Justice Is Always Ready (A Graham Family Story, 1) (2 page)

“
No. I just met him today,
Lucy. Don’t see men like him much anymore,” Kassidy said on a sigh.
“Not much at all.”

“
Amen to that,” Lucy
commented.

Kassidy fell into helping out behind
the counter easily. She’d done it many times before. So in tune
with what she was doing, Kassidy jumped when Lucy nudged
her.

“
What?”

“
Go. The rain’s
stopped.”

Lifting her head and glancing through
the glass front, Kassidy realized Lucy was right. It had. “Thanks,
Lucy. I totally missed that.”

She chuckled. “I would too if I were
dreaming of that chocolate covered hunk of a man.”

Kassidy blushed but didn’t
deny it. It was true, her mind had been on him.
Justice Graham
. With a wave to her
friend, Kassidy headed out into the humid and muggy afternoon. The
sky showed definite promise of delivering more rain so she didn’t
tarry. Big fat drops began to fall seconds after she shut her car
door.

With a smile, Kassidy began driving
through the coastal city of Quiet Harbor, North Carolina. She loved
it here. This was her town. She’d been born and raised here.
Turning onto her street, Kassidy sighed contentedly when she saw
her house. It wasn’t all that big, but it had been her
grandmother’s and was now all hers. The front walkway sat lined by
mixed carpet phlox and scarlet flame phlox, welcoming visitors with
their vibrant colors. Numerous other plants were in the front yard
as well: hydrangeas, azaleas, climbing roses clung to the porch,
and also wisteria.

Parking in the drive, Kassidy grabbed
her purse and ran for the protection of the porch. The air was
filled with the scent of the rain and the fragrance of all the
flowers that were in bloom. It was with a smile that Kassidy opened
the door to her home.

“
I’m home,” she announced,
unnecessarily for her dog already stood there waiting. “Hey,
Libby,” she said patting her affectionately.

Libby was a standard poodle; a retired
show dog that now went to work with Kassidy most days. Libby, being
a trained therapy dog, was used to help children learn to read
better.

“
Sorry I didn’t take you
today, but I spent most of the day running errands. I’ll take you
with me tomorrow.”

Kassidy let Libby out briefly then
talked to her, telling her about her day as she made some dinner.
“Oh, Libby, he was something else. There was such a quiet strength
about him.”

Justice Graham was on her
mind as she cleaned up from dinner and took Libby for her nightly
walk.
I can’t get him out of my
head.

Kassidy’s dreams were filled with
flashes of him. His deep sensual voice, the way his hand felt
curved around hers and the ease in which he helped her to her feet.
His dark eyes were still there when she woke. The ride to work was
quiet. There was no more rain and the traffic didn’t seem as bad.
Inside the library, Kassidy had just gotten Libby settled on her
bed when her cell phone began to ring.

“
Man, thought I shut this
off.” Casting a guilty glance around, Kassidy ignored Libby’s
reproachful look and answered, “Hello?”

“
Hey, woman, good
morning!”

Lucy.
“What’s up? And good morning to you, too.”

“
Just wanted to see if you
felt like going out with me tonight.”

“
Dinner? Or are you
talking out to the club?”

“
Bar. I want you to meet
my boyfriend. He’s a bartender at Billy’s.”

Billy’s?
“I haven’t been out to a bar in a while. Sure,
why not. What time?”

“
Eight-thirty
work?”

“
Sounds good to me. I’ll
see you there.”

“
Awesome. Thanks, Kassidy.
See you then.” Lucy hung up and Kassidy turned off her
phone.

She kept busy. There were five reading
groups scheduled throughout the day. It was more than usual and so
Kassidy kept a close eye on Libby to see for the first sign of
strain or stress. Libby handled it like a trooper. She did sleep on
the ride home.

Kassidy showered, dressed, and got
directions to Billy’s. Leaving some treats down for Libby, Kassidy
left with keys in hand. The bar seemed busy when she arrived. There
were people hanging out on the deck, looking out over the ocean.
Scanning the area, Kassidy smiled when her gaze picked out
Lucy.

“
Hey there!” Lucy said as
they briefly hugged.

“
So tell me why I haven’t
met this man before?” Kassidy asked.

Lucy’s dark skin flushed. “I wasn’t
sure about introducing him to people.”

Kassidy arched a brow.
“Why?”

“
I want you to meet him,”
Lucy hedged. “Come on.”

Allowing herself to be tugged along,
Kassidy questioned, “Do I at least get to know his
name?”

“
Ethan.”

Okay, she’s not giving me
much here.
“Ethan.” Tugging her hand,
Kassidy stopped her friend. “Lucy. What gives? No last
name?”

“
Ethan Amsel.”

“
Thank you. Now, let’s go
get me introduced.”

“
Okay.”

Arm in arm they walked inside the
bar.

* * * *

Justice almost choked on the cool
liquid sliding down his throat. Blinking a few times, he checked,
then double-checked, to make sure it wasn’t his imagination. It
wasn’t. Leaning against the bar, in tight black pants and a white
halter-top stood none other than Kassidy. She had one heeled boot
propped up, an elbow on the bar, and a bottle of beer dangling from
her fingers as she spoke to the bartender.

“
Excuse me, guys,” he
murmured as he took another drink and headed toward her. In the
back of his mind he heard his friends commenting, but none of it
registered. He had one thing in mind.

Justice stepped up behind her, almost
touching but not. He met the bartender’s gaze briefly, long enough
to make his claim clear. Then he lowered his head, inhaled the
intoxicating and alluring scent of dark amber with a hint of
vanilla. Desire, lust, and something else flashed through
him.

“
Good evening, Kassidy,”
he whispered in her ear.

