Chapter 28
Keel yawned as he stepped onto the porch, pulling the keys from his pocket. He was a little surprised Frankie hadn’t come to the door.
The alarm started beeping as soon as he pushed the door open. He punched in the code as he listened for Frankie. The place felt empty. Worry hit him and he looked for signs something was wrong.
“Hello. Frankie, where are you?” he called out, hoping she answered.
Was she asleep? He set his bag down, then locked the front door before going through the house looking for her. Had she taken off?
Normally, he wouldn’t go through her things, but he was worried. Where had she gone? If she left, it would hurt. He knew better than to give his heart away.
He stepped into the guest room and placed his hand on the closet door, wondering if he should open it or just leave well enough alone. Was he crossing some boundary? He hoped she didn’t see it that way.
Trust was something he didn’t give out for free, but he’d given it fairly fast to Frankie. It wasn’t like him, but there was something about her that drew him to her. She was like a breath of fresh air, and it was more than just her looks.
He had to know if she was gone, but he didn’t want to break her trust. He was in a weird spot when his phone vibrated with a text. He stared at the screen, seeing a text from Frankie.
I took a taxi to the store to pick up food. I’ll be back in a bit.
He texted back, asking her which store. She replied by sharing her location.
Don’t leave the store. I’ll be there in about ten minutes.
Keel grabbed his keys and headed out. He would put away his stuff when he got home with Frankie. He didn’t speed on the way over, but he didn’t take it at a lazy Sunday afternoon pace.
When he entered the store, he spied her in the pasta aisle. One of his ball caps obscured part of her face, but he knew it was her. He stepped closer with purpose as he closed the distance.
“Frankie.”
She spun, shock making her eyes wide. Then she jumped at him, and he caught her. Her body shook with laughter as she held onto him.
“You’re home,” she said after a moment.
“I am.”
He could tell that she’d gained a few pounds, not much, but she wasn’t stick thin now. After he let her go, he grabbed another bag of pasta and some sauce and placed them in her cart.
“I’m home now, we should probably buy more.”
“Oh, yeah. I was trying not to spend too much of your money.”
He put his hand on her shoulder. “It’s okay.”
She sighed and nodded. He wasn’t sure what that was about, but they could talk after they arrived home. He grabbed a few frozen meals and two pizzas from the freezer section, along with a few bags of vegetables.
“We need something easy to cook. I should pick up some chicken, too.”
“I wanted to get a rotisserie chicken I can put into a casserole.”
“Sure. We should get two. I’m hungry and need to eat some lunch after I shower.”
Her nose wrinkled, and she laughed. He leaned in, brushing his lips over her cheek. She stared up at him with bright eyes full of emotion. Being home was great. He couldn’t wait to spend the evening with her, even if it was just them watching TV.
He should watch his heart, but he feared it was already too late for that. Frankie could easily wound him, but opening up to her seemed inevitable. Telling her outright that he was falling for her would be premature. He worried he wouldn’t be able to hide it for long, though.
Excitement skittered through Frankie. Keel was home, and he’d kissed her cheek. She wanted to pull him into a full-on kiss, but not here in the store. They needed to get home, and then she would plaster herself against him and explore how nice their kisses were.
“I’m glad you’re home.”
His gaze fell on her, warming her. “I’m very happy to be home. Having you here feels right.”
His words sent tingles through her. Could she trust him? So far, he’d proven to be good. She had made so many mistakes in her past. Maybe it wasn’t right to jump from Forest to Keel. But she’d abandoned her relationship with Forest a long time ago, even if she hadn’t physically left him.
“I like this. Us together,” she said.
“Good.”
Keel pushed the cart to the checkout area and helped her put the items on the belt. When it was time to pay, he took care of the payment and then helped the guy finish bagging the groceries.
It was nice having this kind of help. Spending time with Keel gave her a deep satisfaction she’d never known before.
It was like she’d found a missing piece of herself.
