Bachelor Available!

Wanda Roland looked like the fairy godmother in a Walt Disney movie. Her snowy white hair might indicate advanced years, but her cheerful, unlined face made her look much younger.

Her smile made her look beautiful. She came forward with hands outstretched. “My dear, I’m so very sorry about the confusion.”

“That’s quite all right. As I was telling Teresa—”

“And she passed on your concerns, please be assured. We’re very much on the ball here at the Yellow Rose.” Eyes a paler blue than the handsome cowboy’s twinkled beneath snowy brows. “Please, won’t you come into my office?”

Emily resisted the tug on her hands. “But there’s already someone in there,” she demurred. “I don’t really think it would be a good idea—”

Wanda laughed, a silvery, tinkling sound. “All my ideas are good ones, dear. You’ll see. It’s quite a large office with plenty of room for two clients at the same time. Besides, all you’ll be doing is filling out forms.” She made a face as if she found that activity particularly distasteful.

“No, really—”

Wanda slipped an arm like a band of steel around Emily’s waist. “She’s shy,” she informed Teresa. “Come along, dear. I know what’s best.”

Emily had little choice but to “come along”, guided by the little woman’s surprisingly strong grip. Well, why not? she consoled herself. The sooner she got this over with, the sooner she could get on with her life. She certainly wouldn’t be sorry to get out from under this sense of obligation to her cousin.

They entered the office and the handsome cowboy looked up, holding a single long-stemmed yellow rose loosely in his hands. When he saw them, he replaced the posy in the bud vase next to his hat, resting brim up on the desktop. Dark brows rose in question but he said nothing.

Wanda didn’t seem to be one to let any silence remain unfilled. “Mr. James—may we call you Cody?—this is Miss Emily Kirkwood. May we call you Emily?”

“Of course,” they said in unison.

Wanda led Emily to a chair only a couple of feet from Cody’s, deposited her there and bustled over to her desk. She had to roll her chair to one side in order to see around the enormous computer that covered the entire right-hand side of the desk’s surface. “Now that we’re all here,” she said with satisfaction, “we can get to know each other a little better. Don’t y’all think that would be nice?”

“Uhh...” Cody James cast an oblique glance at the woman sitting to his left. “Is this how you handle all your new...uh, clients?”

Wanda’s frown would have looked like a smile on any other face. “Well, no, not actually. The two of you are a special case, I guess you could say.”

Emily leaned forward. “I feel very uncomfortable about this.” She turned so she could see the cowboy, who also looked ill at ease. “I don’t want to take up Mr. James’s time with my—”

“Cody,” he said quickly. “I don’t mind, Ms. Kirkwood. I’m just confused.”

She nodded. “All right, Cody. I’m Emily, and I’m at least as confused as you are.”

“See how well we’re getting on!” Wanda interjected.

Emily persevered. “Yes, but I still feel like an intruder. Why don’t I come back another day?”

Cody’s long-lashed blue eyes flew wide. “I’d hate to see you go to that trouble. Look, we had the same appointment, so why don’t I reschedule? You’ve got as much right to be here as I do.”

“Exactly,” Wanda put in quickly. “There’s no need for anyone to be inconvenienced.”

“But—” they began, in unison again.

“Tut-tut,” she said, waving aside their apprehensions. “Look at it this way—you’ll be doing me a favor. I’ll only have to go through the Yellow Rose spiel—pardon me, the orientation—once instead of twice.” She gave a delicate little cough, covered by one soft hand.

Emily looked at Cody, who looked back at her. She saw the smile start around his lips and move to those remarkable eyes, then found herself smiling in return. It was a kind of silent communication that agreed they’d both stay and see what Wanda Roland was up to.

Satisfied, Wanda nodded briskly. “All right, kid-dies, I want you to rest assured that all of us here at Yellow Rose Matchmakers have nothing but your best interests at heart. If we had our way, everyone in Texas would be happily married and sending us birth announcements.”

Emily made an exclamation of astonishment before she could stop herself. When the other two looked at her with unveiled curiosity, she rushed to explain herself. “I’m not actually looking for marriage,” she said. “I’m new in town and thought it would be nice just to meet a few people.”

“That’s how it always begins,” Wanda said cheerily. “You can’t marry ‘em until you meet ’em, right, Cody?”

