An Unlikely Match (15 page)

No promises, Asher had said, but maybe some answered prayer.

They ate eggs scrambled with green onions, black olives, bits of ham and sour cream that she’d found in the refrigerator. Asher got down plates that they filled and carried into the living room, where they watched a South American match, sitting side by side on his sofa.

She was having such a good time that she forgot completely about those at Chatam House until her grandfather called her cell phone. He brushed aside her apologies and didn’t seem at all surprised when she told him that she was with Asher.

“At any rate, I’ll be home by nine,” she promised.

“I won’t wait up if you’re later,” he said, unconcerned.

“I won’t be. Tomorrow’s a school day.”

“Aw, but you’re the teacher, not the student.”

“Which means that I have to be there earlier than anyone else.”

After she’d hung up, Asher asked, “Has your grandfather spoken to you about Odelia?”

“Not really. They’re spending a lot of time together, though, and he seems happy.”

Asher just nodded at that.

Once the game ended, they carried their plates back into the kitchen and loaded them into the dishwasher, which was half-full. Explaining that he normally only ran the appliance once a week, Asher scrubbed out the skillet that she’d used.

When that was done, he glanced at his wristwatch. “Better scoot if we’re going to get you home by curfew.”

She rolled her eyes. Then she saw that he was grinning. She went to the laundry room, thoroughly confused, to get into her shoes. He waited in the hallway then followed her out to the garage. This time he insisted on opening the car door for her.

What was going on here?

They drove back to the soccer field, which was dark and deserted. He got out and walked her to her truck. Opening the door, she started to slide into the cab.

“Not so fast,” he said. Lifting her hand from the truck door, he stepped to the side, drawing her out from behind it. “I want to be clear about something. Tonight was not a date.”

Ellie tamped down her disappointment, saying lightly, “Believe me, Asher, you’ve made it clear for some time now that our spending time together is not ‘a date.’ But I enjoyed myself anyway.”

“Excellent. Enough to try the real thing?”

“The real thing,” she echoed uncertainly, standing at arm’s length.

“Dinner,” he said. “In a restaurant this time. Oh, and a movie.” A slow smile stretched his lips. “Not on the same night, mind you. Thought I’d nail down the second date now.”

Elation swept through Ellie as she allowed him to reel her in. “You’re asking me out on a real date?”

“Two dates,” he corrected. “I refuse to be a one-date discard, and for the record, I’d like several more dates after that.”

Tears gathered in Ellie’s eyes. “Seriously?”

“Seriously. Now, what do you say?”

Stepping close, she wrapped her arms around him and laid her head on his shoulder. “Dinner. Movie. Every date after that. I accept them all.”

He chuckled and shifted so that her head was tucked neatly beneath his chin. “I’ve been alone a long time, Ellie, and I wasn’t any good at being with someone before.”

“Maybe it was the wrong someone.”

“Maybe. And maybe I was the wrong someone. I don’t know. But I want to try to be the right someone for you, Ellie.”

She slipped her arms around him. “I think you can do anything you want to do.”

He laughed. “From your lips to God’s ears, sweetheart. From your lips to God’s ears.”

She closed her eyes and smiled. That was one thing he didn’t have to worry about. God would continue to hear from her regularly—she had much to be thankful for.

They went to dinners. Plural. They went to movies. Again, plural. They went to soccer games and soccer meetings and soccer practices. They even went to church together.

At times, Asher felt sure he’d lost his mind, but those times were invariably when he was away from Ellie. When they were together, all seemed just as it should
be. He noticed that she didn’t interrupt him anymore. He also noticed that he seemed to smile more often. And eventually he noticed that his little sister seemed rather subdued.

Being with Ellie had given him a new perspective on Dallas, and he began to think that he might have sold Dallas short, so to speak. Consequently, when the opportunity arose to engage her in meaningful conversation, he took it gladly.

They met on the front porch of Chatam House at the very end of March. He was coming; she was going.

“No romance going on under this roof,” she quipped drily, and would have swept right by him, but he snagged her by the arm and turned her back to face him.

“Where are you off to?”

She shrugged. “Nowhere in particular. But Ellie has a date. With you. Again. And Odelia’s gone off somewhere. Mags is working out in the greenhouse, so Hypatia is catching up on some paperwork having to do with the BCBC scholarship fund or something like that. No reason to hang around here.”

He tugged her toward the chairs where he’d sat with Odelia one dark night a few weeks ago. “Sit down a minute. I have something to say.”

Sighing gustily, she stomped over and dropped down onto the seat of one chair. Asher folded himself down into the chair next to her and leaned forward.

“I think I owe you an apology.”

