Authors: Aliyah Burke
It was seven-thirty when Kacy drove off in her van the opposite di-
rection of Ernst and his truck.
The remainder of the week was extremely busy for KT Electric. Kacy
worked long hours, not seeing Ernst. Only short chats on the phone allowed
her to hear his voice.
Friday night, she pulled into her drive well after ten. Her eyes hurt;
her body was exhausted. The van‘s headlights swung over an older truck in
the drive. It brought a smile to her dog-tired body.
Ernst was here.
She pressed the opener for her garage and the grin grew almost foo-
lish as she saw him illuminated by his vehicle‘s dome light.
By the time Kacy climbed out of her van, his strong body was there to
embrace her. Sliding her arms around his shoulders, she murmured against
his lips, ―Hey, handsome.‖
His lips were tender upon hers. ―Hey, yourself, beautiful.‖
Drawing back, she met his ethereal gaze. ―I didn‘t expect to see you
until tomorrow. What‘s up?‖
―I wanted to see you. I missed you.‖ He kissed her again. ―You‘re
getting home late.‖ The remark was casual.
Kacy groaned. ―Tell me about it.‖ She moved towards her van and
shut the garage door before opening the side and back doors of the vehicle to
restock items. ―I have a new client, but he lives two hours away.‖
Into the van went different types of switches until she had about thir-
ty-five boxes of each type. More rolls of wire went in as she made sure
everything was accessible and set so it wouldn‘t move during drive time.
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―How‘d it go?‖
―Not bad.‖ Kacy kept stocking her vehicle. Breakers. Clamps. Screws.
―It‘s a big job so it is going to help immensely with bills.‖
―How long will it take to finish?‖
―Don‘t know. Hopefully not to long.‖ She closed the doors and
smiled tiredly at Ernst. ―I would like to be done by the time of the bike ride.
Part of it depends on if all his stuff comes in on time.‖ Tilting her head to the
side, she asked, ―Ice cream?‖
Soon they were eating big bowls of ice cream and toppings. Ernst
gestured to the potted plant on her counter. ―Who‘s that from?‖
Kacy looked between him and the vibrant purple orchid. ―From? No
one. That is a gift for your mother. You said she liked plants and flowers. A
box of cigars is over there for your father.‖ A flicker of panic crossed her eyes.
―Do you not think they‘ll like it?‖
Talking quickly to reassure her, Ernst said, ―It‘s more than enough.
My dad loves cigars and my mother will love the flower.‖
Her relief was palpable. ―Good. I took a guess since I hadn‘t seen you
all week. I didn‘t want to not have anything.‖
―You are amazing.‖ Ernst scraped the last bit of ice cream from his
dish.
―Just paranoid,‖ she responded. Her head dropped to the table as she
released a lament. ―I‘m so tired.‖
―You work too hard,‖ he said.
Rotating her head on the tabletop so she could meet his gaze, Kacy
rolled her eyes. ―I‘m a workaholic, but this week has kicked my ass. I‘m not
usually this tired.‖
―Maybe you should go to the doctor,‖ Ernst suggested.
Kacy shrugged. ―I‘m fine.‖ She yawned and added sheepishly, ―Just
tired.‖
―Well, we can sleep in tomorrow. We don‘t have to be at my parents‘
until sixteen hundred.‖
Her eyebrows rose and she sat back up. ―Sixteen hundred?‖
Ernst smiled. ―Sorry. Habit. Four o‘clock.‖
―Gotcha.‖ Kacy removed her dish from the table and put it in the
sink. Moments later, Ernst was reaching around her to place his in there as
well.
―Let‘s go to bed.‖ His whispered words sent amperes of electricity
through her.
The next morning, Kacy awoke feeling so content, protected, and
comfortable that she almost thought she was dreaming. Eyes opened slowly
to absorb the bare, pale chest of the man in her bed. Steady even breaths
moved the chiseled art work rhythmically up and down.
With a sigh, she closed her eyes again and snuggled closer to the man
who had made his way into her heart.
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As her lush body burrowed closer, a ghostly pair of eyes opened to
gaze down upon Kacy‘s rich beauty.
