Sweetest Goodbye (Navy Book 3)

Chapter 8

Kate awoke to a knock at her back door. It was only five in the evening and she had just fallen asleep having not had much sleep the night before. She had been too troubled by her and Lee's conversation at lunch the previous day and by the kiss that followed.  Her lips still tingled when she thought about it.

Peeking through her window at the backdoor she saw Lee standing, waiting for her with his phone tucked into his ear. Something had to be wrong, forgetting that she was wearing only a t-shirt and her hair was a crazy mess she opened her door squinting at the sun.

"What's wrong?" she asked, watching him as he listened to someone on the other end of the phone then hung it up without speaking.

When he looked up he let his gaze wander from the top of her crazy hair to the tips of her bare toes before he spoke. "I need a ride to the airport, something unexpected has come up and I have to leave."

"Why do you need me? Can't Phil or someone take you? Better yet call a taxi." She knew she was being unfriendly but she had just woken up and his heated gaze had made her edgy, especially coupled with the announcement that he was leaving.

"I tried that and the only taxi that the town has is out of commission. Phil is out with the herd, and I'll be damned if I'm going to ask Eve." He watched her as he absorbed this. "Please as one neighbor to another. I really am in a rush. I only have an hour to make my flight."

"Just leave your truck at the airport." She tried again.  She wasn't sure why she was still fighting him.  Maybe because it was such an intimate thing for a woman to take a man to the airport.

"I don't know how long I'll be gone."

So he was coming back.

"Fine," Kate said, leaving her door open, letting him in as she moved towards her bedroom to change.  She was so put out and caught off guard that she didn't think twice about the fact that she never let anyone into her house. Only when she had gotten back to her bedroom, splashed some cold water on her face, and begun to change did she realize what she had done.

The photos on the mantel, when he saw them he would start to ask all kinds of questions. She threw on some jeans and an old t-shirt not bothering with her hair as she grabbed it up into a ponytail. Grabbing her shoes she walked into the living room where he was looking at the very photos she didn't want him to see.

She silently put on her shoes and grabbed her keys, telling him she was ready.

He turned to look at her oddly. "How old are you Kate?"

"Too old Lee," she said moving towards the door and her little car. It was not the question she had been expecting.

"You look like your twenty-something right now," he grabbed a large canvas duffle bag that rested outside the house and closed the door behind him as he followed her, "and you looked even younger when you opened the door."

"I'm thirty-three."

They settled into the car and he looked thoughtful. "I would have never thought it. Not with that crazy scarf and hat that you wear." He smiled, trying to lighten the mood.

"I felt sorry for the wool, it looked lonely." She reminded him.

"And it was on sale, yes I remember," he said softly. "A free spirit that's not so free." Then he quickly changed the subject. "I'm sorry I woke you, but I really was in a bind, and I really do appreciate it."

"It's fine. I'm always grumpy when I wake-up." She waved her hand in dismissal as she pulled out onto the interstate which was only a few blocks from her house.

"Didn't you sleep last night?" he asked watching her closely.

"We've been over this haven't we? I don't sleep very well so I take it when I can get it." Kate closed her mouth tight not wanting to get into another personal conversation, especially right before he was leaving. He was a smart man and his seeing the photos of Colten would help him put the pieces together, at least some of them.

He didn't say anything to this as he turned to look out the window deep in thought. "I might have a friend coming to work on some ranch stuff for me. Would it be alright if he used the apartment?"

Kate hesitated, she wasn't sure she wanted another stranger living so close.

"His name is Josh McIntire.  I told him to ask for you if he does come. Would you help him with anything he needs?" He sensed her hesitancy, "I trust him completely. If he asks for something give it to him, and please trust only him." His voice was low and rough as if he was displeased by something.

Kate nodded. "Sure." She looked at him quickly and saw his jaw flexing as he ground his teeth. He seemed frustrated and it was the first time she had ever seen him close to losing his cool. "How do you know you can trust me?" she asked curious.

"My gut tells me I can."

"And your gut is never wrong?"

"No, unfortunately." He sounded angry which confused her.

"Why can't you stay, why do you have to leave?"

"My time is not my own," he said in a cryptic manner. It made him seem as if he was involved with some pretty heavy stuff and, not knowing what to say to that, Kate drove in silence for the rest of the ride to the airport.

When she pulled up outside the main terminal and stopped the car he sat for a minute studying her intently. Kate couldn't help the blush that stole up her cheeks as he looked at her and she remembered the kiss from the day before.

Suddenly, he wrapped his large hand behind her head and pulled her towards him placing a hard kiss on her lips causing her heart to stop. Then he pulled away giving her a grin, "That'll get me through the next few weeks." Then he was out of the car before she could form a reply.

Talk about some serious mood swings.

"The keys to the truck are on your kitchen counter. Drive her every once in a while," he said before he slammed the door and was gone.

It had been a quick kiss and nothing like the last one but it had still turned her to jelly. She reached up feeling her lips which were still tingling. Realizing that she couldn't sit at the airport all day she put the car in drive and headed home, wondering how long he was planning to be gone if he needed her to drive his truck.