Her jaw dropped, which made him laugh. She pointed a finger at him. “You are apologizing to me?” She shook her head. “Well, that’s one for the books. What exactly are you apologizing for? No, wait. Doesn’t matter. This is still a red-letter day. I’m going to go home and write
it on my calendar with a red marker. ‘Ash apologized to me today.’”

Chuckling, he patted her on the knee. “I’ve discounted you, sis,” he said. “Put you down as an overgrown teenager. I’ve mocked your romantic ideals and dismissed your ambitions. I was wrong to do that. In my defense, all I can say is that you’re my baby sister and maybe I’ve wanted to keep you that way. I haven’t wanted to let you grow up. But, of course, you have, anyhow.”

“Is there a camera crew hiding around here somewhere?” she joked, glancing around suspiciously. “I’m going to see this on TV next week, aren’t I?”

“Only if you’re filming it yourself,” he said, getting to his feet. “Now get out of here. You’re making me late for my date, you know.”

He turned toward the door, only to turn back at the sound of his name.

“Ash.”

“Yeah?”

“Thanks.”

He just smiled and started to turn away again.

“She loves you, Ash.”

His heart stopped, then stuttered and took off again. Sucking in a deep breath, he looked his sister in the eye. “I believe she does.”

“And?”

“And,” he said, reaching for the doorknob, “I’ll get back to you on that.”

She made a disappointed sound, dropping her shoulders and lightly stomping one foot. He just laughed at her and opened the door. There were some things that a baby sister ought not to be the first to know.

On the other hand…

Standing there in the foyer of the ancestral Chatam family home, the staid attorney discovered that he might be something of a romantic, after all.

S
itting on the edge of the porch at Chatam House, Ellie tucked her A-line skirt around her thighs and crossed her legs at the ankles on the step below. She’d donned the skirt over her shorts because it feminized the silky, red polo-style top that she’d bought to match the colors of Ash’s select team. Adjusting the thin, red elastic band that held back her curly hair, she sighed happily.

Her team had won again that morning for the third Saturday in a row, despite a stiff early April wind that had played havoc with the ball. Asher had been on hand to see it. Now she waited for him to pick her up for an evening match between his select team and another club in Dallas.

Smiling to herself, she braced her elbows atop her knees and parked her chin in her upturned palms, enjoying the colorful sunset as she anticipated Ash’s arrival. They’d been in each other’s company a good deal these past several weeks, and she was hopelessly, unabashedly in love, though she dared not say it. He was much more fun and lighthearted than anyone else knew, yet also steady, careful and responsible—maybe too much
so to commit himself permanently to a zany woman like her.

Her smile faltered.

Despite all the “second dates,” as Ash called them, she still worked against getting her hopes up. Even if nothing ever came of the time they’d spent together, though, she knew that she would never regret it. Ash was everything she’d ever wanted, but she couldn’t quite imagine that he would feel the same way about her. It could be, likely would be, that he’d move on soon to some woman nearer his own age, someone who had more in common with him than kids’ soccer. If so, then at least she could take joy in having proved to him that the possibility of love remained a reality. She could say, if only to herself, that God had used her to reawaken the heart of a good man.

The familiar white SUV turned into the drive and accelerated up the slope. When it reached the circle, it veered right. Straightening, Ellie lifted a hand to wave in welcome. As the vehicle came to an abrupt halt, she rose and nervously adjusted the line of her skirt.

Asher practically leapt out and came loping around the front bumper. Taking the steps in one long stride, he snagged her hand and towed her toward the front door.

“What’s going on?”

“I have news,” he said, amber eyes twinkling, “good news.”

“About what?” she asked, laughing as he opened the door and pulled her through it into the foyer.

He towed her into the front parlor, where the Chatam sisters lingered over their ubiquitous cups of tea. All three rose to their feet, Hypatia turning, as the newcomers burst into the room.

“Asher, dear.” She switched her gaze back and forth between him and Ellie, pressing her hands together. “I sense an announcement.”

“The insurance company has settled.” He looked down at Ellie, adding, “They’ve offered a generous amount, very generous.”

Obviously disappointed, the sisters traded looks. Ellie put on a bright smile, determined to be happy with this news.

“That’s wonderful,” Odelia said in a subdued manner.

Asher made a face. “I should have told Kent first,” Asher suddenly said. “He
is
my client.”

“No worries, my boy,” Kent’s hearty voice said, preceding his appearance by a mere heartbeat. “And it’s about time, I say.”

“Grandpa,” Ellie said, rushing to his side. “Think what this means. We can go home as soon as the repairs are complete.”

“I’ll call the contractor,” he said, smiling down at her. His gaze went then to Odelia. “But I have no intention of leaving this house. Ever. Unless my darling Odelia herself throws me out.”