She didn’t want to screw this up. With Forest there’d been warning signs long before she really got involved with him, with Keel, she didn’t see any of those signs flashing at her.
She should slow down to give this time, but she didn’t want to.
They put up the food together, Keel keeping out one rotisserie chicken. He heated some vegetables in the microwave while he stripped the meat off the chicken.
“Do you want any chicken right now?”
Frankie nodded. “I should eat something. Not much, though. Just a little meat on a tortilla.”
“Sure.” Keel grabbed a plate and added some of the chicken. “Is that enough?”
“Yes. That’s more than enough.”
They sat together at the table. He ate much more than she did as they chatted about the weather for this weekend. After she finished her food, she sat back and rubbed her belly.
“I’m full now.”
He smiled and then winked. “I picked up some cookies. Do you want any?”
“Oh, I don’t think I could. I’m still getting used to eating.”
“Maybe later then, while we’re watching a movie or something.”
She nodded, glad that he wanted to do something with her later. He showered while she went through her email. She didn’t have much, just a quick follow-up from the lawyer’s office.
She sent back a reply, stating that she needed help with setting up charitable giving. After she checked the email, she started looking at charities in the area. There were a lot, but she noted a few that she wanted to look deeper into.
She still needed to get back to Sonja and tell her thank you for showing her the glass. When her new friend had shown up on the porch, it had freaked Frankie out at first, but then she’d seen Sonja standing on the doorstep, waving at the camera.
She’d come by to show off one of her nice pieces of uranium glass.
They’d come into the house and turned off all the lights so they could see the plate glow under a UV light.
Of course, she’d commented that it looked so interesting.
Frankie found it a little weird, though.
She wondered if she needed to tell Keel that Sonja had come over. Would he be mad at her?
Keel finished his shower and came out into the den. He’d trimmed up his beard and looked even sexier than before.
She had to pry her eyes from his body so it didn’t get awkward. He took a seat next to her, but not so close that they were touching. The desire to lean against him rose, so she put down her phone and turned to face him, pulling her leg closest to him up on the couch cushion.
“So, you feeling up to watching a movie?” he asked.
“Absolutely. I want to spend the evening with you.”
“First, though, um…” Her heart sped up. Worry filled her. How would he react?
His eyebrows pinched together, and he turned in the seat to face her. “What’s up?”
“So yesterday, Sonja came over.”
“Sonja?”
“The older woman who lives across the street.”
“Oh. That’s right, her name is Sonja. What about her? Is everything okay with her?”
Frankie nodded. “Yes. You aren’t mad she came over?”
Keel let go of a heavy sigh and pulled her close. “No. I’m glad you have friends, even if I don’t know them.”
“She brought over some uranium glass for me to look at.”
“What?”
“Yeah. We turned off the lights and hit it with a UV light. It was wild.”
“Uranium glass. I had no idea…wait, maybe I did. But people keep that in their house?”
“Yeah. She brought a plate over. I didn’t keep it. I hope that’s okay?”
Keel chuckled. “I have no issue with her bringing one over, I just wouldn’t want that kept in my house because I know nothing about it. But I’m glad you are friendly with her.”
She let go of a heavy sigh, and he leaned back, his lips curving up into an infectious smile. It was hard not to smile right back at him. The draw to lean in overwhelmed her, and her chest tightened as his gaze flicked to her lips. Then his hand was on the back of her neck, pulling her closer.
When their lips met, the touch brought a wave of relief. Heat rose, sending desire straight through her. His tongue swept into her mouth, taking the kiss deeper. The pressure of his hands against her back had her moving even closer.
White hot need raced through her veins that wouldn’t be quenched with a simple kiss. When he put more pressure on her back, she didn’t hesitate to throw her knee over his legs and straddle him.
The deep moan from Keel vibrated through her. His hands were in her hair. His lips and tongue drove her desire higher. She wanted to feel his flesh against hers, but was that rushing it? Would he think less of her if she reached down and pulled off her shirt?