An Unlikely Match by Arlene James

Job as an example,” Asher pointed out. “He said it himself. ‘My days have passed, my plans are shattered, and so are the desires of my heart.’”
    “Yes, but God gave it all back to him. He even doubled Job’s wealth because Job remained faithful and sought righteousness.”
    “You’re thinking of your grandfather now, aren’t you?” Asher said, his tone sounding accusatory even to his own ears.
    “I am, and why not? He’s a good man, a godly man, and he’s waited patiently and faithfully for what he wants.”
    “And you’re not above ‘helping’ God to see that he gets it, are—”
    “Yes!” she erupted, launching onto her feet. “I admit it. I tried to stall the insurance settlement so Grandpa could have time with Odelia, but I see now that was a lack of faith on my part. My faith doesn’t figure into it, though. It’s Grandpa’s faith that counts, his and Odelia’s.”
    Asher felt a surprising urge to tell her what Odelia had revealed the night before, but he decided not to get involved. It was not his grand scheme. He looked at Ellie and felt a momentary rush of warmth for her, this woman who believed so strongly in romantic love.
    “Come on. I’ll drive you home,” he said, getting to his feet.
    She folded her arms mulishly, but she followed him to the SUV. While they drove toward Chatam House, she called her grandfather to tell him not to come to the soccer field, then gave him a glowing report of her first practice. The SUV swung through the gate and tooled up the hill. Asher brought it to a stop right in front of the walkway.
    “Hilda probably has dinner ready. I’m sure your aunts would be happy to have you at their table again,” she said.
    He shook his head even though she was perfectly correct about his generous aunties. He just didn’t think he could sit across a table from Ellie tonight—he needed some recovery time, so to speak. “Best get on. Give my love to my aunties for me.”
    “I will,” Ellie promised, sliding down to the ground. “Thanks for the ride.”
    Nodding, he drove away, knowing that skipping dinner was a pointless gesture. He was already thinking about when he was going to see her again.
    What could God possibly be doing? Was He allowing Asher to be beset by unfathomable events meant to test faith and resolve? Or was He making a point that this lowly attorney could not seem to grasp?
    As he watched Ellie disappear into the house, he had a feeling it was the latter.
     
    “My sister’s husband was a brutal man,” Hilda said, tucking a thick stack of paper napkins into the basket that she had filled with three dozen plump, fragrant ginger muffins still warm from the oven. She had insisted on providing them when Ellie had mentionedwanting to pick up some ready-made variety for the meeting at Asher’s house. “I feared he’d kill her before she could get away from him,” Hilda confessed bluntly, “but the Misses called Mr. Ash, and he took care of it.”
    A large woman with thin, straight, gray hair cropped bluntly just below her ears, Hilda ruled the kitchen at Chatam House with a stern but indulgent hand. Covering the basket with a crisp, white cloth, she pushed it across the chrome worktable toward Ellie, saying, “It’s the least I can do after Mr. Ash handled Carol’s divorce free of charge.” That, apparently, had been years ago, and Carol had since joined the staff at Chatam House as a maid.
    Ellie thanked Hilda and carried the basket out to her truck, belting it into the passenger seat. She couldn’t help smiling at this new information about Asher. Apparently, he’d always been willing to help anyone his aunties brought to him. She wondered if that was the limit of his largesse and somehow doubted that it was. He volunteered as youth soccer commissioner, after all, and that had to be a big job. She felt a certain pride in that, even though she knew she had no right to such pride.
    Everything told her that she had zero chance with Asher