Whirlwind (28 page)

The war of wills lasted a few more seconds before Mark flexed his jaw and snapped his head around to me. “Have a good summer,
Mel
,” he said curtly. He eyed Jason one more time. “Jason,” he said through his teeth.

“Mark,” Jason replied, his expression cracking into a smirk.

“Thanks, Mark. You too,” I said weakly before the door slammed.

Jason just stood there, a victorious sneer slathered across his face. For once, I didn’t find him attractive.

“What the hell was that all about? I have to work with him, you know!” I shoved the chair back under the desk so hard the walls rattled three cubes away.

“Here you thought you were invisible to men,” he chuckled. “That obviously isn’t true, though while I’m here I wish it were.” Completely unaware of my growing fury, he ran his fingers down my neck.

“What were you thinking? He’s my friend—not a criminal. You didn’t think I’d
accept
his offer, did you? Give me some credit.” I slapped his hand away, disappointed to find the same streak of macho bravado in Jason that lurked in his older brother.

Jason tried unsuccessfully to wipe the grin off his face. “You’ve got quite a temper, don’t you?” he said, reaching for me again.

“And you seem to think ruining my life is funny, don’t you?” I fumed. Ducking under his arm, I turned on my heel and marched out of the office.

“Melissa, wait,” Jason called, scrambling behind. “Are you saying you had no idea that guy was so into you?” Before I could answer he grabbed my arm, spinning me around just as his brother had, years ago.

Furious, I gave him the evil eye. “Do you know what happened to Mitch the
one
time
he
grabbed me like this?” I said.

Shocked, Jason dropped my arm and inched away.

“How would you like it if I treated your friend, your
boss
, that rudely the first time I met her? Is being a pig a McAlister family trait?” I roared. “And he’s just that—a
friend
.”

Understanding finally registered in Jason’s brain, and his face fell. “I’m sorry, Melissa. I really am.” He glanced back at my cube. “It was obvious he liked you, and you were so relaxed talking to him…” He turned back to me, shame filling his eyes. “I didn’t think.”

“No, you didn’t. You’re walking out of my life in four days and won’t see Mark—or for that matter
me
—ever again. Don’t make my life any harder than it has to be,” I snapped. The thought of how empty my existence would be after Jason left suddenly crushed me.

Jason froze. “I never meant to make your life difficult, Melissa. That’s the last thing I want to do.” He took a deep breath as he struggled to hold my gaze with his distraught eyes. “Am I
ruining
your life?”

The razor-sharp edge of truth tried to slice me open. “No, of course not,” I lied, looking down.
Not yet… Not until you leave.
I wanted to stay mad and yell at Jason more—and not just for acting like a possessive dolt. How dare he come into my life, steal my heart, and then leave? My hands clenched and flexed as I fought with my emotions. Then the bruise on my hand reminded me that punching something wasn’t such a good idea.

When I looked up, I met Jason’s drawn face, his eyes shining. “I’m sorry,” he whispered again, taming my fury. I suspected the apology wasn’t only for his run-in with Mark but for the pain he knew was coming. He took a careful step toward me, holding his arms open.

I clung to my last tinges of anger, letting him suffer for another second before melting into his embrace. How I wanted to tell him everything would be okay, but the words wouldn’t come.

He held me tenderly, pressing his cheek against my hair. The sound of Jason’s heart soothed the ache in my chest. “Is there anything I can do to repair the damage I’ve done?” he whispered.

You could stay and never leave.

I shook my head. “No, you were right. I won’t see Mark for months. It probably won’t matter then.” I turned around, keeping one arm around Jason. “Let’s get out of here.”

Keys in hand, I closed the door behind us. I wished I could lock all my problems away this easily.

Once in the hall, Jason automatically turned back the way we came, but I pointed him in the opposite direction. I doubted Mark was still around, but why tempt fate?

“There’s more to see this way,” I said.

He frowned at my forced smile and took my hand, his shoulders slumped. His guilt rolled over me like the fog, thick and gloomy. I wrapped my arm around his waist, hoping to convey my forgiveness. He gave me a quick squeeze, but said nothing.

As we walked down the hall, I struggled to break through the silence that separated us. We passed a newspaper rack with a few old copies left in it. The large print of the headline caught my eye, reminding me of something odd Jason had said to Mark.

“What was all that talk about my being on the front page more? How’d you know that?”

Jason took another deep breath. “You might not want to know, now.”

A finger of fear ran down my back. “Why?”

“It’ll probably upset you more,” he said as we descended the stairs.

I sighed.
What now?
“Just tell me.”

“I knew about the changes at the paper because I’ve been reading your work for some time,” Jason answered tentatively.

“You have?”
What interest could my stories have for him?

“Yes. I’ve read everything you’ve written for the
Daily
,” he admitted as we walked outside into the sunshine.

Dumbfounded, I uttered only one word. “Why?”

“You’re going to think I’m crazy.” He stopped in the shade and let go of me, leaning against the low wall that held back the hillside above.

He pressed his fingertips together, his hands forming a web in front of him. Staring at them for a long minute, he seemed to be gathering his thoughts. “I think I mentioned in one of my emails that Mitch talked about you?” he asked carefully.

I nodded, but he didn’t look up. “Uh-huh,” I said.

