Page 21 of One More Time
“Do you need that much space? It’s a three-bedroom house.”
I paused for a beat, considering whether to tell him why I needed the space, but then I figured I might as well. It wouldn’t be a secret.
“My brother is coming up to stay with me. He, uh, has cancer. It’s pretty aggressive. He’s already done three rounds of chemo and doesn’t want to do more. He wants to be in Alaska. This way, he’s got the space he needs.”
Blake studied me for a moment before reaching out and clapping his hand on my shoulder, squeezing firmly. “That totally sucks, and I’m sorry. I’m glad you’re going to be there for him. That’s what I would do for anyone in my family. If you need anything, just, uh…” He released my shoulder, his words petering off. “Well, just let me know.”
“I appreciate it. I went to see Derek during his last round of treatment, and he was just fucking miserable. The odds are not good. So…” I took a breath to steel myself and keep the pain at bay. “I just want to be there for him. He’s always been there for me. You’ll meet him. He’s a pretty social guy. I’m sure he’ll be down here at the café gossiping with Hazel and Phyllis on the regular, even if he feels like hell.”
Blake’s eyes crinkled at the corners, although his gaze quickly shifted to somber again. “You never know how things will turn out.”
I could sense he didn’t know how to shift off the depressing part of this conversation. “You never do. I’ll close on my house next month, and he’ll move up sometime after that. They say he’s got maybe a year without treatment. He wants to be here, so that’s the plan.”
Blake nodded. “If you need any help moving in, just give a shout.”
“Good to know. Thanks, man. I’m sure I’ll see you soon.”
He clasped me on the shoulder once more as we passed. Walking down the street another moment later, I saw McKenna looking down at the sidewalk in front of the headquarters for Fireweed Industries. She rested her hand on her hip. As I got closer, I noticed she was looking at a kitten inside a planter box covered in snow.
I picked up my pace, stopping beside her. “That’s one tiny kitten.”
Chapter Thirteen
McKenna
I lifted my gaze from the tiny, shivering white kitten to Jack’s. “Yeah, he or she is. I’m going to have to take it with me.”
I leaned down and scooped the kitten up. The poor thing had to be close to frozen. I held it up for a minute before glancing at Jack. “She’s a girl.”
Unzipping the top of my coat, I tucked the kitten inside. “You’re spending the day with me at work, Snowy.”
“You can just show up with a kitten to work?” Jack asked.
I looked over at Jack and shrugged. “One of the few advantages to being a family member with an ownership stake in the corporation is being able to randomly show up with a kitten. I’ve never done it before, but it will be fine. I try not to pull rank, but I think this is important.”
Jack’s eyes were so blue and stunning that they took my breath away. When he smiled, my belly felt fluttery and liquid. “I think pulling rank in this case is critical,” he said somberly with a teasing glint in his gaze. “I expect an update on how Snowy is doing later today.”
Oh, how I wished I didn’t react so strongly to Jack! But all the man had to do was smile, and my hormones were like a pinball machine, spinning and pinging and whistling.
“I’ll give you an update,” I managed.
“By the way, how’s your knee?”
“The scrape has pretty much healed, just a little bruising left.”
He nodded and winked. For fuck’s sake! Now he was winking? My hormones didn’t even know what to do with that.
“See you later.” He lifted his coffee cup in a little wave and began walking.
Before I could think better of it, I called out, “Have you been to locals’ night?”
He turned back. “I haven’t, but the guys at the fire station tell me I should go.”
“You should go. It’s tonight.”
He smiled again. “I might see you there.”
My belly spun into several dizzying flips. I watched him walk off, my eyes lingering on his broad shoulders and his easy gait.