“Oh!” Odelia squeaked, her hands going to her cheeks. The next instant she launched herself forward, neatly avoiding the table and armchair as she ran toward him with outstretched arms. She’d produced a hanky from somewhere and waved it wildly. “Kent, do you mean it?”

He caught her hands in his. “I was foolish enough to try to take you from your sisters once before, my love. I’ll do anything I must to never lose you again. I’ve just been waiting for this, so there would be no confusion as to my motives.” He went down on one knee, to the
gasps of several in the room—everyone, perhaps, except Asher. “Odelia, my heart, will you, at long last, make me the happiest of men and marry me?”

Hypatia staggered backward, while Magnolia plopped down on the settee behind her. Odelia hurled herself into Kent’s arms.

“Yes! Yes! Yes! Yes!” she cried between pecking kisses that left vivid pink imprints on Kent’s beaming face.

Delighted, Ellie clapped her hands and laughed. A grinning Asher stepped over and helped the happy couple rise, one hand clamped firmly under each of their arms.

“I don’t believe it!” Hypatia breathed. “
You two
are the romance?”

“And what’s wrong with that?” Odelia demanded, edging closer to Kent, who looped an arm protectively about her shoulders.

Magnolia cleared her throat and got to her feet once more. “Odelia, are you sure about this?”

“I’m going to marry Kent,” Odelia insisted firmly, “and if you don’t want us here, we will move to Charter Street.” She lifted her chin, which Ellie noted was trembling.

“Of course we want you here,” Hypatia said in a mollifying, slightly exasperated tone. “We’re just…stunned by this…unexpected event.”

“Unexpected?” Odelia echoed, snapping her hanky as if it were a whip. “It’s been coming for fifty years!”

“So it has,” Kent chuckled. “No rash actions for us, eh, my darling?”

Odelia cooed at him as if he’d just uttered the most clever, romantic words in history. Ellie blinked back tears at a dream realized.

Hypatia glanced pointedly at Magnolia, swallowed, tilted her head regally and said, “Quite right. Welcome to the f-family, Kent.”

He made a courtly bow. “Thank you, dear sister, from the bottom of my heart.”

Asher moved to Ellie’s side and slipped an arm about her waist, smiling down at her as the chatter around them rose in volume. Magnolia demanded details of Odelia and Kent’s “clandestine” romance, and they happily told the tale. Ellie dashed away tears, so very happy for her grandfather. Gazing up at Asher, she mouthed the words,
Thank you.

He shook his head, asking softly, “For what?”

She went up on tiptoe to whisper in his ear, “For not advising her against him.”

“I am going to recommend a prenup,” Asher muttered.

Ellie just smiled at him. “I’m on to you, Asher Chatam. You’re as much of a sappy romantic as the rest of us.”

“You think so?”

“I do.”

“We’ll see.”

“I suppose you’ll want a proper wedding,” Hypatia was saying.

“Oh, yes!” Odelia exclaimed before glancing up at Kent. “That is, we haven’t discussed it.”

“Whatever you want, my love,” he told her, “but first things first, I always say. We haven’t even purchased an engagement ring yet. I thought you’d like to choose your own this time.”

Odelia squealed and clapped her hands around her hanky, while Hypatia muttered something about “gaudy bits” and Magnolia bit her lip.

“We’ll be needing flowers,” she said, launching to her feet and bustling toward the door. “
Lots
of flowers.”

Hypatia turned and sat down heavily in her customary chair. Ellie almost felt sorry for her. Major change had finally come to Chatam House. For her grandfather and Odelia, Ellie couldn’t have been happier, but the sisters had some huge adjustments in store.

She couldn’t quite believe that her grandfather hadn’t shared his feelings and details of the growing romance with her before this. Oh, she’d had clues, of course, but she had assumed that the older couple were taking it slowly. It had even occurred to her that they might have achieved all they really wanted, relationship-wise. At their ages, a deep friendship might have seemed as important as romance. It had never occurred to her that her grandfather might be waiting to pop the question until the matter of the insurance settlement was resolved.

“We have to go,” Asher said, urging her toward the doorway. Ellie nodded somewhat reluctantly and moved with him in that direction.

It was a measure of Hypatia’s distraction that she did not even note their departure. Odelia and Kent happily waved them on their way with wishes for a successful outcome to the game and went back to celebrating their engagement. Chuckling, Asher hurried Ellie out of the house and into his car.

On the drive to Dallas, Asher admitted to having known for some time that Kent intended to propose and had surmised that the old boy was just waiting for the insurance company to settle before doing so. He just hadn’t expected a proposal on the spot. Ellie detailed her own suspicions about a burgeoning romance but confessed that she was taken off guard by this evening’s events.

