Perfect Partners

Dixon,” Morgan said.
    “Dixon is nothing more than a con man.”
    “You’re sure of that?”
    “Damn sure.” Joel glanced at his watch for the hundredth time.
    Morgan gazed into the fire. “My daughter is no fool. I raised her to think clearly and logically. I doubt she’ll be taken in by a con job.”
    “Letty may be smart, but she’s too emotional to think clearly all the time.”
    “I beg your pardon?” Morgan was clearly affronted.
    “Damn it, she is a highly emotional female. She’s also very naive. And too trusting.”
    “Nonsense. If Letty decides to marry Philip Dixon it will be for good and sufficient reasons. I taught her to reason her way through highly charged situations. From the time she was five years old, she was required to present a summary of the logic behind any major decision she made. I am convinced she would not make a move as drastic as marriage without first assessing all the facts.”
    Joel spun around to stare at Morgan. “Are we talking about the same woman?”
    “I assume so.”
    “No offense, Morgan, but I don’t think you know your daughter as well as you think you do. As I said, Letty is a very emotional creature.”
    “Rubbish. She is intelligent, analytical, and rational. I saw to it that she developed those qualities at an early age.”
    Joel was incensed. “What the hell are you going to do if she decides to marry Philip Dixon? Are you going to sit back and say she obviously knows what she’s doing?”
    “Letty is twenty-nine years old. If she hasn’t learned to think clearly by now, it’s too late for me to worry about it. But as it happens, I believe she will ultimately make the right choice. I doubt that she will marry Philip for the simple reason that she knows she cannot trust him.”
    “Because he made an ass out of himself with that grad student? Get real, Morgan. A slick, fast-talking guy like Dixon isn’t going to let a little thing like that stand in his way. He wants my company, and that means he’s going to try to get his hands on Letty.”
    Morgan eyed him thoughtfully. “Have you asked Letty how she feels about that possibility?”
    “I told you I haven’t had an opportunity to ask Letty a damn thing because she slipped out on me after work.” Joel stopped talking abruptly when he heard the key in the front door lock.
    “That will be Stephanie and Letty now, I believe,” Morgan observed.
    “About time.”
    “Morgan?” Stephanie called from the hall.
    “In here, my dear.” Morgan pushed himself up out of the chair to greet his wife. “We have company.”
    “Who is it, dear?” Stephanie walked into the room. “Oh, I see. Hello, Joel. How are you this evening?”
    “Fine. Where’s Letty?”
    Stephanie glanced over her shoulder. “Right here. It’s Joel, Letty.”
    “I heard.” Letty appeared. She was bundled up in her new Thornquist Gear down jacket. Her expression was distinctly wary. “What are you doing here, Joel?”
    “Guess.”
    Her mouth tightened. “There was no need to bother my father.”
    Morgan helped Stephanie with her coat. “It was no bother at all, my dear. We were having a very interesting conversation about Dixon’s possible reasons for being here in Seattle.”
    “I think we all know exactly what his reason is,” Joel announced.
    Stephanie nodded seriously. “Yes, I think it’s quite obvious.”
    Morgan pursed his lips in thoughtful consideration. “I have to agree that Thornquist Gear would appear to be the clear motivating force in his recent actions.”
    Joel felt vindicated. At least everyone agreed with him. Dixon was definitely a threat. Surely Letty understood that. He looked at her to see how she was taking the united front of opinion. Letty eyed them all with a mutinous expression and seemed to huddle even deeper into her overstuffed coat.
    “Thank you for your considered remarks on the subject,” Letty said coldly. “Nice to know that not one of you believes there is even the remotest possibility that Philip might have come to Seattle because of me.”
    Morgan and Stephanie looked at each other and then at Joel. Joel wished he had handled the situation differently, but it was too late now. He stepped forward and caught hold of her arm.
    “Come on, Letty,” he said. “I’ll take you home. Did you drive here tonight?”
    “No. I took the bus.”
    “Then we don’t have to worry about your car.” He nodded brusquely at Morgan and Stephanie. “Good night.”
    “Good night.”