Once Upon a Matchmaker Read Online Free PDF Page A

one.
    She got right on it.
    Kate was a little confused as to why Maizie was calling her, but she listened to the woman patiently and tried to answer her questions to Maizie’s satisfaction.
    “Yes,” Kate told her mother’s best friend. “Tracy is very good. She’s extremely dedicated. I had to literally drag her away from work today.”
    Maizie put her own interpretation to the information. “Then what you’re saying is that Tracy is booked up,” she said, disappointed.
    She was surprised to hear Kate laugh. “The thing about Tracy is that she always makes time for more cases. I’m beginning to think that she hardly ever sleeps. What I’m saying,” she summarized, “is that I’m sure she’ll be more than willing to look into the case for your friend’s nephew. And if she thinks she can win, she’ll let your friend know. As far as I know, she’s never lost a case,” Kate said with a note of envy. “Let me give you her cell phone number.” She rattled it off, then added, “But, knowing Tracy, I’ve got a feeling she’s probably back at the office right now. I’ll give you her number there just in case your friend has trouble getting through on the cell.”
    Maizie made a note of that number, as well, then turned around and called Sheila with both.
    Sheila, in turn, spun around and handed the two numbers to Micah.
    Despite the fact that she had a burning desire to handle this for him, to set up everything for him in order to minimize what he had to deal with, she knew that doing so sent the wrong message to Tracy. Although Micah had a softer, gentler side to him, he was definitely not one of those neutered males that a woman could easily lead around by the nose and lose respect for by the hour.
    “Here,” Sheila said, placing the two phone numbers in front of him.
    It had been less than twenty minutes since he’d given his aunt a general summary of what he was dealing with. To spare her, he’d left out the more troubling details. She didn’t have to know about that unless it was absolutely necessary.
    This was fast, he thought. He looked from one phone number to the other.
    “Which one belongs to the better lawyer?” he asked.
    “They both belong to the same lawyer. That’s her cell number—” Sheila pointed to the first piece of paper, then to the other “—and that’s her office number. According to my friend, she’s there now. In her office. Working.”
    That sounded like his kind of person, Micah thought. If he didn’t have his sons, or if they’d been older and away at college, he would have buried himself in his work and not even bothered to come up for air unless he absolutely had to. It wasn’t that work soothed him, it was just that it kept him so busy, he didn’t have time to think.
    To remember.
    And regret.
    “Okay,” he said. Picking up the pieces of paper, he started to put them in his pocket.
    “Now,” Sheila insisted, drawing his hand back so that he was forced to place the phone numbers back on the counter in front of him. “Call her now.” And then, in case he had any suspicions as to why she was being so adamant, she said, “The sooner you start to tackle this, the sooner it’ll go away.”
    She was right, Micah thought. Taking out his cell phone, he began to tap out the phone number on his keypad. Charges of treason and espionage were not something to take lightly or ignore—no matter how much he desperately wanted to.
    After five rings, the answering machine on the other end kicked in. He almost hung up but then decided against it. Dutifully, he gave his name, phone number and a “brief message.” He was almost finished when he heard the line pick up.
    “Hello? Mr. Muldare?” Tracy said, picking up on the name he’d given as he started leaving his message. “This is Tracy Ryan. How may I help you?”
    The voice was soft, melodic, and drew a response that took Micah entirely by surprise. He felt an uncertain tremor at the core of his stomach,