Justice Is Always Ready (A Graham Family Story, 1) (5 page)

“
Ohhh, see they have rules
against abusing your power. Stop hitting a noncom.” She hefted the
duffle effortlessly from the conveyor belt and shook it. “Did you
bring me some of mama’s cookin’?”

“
Yeah,” he retorted drily.
“I forewent clothing, packed yah a roast instead.” He grunted when
she hit him square in the chest with the bag. Justice laughed,
tossed it over his shoulder and dropped his other arm around her.
“I’ve missed you.”

“
Missed you, too, big
bro.”

They walked out into the South Dakota
morning.

* * * *

Justice had a great visit with his
sister, but when his plane landed he was more than ready to be back
home. One thing was on his mind. Well not thing, but object. A
person. Ms. Kassidy. His Kassidy.

He closed the door to his apartment
and headed for the shower. Once he was clean, Justice walked
through his kitchen in a pair of sweats and leaned against the
counter. His cell phone sat on the clean Formica top. Taunting him.
Mocking him. He wasn’t sure. Suddenly he was not as confident as he
wanted to believe. Justice reached out and bit his lip while
pressing the send button once he found the number he
wanted.

“
Hello?” a tiny hushed
female voice said.

He frowned. “May I speak to Kassidy,
please?”

“
No.”

“
Is she busy?”

“
Talking to
Arlen.”

Arlen. A man’s name. Justice scowled.
“Could you tell her Justice called?”

A deep sigh. “No. Then she’d know I
was playing with her phone.”

Young logic at its best. Justice had
to smile at that one. “I can see your dilemma.”

Another large sigh. “Yes.
See, I should be sleepin’. But it started moving and I
had
to touch it.” The
voice rose with excitement. “Shhh!”

He lifted onto the counter, totally
enchanted. “Right. Shhh, sorry.”

“
Can you see me? I’m
hiding.”

“
Sorry, I can’t. Where are
you hiding?”

“
Under the desk. Uh
oh.”

“
What
happened?”

“
Busted.” Her voice was so
dejected.

“
Give me that phone, young
lady, and get out from there.” Kassidy’s voice could be heard in
the background.

“
I had fun hiding with
you. Bye,” the child said.

The “Who are you talking to?” overrode
his own farewell.

“
Hello?” Kassidy’s sweet
Southern tone slid like honey over him.

“
Hello, my beautiful
Kassidy.”

“
Justice.”

The way she purred his name made him
think about another shower. Ice cold this time.

“
Did you miss
me?”

“
Tell me Sari didn’t call
you, did she?”

“
You’re not answering my
question.”

“
Neither are
you.”

He chuckled. “No, she didn’t call. She
just answered. Sari is it?”

“
Good. Yes, very cute and
very disquisitive.”

“
Disquisitive?”

“
I’m sure it’s in your
calendar.”

Justice laughed and ran his hand over
his short hair. “Probably is.” He paused. “Kassidy?”

“
I missed you,” she
informed him.

He smiled. “Glad to hear it. Who’s
Arlen?”

“
Sari’s
father.”

Justice wanted more information than
that, but he kept his mouth shut on the subject. “Are you free for
supper?”

“
I am.”

“
Can I pick you up… say
about five then?”

“
I’d like that.
Casual?”

“
Casual. Unless, you’d
like to dress up.”

“
Ohh, tempting, but I love
my jeans.”

After getting her address, Justice
hung up, a huge smile on his face. At a few minutes before five he
drove up the driveway to her house. It was beautiful. Justice
immediately thought of his mother and how much she’d love the
landscaping. Getting out, he jogged easily up the steps to the door
and pressed the doorbell. He didn’t have to wait long before
Kassidy opened it with a smile.

“
Hey, come on in. I’m
almost ready.”

He stepped in and swept his gaze
around her house. Libby walked up to him, tail wagging, and he
scratched her head. “No rush,” he said.

Kassidy had on a pair of hip hugger
jeans and a pale pink one-shouldered shirt. Her feet were bare and
he saw pale pink polish on her toes as she walked past.

“
Can I get you anything to
drink?”

Justice looked over the piano and the
pictures on it. “Please. Anything is fine.” He looked at pictures
of Kassidy throughout various stages of her life.

“
Here you go.” She handed
him a glass of tea a few moments later.

“
Thank you. Who do we have
here?” He gestured to the photos. Justice drank his tea as she
pointed out parents, grandparents, friends, and more family. Before
long they were on their way to dinner along the beach, and the talk
continued to center around their families. He enjoyed watching the
joy in her face when she spoke of hers.

“
How is your sister?” she
asked him once they’d been seated at their table.

“
Doing great. We had a
wonderful visit. Tell me about you, Kassidy. What have you been
doing?”

“
Working and that’s it.
Helping out at the museum when I can. My mom has been under the
weather, so they’re shorthanded.”

“
Nothing serious, I
hope.”

“
Not sure. They don’t seem
fit to tell me.”

