with Candy.” Since she was sprawled across his bed, he took a seat on the floor, leaning his back against the wall.
Part of her did an inward jig, but putting on her big-sister hat, she remained outwardly neutral. “It’s not like you to do the breaking up.”
He tapped his fingers on his knee, frowned at the floor. “Even I can be forced into breaking up with someone when there’s an ultimatum involved.”
“What was the ultimatum?”
Jacob closed his eyes, bounced his head against the wall. “Idiotic.”
“Ah, so it was about me.”
He opened one eye and studied her. “Self-absorbed much?”
Grace only had to lift an eyebrow to have him deflating.
“Okay, maybe partially about you, and me wanting to stick around the house more than take her out.”
“I know I should keep my mouth shut—”
“But you’re not going to.”
“She was awful.” Not nearly good enough for her brother. He had a bad habit of being unable to do anything alone. She couldn’t remember a time since high school when Jacob had gone more than a few weeks without a girlfriend. “She wasn’t even nice.”
“You’re right.” Jacob nodded solemnly. “I don’t know. I just...” He shook his head. “It’s not fun being alone.”
“You’re not alone.”
“You know what I mean.” He gave her a pointed look. “We seem to have opposite fears.”
She folded her arms across her chest and flopped back on his bed. “It’s not fear. I like being alone.”
“You like not taking a risk.”
She shrugged and stared hard at the ceiling. “So what?”
“So Barry was one guy.”
Grace knew that. Intellectually. But the intellectual part didn’t always win. She’d grown up with Barry, had known his family; going out with him should have been safe and easy.
But it hadn’t been, and the fear that it could happen again meant even the prospect of a date made her break out in hives. The prospect of something new left her feeling like an insecure teenager.
Knowing it was so damn stupid didn’t change how she felt, though.
She wondered how much Kyle dated. His trauma had stemmed from his family, but in all the years she’d known him, she couldn’t bring to mind any women in his life. Maybe the mention of a date, but never a girlfriend.
Maybe he was gay. She smiled a little, thinking of the moment in the kitchen when he’d been awfully close, and just as affected as her. No, she didn’t think that was it.
And wasn’t it interesting that when she thought of that moment and Kyle, she didn’t get that sick, nervous feeling over the prospect of something new?
“Do you know what happened to Kyle?” That wasn’t what she’d meant to ask, but, well, why not ask?
Jacob pressed his lips together, his tell. Lying had never been his strong suit. “What do you mean?”
“When we were kids. I mean, I guess everyone in Carvelle knew his parents were into drugs and stuff, but what happened to him? What makes him...the way he is? Spill it.”
“I don’t know much, Grace. Kyle’s not big on sharing. Why?”
She shrugged. “I just don’t get him.” And the fact that she wanted to get him wasn’t something she wanted to analyze.
“Give it time. He warms up after a while. You get kicked around most your life, being a little standoffish is how you cope.”
“How come nobody ever got him out of there?”
Jacob sighed, got up and then pushed her legs to the side so he could plop onto the bed next to her. “I don’t know. Bad stuff happens. You know that better than anyone.”
Yeah, she did. Maybe it would be best to leave it at that, but Grace didn’t really have that kind of self-control.
“Should I be worried about this weird thing you and Kyle have going on?”
Grace studied her toes. “What weird thing?”
“Give me a break. You’re sitting here asking about him. Then there’s the staring, the bickering, the very careful not staring. I may be a guy, but I’m not blind.”
“You’re a sensitive guy, though.”
Jacob elbowed her calf and she laughed. “You’re a catch, little brother. Stop dating anyone who walks by and maybe you won’t keep ending up alone.”
“She wasn’t that bad. All the time.”
“I wanted to tell her to go to hell every time she pranced around on those fancy heels wrinkling her nose at me.” Grace smiled blandly. “But because I love you, I didn’t.”
“I wanted to punch Kyle in the nose when I caught him staring at your ass.” Jacob smirked. “But because I like both of you, I didn’t.”
“Kyle was staring at my ass?”
“You’re happy about that?” The disgust in his tone delighted her even more.
“It’s flattering. Besides, I do have a very nice ass.” Grace flashed him a grin.
“Gross.” Jacob pushed to his feet. “On that note, I’m going to take a shower and erase this conversation from my mind.”
Grace knew she probably should erase it from her mind, too, but she didn’t want to. Not even a little bit.
CHAPTER SIX
SQUEAKS, LAUGHTER AND chatter booming from the kitchen could only mean one thing. The whole McKnight clan had descended upon the house.
Kyle sighed. They were a loud, gregarious, demonstrative bunch, and he avoided them as much as possible. Mrs. McKnight always, always hugged him. He never knew what to do about it. Mr. McKnight would pat him on the shoulder and tell him the same joke he’d been telling his high school baseball players since the beginning of time. “A man with a wood eye asks a girl with a harelip to dance. She says, ‘Would I? Would I!’ He replies, ‘Harelip! Harelip!’”
Then there was Grace’s music teacher aunt who preferred singing to actual speaking, and a cousin who was always sneaking out for smoke breaks, not always of the tobacco kind. Added to all that noise and touching, the cousin’s four-year-old daughter always insisted on crawling into Kyle’s lap anytime he sat.
Kyle turned in retreat. He would hide away in his office for a bit longer. His grumbling stomach would just have to wait.
“Where
