Alexander, Kalissa - Katlynn in Training (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) (6 page)

“That’s true,” Justin piped in. “If we’re going to be the kind of friends I anticipate, the more we know about each other the better.”

“Thank you,” Katlynn said, suddenly feeling a little weepy. “That means a lot to me. I don’t really have any friends to speak of. I’ve always been a bit of a loner, and even though I haven’t been without some companionship, my parents and I were always so close, I never felt the need to have a lot of other people in my life. I hope that doesn’t make me sound strange to you. Most people think I am odd because I was so close to my parents.” She suddenly felt incredibly sad.

Before she could grasp what was happening, both brothers leaned their bodies into her and gently wrapped her tightly in their strong arms. She had never been hugged by two people like this before, not even her parents had hugged her at the same time. It felt strange but unbelievably comforting. She didn’t want to cry, but the tears fell until her body was racked with sobs. Both brothers whispered sweet words into her hair until her tears subsided. Still they held her. Taking a breath, she finally came to her senses and squirmed, a signal they acknowledged by lowering their arms, allowing her to free herself from their grasp. She needed distance to gather herself even though a part of her longed to stay wrapped in their arms.

“I don’t think,” she said, standing up and walking a few paces from where they sat, “that I’ve ever apologized so many times in one evening. I’m so sorry for crying like that. I can’t believe I did that for the second time today.”

“How about we make a deal?” Jeremiah said softly. “You never apologize to us again, especially for being yourself, and we’ll be here for you for as long as you want us.”

“You’re going to make me cry again, and I hate crying in front of strangers.”

Katlynn put her hand up in defense to ward off the overwhelming feeling of warmth and caring that surrounded her, something she wasn’t used to. “I’m sorry,” was all she could choke out before she ran for the front door that she opened and closed it behind her without looking back. Once she was inside the safety of her own home, the tears fell once again. She prayed they wouldn’t follow her. She had not only humiliated herself by allowing her emotions to get the best of her again, but running away from them was not only childish, it was embarrassing. She had single-handedly put an end to any hope of friendship with the brothers. She didn’t think she could face them again, and goodness knows they probably thought she was a mental case and were glad to be rid of her. The fact that they didn’t follow her was testament to that.

As she was brushing her teeth, she wondered if they would want to see her again. Since they had both been so kind to her, maybe they would forgive her rudeness. She had no idea what she was going to say to them after she had made such a spectacle of herself. Although normally she would have tried to avoid them, she had to admit she wanted to see them again. The comfort she felt with them was unnatural for her. Possibly it was their acceptance of who she was without making her feel like there was something wrong with her. Well, at least they had until she had run out on them. She didn’t know what they thought of her now.

She had never met one person, let alone two, that not only held her interest like the two brothers, but made her long for their company. It wasn’t like her to feel a bond with anyone so quickly. Turning out her bedroom light, she jumped in between the clean, crisp sheets that felt cool against her warm skin. Before the sad thoughts that usually bombarded her senses when she closed her eyes could take hold, she pictured their smiling faces. When sleep claimed her, she dreamed of two men whose beautiful blue eyes were looking into hers with such promise that she thought her heart might break.

Chapter Six

The following day, Katlynn woke to immediately tackle a few more boxes. She needed to keep busy. It felt good when the kitchen began to resemble a kitchen once again. She found a spot for her coffeemaker and even cleared enough space off on one of the counters for the microwave. She checked her cell phone for the time. It was already after three in the afternoon. She had been up since seven and her stomach was beginning to growl. She had skipped both breakfast and lunch. After the feast Justin had prepared the night before, she wasn’t surprised it had taken this long for her to even think about food again. What she really needed was to go shopping. The crackers she unpacked were stale and the cereal box had opened during the move, its contents ending up at the bottom of one of the boxes. She didn’t even have a can of soup to open.

She took her winter jacket out of the closet and was just about to reach for the door knob when she heard a familiar knock on her door. Her heart lifted.

“Hi, Justin.”

“Hey, Kat. I’m going out for groceries and thought you might need some supplies. Do want to come with me?”

“That’s really sweet of you, considering I wasn’t sure you’d ever want to speak to me again after the way I ran out on you and Jeremiah last night.”

“Don’t be silly. We understand how raw your emotions are. Like I said before, losing one parent is devastating, but losing two so close together, that’s really tough.”

Not wanting his compassion to start a waterfall of tears again, Katlynn looked away for a moment while she composed herself. Trying to smile, she said, “Actually I was just on my way out to the store. I’m out of everything. Maybe we should take separate cars.”

“Not necessary. I drive a Land Rover, so there’s plenty of room.”

Katlynn locked the front door behind her and followed Justin out to the carport. He held the car door for her. Watching him walk over to his side of the car, she felt a sense of relief. He had made it very easy for her to save face. She had been sure he and Jeremiah thought she was some kind of nut and would have tried to avoid further contact with her. She was so happy to be wrong.

The grocery store was only a short distance away. Another reason why her parents had decided to live here, it was convenient to stores, movies theaters, and restaurants. Before they went inside the grocery store, she and Justin exchanged cell phone numbers in case they became separated. However, for the most part, they stayed close, pushing their carts up and down each aisle together.