He could hear the strain in her voice.
Reaching for her hand he gave it a slight squeeze. “Would you like
to leave?”

“
I’m good,” she said with
a small shake of her head. “Besides, it’s not fair to let me smell
this food and take me away.”

He smiled. “Well, I’m nothing if not
fair.”

“
That’s good to know.” Her
eyes sparkled.

They had a wonderful dinner and shared
a Bananas Foster for dessert before strolling down the boardwalk,
hand in hand. Justice loved her hand in his; it brought him a
wonderful sense of completion.

“
Justice! Hey, Justice!” a
voice hollered.

Looking over his shoulder, he spotted
Teak. Lifting his free hand in a wave, he said, “Hey, Teak. How’s
it going?”

“
Good. Good.” She stopped
beside them.

Kassidy stiffened slightly at his
side. He looked at Kassidy and hated the tenseness at the corner of
her mouth.

“
Wonderful. Teak, I’d like
you to meet, Ms. Kassidy Barrow. Kassidy, this is Lieutenant Terra
Acre, better known as Teak. She’s my first mate.”

“
It’s a pleasure to meet
you, Ms. Barrow,” Teak said with a smile.

“
And you.”

Justice watched as the women continued
to talk. Kassidy relaxed and his heart caught each and every time
she smiled, even though it wasn’t at him.

“
Well,” Teak stated, “I
don’t want to keep y’all. Kassidy, it was a pleasure meeting you.
Justice, I’ll see you at work.”

With a wave Teak walked
off.

“
She’s nice,” Kassidy
commented as they began walking again.

“
Yeah,” he agreed. Teak
was great but she wasn’t the woman he wanted to be thinking about
right now.

They continued on for a while, more
sightseeing and people watching than anything. He kept his hand
securely around hers as they progressed along the boardwalk.
Snatches of conversation and childish laughter blew by on the
wind.

She tugged him toward the rail and
leaned against it. Resting along it himself, he stared down into
her eyes. The setting sun brought a golden hue to her smooth skin
and made the green flecks in her gray eyes shine brighter. His
heart caught and it took a few seconds before he remembered to
breathe.

The breeze brought the
intoxicating scent that he’d come to associate as
Kassidy’s

amber with a hint of gentle vanilla. Big guileless eyes
stared back at him and he knew he was lost.

“
Kassidy,” he murmured,
leaning close and covering her mouth with his. The kiss was tender
and thorough. He explored the depths of her warmth using long
strokes. Her taste embedded itself further and further into his
soul.

She purred in the back of her throat
and slid her tongue along his in response. Pulling her hand free
from his, she wound her arms around his neck. The feel of her body
pressed tight to his made the desire within him flare even more. He
grew stiff within the confines of his pants and forced himself to
end the kiss before it went any farther and he forgot they were in
public.

Her eyes had darkened and the lashes
had lowered, giving her a hooded, seductive appearance. Full plump
lips were slightly parted. He bit back a groan when the tip of her
tongue slipped out and skimmed the seam of her mouth. More than
anything he could recall in his life he wanted the woman in his
arms. And for all intents and purposes it seemed glaringly obvious
she wanted him as well. He closed his eyes and struggled for
control.

“
I have to go,
Justice.”

Her soft-spoken words splashed over
him with the same effect as cold water. He stiffened and stared
down into her eyes again.

“
Something
wrong?”

She shook her head. “No, not at all. I
just have a very busy day tomorrow.”

He had no desire to let
her go. However, staring into her eyes he could see signs of strain
at the corners.
Her mom’s been sick, man.
She’s been working at the museum as well as the library.
With a kind smile that hid his shame for the
selfish thought he’d had, he brushed his lips lightly over
hers.

“
Of course. Let me get you
home.”

They held hands back to his car
although the walk was completed in silence. He held the door for
her there, and again once they arrived back at her place. At the
front door he stopped her from unlocking it and turned her to him.
The outside light made her skin richer and reflected, much the same
way the sun had, off the green flecks in her eyes.

“
Thank you for tonight,
Justice. It was just what I needed.” She glanced past his
shoulder.

“
My pleasure.” He wound a
hand in her hair; the blended hues of her natural curls were soft
against his skin. “I’m here if you need to talk,
Kassidy.”

Her gaze came up to study his face as
a slight lift of one corner of her mouth gave him a grateful smile.
She swallowed a few times before she sighed heavily.

“
Thank you.”

He plucked her keys from her hand and
unlocked the door. With deliberate slowness, giving her time to
pull away, he leaned close and pressed their lips together before
he covered her mouth with his. He devoured its infinite softness.
When Kassidy whimpered and sank into him, he ended the exchange.
Helping her to steady herself, he skimmed her lips with the pad of
his thumb.

“
Good night, Kassidy.
Sleep well.”

“
Night,” she muttered
before slipping inside her house.

He remained there until he heard her
reengage the locks. Hands in pockets, he strolled back to his
Vette, cast a final glance at the small house, then climbed in and
headed home.

Chapter
Four

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.”