Crazy Little Thing Called Matchmaking

by Maggie Van Well

  “Good.” She pulled a notepad and pen from her pocket. “He has a new girlfriend. Yvette. She’s taller than me, curvy, and gorgeous.”

  “And you? How did your date go the other night?”

  “Let’s just say I’m still single.”

  Valerie flipped her menu open. “Have you met your single new neighbor? He’s a doctor, and I hear he’s very handsome.”

  Dianna tapped the tip of her finger against her chin. “A handsome doctor? And right across the street, too.” Placing a hand over her mouth, she let out a pathetic cough. “Goodness, I think I may be getting sick.”

  “He’s a pediatrician.” Kate was shocked by the edge in her voice. Why should she care if Jake got together with Dianna? She was a lot of fun and would be good for him.

  Dianna was about to respond when a tall, redheaded man threw his arm around her shoulder and squeezed. “Hey, cuz, is it okay if Trish and I grab a table in the corner?”

  “Sure, Joshua. You finished with your book yet?”

  Kate leaned forward, eager to hear the answer to Dianna’s question. Joshua Sheldon, along with his writing partner, Austin McKenna, were her favorite authors, and she counted the days until their next installment. They wrote the most frightening thrillers and always made the Bestseller Lists.

  “We’re getting there. Austin is obsessed as usual.”

  With a wave of his hand, Joshua joined his wife while Dianna finished taking their order and then left to fetch their drinks.

  When dinner arrived, they said grace, then dug into their meal.

  Drew shoveled fries into his mouth. Valerie playfully swatted the back of his head. “Chew!”

  He grinned and moved his jaw in a painfully slow motion. She laughed.

  Kate chuckled along with them. Her family. She scanned the dining room and caught the eyes of several locals. They smiled and waved with genuine affection.

  She didn’t have William with her anymore. She didn’t have a lover or someone to hold her while she fell asleep, but at least she had this. Friends. Family. People who truly cared about her.

  For now.

  After dessert and coffee, Valerie drove them home. With her hand on the door handle, Kate turned to her sister. “Thank you for treating us to dinner.”

  “No, thank you for letting me for a change. I really enjoyed the company tonight.”

  Kate hugged her, then hopped from the vehicle. When her sister drove off, she and the boys entered the house. Kate hated being a charity case, but had to admit it was a nice to not have to cook and clean tonight. All she wanted was to go up to her room and relax.

  After bidding her sons goodnight with a stern warning not to stay up too late, she headed to her bedroom and attempted to watch TV for a while, but nothing caught her interest. The home and garden stations only made her realize how much work needed to be done on her house and how much money it would cost. Few of them offered inexpensive decorating ideas.

  Around eleven, she finally gave up and was about to turn off her lights when moonlight hitting her eyes alerted her that the blinds were still open. With a grunt of annoyance, she leapt from the bed and reached for the stem.

  Light illuminated Jake’s room. A few seconds later, it went dark.

  Kate stared into the night, her mind racing. He was so near, sleeping only a few hundred yards away. For some reason, that made her feel closer to him, more familiar.

  If she were honest with herself, she’d have to admit she really liked him. He was funny, loved to laugh, so friggin’ smart, and—okay, she’d admit it—hot. If not for her constant fear of doing or saying something inappropriate, she would want him as a friend.

  Somehow, she was going to find a way to make that happen, and hopefully, the silly lustful thoughts would disappear when he entered ‘The Friend Zone.’

  With that reassuring thought in mind, she twisted the blinds closed.

  Chapter Seven

  “WHAT IS SO FASCINATING in our pool that you had to stare at it for the last five minutes?”

  Alex jerked at the sound of his brother’s voice, the sun hitting him hard in the face as he tried to look up at Drew. He hadn’t heard him come outside, assuming he was still playing Skyward Sword. Mom was at work for a few more hours, so he’d believed he was alone.

  “Dude, you scared the shit out of me.”

  Drew plopped down next to him, dangling his legs into the pool. “That’s what I was going for. So what were you thinking about that made my plan to startle you so easy?”

