Clay found himself looking out his office window for the hundredth time, searching for Julie Daniels's car coming up the drive. Slamming his pen down, he stood. He was behind on paperwork, but his concentration was shit, had been shit because of his brother's worsening condition, and now with Julie Daniels in the picture his usual pinpoint focus had gone to hell.
He'd made many attempts to help his brother himself, with the aid of friends, but Bo just got worse. He had been diagnosed at the age of sixteen, when he had failed his eye examination for his driver's test. Their parents had taken Bo to many specialists, but the results always came back the same, Retinitis Pigmentosa. Though most cases of total blindness didn't happen until the person was in their forties or even later in life, Bo's symptoms progressed quickly.
Taking a deep breath, Clay leaned against the wall, staring out over the land he and his brother had inherited. Their mother, Beth, passed in her sleep when he was twenty-two and their father, Clay Sr., followed soon after. Both Clay and Bo knew losing their mother had killed their father. He had become sick and withdrawn the day they put their mother in the ground. Damn, but he missed them both.
His eyes moved to the car slowly making its way down their long drive, and knew it was Julie. He remembered the shocked expression on her face when he mentioned her and school. He did remember Julie Daniels. The name hadn't rung a bell at first, but when he had opened the door yesterday to see her standing there, he knew exactly who she was. She had always been shy, with her head in a book. Even though they were in different grades, their high school was small and it was impossible not to run into everyone at least once a day. He remembered her peeking up from a book as she walked down the hallway, her beautiful brown eyes hidden behind large glasses. He would smile at her and say hi, which she returned with a hurried urgency, as if wanting to get away from him.
The memory made him frown. He felt an odd attraction to her, had actually felt a pull to her back then, but never acted on it. She had been different from him or any of his friends. She had few friends while he had many. They partied hard on the weekends and even sometimes during the school week, but he never once saw her at one single party. Was he just feeling this unusual draw because she was coming here to help his brother, like an angel he had beckoned to give his brother peace?
He stayed where he was, his eyes glued to the car, trying to see through the windshield. The door opened and she appeared. Her long blonde hair was pulled into a tight messy bun at the back of her head. Loose wisps of hair played around her face with the breeze. As she slammed the door, she lifted her face to the sunshine and smiled. His heart skipped and his groin tightened. He leaned closer to the window as his eyes slowly slid down her body. She had never been a small girl. Even young, she'd had curves the other girls didn't, or tried their best to get rid of with excessive diets and exercise. She was definitely a beautiful woman who did nothing to enhance her looks with makeup or fancy clothes. She was in jeans that hugged her every curve, and a womanly flannel shirt that tightened enticingly at her breasts. The only thing that seemed flashy were her pink-and-white gym shoes, which made him smile.
There was much more to the woman than she let anyone see. Even back in high school she hid behind those big glasses and her books. He wondered for a moment if she still wore those glasses. His smile widened as he watched her disappear around the corner of the house. Clay Marshall was always up for a challenge, and he was sure finding out who the real Julie Daniels was would be a sweet challenge.
★★★
Once again, Julie found herself at the Marshall doorstep knocking on the door. She didn't sleep but maybe an hour because every time she closed her eyes she saw Clay. She was in the middle of rolling her eyes at herself when the door opened.
"No yelling today?" was all she could think of saying as she stared up at Clay, who was dressed in a plain white T-shirt, faded blue jeans, and a pair of beat-up cowboy boots. Yeah, her eyes took the tour before meeting his. She was pathetic.
His eyebrow cocked as a half grin appeared on his face. He stepped aside to let her in. "It's early yet."
Julie nodded, waiting for him to close the door. "Has he eaten?"
"No," Clay answered, crossing his arms across his chest. "Said he wasn't hungry."
Julie nodded again, then felt like an idiot for her continuous nodding. Clearing her throat, she looked up the steps. His probing gaze was driving her nuts. She really needed Clay Marshall to go the hell away and do something other than follow her every single move with his brother. He was way too distracting. "Can you make him some coffee, please? I'll go on up and start my reign of terror."