THE PERFECT TEN (Boxed Set)

Libby Braddock. It was worth a try.” Scott rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. “I’m sorry to have gotten your hopes up.”
    She wrapped her hands around his arm. “Don’t say that. Anything that might help is worth it. Thank you.”
    They signed the return forms to check the boxes in with the clerk at the evidence desk. They’d made a copy of the logs for Scott to take with him. He signed for those, too.
     
    Scott pulled in front of his house and put the car in park. Kasey jumped out, ran to her car and pulled out into the street in front of him so he could follow her home. He’d insisted.
    When they got to her house, she walked to his truck. “Are you going to come in?”
    “I didn’t want to crowd you. Thought you might need some time to yourself.”
    She shook her head. “No, I’d like you to come in.”
    He shut off the engine and followed her to the door.
    “Looks like you had a delivery.” He nodded toward a large box on the porch.
    “I wonder what that is? I’m not expecting anything.” She stooped down to read the return address. She shrugged. “I have no idea.”
    Scott lifted the box with a grunt. “Whatever it is, it’s heavy.”
    She unlocked the door, and he followed her inside. “Just set it over there in the living room. Let’s see what it is.”
    He placed the box on the floor and Kasey came out of the kitchen with a pair of scissors. She sliced through the tape and opened the box. There was a light blue envelope with her name printed on the front, on top of a stack of books.
    “These are the Cody Tuggle tour books.” The cover of the coffee-table-size picture book was glossy. She ran her hand across the familiar picture. “I had no idea they were sending me a whole box of them.” She flipped one open and thumbed through the pages. “Gosh, it looks great.”
    She handed him a copy.
    “You took all these pictures?”
    “Sure did.” She moved next to him and pointed to a photograph. “I was on the catwalk over the audience when I took that one. It was amazing. I could feel the heat, their energy. I’ve never felt anything like it before.”
    “You sure didn’t seem like such a daredevil yesterday?’
    She laughed. “It was pretty cool. When I get in the zone behind that lens I’m much braver.”
    “Talented, too.” He turned the pages, glancing at picture after picture of Cody, the band and fans. He flipped back to the first pages. “Hey, this one is autographed for you.”
    “Let me see.” She took the book and read the inscription. “That was so sweet.”
    “Sounds like a pretty friendly note from a client,” Scott said. Even a little jealous, though he had no right to be.
    “We spent a lot of time together on tour. It was right after the accident. He’s a good friend.”
    “What’s that mean in the note about seeing you in Texas?”
    “I didn’t tell you about the cookbook? We’re doing a barbecue coffee-table book. I’m going to shoot his team cooking at an annual BBQ cook-off this fall.”
    “So you’re going to Texas?”
    “Yep. We signed a contract for it a few months ago.”
    Why do I always fall for the city girls? “So, when do you jet-set off?”
    “That’s not until Labor Day weekend.”
    “I sure can’t compete with a guy like that,” Scott said, tossing the book on the coffee table. He regretted his words as soon as they came out of his mouth.
    “This isn’t a competition, and I’m no prize. And even if I were available, I already told you, Cody is just a friend.”
    “You’re right. I was out of line,” Scott said. “How about I make you some tea while you go through that stuff.”
    “That sounds good.” Kasey sat on the floor and flipped through the book.
    Scott filled a mug with water and microwaved it for Kasey’s tea, then started opening drawers, looking for a spoon. Just after he closed the drawer next to the stove, he paused and re-opened it. Amidst the batteries, stamps, paperclips and sticky notes in the junk drawer, there were a dozen butterscotch candies and a couple of empty wrappers. He picked up one of the candies and held it in his hand, then stuffed it into his pocket. He opened the next drawer and retrieved a spoon just as the microwave signaled. He dropped the tea bag into the hot water, stirred in a teaspoon of sugar, then grabbed his beer and went back into the living room.
    Kasey had pushed the box of books to the corner of the room. She sat on the couch, going through yesterday’s