running
scared from a serious relationship. Yet even still, Ernst strolled into the store
with a smile on his face as he thought about Kacy.
As he directed the man in the meat section to which lobsters he
wanted, Ernst wondered about dessert. He knew she loved ice cream, but he
wanted to give her something extra.
That grin was still plastered to his face as he went through the check-
out line. The girl at the register was flirting heavily with him, but Ernst could
see only Kacy and her rich beauty waiting at home for him.
Entering her house through the garage, he put the things away in the
kitchen before searching for her. ―Kacy?‖ he called as he moved down her
hallway.
There was no answer, but the closer he got to her office door, he
heard her talking. Sticking his head in the door, he saw her leaning over a set
of large blueprints and wearing her headset.
Her copper gaze found his and she smiled even as she listened to the
person on the other end of the phone call. ―Just wanted to let you know I was
back. I‘ll be in the kitchen,‖ Ernst whispered as he leaned down and kissed
her softly on the cheek.
Kacy touched his cheek in return and mouthed the words ―thank
you.‖ Then her attention was totally turned back to the blueprints and the
conversation at hand.
For a few moments, Ernst stayed in the doorway and watched her
work. She was a joy to watch and listen to. Her tone was upbeat and profes-
sional at the same time. No words were minced; she shot straight from the
hip when she talked to people.
His pale eyes wandered around the room as he was loath to leave
her, settling on her bookcases. The top shelf had books of poetry—Lord
Greeley's Spyce
71
Byron, John Keats, Percy Shelley, William Woodsworth, Aleksandr Pushkin,
and more. There were some of Shakespeare‘s works as well.
Slipping out of the room, he began dinner after opening a bottle of
water he found in the fridge. Having looked through her music collection he
had just pressed play—not finding anything that he would listen to—but as
the smooth rhythm and blues filtered through the air, he found it wasn‘t that
bad after all.
It didn‘t take long to prepare the food and Ernst was at home in her
kitchen. The lobsters sat in boiling water on her stove, and now he was
finishing the biscuits and about to slip them into the oven. The salad was
made and chilling in the refrigerator.
Kacy had known the second his body had filled the doorway to her
office. He affected her on so many levels. When he‘d kissed her cheek, she‘d
wanted to end her call and kiss him like their lives depended on it. Despite all
her attempts to protect her heart and invariably herself, this man had found a
way to get under her skin. If she could just get rid of past memories and find
a way to move on.
Setting down her pencil, she rolled her shoulders. Her days were
going to be filled, but she still needed to figure out her nights. She wanted to
hold onto Ernst and never let him go. He made her feel safe.
The ten million dollar question was would he continue to do so or
turn out to be like Kirby.
―Hey, thought you could use this.‖ Ernst‘s voice broke into her wan-
dering.
Kacy looked up to see him holding out a glass of wine to her.
―Thanks,‖ she said, taking the beverage from him.
He sat in the chair beside her. ―How‘s it going?‖
―I‘m done for the evening. Got a lot of work lined up, so I will be
working Saturdays for a while. But that‘s okay.‖ She took a sip of the wine
and added, ―This is really good.‖
Ernst spun her around to face him. ―Can I ask you something?‖
―Of course.‖ Her eyes were soft as they looked at him, waiting.
―Why did you do what you did for Chief Anderson today?‖
True to her word, she‘d gone over to Chief Anderson‘s home after in-
stalling the generators to put in his fans. ―Like I said before, he was…or
is…your friend. It didn‘t take to
scared from a serious relationship. Yet even still, Ernst strolled into the store
with a smile on his face as he thought about Kacy.
As he directed the man in the meat section to which lobsters he
wanted, Ernst wondered about dessert. He knew she loved ice cream, but he
wanted to give her something extra.
That grin was still plastered to his face as he went through the check-
out line. The girl at the register was flirting heavily with him, but Ernst could
see only Kacy and her rich beauty waiting at home for him.
Entering her house through the garage, he put the things away in the
kitchen before searching for her. ―Kacy?‖ he called as he moved down her
hallway.
There was no answer, but the closer he got to her office door, he
heard her talking. Sticking his head in the door, he saw her leaning over a set
of large blueprints and wearing her headset.
Her copper gaze found his and she smiled even as she listened to the
person on the other end of the phone call. ―Just wanted to let you know I was
back. I‘ll be in the kitchen,‖ Ernst whispered as he leaned down and kissed
her softly on the cheek.
Kacy touched his cheek in return and mouthed the words ―thank
you.‖ Then her attention was totally turned back to the blueprints and the
conversation at hand.
For a few moments, Ernst stayed in the doorway and watched her
work. She was a joy to watch and listen to. Her tone was upbeat and profes-
sional at the same time. No words were minced; she shot straight from the
hip when she talked to people.
His pale eyes wandered around the room as he was loath to leave
her, settling on her bookcases. The top shelf had books of poetry—Lord
Greeley's Spyce
71
Byron, John Keats, Percy Shelley, William Woodsworth, Aleksandr Pushkin,
and more. There were some of Shakespeare‘s works as well.
Slipping out of the room, he began dinner after opening a bottle of
water he found in the fridge. Having looked through her music collection he
had just pressed play—not finding anything that he would listen to—but as
the smooth rhythm and blues filtered through the air, he found it wasn‘t that
bad after all.
It didn‘t take long to prepare the food and Ernst was at home in her
kitchen. The lobsters sat in boiling water on her stove, and now he was
finishing the biscuits and about to slip them into the oven. The salad was
made and chilling in the refrigerator.
Kacy had known the second his body had filled the doorway to her
office. He affected her on so many levels. When he‘d kissed her cheek, she‘d
wanted to end her call and kiss him like their lives depended on it. Despite all
her attempts to protect her heart and invariably herself, this man had found a
way to get under her skin. If she could just get rid of past memories and find
a way to move on.
Setting down her pencil, she rolled her shoulders. Her days were
going to be filled, but she still needed to figure out her nights. She wanted to
hold onto Ernst and never let him go. He made her feel safe.
The ten million dollar question was would he continue to do so or
turn out to be like Kirby.
―Hey, thought you could use this.‖ Ernst‘s voice broke into her wan-
dering.
Kacy looked up to see him holding out a glass of wine to her.
―Thanks,‖ she said, taking the beverage from him.
He sat in the chair beside her. ―How‘s it going?‖
―I‘m done for the evening. Got a lot of work lined up, so I will be
working Saturdays for a while. But that‘s okay.‖ She took a sip of the wine
and added, ―This is really good.‖
Ernst spun her around to face him. ―Can I ask you something?‖
―Of course.‖ Her eyes were soft as they looked at him, waiting.
―Why did you do what you did for Chief Anderson today?‖
True to her word, she‘d gone over to Chief Anderson‘s home after in-
stalling the generators to put in his fans. ―Like I said before, he was…or
is…your friend. It didn‘t take to
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