Chapter 25
25
KELLI
T hat Sunday, Josh and Brian drove down to Boston to clear out as much of my stuff from storage as they could fit in Josh’s truck. Alex and Danny had moved about half of my house into the storage unit, leaving just enough for the house to look staged for the realtor they hired. Logan and I had entirely too much fun on Sunday evening and Monday going through all the boxes and seeing what goodies they had brought back. We found a box of my kitchen gadgets that have found new homes in the cupboards, and tons of boxes of my clothing, shoes, and accessories. There were a few boxes with knick-knacks that we distributed through the house, and some books and random photo albums that would need to find a home, too.
“I declare that it’s time for a dinner break.” Logan flops onto the floor next to me.
“I like that plan, but I don’t think I can move from this spot. The fun has worn off and now, I’m just tired.” I lay back, joining him sprawled out on the living room floor.
“That’s not a problem. We can lay here while Josh hauls the unopened boxes into the garage storage and the ones with books and photo albums to the basement. Brian will cook us dinner.”
“I heard that,” Brian hollers from his office down the hall.
“You were meant to!” Logan yells back. “Go get Josh for us and tell him we need his big boy muscles.”
I erupt into over-exhausted giggles. “Stop teasing him about that.”
He rolls to his side, tucking a rogue curl behind my ear. “It’s all out of love and a little jealousy. We can’t all be blessed with cocks as thick as an arm.”
Josh’s head pops over the railing from upstairs, staring down at us. “I don’t know how to feel right now.”
“Proud, buddy. Now get down here and help, I can’t move another box,” Logan whines.
Josh moves the rest of the boxes to where we ask for them to go, then enjoys a beer with Logan and I on the outdoor sofa. Surprisingly, Brian grills chicken and veggies for us. He even sets the outdoor table for dinner so Logan and I can continue to be lazy.
Brian sets the last plate of food onto the center of the table before calling us over. “Do you feel more settled with more of your stuff here?” He asks, putting a chicken breast on my plate.
“Yeah, I do. I feel bad taking over your storage room though.”
“Don’t. We were thinking of going shopping tomorrow. I know you love cozy pillows and blankets and colorful curtains. We can pick some out tomorrow for the couches and chairs.” Brian adds some of the grilled vegetables on my plate before passing them to Logan.
“We also want you to pick out new sheets and décor for your room.” Josh squeezes my knee under the table, looking a little uncomfortable. “We thought you might not want to use the ones you already had.”
“Because he jacked off on my bed? Yeah, that’s a good assumption.” I don’t mean for it to sound harsh, but that photo still pops in my head sometimes unbidden. “I love the ones you have in there, can’t I just use those?”
“Of course you can. We just want you to feel like that room is yours. Like this home is yours.” Logan looks lovingly at me from across the table.
“I do. I just don’t need anything else for it. The rest of my décor will make it up here eventually. Though, I will never complain about fuzzy pillows and blankets.”
“Will you complain about new lingerie? Because we are getting you that, too.” Logan winks.
“Why would I need that? I thought you liked me naked.” I wink back while Brian groans from the head of the table next to me.
“We do,” Josh answers quickly. “We know the rest of your lingerie was taken, and we would like to do that for you. There’s also the bonus of getting to see you in them.”
“I guess I can accept that.” I certainly wasn’t going to fight him on that. What girl doesn’t love new undies? “I can’t believe I have three guys willing to spend the day shopping with me. This is every girl’s fantasy.”
After dinner is cleaned up, we all head to the basement to organize my books and photos into the bookshelves. It would have been quick work, but Brian opened the first photo album and soon we were all sprawled on the couch looking through my old photos.
“Look at Brian!” Logan’s loud laugh echoes through the room as he holds up a picture of Brian, Danny, and I. Brian’s new braces are on full display in a wide smile, a puka shell necklace around his neck, with a terrible bowl cut on the top of his head.
“Fuck you.” Brian snatches the photo from him, putting it back on the page.
“I thought he was cute, and the puka shells were all the rage,” I say, nudging Brian with my shoulder.
“Speaking of cute, look at little Kelli.” Josh pulls out my soccer photo from when I was nine. My curls were actually pretty tame for the photo, a large gap-toothed grin on my face. “You’re going to make the most adorable babies.”
Brian looks down at me, his brown eyes boring into mine. “Yeah, she really will.” His large hand slips into mine, his thumb stroking over mine. We all flip through more childhood photos, Brian and I telling embarrassing stories about each other as we go. Josh pulls out a photo, slipping it to Brian and I without saying anything. It’s a photo of Brian and I sitting below his willow tree, my head resting on his shoulder. He sets it aside, then leans toward me when I raise an eyebrow at him. “I’ll give it back. I just want to get it blown up and framed.” These were the moments that I understood his resolve to focus on our friendship. If things didn’t end up with a happy ever after, we would lose all this, a lifetime of memories and friendship. Not that it made it any easier to not pursue the future we dreamed of together.
I was utterly exhausted by the end of the night. Josh pulled me into his bed with him after my shower, snuggling me into his hard body. His cedar and vanilla scent enveloped me. “You really think I’ll make pretty babies?”
He nuzzles his head into my neck, “Yeah, I really do.”
“I think you would make pretty babies, too.” My voice gets quieter as sleep beckons to me.
“If I made them with the right person, they might be.”
“Mmm,” I coo as I snuggle further into him, “could you see me being that right person?”
His chest rumbles behind me as his arms tighten around me. “Yeah, love, I could. Go to sleep now, we have a busy day tomorrow. If you’re trying to stay awake for Logan, don’t. It’s just you and I tonight. He got called into work while you were in the shower and will most likely be gone most of the night.”
“He is going to be so tired. He helped me run all over this house all day. His back was killing him, especially after our sparring this morning.”
“He’ll be okay; he’s used to an unpredictable schedule.” His fingers lightly scratch up and down my arm, melting me into the mattress. His soft lips kiss the side of my head. “Go to sleep, baby, we have a busy day of spoiling you ahead.”
The events of the last five weeks replayed in my head as I tried to drift to sleep. I knew that something was missing from my life before, but I found those missing pieces here. These boys have taken me in, no questions asked, despite knowing that having me here would potentially put them in danger. They have gone above and beyond to make sure I feel safe, cherished, and at home with them. My life has taken this unexpected and unpredictable turn, but I can’t even be mad about it. It was crazy this all started with one unruly patient, and here I am falling in love while hiding out.
My stalker has been suspiciously quiet this week; the guys swore they weren’t hiding things from me and he just hasn’t reached out, minus that map. Maybe he was finally giving up, which was my hope. If I came out of hiding, started applying for jobs and visited Boston, would he come back after me again? I wasn’t sure if I was ready to face that possibility, but it kind of seemed like the only choice. Josh said I would have to wear a hat tomorrow to try to block my face from any security cameras. It seemed like too much and not enough at the same time. For the first time in almost two weeks, my stalker chased me through my dreams.
The morning workout with Josh was brutal. The sleep I got after Josh was able to pull me from my nightmare was fitful at best. Logan was still at work by the time we had showered and eaten breakfast. He called Brian to tell him he might finally have a lead on a big case, so he wouldn’t be home for a while and we should head to the stores when we were ready, that he would meet us there later.
This was my first time out of this house since I got here over five weeks ago, and I was beyond ready for it. I missed civilization, and an ice-cold coffee while shopping felt like the perfect outing with the guys. I pulled on some cut off shorts, a loose crop top, and my Chucks before pulling my hair into a bun under one of Brian’s baseball caps. We filed into Brian’s jeep and headed into town.