  “Mom and Dr. Harris.”

  “Why? Did something happen?”

  Alex shook his head. “I’m just trying to figure out how we can get them together.”

  “Dude, they’re together all the time.”

  “Together at work. They need to be together here. Mom sees him as her boss. Even when she’s home, she has to remind herself to call him Jake instead of Dr. Harris.”

  “Any ideas from those soap operas?”

  “Some. But they need work.”

  Drew stroked the peach fuzz over his lip. “Maybe we can invite him over and then trip Mom so she falls into his arms.”

  Alex rolled his eyes. “That is so lame and old school I’m embarrassed for you.”

  “Hey, I watched one of those shows for like fifteen seconds, and that’s exactly what happened. And it worked, too.”

  “With our luck, we’d trip her, and she’d fall on her face. Then she’d be embarrassed in front of him and pissed off at us.”

  “True, because you know we’d have to laugh.”

  Alex laced his fingers behind his head and let out a long sigh. “Maybe we’re overthinking this. Let’s just keep it simple and see how that works.”

  Drew scooted closer to him, and his mouth turned up into a mischievous grin. “I’m listening.”

  ***

  “Oh, boy, have you heard the latest?” Arlene, Kate’s part-time nurse, fiddled with the highlighter pen between her boney fingers, lips puckered against her wrinkled face. “Gladys is at it again.”

  Kate stifled a groan. “Who is her victim this time?”

  “Dr. Harris.”

  She paused in retrieving her purse from under the reception desk. So much for an early escape. “What could she possibly have to gossip about concerning him?”

  Arlene moved closer, her husky smoker’s voice switching to a low whisper. “He’s been here for a month, and not once has he received a personal phone call or visitors. He never talks about going anywhere or doing anything outside the hospital or his house.”

  “So?” Kate grabbed her bag and hoisted it over one shoulder. “Maybe he doesn’t like to get phone calls at work, and not everyone encourages visitors like Dr. Stern did.”

  “It does seem a little odd.” Her coworker chuckled. “Although, I think Gladys’s assumption that he’s hiding from the government is a tad extreme.”

  Kate grunted. She wasn’t surprised. Gladys had a good heart, but she needed to learn to mind her own business. And the imagination that woman had! God, she should write fantasy novels. “One of these days, she’s going to start trouble.”

  The older nurse shook her head. “I think she’s honestly worried about him.”

  “I’ll talk to her.” With a gentle pat to Arlene’s shoulder, Kate left to find Gladys.

  She found her in the lab, cleaning up for the day. Kate entered the room, rehearsing the words in her head.

  “I just had an interesting chat with Arlene. She told me what you suspect about Dr. Jake.”

  Gladys peered over her half-glasses. “Is she as worried as I am?”

  “Yes, she is, but not about Jake.” Kate placed her hand on her friend’s wrist. “She’s worried what you said will get back to him. You have to stop jumping to such wild conclusions.”

  “Okay, maybe he’s not hiding from the government. But he could be in the witness protection program.”

  Kate fought not to roll her eyes. “Gladys, please.”

  “I
t’s possible. He’s a brilliant doctor, graduated way ahead of his class, but very young. He could’ve gotten in with the wrong crowd.”

  “Nonsense.”

  “He lives next door to you. Have you seen him with any visitors? Because no one else in town has.”

  That gave her pause. No, she hadn’t, which was odd considering he’d just bought a new house. He didn’t have a girlfriend, and he always seemed to be home if he wasn’t at the office or the hospital.

  “That’s not the point. It’s Jake’s business, and we need to respect that.”

  With a rather exaggerated ‘harrumph,’ Gladys reached for the garbage liner, yanking it from the can with more force than necessary. “It’s not a crime to be concerned for someone you care about.”

  Kate cupped the older woman’s shoulders. “That’s what I love about you, but I need you to work with me on this.”

  “As you wish.”

  Confident she’d made her point, Kate headed home.

