Seeing Forever (3 page)

She helped Luc off the bed and put her arm around
his waist.
 
He must have fallen asleep
after taking all the tablets and assumed he was drifting into a coma, when all
the time he was just dead on his feet. He hadn’t slept well the night before so
right now all he wanted to do was stay in his room, but he knew Josie wouldn’t
let him do it.

His sister walked him to the door.

“I guess you won’t need me to buy you any oranges or
orange juice for a few weeks,” she said.

Josie definitely had inherited their mother’s dry
wit.

****

Katey
pulled up to the curb and checked the piece of paper where she’d written down
the address for Luc Frasier. Jake had told her to be at the house around four
o’clock. 7892, that was the number written on the mailbox, and two cars and a
truck sat in the driveway.
 
She’d met
Jake and Gen two months ago, but had butterflies in her stomach about meeting
Luc. She didn’t want to say or do the wrong thing.

Glancing in the rearview mirror, she gave her
appearance one last check.

She got out of the car and headed across the road
while sliding her tongue over her lips. They always got dry when she was
nervous. She stood on the doorstep and rang the doorbell. A dog barked. She
guessed it was Willow, and through the glass panel in the center of the front
door, she saw someone approaching.

A middle-aged lady with red hair answered it and
smiled at her.

“I’m guessing that you’re
Katey
.”

She nodded.

“Come on in. I’m Sadie Sutton.”

Jake had mentioned her to
Katey
.

“The lady from the dog placement
agency.”

“Well, sort of. Oh, and before I forget … I have a
form here for you to sign. It just says that you agree to help Luc with Willow.”

Sadie pulled it out of her pocket and also a pen
with a huge white feather on the end. Not your usual everyday writing
instrument, but nevertheless
Katey
took it and the
sheet of paper. She noticed that Luc had already signed his name. She scribbled
hers underneath it.

“I think you two are going to be perfect together,”
said Sadie, taking back the pen and paper.

“I hope so, because this is my first time doing this
sort of thing.”

Sadie put her hand on
Katey’s
arm and for some strange reason she suddenly felt more relaxed about the
situation. “You’re going to do just fine. Now why don’t we go through here and
you can meet Luc.”

Katey
followed Sadie to a screened-in porch at the back of the house, where she heard
men’s voices. Willow ran straight over to her and nuzzled against her thigh.

“Hi buddy, it’s so good to see you again.” She
scratched behind the dog’s ears.

 
Jake stood,
walked over to her and gave her a hug.

“Great to see you again, and thanks for doing this
for Luc,” he said. “Oh, and Gen sent you some peanut butter cookies.”

“That’s nice of her. I’m supposed to be on a diet,
but I guess one or two won’t hurt.”

“And this is my buddy Mitchell.”

A tall, dark-haired man approached her and shook her
hand.

“And most important, let me introduce you to Luc,”
said Jake.

Katey
followed him across the room where the best-looking man she’d ever seen sat
looking straight ahead. He had a scar above one eye, but that didn’t spoil his
looks in any way. He was broad-shouldered, and although he was sitting down she
guessed he was over six feet tall. He ran his hand though his wavy brown hair
as she approached him.

“Luc,
Katey
Hopkins is
here.
Katey
, this is Luc.”

He held up his hand and at first
Katey
wasn’t quite sure what to do, as he was waving it around so much. Should she
help him by grabbing it, or extend hers out and hope that he found it?

Luckily Jake stepped in and got hold of both their
hands and joined them together.

“Hi Luc, I’m looking forward to working with you,”
she said.

“I’m not sure if it’s going to do me any good, but
thanks for offering to help.”

“Hey, what did I say about staying positive?
Katey’s
just what you need. I mean she and Willow are just
what you need,” said Jake. He slapped Luc on the shoulder.

Sadie walked over and held their hands together a
little longer. “I know both of you are nervous about this arrangement, but I
know it’s going to work out. So no matter how tough it gets, stick with it.”

Katey
nodded as Sadie smiled at her. She hadn’t known the woman long, but for some
reason what she’d said made perfect sense.

“I have to be getting back to my office, but I’ll
stop by soon to see how the two of you are getting on…I mean you and Willow,”
she said. Wait a minute, had Sadie just winked at Jake?
Katey
had the feeling all was not as it seemed.

“Why don’t I walk you out while
Katey
and Luc get to know one another some more,” said Jake.

Now that both he and Mitchell, and even Willow, had momentarily
left with Sadie, she was suddenly tongue-tied, which wasn’t that unusual
because she’d always been shy around strangers.

“You can sit down if you want. I got the feeling you
were standing there wondering what to do,” said Luc.

“Thanks.” She sat on the couch but more silence
followed.

“So, you from around this way?” asked Luc, tapping
his fingers on the edge of the chair.

“Yes, over on the west side of
town.
How about you?”

“Yeah, born and raised in Boise.”

There was silence again.
Katey
crossed her legs.

“I like your perfume.”

Phew, what a relief, he’d finally said something
because she hadn’t been able to think of a damn thing, other than a comment
about what nice weather it had been the last couple of days.

“It was my mom’s favorite.”

In fact, it was still her exact bottle of perfume
that
Katey
had kept and used sparingly, hoping it
would last forever. Each time she wore it she’d think of her mom and the day
would suddenly seem a whole lot better.

