Justice Is Always Ready (A Graham Family Story, 1) (22 page)

The next morning, he gazed at his
reflection while he shaved. He hated funerals. Hated them with a
passion but this was not something he couldn’t go to. Kassidy would
need his strength, even if she didn’t realize it yet. With a sigh
he got back to the task at hand and on to the next one.

A few minutes after ten, he strode up
the steps to Quiet Harbor Baptist. The preacher met him at the door
and shook his hand. He proceeded in and found a lot of people
already there. He knew there was going to be another gathering
after the finish of everything at the church. Off to one side, he
spotted Kassidy comforting a crying woman. He drifted along others
and waited until she was free.

Kassidy pushed to her feet from the
pew and ran her hands down the material of her black dress. Her
head raised and she met his gaze. His heart bled at the pain in her
eyes. The gray and green shimmered with unshed tears. Without a
word he stepped toward her.

Chapter
Fourteen

Kassidy didn’t know how to
voice her gratitude in seeing Justice standing there. He wore a
black trench coat over his black suit. In his eyes she read all he
offered.
I love you.
He’d uttered those words to her yesterday at her parents… no,
her dad’s house. She had no idea how to take it. And as sad as it
may seem the interruption from Miz Dottie had been a
blessing.

But there he was, before her, staring
down at her with those amazing brown eyes. The urge to run into his
arms and hide from the world hit her. Hard. She didn’t. Instead she
took a step toward him and reached out for his hand.

“
Thank you for
coming.”

Justice bent in and kissed her cheek.
“How are you doing?”

Horrible! I want to hide
from the world.
But she couldn’t say that.
She gave him a small smile and a shrug. “I’m hanging in
there.”

In his gaze she could read his doubt
on her statement. “Okay,” he said. “I’ll be over there if you need
me.”

She squeezed his hand and watched him
walk back a few pews and sit at the edge. One final glance at him
and she got back to mingling with the family and friends who had
come to pay their respects. Every so often she would scan the room
only to find herself staring at him. Justice never moved and his
eyes never seemed to stray from her either. Whenever she peered at
him, he was focused on her. The action struck her as
touching.

Her father came up to her with a
panicked expression.

“
Daddy? What’s
wrong?”

“
Your Uncle Zeke has a
broken leg.”

Crap.
Licking her lips, she touched her dad’s arm. “I’ll take care
of it, daddy. Don’t worry.”

“
It’s just…” he took
several deep breaths.

“
I’ll ask Justice.
Okay?”

“
Okay.” He kissed her
cheek and walked away muttering to himself.

She rolled her lower lip in her teeth
and made her way across the floor to where Justice sat. His smile
warmed her.

“
Justice?”

“
Yes?”

“
Are you planning on
staying for the whole thing?”

“
Yes.” His response
happened immediately.

“
Can I ask you to do
something?”

“
Name it.”

“
My Uncle Zeke broke his
leg and…and…” She clenched her fists to try and get them to stop
shaking.

“
Kassidy, was he a
pallbearer?”

She nodded. “I know it’s a lot to ask
but do you… would you consider…”

“
Of course I will.” He
rose to his feet and cupped her cheek.

His hand secure in hers, she led him
over to where the other pallbearers stood. She introduced him and
left him there with the others.

The service was beautiful and when she
got up to speak, she had to stop a few times and find her voice.
Out in the sea of faces, she found and locked onto Justice. It was
like his presence gave her the strength to finish her
speech.

She watched as he took his place in
the line on one side of her mother’s coffin. And again when they
carried her to the pedestal that rested over the waiting hole in
the ground, her gaze found and focused on him. The cold winter air
blew around her and it didn’t matter. She sat on a chair beside her
father. Justice stood behind her, his hand rested on her
shoulder.

The rest of the day passed in a blur.
She didn’t remember much of anything for she was shutting down. In
the bottom of the church, she stood by her dad and he grabbed her
close for a hug.

“
Thank you for everything
you did today, Kas. I know this hasn’t been easy on you
either.”

“
Anything to help you,
daddy.”

He took her hands in his
and stared at her. “I’ll be okay. I have wonderful friends, you, my
amazing daughter, and the memories of those wonderful years with
your mom.” Ethan tilted his head. “I’m worried about you. How
are
you
doing?”

“
I’m okay.
Tired.”

“
You make sure to get some
sleep tonight.”

“
Yes, sir.” She glanced
around the room. “I should go make sure everyone is
okay.”

“
We have people doing
that, Kas.”

“
I just… need to stay
busy.”

Understanding filled his gaze. “Okay.”
He pulled her close and held her tight. “I love you, you know that,
right?”

“
Yes, daddy,” she
whispered. “I know. I love you, too.”

Disengaged from his embrace, she
kissed his cheek and roamed away, making sure nobody needed
anything. They didn’t, for the church ladies ran things like a
well-oiled machine. And when it was over they shooed her out the
door with everyone else, saying they would clean up. Justice leaned
against the handrail on the steps, hands in the pockets of his
winter coat but his face zeroed in on the door.

“
What are you still doing
here? I thought you left.”

“
I wouldn’t leave without
saying goodbye.”

He prowled toward her and stopped in
her path. She fixated her gaze on the shiny black buttons on his
coat until his gloved hand lifted her chin. He was so handsome, his
dark skin warm and inviting. The turned up collar on his trench
added a rakish look to him. The cold winter day with its looming
promise of another downpour didn’t take away from the heat she got
in this man’s presence.

“
Come,
beautiful.”

“
Where?”

