Lights and Shadows (Oregon In Love) (2 page)

“
Is someone here?”

Julia glanced over when her sister-in-law, Sara Farris,
walked into the living room from the kitchen. Seven-and-a-half months
pregnant, Sara looked young and fresh in a floral print maternity
dress with her long dark hair pulled back into a loose ponytail. Her
gray eyes sought Julia's for an explanation.

Julia spread her hands in a gesture of resignation. “I
didn’t say a word to him.”

“
Who?”

She walked back over to the sofa, retrieved the book
Facets
off the coffee table, and held it up. “Him.”

Sara peeked out the window. “I see Marc's truck. He
usually says hello before going to his room.”

“
Apparently not today,” Julia murmured. Studying the
black and white photograph of the author on the back cover, she found
herself unable to reconcile the quiet intensity of the man in the
picture with the rude, Technicolor version she’d just encountered.
Oh, well. Not that it matters
. But she couldn't resist a small
dig at her sister-in-law. “So this is the guy you were dying for me
to meet? The sweet, sensitive one?”

Before Sara could respond, the man in question rushed
down the stairs and grabbed the handle of the camera bag he’d left
behind.

“
Marc!” said Sara. “Wait! I want to introduce you
to my sister-in-law.”

Marc stopped and slowly turned. He had a pained
expression on his face.

Sara went to his side. “This is Julia Wilcox, my
husband’s sister. Julia, Marcos Dorin.”

Marc gave Julia’s hand a brisk shake, then noticed the
way Sara stared at his face. He glanced back at Julia. Mirth lit up
her eyes as she regarded him with the same interest. Combined, their
intense scrutiny made him feel like a bug under a microscope.

“
It’s a pleasure to meet you Mr. Dorin,” Julia
said formally. “Sara has been telling me all about your
accomplishments as a photographer and author.”

Marc mumbled his thanks, and realizing he still held her
hand, dropped it. He lunged for his camera bag and hastened up the
stairs.

Once safely ensconced in the room he’d reserved the
day before, Marc went into the bathroom to splash cold water on his
face. When he saw his reflection in the mirror, he closed his eyes in
despair, hoping against hope when he reopened them, his reflection
would be back to normal.

No such luck
.

Bright purple lipstick marks decorated his cheek and
chin.
Belinda!

Grasping the bar of soap from the sink, Marc turned on
the water and began to scrub.

At the sound of the upstairs bedroom door slamming shut,
Sara and Julia looked at one another in amazement.

“
Oh, my,” Sara breathed.

“
So this is your notable guest, huh?” Julia lifted a
long pink strand of hair off her wrist and held it up.

Sara put a hand over her mouth to muffle her laughter.
“I wonder what happened. He was rather...disheveled.”

“
I think that’s an understatement.”

“
I’ve never seen him like this before,” Sara said.
“Maybe with his new book he has his first groupie.”

Julia caught her bottom lip with her teeth and struggled
not to join Sara’s infectious snickering.

At the sound of a door closing above, they swiveled
their heads in unison toward the staircase. Marc appeared in a gray
T-shirt and black running shorts. He trotted down the stairs and
breezed past them without a glance. His face was clean—the lipstick
gone.

Once he was out the door, off the porch, and out of
earshot, Sara leaned close. “It wasn’t his color anyway.”

Julia could hold back no longer. Together they burst out
laughing.

***

For the next half hour, Marc ran hard and fast. The
scenic road stretched before him like a shimmering golden ribbon in
the fading sunlight. Intermittent showers and ragged wisps of clouds
trailed away, revealing the first few glinting stars of the evening.

Cresting a hill, he slowed to a walk until he caught his
breath. As his breathing slowed, his thoughts followed suit. He
turned his face up to the moist evening air, feeling the tensions of
the day drain out of his body. The rhythmic song of crickets and the
breeze rustling through the trees soothed him. A peace seeped into
his soul. The events of the day no longer seemed so overwhelming. So
he'd been kissed by a girl with pink hair. Stranger things had
happened. The speeding ticket and broken camera would be expensive to
deal with, but doable. But possibly worse, he'd offended a relative
of his friends. He only hoped Julia Wilcox was the understanding
type.

Feeling some equilibrium restored, he turned and jogged
back to the B & B.

When Marc arrived at the house, he noted no one occupied
the living room and released a silent breath. Up in his bedroom, he
showered and dressed in a gray shirt, open at the throat, and a black
pair of jeans. He grimaced at his reflection, running a hand through
his damp hair.

Duty lay before him.

Downstairs, following the sound of feminine voices, he
tapped on the kitchen door frame. Sara looked up and waved him in.
Upon entering, he found her with Julia at a small kitchen table,
talking over cups of tea. Marshaling his thoughts, Marc smiled at
Sara.

“
Is everything all right with your room?” she asked.
Her eyes sparkled with curiosity.

“
Yes, it’s fine. Is Brian here?”

“
Sorry, he’s out of town for a couple of days. He’ll
probably be back on Monday.”

Marc nodded and handed her a check for his stay. His
gaze slid toward her sister-in-law. “Ms. Wilcox, is it? May I
please have a word with you?”

He saw Julia exchange glances with Sara. She nodded and
rose to follow him out of the kitchen.

In the relative privacy of the living room, Marc stared
down at the tops of his shoes, considering his words before speaking.

When he raised his eyes to meet hers, Marc realized that
up close, Julia probably wasn't the accosting type. Her honey-colored
hair, piled up on her head in a tumble of loose curls, glowed in the
light from the antique floor lamp. She had a sweet, heart-shaped
face. Her eyes, the color of green sea-washed glass, regarded him
with polite interest. Her lips were curved in an expectant smile.

