Susan Crosby - Bride Candidate #9

At some point she pulled her hair into a ponytail, revealing her makeup-free face, her delicate features. She was pretty, in a wholesome, natural kind of way, he decided. And she was complicated enough to be interesting. Kids loved her. Seniors loved her.

Yep. This time he’d chosen the right woman for the right reasons. Twenty-seven was a good age for marriage. She’d be ready to settle down.

“Afraid to get your hands dirty?” Ariel asked, coming up to him as he leaned on a table and stared at the floor plan for the athletic event. Chase stood beside him, his arms crossed.

Luke smiled lazily “Well, now, Ariel, we each have our callin’. Yours would seem to be in manual labor.”

“And yours would be in...?”

“Supervisin’.”

“You do it well.”

He grinned. “Thanks, darlin’.”

“I thought you’d like to know the Titan gear has arrived. Marguerite is checking the shipment against the order sheet. And I’ve got to head out to deliver some meals. I’ll swing back and pick you up around seven or so, we can grab a quick bite to eat, then I’ve got to check in at the community center about the dinner-dance.”

“I’ll go with you.”

“I suppose it’d be useless to argue with you,” she said after a moment.

“Luke Walker, as I live and breathe!”

An elegant, thirtyish woman strode across the gym, high heels in hand.

Luke swallowed. Hell. Judith Abrams, one of the two lawyers on his wife list. What was she doing here?

“Hi, Chase,” she said as she reached them “Ariel. I’m glad you’re here, too. I need to talk to you.”

Luke watched the women hug. This wasn’t good. Not good at all.

“Judith.” He offered his hand.

“I don’t rate a hug?” she asking, taking one.

Over her shoulder he saw Ariel frown slightly.

“So, what’s this I hear about you wife hunting?” Judith asked.

Luke coughed, hiding his surprise. How could she know? He didn’t dare glance Ariel’s way. “I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about, Judith.”

“I saw Cassie interview you on the eleven-o’clock news last month. You said—”

“It was a joke.”

“What was?” Ariel asked.

Judith didn’t take her eyes off Luke He could tell she was analyzing the situation, a skill at which she excelled.

“Cassie’s a sportscaster on Channel Eight, Ariel,” Judith said. “You know how they always ask the MVP of the Super Bowl at the end of the game what he’s going to do now, and he always says he’s going to Disneyland?”

Ariel looked a little embarrassed. “I’ve never seen a Super Bowl game,” she admitted.

Judith turned to look at her then. “You’re kidding? Well, they do. Anyway, Cassie was doing a piece on Luke’s retirement. She said since he couldn’t go to Disneyland this year—You did know he was MVP last year, right?”

“Um, yeah. I heard that.”

“When Cassie asked what his plans were, he said maybe he’d find himself a little woman and settle down.”

“‘A little woman’?” Ariel repeated, looking at Luke in disbelief. “You said that? ‘A little woman’?”

“It was a joke,” he insisted, feeling sweat bead on his forehead. “Thanks, Judith. I’d been tryin’ to live that one down.”

“Hey, what are friends for? I heard you were helping out here at the Center. I think it’s great.”

“What are you doing here?” he asked, ignoring Ariel’s bewildered expression.

“I’m the attorney for the Angel Foundation.” She hefted her briefcase. “And I’ve got some papers for you, Ariel. You don’t have to sign them today, though. Just take them home and look them over.”

“Okay. Come with me while I wash my hands. I’ve got to pick up the meals and get them delivered.”

Luke watched them walk across the gym. Ariel didn’t take a straight path, of course, but one that brought her in contact with most of the people working so that she could make a comment, pat a shoulder and give a quick hug, talking with Judith the whole way. At one point she glanced back at him and grinned. He could only imagine what Judith was telling her. They’d dated now and then when she was between relationships. Nothing serious ever developed, but he liked her enough to put her on the list. Seeing the two women side by side, though...

When he realized his gaze had settled on Ariel’s hips and was lingering appreciatively, he tossed his pencil on the table and turned to Chase. “If you make that switch, you’ll have more room for the long jump. A larger sand pit will mean less chance for injury.”

“Done Thanks.” Chase glanced at the doorway the women had just strolled through.

Luke scratched his head. Ariel baffled him as much as any woman had. More, even. Comfortable in a man’s company, he spoke his thoughts aloud to Chase. “Ariel’s amazing. Tireless.”

“Yeah This place would’ve folded without her.”

“Without the Angel Foundation, anyway,” Luke said.

“Same thing.”

“Is it?”

Chase shrugged “She’s on a mission”

“Makes me wonder what she’s running from.”

An easy silence settled between the men.

“Stop by later and see the place in action when school’s out,” Chase said after a bit. “The kids know about you. Maybe you could give them a few pointers.”

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