Second Chance Match. Arlene James
Garrett cleared his throat loudly then declared, “This is nice. One benefit of meeting early. A cup of tea is always nice. Especially around here.”
Jessa blinked. Had he just sent her a message? She caught the expectant expression on Hypatia Chatam’s face, took the hint and reached for the teacup. Eyeing the three sugar cubes on the accompanying saucer, Jessa carefully amended her comment.
“I—I really don’t need sugar.”
Smiling, Hypatia quickly switched saucers, confiding, “I take my own tea black, but nearly everyone else sweetens theirs.”
“Some of us more than others,” Kent acknowledged, plunking four of the cubes into his own cup and then reaching for a small plate of finger sandwiches.
Jessa carefully tasted the tea and found it surprisingly pleasant. Hypatia’s demeanor told her that she’d just passed a kind of test. Jessa glanced at Garrett with gratitude in her eyes. He acknowledged it with a slight dip of his head, and she quickly looked away again.
Oh, it would not do to like him. Gratitude was one thing, but liking was something else altogether, the first step on a dangerous path that could only lead to heartbreak. He was her adversary, not her friend. If only he weren’t so breathtakingly handsome....
Chapter Four
“So,” Asher Chatam said, effortlessly taking command of the meeting, “here’s what I gather so far. Ellie spoke with Jessa at the school about nine-thirty yesterday morning, Wednesday. They made an agreement for Jessa to lease the house on Charter Street and Ellie received a check, which she has not deposited.”
“Yes,” Ellie said.
“Ellie then told Jessa that she could go ahead and move into the house.” He looked pointedly to Ellie, adding, “Even though I hadn’t yet had a chance to draw up papers.” Ellie gave a little shrug, smiling wanly. Clearly, Jessa noted, she was not troubled by his thinly veiled scold.
“At about the same time as Ellie was talking to Jessa,” Asher went on, “Kent spoke to Garrett here at Chatam House about a lease/purchase agreement. They agreed on a monthly consideration, and funds were deposited with Kent to seal the deal.”
“Uh, no,” Garrett interrupted. “That’s not correct. No money changed hands on our end.”
Kent cleared his throat, and Magnolia sighed. “Actually,” she muttered, “money did change hands, so to speak.”
“She had the money transferred into my bank account,” Kent clarified.
Garrett closed his eyes and shook his head. “And you were going to tell me this when?”
“When you needed to know,” Magnolia answered primly.
He clamped his jaw, looking away. An uncomfortable silence ensued, broken moments later by Asher. “Well,” he said, “there you have it. One property. Two legally identical transactions.”
“Quite the coincidence,” Jessa mumbled.
“Oh, my dear,” Hypatia said with a chuckle that proved the acuity of her hearing, “we don’t believe in coincidences around here, not for God’s children.”
“Indeed, not,” Magnolia commented.
“A coincidence is just God at work,” Odelia tittered.
“That’s good,” Asher said, “because we’re going to need some divine guidance to resolve this. Unless....” He looked from Garrett, who appeared to be brooding, to Jessa who, admittedly, was doing a bit of the same. Unless what? she wondered, but before she could ask for clarification, Magnolia spoke up again.
“I propose that we put this issue aside until after Ellie and Asher’s wedding.” Jessa bit her lip in dismay, but Magnolia hurried on. “Of course, Jessa and Hunter will remain here with us as our guests in the meantime.”
“But the wedding’s a month away, isn’t it?” Jessa spoke up quickly. “We couldn’t impose that long.”
“It’s no imposition,” Magnolia insisted, sitting forward. “More like a blessing.” She glanced around the table, adding pointedly, “Jessa just happens to be a florist.”
“That’s true,” Ellie chimed in, “and I admit that when she told me about wanting to open her own shop at the house on Charter Street, I immediately thought about asking her to help out with the wedding.” She looked to Jessa, saying, “I meant to let you get settled first.”
“Well, I’m happy to be of assistance, of course,” Jessa said, brightening, “especially if it will help cover our room and board here.”
“Now, now,” Hypatia interrupted. “None of that. Our guests do not worry about room and board. We will pay you for your help, of course.”
“Sounds like a plan to me,” Asher commented, sitting back in his chair.
“Me, too!” Ellie declared.
Jessa beamed. This could all work out in her favor, after all. She already had most of the material she would need, other than the flowers, and she could find many of those in the greenhouse. More importantly, if she did a good job for them, Ellie and Asher just might start to argue on her behalf in regard to the Monroe place. Staying here wasn’t the same as Hunter and her having their own home, of course, but it wasn’t exactly slumming, either, and they wouldn’t have to impose on Abby, at least not for a good while.
“Now that that’s settled,” Hilda said, “could we finalize the menu? This May wedding isn’t exactly a small family affair. Not that there’s any such thing with the Chatams.”
Conversation shifted to food and then to the guest list, which was considerable. Finally, Hilda rose to depart, saying that she had to start dinner.
“And I have another meeting,” Asher said apologetically, already on his feet.
“Thanks for working around my schedule,” Ellie told him, turning her face up to receive his kiss.
“I’m happy to work around your schedule, sweetheart,” he told her.
They murmured between themselves for several seconds before he left the room. Jessa tried not to watch, only to have her gaze land on Garrett. He seemed troubled, caught in his own thoughts, until Asher left, at which point he roused himself and turned to Ellie.
“About the violets…”
“I think they’ll be perfect on the cake,” she gushed. “Don’t you?”
“Those are candied violets,” Garrett pointed out. “That’s not my department, but I have several dozen potted violets that we can use for decoration. I’m just not sure they’ll be enough to strike a real theme, you know?”
“I think you’re right,” Jessa interjected quickly. “I suggest going with mixed bouquets with as many purples as we can find.”
Ellie clapped her hands. “Excellent. Why don’t you meet with Garrett and figure out what we can use, then maybe put together something I can look at?”
“I’ve already seen the greenhouse, so I can go ahead and draw up some designs,” Jessa told her.
“What a blessing you are!” Ellie exclaimed, coming around the table to hug her again. “And after all the mix-up, too! Don’t you worry, though, it’ll all work out. Right, Garrett?”
“Right.” He nodded, smiling wanly. “Wedding, property issues, all of it.”
Beaming, Ellie danced away, her hopes and dreams secure. Jessa wished that she could be so sure about her own life, but she had never been among the blessed, not like these people.
No matter. Things had been worse, much worse. Maybe her life wasn’t what she’d hoped it would be at this moment, but