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Authors: Vanessa Devereaux

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BOOK: Seeing Forever
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Willow walked beside her as if he knew this would
soon be his sole responsibility and not hers.

“Okay, we’re inside, you want to sit down on the
chair here?” she asked him.

“Sure, that would be great.”

Katey
held
both his hands as he lowered his butt on the seat. He kept holding them even
after he was seated. It was almost as if he didn’t want to let go. She was
blushing. She knew it because she felt the uncomfortable heat spreading through
her cheeks. Lucky thing he couldn’t see it or she would have been more
embarrassed. Ever since she was a child, she’d blushed easily. Her mom had told
her she’d grow out of it, but she never had. She glanced over at Jake and saw
him smiling––no, he was grinning. There was a difference.

“Okay, guys. I’ve also written all this down but I’m
just a phone call away if you ever need me,” said Jake.

“I’ve stored your number on my phone,” said
Katey
, finally letting her hands slide out of Luc’s. She
needed to concentrate on what Jake was telling her and knew she couldn’t do
that still locked in contact with Luc.

“I think Willow’s been an easy dog to train. He’s very
intelligent so I don’t anticipate you’ll have any problems with him. My concern
is getting all the built up energy out of him, so I’m relying on you,
Katey
, to see that he gets daily exercise and then you can
gradually hand that chore over to Luc.”

Katey
nodded. “I can stop by for as long as Luc needs me.”

“That’s what I want to hear.”

She looked at Luc. Stopping by this handsome man’s
house was going to be more of a treat than a job.
Katey
suddenly felt guilty. She’d been daydreaming, had tuned out everything else
Jake was telling them. And having fantasies about a man she’d been hired to
help. She picked at the hangnail on her index finger. For all she knew, he
might have a girlfriend, so it was stupid getting carried away.

****

Luc had loved her holding onto him like she had and
he couldn’t think of anything else but her soft skin and those hands in his as
Jake rambled on. He’d tuned out––hell, he hadn’t even tuned in.
Katey
was all he could think about and all he had thought
about since he’d heard her voice when she’d said good morning out in the yard.
There wasn’t much to look forward to in his pitiful life, but maybe, just maybe
having her stop by every day would make it tolerable. He realized it was stupid
because she wasn’t going to be around forever but he’d deal with that when that
time came.

“That’s about it. And I’ll just get my bag so
Mitchell and I can head out.
How about both of you walking us
out to the truck?”

He raised his hand up. Not that he needed help, but
Katey
didn’t know that. On cue, her hand slipped into his
and he stood, trying to imagine what she looked like. In his mind’s eye she was
cute: five feet five inches tall, with long dark hair, little pink lips, a body
he’d love to hold…

“You’re at the outside step that goes to the
driveway,” she said.

Hell, he’d been on another planet and hadn’t even
realized that they were already outside.

“How about Gen and I drive here to see you one
weekend?
You too,
Katey
?”

“I’d love that. Maybe I can show Gen around town,”
said
Katey
.

“She’d enjoy it and maybe we’ll bring Nicky along,”
said Jake.

“Okay, Luc, you know I hate goodbyes so I’m going to
make this quick.” Mitchell hugged and patted him on the back. “Hang in there,
because everything’s going to be all right.
 
With Rachel pregnant, I can’t say when I’ll
get out west again, but I’ll give you a weekly call to see how you’re doing.”

“I’ll count on it,” said Luc. “And say hello to her
for me.”

“Take care,” said Jake, who squeezed him so hard
he
thought he’d snap one of his bones.

Luc hoped none of them noticed the tears in his
eyes. He’d never been one for goodbyes, even before his accident, and now he
was a big mess. Most of all he hoped
Katey
didn’t
think he was some kind of sissy guy, crying because his army buddies were
leaving.


Katey
, take care of
Willow, and Luc, and phone me if you need anything,” said Jake.

“I will, and say hi to Gen for me.”

“Will do.”

Luc slyly wiped his eyes as he heard two truck doors
slam shut and then the engine start up.

He was taken by surprise when
Katey
got hold of his hand and lifted it up. “Thought you’d like to wave to them,”
she said as he heard the truck’s horn sound.

“Sure, thank you,” he said, waving.

“They’re gone,” she said.

“Guess you’re stuck with me all by yourself now.
Well, until the nurse arrives in about an hour.”

“Then how about we get some training in with Willow
before she does?”

She put his arm over hers and they took baby steps
toward what he guessed was the house.

“The sun’s out
today,
isn’t
it?” he asked.

“Yep, bright in the sky.”

“I can feel it on my face and see the brightness.
Strange how I still see some light.”

“Jake was telling me there’s an operation…”

He stopped in his tracks. “I told Jake the next
person who mentioned that was going to be sorry. I vowed to throw something at
them, but seeing as you didn’t know that rule, I’ll give you a free pass this
time. I don’t ever want the subject raised again, okay?”

When you could no longer see people’s faces it was
impossible to tell their reaction to something you’d said. He hoped he hadn’t
sounded too harsh and upset
Katey
, because he sensed
that she’d meant well. However, he had his rules, and talking about the fucking
surgery was one of them.

She remained silent. He didn’t know if she was
pissed off with his abrupt tone, or just didn’t know what to say.

“Let’s go into the living room and I’ll show you how
Willow can help you out with retrieving things.”

He swallowed. She sounded like it was all business
now. Maybe he’d been a bit too hard on her.