  She’d managed to focus while preparing dinner, but as she and Drew set the table, she couldn’t keep her thoughts from straying back to the conversations in the office. Why was Jake always alone? Did he ever date? She’d never seen a girl over at his place. Could he be alone in the world? He’d mentioned a brother and sister, but maybe they lived far away. The thought made her heart ache.

  The distant slam of a car door pulled her from her thoughts. She hurried over to the dining room window facing Jake’s property and peeked around the edge of her lacy curtains. He trudged up the pathway to his house, his shoulders and head low.

  “Coach looks lonely, huh?” Drew said from behind her.

  “He’s probably tired.”

  “I see him outside a lot. All alone. Eating by himself.” Her son let out a long, deep sigh. “That’s so sad, isn’t it?”

  Kate turned away from the window and went back to folding napkins. Sad, yes. And for Drew to notice, it must really be apparent. “I guess.”

  “You made plenty of lasagna. Why not invite him over?”

  “I made a lot so we’d have leftovers. This way I don’t have to cook every single night.”

  “Alex and I could cook.”

  Her stomach clenched at the thought of sharing an intimate family meal with her boss. “I’m sure Dr. Harris has better things to do.”

  “It wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

  Kate slammed the pile of napkins, feeling trapped. “Why are you being so insistent we ask him?”

  “Why are you being so insistent we don’t?”

  Words failed her.

  “You always invite new neighbors over for dinner, even if they’re just renters, so why not Coach?”

  Kate didn’t know how to respond. The fact Drew made sense didn’t help either.

  Feeling like a heel, she straightened the fork near her plate. “Go ask him.”

  His eyes grew wide. Then he jumped and punched the air. “Yes!”

  She held her breath as Drew rushed over to Jake’s. She had no doubt he’d be joining them. Drew was charming and persuasive. Jake didn’t stand a chance.

  Moments later, Drew returned. “He said give him a few minutes.”

  Kate could hardly contain her gulp. “Would you please get your brother?”

  Drew hurried up the stairs and paused outside Alex’s open door. “Dude!”

  “Come on in.”

  Drew entered the ridiculously clean room and slammed the door behind him. His brother lay stretched out on the bed, reading. On purpose. Like, without a teacher pestering him to do it. “Guess what?”

  Alex placed a bookmark between the pages of the dorky novel with some kind of worm-woman with huge boobs on the cover. “What?”

  “It worked! She told me to ask him.”

  “No kidding?” Alex shot up.

  “And he’s coming.”

  “Awesome!”

  “So what’s the rest of the plan?”

  “I don’t know. I didn’t expect it to work.” His brother rested his chin in his hand and stared into space. “We can’t make it too obvious. We have to be subtle.”

  “Subtle?” He wished Alex wouldn’t use such big words.

  “Yes. It means crafty or sly or devious.” Alex placed a hand on his shoulder. “Can you be devious, Drew?”

  Something wicked grew in his stomach. He grinned. “Oh, I can be devious.”

  “You rock, man.” Alex paced the room, lost in thought. Then he stopped and grinned. “I got it.”

  “What?”

  “It’s too convoluted to explain. Just follow my lead.” Alex motioned for Drew to follow him. He trailed behind his brother, wondering what the hell convoluted meant. Mom would say “look it up,” which would be fine if he knew how to spell it.

  They entered the kitchen to find Mom at the oven checking dinner. Pasta again. God, he was so sick of pasta. At least this time she’d made lasagna. He could handle that.

  “Need any help, Mom?” Alex asked.

  She pulled off the oven mitts. “No, thanks, honey, I think we’re about ready. Go wash up.”

  Alex gripped the hem of her sleeve with his thumb and forefinger. “Is this what you’re wearing?”

  She glanced down at her plain powder-blue scrubs, the lame outfit she always wore to work. “What’s wrong with it?”

  “You don’t look very welcoming.”

  “Yeah, Mom,” Drew added. “Isn’t it kinda—I dunno—frumpy?”

  His mother’s mouth twisted. “Frumpy? Have you been listening to your grandmother again?”

