It's All Relative (14 page)

As Kai wondered what the hell he was supposed to say to that, Missy spun and turned away from him. Pausing at the exit, she looked back over her shoulder and said, “And, just so you know, I do…everything.” Her gaze flicked down to his pants, then she grinned and left the room.

“Jesus,” Kai muttered to himself. So far, Colorado had been very welcoming to him. Odd. Yes, he’d had his share of admirers in Hawaii, but nothing to this extent. Maybe his looks were just unique here. Back home, every third person looked similar to him. Well, maybe in coloring. He’d always been told that his eyes were unique.

Straightening, Kai raised his chin and adjusted his shoulders. He was a man, and he could deal with these forward women. Besides, he had no intention of taking Missy up on her outlandish offer. He was here to work, and that was it. But as he exited the room, he
was
a little curious what “everything” meant.

Thankfully, Missy was nowhere in sight when he stepped out of the supply room. Having left his regular clothes on a shelf in there, he adjusted the belt and equipment that Missy had left out for him. Feeling like a full-fledged member of the team, he looked around for his new boss, Mason Thomas. Not seeing anyone in the empty hallway, he made his way to the back, where Louis had indicated the labs were.

Right in front of a set of hermetically sealed double doors was a row of hooks with crisp white lab coats hanging off them. Kai slipped on a coat before entering the clean room. When the doors hissed open, Kai stepped in and took a look around the stark, white room. There were several cages holding small forest animals; most of them were waiting to have their health checked and recorded by a busy researcher before being released. Sizes, sexes, general health and diet samples, were all things they would be tracking. Keeping an eye on the welfare of the smaller creatures, gave the scientists an idea on the welfare of the larger creatures, right on up to humans.

Seeing stations set up for running those tests, along with various others, Kai spotted an older man standing by a honeycomb of bees encased in glass. It was getting close to the bees hibernation cycle, but Kai figured some swarms would still be active until the first frost. The bees outside in the hives were fumigated with smoke when researchers needed to study them. It didn’t hurt the bees, but drove them into a feeding frenzy. While preoccupied with eating, in preparation to flee from the approaching fire, the bees were mellower, less protective of their hives, and easier to capture.

The older man was bent over a table where he had a few bees pinned down. Not wanting to startle the man while he was obviously deep in thought, Kai stepped behind him and softly cleared his throat.

Straightening, the man twisted to face him, and Kai was the one startled. The older man appeared to be in his mid-fifties, his dark hair streaked with gray along the sides. He had the healthy tan of someone who spent a lot of time outside, his face lined and lived-in, and he was around Kai’s height and build. But none of those things had surprised Kai. It was the man’s eyes. Kai had never met anyone with eyes anywhere near his shade before. Most blue eyes that he’d seen were either a pale, sky blue, or fell into the blue-gray category. Kai’s were more blue-green, like a tropical ocean. The man meeting his gaze now, had eyes the exact same shade as Kai’s.

Gathering himself, Kai glanced down at the man’s name embroidered on his lab coat. Mason Thomas. Just the person he needed to see. Extending his hand, he politely said, “Hello, sir, I’m Kai Harper, we spoke on the phone.”

Kai could have sworn the man paled, and his eyes definitely widened in surprise. His jaw even fell open before quickly snapping shut. It took him a solid ten seconds to finally accept Kai’s extended hand, and in that time, the mood in the room shifted. Kai couldn’t help the feeling that Mason was apprehensive to meet him. And reluctant. Like he’d rather be doing anything other than shaking Kai’s hand. Kai wasn’t sure why Mason would feel that way about him. He used to work with his parents ages ago. Maybe he was just suffering from a sudden case of nostalgia.

Kai smiled as they shook hands, and Mason finally gave him a stiff smile. “Right…Kai. We’re…glad you could join us here.”

Kai’s response was exuberant. He’d been looking forward to this for a while. “I’m grateful for the offer, this is an amazing place you have here, sir.”

