A Winter Sabbatical (Books We Love holiday romance)

A WINTER SABBATICAL

By

Cheryl Wright

ISBN: 978-1-927476-41-3

PUBLISHED BY:

Books
We
Love Ltd.

(Electronic Book Publishers)

192 Lakeside

Chestermere
, Alberta
, TIX IC2

Canada

http://bookswelove.net

Copyright 2012 by Cheryl Wright

Cover Art Copyright 2012 by Michelle Lee

All rights
reserved. Without Limiting the rights under copyright reserved above, no part
of this publication may be reproduced, stored in or introduced to a retrieval
system, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means (electronic, mechanical,
photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of
both the copyright owner and the above publisher of this book.

Prologue

The bed covers were pulled back ready for
Marissa Temple to climb in.

She stared at them almost blankly, wanting
so much to sleep. As she leaned forward her whole body began to shake. So she
stood upright again, tears welling in her eyes.

She knew what would happen if she went to
sleep; every night was the same – always the same.

Marissa
saw herself walking along the footpath with Jeremy; they were so happy, so much
in love.

They
were to be married, to prove their love for each other.

They’re
on their way home, holding hands as they always did, touching each other,
feeling their love for one another. Marissa hears the birds singing and
chirping, and tells Jeremy how happy she is, that she wishes they were already
married.

Jeremy
smiles – the smile that makes her feel warm inside – then picks a flower from
the roadside, tucking it into her hair. He pulls her close against him.

His
warmth makes her feel so good, so loved. And then he kisses her. Marissa knows
there is no other man in the entire world for her – Jeremy is her Mr. Right,
her knight in shining armor, the one and only love of her life.

She
wraps her arms around his neck, and his hands slide to her waist. Oh, how she
wishes they were already man and wife!

He
lifts his hand to her face and brushes a wisp of hair back into place. Marissa
closes her eyes, breathing in the smell of him, the essence of him and his
whole being. She brushes her lips against his, gently kissing him. The tingling
that starts in her lips flows all the way down to her toes.

As
his arms encase her in his love, his warmth, and his adoration, she whispers in
his ear. “I love you, Jeremy.
So much.
Maybe even too much.”

“Ditto,”
he whispers back.

“No!” Marissa screams.

“Leave me alone!” she yells into the empty
room, her heart-beat quickening as hot tears roll down her face.

She closes her eyes trying to block out the
memory. But it won’t go away, won’t leave her alone, and her memories play out
like a movie. One she watches over and over again.

“We
have to go,” Jeremy says, looking deeply into her eyes, regret evident. They
walk hand in hand to the pedestrian crossing.

There
are no cars in sight, not a one, so together they walk out onto the road. They
take a few steps, and that’s when she hears it; the roar of an engine and the
squeal of brakes. Marissa feels Jeremy’s grasp tighten. She hears the thud,
feels the impact. And hears Jeremy’s scream somewhere in the distance.

Endless
stars float around her, she’s disoriented, can’t think,
can’t
move.

She
sinks into a deep black void.

Marissa opened her eyes and shivered. Her
heart was now racing so fast she felt as though she would faint. She was barely
able to stand and was shaking violently.

She put her hand to her heart, willing it
to slow, at the same time trying to control her breathing. She couldn’t chance
hyperventilating yet again.

Her stomach was churning over and over, and
she was convinced she was going to vomit. She knew from experience all of this
was the remnants of her daydream.
Or rather, her nightmare;
the one that repeated over and over with each waking moment.
The one that stopped her from climbing into bed each night.
The one that controlled her life, and essentially stopped her from
living.

With an overwhelming emptiness, Marissa
walked out into the lounge room in a daze.

Resigned to the fact that once again she
wouldn’t sleep, she turned on the television, flicking through the channels.

Her head pounding relentlessly, Marissa
weighed up her options. She couldn’t cope with a romance; too many memories of
what she’d lost. Murder wasn’t an option either; how could she watch another person
die? Comedy didn’t seem appropriate either.

Her mind wasn’t letting go, and her heart
was hollow. “How could you do this to me?” she whispered to the empty room,
knowing that Jeremy couldn’t hear, but wanting,
needing
him to answer. “I
have
to move on. Please, leave me alone.”

Marissa sobbed until she was completely
wrung out, until there were no more tears. But the pain never left, it was
always there — inside her, controlling her life.

Chapter One

Marissa looked around the room; it was in
total disarray. Sealed boxes were stacked in the corner, hurried instructions
scribbled across them. Piles of clothes – some on the bed, some on the floor –
yet to be hung in cupboards or folded into drawers. Papers lay strewn across
the floor.

As she began the tedious task of unpacking,
Marissa sighed, and tried to shake away the pain, the memories of another time,
another place.

She was going through the motions of
pretending to live, but really only surviving.

As she hung clothes in the wardrobe, she had
no sense of order. Sure, she was putting them on hangers and placing them in
the cupboard, but why or where were not things she thought about.

