Real Men Knit(34)

And just like that he was gone. Can’t stay here. Well then, where was she supposed to stay?

Phone first. She thought of calling Val, but dammit, how could she interrupt her friend at peak watering time? What sort of homegirl would that make her?

She didn’t know what to do, so instead, she would figure it out on the street. Lucas had said five minutes, and now she could hear her frantic neighbors making their way out into the hall. Hell, maybe this was really serious.

Kerry found her duffel and threw some clothes in the bag, along with her laptop, cell, chargers and toiletries. Surely she didn’t need all that much by way of clothes. She’d be back in time to get ready for work at the center and the shop. Kerry frowned before throwing in another top and a sundress and two extra pairs of underwear. This really sucked. Here she was all packed up and not a place to go.

By the time she hit the street she saw that old Mrs. Robins was already there. The older woman looked none too worse for the wear. Her pin curls were perfectly covered with a flowered bonnet and she was wearing a trench coat over her good housedress. She didn’t have a duffel or anything so crass but instead a cute little red-and-gold pullie carry-on that made Kerry wonder if she always had this to-go bag packed and also made her think on her life and how woefully unprepared she was for just about everything.

“Are you okay, Kerry dear?” Mrs. Robins said. “Did you call your mother?” Oh God no, a middle-of-the-night freak-out from her mother was not the cherry she needed on this sundae. “Do you have somewhere to go? You are welcome to come out to Queens with me if you’d like; my daughter will be here to pick me up shortly. They are saying something about housing over at the shelter, but I don’t know. I’d rather not think of you in one of those beds alone this time of night.”

“Don’t worry, Mrs. Robins. She’ll be fine,” came a deep voice from over Kerry’s shoulder.

Kerry turned and met Jesse’s gaze. “What are you doing here? How did you even know?”

He made a face. “It was a full-on explosion, Kerry Girl. You could hear it all the way to the shop.” He said this as if she was the dingiest of bats out there.

Mrs. Robins chuckled.

“Well, still, that’s far off.”

“It’s not that far,” he answered. “And besides, Lucas called me. Said something about you needing to be rescued.” He grinned wide. “Twice in one night? Don’t let me find out you’re going to make a habit of this.”

Kerry balked. “Listen, I didn’t need your rescuing then, and I surely don’t need it now.”

He looked at her and blinked but nodded in the affirmative. “Okay, so you’ve got somewhere to go? Is somebody picking you up?”

It was on the tip of her lips to say “Val,” but shit, he had probably gotten some form of the same sexy-times text from Craig that she had gotten from Val.

“I hear they are setting people up in the shelter. A night should be fine.”

“Kerry?” This came from Mrs. Robins, and it was posed as a question but had all the feeling of a warning.

Shit. She knew when she was good and stuck. Kerry smiled at the older woman. “Don’t worry, Mrs. Robins. I’m not staying at the shelter. I’m fine.”

Mrs. Robins gave her a long look, then looked over at Jesse. She finally cracked a slight smile and walked away with her little to-go bag when Jesse gave her his own nod, as if he was somehow taking over and handling the situation. What the total hell was that?

He let out a breath. “You know, Kerry Girl, sometimes your stubbornness can go just a little too far. Why you scaring the old lady like that?”

“And why are you being such a Neanderthal dick?” she grumbled under her breath, afraid to talk too loud, not for Jesse’s sake but in case Mrs. Robins might overhear.

Still, Jesse leaned forward and took the duffel from her hand. Kerry wanted to pull it back but felt lighter as soon as he took the weight from her.

“Come on, then,” he said, then paused and reached out his hand, going for Kerry’s head. This time she ducked, but Jesse was fast as he pulled the wet shower cap from her head. The sprinkling droplets splashing her face, surprising her. Crap, she’d forgotten she had it on.

“Did you even dry off?” he asked, looking down at her body. Suddenly the coolness of the night air and being under his perusal put her braless nipples on full alert.

He shook his head, then sighed. “Of course you didn’t. Let me get you back to the house before I have to hurt somebody out here.”

“What are you talking about?” Kerry said.

Jesses raised a brow, then leaned in close to her ear. “You looking all hot and sexy already almost got me into one fight tonight. I don’t need to push my luck.”





9




What was he doing bringing Kerry back here? Worse, why did he admit that she looked sexy?

And that was the moment Jesse knew that he had fucked up.

He and Kerry were standing in the residence living room, awkwardly shifting like two kids suddenly thrust together on the gym floor in the middle of a school dance. What else could it be besides awkward? It was two thirty a.m. on a hot-as-hell August night, and he was alone with the woman who, though he wouldn’t admit it, yes, shit yes, he had been secretly fantasizing about for the past ten years, and now here she was standing in front of him freshly showered and braless with no place else to go. This was a lot. A whole fucking lot.