Justice Is Always Ready (A Graham Family Story, 1) (6 page)

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.

* * * *

Justice found his gaze returning to
where Kassidy worked diligently on her hands and knees. Running a
hand over his short hair, he leaned on the rake he currently used
to smooth out the contents he’d dumped. It was a large sack of
crushed pecan shells.

The day was pleasantly cool and a wind
had begun to blow, bringing with it the promise of a storm. He
lingered over the image Kassidy presented. Her amazing mass of
curls gathered up off her neck, exposing the swanlike and delicate
lines she had. She wore a pair of fitted, well-worn, holey jeans
that highlighted her cute little bubble butt. Dirty slip-on shoes
covered her feet. She wore a short sleeve, baby blue button-down
over a red shirt.

Dirt streaks graced her face and he
swore he’d never seen anyone so desirable in his entire life. He
couldn’t figure her out. She wasn’t impressed by his car nor the
fact he had a boat. This was a woman who enjoyed life. Knew how to
extract pleasure from every aspect of life. Or so it
seemed.

And yet…

She kept part of herself private. He
wanted access to it. He wanted it all.

With a sigh, he moved his gaze to
where Libby lay sprawled on her side in the afternoon sun. Even as
relaxed as she was, the dog made sure she could keep an eye on her
owner.

Sights back to Kassidy, he watched her
stretch. Hands settled upon her lower back, she arched. The action
pressed her breasts forward and up. His mouth grew dry and his
palms sweaty. Her figure was to die for. Another thing she didn’t
seem to notice or even care about.

Keep it together,
man.

She pushed effortlessly to
her feet and headed toward him, the sun making her glow. Skimming
his top teeth with his tongue, he watched her
walk

smooth,
seductive, siren-like and yet at the same time, completely
natural.

Her gaze dropped to the ground and a
large smile filled her expression. “Looks wonderful. Thank you so
much for doing this.”

“
Not a
problem.”

“
Why don’t we take a
break? I have some tea made up. Go grab a seat.”

“
Sounds great.” He strode
beside her up the steps then headed for the hammock on the shaded
end of the porch.

“
Be right back,” she said
as he reclined in the comfortable swing.

Closing his eyes he gave a
gentle push with his foot and that was the last thing he knew. He
stirred and opened his eyes. The sun had begun to set.
Crap, I can’t believe I fell asleep.
Sitting up, he noticed Libby lying near the door.
She raised her head and returned his stare. When he swung out of
the hammock, she rose and padded down the steps. Following her with
his gaze, he stared over the bushes and found the backyard empty.
He walked to the screen door and knocked.

“
Kassidy?”

“
Come on in.” Her voice
filtered to him.

He walked in and Libby brushed by him.
Kassidy stood in the kitchen and he shrugged sheepishly when she
looked up at him.