Today would be the start of her new life.
She had to put Jeremy behind her. It would be hard, but she could do it.

She sounded convincing; now all she had to
do was find a way to make it happen. “Damn it.” She took deep breath. It would
be a lot harder than willing it to happen.

She straightened her shoulders,
then
walked purposefully toward a pile of crumpled dresses.
“You’re fine,” she told herself sternly. “There will be no more tears, and you
will not feel any more pain.”

Forcing a smile on her face, Marissa
resolved to move forward and not look back.

She began to hang her clothing, deciding to
iron out the creases once she had the rest of the house sorted.

Why, of all the dresses she had, did this
have to be the first one she hung? The night she and Jeremy....

She threw it aside, not willing to face the
nightmare all over again. Not today. Not now.

Note
to self: get rid of that dress - once and for all.

As she shoved the dress into a charity bag,
heart wrenching, gut twisting emptiness returned, and tears began to well in
her eyes.
She would not let herself cry!
Marissa blinked back the tears, demanding they stay right where they were. And
amazingly, they did.

When her childhood friend Daniel offered
her the use of his house for six months – effective immediately – Marissa was
reluctant at first, but finally realizing the advantages for her, grabbed it with
both hands. As a result, she had to leave Melbourne
in a rush.

Her family wasn’t at all happy about it.
But, she decided, this was her life, and she needed to get over Jeremy.
Finally and forever.

As she bent down to pick up the pile of
blouses balancing on the well-worn footstool. Marissa heard a scratching sound.

She stopped and listened, then walked out
into the lounge room. It sounded very much like it was coming from the front of
the house.

She gingerly opened the front door.

***

Travis Johnston surveyed the young woman
standing before him. Daniel had told him very little about her, and nothing
about why she was here.

She looked fragile, even scared, and the
dark circles under her eyes confirmed it.

She was slightly built, and her tight jeans
and body-hugging skivvy accentuated her thin form.

Marissa was small, Travis noted; her head
barely reached his shoulder. She reminded him of a sad doll, her eyes drooping
downwards, her lips tight and straight. Her wariness was evident with the way
her eyes moved quickly back and forth, taking everything in.

She put her hand up to shield the sun from
her eyes, and he smiled at her. “Hi there,” he said, his hand outstretched.

He heard Marissa’s sudden intake of breath,
and wondered what had taken her off-guard.
Then watched as
the color rapidly drained from her already pale face.

Marissa’s eyes opened wide,
then
in an instant was slowly wilting downward, and in a
heap before him.

Travis swore under his breath.

He swept her up and carried her into the house,
then gently laid her on the sofa.

He sat beside her, wondering whether he
needed to call a doctor when she opened her eyes.

“Welcome back.” He brushed her hair off her
face. “I’m Travis Johnston, a friend of Daniel’s.” He sat back and waited, but
when she didn’t answer he spoke again. “Did I do something wrong?
Something to upset you?”

She just stared at him.

“I mean, it’s not every day women fall down
at my feet.” He laughed.

Marissa smiled tentatively.

“I guess I do owe you an explanation,” she
said. “I thought you were someone else. I’m sorry, I...”

Travis watched helplessly as she fought to
compose herself, fighting back tears she obviously didn’t want to appear.
 

He walked over to the window and stared out
across the valley.
What was going on? Daniel
told him nothing about this woman. But it seems there is something strange
about her?

“Beautiful view,” he said casually.

“Is it? I haven’t had time to look.”

Travis turned and glanced at her over his
shoulder. Her gaze focused on the other side of the room.

She was embarrassed, he could tell, but
since they just met and were complete strangers, she had no worries in that
area. “I’m the welcoming party.” He smiled, trying to make her feel more at
ease. “Daniel told me you were coming.”

Marissa looked at him in surprise. “If you
know Daniel, then you must know about, about...” She swallowed hard and stared
at him with those sad, sad eyes. Her eyes were welling with tears again, and he
watched helplessly as she forced them back.

Whatever was wrong with Marissa, it must
have been devastating. She could barely keep herself together. And she was
embarrassed, really embarrassed.

He felt so sorry for her, but didn’t know
what to do to help.

“It’s really cold in here,” she suddenly
said, shivering.
At least, pretending to shiver.
“Do
you know how to light this heater?”
 

Oh
yeah, she was embarrassed. So much so she had to change the subject.

Kneeling down on the luxurious carpet,
Travis gave the heater the once-over. He looked up at her and smiled. “I’ll see
what I can do.” Fiddling about with the heater, Travis thought about the events
of the morning.
The whole Marissa fainting and losing it
scenario.
She seemed to be shrouded in sadness.

He managed to light the heater and the room
filled with warmth.

In that moment he decided to bring
happiness into her life, to make her smile again.

To make her life worth
living.

***

Travis casually loitered in the doorway as
Marissa filled the electric jug.

She could feel his eyes trained on her, and
felt positive he was assessing her appearance. Invisible fingers danced up and
down her spine. It was a long time since any man had taken notice of her.

