Silent Fall

if the past year hadn’t tested their love in every possible way. But they’d come through the bad times. From here on out, it would be nothing but smooth sailing -- at least he hoped so. He smiled as one of Sarah’s friends brought his niece, Caitlyn, to the dance floor. Jake’s eighteen-month-old blond angel was the hit of the wedding, but as usual she wanted to be part of the action. Jake swung his baby daughter into his arms, and the three of them danced together like the family they were.
    Dylan tossed another shot down his throat, pushing back the ridiculous thought that he was jealous of their happiness. While he loved his brother, he did not yearn for marriage and a family of his own. He’d grown up in a broken home, and he didn’t intend to repeat the experience. Although he sincerely hoped Jake and Sarah would make it, that they would beat the odds of divorce and that they would never fall out of love the way his own parents had.
    A cool evening breeze blew through the open patio doors, drawing goose bumps down his arms, but it wasn’t the wind that had put his nerves on edge. It was the beautiful redhead who slid onto the bar stool next to him.
    "Are you drinking to your brother’s happiness or to the demise of yet another bachelor?" Catherine Hilliard asked.
    Dylan set his glass on the bar. Catherine had cleaned up pretty well since their first meeting two months earlier, when she’d helped him find Sarah. There were no paint spatters on her clothes today, and she’d covered her bare feet in a pair of high heels. She wore a gorgeous, sexy black dress with a low-cut halter top that showed off her beautiful breasts. He loved the way the freckles danced across her chest. He had the sudden urge to see if she had freckles all over her body.
    He tugged on his tie, feeling tightness in his chest at the very bad ideas flooding his brain. Catherine was an old friend of his new sister-in-law, and as such she was off-limits, not to mention the fact that she was more than a little quirky, with her passion for painting gruesome pictures and her claim that she was psychic. But despite her eccentricities, Catherine had a big heart and a fierce loyalty to her friends, which he found far too appealing.
    "Hello," Catherine said pointedly. "You’re staring."
    "You’re stunning," he replied, unable to stop the words from crossing his lips.
    She gave him a quick smile. "That’s a good start to the conversation. The wedding was lovely, didn’t you think? Jake and Sarah make a good match. I think they have a chance."
    "A chance, huh? That’s an enthusiastic endorsement," he said dryly, hearing the same note of cynicism that echoed through his own head.
    Catherine shrugged. "I haven’t seen a lot of happy marriages in my time, but if anyone can make it, they can."
    "So, how have you been -- painting a lot?"
    "Every night. I even painted you. It’s been quite a challenge."
    He raised an eyebrow. "No kidding? Do I want to see it?"
    Her smile widened. "Maybe I’ll show you sometime."
    "I don’t get down the coast much." Catherine lived in San Luis Obispo, three hours away from his apartment in San Francisco, which provided a nice buffer zone. He had to admit she’d crossed his mind more than once in the past six weeks, but fortunately he had been busy with his work as an investigative reporter for KTSF Television News in San Francisco.
    Catherine accepted a glass of champagne from the bartender. "I brought the painting with me. I wanted to work on it some more. I’m staying here at the lodge for a few days. I figured with a Friday-night wedding, it was only fitting that I get a weekend retreat in the woods."
    "Who’s watching your menagerie of pets?" he asked. "I can’t imagine you leaving them alone." Catherine shared her home with two cats, two dogs, and a very annoying and talkative bird. In some ways he envied her little zoo. He’d never been allowed to have a pet growing up, and watching her with her golden retrievers on the beach behind her house had made him feel like he’d missed out. Of course, he’d missed out on a lot of things besides having a pet. That had been the least of his problems.
    "My neighbor, Lois, watches them when I’m gone. I will miss them, but the mountains are beautiful, and I haven’t been away on my own for a while. Besides, the lake has a peacefulness about it, a depth and a secrecy that