Sparks the Matchmaker (Aaron Sparks Series) (21 page)

“You’re joking,” Ollie said, his mouth still half open.

Sparks’ face said,
now do you get it?
“I told you to give me more credit than that.”

“She made it pretty clear she didn’t want to talk to me again. Is she going to magically change her mind?”

“Ya know, Joy is really sentimental. She loves to journal and keep a scrapbook, especially about big events like when she drove to Colorado to visit her daughter.”

“Stop changing the subject.”

“I’m not changing the subject. Can you think of anything Joy would hold onto as a keepsake from that trip?”

“How about if you just tell me straight up for once. Stop leading me around in circles.”

“Okay, okay. She kept the little yellow piece of paper from the ride board. The one with Lynn’s phone number on it. After you left Lynn’s place last night, Joy was thinking about everything and—”

“She called her? What did they talk about?”

Sparks tapped his index finger on Ollie’s forehead a few times. “Think, Bomber. Think, think, think. Do you really think Scott would be waiting to walk Joy home if she’d called Lynn up to tell her she’d better stay away from her man?”

“She explained everything?”

Sparks smiled.

“She convinced her to give me a shot?”

“Not exactly. She’s just much better with words than you are. She explained the situation pretty well.”

“Were you planning on me being with Lynn all along?”

“Planning on, yes. But planning doesn’t always get the job done. Really, the only thing I did was to get you into a certain situation that you wouldn’t have gotten yourself into otherwise.” He polished his nails against his shirtfront. “You did the rest.”

“So this was never about Joy.”

“Of course it was about Joy! You doofus!” Sparks smacked his palm against his brow. “Like I said, it was all about helping Joy. And it was about helping Greg, and Marie, and Lynn, and D. And, yes, it was definitely about helping you. The hardest part was letting you do things on your own, because, man, you can be
dense
.”

“Let me guess: it was because you knew I would resist and mess things up with Lynn if I was just trying to follow your lead.”

“Partly. Sort of. Not really. Mostly, you just needed to know for yourself that you were chasing something you knew
you
wanted, not something someone else was tellin’ ya you wanted. Americans don’t respond too well to arranged marriages, even if it’s with a great person, ya know? And by the way… Joy did need you.”

“You’re a jerk
.
You know that, right?” Ollie smiled.

“Of course I do, Bomber.”

“Where’s Lynn right now? I want to go see her.”

“On her way to your place. She’s still not quite sure what to make of last night, but she’s coming over anyway.”

“Then let’s get out of here!” Ollie skipped up the stairs like a little kid, then spun back around to face Sparks. “Well actually, uh… not to be rude, but… I wanna get home before Lynn gets there, and you’re not a very fast walker.”

“No worries.”

Even though he was in a big rush to get home, he paused, not knowing how to say what he was thinking. “Umm, so…”

“Yep. I know. You’re done with me. I’ve served my purpose and you want me to get lost now.”

“Ah, don’t be like that. I just wanna take it from here… ya know, on my own from now on.”

“I know. I’m just giving you a hard time.”

“And don’t think I’m not gonna burn that hat.”

Sparks limped up the stairs and stood in front of Ollie. “Actually, don’t burn it quite yet.”

“Why? I don’t need your help anymore.”

“You don’t. Someone else will.”

“Can you
not
talk in riddles for once? Who is it?”

“One of your roommates.”

“One of my roommates?” Ollie didn’t know what to make of that. He had gotten exactly what he wanted after all, but he still didn’t enjoy feeling like a marionette.

“Have some faith in your friend,” Sparks said. “He’s a big boy. He can decide for himself what he wants from me.”

“Are you going to jerk him around like you did to me?”

“Probably.”

“But things will work out for him in the end?”

“Probably.”

“You’re a jerk. You know that, right?”

“Yeah, I do.”

