Real Men Knit(49)

14




So, this isn’t awkward at all. Nope. Not. At. All.

Kerry was unpacking her life for the next few weeks, putting her drawers in a drawer that most likely had recently been holding Damian’s drawers. Blah. The circular thinking was a little too close for comfort, and though she could still smell the scent of the cleaning wipes that Damian had used to disinfect, she thought about giving things another quick wipe down.

As she reached into her bag, her hand hit a distinct lump, and she suddenly worried over where to stash her old friend. Keep it safe, Val had said. As if anywhere here in this house with Jesse just down the hall was safe. She was going to lose her mind thinking of him and it, and worrying over the sound traveling through the walls. Shit, maybe she should have left it back at her place. But then she’d only worry about the firefighters in her apartment finding it and playing a quick game of toss the vibrator. Kerry shook her head and decided she’d keep it with the rest of her personal feminine products. Not that any of the guys probably cared about peeking in on her life, but if they did, one look at the bag with her extra-long ultra-thin winged pads, plus tampons, and they were sure to not venture further in their explorings. Kerry slammed the drawer shut. This was ridiculous. She was going on twenty-seven and now had to consider these things? Living with boys was stupid.

Going over to the closet, Kerry admired the slim felt-covered hangers Damian had left free for her. He’d allotted twelve inches of space in his closet. With the way his suits were placed, she was almost afraid to let her things touch his perfect lineup. Still, she quickly ran out of space, so there was nothing to it. Damian would just have to deal. She paused—or she would. Either way, Kerry carefully inched over each suit one quarter inch at a time and claimed another two inches. She had a couple of blouses, a pair of cotton and Lycra pants and a skirt that were perfect for interviews that she really didn’t want to fold and have to reiron if the opportunity arose.

Everything out and nothing left to do but start her new not-quite-normal, Kerry straightened her back and prepared to head back downstairs. She didn’t know what to expect, especially after the odd scene she’d returned to once she’d squared things with her landlord and retrieved her stuff.

She had been able to tell immediately that she’d walked in on a serious scene between the brothers. They all fell silent, and the energy was tense, making Kerry just want to take her bags and bolt. But Noah seemed to recover first and was at her side with a smile and quick looks between himself, Jesse and Damian. “Don’t mind these two, Kerry,” he said, taking her duffel from her hand and heading for the stairs. “They just like to go at it. And hey, if Damian’s bed is as hard as his head, you can always use mine. I’ll be on tour, so it’s safe.” He grinned. “And even if I’m not.”

She gave his arm a smack, though she knew he was only kidding. “Thanks, but no thanks. I’m sure it will be fine.”

“Yeah, I’m sure it will be, jokester,” Damian said. “Besides, there is hardly any privacy up there with you and Lucas and that open space.”

“There is that,” Lucas said. “Not that I wouldn’t enjoy the company.”

“I bet you would. You hate being alone,” Noah said. “You’re probably missing me like crazy now.”

“Yeah, don’t count on it. Who’s missing who? You’re the one who moved out so quick.”

“I moved for work. It was just much easier.”

“We all moved for work,” Damian added. “But here we are now.”

Kerry looked to Jesse. He was oddly quiet and, more strangely, seriously taking in the exchange between his brothers.

“I’m sure Damian’s room will be just fine,” she said, then looked over at Damian. “Thanks again.”

“Yeah, sure,” he responded. Then nodded. “Listen. I’ve got to go. But I made some space for you. It should be, um, enough.”

She raised a brow but smiled and nodded. “More than enough.” What was going on here? It felt weird, but not like their normal weird, and not like it was just about her. Kerry felt like there was a puzzle piece that someone was unfairly holding away from her.

Damian turned to Jesse. “We’ll talk more later once I look into exactly where we stand. In the meantime, I guess we’re clear and you just proceed.”

To that Jesse didn’t respond but only nodded, which gave Kerry even more unease. What the hell had happened while she was packing at her place? But Damian just left, and with him gone Jesse tried to do a quick cover, finally smiling at Kerry and walking over to take her bags.

“I’ve got them,” she said, stopping him. She gave hard looks to each of those who remained as she picked up her suitcase and threw it across her body. “I’m going to unpack. You guys just continue what you were doing.”

When Kerry made it back down to the shop, though, it was quiet. Noah and Lucas were not in the main room, and only Jesse was left. He was taking yarns down from a display that had been on one of the top shelves for the past six months.

“Are you sure this will be okay?” she asked.

“What?” he responded, pausing where he was on the small ladder to turn her way. She walked toward him to give him a hand. “You don’t think I should take these down now? I figured I might as well get moving. We’ve got a lot to do. Damian is right about getting money in here fast.”