Mirror of Shadows (9 page)

He ran around the large pickup and pulled into a nearby parking space. As he did so, more glass, metal, and fiberglass pieces fell to the ground. The trunk had an interesting new angle to it and would no longer close. The passenger tail light was more or less gone and the passenger rear quarter panel had a new feature to it—a huge crease. All in all, it wasn’t bad considering the size of the truck that had hit it. Her car was drivable; it just didn’t look great.

She had pretty much decided when she moved into the new house that she was going to have to get an SUV or something with four wheel drive to get up and down the hill; it just looked as if getting a new car was going to be shifted up higher on the list of things to do.

After trading insurance information and receiving some more apologies from the young man with gorgeous pale blue eyes, she learned that his name was Matt Geier. Despite the circumstances, Ella found him attentive and funny. Though she had obviously misinterpreted Jeremy’s feelings for her, she was quite sure Matt Geier was flirting with her. He was outgoing and sure of himself—the exact opposite of Jeremy.

Matt ran to the auto parts store and got a new tail light for Ella’s car and pulled some twine out of his massive truck and tied down the trunk lid. When he felt the car was legal to drive with his minor repairs, he convinced her to have a late lunch with him, claiming it was the least he could do.

*****

Sitting comfortably in the booth at the diner, playing with the sweat on his glass of water, Matt said, “Ella, tell me about yourself.”

“Well…” she said as she thought. “I just graduated from college a few weeks ago with my Bachelor’s. I’ve lived in Dead Oaks Hollow all my life. Umm, oh, and I’ve just moved into an old Victorian I’m just starting to restore.”

“Really? Why?”

“Why what?”

“Restore an old house?”

“Well, for starters it’s not exactly beautiful right now, but you can tell by looking at it that it was once. It has an amazing view and it’s got all this great character. The woodworking on the staircase and all around the house is crafted with such detail; you just have to love it.”

“Really? You’re into all that old stuff. Not me. I like things shiny and brand new,” he said with confidence.

“But some of the beauty comes from knowing you accomplished something. Bringing back what was once not quite so shiny and new into something that will withstand the test of time,” she countered.

“That sounds nice, but I still prefer new. I mean, you end up dumping two to three times more into fixing something like that up than just tearing it down and building it new.”

“But it’s worth it. If you are just looking to make money than I suppose you are right about investing in such a thing, but if you’re in it because it means something to you, then it’s worth the added expense. Maybe if you saw it, you’d change your mind.”

“Maybe, but I doubt it. It just doesn’t make money-sense to me. But…if you’re inviting me to your house, I suppose I could be persuaded to check it out,” he said with a devilishly sly smile and a wink.

“Guess we’ll have to see how lunch goes first,” she said with a laugh. “So what is it that you do, Matt? And where are you from?”

“This and that, though if you had to put a title on what I do, I suppose it would be an investment banker. My family has been rather wealthy for generations. I’m not really sure where my family is originally from, but we are centrally here on the west coast and more so in the northwest.”

“What brings you to Dead Oaks Hollow? I mean, it’s such a tiny little place and away from the big city, what could you possibly be doing here?” Ella asked.

“R and R, mostly. I’ve driven through here on my way to the city from time to time and always thought it would be nice to stay here and check it out when I had a chance.”

“And what do you think of it?”

“So far, I find it enchanting and promising,” Matt said. Ella got the sense that he was not just talking about the town but about her. Ella smiled at the compliment.

When lunch was consumed and the bill was paid, they continued talking as he walked her back to her broken car.

“Well, I suppose I should get home. I’ve got a lot I should be doing.”

“Right. Probably have to fix or paint something back at the shack.”

“It is most certainly not a shack. I think you might be surprised,” Ella said quite sure that Matt had no idea she was talking about a huge manor with tons of land, a boathouse, and its own lake.

“Well, I guess you’ll just have to prove me wrong. You know, I’d feel a lot safer if you’d let me follow you home to make sure there are no hidden mechanical problems with your car. After all, it was a pretty good hit and you practically invited me up to your home at lunch,” Matt said.

“Is this your sly way of inviting yourself to my ‘shack’?” Ella teased.

“Maybe…” he replied playfully.

“I suppose that wouldn’t be a horrible idea. It is rather a trek up the mountain. You’ll probably have to use the four wheel drive in that black monster of yours.”

“Great. I use it so seldom, it could use a workout,” he said with a smile.

“Okay. Follow me!”

Chapter 9

Slowly the two vehicles snaked up the hill to the house and parked. Thankfully, Ella’s car had no mechanical problems or failures during the drive.. Jeremy’s truck was gone and Ella felt relieved not to have to explain Jeremy to Matt. Not that there was anything to explain at this point, but Ella had found when she roomed with a guy and two girls at college that when she brought potential dates home the guys always got their feathers a little ruffled at a guy living with her.

When she got out of her car Matt was just hopping down from the crow’s nest of the cab. He didn’t seem as surprised as she had thought he would, though Ella thought,
this is a guy with a lot of money; he’s probably used to much larger houses and properties
.

“This is quite a spread. This is all yours, huh?” Matt said, looking around.

“Yeah. I inherited it from my grandmother.”

“It’s in pretty bad shape. It’s going to take a lot of money to get this the way you described.”

She frowned a bit at his pessimism, but retorted, “It’s not so bad. Definitely needs some paint and some landscaping, but it has loads of potential.”

“That and a roof, extensive repairs to the porch, an actual road would be nice, and that boathouse looks like it’s about to fall over,” Matt pointed out.

