Perfect Partners

afraid.”
    Stephanie glanced back at Diana. “Afraid of your father?”
    “Yes. I knew if he had a grandchild, Daddy would be very possessive of it. Perhaps even more so than he is of me. And his rages have been getting more frequent lately. I was terrified of the possibilities.”
    Stephanie looked shocked. “My God, you’ve been living with your fear of your father for a long time, haven’t you, Diana?”
    Diana’s face tightened. “Too long. I’m glad it’s going to end. One way or another, I’m glad. Looking back on it, I feel as if I’ve been living under the thumb of a terrorist.”
    “And every person who’s come into your life has become a hostage,” Letty concluded softly. “No wonder you were afraid to have children.”
    “Yes. Maybe after this is all over…” Diana’s words trailed off.
    “We all carry some kind of secret fear with us, don’t we?” Letty brought the car to a halt in front of the Thornquist mountain home. “Sooner or later we all need someone to help us work through the fears.”
    Stephanie’s brows rose. “No offense, Letty, but I can’t imagine you being afraid of anything.”
    Diana gave a small exclamation as she reached for the door handle. “That’s for certain. What in the world have you ever been afraid of, Letty?”
    Letty turned in the seat. “Do you really want to know?”
    Stephanie and Diana stared at her in surprise.
    “Well, yes,” said Stephanie, her eyes curious.
    Diana cocked her head. “Yes, I would, too. Frankly, I’ve had the impression you were something of an Amazon.”
    Letty smiled ruefully. “Not quite. I’ve been afraid for a long time. Afraid that there was something missing in my life. Maybe missing in me. I seemed to be an observer, instead of a participant. Do you understand?”
    Stephanie turned thoughtful. “I think so.”
    “Great-Uncle Charlie rescued me from that by leaving me Thornquist Gear. All of a sudden at Thornquist I’m an actor, not a member of the audience.”
    “You’ve certainly been involved,” Diana agreed dryly.
    Letty ignored her. Now that she had started, it was hard to stop. “There’s more. You two were afraid to have children. Well, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to.”
    Stephanie was startled. “Why?”
    “I was afraid I’d never find the kind of man I wanted to be the father of my children. And if I did find him, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to hold on to him because I wouldn’t be able to respond satisfactorily in bed.”
    “For heaven’s sake, Letty,” Stephanie began.
    “It’s true.” Letty looked at her. “I couldn’t even hold on to Philip Dixon. Five weeks into our engagement he had to find Gloria the grad student to satisfy his ego because I couldn’t have an orgasm.”
    Stephanie’s eyes widened in sympathy. “Oh, Letty, didn’t you know you can get professional help for that kind of problem?”
    Letty stared at her. Then she started to laugh. She laughed so hard she nearly fell out of the car when she finally got the door open.
    “You’ll be glad to know,” she told Stephanie as she wiped her eyes, “that I won’t be needing therapy after all.”

    Hours later Letty lifted the lid off the pot of soup that was simmering on the stove. She stirred carefully, taking a quiet pleasure in watching the plump beans and colorful vegetables swirl through the rich broth. She had offered to make the soup from scratch, and much to her surprise, Stephanie had not objected.
    “Smells good,” Stephanie observed from the doorway. “I’d forgotten how good homemade soup can taste on a cold day.”
    Letty frowned and glanced out the window. “It is cold, isn’t it? And it’s starting to get cloudy outside. Back home we’d say it’s fixing to snow.”
    “It’s too early in the season for anything more than a few light flurries.” Stephanie went over to the refrigerator and opened the door. “In any event Morgan checked the weather reports before he and Joel packed us off. He said there was no snow predicted. Just rain. Shall I make a salad?”
    Letty smiled. “Sounds good. Provided you don’t practice one of your infant recipes on us.”
    Stephanie grimaced as she removed lettuce from the refrigerator. “Don’t worry. I’m helpless without my blender.”
    Diana appeared in the doorway. “Smells like dinner in here.”
    Letty glanced at her. “I thought you were taking a nap?”
    “I couldn’t sleep.” Diana glanced out the window. “Do you think