Hair tousled, she had one bared leg draped over him. The oversized
shirt she wore only tantalizing him more. But, he too shut his eyes, tightened
his hold on her, and went back to sleep, also perfectly content.
Later, they awoke again, this time electing to stay that way. They ate
a leisurely breakfast before going for a bike ride.
Ernst found himself continually distracted by the smooth brown skin
of her legs as it flashed with every pedal she turned. The ride was silent as
they worked on building up heart rates.
―How ya doing?‖ she asked as they crested another hill.
―Good,‖ he responded. ―You?‖
―Not bad.‖ She down shifted to a lower gear. ―I‘m gonna hurt after
the charity ride, though. I definitely haven‘t been riding enough.‖
―Why don‘t you cut back on the amount you work?‖ Ernst won-
dered, keeping pace with her on the paved trail.
―My goal is to pay off some big bills as well a putting some into re-
tirement. I figure—work hard now and save, play later when I retire.‖
As much as I hate to admit it, she makes sense.
Ernst nodded. ―Okay, but
you‘re running yourself ragged.‖
―Naw,‖ she protested. ―I‘m just not used to having someone around
who wants to do things with me. That‘s why I‘m tried. My body‘ll adjust.‖
Her response, so matter-of-fact, was such that Ernst couldn‘t feel bad.
―I don‘t want you to get hurt on the job because you‘re exhausted.‖
Kacy laughed and glanced at him. ―Coming from a Navy SEAL?‖ At
his silent message she finished with, ―I know how dangerous electricity is.
Don‘t worry. I don‘t take chances. Safety first.‖
He sent her a ―good answer‖ smile and changed the subject. ―How
far are we riding?‖
―Not far. It‘s only about thirty miles total.‖
―Oh.‖ Ernst wiped some sweat off his brow and kept on. ―How far is
your charity ride?‖
―We do almost four hundred miles—Washington D.C. and back.‖
Wow! That’s impressive!
―Damn. Where do you stay?‖
―In tents. There‘re vans that come along to keep an eye on us. They
carry the food, lodging, spare parts, medical. You know, a bit of everything.‖
―Sounds well organized.‖
You’re sleeping in a tent?!
―Oh, very. Riders ride for their orphanage of choice. The group I‘m
going with rides for St. Lucia‘s.‖
―So you get sponsors,‖ Ernst observed.
―Right. Some pledge per mile, some a flat rate. Each one is impor-
tant.‖ Kacy checked the mileage on her trip odometer. ―We will turn around
at that circle and head back.‖
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Aliyah Burke
I’m gonna get you some more pledges.
―Okay. Tell me more.‖
She told him all she could as they biked back to her house. Ernst was
continually impressed with the woman he had run into in Hawaii outside a
bar.
C H A P T E R T W E N T Y
After they got cleaned up, Ernst read quietly on her porch swing as
Kacy did some bid reviews. When he was tired of being out there, he went
into the house.
Looking around, he noticed the differences between their two places.
Hers was clean and homey; his screamed bachelor pad. Well, he didn‘t have
magazines lying around with naked women in them, but there weren‘t any
feminine touches in it.
He moved to stand in front of her fish tank. Slowly the fish swam
back and forth, not a care in the world. And why would they? There were no
predators to threaten them; no reason food wouldn‘t be available. They were
safe and protected in there.
Protection.
What he wanted to offer Kacy. Marriage was a very prevalent
thought to him now. The other day he found himself standing in a jewelry
store looking at engagement rings. He didn‘t purchase one, however. He
knew Kacy wasn‘t ready for that yet.
―What‘cha thinking about?‖ the feminine voice broke into his mus-
ings.
Marrying you.
―Just watching your fish. They are beautiful.‖ Ernst
turned towards her.
―I like my fish. They are calming to me. I think it‘s time to change the
background, though. I want something else.‖
Moving behind her, he wrapped his arms around her waist. ―Want to
go today?‖
I would love to go shopping with you.
―You want to go to a pet store with me?‖ Kacy asked, leaning against
him.
―Why not?‖
―Well, okay. We could go before dinner.‖
His lips teased her ear. ―It‘s one now; we should get going soon.‖
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―Just let me change.‖ Kacy unhooked his arms and went to her bed-
room. Ernst went to his truck and got his clothes before going to her room as
well.