“You can put some things in my cart if you want to,” Justin offered.

“Thanks,” she said, pushing a couple cans of soup into the side of her cart. I think I’m just about done for today. I’ll come back another time and finish up. It’s the paper goods that take up all the room. And lugging all this from the carport and up the steps is going to take me forever.”

“You need to invest in a fold-up cart. I have one in the back of the car. It saves trips back and forth.”

“That’s a really good idea. Thanks.”

They were standing in the checkout line when Justin brought up the night before. Maybe he wasn’t going to make this as easy as she had thought.

“Can you promise me the next time you feel like running away, that you’ll stop yourself. Believe me, running away is never a good thing. It’s not healthy.”

“I told you I was sorry. I thought you understood. Why does it still matter?” She said it more sharply than she had intended. Running away from them had been her only defense against wanting them both to keep her in their arms and never let her go. She knew she had behaved badly, but speaking to her like this now, in a public place, wasn’t exactly fair.

“Why?” Justin stepped back as if she had slapped him. “Because we were a mess after you left…debating on whether we should follow you or leave you alone…wondering if you were okay. You worried us sick. Are you telling me you don’t get that?”

A woman with a small child came up behind Katlynn, bumping her with an overflowing cart. Not wanting the woman or the cashier to overhear them, she whispered, “Can we finish this conversation in the car?”

“Sure.” Justin turned his back toward her and started emptying his cart onto the conveyer belt. He placed a separator between their two orders.

With his back still to her, he moved closer to the cashier where he appeared to be concentrating on swiping his bank card along the electronic payment terminal.

Regardless of how upset he might be with her, he did help bag her groceries and then loaded them in the back of his Land Rover. He was right. There was plenty of room for both their orders. Once she was settled in the car, she strapped herself in with the seat belt and leaned back, waiting for him to navigate his way out of the parking lot before continuing their conversation that she had ended in the store.

When he had the car back on the open road, and still said nothing, she turned toward him. His eyes were on the road ahead. He didn’t look her way.

“Justin, I know what I said back there hurt your feelings, and I’m sorry. It’s just so hard for me. I’ve always had a problem opening up to people. Last night was not the norm for me.”

“Last night wasn’t the norm for me or Jeremiah either. We don’t usually have that kind of deep connection with someone we’ve just met.”

“Me, too. I hope I haven’t put a wedge between us.”

“You haven’t, but you have to be honest with us. Don’t turn away from us like you did last night again. Please.”

“I can’t promise you that I won’t, but I can promise you that I’ll try not to. And if I do, please know that I’m trying and I need you to be patient with me. Okay?”

“Neither Jeremiah or I have been known for our patience. But in your case, we’ll try our best.”

“Thank you.” She smiled. “Just the fact that you and I are talking like this speaks volumes. Communicating my feelings is not my strong suit. I want to keep you and Jeremiah in my life.”

“If you mean that, then you have to come back for dinner tonight. And I promise, we’ll keep the conversation light. Do you play poker?”

“No. I’ve never played.”

“We’ll teach you. Jarred taught us to play and my dad taught him. Of course, we’ll only play for pennies, especially since you’re a novice.”

“What do you normally play for?

“That depends on who we’re playing with,” he said, his voice low and husky.

Little tremors swept through her body, putting her on edge.
Stop it! You’ll ruin everything. You’re just feeling happy because he’s not still mad at you.

“Is this a setup?” She laughed, feeling so much better now they were back to the way things were before she ran out of his house last night. “I mean, you know I can’t win.”

“Not to worry. By the time Jarred gets here, you’ll be a pro.”

“Well then, I guess you and Jeremiah will have to teach me well.” Katlynn smiled. “That is, if I’m to beat Jarred.”

“We don’t even beat Jarred. But you might have an advantage over us since he hasn’t known you his whole life. Of course, we might just have to play several times a week to get you up to speed.”

“I can be a pretty quick study when I make my mind up to do or learn something. Did I tell you that I play piano? Not well enough to do anything with it, but when I was ten, I wanted to take lessons. We didn’t have a piano. Not something that’s easy to move around the country. Anyway, my father agreed, but his orders were changed and six months later we moved. Once I found out about the change in plans, I applied myself so intensely to the remaining lessons that I was able to play Beethoven’s Lament before we packed up for our next duty station.

“Very impressive.” Justin grinned. “However, you can’t compare poker to the piano. Poker not only takes skill, it takes a certain amount subterfuge that not everyone can master or at least master well.”

“We’ll see.” She grinned back. “Let the lessons begin.”

* * * *

Once again, Justin had prepared a delicious meal. This time he had made spicy chili with homemade bread that melted in Katlynn’ s mouth. For dessert, they finished the remainder of the chocolate cake. Justin must have primed Jeremiah because there was no mention of the evening before and what had transpired. Katlynn was grateful that they had decided to give her another chance.

After dinner, Jeremiah set up for their first game of poker together. He patiently explained everything to Katlynn, making her question Justin’s statement that neither brother had patience. She was impressed with his teaching style that was easygoing and encouraged questions no matter how simple.