As she made her way up the steps of the porch, Ella pouted a bit, feeling that maybe she had made a mistake bringing Matt to the house.

Matt continued as he followed her up the stairs, “I’m not trying to upset you; I’ve just seen people get in over their heads with smaller projects than this. I’d hate to see you eat up your inheritance with trying to fix this up.”

“Thanks, I appreciate your concern for my well-being, but I want to do this,” she said as she put the key in the door, but not making a move to invite him in.

“Look. It’s your house, your decision. I have a big mouth and I’m sorry. I just…well, I like you, and I’m concerned. We’re talking a lot of money here. I just want to make sure you’ve thought about all your options.”

“I have. I’ve even had two offers for it since I’ve inherited it, from this old guy who’s been hounding my grandmother for years,” she admitted.

“Hmm.”

“What?” she asked defensively as he leaned up against the doorjamb just inches from her, his hands casually in his pockets.

“Well, I wonder if you are refusing to sell to this guy just because your grandmother wouldn’t.”

Caught off guard by his comment, she wondered for a moment if he was right. Had that been the reason? The fight with her mother, moving into the house, the mirror and weird dreams—it had all happened so fast she hadn’t really had a chance to think about it. Had she refused the offer just because she had nowhere to live at the time? Or was it just because her grandmother wouldn’t sell to him she felt she shouldn’t? If that was the case, it wasn’t a very educated reason. Was she making a mistake investing her inheritance in the house? Was her fondness for the house based only on the fact that it was her grandmother’s and anything of hers was valuable to Ella at this delicate time? Or was Ella truly fond of the house for her own reasons? These were all things she thought she should re-evaluate now that things had settled down.

“
Look, I’m sorry. My friends tell me I can be outspoken and insensitive at times. You’re a smart girl; I’m sure you’ve taken all the possible problems under consideration. I hope I haven’t offended you. I’d hate to go away thinking I wrecked your car and hurt your feelings all in the same day,” he said, his eyes looking so sincere.

“It’s fine,” she said, not really sure if it was or not just yet.

“Could I have a tour and maybe a glass of water? I am rather parched.”

Reluctantly at first, but smiling again after looking at Matt’s golden hair and pouting lips, she opened the door wide and relented, “Sure, why not.”

*****

Jeremy came flying through the door, just about taking it off of its hinges, when Matt and Ella were about to sit down in the living room with their water. Boots full of slippery wet mud, Jeremy went sliding by the archway opening to the living room as if he were in his socks on a highly waxed floor. It wasn’t until his feet went beyond his body’s center of gravity that his feet went up in the air in a back peddling motion and down he went.

Not a word had come out of his mouth in all the commotion but his expressions told lengthy tales. At first and at the start of the sliding, it was alarm; as the slide progressed it turned to confusion, and with the fall, embarrassment.

“Wow, I was wrong; with entertainment like that you definitely can’t sell,” Matt said practically spraying his water out of his nose and laughing at the sight of Jeremy sprawled on his back on the floor.

Ella quickly set her glass down and ran for Jeremy. By the time she reached him he had righted himself, flashed a nasty look at the laughing house guest, and tried to compose himself.

“Are you okay?” Jeremy asked Ella with grave concern.

Confused by his look, she replied, “I was going to ask you the same thing.”

“I’m fine,” he said abruptly. “Your car. I drove up and saw…have you been in an accident? Are you okay?”

“Oh, that. Yes. I almost forgot. Matt here hit my car in the parking lot while backing up. He was kind enough to see me home to make sure the car was fine.”

“Least he could do,” Jeremy said under his breath rather rudely as he flashed a glare at the still laughing Matt.

“Let me introduce you.” Matt took his cue and stepped forward towards the pair. “This is Matt. Matt, this is Jeremy,” Ella said.

They both nodded but it was not cordial in the least and an awkward silence befell the room.

“I’ll get back to it,” Jeremy said wanting nothing more than to leave the social embarrassment.

“Oh. Okay. I bought the stuff on the list that was in the kitchen; it’s all in the backseat of my car if you need it,” she said as Jeremy started to slink away.

“Back to it? What is it that he does?” Matt asked, rather jokingly but also in a prying way.

“Jeremy is my handyman. He’s supervising the contractors and other tradesmen that will have to be hired to restore the house and grounds,” Ella explained.

“Ooohhh!” Matt said sounding relieved.

“Why do you ask?” Ella asked.

“Well, the way he ran in here, it seemed as if he lived here,” Matt admitted.

“He does.”

“He does, what?” he asked.

“He does live here,” Ella said.

“You live with your handyman?”

“Yes.”

“Why?” he asked.

“Why not? He needed a place to stay and well, I have a lot of space as you can see, so I told him he could stay here,” she said.

“You did what? You let a total stranger in to live with you?” Matt exclaimed.

“I wouldn’t say he is a total stranger; my uncle, I mean, a friend of the family recommended his work and we’ve gotten to know one another pretty well.”

“Well, I guess so, if you are living together.”

“It’s not like that. We’re…friends. He’s very good at his trade and I trust him,” Ella defended.

“Hmmm,” he said with a disgusted look but it was more than that. It was as if he were dismissing Jeremy as a possible threat. Ella tried to ignore it, as she and Matt went back into the living room and continued their jovial conversation about where he had traveled and what new movies were coming out. When he finished his water, he suggested dinner and a movie the following night to which he would not take no for an answer. Ella agreed, thanked him for seeing her home, and said goodbye.