Judging by its feel, she’d guided him to the
armchair by the window. The warmth of the sunlight filtered through the window
and played on his forearm. He fingered the ridging on the seat. Partly out of
apprehension, the other half out of curiosity. Funny how he’d had this chair
for longer than he could remember and only now noticed
its
raised trim. He ran his fingers along its length, suddenly nervous not about
what he’d said to her a few minutes ago, but being alone with her.

The smell of her perfume drifted his way again. He
took a deep breath. One, and probably the only, thing he appreciated about
losing one of his senses, was that it had upped the intensity of the others,
and in some strange way brought him an appreciation of things he’d once taken
for granted.

One thing he’d discovered was that
Katey
had long hair. It had just brushed his cheek and it
felt good. He reached out and touched it, immediately sensing he’d committed
his second foolish act of the day. But fascination had overridden common sense.
Now he knew its length, he needed to find out what color it was. He’d once
watched a movie about a blind woman who claimed she could tell color by merely
touching it. He fingered
Katey’s
hair, hoping he
could do the same, but he drew a blank. He had to know, but why he felt that
way, puzzled him. Whatever its color, it was soft and silky and he wanted to continue
touching it.

“What color is your hair?” he finally got the
courage to ask her.

“Brown,” she said.

It had a slight wave to it and he guessed it was pretty.

He heard a bark just a few feet away and knew the
dog had joined them. She lifted his hand and placed in on the dog’s head.

“Willow is a German shepherd. I don’t know if Jake
has told you much about him.”

Luc shook his head and stroked the dog’s back,
feeling its coarse hair under his fingertips. He’d obviously been sitting in
the sun for a while, because it was warm.

“How am I going to take care of him…I mean, before I
go through all the training? Any chance you can take him home until then?”

Luc sensed that
Katey
had
sat down on the floor beside him.

“I’d love to, but since I lost my job I’ve been
living back at my dad’s house and my step-mother doesn’t like animals. Well,
sometimes she finds humans hard to tolerate as well, and treats them just about
the same.”

Luc laughed and surprised himself with his sudden
outburst. He hadn’t laughed, not since…? It had been so
long,
again he couldn’t remember even if his life depended on it.

Katey
makes me laugh.

It was obvious she didn’t like her step-mom and if
she was exactly like she’d described her, who could blame her.

“Where did you work?”

“I was an assistant to a realtor. We all know what
happened when the housing bubble burst.”

“Did you like your work?”

“It was okay. Well, at least it was a steady job
that paid my rent.”

“I hope you’re getting paid to train Willow and work
with me.”

“Sure, Jake’s company hired me. As it’s only
part-time I’m also looking for another part-time one, so if you hear of
anything let me know, because I’m desperate to get my own place again.”

“Not being independent, especially when you once
were, sucks.”

“That’s so true. So are you ready to do some
training with Willow?”

Luc knew it was going to be a waste of time. First
of all, he didn’t think a dog could help him. The dog might be able to lead him
around the house but deep down he wanted more than any canine could offer him.

“How about you stand and take his leash here and
we’ll practice having him lead you and guide you around a few obstacles like
the coffee table and the armchair,” said
Katey
.

He’d do this for one reason. He was doing
Katey
a favor because she was earning a wage and maybe one
of them would make a break for their independence again.

She placed the harness strap into his palm and
showed him how to hold it tight.

“Willow, lead,” she said.

The dog began pulling him and
Katey
held his arm as they made their way around the room.

“He’ll probably do it automatically but the word is ‘
lead
’ if he needs some encouragement.”
Her breath was minty fresh and cool as it played on his cheek.

The dog was unbelievable––they’d turned around twice,
and so far Luc hadn’t run into anything. He hadn’t been able to do that since
he lost his sight.

“You and Willow are doing just great together. How
about we go for a walk to the park tomorrow?”

He didn’t want to, but the idea of walking side by side
with
Katey
suddenly gave him a reason to look forward
to the following day. Most days he dreaded waking up and realizing that it
hadn’t all been a bad dream.

“Sure, that would be great,” he said.

“And if you want him to stop, just give a little tug
on the harness, like this.”

Her hand intertwined with his, almost melting their
palms together. A simple act that excited him in a way he would have never have
believed. Neither of them budged an inch, and he could feel the warmth of her
body seeping into his own skin, suddenly arousing him. He imagined her lying
beside him in bed. He knew it was wrong, but it’s all he could think about.
Well, that and kissing her. He wanted to turn it into reality.

He turned his face toward her. He knew he was aiming
in the right direction because he could hear her breathing. He leaned over a
little and…

The doorbell rang.

He’d been lost in the moment and forgotten that the
nurse was stopping by. Had she ruined things for him, or saved him from doing
something very stupid?

“How about letting Willow take you to the front door
to answer that?”

Her question jarred him.

“Willow, lead,” he said.

 

****

Katey
smiled as she walked behind Luc and Willow as they made their way to the front
door. Before the doorbell had rung, and for one crazy minute, she’d thought he
was about to kiss her.

In my
dreams.
A guy as cute as Luc, kissing me.

He slapped around on the wood searching for the
handle on the door. She was tempted to help him but thought it best that she
didn’t. He finally found it and pulled it open. A woman in her mid-fifties
wearing light blue scrubs stood on the step.

BOOK: Seeing Forever
10.1Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub
ads

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