Perhaps the biggest difference, despite her small
stature and fashionable appearance, was the fact that she had a
kindness and calm elegance about her that the college student had
lacked.

Momentarily intrigued, he had to give himself a mental
shake before turning his mind back to the task at hand. “Ms.
Wilcox.”

“
Julia, please.”

“
Julia. I owe you an apology for my earlier behavior.”

The softening of her features and warmth in her smile
erased the next words from his mind. How could he have ever compared
her to a deranged college co-ed? Marc felt his senses quicken as a
spark of attraction flickered to life within him. He ruthlessly
tamped it down. “There’s no excuse for the way I spoke to you and
I can only hope you’ll be able to forgive me.”

Humor glimmered in Julia’s eyes. “Apology accepted.”

She held out her hand. Marc wrapped it in his own,
amazed at its smallness.

“
I don’t suppose you’re going to tell me what
happened?” she asked, her brows lifted.

He gave her a rueful smile. “I don’t suppose I am.”

“
It was worth a try.”

She gently tugged her hand free, making Marc realize
once again, he’d held on too long.

“
Would you like to join us in the kitchen for a cup of
tea?”

He shook his head. “I need to leave early in the
morning, so I’m going to turn in now.”

Julia smiled. “Good night then. It was nice meeting
you.”

“
You, too.”

Marc remained in the living room until Julia returned to
the kitchen, considering his unexpected reaction to her presence just
now. He remembered during his last stay Sara had mentioned Julia's
visit. That meant she wouldn’t be around long. Which also meant
there was no point in exploring his feelings further on the subject.

Resolving to put the fair Julia Wilcox from his mind, he
turned and headed upstairs.

“
Well?” said Sara with avid interest when Julia
reentered the kitchen. “Any explanations?”

Julia shook her head and sat down at the table. She knew
Sara would want to know every nuance of what had occurred with Marc,
but she still felt muddled from the encounter herself.

When he’d taken her hand in his and gazed at her so
intently, for the barest moment, his warm grip had been a kind of
lifeline. She’d been reluctant to let go, but the strength of her
reaction to his touch unnerved her and she’d broken the
connection.

Julia had to admit she found Marc’s lean, dark looks
attractive. His eyes were coal black and fringed with long lashes.
His equally dark hair was a tad shaggy, and pushed back off his brow.
His light olive skin tone gave him an exotic, eastern European
appearance, though she hadn’t detected any accent.

Bringing herself back to the present, Julia forced
herself to answer Sara’s prodding questions in a monotone, hoping
to bore her into changing the subject. In a matter of minutes, she’d
managed to turn the conversation to talk of Sara’s baby. While
Julia chatted of her excitement about becoming an aunt, not by the
bat of an eye did she reveal the deep loneliness and discontent
threatening to consume her.

Chapter Three

Late for work. Pushing the speed limit. The car
hydroplaned on the slick road drenched from a sudden downpour.
Headlights flashed from an oncoming vehicle. She wrenched the
steering wheel to the right.

Went too far.

Over-compensated. A tree rose out of the darkness.

Sirens.

Julia reached out to shut off the shrieking alarm clock.
She forced her eyes open, her heart pounding as if still caught up in
the dream. After several moments, her breathing eased.
Reality
.
I’m okay. It was just a dream
. The events of the car
accident continued to haunt her dreams, often leaving her more
exhausted than rested in the mornings.

The images slowly ebbed from her mind, leaving her
feeling shaken and weak. She glanced at the clock. Six a.m.
Got to
get up. Time for exercises
.

Julia struggled to a sitting position, wincing at the
pain in her head. It took her several more minutes to make it off the
bed and into the bathroom.
Good grief
,
I feel like an
invalid
!

Ignoring the discomfort, Julia dressed in her workout
clothes and began some light stretches. A sudden shaft of pain in her
head forced her to slump onto the bed, gasping for breath. While she
lay sprawled on the bedspread waiting for her spinning world to right
itself again, she cursed the apparent cause of her condition. 

The accident two months earlier
had left her unconscious for two days. Julia couldn't remember any of
it, and only knew she hadn't been the same since. She reached up and
touched the thin scars near her hairline. Despite a week in the
hospital following the accident, and recovering at home for another
ten days before heading back to work, she'd been unable to regain her
physical strength. The time before the accident remained foggy.

Did I feel this way before
then?
Was
I this weak? Or am I just making excuses?
She released a breath, no closer to answers than she had been any
other day since. Her brother Brian had demanded she come to Oregon
for a sabbatical and recuperation. Julia’s boss at the consulting
firm where she worked in San Diego had also worried she’d returned
to the office too soon. His strong suggestion she take time off
carried much more weight. With pressure brought to bear from all
sides, she’d eventually capitulated.

Fat lot of good it’s doing me
. Julia rubbed her
forehead, closing her eyes. To top off the feeling of frailty, she’d
been unable to shake off a black cloud of depression. Being around
her family hadn’t helped as much as she’d hoped. All her prayers
for relief seemed to go unanswered. She was fast losing hope she’d
ever regain the full-tilt lifestyle she relished, along with the
success and rewards that went with it.

Julia eased herself up to a sitting position and
expelled a ragged sigh. When her world came back into focus, she once
again noticed how beautifully the little cottage had been decorated
with its homespun wreaths and patchwork quilts. The cottage sat about
thirty yards away from the main house. Sara had made it very
comfortable, allowing Julia to stay here, instead of in one of the
rooms in the B & B, where she’d have less privacy.

Just the thought of Sara’s efforts to bless her made
her eyes film over with tears. Julia swiped them away, impatient with
her mawkishness. Despite the upheaval the accident caused in her
life, she was determined to get a grip on herself, physically and
emotionally.