“Well, at any rate, you and Dallas have gotten your way,” he told her. “I may even have to admit to her that she was right about the two of them all along.”

“Oh, the horrors!” Ellie teased.

He laughed, guiding the vehicle off the highway, and she reflected silently how relaxed and pleased he seemed. Might he one day realize that she had played a part in that and hope to secure such for his future? On the other hand, why should he? Perhaps this was all he ever wanted, someone with whom to laugh and tease and spend time. Their kisses, while sweet, had certainly been few and far between.

She thought of her grandfather and Odelia and could not squelch a pang of envy.

Forgive me, Lord,
she thought, as Ash drove through the busy streets of University Park.
Grandpa deserves his happiness, and it’s been a long time coming. Thank You for answering my prayers on his behalf.

Psalm 21:2 rolled through her mind.
You have granted him the desire of his heart and have not withheld the request of his lips.

That followed the verse in the previous chapter that she had been praying for so long. Suddenly she felt compelled to pray that verse for herself, paraphrasing as needed.

May You give me the desire of my heart and make all my plans succeed.

It seemed selfish to pray on her own behalf in that manner, but hadn’t Jabez asked for what he wanted? Hadn’t David and Solomon and even Christ?

Not my will, Lord, but Yours. You know best. You always know best.

They reached the lighted soccer field. A small stadium, really, it boasted elevated seats and a concession
stand offering peanuts, popcorn, nachos and pizza, along with sodas and water.

The team had already assembled. The team manager had already unloaded the equipment and started warm-ups, but Asher did not go to the bench. Instead, he walked Ellie to the stands and suggested that she take a vacant space next to his sister on the third row up.

“Dallas!” she exclaimed, surprised. “I didn’t know you were going to be here. Why didn’t you ride with us?”

Her friend just shrugged and patted the metal bench next to her. As Ellie climbed over the bottom two rows, she noticed more familiar faces.

“Ilene. Angie. Shawna. What are you guys doing here?”

“It’s a learning experience,” Ilene told her. “We figured the kids could learn a thing or two by watching an older, select team.”

“Good idea! Don’t know why I didn’t think of it myself.” A glance around before she took her seat showed her other parents and kids from her team. Apparently, when Ilene said “we,” she really meant “we.”

“You won’t believe what’s happened,” she said to Dallas, as she made herself comfortable on the bench. “Odelia and Kent are engaged!”

Dallas grabbed her hand, squealed and stomped her feet. “That’s fabulous! That’s fabulous! I knew it would work. I knew it!” Hopping up, she cupped her hands around her mouth and bawled at her brother, “I told you so!”

To the laughter of those around them, Asher turned, shrugged and lifted both arms in a gesture of acceptance. Dallas dropped back down and begged for details, which Ellie eagerly furnished. As they chortled
over Asher’s having to help the happy couple to their feet after Kent’s dramatic proposal, the ref trotted to the center of the field and blew his whistle to start the game.

It was an exciting match. Ellie couldn’t resist the opportunity to instruct those of her players present, and she continually pointed out good moves and explained strategies. With four minutes left to play, Asher’s team was down by a single goal.

“Still time, still time,” Ellie chanted, twisting her hands together.

With two minutes left, she started rooting for a tie and overtime. But the other team’s defense just proved too strong. Ash’s goalie hung his head as he made his way to the sideline, but Asher went out to meet him and brought him in with an arm looped about his shoulders.

As the team huddled up, people started leaving the stands, but when Ellie rose, Dallas yanked her right back down again.

“Ow!”

“Just hang on,” her friend counseled. “Give Ash a minute with his team.”

Ellie sat again, noticing that they weren’t the only ones staying put. Suddenly a whistle blew, and Asher’s team jogged back onto the field. Confused, Ellie was just about to ask Dallas what was going on. Just then, the team split apart and ran in opposite directions, unrolling a banner between them. “What on…”

Her words died away as the banner came into view. It read, “Ellie, will you marry me?” And there in front of the stands, Asher spread his arms wide, staring up at her with a question in his eyes.

For a long moment Ellie didn’t move. She’d clapped a hand over her mouth and just sat there staring at him. Only when Dallas shoved her did she stumble to her feet and start climbing down to the field. As she did so, people began applauding. Asher didn’t think she even heard. By the time her feet met the tarmac on the path in front of the stands, she was crying.

“Are you serious?” she squeaked at him.

In response, Asher dropped down onto one knee and reached into the pocket of his jacket for the ring box he’d stashed there. He tried to joke, saying, “Kent stole a bit of my thunder.” With his heart in his throat, it came out sounding pretty strangled.