DAY ONE
Chapter 1
Julie spent the entire flight home thinking about her
latest trip to Moundsville, where she'd gone to pay her
respects to her grandmother by visiting the lovely lady's grave.
It had been a bright, sunny morning. It was late in
the summer, and the nights had been getting cooler. She was grateful that she'd had the foresight to bring her lightweight jacket to
the cemetery, which sat in quiet solitude in the middle of an open field. The
wind whispering somberly from the pine forest directly west of the place had caused
a moderately chilly afternoon in the Ohio Valley.
She thought it very strange that she could face the lady's
grave and not feel completely devastated by the loss of her friend. The sadness
was quite substantial, of course, and would always be, as was the tremendous
sense of loss, which had caused a heavy throbbing in the pit of her stomach. Yet
the feeling that her grandmother's spirit remained by her side seemed very real.
When Julie placed her palm on the cold stone marker, she strongly felt that her
grandmother's hand had come down from wherever her spirit now rested, filling
her being with a tender warmth she would never be able to describe.
Julie closed her eyes and smiled as the warmth flowed
gently through her.
I miss you, my dear friend...but I will
always feel your closeness...
Although the sweet old woman was gone, many signs of her remained, and could be experienced in the
sprawling West Virginia hillside. Birds chirped, flitting from tree to tree.
Traffic sounds, most likely caused by the heavily
traveled I-70, had been hushed considerably by the breeze blowing through the
woods.
Gram had lived in the boonies all her life and had never
been fond of traffic sounds. Julie had always thought it very strange that even
though her grandmother lived just a few miles from the
Interstate, the woods surrounding the small farm never failed to keep the
irritating sounds of civilization from invading her quiet sanctuary.
Julie smiled lovingly at the bouquet of roses she'd placed on the grass in front of the smooth gray marker,
knowing she'd be back the next year with a fresh batch. She'd
been visiting the sweet lady each year since her old college days and saw no
reason to stop the tradition. Just because the woman was no longer among the
living shouldn't mean Julie needed to end the visits,
did it?
"Rest in peace, sweet lady." Julie shivered at the
sudden catch in her throat. "I'll always love you, and I'll be back again next
year." She blew a kiss at the marker, then turned to walk down the winding dirt
path that would take her back to the rental car.
Just as she was about to reach out for the driver's
door, a magnificent monarch butterfly flitted over and landed on the tip of the
antenna. It stood there, watching her, perched at a slight angle, its beautiful
wings rising and falling slowly.
Gram loved butterflies.
"You've probably already seen her," she whispered,
smiling. "I'll bet she's already given you a name."
It cocked its tiny round head as if it were actually listening. Then, just moments later, it left its
perch and flitted back up the hill. It paused for a moment as it reached her
grandmother's marker, then swooped up in a wide arc and disappeared among the
trees.
I really should've
known, Julie
thought. She was bound to make friends with everyone long before now.
Her eyes moist, Julie slid behind the wheel of the
rental and drove back to her motel that awaited her just a
few miles from downtown Wheeling.
***
Robert didn't notice the
slender brunette until he nearly slammed her to the ground while rushing
blindly out of the terminal to hunt down a cab.
He'd just gotten off
the plane a few minutes before. He'd had no problem
picking up his single piece of luggage at Baggage Claim. In no time he'd joined the scattered, slow-moving crowds that had been
creating an obstacle course throughout the terminal. His head was filled with muddled
images of the software convention he'd attended in
Miami as he hustled toward the EXIT signs and turned right, where the large sliding
glass doors awaited him just ten yards away.
As he scurried to the entrance, his attention focused
on getting out his cell to let his secretary Mildred know he was on his way
back to the office. He was surprised she hadn't already
called him. She knew which flight he'd taken and would
certainly want to know when he'd be back to conduct business.
He was fumbling for his phone when he turned right,
where the open entrance led to the thruway out front, showing a long line of taxis waiting for fares.
At that same moment, more than half a dozen others dashed
outside, among them, a tall, slender brunette in a
black skirt, a blue long-sleeve blouse, and open-toed black pumps. She was
carrying a large tan handbag and pulling a smallish gray suitcase on wheels
behind her.
As she drew closer, Richard bumped into her left
shoulder, nearly knocking her down. Despite her pumps, which forced her ankles
to bend sharply, she managed to stay on her feet. However, her awkward position
had twisted her shoulder, causing her to lose her grip on the suitcase. It
flipped over and slid toward the curb. The strap of her handbag dropped down
her left arm and broke loose, sending the bag to the ground at his feet.
Robert's jaw dropped when he realized what had happened.
"Damn! I'm
so sorry!" His pulse hammered as he hurriedly shoved the cell back into
his pocket. He dropped his own suitcase, then quickly bent to grab hers. He
brought it over, then picked up her handbag. Her checkbook and two ballpoint
pens had escaped the confines of the bag and lay on the concrete, near the curb.
