Out Of Focus: An Adams Grove Novel Part 23

That memory was still so sharp. "Oh, yeah. You got that right."

"It does look just like my car." He put his arm around her shoulder and gave her a friendly squeeze. "Thanks. That was thoughtful. I love it."

"I'm glad." She casually leaned against the island. "I hope you love it so much that I'm off the hook for any cooking a.s.signments. I warned you-my talents lie elsewhere." She scrunched her face.

"You're off duty." He pulled a bar stool next to the counter and patted the seat. "Here you go. The best guest seat in the house."

She hopped up on the chair, happy to follow the order.

He poured two gla.s.ses of wine, then chopped and sliced. Kasey sipped wine and watched him move around the kitchen like a Top Chef. She picked up a magazine featuring do-it-yourself projects from the counter and flipped through it as they talked.

Kasey held the magazine up in front of her. "You must be kind of handy if you're going to take on any of these projects."

He tossed a wooden spoon in the air and caught it behind his back. "I'm full of untapped talent."

"Impressive." She put down the magazine and applauded.

"My mom got me that subscription for my birthday. I have built a few things I saw in there. A deck box, the picnic table, and a rocking horse for some friends who had a baby boy last year." He tossed salad as he spoke.

"You are talented." She picked up the magazine and flipped through it again, paying closer attention this time. "This is really cute." She turned the magazine to face him. He leaned over as he smoothed olive oil over baked potatoes and rolled them in kosher salt.

"The swing?"

"Yeah, isn't it cute? I love the stars and stripes. My Jake would love it."

"That's a five-minute job," he said.

"Yeah, right. It's adorable." Kasey smiled as she pictured Jake swinging, pumping his legs to go as high as possible. In the photo, the swing's plank seat hung from thick ropes that knotted beneath it. She left the magazine opened to that page and laid it on the counter.

Scott opened the pre-heated oven and slid the cookie sheet of potatoes inside. Ears of corn, still in the husk, lined the counter. Beside them was a plastic container of steaks in a marinade of herbs that tickled her nose.

Scott washed his hands and dried them on a dish towel.

"Come on, we have some time. Let me introduce you to Maggie and show you the boat house before everyone gets here. Better grab your jacket."

"Maggie?"

"You'll love her."

She put on her jacket. and he led her out of the kitchen through the back door. They walked down a path to the water's edge.

A black lab ran up to Scott with her tail wagging. "This is Maggie."

Kasey stooped down and let the dog sniff her hand. Once Maggie gave her an approving lick, Kasey patted her head.

"How's my girl today?" Scott asked. "You ready for some supper?"

Maggie spun in excitement.

"Maggie, show Miss Kasey what you've been up to while I get your food."

Maggie headed to the boathouse that bordered the dock at the bottom of Scott's property. She barked and led Kasey to the back of the building to a smaller room.

Kasey raised a brow and looked in Scott's direction.

"La.s.sie doesn't have anything on my Maggie.

"All-righty then." Kasey followed in Maggie's footsteps.

In the corner of the room was an empty kiddie pool. Well, not really empty. It was filled with a dog's bed and puppies. Lots of puppies!

Maggie stepped gingerly into the middle of the pool, then sat proudly next to her litter, thumping her tail.

"Miss Maggie, you've been busy. How many pups do you have there, girl?" Kasey counted. "My goodness, eight, nine, ten? You must be one p.o.o.ped pup."

Maggie charged out of the pool toward Scott, who entered the room carrying her bowl.

Scott put the bowl of food on the floor, then squatted next to Kasey. "Are they the cutest little things you've ever seen?"

"They're adorable. And so many. The brown one is huge. He looks like someone snuck him in from an older litter."

"Yeah. She usually has a couple chocolates. This time they were all black with the exception of those two. One brown and one yellow. The yellow pup is the runt. She's my favorite."

"Ohhhh, she's cute, too."

Scott scooped up the tiny yellow lab and handed her to Kasey. The puppy snuggled against her chest.

"Their eyes just opened about a week ago." Scott picked up another puppy.

The yellow lab licked at Kasey's nose. "Puppy breath. There's just nothing better than puppy breath. I have got to get my camera."

"You can take pictures later. They won't be going far for a while. Let me show you the boats."

"Okay." She kissed the puppy on the nose. It reached its tiny paws toward her face. Kasey nuzzled it one last time, then followed Scott out to the dock.

Kasey felt a tug of regret. "That makes me miss our black lab, Dutch. I left him back at the other farm. Everyone thought he was too old to uproot. He'll get way more attention there from familiar folks, too. It was the right thing to do, but it was hard. I miss him."

"I bet." Scott took her hand and helped her step onto the floating dock. "Steady there."