“I notice smells more since I lost my sight.”

“Yes, I’d heard that blind…”

Shit,
I’ve only been here ten minutes and I’ve already said the wrong thing.

“It’s okay to say that blind people use their other
senses more … don’t be afraid to use the word around me.”

“Have you adjusted okay?”

He shrugged his shoulders. “Obviously not, because
that’s why everyone thinks I need a service dog.”

“Willow’s great. We did some training together when
I went to Idaho Falls to see Jake and Gen.”

“Yeah, Jake mentioned it to me.”

“He’s a nice guy.”

“Yeah, one of the best.
I’m
glad he found Gen. I know it was hard for him when his wife died.”

Katey
nodded and then there was the uncomfortable silence again.

Luc continued to tap the chair. She noticed his long
fingers and the beautiful shape of his hands. She was staring and that was rude
at any time, but even worse when someone couldn’t see that you were checking
them out.
Katey
sighed of relief when the two guys
and Willow returned to the porch.

“So,
Katey
, what time do
you think you can start tomorrow?” asked Jake.

“Whenever you need me.”

“Mitchell has to leave for the airport at eleven.
I’m going to drive him there and then head straight home, so how about ten and
we can get an hour’s training in?”

“Sure.
Sounds good to me.”

“Perfect,” said Jake.

Katey
stood. “Well, I guess I should be going but I’m looking forward to working with
Willow, and you too, Luc.”

She reached out to shake his hand again.
Stupid me.
I have to get used to the fact he can’t see
what I’m doing
.

She took the lead this time and lifted up his hand
and squeezed it. He squeezed it back, which made her legs tingle. There was
something about those fingers and his touch that excited her.

“I’ll walk you to your car,” said Jake.

He led her through to the hallway and then opened
the front door. They stepped outside.

“He must already like you because he was in a foul
mood before you arrived. He’s feeling a bit sorry for himself, so if he’s ever
down just ignore him, okay?
Because he’s one of the best guys
around.”

Katey
nodded. “I think I would be, too. I can’t imagine what it’s like to suddenly
lose your sight.”

“We’re trying to talk him into going in for eye
surgery.”

“So they can restore his sight?”

“Not all of it, but the doctor feels confident he’d
see about eighty percent in the right eye. If you can, try and talk him into
it, okay?”

“I’ll give it a shot.”

“I know you two are going to be perfect for one
another. I mean as a team, working with Willow.”

“I hope I don’t let you down, because I’d like you
to keep me in mind for other dog training assignments in Boise.”

“I’ll do that, but right now your focus needs to be
on Luc, okay?”

She nodded. “Sure … and I’ll see you at tomorrow at
ten.”

She got in her car and started the ignition as Jake
walked back to the house.

She smelled her wrist where she’d sprayed some of
the perfume from her mother. Ruth hated it and said it gave her a headache. Luc
had picked up on it. He’d liked it too. She glanced back at the house and saw
Jake with Willow. She waved to him before pulling away from the curb.

Chapter
Three

Luc outlined his palm with his finger.
Katey
had soft hands, and he’d actually felt something come
alive in him the second she’d touched him. What that something was he wasn’t
quite sure, because he’d never experienced anything like it. Maybe it was his
libido coming back to life. After all, he’d been without a woman, without sex, since
the incident.

Even her perfume had made him sit up and take
notice. He didn’t know why, but something about her touch and smell told him
she was pretty.

Why was he even thinking about her and the way she
looked? Was he looking at the future? Yeah, that was dumb.

 
Katey
would be hanging out while she trained Willow to
assist him, but after all that was over, what and who did he
have
,
and who did he have to fantasize about? He couldn’t go out on the town by
himself, spot a pretty girl and ask her out. He’d live in this house in his own
private hell. He might have fouled up today’s suicide attempt, but he wouldn’t next
time.

He suddenly heard footsteps in the room. He hated
the fact that anyone could sneak up on him when he least expected it and invade
even his private thinking time.

“Mitchell and I are going to take you out for a
meal.” It was Jake, and then he felt the dog’s hot breath on his leg. He
reached out to pat Willow’s head.

“Let’s eat in. I don’t feel sitting in a
restaurant.”

“You can do that when we’re gone, but tonight, it’s
a
buddies
reunion.”

“You and Mitchell can go if you want.”

“Nope … you’re coming with us, even if we have to
drag you there.”

“Look, Jake. I know what you’re trying to do, but I
don’t want people looking at me, pointing at me without me knowing it…I just
don’t, okay.” He didn’t mean to raise his voice at Jake, but getting other
people to understand how he felt was growing more frustrating by the day.

Luc heard more footsteps.

“Can you believe this guy? He’s giving me a hard
time … doesn’t want to go out to eat,” said Jake. “Looks we’ll have to carry
him out to my truck.”

“That can’t be true. You always loved a great meal
and a cold beer,” said Mitchell.

“That was my old life,” said Luc, wishing they’d
chosen to stay in a hotel overnight rather than with him. He loved his two buddies,
but everyone was getting so fucking irritating, he was considering kicking
their asses out the door. Well, that was if his boot could find their butts.

“I know what it’s like,” said Mitchell. “How I was
with my leg, hiding from everyone, but it’s not worth being miserable and making
everyone else’s life hell along with your own.”