Chapter Nine

Kassidy smiled as she sat with one eye pressed to the finderscope on her dad’s reflecting telescope. Turning the knob, she waited for the celestial body to come into view.

“So when do we get to meet this mystery man of yours?” her father’s graveled baritone asked.

Tilting her head so she could see him where he sat at his refracting telescope, she chuckled. “What makes you think he’s a mystery man?”

“Any man I haven’t met that you’re seeing is a mystery. Stop dodging the question. When do I get to meet him?”

She picked up on the I versus the we. “Soon, daddy. Maybe we can all do dinner some night.”

“What’s wrong with him?”

She’d been on her way back down to peer through the telescope but stopped at the question. Turning on the stool, Kassidy faced her dad.

“What makes you think there’s something wrong with him?”

“The fact you’ve not introduced him to me… to us.”

She understood. The last man she’d hesitated introducing them to had turned out to be a loser with a capital “L.” It was her daddy’s job to worry and he took that job very seriously.

“He’s been really busy, dad. He’s a lieutenant in the Coast Guard and they’ve been running extra drills. I haven’t seen him for four days myself.”

It was the truth. As was the fact she missed him more than she cared to admit. When he’d visited his sister in South Dakota that was different because he was out of state. Now he was in the same town and she still didn’t get to see him. That was difficult for her. They’d spoken on the phone but he was just getting off work and heading to bed. The one night they were planning on dinner together, he’d had to cancel. This weekend they had plans though and she fervently hoped they were able to keep them.

“A lieutenant in the coast guard, huh? Well, we still want to meet him.” Her father’s voice refocused her attention.

“Of course, daddy. Maybe this weekend I’ll bring him by.”

“Good deal. Now fill me in on what else is going on with you.”

With another smile, Kassidy peered through the eyepiece and stared at the quadrilateral of stars that formed the head of the constellation, Draco, the dragon. Tightening the focus, she zoomed in on Rastaban, Beta Draconis, which meant “head of the snake.”

As time passed, Kassidy and her father talked and caught up. This was one of her favorite activitiesto stay up with her father and stargaze. Many a childhood night she’d crept out of her room and would join him. It was their time, shared between father and daughter. To this day both those past and now present moments were infinitely precious to her.

The clock read four when she hugged her dad and headed home with Libby in tow. Kassidy woke around noon to the sound of her doorbell. Rolling out of bed with a frustrated groan, she padded to the door, rubbing her eyes.

“Yea?” she demanded, jerking open the door.

The UPS man stood there. “Sorry to wake you, Ms. Barrow, but we need a signature for this one.”

She gave Steve a soft smile. He’d been her UPS man for a long time now. Silent, she reached for the brown board and signed her name. “No problem, Steve. Thanks.”

“Have a great one.” He walked down her steps and easily climbed into his vehicle before he drove off.

She sighed and stared down at the four boxes by her feet. Libby sniffed them briefly and headed back inside.

“Couldn’t take one in with you?” she snipped as her dog’s tail disappeared.

The dog snorted as if in response. Laughing, Kassidy lifted two of the smaller ones and took them through to the back porch then returned for the other two. She hefted the smaller of the two and used her foot to slide the larger one inside and through the house to the porch. Neither of them were light and she was breathing hard by the time she’d finished. But excitement ran through her. She’d been waiting on these.

Boxes through to the back porch and door closed, she dressed in yard clothes, grabbed a utility knife and a glass of tea before returning to the packages. A moan of pleasure left the moment the iced brew slid down her throat. Crouching down she made short work of cutting open the boxes.

Libby played ball with herself while Kassidy worked to set up her new stone birdbath and bird feeders. The ringing of the phone reached her while she moved the hose to fill the stone basin. Putting it down, she hurried into the house and grabbed the receiver.

“Hello?”

“Hello, beautiful.”

Justice.

Her heart rate accelerated and she found she had a nervous smile on her face. Licking her lips, she pushed back through the screen door to sit on the top step of the porch.

“Hi.”

“Am I interrupting anything?”

“Oh no. Not at all.”

“Okay, if you’re sure. You sound a bit distracted.”

“I was working out in the backyard.”

“Want some company?” he asked.

It took her a moment to realize she bore a silly grin on her face from his question. Even still, she nodded despite him being unable to witness it. “Are you done with work?”

“Yes, ma’am. I’m heading for my car now.”

“I’d love to see you. Come on over. Come to the back gate.”

“See you in a bit, Kassidy.”

