Free Mirror of Shadows by T. Lynne Tolles

thinking on the conversation and how the morning had started out so carefree and ended so troubled and tense. Why was it bothering her so that he didn’t want to date her? She’d never really even thought about them dating until she’d said the words that morning, but he’d been so…opposed to the topic. Had it been such a horrible thought for him to date her? Fine – she thought. He certainly wasn’t the only good looking guy around and he certainly wasn’t the easiest guy to get to know. She was probably better off not getting into a complicated relationship…and yet…he was all she could think about—his kindness, and concern when she had been at her lowest. He’d seemed so sweet and loving.
    BAM! The car lurched forward and the sound of metal and glass knocked her out of her thoughts of Jeremy. She looked in the rear view mirror and saw nothing but blackness. She got out of the car and stepped towards the back of the car as a young man came around the black, monster-sized truck.
    “Oh, geez! I’m so sorry! Are you all right?” a handsome blonde man said.
    “What?” she said confused.
    “I didn’t even see your little car back there. I’m so sorry. I dropped my phone and boom . You aren’t hurt, are you?”
    “Uh! No. I’m fine. Although I can’t say the same for my car,” she said as she tried to determine how much damage had been done.
    “Let me pull forward and we’ll see how bad it is.”
    “Okay,” she said still in a haze of confusion.
    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