  “I just thought you’d want Coach to feel like he’s eating with his neighbor, not his employee.” Drew shrugged, hoping to convey a ‘whatever, man’ attitude. If Mom thought they were coming on too strong, she’d know something was up. She was annoyingly smart that way.

  “This is fine. Now go.”

  Crap. Maybe he should’ve held off on the shrug. He turned to his brother and lifted his hands in a hopeless gesture. Alex jerked his head in the direction of the bathroom.

  “Now what?” Drew asked as he turned on the water.

  Alex stared into space, his mouth making funny coils. “We move on to plan B.”

  Damn it! He was so hoping he wasn’t going to say that.

  They rejoined their mother.

  “Much better.” Mom nodded in approval. “Sit down. Dinner will be out in a minute.”

  Alex took her by the elbow and led her to the chair at the head of the table. “You sit. Drew and I will get the rest.”

  Her brows shot up. “Thanks.”

  They moved into action. Alex poured red wine into two wineglasses and handed them to Drew. Concentrating hard on his task, he put one on the table in front of his mother and, reminding himself this was for the greater good, deliberately tipped it over.

  “Ah!” Mom jumped up, nearly knocking over her chair. The wine seeped into the fabric of her uniform.

  Drew gulped at the horror on her face. “Oh, man. I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay, honey. I have to run upstairs and rinse this out.” She hurried from the kitchen and called over her shoulder, “Let Dr. Harris in if the doorbell rings, okay?”

  Well, at least it worked.

  Once Mom was out of sight, Drew turned to Alex and pounded his fist.

  Chapter Eight

  WHAT THE HELL?

  By the time Kate returned in clean, dry clothes, the boys had already tidied up the mess and finished setting the table. No, make that, reset the table. Candles glowed from each end, and they’d replaced her everyday dishes with good china. Suspicion set in. “You guys want something from me.”

  “Naw, we just wanted to help,” Alex said. “And, you know, make the table nice for company.”

  Yeah, right. Every other time they had guests, her boys begged her to use paper plates so they didn’t have to help with the dishes.

  She opened her mouth to interrogate further when the doorbell rang.

  “I’ll get it.” Drew jumped up from th
e table.

  Moments later, he led Jake into the dining room. The air grew thick and the decent-sized room suddenly felt too small. A faded black T-shirt, branded with the Batman emblem, stretched across his wide chest. Well-toned thighs emerged from a pair of cut-off jeans.

  Man, he could fill out a pair of shorts. “Hi, Jake. Have a seat.”

  The boys jumped into their places, leaving their guest to sit next to her. Jake hurried over, his hand brushing her arm as he reached to pull out her chair. He stood so close, his eyes fixed on hers. “Ladies first.”

  Good God, he’s yummy. “Thank you.” She sat and placed a napkin on her lap.

  Jake did the same. “Are we celebrating something tonight?”

  “No, why?”

  He caught her eye, then quickly jerked away. “I dunno. It’s not often I get invited to dinner.”

  Gladys’ words came rushing back, and Kate knew then she’d done the right thing. “It’s nothing special. I just made a lot and thought you’d like to join us.”

  “Mom’s a great cook,” Alex said.

  “And she can bake, too,” Drew added.

  “Why thank you, boys.” She reached for the serving spoon. “Later, I’m going to find out what you did that warrants such flattery.”

  Her sons gaped at her with wide innocent eyes. “We didn’t do anything. You are a great cook and a good baker. What’s wrong with saying that?” Alex said.

  She studied them a moment before turning to their guest. “I hope you like lasagna.”

  “I love it.”

  After serving and saying grace, they all chatted about the disgustingly hot weather and how the Mets were doing. Jake fit right in with their small family, an observation that made her uneasy. Maybe she shouldn’t have invited him over, keeping their relationship professional instead.

  “Coach, can I ask you a question?”

  “Sure.”

  Alex cleared his throat. “You look really buff, especially around your arms and chest. Do you work out?”

  Jake stopped chewing, a deep pink inching up his neck into his cheeks.

  “Alex! That’s not a proper question to ask.” Kate had no idea why, but anything referring to their guest’s incredible physique should be off limits.