Kacy stood in front of her open closet. ―Is dinner with your family
formal?‖
He almost said yes just to see her in a formal gown. ―I‘m wearing
slacks and a turtleneck,‖ Ernst responded as he opened his garment bag.
―What color?‖ Her question came as she still stared at her options.
―Midnight blue shirt and khakis.‖
―Okay.‖ Making up her mind. Kacy pulled two items from the inte-
rior of her closet, then went to her bathroom.
Ernst whipped his shirt off his torso. It didn‘t take him long until he
was zipping up his slacks.
Going to the bathroom door, Ernst stopped to take in the vision she
presented. She wore a pair of black dress slacks and a pale blue silk shirt. The
color was almost identical to the shade of his eyes.
She was gathering her thick hair away from her face, allowing two
tendrils to hang down and frame it. She had a clip that was the same hue as
her shirt. Standing upright, she ran her hands down her shirt. ―Look okay?‖
Kacy asked as she shrugged away from her reflection.
Ernst lost his words. Her copper eyes shone from behind her sooty
lashes that were even more pronounced by the blue of her shirt.
―What?‖ Kacy wondered. ―Not good?‖
Swallowing to get moisture back in his mouth, Ernst held up a hand.
―No. You look great.‖
―Then don‘t look at me like that. Gonna give me a complex.‖
―You have no idea how beautiful you really are, do you?‖ His eyes
roamed over her natural, makeup-free beauty.
She scoffed, rolling her eyes. ―Whatever. Let‘s get going.‖ Kacy
brushed past him trying to ignore how good he looked. It was similar to what
he wore on their first date.
―Okay, let‘s go. However, I meant it. You are beautiful.‖
―Thank you.‖ She kept walking. Falling into step behind her, he fol-
lowed her into her bedroom. Kacy grabbed a pair of low-heeled shoes.
Ernst wouldn‘t let it go. ―Why are you so down on yourself?‖
That stopped her. Kacy looked at him with genuine surprise on her
face. ―What are you talking about?‖
―The way you blow off my compliments, like I‘m making a joke.‖ His
gaze was straight forward and held hers.
―I‘m sorry. I don‘t handle compliments well. I wasn‘t fishing for
more. Just that talking about my looks makes me nervous and kinda uncom-
fortable. I know I‘m not ugly, but I‘m also no Halle Berry or Angelina Jolie.
I‘m nothing special.‖ She spoke so emotionlessly Ernst knew it was truly how
she felt.
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Ernst shook his head.
I can’t believe she doesn’t see what others see.
―I‘ll
let it go for now, but we need to talk about this.‖
Arching a brow, Kacy slid on her shoes. ―Turning into a psychologist
on me, Doc?‖
Those blue peepers burned hot. ―I‘m far from a psychologist, but I‘d
be more than happy to play doctor with you.‖
That brought a smile to her face. ―Perhaps later. Right now, I thought
we were supposed to be leaving.‖
―I can call and reschedule with my parents.‖ His hands reached for
the bottom of her shirt.
Kacy smacked his hands away. ―Stop it. Just grab the gifts and let‘s
get going.‖
Muttering under his breath, ―I was grabbing the gift I wanted,‖ Ernst
did as he was told. He took the keys she handed him without question.
Kacy parked his old truck in her garage and joined him in her car.
―Do you know
Mike’s Pets & Supplies
on Virginia Beach Boulevard?‖
Putting her car in reverse after the garage door had shut, he shook
his head. ―No, but I know Virginia Beach Boulevard. Which end?‖
Pulling into the lot, Ernst parked and turned off the Camaro. They
had passed two pet supply superstores to get here. He kept his mouth shut
and followed her in after locking her car.
Kacy stood by the counter talking happily with a woman there. Ernst
moved beside her and waited to be introduced.
―Gretchen,‖ Kacy said, ―this is Ernst Zimmermann. Ernst, my good
friend Gretchen Swann.‖
―Nice to meet you,‖ he told the blonde woman as they shook hands.
―And you,‖ Gretchen responded.
―Well,‖ Kacy started talking again, ―I‘m going to look at backdrops.‖
She sent Gretchen another grin and headed off.
Gretchen yelled after her, ―Mike wants to talk with you before you