He snatched those up as well. Then he spun around and scurried back over,
nearly slamming her in the cheek when he held out her bag.
She managed to jerk out of the way just as the large,
heavy object sailed past, missing her jaw by inches.
Feeling like a blundering idiot, Robert stood
perfectly still, holding her checkbook and pens in one hand and her bag in the other
while swarms of people rushed past, in search of a cab.
"You okay?" She sounded concerned.
He couldn't believe what she'd
just asked. He'd nearly put her in the hospital, for
God's sake. But now she was asking him if he was okay. Very strange. It
made him feel slightly less of an idiot, knowing that this beautiful young
woman didn't want to strangle him for nearly slamming
her to the ground, then attempting to knock her unconscious with her own bag.
He was just grateful that she hadn't flown into a
violent tirade of insults and physical rage.
Even so, he couldn't believe what
he had just done. This sort of thing had never happened to him before. But as
humiliating as it was, he somehow didn't feel nearly as
badly as he thought he should. It no doubt had something to do with her large,
beautiful blue eyes, which were totally fixed on him.
Besides their obvious hypnotic quality, their gentle gaze reassured him that
she wasn't enraged by his clumsiness, as most others
certainly would be.
"Well? Are you all right? You look a little,
well, bummed out."
"I think I'm okay. At
least, I hope I am."
"You look all right...mostly. A little flushed, maybe. Embarrassed?"
"Does it show much?"
She smiled. "Only on your face and the way you keep
standing there, not moving."
He smiled awkwardly. "I'm afraid to."
"Really?"
"I don't want to start moving around and accidentally
poke out one of your eyes."
"Don't be so hard on
yourself. Stuff like this happens to everyone."
"This has happened to you, too?"
"No, but I thought I should at least try making you
feel less of a schmuck."
"Gee, thanks..."
She chuckled and gave him a wink.
He couldn't stop gazing at those
beautiful eyes. They were the largest, the clearest, the brightest shade of blue
he had ever seen. He quickly discovered that he could not turn away from them.
It took him even less time to realize that he didn't want
to.
This girl was quite striking. She appeared to be about
twenty-five, maybe twenty-eight. She had a dazzling
smile, and her laugh was infectious.
But those eyes...
He just couldn't get over
them. They were so clear, so bright... They pulled you right in, making you
wonder if she possessed supernatural powers.
They stared at one another for what seemed-at least to
him-a very long time. Then she shrugged. "May I please
have my things?" She pointed to her bag. "I kinda need them for, you know,
important stuff? Identification? Taking out a credit card to buy something
pretty? Or maybe a cheeseburger? That sorta thing? And
yes, I have been known to write a check every now and then. You've
got that covered, too."
He looked down. He was still holding her bag,
checkbook, and pens.
This made him feel even more like an idiot.
He groaned. "Again, I'm really and truly-"
"It's all right." She took her bag, dropped the pens
and checkbook inside, snapped the bag shut, and slid the strap onto her left
shoulder. "And don't beat yourself up, okay? It was
just an accident." She tilted her head, which forced some dark
brown hair to slide down her front. "You didn't do it intentionally, did
you?"
He shook his head and suddenly realized that he could
spend the rest of the day staring at those eyes.
"You have a nice day, all
right? And please watch where you're going from
now on? I'd hate for you to slam into someone else,
someone who isn't as nice-or as forgiving-as I am." She laughed.
"I'll try. You have a nice day, too." He watched as she turned and headed on
over to an awaiting cab, her hair bouncing on her shoulders.
Just then, he remembered that he needed a ride, too.
He scoured the line of cabs. Every one of them began pulling away from the
curb.
The brunette opened the door
of the cab, paused, then turned back around. "I'm
sorry. You were here first, weren't you? That is, you would've
been, if you hadn't, you know..." She shrugged a shoulder and smiled. "Nearly
flattened me."
He couldn't help laughing. "It's all right. I owe you."
"For what?"
"For, you know..."
"Nearly crippling me? Blinding me? Knocking me
unconscious?"
He nodded. "That's an excellent way of explaining our
little tryst..."
"But you didn't. Not really. I'm still right here, breathing just fine, standing up,
moving around-all on my own."
"Give me another chance. I'm
sure I can mess you up in ways you could never imagine in a million years." He
had no idea why he'd said that. But it was well worth
it. She laughed again, this time even harder.
He found himself lost once again in those eyes. This
girl was not only stunning, but she was also a delight to be with. Had he seen
a wedding ring? A band, perhaps? He hadn't noticed. Her
eyes had blown him away, and he seemed to ignore most
everything else. But right now, he didn't seem to
care. He was much too busy fantasizing about getting in the cab with her.
"C'mon, I don't bite." She gestured to the open door.
"Aren't you afraid I do?"
"It's all right. I've had my shots."
He hurried over. The cabby came around, took their
suitcases, and placed them carefully in the trunk. Robert slid in after her and
pulled the door shut.
The taxi eased away from the curb.