Chapter 6
Kristen barely got five hours of sleep before waking up. She knew it was going to be a long day and wanted to begin as soon as possible so that maybe she could get home before midnight, even if that meant sacrificing a little sleep. Her goal was to at least get the rest of her father’s office and the remainder of the downstairs all packed up.
As her coffee was brewing, Kristen stumbled into the shower. She hoped that the combination of the hot water and the caffeine would knock her out of her zombie-like state.
After showering and then slowly sipping on a hot cup of black coffee with lots of cream and sugar, she was feeling more alert. The drive over to her father’s was uneventful, and before she knew it, Kristen was back at the front door, struggling once again with the key.
“Please open up,” she softly plead with the door’s lock as she jiggled the key in the deadbolt. The last thing she wanted was to get caught a second time breaking into her father’s house through the window. The neighbor would never let het live it down.
Andrew Steel started his morning off with a large cup of black coffee every morning. Since he had retired from serving on the police force to become an author, he enjoyed the freedom to just sit and relax.
Most mornings he would sit on his porch and watch the street and whatever was happening on it. Watching his neighbors gave him inspiration for characters and even plots he could use in his novels. When it got colder outside, however, he enjoyed his coffee from his dining room. He was still able to see the street fairly well from his window.
On this particular morning, he found himself watching his neighbor’s daughter’s arrival. She intrigued him. She had fire and spunk and he liked that. Steel couldn’t help but smile as he watched Kristen fight with the lock for the second day in a row. He was curious to see if she’d once again revert to climbing into the house through the window. Had she been nicer to him, he would’ve offered to let her in through the back door with the spare key her father had given him after they had become friends.
Just as Kristen was about to give up, she heard a click and the lock turned. Relieved, she opened the door and returned to her car to fetch more boxes.
Steel watched in amusement as she struggled to bring the boxes inside the house. The morning was a windy one and a strong gust had caused Kristen to lose her grip on the stack of flattened, corrugated, cardboard boxes. One flew from her hands and then another. Steel snickered to himself as he watched Kristen chase the scattered cardboard around the yard. He considered helping her, but it was just too comical to watch. Besides, she would probably only resent his help. No, he would watch from a distance instead.
Kristen was exhausted before she even got started on the packing. Just getting the door open and the boxes inside was a feat of its own. By lunch, though, she managed to get the office looking better. She only had a few stacks of paper and the contents of the desk left.
With the office much less cluttered, it reminded her of how it looked when she was a kid. Even then, her father spent most of his time at his desk, so to not feel lonely as she played, Kristen would bring her toys into the office to play. Her father didn’t mind her making forts from her blankets and sheets as long as she respected his work.
“Daddy?” she would ask. “Do you like my fort?” She knew her father never really looked, not because he didn’t care but more because he was always just so entranced in his work. Little Kristen didn’t mind. Either way, her father always praised her efforts. And, as she looked over her fort, complete with different rooms and areas for her and the many stuffed animals she brought down from her room, she was proud. She would play quietly inside the fort as her father worked. To her, it felt like she and her father went camping.
Even with his one tracked mind, Kristen could always convince her father to take a break for dinner. On nights where she had built a fort, they ate inside. Even if it was only an hour of her father’s time, it was enough. She never felt ignored or unloved. She understood that he was just very passionate about his work.
As Kristen examined each set of documents before packing them, she noticed something strange. The accountant listed on the documents was Thomas Cadbury. She wasn’t sure why her father would have someone else’s papers, but assumed the matching first name was just a coincident.
Before she had time to give it anymore though, the doorbell rang. Kristen’s legs tingled as she stood up and attempted to walk to the door. Her leg was asleep and the prickling needle-like feeling was intense. She tried to shake it off, but didn’t want to look like an idiot when answering the door.
“Can I help y…,” she started to say as she opened the door, but stopped when she saw that it was only her father’s neighbor, Steel. Her mood changed instantly. “What do you want?” she asked, not even pretending to be pleasant.
“Well, thank you for that warm welcome,” Steel teased. As he smiled, he could see how it irked Kristen. He had come over to make peace, though. Under normal circumstances, he would continue to enjoy the tension between them. But, the woman had just lost her father…his friend. It wasn’t a normal feeling for him, but he felt guilty over giving her a hard time the day before. “I brought some lunch,” he said as he held out a bag filled with several storage containers. “I hoped that maybe we could start over.”
Kristen studied the man’s face to see if he was genuine. She had trouble reading it, though. Maybe it was because she was lost in his handsome features. Catching herself, she snapped to attention and took the bag. Whether she liked the man or not, she couldn’t deny that she was hungry. “Come in,” she offered before she had time to change her mind.
“It’s just some grilled lamb and a tzatziki sauce,” Steel announced as Kristen unpacked the bag, looking into each of the containers. She was familiar with the standard ingredients of gyros and had to admit it smelled wonderful. Also in the bag were some grilled pita bread, a tomato salad and some cheesecake.
Kristen decided to meet Steel’s generous gift halfway and took a bottle of wine from one of the boxes she packed the day before. “I’m afraid I have no idea where the corkscrew is,” she said. “Do you have one?”
Kristen cleaned out two wine glasses while Steel went to get the corkscrew. By the time he returned and opened the bottle, Kristen had fixed them each a plate of food. As she took her first bite, she couldn’t help but moan her delight. The food was delicious.
“I take it you approve,” Steel laughed.
“My God, yes! This is amazing! Where did you get it?” Kristen asked.
Steel surprised her by answering that he cooked it himself. She didn’t understand him. One day he was a complete jerk, and the next, he’s apologetic, helpful and charming. On top of all that, she finds out that he’s a chef.
“Did you train formally?” Kristen asked. She may have grown up in a household that didn’t involve cooking, but that also meant she had eaten at a lot of restaurants. She knew good food when she tasted it.
“No. I was in the military before I joined the police force,” Steel answered and then went on to explain how he left the police force the previous year to become a full time writer.
Kristen was intrigued at what would cause a man that could only be in his mid to late thirties to quit his job and do something as unstable as writing. She didn’t want to ask, though. That would be rude. The more he talked, the more fascinated she was with him. He had lived a life that she could only dream of living. She had only had one career and it wasn’t really the most interesting one.
Before the two knew it, they had been visiting for over two hours. It wasn’t until Kristen received a text from Adam that she noted the time. “I’m so sorry, but I really need to get back to work. I didn’t realize how late it had become.”
Steel was disappointed that his time with Kristen had come to an end, but took comfort in knowing that there was a lot of the house sti
ll left to pack. He knew he would get another chance to be around her. As he gathered up his containers, he thought briefly about offering to help Kristen pack. Something in her eyes told him that she would turn him down and he preferred to end the night on a high note.
As Kristen and Steel reached the door to say goodbye, she extended her hand. It was formal, but she didn’t know him well enough to give him a hug. As their hands made contact, there it was again. The tingle. There was definite electricity when they connected. Without any thought to Adam, Kristen found herself hoping she would be seeing more of Steel. She didn’t know it, but he felt exactly the same way.