Cody grinned. “Right, Wanda. I, on the other hand, won’t settle for anything less than marriage. I’m not getting any younger and I want a houseful of kids while I can still enjoy ’em.”

Emily could hardly believe her ears. A man who looked as good as this one certainly didn’t need a matchmaker to find women willing to marry him. Something strange was going on here...

Wanda nodded emphatically. “That’s the spirit, Cody. I’m sure I can find just the right girl for you. In the meantime, there are a few things my boss insists I tell you.”

Now we’re getting to the good part, Emily thought. Pay attention! You’ll have to pass all this on to Terry.

“Yellow Rose Matchmakers is the oldest personal introduction agency in the city of San Antonio—maybe all of Texas.” Wanda’s previously warm and friendly tone took on a singsong quality, and she spoke about three times as fast as she had before. Obviously, this was not the favorite part of her job. “We have a phenomenal success rate because we use the newest computers and special software developed just for us.” She reached out to give her computer a swift pat, as awkwardly as if she never touched the thing unless required to do so. “This is George,” she said. “You can trust him.”

George? She’d named her computer George? Emily was stunned.

Cody slumped back in his chair, long legs extended until his boots disappeared beneath the edge of the desk. “That’s one of the reasons I picked this agency,” he said. “I’m a big believer in computers. We use ‘em all the time at the ranch. Although...” He frowned thoughtfully. “I don’t believe we’ve named any of ’em.”

Wanda nodded approvingly before turning to Emily. “And you, dear—why did you choose the Yellow Rose?”

Because my cousin twisted my arm, she thought. Instead, she said, “I like the name. I love roses and yellow ones are my favorite.”

Wanda’s smile returned. “What a charming answer.” She squared her shoulders. “But to proceed—the Yellow Rose has been uniquely successful in matching couples because we are completely computerized. We assess each personality, profile each client and...” She seemed to be running out of steam. “Uhh...we videotape...I mean, if you like that kind of thing....”

Cody frowned. “I’m not sure I do, if you mean that deal where you sit and talk about yourself to a camera. Too much like an auction, if you ask me. Run tapes, say no to this one, maybe to that one. We’re not talking cows here.”

“Exactly!” Wanda sparkled like a Christmas tree. “It’s the human touch that makes all the difference.”

Cody nodded. “Once the information has been analyzed by the computer, I’d agree.”

“But—” Emily looked from one to the other, puzzled “—in this day and age, I thought everything about the process was automated and computerized and completely impersonal and scientific.”

Wanda gasped. “My word, would you like to live in a world where machines tell you whom to love?”

“Well, no, but—”

Cody cut in. He looked as incensed as Wanda did. “And in a world where people are trotted in and out of the video arena like cows in a sale ring?”

“Well, no, but—” Emily cut herself off this time. If Terry was looking for a real up-to-date piece on computer dating, the Yellow Rose apparently wasn’t going to be it. On the other hand, his research had already supported Wanda’s claim that the Rose had the best success rate of any agency in Texas: That’s why he’d been so delighted Emily had been temporarily transferred here. “I stand corrected,” she said. “I was just surprised, that’s all.”

“Well, I guess.” Wanda looked mollified. “Now that we understand each other, folks, I think it’s time for y’all to fill out our scientific in-depth questionnaire ” She rummaged in the top left drawer of the desk as she spoke, then the drawer on the right. “The information you give will be held in the strictest confidence, to be shared only when the match is made. We’re just trying to establish compatibility characteristics between you and your perfect match. That’s what we’re after—perfection. If not the next best thing... Ah, here it is.”

She pulled a handful of papers from the drawer and spread them on the desk in an untidy pile, then began pulling out a sheet here, two sheets there, rejecting some, accepting others, putting them together in various stacks.

Emily glanced at Cody and caught him glancing at her. They both looked away quickly. Again, she asked herself why a man who looked like this one had to go to a dating agency to find a woman. All he had to do was walk down the street and they’d follow him home in droves.

“Here we go.” Wanda offered one pile of papers to each of them, followed by two yellow ballpoint pens bearing a line drawing of a rose. “Now, the two of you can make yourselves comfortable at the conference table.” She indicated the table set before three tall windows in the converted Victorian. Glass panes swathed in lace turned muted light and shadow into romantic patterns.