It's All Relative(41)

Gran patted his thigh again. “Now, you don’t fret over me. Jessica Marie is a fabulous caregiver. I swear, sometimes that girl frets more over my happiness than her own.” She sighed. “At least she finally got smart and dumped that boy she was seeing.”

Kai looked up from where he’d been studying the aged woman’s hand in his own. Her skin seemed so frail and fragile in contrast to his. It was almost startling how different their hands looked, one on top of the other.

“Jeremy?” Kai couldn’t hide the contempt in his voice when he said that name. He wasn’t sure what had really happened between him and Jessie, but he knew that the man hadn’t been faithful to her. That made him a lowlife in Kai’s book. A very stupid lowlife. Jessie was amazing.

Seeming happy that Kai knew a bit about Jessie’s past, Gran nodded. “Yeah, that one was a piece of work. I never did trust the hoodlum.”

Kai grinned. Something about his grandmother not liking Jessie’s ex made a swarm of happy butterflies lift Kai’s belly. He looked down briefly as his brow bunched together. That was an odd feeling to have.

Confused, Kai made a show of checking the time. “Sorry, Gran, I should go.” He gave her an apologetic smile, but really, he needed to leave, needed to get back on the road and clear his head. He was really looking forward to the long, peaceful drive to work now.

Nodding, his grandmother pulled his body toward her so she could kiss his cheek. “Of course, dear.” After their long hug, she once again gave him an odd, appraising look. “Have a good day at work.”

Kai stood up and gave her a breezy smile. “I will.” Pointing at her with a stern finger, he added, “You take it easy when you get home. No tree climbing or anything.”

She laughed at him, and he leaned down for another quick hug. “I’ll wait at least a week for that, I promise.”

Laughing, he shook his head. “You better.” He indicated the oversized muffin he’d brought for her. “Make sure and eat your breakfast before the nurses steal it. I brought them donuts, but you never know.” He gave her a teasing wink, and she promised that she would.

Kai walked into the hall, then glanced back at the door to see her smiling and shaking her head at him. He silently wished her well for the day, and then silently did the same for himself. Hopefully he could get through the day without being stung. Again.





Jessie was having a long week. After seeing Kai Monday night, life had kept her too busy to see him again for a few days. Well, life and taking care of Grams. Jessie found that she missed talking to him face to face. Missed it in a way that was a little disturbing to her.

Whenever she thought about the moment she’d told him she was falling for him, Jessie mentally cringed. God, what the hell had that been about? She couldn’t fall for Kai. It wasn’t allowed, wasn’t acceptable, and definitely wasn’t a path she could go down. Thank goodness Kai had been asleep and hadn’t heard her. How mortifying if he had.

While getting dressed for her Friday morning shift at the clinic, Jessie thought about the past couple of days. Instead of visiting Kai, she had spent her free time with Grams. Helping her to recover went a long way in helping Jessie move on. Kind of. Grams had a way of bringing up Kai every five minutes. She hadn’t appeared to be testing the waters or anything, but out of concern for her grandson, she mentioned him frequently.

She was always asking Jessie to check on him, to make sure he was getting along in the city okay. Finding out where everything was could be confusing to a new person. Jessie constantly assured Grams that she would take him sightseeing when she got some free time. She’d even told her that they might go exploring this weekend. Grams had loved the idea.

She also seemed to be in love with the idea of setting Kai up. Jessie hated whenever Grams asked her for advice or help in finding Kai a girl. He was fine being young, single, and free. He didn’t need to be saddled with a relationship right now. Although, in a bit of a shocking revelation, Grams had hinted that she wasn’t necessarily talking about a “relationship” for Kai; she’d even used the phrases “sow his oats” and “explore his options”. Jessie still had a hard time believing the old woman was actually suggesting her grandchild should sleep around. Shouldn’t all parental types be opposed to such a thing? At least on the surface?

Jessie felt heat rising in her cheeks as she pulled her hair into a curly French twist. She couldn’t even think about Kai’s love life without thinking of their intimate moment together. It haunted her sometimes, slipped into her mind at the most inopportune times. For that reason alone, it was a small relief to her that she hadn’t seen him in a few days, regardless of how much she missed him. Kai had a way of looking at her, being close to her, or even just breathing on her that instantly shoved Jessie’s thoughts into the “do not enter” zone. Space was good. Distance was good.

And hard.

Jessie was ready to see him again. Aching for it really. Once she was home for the day, she frequently found herself imagining that she was knocking on his door. She pictured how surprised he would be as he laughingly swept her into a hug. And of course, he was almost always shirtless in her fantasies. Jessie couldn’t help it. He had a pleasing shape. Wrong as it was, she ached to see his body again, too.

Jessie did often wonder how he was getting along without her. Not that he needed her or anything, but she liked to think that he was missing her as much as she was missing him. What he was doing wasn’t as much of a mystery. Jessie and Kai usually exchanged texts throughout the day or talked on the phone. He also called Grams a lot, and the old woman seemed to relay every single in-depth conversation they had back to Jessie. If Jessie were a different sort of person, she might have been a little jealous over how close Kai and Grams were. But she wasn’t that type of girl. And really, it only reaffirmed why they had to stay away from each other. He was family—beloved family. There was just no way to get around that fact.