"I'm flattered," Julia said. She knew Maddy hadn't noticed Mario yet, and wondered what her reaction would be on seeing him. It was awkward at best, knowing what Maddy's opinion of Mario was. "Come on in," she said, then stepped back for them to enter.
When Maddy caught sight of Mario, her face showed surprise, and bafflement. Mario, who'd been sitting casually on the couch, one arm across the back, a leg stretched out, sat up, and on seeing Maddy, dipped his head in acknowledgement and said nothing.
Julia saw Maddy's gaze flit over the table with its setting for two and candles still flickering, sending light dancing off the wine glasses, a cozy setting that was clearly confusing to Maddy, and with good reason. The day before, Julia assured her she didn't know Mario.
"I can see you're busy," Maddy said, "so maybe you could show Sergei what you're working on at the moment, and he can come back later."
Julia smiled at the boy. "I'm glad you like my games," she said. Then she looked at Irina, who was holding her brother's hand, which Julia found sweet, and said, "Irina, that's a pretty name. Do you have a middle name?"
The little girl looked up at Julia and said nothing.
"She doesn't talk," Sergei said. "Her middle name's Kristina."
Julia had a dozen questions to ask about why this little girl, whose eyes were bright with intelligence, didn't talk. She also felt an odd bond that maybe she could understand something about this silent child others missed, which didn't make sense, having not overcome her own problems. Still, she smiled and offered her hand to Irina, who looked at it thoughtfully. Then to Julia's surprise, the child dropped her brother's hand and took Julia's, which brought the slight sting of tears to Julia's eyes that they had connected.
For the next half hour, Sergei was so filled with eager questions about what it took to create a video game, and Irina didn't fuss when Julia invited her to sit on her lap while she explained things to Sergei, that Julia didn't want to send the kids off, so she answered Sergei's questions as they came, and talked to Irina as if she understood, but after a while, Maddy, who'd been standing behind Julia while looking on, said to Sergei, "We need to go, but you and Irina can come back another day."
After they'd left, Julia looked to where Mario was placing a couple of small logs in the wood stove, and said, "I'm sorry I took so long, but Sergei was so enthusiastic that I didn't want to brush him off, and Irina took to me, like she needed someone to love her."
"She probably does," Mario said. "They're Russian orphans in state custody."
"What happened to their parents?" Julia asked.
"They were killed in a car accident a few months ago, which was shortly after they became naturalized citizens, so the kids have no family here. Grace Hansen heard about them on a local TV show featuring hard-to-adopt children needing families to take them in for Christmas."
"What's the story with the little girl?" Julia asked.
"Presumably she's deaf or hard of hearing," Mario replied.
"That's sad," Julia said. "I've never done a video game that included a deaf child. If nothing else, kids would have an awareness of what it's like to live in a silent world. I could even call it "Irina's Silent World.'" She visualized the Children's Club kids meeting a silent child, and the game would take them through the challenges of not hearing a horn honk to warn her to stay back, and never hearing birds, or music, or the sound of voices. Kids playing the game could also learn some basic sign language…
"Speaking of video games," Mario said, "I'm curious why you ended up doing that, when before, you told me you never wanted an inside job, that you had your sights on getting your whitewater certification so you could lead raft trips? What changed?"
In an instant, Julia was back in time, envisioning the disbelief on Cole's face when she tried to explain why she couldn't go rafting, not even on calm water. He'd been rafting for years and held certifications that cleared him for taking rafters over the most dangerous rapids. She hadn't been a water person before meeting him, but she was determined to make her way up the certification levels. But after the bombing, she couldn't get past the image of being swallowed up and trapped by churning water...
"Are you with me?" Mario asked, when Julia became so preoccupied she didn't reply.
Snapping out of it, she gave a little shrug and said, "Sorry, I was distracted. You asked why I'm doing videos. My father's a computer programmer who branched into writing video games, and he convinced me do it too because I always loved writing. As it turned out, it's far more practical than rafting because I can do it at home."
Mario looked at her like he didn't quite believe her, which was understandable given that she'd assured him, years before, that she'd never want a job that kept her inside, but he didn't press her. Instead, he said, "I hate to cut the evening short but I have paperwork to complete before heading to the Federal Building in the morning, but why don't you come with me? We could visit in the car, and at the grocery I'll split the list down the middle and we'll both shop."
Again, Julia struggled for an excuse. What he suggested was more than disconcerting. It was simply not possible. "I… really have to… well, finish the video game I'm writing."
"The job is that demanding?" Mario asked.
"Well, yes, sometimes," Julia replied, and realized her response didn't indicate work so urgent she couldn't ride to Portland with him.
