Page 21 of Secret
"I will. Talk to you later." Xander hung up.
Kasey poured himself a hot cup of coffee and made his way into the living room, setting the cup on the table before he sat down on the couch. He didn't know the first thing about taking care of a kid. The last time he'd been around a kid alone was his sister, and that had been over fifteen years ago. He closed his eyes as he remembered his sister. She was a little younger than Faith when she'd committed suicide.
His chest tightened at the memory. So fucking young. She'd been through so much, and he couldn't be there to help her through it all. The guilt over that never left him. He still struggled with the choices he'd made, but there was no going back. He couldn't change the past.
He wasn't going to let Faith staying with him stir up memories that he'd stuffed away. He was going to enjoy his time with Faith. He already had a couple of ideas to keep them busy.
He'd have to hit the grocery store before she got there, but almost wondered if he should wait and let her go with him. That way she could pick out things she liked. He wouldn't let her eat only junk food, but there was no reason he couldn't spoil her a little while her dads were away. He had time to think everything over.
He glanced at the clock, sighing at how fast time seemed to be going. He was meeting Noam at the range at three. He hadn't meant to sleep so late, but he'd stayed up half of the night watching TV. It was a bad habit, one he'd got into from coming home late from stings and needing to unwind before he went to sleep.
Hell, if he ever had to function like a normal person, he'd be screwed. The thought made him think about Noam. He wasn't sure what was going on between them. The attraction was there. He really liked Noam, but as great as their friendship was, in time, Noam would want more, and Kasey just wasn't up to a physical relationship. Somehow, he needed to push back the attraction part and focus on them just being friends. If he didn't, Noam would expect things to advance in time and that was just not going to happen. Kasey had way too many issues to make any kind of relationship work.
Hell, maybe he was seeing too much in his friendship with Noam anyway. They'd just met, and while they did flirt a lot, there hadn't been any real signs that it was more than friends. He would just go with it. It was nice to have someone to do things with. He went out with Dyson and Xander from time to time, and played poker a couple times a month with Bryon and Carter, but Noam was different. He wasn't part of the team. He was a connection to the outside world, and Kasey needed that.
His uneasiness and aggravation at things lately seemed to grow when he was dealing with team things or around other team members. It was like it consumed his life. It probably wasn't different from any other job. He was sure lawyers and electricians and other professionals let work consume them, but with the team, there was a whole lot more to deal with. The images never faded, the fear of being caught always lingered, and the devastation left for the victims never was easy to deal with. Still, he loved what he did. He couldn't leave the team for anything else. It was who he was.
He finished off his coffee and headed in to shower, excited for a few hours on the range, and even more excited to see what guns Noam had.
Noam had offered to drive and also pick a place for dinner, so he was going to head over to Noam's house and leave his car there. He was curious to see Noam's home, find out more about the man, and see what other interests they shared.
He rushed through a shower and getting dressed, leaving a bit early to head over to Noam's. They only lived five minutes apart by car, maybe two miles on foot. How had they lived in the same area so long and never crossed paths? He was sure he'd remember someone like Noam. The dark hair, olive skin, and deep brown eyes were hard to forget. He'd noticed Noam had a slight limp as they'd walked to the café the other night, but it didn't seem to bother him, and Kasey wasn't sure if it was a simple muscle strain or something more that caused it.
He pulled up in front of Noam's, not surprised by the simple yard, well maintained, but not fancy. He didn't take Noam for a flowers and gardening kind of man.
"Hey, you found it." Noam opened the door as Kasey approached the house.
"Easy to find." Kasey grinned as he clasped a hand over Noam's shoulder. "Good to see you again."
"You too. Come on in. I just need to make sure Casper has water and then you can help me carry some of the guns to the car." Noam gestured to the couch in the large living room. "Have a seat."
"Thanks." Kasey took a seat as he looked around. Noam's home wasn't much different than his own. It was simple, with very little to give away anything about the man. There weren't photos on the walls or pictures on the side tables. A fancy chess board sat on the small table beside the couch, but it didn't look used. "You play chess?"
"I do when I have someone to play with." Noam raised a brow. "Don't tell me you play."
"Haven't played in a few years, but I used to." Kasey picked up a piece off the board and looked at it. "This is nice."
"Thanks, maybe one day you'll come over and we can put it to use. Right now, it just collects dust." Noam whistled, and Casper came running in through a small doggie door leading from the backyard.
She stared at Noam for a minute, then turned, seeing Kasey and running straight for him, jumping onto the couch and pressing her head to his side.
"Well, hello." Kasey laughed as he pet her. "Have you had a good morning?"
She licked his hand.
"Do you mind if I steal your dad for a few hours?" Kasey glanced over at Noam with a grin.
"She minds, but she understands. I promised her a long walk tomorrow." Noam smiled. "Let me get her water and we can go." He disappeared into the kitchen.
Kasey smiled as Casper jumped off the couch and followed Noam. He liked being able to get a glimpse into Noam's personal life. He was glad Noam seemed to be as casual as he was. Standing, he moved over to the back window and looked out over Noam's yard. It was larger than he'd expected, the grass mowed, but like the front, no fancy landscaping or anything done to it.
"I keep telling myself I'm going to get a hot tub out there one of these days, but I never do." Noam came to stand beside him, his arm barely brushing against Kasey's.
The soft touch shocked Kasey as a wave of awareness shot through him. He usually didn't react to a touch, especially one as simple and accidental as that was. He rubbed his hand down his arm as he turned to Noam. "Well, if the urge arises, I have one in my backyard. It doesn't get used nearly as often as it should."
"I might take you up on that sometime." Noam grinned. "You ready to go? I've got to get the guns out of the safe still if you'll help me carry them out."
"Sure." Kasey was excited to peek inside Noam's safe. He had one at home, but he was sure he didn't have anything as cool as what Noam probably did.
