"Got it," Bo said as he led the way.
He had a few stumbles, but recovered quickly. Her time there was limited, that she knew for sure. It was different with each person. Some took to being blind quickly, while others lived with denial until forced to get up and live again. That was what she did with Bo, forcing him by being her irritating self to want to be the man he was before. He'd been ready, he just needed that push, and she was the best at pushing people to do what she wanted. Her eyes met Clay's as they walked into the kitchen. Well, at least pushing people who needed help. Clay Marshall wasn't a man who needed help. He was damn perfect and it depressed the hell out of her.
Chapter Six
"You're quiet," Jessica said from the passenger seat, her hands grasping a package on her lap.
Julie frowned. Dammit, even though her sister was blind she could read her like nobody else could. "I'm fine." Julie kept any emotion out of her voice so as not to give her sister ammunition to pry. "Just concentrating on the road."
"Mmmm" was all Jessica replied.
"What do you mean by that?" Julie cringed, wishing she hadn't asked that, because honestly she didn't want to know and Jessica had no problems telling her exactly what she meant.
"So is his brother Clay as cute as he was in high school?" Jessica asked, her tone curious.
Glancing at her sister quickly, Julie narrowed her eyes before looking back out the window to the road ahead. "He's okay, I guess." She tried not to choke on the lie, even adding a shrug her sister couldn't see. He was more than okay. He was in her thoughts every waking minute, and since the step incident when she'd thought he was going to kiss her two weeks ago, he had stayed clear of her. Only a hello here and there.
"You never could lie worth a damn." Jessica laughed with a shake of her head. "It's the twenty-first century, Julie. If you like this man, then go for it. Stop waiting for him to make a move."
"What in the hell are you talking about?" Julie tried her best to sound confused when in truth her sister knew her better than anyone.
"You got the hots for Mr. Horse Rancher, aka Clay Marshall." Jessica snorted with a tilt of her head. "For a month I've heard you talk more about Clay Marshall than his blind brother, Bo, who is the one I should have been hearing about."
"Stop exaggerating." Julie snorted back at her. "And even if what you said was true, which it's not, I have nothing in common with Mr. Horse Rancher."
"You know what I always say—"
"You say a lot so there's no telling," Julie interrupted her with a roll of her eyes.
"Opposites attract and last longer than being the same. Being the same is boring." Jessica smiled, totally ignoring Julie's jab.
Jessica pulled onto the long drive of the Marshall Ranch. Diesel, Jessica's Seeing Eye guide dog, sat up in the backseat, already alert to helping his owner. Tonight was it. It had been four weeks to the day since she drove down that driveway for the first time.
After the first couple of days, Bo had changed from bitter to determined. It didn't really surprise her, because for whatever reason that happened more times than not. She knew walking into the job that Bo was a strong person with an alpha personality, and once she hit on that he woke up. Yeah, her job there was done and it hurt her more than any other job. She was always a little sad walking away, because she always got attached to each person she helped. What she did was so personal on many levels. That time, the overwhelming sadness had nothing to do with the patient and everything to do with his brother.
Realizing she was parked without actually remembering doing it because her mind was so scattered, she sighed. She looked around and her nerves spiked seeing all the cars. The Marshall brothers knew a lot of people and it seemed like they were all there for the party. She was sure people from high school she hadn't seen for years and who never gave her the time of day would be there. She wished she hadn't accepted Bo's invitation to come, but knew she had to.
A few of the brothers' friends had started coming by, and last week Bo had announced to Clay that he was ready to have one of their famous pig roasts she had heard about in the past, but was never invited to. It was Bo's introduction to his friends as a blind man, and it was her good-bye. As she stared out the window, she felt her sister's hand on her arm.
"Blind faith isn't just for the blind." Jessica's voice was low, but strong with conviction. "Sometimes it's for the seeing also."
Julie closed her eyes tight at those words, wishing she were as strong as her sister. Jessica may have been born blind, but she saw more than anyone Julie had ever known.