Justice Is Always Ready (A Graham Family Story, 1) by Aliyah Burke

on this. I just… just wish I was brave enough
to instigate it.”
    “ Why are you trying to
force it to happen sooner?”
    She shrugged and stared at her plate.
Scooping up a forkful of scrambled eggs, she ate the bite slowly.
Lucy’s brown eyes narrowed.
    “ This has to do with the
fool idiot, doesn’t it?” she growled.
    Kassidy gave a sheepish smile. “Alex
told me I wasn’t a desirable woman. Just wondered if maybe he
wasn’t—”
    “ Stop it, Kassidy!” Lucy’s
normally serene voice was full of anger. “That so-called man was an asshole of
royal caliber. Listen to yourself. How are you going to give that
waste of oxygen any credibility? You told me yourself Justice calls
you beautiful. If that doesn’t tell how he views you, I don’t know
what it’s going to take.”
    Her friend’s vehement
outburst stunned her into a moment of silence. She’d known Lucy
hadn’t liked Alex but she never knew just how deep that dislike had
run  until
now.
    Lucy pointed her knife at her and
continued, “Justice isn’t Alex and from what you’ve told me doesn’t
share a damn thing in common with him other than a Y-chromosome. So
don’t judge him like you would Alex.” Her voice softened. “Give him
a chance, Kassidy. I like the glow of happiness you have about you.
Justice is a good man.”
    She smiled at Lucy.
“Alright, Mom .”
Lucy stuck her tongue out. “Seriously, Luce. Thanks. I was
beginning to doubt myself.”
    “ I know, sweetie. For what
it’s worth, I’ve never seen you so happy.”
    She hadn’t been. But then she’d never
met a man like Justice Graham before either. They finished their
meal and walked to their cars.
    With a hug for Lucy, Kassidy said, “We
need to do this more often. It’s been way too long.”
    “ I agree.” Lucy kissed her
on the cheek. “Call me on Sunday and let me know how the sailing
went.” With a wink and a wave, Lucy got in her car and drove
away.
    Kassidy went home and worked in her
backyard, putting some plants into decorative containers. Once it
got dark, she headed in and began to prepare the food she would be
taking with her on his boat. Justice called her that night to
ensure they were still on for the next day. When she hung up the
phone, her insides were a jumbled mess of nerves.
    His seductive voice accompanied her to
bed. Her dreams were filled with hot and explicit exchanges between
her and Justice. When she woke, her body was extremely aroused and
her heart beat outrageously fast.
    That morning, she gathered Libby’s
stuff and Libby, took her to her parents and returned home to pack
the food in a cooler. Her belly began to knot up while she drove to
the docks. She grabbed the blue container and walked to her
destination. The screaming gulls barely distracted her. Her hands
grew a bit sweaty the closer she got.
    Turning onto Pier 8 she began worrying
her lower lip. A litany of “what-ifs” ran through her mind. With a
deep breath, she forced her down panic and uncertainty.
    “ Kassidy!”
    Justice’s deep voice broke through
like a welcoming ray of sunshine after a storm.
    Lifting her head, she saw him striding
toward her. Her breath caught as she took in the vision approaching
her. He wore a white t-shirt, blue-white Bermuda shorts, and white
boat shoes. They were nice enough but it was the physique beneath
them which played havoc on her senses. Delicious was the word that
sprang to mind.
    Oh my!
    “ Hi,” she said with a
smile.
    “ Right on time,” he
commented, leaning in to press a spine-tingling kiss upon her lips.
“It’s really good
to see you, Kassidy.”
    She relinquished the cooler when he
tugged on it.
    “ Thank you for the
invite.”
    He remained silent but the heat in his
eyes told her so much. Lucy’s advice flitted through her mind
before she focused totally on the man slipping his arm around her
waist.
    “ Let’s get this show on
the road.”
    He guided her toward what
she assumed to be his boat, a beautiful white