She jumped with surprise and Justice
groaned as he reached around her to help steady her
drink.

“
Oh… oh… you scared me,”
she stuttered, turning to face him.

Justice forced himself not
to give in and kiss her.
Behave,
man!
It wasn’t easy. He couldn’t think of
another woman who could banish all train of thought from his mind
as this one could. Kassidy wore a bare minimum of makeup and his
gaze lingered on her lips after her tongue snuck out to dampen
them.

“
Sorry,” he apologized.
Leaning against the bar he lost himself in her gray eyes. “Do you
come here often?”

Silence fell before they both
laughed.

“
Wow,” she teased, “that’s
a line I haven’t heard in a while.”

“
Didn’t mean for it to
sound like that. Just I don’t recall seeing you in here
before.”

“
I’ve not been. Just came
to meet someone.”

Possessiveness reared up within him.
“Really?” he asked, well aware he sounded all growly.

If Kassidy noticed the surly attitude
she made no mention of it. “Yes. Ethan, the bartender.”

He snapped his gaze to the
tall, dark-haired white man behind the bar. Observant blue eyes
stared back at him.
What the
hell?

“
Ethan?” he asked again,
looking between the two of them.

“
Yes. Lucy wanted me to
meet her boyfriend.” Kassidy glanced over her shoulder and waved at
Ethan. “He’s a very nice guy. I’m happy for them both,” she said
when she met his gaze again.

Relief swamped him. “So he’s not your
man?”

She stared at him, took a long, slow
drink from the bottle. His body responded as he observed the way
her lips curled around the mouth of the longneck.

“
Nope,” she finally
responded.

Justice leaned closer. “Anyone in here
your man?”

Kassidy finished eliminating the
distance between them, their lips millimeters apart. “Not
yet.”

Her name was hollered over the noise,
and she drew back. Justice could feel the blood pounding through
his veins. A siren’s smile lifted her full, kissable
lips.

“
Nice to see you again,
Justice Graham. Goodbye.” She winked and slipped off through the
crowd.

He remained there and didn’t move.
Fingers around his beer, Justice turned his head when a hand
settled upon his shoulder. Another crewmember, Kelly
Henderson.

“
Losing your touch?” Kelly
teased.

“
Man, don’t make me hurt
you. That woman right there is the future Mrs. Jamal
Graham.”

Kelly leaned his body
against his, shoulder to shoulder, and turned his head in the
direction Kassidy had gone. “Really? Hmm, well congrats. I think
you may want to tell
her
that, ‘cause the way she left you standing here,
I’m thinking she’s not aware of y’all’s marriage.”

Shoving Kelly off him, Justice
growled, “Stuff it, Kelly.” His friend just laughed
harder.

“
How about this. I’ll help
you by putting in a good word with her.”

Justice took a swig of beer and
frowned. “If?” Kelly was never that nice without a
reason.

“
Get me a date with your
sister.”

“
Want me to kill you,
Henderson?” he asked in a low, barely controlled tone.

“
Come on, man. We may just
be soul mates.”

Justice took a deep
breath.
The hell I’m pimping out my
sister.
“You and my sister aren’t ever
happening, Kelly.
Ever.
”

“
She doesn’t even know
me.”

“
After seeing you on the
pier one night, drunk, she has no wish to. And I won’t let my baby
sister become one of your conquests, so back the fuck off!” There
was no more humor in his voice.

Kelly held up his hands in surrender.
“Okay, I’ll let it go.”

Justice stared at him before walking
away. His temper had cooled by the time he’d relocated Kassidy.
Before he knew what had happened, he found himself in front of her
table. He recognized the woman with her from the museum and of
course Ethan, who was curved against Lucy.

He lost his train of thought when
Kassidy’s amazing gaze flitted up to his. Her eyes widened slightly
before she looked down at her hands.

“
Can I have a moment?” he
asked, barely taking the time to acknowledge the two others at the
table.

Kassidy glanced to Lucy, and Justice
was pleased to see the woman give an encouraging nod. He stepped
back so Kassidy could stand.

“
Sure,” she said. “Be
right back, Lucy.”

Justice gestured with his beer then
fell into step behind her. Wiping his hand off on his pant leg, he
placed it on the small of her back to guide her. The heat from her
skin singed his palm and he almost jerked it off. Silken chocolate
is what her skin felt like. No words were traded as he led her out
the door to the dock and they found space along the rail. Kassidy
rested her arms on the flat wood while he faced her, using one arm
to brace himself.

“
What can I do for you,
Justice Graham?” she queried, pulling her gaze from him and staring
out over the water.

Justice reached out and used two
fingers to bring her face around to his. “Get to know me,” he
uttered.

Chapter
Two

Kassidy stared into the endless depths
of the gaze belonging to the man. A man the likes of which she’d
never met before. Her body shuddered from the two fingers he
touched her face with. Her belly still flipped from when his hand
had rested upon her back. Justice held her gaze without
flinching.

Is he for real? With all
of these women he could pick from, why me?

It wasn’t a hard stretch for her to
superimpose this mouthwatering man into her dream of happily ever
after. Her heart encouraged and her brain hesitated.

“
Kassidy?” he asked,
breaking the silence between them.

“
What do I need to know
about you, Justice?” Kassidy turned slightly so they were facing
one another in the night; the lights from the bar kept the darkness
somewhat at bay.

“
Everything.”

She smiled. Kassidy faced back out
over the water. “How about we start with what you do.” Her breath
caught when his broad shoulder brushed hers as he mimicked her
stance. Dropping her gaze, Kassidy stared at his hands, strong
hands with long fingers. Hands designed to protect and love a
woman.

Wonder how’d they feel
running along my skin as we made love.