Marissa decided to totally ignore his
appraisal of her, so that maybe he would stop.

“.... coffee?”
His voice startled her.

“Huh?” She spun around to face him.

“Coffee?
Tea?”

His smirk prickled at her, but she decided
to ignore it.

“You are making coffee aren’t you? I mean,”
– he began to rifle through the empty cupboards – “you did put the jug on.”

He looked quite at home in this kitchen,
seemed to know where everything was.
Or should be anyway.
Then it hit her; he’d probably been there a million times and had coffee with
Daniel. “There’s nothing there, everything’s still boxed.”

His eyebrows rose quizzically at her. “What,
even the coffee and cups? Daniel didn’t leave anything?”

“I asked him to take everything. I had to
put my stuff somewhere.”

“But—” he started, but instead shrugged his
shoulders.
“So where?”

She grinned. “You could try that box in the
corner marked 'kitchen'.”

With their cups finally filled, they sat
down in the lounge chairs, quietly drinking. The silence was overwhelming and
Marissa felt uncomfortable. She wondered how long it would take for him to
start asking questions, as she knew he would. People always did.

Her fingers wrapped tightly around the hot
cup as she stared at him over her drink. Waiting for him to break the silence,
and fill the emptiness inside her.

“What made you faint?” he asked. “Am I that
scary?” His expression was apologetic, and Marissa felt a little sorry for him,
but this was painful territory and she wasn’t sure she wanted to talk about it.
She swallowed hard and looked down into her lap.

“I thought you were someone I... used to
know.” She lifted a hand and brushed her hair out of her face. When she looked
up again, Travis was studying her, scrutinizing her. “God knows why. The sun
was in my eyes, and...” She swallowed again – this was harder than she’d ever
envisaged.

“Marry
me, Marissa?” It was the happiest day of her life. Her heart was filled with
joy; she was marrying the man of her dreams – her one and only love.

As
Jeremy knelt before her, holding her hand, slipping a ring on her finger, her
heart raced. Love filled her.

Marissa put her hand to her heart as it
beat faster and faster. She had to get these memories out of her mind.
And soon.

 
She
stared at Travis, studying his features. “Now that I’ve seen you up close, I
can’t imagine how I could have ever thought you were him.”

Her voice was beginning to break, and
Marissa looked down into her half empty cup again, fighting back tears, forcing
herself into composure.

She could feel his eyes on her, watching
her, trying to understand her. Trying to work out what made her tick. She
understood why he was doing it, but that didn’t mean she had to like it.

“Are you sure you don’t want to talk about
it? I’m a good listener.”

Marissa’s voice was barely audible. It was
a good offer, but not one she could accept. “I can’t, not today.”

He smiled at her and she felt a little
better. The tension in her face began to wane, and the invisible belt across
her chest loosened a little.

She sighed. This move was probably the best
thing she’d done in the past year.

“I’m Daniel’s friend, so consider me yours
too. Any time you want to talk, just call me, okay?”

Marissa nodded, and they sat in silence
until Travis suggested he could help her unpack.

“I couldn’t ask you to do that,” she said,
adamant not to impose further. “Besides, you must have better things to do with
your time.”

 
Marissa
gave him the once-over. She hadn’t really looked at him before. Not like this.

He was tall like Jeremy, at least six foot,
and like Jeremy, had wavy hair. It was a similar color to Jeremy’s, and that’s
what shocked her the most. With the light bouncing off his silhouette, Travis
looked just like Jeremy standing here. And that’s where there similarity ended.
How could she have been so stupid?

Travis let out a long sigh. Counting off on
his long, stocky fingers, he replied “One, you didn’t ask, I volunteered. Two,
I’m my own boss.” He stopped and took a breath, looking at her with vivid blue
eyes. “Three, it’s the weekend, so no work today; besides, you’re a friend of
Daniel’s. So, that’s settled; where do I start?”

Marissa shrugged, realizing she had lost
the battle. “I guess the kitchen’s as good a place as any. The groceries are in
that smaller box, also marked 'kitchen'.”

***

They were packing away the last of the
kitchen items when Travis noticed it was getting dark.

“It’s late – we’d better stop soon and
eat.”

Marissa knelt on the kitchen floor,
stacking groceries on the lower shelves. She looked up at him, brushing her disheveled
hair from her face. Even in her old jeans and crumpled t-shirt she was
beautiful.

She smiled up at him; he loved to see her
smile. “I daresay we’ll find something amongst this lot for dinner.”

Travis shook his head. “I was thinking more
along the lines of picking up a pizza or something. We could take it back to my
place to eat. What do you think?”

Marissa screwed up her nose. “Not game
enough to try my cooking?” She laughed, and her whole face lit up. It was the
first time he’d seen her happy since they’d met that morning. Her eyes
glistened with happiness. This Marissa was a totally different person to the
one he met earlier in the day.

He stared into her eyes. They were big and
brown, and the laughter reached all the ways to her eyes.