Free First Class Justice (First Class Novels) by AJ Harmon

Apparently she has
an aunt and uncle and some cousins there too, so I think with some help, she'll
be okay."
    "That's good. I'm glad she has someone in her life to
take care of her."
    Katy smiled. "Beer?"
    "No, I'm driving."
    "Oh, you're not staying here?" Katy was surprised.
    Mark's eyes grew wide. "Well, I hadn't planned on
it."
    "Oh," she said as she left for the kitchen.
    He watched her leave the room and he knew what the strange
emotion was. It was one he hadn't felt before. He was jealous. He was mad that
she’d gone on a date with someone else, someone who wasn't him. He didn’t want
another man putting their hands on her. He didn't want another man even looking at her. He was in love with her. Heart skipping, head over heels in love.
    *****
    Katy didn’t want a beer. She had done very well breaking her
short-lived drunken sleep routine and wasn’t going to start again now. But she
had to get out of the living room. She had to get away from Mark. She stood in
the kitchen trying to breathe normally, trying to slow her heart rate.
    Why did he come? she wondered. It was a stark
comparison having him here just after she’d gone out with Ted. Actually, there
was no comparison. Mark was everything she had wanted in a man and Ted was
really still just a boy. He was fun and all, but certainly not what she was
looking for long-term.
    Am I looking for long-term? The thought surprised her
and immediately saddened her. Mark was not her long-term. She pulled two
bottles of water from the fridge and walked back to the living room. Mark was
standing as she entered the room.
    “I should go,” he said. “I’m sorry if I intruded.”
    “You don’t need to apologize,” she smiled. “It was
incredibly sweet of you to get on a plane because you were worried.”
    Mark stepped to her and placed his hand on her cheek. She
looked up at him, eyes questioning. He lowered his head and kissed her other
cheek; a soft, gentle, lingering kiss. When he pulled away Katy’s eyes were
closed and he stepped back.
    “Goodnight Katy.”
    She leaned on the back of the door as she closed it behind
him, her heart racing, her skin tingling where his lips had been. NO! she thought. I can’t feel like this.
    The thought had barely entered her mind when the knock on
the door made her jump. She opened it to find Mark standing there with a smile
on his face.
    “You parked behind me in the driveway. I can’t get out.”
    Katy laughed and turned to get her keys. Mark stepped inside
and waited.
    “I’ll move it,” he said.
    “Yeah you will! You shouldn’t have taken my spot in the
first place,” she laughed.
    Mark took the keys and Katy stood in the doorway watching
him rearrange the cars.
    “Sorry,” he grinned as he returned her keys to her hand. “Do
you still run in the mornings?”
    Katy nodded.
    “Tomorrow?” he asked.
    She nodded again.
    “What time?”
    “How about eight?”
    “I’ll be here at eight,” he said, a big smile on his face.
    Closing the door again, Katy couldn’t stop the giant smile
forming on her face. If only. It can’t hurt to daydream, can it?

9.
    Danny Salvo’s trial was set for Tuesday morning at nine
o’clock. Katy had an appointment with Dr. LaVaughn on Monday at ten o’clock.
    “I’ve been through this before. I was all prepared, well, as
prepared as I was gonna be, to go into the courtroom and see him. You know, this
time, I just don’t want to do it. I don’t know that I can do it. “
    “Of course you can,” Dr. LaVaughn said. “He does not control
your emotions. Don’t give him that much power. He can only hurt you now if you
let him. Just don’t let him.”
    “You make it sound so simple,” Katy frowned.
    “Oh, it’s not simple. But you can do it. You have made
massive strides in the past few months. I am incredibly proud of you, and I
have faith in you.”
    “Shelby is going home with her grandmother today.”
    “Yes, I know.”
    “I think I’d like to stay in touch with