THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

you.”
    “Yeah? For what?”
    “I have some news, too,” he said.
    “What’s that?”
    “Annette tracked down Lou for me. She’s divorced. I’m thinking about giving her a call.”
    Kasey smiled. “True love. You know it when you feel it. Good luck.”
    “Thanks.” His voice softened. “I’m glad you called. We’ve missed you around here. Keep in touch, will you?”
    “Count on it.” She hung up feeling connected in a good way.
     
    The weather was chilly, but not as frigid as the first week of February could be. Kasey spent all day Saturday taking pictures and getting to know the new property by snapping off rolls and rolls of film. She’d test out her new darkroom developing the film. She looked forward to that.
    The landscape, trees, the goats, and anything that came in view of her lens was fair game. She made a mental note to drive into town and get a book on birds. She’d caught several on film. Beautiful ones. But she had no idea what kind they were, and some things were just more convenient to have in book form rather than having to Google around on the internet.
    She liked exploring the place, although it would have been more fun with Dutch by her side. He was good company, but Von convinced her that the old dog would be better off with the familiar surroundings and the constant attention of the 4-H-ers who frequented the Rocking R. It killed her to leave him behind, but the fifteen-year old-dog probably wouldn’t do so well being uprooted. It was the right thing to do for him even if it was hard for her.
    It was after five when she came back into the house. She turned up the heat and took a warm bath. Wrapped in her favorite robe, she popped popcorn for dinner.
    Accepting Scott’s invitation to his cookout tomorrow had seemed like a good idea at the time, but now she wished she hadn’t accepted. She couldn’t go empty-handed. Nick had stocked several bottles of wine in the rack, but wine didn’t seem like the right thing to take. She hadn’t stocked the pantry yet, but then her cooking skills weren’t that good anyway. She didn’t want to embarrass herself in front of her new neighbors. Maybe she could backtrack her way to the market in the morning and pick up something.
    She climbed into bed, exhausted from the fresh air. A dog howled in the distance and she wondered if it might be a coyote. Not that she’d ever heard a coyote howl, except in those spooky Halloween soundtracks. Taking in a couple of long, cleansing breaths, she reminded herself she was safe here, and tugged the covers over herself.
     
    Kasey’s body clock woke her at seven. She stretched herself out full-length pointing her toes under the sheets. The extra-high mattress required a leap to the floor, as had the one she and Nick had shared before. The height had been no problem for him. He’d been tall. The bed was so high she literally had to climb in and out. She jumped to the ground and raised her hands over her head in an exaggerated gymnast’s flourish, as if she'd nailed the landing.
    Nick used to tease her about her bed dismounts, shouting out scores as if he was a judge on Dancing With the Stars . He’d built a little stool to keep next to the bed, but she liked the bouncy dismount better. He pretended to spot her sometimes, just so he could cop a feel. As if he needed an excuse for something they both liked anyway
    I miss you, Nick.
    If Nick and Jake were here, this house would be full of comforting boy howls and playful banter. Instead, it was quiet.
    Will I ever get used to the quiet?
    Kasey made a cup of coffee, sat at the table in the corner of the kitchen, and looked out over the pastures, fully aware that Nick had this view in mind when he designed this space. She closed her eyes and squeezed her coffee cup. Tears tickled her bottom lashes. She felt the familiar warmth of Nick in the room. She blinked and shook off the thought. It was still too hard to go there—the wounds still too fresh when she missed him as she did now.
    If she was going to find something suitable to take to Scott’s cookout, she needed to get busy. She got dressed and drove to town without one wrong turn. There weren’t large quantities of anything in the little market, but to her surprise there was most anything you could want, including some things you wouldn’t expect—like fishing poles and waders.
    Deviled eggs would be easy enough. She could probably pull that off. She’d made them a couple of times. But if she