Love, Scars, & Shooting Stars

Chapter Twenty-One

Julie trailed behind as Cameron led her through the other rooms, pointing out the unique architectural features of the house and detailing his vision for the finished result. The unease between them gradually dissipated as Julie talked herself out of the hunch she'd felt moments before in the study. Of course Cameron had simply been agreeing with her assessment of the landscape, even if he couldn't have seen it from where he was standing. He wouldn't have needed to see it right then to agree, because he'd probably seen it hundreds of times before, and Julie was embarrassed to have thought for even a moment that he might have been referring to his view of her. Dammit, it was all Becca's fault for putting crazy ideas in her head in the first place! As if Cameron Shepherd would ever give her a second look...

Puh-lease! Julie scoffed silently, and then immediately pushed the impossible notion to the back of her mind as she refocused her attention on the woodwork that Cameron was showing her. She was fascinated with the work he was doing, somehow managing to make improvements and modifications while still maintaining the home's vintage charm, and Julie found herself being swept up in the wave of his near-palpable enthusiasm.

"Does this work?" Julie asked, moving further into the sitting room to trail her fingertips over the massive stone hearth. "Can you light an actual fire in it?"

"Should be able to, but I haven't tried it yet," Cameron said, daring a step closer. "The chimney looks okay, but I figured I should have it checked by a professional, just in case. Better safe than sorry."

Julie nodded and continued ambling around the room, her eyes taking in every detail of the tin ceilings and Victorian-era molding. She lifted the corner of a thin cotton drop cloth to reveal an antique settee that would probably seem gaudy in any other surroundings.

"Hideous, isn't it?" Cameron said, suddenly right beside her.

"By itself, yes," Julie admitted, glancing around the room. "But in here, with the ceilings and the fireplace and the hardwood floors, it just... fits, you know?"

"You think?" he asked, feigning doubt. "Because I was kind of picturing a 76-inch flatscreen with a couple of Fat Boy recliners, maybe a mini-fridge right here..."

"Now that would be hideous!" Julie grinned, sitting down on the end of the sofa. "Seriously, though. How do you do this? How do you look at a house like this and just...know?"

"That it can be fixed?" Cam deduced, and then shrugged. "I guess you just have to look beyond the surface. If the foundation is solid and the plumbing and wiring are in decent shape, then the rest is easy." He smoothed his hand slowly, almost lovingly, along a window casing that was suffering from a bad case of wood rot. "Although I have to admit, I might've bitten off more than I can chew with this one."

"I don't believe that," Julie said. "You'll get it done."

"Well, you're the only one who thinks so," he laughed. "Everyone else thinks I'm crazy to even attempt it, and there are days that I'm inclined to agree with them!"

"Then why'd you buy it?" Julie asked, intrigued.

"Truthfully? I have no idea," Cameron confessed. "It hasn't been lived in since the late eighties, and the guy that inherited it from his great-great-uncle or whatever lives in California and didn't even want the place, so it was just sitting here wasting away. The price was high, the location isn't great, and everything about the place just screams 'Money Pit', but the first time I saw it, something just... clicked, if that makes any sense at all."

"Kismet," Julie nodded knowingly. "Fate. Destiny. Providence."

Cameron laughed as he eased down beside her and rested his head against the back of the settee. He hadn't removed the drop cloth from his side of the sofa, but even with the heavy canvas between them, Julie was acutely aware of the heat of his leg near hers.

"Hey, these things don't just happen," she insisted, shifting away to quell the rapid pulsing in her chest. "Something made you buy this house..."

"Insanity?" Cameron turned to her with a grin, and the pulsing in her chest turned to pounding.

"Intuition," Julie corrected, pulling the canvas back into place as she rose from her seat, hoping that he couldn't see her hands shaking. "It helps you see things other people can't see. Besides, you said you've done this before, and I'm assuming the other ones turned out alright..."

"How about you and Finn come for dinner tonight, and I'll show you the pictures."

He looked almost as surprised by the offer as Julie was, and she was more eager to accept than she cared to admit.

"I'd like tha—" she started to say, and then remembered that she had other obligations. "I can't tonight."

"Hot date?"

"What? No!" Julie sputtered, not sure why she felt the need to correct him so emphatically.

"Washing your hair?"

Julie sighed. "No, but close," she confessed. "Laundry, and the coin wash closes at seven on Sundays."

"Lucky for you, I just happen to have a washer and dryer in my house that's practically begging to be used tonight," Cameron said, and then cut her off as she started to decline. "Look, if it'll make you feel better, you can give me all your quarters!"

Julie laughed, feeling fairly certain that he wasn't going to take 'no' for an answer.

"Okay, we'll come. But this time, it's my turn to cook."