The joys of being near-sighted!’ Kayla put them down carefully on the seat of the quad and went to Tony. He was spreading the other blanket on top o... the first. When he stood, she kissed him.‘I like your glasses.’ He smiled wickedly. ‘You look so proper with them on ... like the lady who plays piano at church. Or a librarian. A teacher.’‘Ahhhh ... I see. So you want to corrupt me, then, do you?’ Kayla said, smirking. She sank to her knees in the grass near the pond and began to work at his. Was there not a next of kin?”“Which has to be Sir Oswald?”“Exactly. Plenty of space, he admits, but her reputation. That worries him.”“When’s she due?”“Tomorrow sometime. The Major still wants his ride. Oh, apparently, she rides, so he’s asked for a suitable mount for her. Something docile.”“How old is she?”“Not sure. Somewhere nineteen or twenty.”Jack pointed to the fine black mare grazing nearby, “None more docile than Ebony.”Alf nodded, “As long as the lady is kept happy.”As Jack closed the. How had that happened? I looked up at the sky saw some clouds, and guessed the threat of rain had made people skittish. That made more sense than thinking that Callie could empty the beach at her whim. She ran a finger over my lips and I lost that thought. ‘Where shall we go?’ I asked. Callie stood and walked away from the water, I followed. She grabbed my towel from near the trees, strode over to a pile of large rocks and spread the towel on the sand in front of the rocks. I watched, barely. Did she catch me staring? Say something. “Ahem. Uh hey, if you need hair ties I can get them for you. It’ll cost you though...”“Bubby, you know I don’t have money.”“Not money, idiot. Like a favor.” I figured I could make her do all my chores, hopefully hair ties are easy and cheap.“Oh. Like what?” She asked confusingly. “Do the dishes after dinner? We can even get hair ties now, if you want.” I looked over to her with barely enough time to catch her staring at my lap. What was she looking at? I.