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“Lennon says you’re avoiding Jolene.” E looks down at me from his inch-and-a-half of height advantage.
Ignoring him, I smile at Lennon. From my experience, smiles and placid expressions are the best ways to distract and defuse. Any hint of weakness and my brothers pounce. “I talked to Jolene at the Yard Goat yesterday,” I tell Lennon evenly. “You were there. I wouldn’t call that avoiding.”
“Except every time she’s around, you find a reason to disappear as quickly as Desmond’s patience.”
I swallow a curse and try again. “I think you’re—”
“Ooh.” E points at me. “Like when she walked into Sugar and Sips last week. You left before you ordered your coffee.”
Goddamn my attentive family. “I simply realized I was late for a job.”
“And the day we had everyone out to test our new ropes courses,” Lennon unhelpfully adds. “The second Jo showed up for the barbecue, you split.”
“I was tired from working,” I force out.
“He has been tired a lot lately.” Lennon angles his broad shoulders, effectively cutting me out of their conversation. “He hasn’t come out for beers with me in ages. Has he gone out with you?”
“Nope,” E says, completing their body barricade. “Shoots me down every time.”
Lennon nods thoughtfully. “And the only cool place for beers in town is the Barrel House.”
E’s eyes widen. “The bar Jolene owns.”
Lennon unleashes his lackadaisical hipster smirk. “Coincidence? I think not.”
“Look,” I say, shoving their body barricade apart, “you’re both being ridiculous. I’m not avoiding Jolene. It’s just awkward seeing her again after all this time.”
Lennon raises an eyebrow. “Awkward because you hooked up with her before WITSEC and you’re terrified Jake will find out?”
“No!” I shout, quickly realizing my error. Shouting draws attention. Emotional outbursts encourage more scrutiny, and Lennon has been digging for dirt on Jolene and me for weeks.
My brothers wear matching expressions of I-knew-it indignation.
I take a calming breath. “I didnothook up with Jolene. There was just thisthingthat happened before I left,not of the romantic variety. Being around her makes me a bit uncomfortable.”
Lennon snorts. “A bit.”
E cocks his head. “What kind ofthing?”
“I bet it was a schemy thing,” Lennon says.
Damn it all to hell. “There’s nothing. Forget I saidthing. Just…” I glance around wildly. “Aren’t we here to help Javier move?”
“The Bower boys!” Javier’s deep voice rings out,thank Christ, ending this painful inquisition. He and Ben join us on the curb. “What are you three gabbing about?”
“Nothing,” I say forcefully.
My brothers, thankfully, don’t mention Jolene, but I don’t like how they’re scrutinizing me. Meddlesome troublemakers, the both of them.
Javier gestures to the house. “All the small stuff has been moved. I just need help with the larger furniture. It shouldn’t take us too long.”
We’re five big, strong guys, all of us dressed for grunt work in worn T-shirts and jeans—my typical attire. Even Lennon has swapped his usual plaid for a T-shirt that saysIronicacross the front. Moving should be easy, if my brothers quit badgering me.
We get to work, lifting and lugging. Lennon and E take turns casting raised eyebrows my way, which I studiously ignore. We shoot the shit about the good old days: the time we dared Javier to streak through cheerleading practice, Ben drinking at the Spring Fair and puking off the Ferris wheel, all of us cliff jumping at Bear Lake. Javier tells me about his new girlfriend, Simone, who lives in nearby Ruby Grove. Ben attempts to glare at me when I ask how his fiancée, Kiyana, puts up with his bad breath.
“Pepperoni sticks and Cheetos, dude.” He points accusingly at the snacks Javier brought. “I have no control over my breath.”
We’re finished our moving duties, sitting on the steps of Javier’s new porch, chatting and stuffing our faces with salty snacks.
