Justice Is Always Ready (A Graham Family Story, 1) (14 page)

“
Jas?”

“
I’m fine, Justice. I’m
just… just trying to figure some things out.”

“
Does this have to do with
the man I met… what was his name?”

“
No,” another hesitation,
“not really. And you know good and well what his name
is.”

“
Sis,” he grumbled, all
brotherly protective instincts flooding fast and fierce to the
surface.

“
I’ve just been looking
more into Wounded Knee, even called grandpa on it.”

Wounded Knee. Rolling his shoulders,
he sat forward. “What’d you find out?”

“
Stone’s been helping
me.”

He snorted. “I bet.”

“
Hey now, big brother, you
may be but I’m not in diapers.”

“
Not having this convo
with you, Jas. I want to know absolutely
nothing
about your sex life. Hell, I
don’t want to imagine you having any.”

Her laughter made him smile. He missed
her.

“
I’m okay, Justice.
Really. I just have to sort out some things. I’m kinda on
information overload here.”

“
Okay, I’ll let it go for
now. So long as you’re sure you’re okay.” He backed off because he
knew it took a lot for his sister to admit she was on information
overload. It took a lot to fluster her.

“
I promise.” His expelled
breath of relief was short lived. “So, how’s your sex life?”
Jasira’s question made him choke.

“
Jas!”

It took a while for the laughter to
subside. When it did he waited for her next question.

“
How’s everyone doing?”
Her tone had taken on a wistful note.

“
Everyone is
fine.”

He knew it was hard on her. Jasira
loved her family and while they both accepted the inability to
always be near their family because of their jobs, he knew she
missed them all terribly.

“
Good, good. So fill me in
on you.”

They talked for another thirty
minutes. At the end of the call he felt a bit better in regards to
her state of well-being. He got to his feet and walked through his
apartment to the bedroom. Every step he took, he compared his place
to the warmth and welcome that poured from Kassidy’s. His was
sterile. A residence. Hers was a home.

Stepping into the shower, he grinned
at the thought of kids in that house. Kids with Kassidy. The
thought bounced around in his head until he called it a
night.

The next morning, standing near the
bow of the MLB, he retained the same image. Teak sent him a few
knowing glances but said nothing, bless her heart. The day was busy
and took all of his attention. Tired and sore, he ambled slowly to
his car at the end of his day.

“
Wanna grab a
beer?”

Justice glanced at his friend Thomas
Grant. “Sure. Billy’s?”

“
Awesome, meet you there.”
He was gone in a flash of white teeth against dark skin and a
wave.

“
Great,” he muttered,
mostly to himself. Thomas and he had attended the academy together.
For the moment, they were on the same post. Checking the time, he
sighed. Kassidy would still be at work.

He spoke with a few more people while
he made his way to his car. Sliding behind the wheel, he smiled as
the powerful engine roared to life. Turning up his radio, he
shifted into gear and headed out of the parking lot to Billy’s
where a cold one waited for him along with his friend.

A moment’s hesitation to call Kassidy
slowed him at the bar but he decided not to. He didn’t appreciate
being bothered at work and couldn’t imagine she would either. Hand
curled around the handle, he pulled open the door to Billy’s and
walked in. Thomas was easy to spot and he headed that way with a
smile and wave.

* * * *

Kassidy ground her teeth and prayed
for patience. Loud noises floated around her but nothing could pry
her eyes off the note in her hand. The paper shook slightly and she
knew that was from her nerves.

“
Kas. Kassidy? You okay,
hon?”

Lucy touched her shoulder and when
their stares met she could see the concern in her friend’s
gaze.

Don’t unload on Lucy.
Don’t unload on Lucy. Don’t.
It took a few
moments before the saying stuck. With a gulp she forced a smile and
nodded, all the while she crumpled up the paper in her left
hand.

“
Just having a hard time
digesting what I read. I’m fine, Lucy, really.”

Her brown eyes slashed side to side
before they focused back upon her. Kassidy nearly did a double take
to make sure it was Lucy who sat across from her, those eyes were
filled with so much anger.

“
Bullshit!” Lucy hissed.
“What is going on, Kas? I thought we were friends.” She pointed at
her across the park table. “I’ve known you for a long time now,
don’t bullshit me like I just met you and don’t know any
better.”

Kassidy nodded and licked her lips
before rolling the lower one between her teeth. “Have you noticed
anything about my mom lately?”

That question seemed to take her back
a bit. Lucy frowned. “Your mom? She seems more tired, but I thought
she had a virus or walking pneumonia or something like
that.”

“
That’s what she told me
too but then I found a note saying they needed her back in for more
tests. The results weren’t what they’d been hoping for, whoever the
heck ‘they’ is.”

Lucy put her foot up on the bench and
rested her chin on her knee before sighing. “You think there is
something else going on.”

“
Yes. Deep down, I can
feel it but whenever I broach the subject they change it.
Immediately.” She stared out past the table where Libby chased a
ball hit by Ethan. “Will you keep an eye on her for me, Luce? Let
me know if you see anything out of the ordinary?”

“
Of course I will. You
know, she’s like a mom to me as well.”

She reached across the table and
gripped Lucy’s hand, squeezing her thanks. “You’ll have to make
sure she doesn’t catch on.”

“
I know. I will be
careful. Is that what was on the note in your hand?”

“
Yes. Her secretary,
Jackie, took the message and I’d ask her what was going on but
she’s like a loyal dog to my mom. She’d never say a word even if I
threatened her.”

“
Jackie and your mom are
good friends.”