***

For the first time that day, Ollie wasn’t too late. He sat patiently on his front step waiting, thinking, smiling. He leaned back on his hands and thought about everything that had happened over the past few weeks, ever since he attempted to propose to Anne near the mouth of the canyon. Anne. That was the first time she’d crossed his mind all day, which could only be a good thing. He could finally smile again when he recalled her memory.

Then there was Joy. His smile broadened even more. He’d see her again, as friends. She did live in the apartment complex behind him, after all.

Above all, though, was Lynn. Beautiful, bubbly, spunky Lynn. As he thought about the accidental pathway that had brought them together, she appeared around the corner in the distance. She was likely feeling as confused and overwhelmed as Ollie had felt earlier in the day, but it didn’t show on her face as he ran out to meet her. He couldn’t wait for her to get to where he was sitting on his front step. He wanted to walk the remaining blocks with her, even if there were only two.

“I missed you,” Ollie said as he approached her on the sidewalk.

“Yeah, well, I was in the neighborhood and I thought I’d stop by for a few seconds… or maybe a few hours.”

“That works out great, because I have a few seconds to spare. Or maybe a few hours.”

Walking the remaining distance to Tall House could wait. Ollie wrapped his arms around Lynn’s waist and drew her near, stopping just close enough to take in the different colors of her eyes.

She smiled her beautiful smile, melting him as they stood there in the cold. Standing on the tips of her toes brought her only halfway, so he leaned in to cover the rest of the distance.

They would have a lifetime of questions, surely, but they would also have a lifetime to find the answers. Right then, right there was all that mattered, and they savored the kisses that answered the biggest question between them. All was right between them, or soon would be.
That’s all I need to know.

Turning to walk home, he looked up. Just a few blocks away he saw Keith crossing the street accompanied by someone half his size, limping as he walked.
So Keith is Sparks’ next target.
Part of him wanted to warn his best friend of things to come, but when he felt Lynn squeeze his hand, Ollie knew he would have to let Sparks do his thing. Ollie had found the only thing he’d ever really wanted, and he wasn’t going to be the one to keep that from someone else.

About the Author

Russell was born on Andrews Air Force Base near Washington D.C. Along with his five siblings, he and his military family moved around a lot, living in eight different houses by the time he left for college at age seventeen. Although his family moved away from Fallon, Nevada, just a few months after he moved out, he still considers that little oasis in the desert to be his childhood hometown.

Even after leaving home, Russell always stayed close to his family. He shared an apartment with each of his three brothers at different times during his college career. They formed a band together back in the 1990’s and still perform regularly under the name of The Invisible Swordsmen.

After nearly a decade of college and changing his major a few times, Russell received his bachelor’s degree in sociology from Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. He later graduated from Ameritech College where he learned the trade of being a dental lab technician. Along with being a writer, Russell owns and operates Elkins Dental Lab in Meridian, Idaho.

Russell has always been a family man at heart, looking forward to the day when he could be a husband and a father. When he and his wife, Jammie, realized that they weren’t able to have children biologically, they excitedly chose to adopt in order to start their family. Russell and Jammie have two beautiful children through the miracle of adoption and work together as active adoption advocates, speaking and doing presentations for adoption related causes. Along with his love for writing fiction, Russell is the author of the
Open Adoption, Open Heart
series, which tells of their amazing journey with adoption. Russell also writes for a variety of adoption related publications, including
Adoption Voices Magazine
and
Adoption.com
.

RussellElkins.com

Sparks the Matchmaker

By Russell Elkins

©2013 Russell Elkins

All rights reserved. The use of any or part of this publication, whether reproduced, transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, or stored in a retrieval system without the prior consent of the publisher, is an infringement of copyright law and is forbidden.

This book is a work of fiction. The characters, names, incidents, places, and dialogue are products of the author’s imagination, and are not to be construed as real.

Edited by Chris White of C.P. White Media, Limited Company

www.cpwhitemedia.com

Cover design by Damonza

damonza.com

Interior book design: Inky’s Nest Publishing

Published by Inky’s Nest Publishing

RussellElkins.com

1st edition

First printed in 2013 in the United States of America