to their destination. Judging from the blanket Mrs. Highbottom carried and the basket in her husband’s hands, they were headed for the park. Perfect.

Ruth gave her sisters an encouraging smile. “Tomorrow would be a good day for a picnic, don’t you think?”

“A picnic? Why?” Jen stared at Ruth as if she had lost her mind, but then her lips slowly curved back into a grin. “You invited Sam, didn’t you?”

“Not yet. But I will at church.”

“He’s coming to church with us?”

“I hope he is. He said he would try to attend.”

“Perfect.” Jen set down the pincushion. “You can ask him to the dance then.”

“Ask him?” Ruth’s plan had just backfired. “I can’t do that.”

“Don’t worry. We’ll be right beside you, won’t we?” Jen glanced at Minnie, who nodded.

“A woman does not ask a man to a dance.”

“Then suggest it. Talk about it, leave him the opportunity to invite you.” Jen leaned forward and rolled the pincushion between her hands. “Don’t worry. Sam likes you. He’ll take the bait.”

Panic coiled around Ruth’s rib cage and squeezed tight. Ask a man to a dance? How? She’d stammer and blush. What if he said no? What if he laughed? What if he confirmed what she’d heard for years, that she was too plain to ever attract a man? Her only hope was a humble man who valued the inner woman more than superficial beauty. Certainly not one who was dashing and wealthy. Once Sam met Jen, he’d see that she was the better catch. But to get the two of them together, Ruth had to play along with Jen for a little while.

She breathed deeply to steady her voice. “All right, but you can’t focus all your energy on me.” She hid her shaking hands in her lap. “If one of us is going to marry a wealthy man—” she hated how that sounded “—then all three of us have to try.”

Minnie grasped what she was saying at once. “Ruth’s right. I’ll try for Reggie, and Ruth can try for Sam. Who are you going for, Jen?”

That caught the confident planner off guard. “I don’t know. I guess I’ll start looking.” She pulled her crumpled list out of her pocket. “Maybe I’ll begin at the top of the list and work my way down.”

“That’s no way to find a husband,” Ruth pointed out. “Maybe you should see who strikes your fancy—and who fancies you.”

“That’s what I’m doing.” Jen slid the pincushion to the center of the table. “The way I see it, to find a husband, you first have to decide who you want. There might be as many choices as pins in this cushion, but one of them is the right one.” She plucked out a pin. “So you try them one at a time until you find that man.”

“We’ll help you,” Minnie added. “We’ll all help each other. Right, Jen?”

Her sister nodded.

Ruth was still skeptical. “How?”

“We will solemnly promise to do all in our power to help each other win our chosen husband,” Jen said. “We’ll promote her to him. We’ll find ways to bring the two together. We’ll do whatever it takes. Agreed?”

Jen and Minnie shook on it and looked to Ruth. This promise had so many holes that it was bound to fail, but Ruth had to agree to it. If Jen were the right woman for Sam, as Ruth suspected, then the only chance she had of bringing them together was this plan. Once they discovered how suited they were to each other and fell in love, marriage would follow. And Jen was right. That marriage could solve all their problems. Sam had already demonstrated a measure of generosity and compassion. With Jen’s tireless prompting, Sam would surely help Daddy get the treatment he needed.

So Ruth placed her hand atop theirs to seal the pact.

* * *

Sam didn’t bother to sit at his desk. He picked up the telephone receiver and listened as his father got straight to the point. “I want you to look into a property that’s coming on the market. It’ll be offered at a good price—an excellent price.” Sam held the receiver a few inches away from his ear. Father’s booming voice carried across the room. Harry always joked that they didn’t need telephones and telegraphs. Father could be heard for miles without technological assistance. “If this deal works out, it’ll go a long way toward paying for your mistake.”

As usual, Father jabbed at Sam’s decision to open a store in Pearlman. In Father’s eyes, the store had already failed, and when the opening proved his point, he’d hold it over Sam for the rest of his life. No matter what it took, Sam would ensure this store not only opened strong but also thrived for years to come. That meant getting every detail right, including one broken display case. Maybe this crazy property purchase could buy him a little time.

When his father paused for a breath, Sam pulled the mouthpiece close and cut short the directive. “When am I supposed to do this? I’m spending every waking hour getting the store ready. If you send me out of town, we’ll have to delay the grand opening.”

Father cackled. “I’m not sending you anywhere, boy. You won’t have to leave your precious town to look it over. The property’s right next door.”

“Next door.” Sam got a sinking feeling as he calculated whose property that must be. Since the store was located on a corner, that could mean only two locations, and one was a house across the alley.

“Right next door.” Static crackled the line but it didn’t obliterate Father’s words. “Why didn’t you tell me we’re opening up next to a dress shop?”

Chapter Four

Sunday dawned still and sunny, one of those lazy summer days that inspired picnics, fishing and rowing on the pond. The latter was out, since Ruth’s family owned no rowboat, but, if Sam accepted their invitation to a picnic, she might be able to persuade him to dip a line in the river. Jen loved to fish. It was the perfect opportunity for romance to flower.

But first Sam had to show up for the church service so she could invite him.

“How long do we have to wait?” Minnie fussed with her hair in the dress-shop window. “The service is going to start soon.”

“I know.” Ruth bit her lip and glanced left and right to see if Sam were coming. “I told him to meet us here.”

Jen grinned. “You like him.”

“He’s simply a nice gentleman.”

The church bells rang. A rooster might as well have crowed, for like the apostle Peter, Ruth had denied the undeniable. She did like Sam. Seeing him with another woman had hurt more than it should.