Schooling the Jock (Nerds Vs Jocks #1) - - Eli Easton Page 0,29

me to go.”

I raised an eyebrow at him. “Really? You’re not that intolerable.”

He rolled his eyes. “I think she wanted me to get away from it for a few years. To be more independent.” He made a face. “Not that it’s bad, Eli and Micah. It’s just…”

“Challenging?”

He shrugged. “More like all-consuming. The first five years were really rough, especially since my folks were trying to get a diagnosis so they even had a clue what to do. But they’ve come a long way. Eli especially.”

“Yeah, I noticed Eli’s really affectionate with you. That’s great. I thought autistic people didn’t like to be touched.”

Jesse nodded. “None of us can touch Micah. Eli’s like that with most people. Even my mom and I can’t touch him sometimes. But, when he’s in the mood, he lets me. I think he missed me. And you were there. Like, he was maybe feeling a little jealous or insecure? And he’s upset because Micah’s in the hospital.”

That all might be true, but I knew what I saw. “Grammy Dobbs always said, the eyes speak louder than words. Eli looks at you like you’re his hero. He loves you a lot.”

Jesse’s face softened. “Yeah. I don’t know. It’s kind of a brother thing.”

“A brother thing?”

“Eli and Micah are in their own world. Micah’s non-verbal, so Eli talks for him. I guess, as their older brother, I’m sort of on the fringes of that bubble too.”

Jesse’s tone made that sound like a special thing. And I wasn’t sure what to feel about that, or this farm, or this family. He looked so ridiculously handsome standing there with the red barn behind him, the snow under his boots, and that sheepskin-lined corduroy farm jacket, hair mussed by the wind, pink cheeks, eyes bright. Like, if he were a calendar model, I’d leave it on that page for perpetuity. And he was looking at me in a way Jesse Knox had never looked at me before. His face was open and his eyes warm. Hot even? He stared at me. And I stared back. His gaze flickered to my lips.

A frisson of lust shot down my body, lighting me on fire. I suddenly had a bone-deep urge to kiss him. I coughed, shocked at myself. I mean, I was only human, and Jesse was…Jesse. But I was getting way out over my feet here. Thinking of him that way was extremely unwise.

“So! I hear there are chickens,” I said to lighten the mood.

Jesse waggled his eyebrows. “There are. Real live ones.”

“Oh, my God. This is practically a safari!” I shouted.

Jesse laughed.

Chapter Nine

Jesse

I glanced at Dobbs as he watched Eli carrying on an animated conversation with a chicken. The corners of Dobbs’s mouth turned up, and that made me smile. Anybody who was nice to my brothers got some slack from me. Of course, he’d never met Micah or seen Eli in full meltdown. That was harder for people to like.

Eli came running toward us. “Dobbs, you’re right. She is searching for treasure when she scratches the ground. She told me. I want hot chocolate now.”

Dobbs barked a little laugh at the whiplash change of subject as Eli raised his arms and I picked him up. Man, the kid weighed so little. He nestled his head on my shoulder. I mouthed the words, He’s tired, to Dobbs and carried Eli toward the house.

Inside, Mom saw the situation instantly and said, “Want hot chocolate?”

Eli nodded but didn’t raise his head. I lay him on the couch and covered him with his special weighted blanket, which he instantly tossed off.

“Don’t wanna.” He scowled at me.

I shook my head. “Wanna take off your coat?”

“No!”

“Okay, I’m taking off my jacket. How about you, Dobbs?”

“Heck yeah. Phew! Is it just me, or is it hot in here?” He took off his puffer coat and walked it toward the hall tree where I’d hung it for him earlier.

Eli clutched his own coat close to his body and watched us out of the corner of his eye. Shit. Knowing Eli, this could easily turn into a whole meltdown.

I said, “I’m gonna help Mom make cocoa.” Leaving him alone was generally a good idea when he got like this. I walked to the kitchen, that didn’t provide a view of the living room being a very old-fashioned design, but Dobbs didn’t follow.

It took me and Mom about seven minutes to create three mugs of chocolate, put the required three marshmallows in Eli’s, and return to the living room. Both