"Two boats," she said, looking from the big pontoon boat to the bright glitter-bottomed boat.

"Yep."

"That one has quite a bit of bling on it, doesn't it," she teased.

"The fish love it."

"You'd think it would scare them away."

"They like shiny stuff." He leaned back against one of the dock posts. "Do you like to fish?"

"I've got my fair share of fishing stories, and I have to admit I do like shiny stuff."

"Ahhhh. There's nothing like fishing early in the morning as the sun just peeks over the horizon. So peaceful, you can hear the fish wake up."

"Sounds nice." She looked out over the water. Trees hung over the edges of the river, lush and green. "It's pretty down here."

"I grew up on this river. I never tire of it." He glanced at his watch. "We'd better get back up to the house. Folks should be here soon."

"Okay."

They hiked back up the steep incline to the house. People were already in the kitchen, making themselves at home.

Scott opened the screen door.

"Hey." Scott cuffed a guy on the shoulder, then hugged the woman next to him.

"That your famous marinade?" the man asked.

"You better believe it. Y'all would run me out on a rail if I didn't produce the best steak in town, as promised." Scott turned away from them, then looped a black ap.r.o.n over his head and tied the strings behind him.

He faced them and everyone laughed.

Best Mooin' Marinade was embroidered on the front of the ap.r.o.n in bright red. Beneath it was a caricature of Scott with a chef's hat, grill fork, and a sheriff's badge, chasing cows.

"You like?" he asked.

Scott reached for Kasey and pulled her in to the group. "This is Kasey. She just moved in over on Nickel Creek."

"The house they've been renovating for like a year?" a tall, lanky brown-haired man asked.

Kasey extended her hand and shook his. "Yep. That's the one."

He gave her a firm handshake. "I'm Dusty. I did the tile work over there."

She brightened. "You're kidding."

"Bathroom and kitchen," he said, satisfaction in his eyes.

"It's lovely. It's so nice to meet you."

He smiled and tilted his head toward the woman who stood by his side. "This is my bride, Angie."

"Nice to meet you, Dusty and Angie."

"Angie made this ap.r.o.n for me," Scott said. "She's quite talented with that embroidery machine."

"Did you design it, too?" Kasey asked.

Angie nodded.

"Beautiful needlework. I love the detail."

She blushed. "Thanks."

"I did some work over there on Nickel Creek, too," said the shorter of the two men "I hauled all the debris from the demolition away. They gutted that place."

"Chaz was telling me about it. I never saw the house before it was done. My husband surprised me with it."

"How romantic," Angie said, elbowing Dusty. "Why don't you ever think of sweet stuff like that?"

Ignoring his wife's comment, he shifted his attention back to Kasey. "Aw, man. You should have seen it. What a mess. We hauled junk for three days before they could even start the demolition. We all thought the guy was nuts. I couldn't believe it when I came back to do the tile work. That place is a miracle makeover."

"I wish I had pictures of it before the renovation," Kasey said, feeling more comfortable with them already.

"Is your husband coming over later?" Dusty asked.

Kasey took in a sharp breath. She'd been fine up to that point.

Scott jumped in. "Remember that accident over the summer? The pickup truck in the Nottoway and the missing child? That was Kasey's husband and son."

A chill ran through Kasey.

Angie put her arm around Kasey's shoulder. "Sorry. We didn't know. We're glad you're here. You'll love this town. The people are wonderful."

Kasey gave her a wan smile. "I can see that. Thanks." Her eyes grew moist. "It's still kind of hard."

"I'm sure," Angie said. "Don't worry about tears. We understand. Most of us were out there helping look for your little angel."

Everyone in the small group nodded.

"You know, Kasey," Dusty said, his tone upbeat, "I would bet money that Chaz has pictures of that place from before y'all bought it. If he doesn't, Ken Malloy will. He did most of the renovation work. Let's ask Chaz when he gets here."

"That'd be great," Kasey said, relieved at the change in subject.

"Kasey is a professional photographer," Scott said.

With that Kasey reached for her camera bag and lifted it out of the case. "Be forewarned. I was telling Scott: it's an occupational hazard. Does anyone mind if I take pictures?"

"No, no, we don't mind." Everyone shook their heads smiled.

Before Kasey could snap her first photo, Chaz and his wife walked in, followed by Scott's duck hunting buddy, Jeff, and the dispatcher from the police station, Allison.

"Hey, everyone," Chaz said in his booming voice. He grabbed a beer from a tub of ice, tossed a diet soda to his wife, and handed a beer to Allison. Then he noticed Kasey. "Hey-ey-ey, I see you've met the new girl in town."

Kasey waved from across the room.

"How did you and Scott meet?" Chaz's wife asked.