Perfect Partners

Mary was when she first realized she was pregnant again with you. She was afraid of history repeating itself. We sweated out the first months of the second pregnancy together.”
    “Did you tell all that to Stephanie?” Letty asked.
    “Of course. It seemed to help somewhat. She’s still anxious, but at least now she feels free to talk about it.” Morgan hesitated. “I wanted to thank you, Letty.”
    Letty smiled into the phone. “For telling her it was okay to tell you the whole story? No problem. I explained that beneath that overeducated exterior, there still beats the heart of a nice midwestern farm boy.”
    Morgan chuckled. “You and Mary were always good at that kind of thing, Letty.”
    “What kind of thing?”
    “Understanding the emotional side of people. Figuring out what made them tick.”
    “Mother was terrific at it. I’m not so sure about me. As proof positive that I make major mistakes when it comes to judging people, there’s the infamous example of my engagement to Professor Philip Dixon. Earlier today Joel asked me what I ever saw in Philip. It was a good question. I didn’t have a good answer.”
    Morgan coughed slightly to clear his throat. “That brings up another subject. I’ve been thinking about your announcement the other evening, Letty.”
    “What announcement?”
    “The one in which you stated you are, shall we say, involved in a romantic liaison with Joel Blackstone.”
    “It’s more than a romantic liaison on my part. I’m in love with the man, Dad.”
    “I see.” Morgan sighed. “I was afraid of that. How does he feel?”
    Letty considered the question. “Right now he’s too wrapped up in this Copeland Marine business to stop and analyze his own feelings.”
    “Translated, does that mean his feelings for you are not as strong as yours for him?” Morgan asked dryly.
    A small chill went down Letty’s spine. She scowled at the receiver. “He just needs a little time.”
    “Letty, you misjudged Philip Dixon. Don’t make a second error in judgment. Have you drawn up that decision matrix yet?”
    “No,” Letty admitted.
    “Do it, Letty. A woman in your position must think with her head, not her heart. The owner of Thornquist Gear cannot afford to allow herself to be carried away by uncontrolled passion. I don’t want to see you hurt.”
    Letty said good-bye and hung up the phone. Her father was right about one thing. She had better start facing reality. The bottom line was that she did not really want an affair with Joel Blackstone.
    True, it had been exciting at first. And it was still exciting, the most exciting thing she had ever done. She could hardly deny that. But deep down she had a strong feeling that she was not really cut out for an affair.
    The day she started sleeping with Joel Blackstone, a part of her had begun planning on marriage.
    She did not really understand affairs. When you got right down to it, they were pointless. She had been raised to think in terms of commitment and love and family.
    Back where she came from, people got married when they fell in love.

16

    T hat’s the offer, Escott,” Joel said that evening. “Eighteen months to prove you can pull Copeland Marine out of the red and that’s all. Take it or leave it.”
    Letty held her breath as she and everyone else at the table waited for Keith’s response. Around them the restaurant in the downtown hotel where the Escotts were staying hummed with muted conversation and the clink of glassware and cutlery. The tension at the table had been thick as Joel spelled out the terms of the deal. But there had also been a palpable aura of excitement and enthusiasm around Keith. And he responded to Joel’s offer in a heartbeat.
    “I’ll take it,” Keith said.
    Joel nodded. “Okay, it’s a deal. For the moment, I want absolute secrecy on this. I’ll tell Copeland myself—when we’re ready. Understood?”
    “Sure.” Keith smiled faintly. “You’ve got a right, although I’ll have to admit it would have given me a great deal of pleasure to hand the old man an early retirement.”
    Letty saw Diana’s lips tighten. Across the table, the women’s eyes met. There was anger and something else in Diana’s gaze. Letty suddenly realized the other ingredient was fear.
    But Diana said nothing as her husband and Joel fell into an intense discussion of just how the five-year plan would be implemented during the first few months. Letty kept quiet as she, too, listened to Joel’s cool,