“Bye, Justice.”

The moment she pressed the End button, she squealed and stomped her feet upon the brick steps. From where she lay in the sun, Libby lifted her head, yawned and then went back to chewing on her ball.

“Thanks for the support, Libs.”

She worried her lip while debating going inside and changing into something prettier. With a shake of her head, Kassidy pushed up and headed back into the sun. I’m working in the yard. He knows this. I don’t need to get all prettified for him.

She went in, returned the phone to its base, and did a few other things before she headed back out. Once there, she broke down the boxes and put them in the recycling bin. Picking up the hose, she proceeded to fill the basin, an act that didn’t take long at all. She started when a low whistle floated to her ears.

Libby ran past her to the fence, her tail wagging a mile a minute. Staring over the top of the gate was none other than Justice. Her palms grew sweaty and there sat a large lump in her throat at the sight of him.

He must have driven straight here to arrive so fast.

“Justice,” she murmured, walking toward the gate.

“Hello, beautiful.”

Unlatching the gate, she drew it to her, silently beckoning him to come in. He strode toward her, each step masculine and predatory. His dark brown eyes swirled with a burning hunger that made her belly clench.

Justice stopped before her and cupped the back of her head before covering her mouth with his. Synapses firing out of control, she pressed into him. His taste, heady and addictive, sank deep into her pores. The scent that covered him, virile and fresh, embedded into her brain.

Her fingers curved into the soft brown cotton of his shirt as he supported more and more of her weight. He didn’t seem to mind that fact. One arm slid around her waist and he held them tighter together. A small moan of disappointment slipped from her lips when the kiss ended. His gaze burned even hotter than it had at the start of the kiss.

“I missed you,” he uttered, stroking his knuckles down the side of her face.

A flush rolled up her face. “I missed you, too.”

He backed away and leaned down to pet Libby while she took the opportunity to shut the gate and observe the man in the backyard with her. Justice wore a loose tee shirt which in actuality did very little to hide the strength of his upper body. Slightly baggy jeans and tennis shoes completed his attire.

Oh my! He lifted his head, met her gaze and winked. Almost like he knew her train of thought.

Standing up, he shoved his hands in his pockets. “Put me to work, Kassidy. What can I do to help?”

Take me inside.

“Are you sure? I mean, you just got off work.”

“I’m good.”

She had no doubt about that. Together they moved back through to where she’d been working. “Okay, if you could hang those feeders. Well, fill, then hang them.”

“You got it.”

After he walked away, Kassidy turned her attention back to the task before her. Dropping to her hands and knees she got to it. After a bit, a shadow fell over her as she reached for a large stone.

“Why was I hanging bird feeders and leaving you to lay rock?” Justice’s tone was deceptively calm. She could feel the tension radiating off him.

Wiping the back of her hand across her forehead, eradicating the telltale signs of perspiration, she sat up on her haunches. “Because I needed them hung?”

He crouched beside her, his expression disapproving and serious. “You, Kassidy, are a stubborn woman.”

She gave him a lopsided grin. “I’m not used to relying on anyone to do this stuff for me. If you really want to move some stuff, I could use another of the large burlap sacks. It’s right in the front of the shed.”

His heavy sigh informed her he wouldn’t let it go that easily. Rolling her lower lip between her teeth, she watched him lift the sack like it weighed nothing. It rested on one shoulder and she found her eyes glued to the bulging bicep. From beneath lowered lids she stared as he approached.

“Where do you want it?”

There’s a loaded question.

It took a moment to find her voice. “In the area up to my left.” She pointed. “Just set it by the myrtle. Please and thank you.”

“What’s it for?”

“Landscape cover.” She focused her attention back on the flagstone before her.

Justice hunkered beside her. “Have you done all of this?”

“No. My grandma planted almost all of these flowers. I’ve done some of the rock work.” Content with the location of the stone, she readjusted to the pile near her and pulled another one the size and color she wanted. “It’s relaxing for me. Kinda makes me feel closer to her now that she’s gone.”

“What are you using?”

“This is Three Rivers Quartzite. It’s a hard multicolored flagstone.”

“Well, it’s a beautiful backyard. So is the front. Put me to work.”

Holding the dark gray stone, she met his gaze. “The bag you just carried over here can be dumped by the tree. Just try to keep everything within the retaining wall boundary.”

“You got it.”

She watched him surreptitiously as he opened the sack and lifted it to slowly pour out the contents. With a smile she got back to finishing the last bit of stone she had to lay and set.