Page 90 of Love in Tandem
His eyes crinkled in a smile as his fingers found her braid and played with the strands. “No. Trusty Rusty. He says business has been so boring without all your car troubles keeping him busy.”
Then his lips dropped against hers, and Sophia couldn’t believe she’d ever been worried.
A FEW WEEKS LATER
Zach smoothed the tie choking his neck like a noose and willed his hands not to shake as he met the dozen gazes peering back at him from their seats around a rectangular table. Clearing his throat, he said, “I once stumbled upon a momma grizzly and her two cubs during one of my hikes in Alaska. And I’m pretty sure I didn’t feel half as scared as I do right now, knowing I need to convince sixteen people in suits to hand over money.”
The group all chuckled, and Zach exhaled some of his nerves. “I won’t lie. I’ve always been more comfortable out in the wild than I have been within four walls. But I’m also more comfortable with food in my belly than not. So when my boss asked me to give this presentation, I said, ‘Nothing would make me happier.’”
Chairs creaked as the executive board members smiled and settled into their seats. Zach clicked to the first slide on the PowerPoint presentation and whispered a prayer he wouldn’t bungle it.
An hour and a half later, Zach had shed his tie and was on the road back to the resort with a grin on his face. “See? Didn’t I say you’d do great?” his boss said through the Bluetooth in the resort’s SUV. “I knew once you got going, your love and passion for everything nature would be contagious and spread like—”
“Wildfire?”
“I was going to say poison ivy.”
The sun broke through a patch of white clouds. Zach flipped down the visor with a laugh, thinking of Charlotte and her little run-in with poison ivy.
Then again, everything made him think of Charlotte. Halfway through his presentation, one of the board members had brushed her hair behind her ear and his mind flashed to Charlotte. Why? Because Charlotte had hair and an ear? He didn’t know. He only knew Charlotte was never far from his thoughts. Ever.
Which is why these past six weeks had been torture.
“Well, I’m glad to hear it went okay, even though I had no doubt it would. We’ll talk more when you get back. Good job. Oh and hey,” his boss said before ending the call, “I meant to tell you sooner. Even though I think you’re doing a great job, I’m interviewing a potential new employee today to take some of the load off those presentations. You mind sitting in on the interview when you get back? This person would be working pretty closely with you, so I want to make sure you think it’s a good fit.”
“Oh.” Had his boss mentioned hiring someone? Not that Zach couldn’t use the help. Especially if his boss expected him to continue giving presentations to possible investors, like he had this morning. That had never been Zach’s forte. “Sounds good. Yeah. I should be back in about an hour, so I’ll just head straight to your office.”
“Perfect. See you then.”
The wind through the open windows rustled through his hair, which was long overdue for a trim. He blasted the radio and drummed his thumbs on the steering wheel, but then shut it off after a few minutes. Not that I’m not grateful for everything you’ve been doing here, God . . .
All the pieces of his life were slowly fitting together. His job. His faith. His relationship with his brother. They’d talked more in the past six weeks than they’d talked in years.
But there’s still that one little matter you know I’d like to resolve. It’s been six weeks. Pretty soon it will have been two months. Then once her school year starts, I’m afraid it’s going to turn into a year. How long do I need to wait? I only bring this up because I’ve been reading my Bible, which ought to earn me some extra points, not that you’re keeping track of points, but I’m a little concerned because there’s this whole wandering around in the desert for forty years section, and that’s kind of a long time. Maybe not to you, but it sure is to me. And I know I’ve promised to do things right this time, but waiting forty years for things to work out between Charlotte and me doesn’t feel right. I don’t think it’s right. Oh God, please don’t let that be right.
After another hour of praying and pleading, Zach reached the turn-off to the resort. He climbed out of the SUV and slid off his tie, ready to get out of the stiff clothes, when he remembered the interview. Oh, right. Better pop in and see if they’d started yet.
He jogged up the stairs to the large log cabin that housed the main welcoming center and offices. Jamie, his boss’s college-aged daughter, was manning the front desk. She tilted her head toward the back office with a smile. “He said to head on back.”
Zach nodded and kept moving. After a quick knock, he opened the door. “Okay to come in?”
His boss, seated behind his desk, motioned toward a chair. “Yes. Perfect timing. We were just going over Charlotte’s qualifications.”
Charlotte?
Zach clung to the door handle, his gaze landing on the beauty seated in a chair across from the desk. She swiped a loose strand of hair behind her ear. Charlotte.
“So, let’s see.” His boss peered down his glasses at the paper on his desk. “Looks like you definitely know a thing or two about fundraising. That’s good. I see your qualifications also include playing the guitar next to campfires.”
“You might say that’s my thing.”
“Wonderful. Well, I see no reason why you shouldn’t join our team. But I’ll leave the final decision up to Zach.” He stood and offered Charlotte a warm smile and handshake. “It’s nice to finally meet you—especially after hearing so much about you these past several weeks. Let me know how the interview turns out,” he said, punching Zach’s shoulder on his way out of the office.
The door closed and Zach still hadn’t stopped staring at Charlotte. Charlotte. “You’re here.”
“I’m here.” She rose from her seat. “I hope that’s okay.”
Okay? Zach scraped his hand across his jaw, glancing to the door, the trees past the open window blinds, the walls, then to Charlotte. She was here. Really here. “I didn’t expect you for another forty years.”