“At first he sent me a couple of the articles you’d written about him and commented about how refreshing it was to meet a reporter who really knew her stuff. As time went on, you came up in conversation more often. ‘Melissa did the funniest thing’ or ‘You wouldn’t believe what Melissa said.’ I started to get jealous.”

“Jealous? Of Mitch? But you didn’t know me—”

“Not of Mitch—of
you
.” He ran his fingers through his hair, leaving a few dark locks dangling across his forehead. “Before he met you,
I
was the one who made Mitch laugh, the one he’d get all his good jokes from. You stole my brother from me.”

I started to speak, to apologize, but he put a surprisingly cool finger over my lips and shook his head.

“Don’t say you’re sorry. You had no idea. I was stupid to feel that way, I know. When Mom told me you were going to ask me for information about Mitch, I seriously considered blowing you off, but apparently your pull on me works over great distances. I read a couple more of your articles and realized I had a golden opportunity to find out more about you.” He finally looked into my eyes, humor twinkling in the blue. “What if Mitch
was
planning on making you my sister?”

I stood on my toes so I could lightly kiss his lips. “Then this would be
really
awkward, wouldn’t it?” In a fit of snorts and laughs, the cloud of gloom lifted for good.

“Too true. Your no-nonsense emails put that fear to rest quickly.” A wry smile curled Jason’s lips. “Through your notes, I saw how appealing you were—how smart and strong—and I created this picture of you in my mind.” He looked over my shoulder, out toward the peaks leading to the ocean. “Perhaps
picture
isn’t quite the right word; I didn’t have an image of you—more of a voice, or a feeling…” He frowned, seeming at a loss for words.

“It must’ve been disappointing to find out it was me who’d sent the notes.” I groaned. He probably had someone like Ann or Beth in mind. Someone tall, gorgeous, and perfect.

“No, just the opposite—my imaginary version didn’t do you justice,” he said quickly. He traced my pouting lips with his fingertip before returning to his original thought. “I really enjoyed those emails, Melissa, and I imagined what it’d be like to meet you. My jealousy turned to Mitch—he could see you and hear your voice whenever he wanted.”

“But we lost touch,” I said, curious about when he’d read the rest of my writing.

“When I stupidly let the emails stop, Mitch wouldn’t share you anymore, and it pissed me off. I did almost email you at work, but Mitch was right—it wasn’t fair for me to pursue you from so far away. So I settled on reading your stories instead.

“Your sharp wit comes through in everything you write, and the more I read, the more I felt like I was getting to know you. To me, the stories read like letters from home; many had something to do with Mitch anyway, so it wasn’t too big of a stretch to pretend you were writing them to me. They weren’t as much fun as the emails, but they still gave me a sense of you.” He sighed and looked down at his feet. “Pretty sick, huh? Dreaming about a woman thousands of miles away who had no face?”

I rested my head on his chest, and his arms encircled me.
He’d been dreaming about me?
I couldn’t believe what I was hearing. No wonder he could read my thoughts; he’d spent months practicing with my written words.

His breathing accelerated, waiting for me to say something, no doubt.

I pressed my face against his neck, embarrassed. “Then you saw my face, in the church, with my mouth hanging open like a fool. How many times did you ask me where I wanted to sit?”

“A couple,” he confirmed with a chuckle. He cradled my cheek in his hand. “And you didn’t look foolish. You stared at me with such complete wonder that I got a little lost myself. Remember, at that point I had no idea who you were, or if Melissa Williams had come to the wedding. I found myself with a beautiful, shy woman on my arm, and an intelligent, flirtatious one in my head, and I didn’t want to choose. I wanted both of you. I’m really a very greedy person.” I could hear the smile in his voice.

“Uh-huh. Speaking of greedy…” I lifted my face to his, and he eagerly met my lips. The memory of our first meeting came back in a flash, along with the accompanying vision. I had trouble believing it had only been two days since that pivotal moment; somehow it felt like Jason had always been part of me.

A wolf whistle from a passing student ended our kiss abruptly. “How about we grab a bite at the campus market and go visit Mitch’s horse? We can take Buckeye a snack,” I suggested.

“Sounds great.” Jason automatically collected my hand, and we fell into step.

After a few feet, Jason stopped in his tracks. “Wait, did you say Mitch’s horse is named Buckeye? That ass! Only my brother would name his horse after
them
.”

It took a moment for me to comprehend what he was saying, but then I exploded with laughter. U of M’s biggest rival was the Ohio State Buckeyes. Mitch and Jason might be close, but they were still brothers, complete with sibling rivalry.

We couldn’t have asked for better weather to tour the campus. Summers in Santa Lucia were moderate, following a pattern of several warm days and then a few foggy ones. Today the temperature was in the eighties, the heat tempered by a gentle breeze. We made a quick stop for sandwiches, sodas, and a bag of carrots. Lunch in hand, we hiked the sunny half mile to the equine unit.

I almost turned around when I saw the number of trucks and trailers parked at the top of the hill. The dirt lot was completely full, and a huge truck had backed in next to the stables. We heard a crash, and the truck lurched to the left. Somewhere in the distance a cheer went up.

“Is it usually this busy?” Jason asked.

“No. It must be moving day for something.” Something big, judging by the way the truck shook.

I peeked in the stable, thankful to find only nervous horses staring back at me. “We’ll just sneak in and out,” I said, hoping we wouldn’t run into anyone else for Jason to spar with.

Buckeye was waiting for us, stretching his long neck and sniffing for snacks.