more painful to watch. When the townhouse next door to hers had opened up at the exact same time he was looking to find a new place to live, their group of friends thought it was a perfect twist of fate. Someone needed to be near her to make sure she didn’t sink into that dark place where they could all see she was headed. He was the natural one to do so.
Cassie and Jake emerged from the house, carrying his grandfather’s prized leather recliner between them. They all loved that chair and the security it represented, but had decided long ago that Cassie should be the one to keep it since she lived in their grandfather’s house. He looked at Cassie questioningly while he ran over to relieve her of her side of the chair, but by doing so, he halted the forward momentum of it to the truck.
“Why are you carrying this to the moving truck?”
She shrugged like it was no big deal, but he knew better. The two of them were six and Colton was ten when their parents died in a plane crash and they moved in with their grandfather. They never knew him before that point, but the twins managed to bond with their grandfather through this chair. He’d spent many hours reading to them in it and this chair was still Cassie’s favorite place to curl up and read in her bedroom.
“Since Jake moved in, we have too much furniture. Unfortunately, you don’t have much after last year. You need it more than I do now.”
“Cass, I can’t—”
She shook her head. “Yes, you can and will. This chair has good karma and you need that in your new place. Consider it your housewarming gift from me.”
He searched her eyes and could see her sincerity. He leaned over and gave her a kiss on the forehead. “Thanks, Cass.”
“Holding a chair here and it’s much heavier than it looks. Less loving, more moving.” Jake sounded annoyed.
He smirked at Jake, although he could secretly admit he was feeling the weight of it, too. “Are you already worn out, old man? We’ve hardly even started.”
“Bite me!”
“Aw man, you’ve totally got the wrong twin for that one. I know I’m irresistible and all, but you’re gonna break Cass’s heart.” He smiled at Cassie and she just rolled her eyes at him. “Besides, it would never work out for us. She’s already bought her dress and she’d never let either of us hear the end of it if she had to return it now.”
They’d started to make some forward momentum again, but now Cassie stepped in front of Jake, halting progress. She pressed her hand against his chest and looked at Jake with sultry eyes.
Chris didn’t need to see this. He rolled his eyes.
Her voice was low when she said, “And believe me, you really want to see that dress.”
“You know I’m counting the days, darling.” Jake dipped his head to nuzzle on Cassie’s neck where her long red hair was pulled up in a ponytail, jostling the chair they held at the same time.
Chris tried to ignore the spasms of pain radiating out from his knee, while he waited for Jake and Cassie to stop cuddling. Damn, it was going to be a long day.
* * *
Julie heard the moving van pull up out front and she quickly closed the top of the coffee carafe. She walked out her front door which was actually on the side of her house, facing Chris’s front door. The townhouses were more like apartments in that way. As she pulled it closed behind her, Jake and Cassie hopped out of the cab of the moving truck while Chris and Colton pulled his truck up behind it.
Her glance lingered over Chris. He already looked worn out. While he definitely looked better and had begun to bulk back up to his former muscular frame, there was no hiding the fact he wasn’t sleeping. The dark circles under his eyes screamed his exhaustion. He wouldn’t appreciate her observance though so she turned her gaze to the rest of the group.
She smiled at them in greeting. “Good morning, everyone. I hope it’s okay, but I set up breakfast in my dining room if you need caffeine or sustenance before all that work.” She nodded her head at the trucks behind them.
“Okay?” Cassie asked as she smirked at Julie. “Have you ever known these guys to turn down food?”
Julie smiled back. “That’s kind of what I was counting