Mario looked at her long and hard, and Julia had the gut feeling he was beginning to put things together. He might be more understanding than Cole had been, but no man wanted to be strapped with a woman who was afraid to leave home, and it was impossible to explain.
"Okay then," Mario said, "give me your car keys and I'll spend half the day tomorrow grocery shopping."
"You really don't have to do it," Julia replied.
"I know, but I've had worst assignments," Mario said, with a twinkle of humor in his eyes that told her he really didn't mind. "I doubt if I'll be able to find good bratwurst where I'll be shopping though," he added.
"True, but you can find it at a German deli in McMinnville," Julia replied. "It's on the main street in town, two blocks off the highway. You can't miss it. Be sure to pick up enough sausages to fill a big man."
"You're going to have me spoiled by the time I leave here," Mario said.
"That would be a good thing," Julia replied, which brought another smile from Mario.
She fished the keys out of her handbag and offered them to him, along with a bank envelope containing several one-hundred dollar bills. When Mario looked inside the envelope, he said, "You always carry this much money around?"
Julia realized she was batting her eyes quickly again, while searching for a reason to have four-hundred dollars in her handbag, which was something she'd been doing for years, having cash on hand so whenever someone went to town, she could have them pick up whatever she needed. "I went to the bank when I first arrived, just in case I couldn't get into town because of the snow." She realized that made no sense because the snow had only just started falling the day before, and if she couldn't get to town, she wouldn't need the money.
Again, Mario looked at her like he didn't quite believe her. Then he pulled his billfold from his back pocket and slipped the bills into it, and said, "A woman walking around with that much cash can be a target. If I were around here much I'd start worrying about you. Have you ever thought about getting a concealed carry permit?"
"You mean carry a gun?" Julia asked.
"A small one in your handbag," Mario replied. "It's not a bad thing for a woman to have. If you were my wife, I'd probably insist. While I'm here, I could even take you to a shooting range nearby and give you some instruction."
Julia's mind was all over the place while trying to process Mario's reference to having a wife, in the same context with giving her instruction on how to shoot, which made her wonder if he could possibly have feelings for her anywhere close to what she felt for him. But going to a shooting range was out. The shots, the noise, the concrete walls of a range… just th
e thought of it had her chest feeling tight and her heart beating heavily.
Quickly dismissing that image, she said, "I never go anywhere with that much money, but thank you for caring." Before he turned to leave, she kissed him on the side of the jaw, and added, "And thank you for doing my grocery shopping."
Mario laughed. "If grocery shopping's all it takes to make you happy, you're a woman in a million. I'll see you tomorrow afternoon. And before I leave here, I'm going to teach you some self-defense. Even if you don't go out carrying a wad of money, every woman needs to know it."
Julia had enough knowledge about learning self-defense to know it entailed a lot of body contact, which had her heartbeat quickening. But there was also a lot of grabbing, and seizing, and restraining involved, which made her chest feel tight again, and her palms damp, and she had no idea how she'd react when the time came, knowing it was Mario who'd be restraining her. Yet, it made no sense to be apprehensive about being held by the man whose arms had given her comfort during the most life-changing six hours of her life.
For the moment though, she was determined to set that troubling thought aside and concentrate on having Mario all to herself for the duration of another evening. But the thought of his arms around her could not be set aside, so she concentrated instead on programming herself for what was to come.
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BOOKS BY PATRICIA WATTERS
DANCING MOON RANCH SERIES
Prequel: Justified Deception
LIVING WITH LIES TRILOGY
Book 1: Righteous Lies
Book 2: Pandora's Box
Book 3: False Pretenses
THE LIES UNCOVERED TRILOGY
Book 4: Uncertain Loyalties
Book 5: Becoming Jesse's Father
Book 6: Bittersweet Return
CUTTING THE TIES TRILOGY
Book 7: Cross Purposes
Book 8: Dancing With Danger
Book 9: Bucking the Odds
BOUND BY LOVE TRILOGY
Book 10: Forbidden Spirits
Book 11: Imperfect Magic
Book 12: Finding Justice (mid 2015)
CONTEMPORARY ROMANCES
Never Too Late
Broken Promises
Adversaries and Lovers
In Hot Pursuit
HISTORICAL ROMANCES
Colby's Child
Perilous Pleasures
Miss Phipps and the Cattle Baron
Her Master's Touch
Come Be My Love
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Born and raised in New Orleans, Louisiana, Patricia Watters gave up city life and now writes from a log cabin nestled in the evergreen forests of Oregon. An author with Harlequin and Avon-Harper Collins in the past, Patricia specializes in romance, and she invites you to visit her website and drop her a line. She responds to all notes. http://www.patriciawatters.com/
Imperfect Magic (Dancing Moon Ranch Book 11) Page 28