Real Men Knit(51)

“We can’t afford it and we can’t not afford it. Now is the time to pull out all the stops. We only have one chance at this.” The fear and desperation in his voice was clear now.

Kerry reached over and patted his hand.

He looked at her coolly as he pulled his hand away. The look was not like one she was used to, and neither was his tone. “We have to at least give the place some sort of meaningful change and modernization. We need to move the furniture around, paint. Give the windows a face-lift. Perhaps new signage. Do something to let people know that, although it’s not completely changed, there is something new here.”

Something new. Jesse’s words, even his in-the-moment cool demeanor, resonated with Kerry. He was right. Hell, she’d known he was right when she’d overheard him back when she was helping Errol with his tangled project. She looked around the shop again. Lighter paint in strategic spots would bring out the beauty of Mama Joy’s dark woods, giving the shop a much-needed brightness. Bringing in some of the ideas from his Pinterest boards could certainly help modernize the place, and updating the windows could do a lot for street traffic.

“You’re right, I know. But still, we should be careful. You wouldn’t want to alienate any of the older, long-standing customers.”

“Don’t worry, we won’t. Besides, I’ve got you to be sure of that.”

Kerry’s brows tightened. “What is that supposed to mean? Are you trying to imply I’m some sort of fuddy-duddy?”

Jesse’s lips quirked as he looked her up and down. Dammit if she wasn’t suddenly self-conscious about her overly ironed top and practically to-the-knee shorts. It was as if the shorts that Val had chopped were calling her name, but just as fast as she heard their call, she let the sound fade away. She’d never be able to pull them off. And even if she could, the effect would be wasted on Jesse. Better to save them for a night out with Val. Surely, she wouldn’t go home alone wearing those. But that thought caused her to pull up short too.

Whose home would she go to? Right now, she couldn’t even take a guy back to her own place, and there was no way she’d be pulling one through here, not in Damian’s room. She grinned; the thought of Jesse having the type of run-in that she’d had with Erika did hold a certain amount of appeal. She twisted her lip. It was all wasted thinking. Wasted and silly.

She stopped Jesse with a challenging glare. “Well?”

“Of course I’m not calling you old,” he finally said after two beats too long. “I’m just saying your sweet charm will be sure to keep the seasoned set coming through.”

She let out a groan. “Whatever, dude. I got your point.” She turned, annoyed, but glad he was showing his ass and helping put the kibosh on the prickly feelings she was having. “Since you started, let’s continue with taking down the old yarns. Back up on the ladder with you,” she ordered as she set the tweeds aside. “Let’s move it. There’s only so much time left today.”

“Ker, I didn’t—” he started. She looked at him, waiting for his next words, but he stopped. “You’re right,” he said, seemingly switching gears and heading back up the ladder. “There’s only so much time left. Can you spot me and catch the yarns as I toss them down?”





15




Despite all its weird awkwardness, it was still a good day.

Plans for the shop were hashed out and firmed up. At least Kerry felt they kind of were. Jesse seemed confident, and that was enough for her to at least feel a moderate amount of relief, though she couldn’t shake the feeling that something was still off. But if they followed their schedule and had the help of the other brothers, they should be about ready to successfully fully reopen within a couple of weeks, if not sooner. Sure, that would probably not satisfy Damian, but nothing probably ever would. This way he’d at least be moderately appeased with what she hoped was steady progress. Kerry, for one, would back Jesse up. At least for now.

He’d convinced her—they were either in it to win it or they were out. “Mama Joy would be proud,” Kerry said as she picked up another box of sorted yarn to move it to the storage area. When Jesse didn’t respond, she thought maybe he hadn’t heard her. She stepped around to see him and noticed the hard set of his jaw. “Okay, note to self. Don’t bring up Mama Joy.”

Jesse’s pupils seemed to dilate as they focused on her. “No,” he said softly. “Of course you can bring her up. I’d just rather you didn’t go on with me on all that ‘she would be proud’ bullshit though.”

Where the hell had that come from?

She watched as he stalked over to the large counter and reached to pick up the remote. In seconds the shop was filled with the sounds of the local R&B station. They were playing an old nineties jam that was still in high rotation. There was smacking, flipping and rubbing down, and Kerry was getting some serious deflection vibes from the way Jesse was nodding his head as if he was suddenly all into the old groove.

Kerry rolled her eyes, then marched over and picked up the remote and flipped the switch to another station. But when a more contemporary song came on with lyrics about working and spinning on it, Kerry opted to change it back. She lowered the volume. “Fine, but you could turn it down a bit. I got your message loud and clear. I’ll temper my words, or better yet, I won’t talk at all.” She started to walk away, but his hand on the top of her arm pulled her back. She swung around to him, looking him hard in his eyes.