“No. You know everyone in town, don’t you?”
“Uh, yeah. I have lived here most of my life, Jack.”
“I can’t imagine how you kept purchasing the Brewster Building under wraps. Not only from the community, but from your entire family. From what I’ve seen, the McKays live in each other’s pockets.”
Did that bother him? “It isn’t like we don’t have secrets from each other within the McKay family, but we do spend a lot of time together.”
“By choice?”
Keely bumped him with her shoulder. “Yes, by choice. I’ve always hero-worshipped my brothers, even when they weren’t around. For years we followed our own paths, but it’s no surprise our paths converged back here. They drive me crazy sometimes and treat me like I’m twelve, but it’s fun even when it’s total chaos with all the kids.
“I love bein’ the cool aunt who takes them to the park. Or brings them to my place for a sleepover. Or buys them gifts that annoy their parents. I pinch hit as a babysitter whenever they need me. But I mostly like being around them all the time. Watching them grow and change. Watching how marriage and parenthood has changed my brothers. Seeing them happy…” Her voice caught and she turned away. Jack 112
www.samhainpublishing.com
All Jacked Up
wouldn’t understand the struggles her brothers faced to wind up where they were. How thrilled she was every damn day she got to watch them living their lives and being a part of it.
“Are you happy, Keely?” he asked softly.
“I’m happier now than I’ve been in a long time. Most days I don’t think about it. Why?”
“No reason. Wondered if you’d heard that biological clock ticking.”
“I’m not exactly over the hill.”
“I know. I’m curious. Since your brothers have so many kids, does that mean you want a bunch of your own?”
“I don’t know. Do you?”
He shrugged. “I like kids. I just never really thought about having them.”
“Maybe that’ll change when you find the right woman.”
Jack gave her that odd look again. He pushed off the truck. “I’ll see you back at the apartment.”
Weird dismissal. But nothing new when it came to Jack’s moods. She’d just opened the door, when Jack said, “Keely. Wait.”
She half-turned toward him, hating his face was obscured by shadows. “What?”
“Don’t ever change. Not for your family. Not for your career. Not for the community. Not for a man.
Definitely not for me. You’re perfect just the way you are.”
How had Jack beat her home?
Because you sat in your truck for a good fifteen minutes trying to figure out what Jack meant.
Was that little speech Jack’s way of telling her he liked her? Or worse, he respected her even when she wasn’t his type?
Pointless to fret about now. She trudged up the stairs, not knowing which Jack she’d find. Angry?
Demanding? Sweet? Aloof?
The apartment was dark. No TV. No blue glow from his laptop. She wandered to the small bedroom, wondering if he needed alone time. She honestly couldn’t blame him; her family was overwhelming, especially to a loner like Jack.
Nope. Not there either.
Her bedroom was pitch black. He’d even closed the curtains, cutting off the lone sliver of light from the streetlights at the front of the building.
“Jack?”
No answer. Rather than risk waking him by turning on a light, she rummaged in her pajama drawer in the darkness and grabbed the first thing she’d found. She stripped and yanked on the oversized T-shirt. As soon as she’d crawled between the sheets and situated herself, Jack spoke.
“You’re as wiggly as a worm.”
www.samhainpublishing.com
113
Lorelei James
Keely spooned behind him. “You’re as hot as a furnace. You feeling okay?”
“Just feeling a little…melancholy. No big deal.”
Wow. Stoic Jack confessed a crack in his emotional armor. “Was it something I did?”
“No.” He sighed. “I don’t even know how the hell to explain it.”
Keely kissed the middle of his back. “Try.”
He didn’t say anything for the longest time. Finally, he said, “Being around your family makes me miss my dad. Mostly it reinforces my regret of all we missed out on. Granted, we never had an easy relationship, but I thought we’d have time to change that. Your family makes it look so effortless.”
“It’s not. In fact it’s hard living so close. Seems I’m always overstepping boundaries. Or they’re overstepping mine. I hated when my brothers were gone and I can’t imagine only seeing them once a year.