“
I realize that, it just
pisses me off to think she can share something with Jackie as
opposed to me. I’m her daughter for cryin’ out loud.” Her words
rung with bitterness.

“
I wish I could make you
feel better, hon, but I’ll keep a closer eye on her and let you
know what I see or hear.”

“
Thank you, Luce.” The
burden on her shoulders didn’t feel quite so oppressive anymore. A
smile crept across her mouth at the sight of Ethan rolling around
with Libby playing tug-of-war with a stick. “How are things going
with you and Ethan?”

“
I think he just may be
the one, Kassidy.”

“
The one,” she paused and
looked into Lucy’s face, “wait, you mean
the one
?”

“
Yes.” Lucy glanced back
to where the tall Jewish man ran around like a boy, free and
uncaring what others saw.

Kassidy allowed her gaze to drift
between the two of them. Lucy was still a virgin and vowed to
remain that way until she found the man she knew God had created
for her and her alone. So for her to actually say she believed
Ethan to be that man, surprised her. It had been three years since
Lucy had said those words before. That guy had turned out to be the
wrong one but now there was Ethan.

“
What do you think?” Lucy
asked.

“
I think things must be
pretty serious if you’re using that phrase.”

“
I just, oh God, Kassidy,
I just feel so different when I’m with him. It… it’s
like—”

“
Right. It feels right and
nothing could possibly go wrong and take the feeling from
you.”

“
Yes, how did you…
Justice.”

Goose bumps popped up along her skin
at the mention of Justice. “Yes, that’s how I feel when I’m with
him.”

“
I knew it,” she sighed.
“Are you scared?”

She met her friend’s brown
gaze. “Yes. Scared that I wake up and find he was all a dream.”
With a smile, Kassidy winked at her. “But this so
isn’t
about me. Have you
talked to Ethan, does he know this?”

“
That I think he’s the one
or that I’m not having sex until I know?”

“
Either. Both.”

“
I told him I wasn’t ready
for that next step yet, I told him that the first night we went
out.”

“
And?”

A soft smile crossed Lucy’s face. “And
he ran his thumb down my cheek and said he’d never push me into
anything I wasn’t ready for.”

Tilting her head, she watched Ethan
push to his feet and rake a hand through his dark shaggy hair. Even
from the distance between them, she could sense the softening of
his entire persona when his gaze landed on Lucy.

“
I think you may be right,
Lucy. He does seem awfully fond of you. Man can’t hardly keep his
eyes off you.”

She blushed and tried unsuccessfully
to hide the grin. “I feel the same way.”

Kassidy cocked a brow. “You can’t
hardly keep your eyes off yourself? When’d you become so
vain?”

Lucy sneered at her and tossed a
handful of ice chips in her direction. Kassidy dodged them and ran
from the table, out toward Libby and Ethan. Hot on her heels was
Lucy. Using Ethan as a shield, Kassidy soon found herself laughing
and her worries melting away like the ice Lucy had thrown earlier,
in the sun.

They spent some time at the batting
cages and when she was tired and sore, she and Libby headed for her
car with waves to the couple. Brushing off the grass and dirt from
her clothes and Libby’s coat, she called Justice but it went to his
voicemail.

On the way home, she stopped for dog
food and some curbside takeout, too tired to cook anything. There
weren’t going to be too many nice nights like this anymore with
winter coming on and she just wanted to sit in the backyard and
enjoy. With a contented groan she sank to the top step and spread
her meal out before her. Libby ate her food quickly then lay beside
Kassidy, the sounds of pop music filling the evening
air.

Straw in mouth sipping ice tea and
Libby licking the sauce from the container, Kassidy jumped slightly
when her phone began vibrating on the wooden porch beside her. Eyes
remaining closed, she reached blindly for the offensive piece of
technology and brought it to her ear.

“
Hello?” she mumbled
around the straw.

“
You called,
beautiful?”

A familiar knot began to grow in her
stomach. Swallowing more tea she sat up a little
straighter.

“
Justice?”

“
There another man who
calls you beautiful?” His tone had the slightest bit of anger in
it.

“
Where are you?” There was
a loud continuous stream of noise he had to speak over.

“
Billy’s.”

That explained a lot. “Ahh. Sorry for
bothering you. I wanted to see if you were free to grab dinner. No
worries.”

“
Wanted… as in you no
longer do.”

The noise faded slightly but the sound
of the gulls grew louder and she knew he’d gone outside to the
pier.

“
I just finished eating a
little bit ago.”

“
Kassidy, I’m
sorry.”

“
For what? It was a spur
of the minute thing, nothing to apologize for. Look, I don’t want
to keep you from whatever you’re doing, so have fun and I’ll talk
to you soon.”

She ended the call before he could say
another word. Within moments, the remains of dinner had been tossed
and she and Libby were curled up on her chaise/swing combo. That
didn’t last too long for some clouds rolled in and the door latched
behind them as the first rain fell from the sky.

Kassidy stared at the note
for a little while then put it in her desk and figured she would
deal with it another day. Then she made some popcorn and put in a
DVD. Libby’s head in her lap, she began to watch
The Fifth Element
. She
loved Bruce Willis and had most of his movies in her own
collection.

Her doorbell rang just as Korben
Dallas woke up from being beaned on the head with his own coffee
pot by the priest. Libby jumped off the couch and headed for the
door.

“
Fudge,” she muttered,
reaching for the remote to pause it.

Putting the bowl of popcorn to the
side, she got up and headed to the door. Libby stood beside her and
so without further thought, she opened the door and promptly lost
her breath. Her stomach dropped to her feet as her gaze moved over
the man standing before her.