“
I’m taking you
home.”

The statement was given with such
finality and she found she didn’t have the energy to argue. She let
him lead her down the steps and to his Corvette. The ride back to
her house was done without talking, only a soft mix of R&B
played. Once inside, he assisted her out of her coat and drew her
in close.

There in his embrace the reality of it
all crashed in hard, swift, and fast. She shuddered once and the
dam broke. She didn’t even attempt to stop the tears. When her legs
shook and faltered, his strength held her up. She cried for the
loss of her mom, the fact she didn’t get a chance to say goodbye,
and for so many other things. He picked her up and carried her to
her bed where he removed her clothing and helped her in a
nightshirt.

“
Don’t go,” she said when
he stepped away to cover her with a comforter.

“
I won’t. Close your eyes,
beautiful. Get some rest.”

Too exhausted to fight, she did. When
she woke later, Libby was curled up next to her on the bed. She
glanced around and saw some light filtered through the curtains so
she got up. The clock read 7:23. After she added a pair of sweats
and socks to her attire, she shuffled her way up toward the living
room.

The Weather Channel showed on the
television set, the volume low and barely intrusive. There was the
rich, pungent scent of fresh coffee in the air and on the couch sat
Justice. He turned toward her before she made it to his side, his
eyes soft and gentle as they met hers.

“
Good morning, beautiful,”
he said getting to his feet.

“
You stayed.”

“
I said I would. Can I get
you anything?” he asked pressing a kiss to her lips.

“
I’ll make it.”

“
I’m capable of making you
breakfast, Kassidy.”

“
I know, I just…” She
trailed off, unsure of how to say what she wanted to. His “I love
you” continued to roll around in her head and it was making her a
bit nervous.

“
I’ll whip something up
really quick. Grab a seat.” Another peck and he was off.

She sat in the position he’d just
vacated and rubbed Duke’s head when he placed it in her lap. The
weather talk lulled her into a partial slumber and she jumped a bit
when Justice touched her shoulder.

“
What?”

“
Breakfast is ready. Do
you want to eat here or in the kitchen?”

She got up. “Kitchen.” He’d made her
bacon, eggs, toast, and fresh fruit. “This looks wonderful,
Justice. Thank you.”

He sat across from her and said, “You
know we have to talk, right?”

“
Not now, please.” She
heard the begging tone to her voice and hated it, but she couldn’t
deal with it right now.

His expression told her he wasn’t
pleased but he held his tongue. “What are your plans for the
day?”

What were they? She’d taken time off
work. There was nothing for her to do except grieve. She wanted to
forget for a time though, just do something that took her mind off
it all.

“
I don’t have any… I
don’t… I don’t know what to do.”

“
Spend the day with
me.”

The chasm called to her to go hide in
it. But what was the harm in spending one more day with him? She
nodded. They ate quickly and soon left in his car. He took them to
his apartment where he changed clothes.

She stood at his photos when he
returned and he slipped an arm around her. “This is a great shot,”
she commented and pointed at an image of him standing on a
boat.

“
Thank you. That’s our
boat. My girl. She’s gotten us out and home in some pretty nasty
weather.” In his tone sat obvious affection for the
boat.

“
What is it?” she
questioned.

“
That’s a MLB, a Motor
Life Boat. A forty-seven footer. Top speed is twenty-five knots but
we cruise at twenty knots with a maximum range of two hundred
nautical miles. We can tow up to a hundred tons with her. She’s
special, self-righting.”

Kassidy looked at him. “What does that
mean?”

“
She can return to an
upright and operational position within ten seconds no matter if
she’s pitch-polled or rolled into swells.”

“
Which means?”

“
Rolled into swells,” he
said, lifting a model ship in his hands, “means rolled this way,
across the beam of the boat. Pitch-polled means this way, rolled
fore and aft.” He placed the boat back down. “She also doesn’t have
operational interruption, even if we’re inverted since she’s
self-bailing.”

“
Wow, that’s impressive.”
It made sense now why he was so proud of this boat. She furrowed
her brows. “What’s the difference between a nautical mile and a
regular mile?”

“
A nautical one is
equivalent to one minute of latitude.” He laughed at her
expression. “Basically it’s longer by almost eight hundred feet.
Seven ninety-six and change.”

“
Oh.”

What else could she say? She didn’t
need to dwell on it for he stepped away when his phone rang. She
strayed to the window to allow him some privacy.

“
Kassidy?”

She peeked over her shoulder at him.
He stood there in dark blue carpenter jeans, an oatmeal heather
long sleeve, two-button Henley, his hand over the receiver on the
phone.

“
Yes?”

“
Do you mind if we go see
Torrie?”

“
Of course
not.”

He smiled his thanks and went back to
the call. She enjoyed spending time with the young orphan. Their
first meeting had been a tense one, Torrie wanting nothing to do
with her and crying when Justice paid her any attention. But, used
to working with difficult children, Kassidy didn’t let it get to
her. She knew the child would eventually come around. Now she got a
small smile and a brief wave. May not be perfect but they were
headed in the right direction.

It was a shame that none of her family
had come forward to take her in. Her admiration for Justice had
grown given he was doing his best to become her father.

“
Everything okay?” she
asked once he’d hung up the phone.

“
I hope so.”

They drove to the house where Torrie
stayed and he reached for her hand when they headed up the walk.
Kassidy stood back while Torrie ran and jumped into his arms. She
could see the tension seep out of the little girl when she was near
Justice. Not that Kassidy blamed her, she had lost her mother right
before her eyes.