Debbie Macomber - An Engagement in Seattle: Groom Wanted; Bride Wanted

G randma, Grandma. Three-year-old Justin Goodman tore out of Lesleys grasp as they stepped into the small airport and he ran into the waiting arms of June Campbell-Sterne.

June hugged her grandson and lifted him from the ground. Oh, my, youve gotten so big.

Justins chubby arms circled his grandmothers neck and he squeezed tightly.

Justins not the only one whos grown, Chase said, slipping his arm around Lesleys thickened waist.

You would have, too, if you were about to have a baby, Lesley reminded her husband.

Chase chuckled and shook hands with Ken Sterne.

Good to see you again, Ken said. Junes been cooking for three days. Youd think an army was about to descend on us.

Hush now, June chastised her husband. How are you feeling?

Lesley sighed. How did any woman feel two months before her delivery date? Anxious. Nervous. Eager. Im okay.

June put down her grandson and kissed Chase on the cheek.

His eyes met Lesleys and he gave her a know-it-all look. It had taken time, but Lesley had been right about the effect grandchildren would have on the relationship between her mother and her husband. When theyd first met, four years earlier, her mother had been convinced Chase was some kind of demon. These days he was much closer to sainthood.

Hows Twin Creeks? Ken asked, steering the small party toward the baggage area.

The population has doubled, Lesley informed him proudly. It had started soon after her arrival. Pete had gotten married the following spring and he and his wife already had two children and another on the way. Even Jim had married, which surprised them all. A widow with four children had found a place in all their hearts.

It seemed there was a baby being born every few months. The community was thriving. Lesley believed Chase was the one whod put everything in motion; his venture into Seattle to find himself a wife was what had started the process. Soon the other men working at the pump station were willing to open their lives.

Chase, however, was convinced that once the other men saw what a wonderful woman hed found, theyd decided to take their chances, as well.

Whatever the reason, there were fifteen more women residing in Twin Creeks. Ten of them had apparently made it a personal goal to populate Alaska.

She placed one arm around her husband and smiled softly to herself. How different her life would have been without him. Each and every day she thanked God for that crazy billboard shed seen on her way to the store.

BRIDE WANTED.

Their marriage was meant to bebecause hed chosen her although she hadnt answered his ad. And hed let her know in a million ways since that she was the bride he wanted.

J ulia Conrad wasnt a patient woman at the best of times. She paced her office, repeatedly circling her high-gloss black-lacquer-and-brass desk. She felt so helpless. She shouldve gone to Citizenship and Immigration Services with Jerry rather than wait for their decision.

Rubbing her palms together, she retracted the thought. She was a wreck and the Immigration people would have instantly picked up on that and it could hurt their case. She couldnt help being anxious. The future of the company rested on the outcome of todays hearing. Ultimately she was the one responsible for the welfare of Conrad Industries, the business her grandfather had started thirty years earlier.

In an effort to calm herself she stared out the window. The weather seemed to echo her mood. There was a ceiling of black clouds, thunder roared and a flash of lightning briefly brightened the room. The lights flickered.

Julias reflection was mirrored in the window and she frowned, mesmerized by the unexpected sight of herself. Her dark hair was swept back from her face and secured with a gold clasp. She wore a dark suit with a pale gray blouse, whichin her view, anywayconveyed tasteful refinement. She looked cool, calm and collected, but inside she was a mass of tension and nerves. At thirty she had a pleasant face when she smiled, but she hadnt been doing much of that lately. Not in the past three years. Her cheekbones were high, her jaw strong, but it was her eyes that told the story. Her eyes revealed vulnerability and pain.

The image of herself distressed Julia and she hurriedly glanced away. Sighing, she circled her desk once more, silently praying for patience. She was determined to get the company back on its feet, to overcome the odds they faced. Jerry, her brother, had worked with her, sacrificing his personal life the way she had hers. Theyd met with a handful of small successes. And now this.

Both Julia and Jerry were determined to revive Conrad Industries. Julia owed her father that much. Jerry had shown such faith in her by volunteering his services. If their situations were reversed, she wasnt sure she wouldve been so forgiving. But her brother had stuck by her through all the turmoil.

Slowly she lowered her gaze, disturbed by that revelation. However, she didnt have the time or the inclination to worry about it. If she ever needed a cool head and a cooler heart, it was now. Two years worth of innovative research was about to be lost because theyd allowed the fate of the company to hinge on the experiments and ideas of one man. Aleksandr Berinski was a brilliant Russian biochemist. Jerry had met him some years earlier while traveling in Europe and convinced Julia he was the answer to their problems. Her brother was right; Aleks ideas would revolutionize the paint industry. Bringing him to the United States had been a bold move on their part, but she hadnt been sorry. Not once.