Seeking Single Male

Chapter 24

Epilogue

1

Lexington, KY: SF in mid-twenties seeking SM for good times. Horse lover a plus. I’m a good cook. Coffee Girl

LEXINGTON ATTORNEY Greg Healey looked up from the ad circled in Attitudes magazine, his stomach twisting at the sight of his younger brother’s wide smile. “You want to do what?”

“Meet Coffee Girl,” Will said. “‘SF’ means single female, and ‘SM’ means single male—that’s me.”

Closing his eyes, Greg murmured, “Seeking single male.”

“For good times,” Will added eagerly. “Will you help me, Gregory?”

After a long morning of correcting real estate contracts, this he did not need. He sighed, then looked up into innocent brown eyes. Will’s childlike expression seemed incongruous with his twenty-five-year-old body, which was broad and toned from grooming and riding horses at the farm that neighbored their home. Greg was tempted to dismiss his brother’s request, but lately Will had been showing an elevated interest in women and dating. And in truth, considering Will’s shyness and relative isolation, turning to the singles ads wasn’t so far-fetched. The fact that his brother had ventured downtown to Greg’s office to discuss the ad was proof that he was serious.

Still, intense protective feelings reared high. Greg gestured for his brother to sit in a plush visitor’s chair, while he himself leaned against his desk and crossed his arms. “I don’t think this is a good idea, buddy. You don’t even know this woman—”

“But she likes horses and she likes to cook and she must like coffee.” Will shrugged massive shoulders, as if he couldn’t imagine what else mattered. “I love coffee, Gregory. Can I call her? There’s a number at the bottom of the ad.”

Greg bit down on his tongue, unable to offer an alternative for the handsome man before him who was obviously craving female companionship. The physical need, he could relate to, but Greg feared Will wouldn’t be able to distinguish a physical attraction from an emotional one. And he was determined to shield Will from would-be opportunists with their sights set on his brother’s half of the Healey family business.

“Will, women are…complicated creatures.”

“Is that why you’re not married, Gregory?”

Greg squirmed. Subtlety was not in Will’s repertoire. “Er, yes.” One of many reasons, the main one being he’d never met a woman who warranted the trouble of his becoming involved. Besides, most women seemed embarrassed by Will’s presence, and his brother would always be his top priority.

Will scratched his temple. “But if women are complicated, then why do other men marry them?”

Greg gave him a wry grin. “Little brother, if you can answer that question, then you’re a lot smarter than I am.”

Will’s eyes widened. “How about for sex?”

Okay, he’d asked for that one. Even after all this time, he still flew by the seat of his pants where Will was concerned. “You don’t have to be married to have sex, Will.”

“How often do you have sex, Gregory?”

He blinked. “That’s a personal question.” And pride barred him from answering truthfully. “Besides, how often one man has sex has nothing to do with how often another man has sex. Everyone is different. Do you understand?”

Will nodded. “Like how often you brush your teeth?”

“Er, something like that, yes.”

Scooting to the edge of the chair, Will said, “I want to have sex, Gregory, but I want to be married first. Don’t you think that’s best?”

And how could he answer that question without being hypocritical? If he said yes and believed it, he would be sentencing himself to a life of celibacy, since marriage was nowhere in his plan. He inhaled deeply, then exhaled slowly. “Let’s take it one step at a time, okay? First you need to meet a nice girl.”

Excitement lit Will’s entire face. “So I can call Coffee Girl?”

Greg massaged the bridge of his nose. His brother was a late bloomer with raging hormones. When mixed with Will’s trusting nature, it was a recipe for trouble. The woman who placed the ad could be a hooker, for all they knew. On the other hand, a hooker would be preferable to a gold digger, or to a woman who would make fun of Will’s mental disability. None of the scenarios that played out in his head had a good ending.

“Please, Gregory?”

This had to be what parenting felt like, Greg decided as he looked at his brother’s hopeful expression. Being torn between good judgment and giving in. At last a compromise struck him. “How about if I check out this…Coffee Girl first?”

Will bit on his lower lip. “I don’t know…”

“Will, don’t I always take care of you?”

“Yes, Gregory.” Will gestured toward the phone. “But will you call her right now?”

Greg hesitated, noting with alarm that his brother seemed fixated on the idea that this woman in the ad was somehow his soul mate. But the sooner Greg called, the sooner Will would realize that women were a disappointing lot.

“Sure, buddy, I’ll call.” Consulting the voice mailbox at the bottom of the ad, Greg dialed the number and, after the mechanical voice identified the mailbox, said, “Yes…I’m calling about your ad. My name is…Greg, and I’d like to meet you for…a cup of coffee.” Feeling like a colossal fool, he left the number for his private office line and banged down the receiver.

“She wasn’t home?” Will asked, his eyebrows knit.

“It doesn’t work like that. The number is for a voice mailbox, where I left the message. The lady will call in to pick up the message, then she’ll return my call. It’s safer that way.”

Will jumped to his feet. “But what if she doesn’t call back?”

“She’ll call.”

“But what if she meets you for a cup of coffee and she likes you, Gregory?”

Greg draped his arm around his brother’s shoulders. “You’re the one looking for a woman, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“And you’re the horseman of the family, aren’t you?”

“Yeah.”

“Then don’t worry.”

Will frowned, obviously trying to follow the reasoning. “But when will I get to have coffee with her?”

“If she’s a nice lady, then I’ll introduce the two of you.” But not until she passed every test he planned to throw at the woman.

A grin transformed Will’s face again. “Okay, Gregory.” He gave Greg a giant bear hug. “Maybe we’ll find a lady for you, too. One that’s not so complicated.”

With effort, Greg maintained a smile while Will waved goodbye, but as soon as his brother was out of sight, he leaned heavily on his desk. Gentle, big-hearted Will was always full of surprises, but this one had topped them all. Greg glanced at his desk piled high with papers, and heaved a sigh. And now back to our tedious, mind-numbing program, already in progress.

Moving in slow motion, he settled into his father’s worn leather chair and tried to remember where he’d left off. Increasingly intricate real estate transactions had quadrupled the Healey Land Group’s paperwork over the past year. At times he felt more like a pencil-pushing clerk than president and chief legal counsel. Rewriting mountains of contracts wasn’t what he’d had in mind when he passed the bar exam a decade ago.

His phone bleeped, and he pushed a button with one hand while massaging a pain needling his temple with the other. “Yes, Peg?”