As they separated, the older man’s gaze drifted over Kai’s body, before snapping back to his face. Kai couldn’t be sure, but he thought that he still seemed a little pale. “Thank you. Please, call me Mason. Aside from the outfits, we’re not formal here.”

Kai laughed as he lightly tugged on his polo. “Yeah, this is a little different than I’m used to.”

With a warm smile, Mason indicated behind him. “We’re so close to the state park, we sometimes get tourists or hikers here.” He shrugged. “I found it was easier for everyone, if we looked more official.” He leaned into Kai, and conspiratorially whispered, “It helps keep the civilians at bay.”

Kai laughed again, and Mason’s expression turned oddly appraising. With a harsh swallow, he turned back to his bees. Kai shifted uncomfortably. Was he doing something wrong? “What can I assist you with, sir?” Mason looked back at him and Kai quickly amended with, “Mason.”

Mason’s brows knitted, and he slowly shook his head. With a clearly forced smile, he pointed to the honeycomb wedge enclosed in glass on the tray beside him. “I’m done with this batch. You could return them and bring me another?” He pointed to a set of sealed double doors at the back of the room. “Those lead outside. The apiary is straight out back, a few hundred feet from the farthest building.”

Happy for something to do to help his new boss, Kai smiled as he grabbed the tray. “Yes, sir…Mason.”

Kai walked away from Mason, but he felt the heat of the man’s eyes following him the entire time he left the room. He wasn’t sure what he was doing to cause such strange reactions, but he hoped it had more to do with him being a new addition to an already established team, and that it wasn’t something about Kai personally. But Mason didn’t needed to worry about Kai fitting in, if that was what his concern was. Kai was sure he’d eventually blend in; he was pretty good with people.

As the second set of double doors hissed closed behind him, Kai hoped he could impress his boss with his first task. He’d never wrangled bees before. Containing a small frown, Kai hoped he didn’t get stung.

J
essie rubbed a sore spot in her back while she opened the door to her place. She’d had a long day and had been dreaming about a bubble bath for the last twenty minutes. The irony of Jessie’s muscles being sore wasn’t lost on her; she was a masseuse and alleviated kinks for a living. Jessie preferred to think of her work as physical therapy and was based out of an esthetician’s office and not a spa. She was thinking about expanding her talents into acupuncture one day, or maybe concentrating solely on sports therapy. She still wasn’t sure what course she wanted to steer her life.

Setting her purse on the kitchen table, Jessie noticed some of the things she’d thought to bring Kai yesterday. Smiling to herself, she wondered how his first day at his new job had gone. She still wasn’t entirely sure what he did for a living, but he’d seemed excited to do it.

Forgetting all thoughts of a relaxing soak to ease the ache in her back, Jessie headed to the laundry room to grab the large box that the girls used as a dump area for laundry left behind in the dryer.

Walking into the living room with it, she squinted her eye, tilted her head, and tried to picture her things through Kai’s eyes. What might he like to see in his home? Picking out the more masculine things she owned, Jessie began filling the box. First, she found the candles in her closet. Then she went through some of her picture frames. Removing her photos first, especially the one of her when she was twelve with mile-high hair and god-awful braces, she tucked them into the box. Finding a couple of black throw pillows in a corner, victims of April’s last temper tantrum, she stuffed those in as well. In the bathroom, she picked out a few decent towels, since she knew his weren’t very plush. On a whim, she included a six inch figurine of a camel that her dad had brought home for her once. The thing was atrocious and gaudy, but it always made her smile for some reason. She loved the thought of it making Kai smile.

Just as she was closing the top of the box, Jessie heard the front door open. April walked into the room, chatting on her cell phone. Jessie could tell by the high-pitched timbre of her friend’s voice that she was talking to a boy. As Jessie took one last sweep of her home, mentally searching all of her rooms for anything she might have missed, April sank onto the couch and plopped her feet up on the coffee table. Noticing some old magazine under the table, Jessie squatted down and grabbed a couple. Kai might like something to read on the nights he stayed up late, unable to sleep.

Jessie reopened the box to smash some gossip magazines inside. Tossing her phone on the couch, April tilted her head and asked, “What ‘cha doing?”

Thinking about showing up on Kai’s door with a box full of goodies made Jessie smile. She didn’t know if he would be home yet, but she could always leave it in front of his apartment door if he wasn’t. Then she frowned. Would he think it was weird that she was giving him a box of what, she supposed, he could consider crap? Most guys weren’t into dressing up their place, not as much as girls at any rate. And Jessie didn’t own anything garish for his bachelor pad—no beer signs or nudey magazines—although Kai didn’t strike her as the type of guy who was really into either of those things.

Her smile returning, she answered April. “I’m going through some of my extra stuff. My cousin just got into town, so I thought I’d share the wealth.” She laughed, once again hoping that Kai saw value in the trinkets she was offering him.

April set her feet on the floor and leaned forward over her knees. “Oh, cousin? Are we taking her out this weekend?” She wriggled her hips on the couch in a movement that Jessie was sure meant dancing.

Jessie smirked at her eager-for-adventure friend. “He. My cousin in town is a guy.” A very attractive guy who Jessie knew all too well, in some ways at least. She bit the inside of her cheeks to hold back another frown. She really shouldn’t think about that anymore.

Successfully hiding her thoughts from April, she watched as her friend’s face lit up; she was truly excited now. “Oooh, a guy…is he hot?” She raised her eyebrows alluringly.

Jessie sighed. He gave new meaning to the word. To April, she shrugged. “He’s family…I don’t know.”

Frowning, April stood up and smoothed the loose cardigan she wore over a long, modest skirt. April worked as a receptionist in a medical office. Her daily appearance was surprisingly reserved, considering her provocative personality. April’s parents highly approved of work-April. “Only one way to know for sure. I’m coming with you.”

She pointed to the box, and Jessie bit her lip. She really didn’t want to introduce Kai to April right now. For one, she wasn’t sure if April would remember Kai or not. Secondly, April was attractive and seductive, two things that usually got a man’s attention. And once April saw Kai…she’d go straight for him, especially since Jessie had just written him off as nothing more than family. Jessie knew she couldn’t hold up Kai’s love life, since they really were nothing more than family, but, she didn’t want to speed it along either. She wanted him to herself for a bit.

“Um, actually, he’s not home from work yet. I’m dropping and dashing.” She really wasn’t sure if he’d be home or not, but she wasn’t about to let April know that. Guilt washed through Jessie as she realized just how many lies she’d told her friends lately.

Accepting her answer, April shrugged and started walking toward the hallway, most likely to strip off her moderate clothes and replace them with something much more formfitting. “All right, but I want to meet this hottie soon.” Twisting her head to look back at Jessie, she gave her a brilliant smile. “Invite him up this weekend for…dinner.” Her grin turned mischievous, and Jessie knew exactly what she meant by dinner.

Jessie frowned as her friend disappeared into her room. Keeping April away from Kai might not be easy, or even possible. She sighed. It also didn’t matter. Jessie couldn’t have anything with Kai but friendship. Best to let him move on quickly and she supposed that him being with her roommate would be better than him being with some random stranger. At least if Kai was with April, she would have an excuse to see him often.

Hating her train of thought, Jessie picked up the box. She hated the queasiness in her stomach whenever she had intimate thoughts about Kai, hated the fact that she was still attracted to him, and hated the horrible feeling in her heart at the thought of him helping April remove all of her modest clothing.

With those troubling, conflicting emotions tumbling in her mind, Jessie shoved the box into her truck and drove to Kai’s apartment. Twenty minutes later she was in the parking garage below his place, staring at his bike in the next stall. With his helmet slung causally over one of the handlebars, it was obvious that he was home. It made Jessie smile that he was here, and she forgot her queasy thoughts as a surge of butterflies flitted through her. She would get to see him. Wrong as it was, for now, he was only hers.