For two seconds more, Tonya’s eyes stayed closed, her lips parted.
“Damn.” If there wasn’t a kid only a room away, he’d definitely accept that unwitting invitation. “Soon,” he promised her, knowing neither of them would last much longer. Now that he understood why she threw up barriers, he hoped to help her tear them down.
“Oh.” Gaze searching his, Tonya cleared her throat and smoothed her hair. “What was that for?”
“For being so amazing.” She’d not only taken in a boy with a lot of baggage, but she’d openly accepted a pregnant, deaf cat. That made her pretty damned special.
“Amazing?”
“And hot too.” His gaze dipped over her. “Definitely hot.”
She took the sexual compliment better than the emotional one. Pretending exasperation, she started to say something, but when he walked on down the hall, she again hurried to catch up.
Standing in the open doorway to Kevin’s new room, he immediately saw the problem. Large, clunky furniture filled the space to the point he wondered how they could get to the closet.
Squeezed in close beside him in the doorway, Tonya said quietly, “These are his things.” Giving an embarrassed wave at the disreputable mattress, the dresser missing a drawer, the threadbare quilt, she added, “I wasn’t sure how—or if—I should replace them right away, or if he’d mind...”
“Yeah.” Mouth firming, Jesse made note of the deep scratches in the dresser, the stains on the quilt. He turned away with a purpose and called down the hall, “Hey, Kevin?”
Confrontational but cautious, Kevin peered around the corner from the kitchen only a few seconds later. “What?” The cat wound around his legs.
“Come here a sec, will you?”
Even more wariness entered his gaze until he hung his head, tightened his shoulders and, at a snail’s pace, stepped around the cat.
What the hell? Did he really think Jesse called him over for something awful? If it wouldn’t unman Kevin, he’d have pulled him in for a big, gentle bear hug.
He needed it even if Kevin didn’t.
Going the next best route, he put his arm over Kevin’s skinny shoulders and drew him into the room. “It seems your stuff doesn’t fit.”
Chin jutting, Kevin shrugged. “I told her there wasn’t room but—”
Tonya cut him off, saying firmly, “If I lived in a one-room hut, there would still be room for you.”
Damn. So Kevin mistook his meaning? Jesse allowed himself one squeeze—a move that clearly surprised Kevin—then he got down to business. “It’s the furniture that’s too big. But you know what I think?” Stretching out his arms and framing one wall with his fingers, he imagined it aloud. “Loft bed.”
Tonya’s eyes widened, but Kevin just looked at him with confusion.
“See, the bed will be on long legs, sort of like a top bunk bed, but instead of another bed on the bottom, we’d put a desk and dresser. And I’d even build a nook, so there’d be room for Love.”
“Love?” Tonya asked, sounding a little breathless at his fast-track plans.
“The cat.” Curious at her reaction, he watched her closely. “That’s what I call her.”
“Why?” Kevin asked.
“Because she seemed so uncertain of her welcome, but I figure there’s always room for Love, right?”
As if summoned, the cat sauntered in, brushing against this leg and that leg until she reached Kevin and sat on his worn sneaker.
God love the cat, she did what Jesse couldn’t—freely gave affection.
Kevin again looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He clearly didn’t know how to react. “Um...so you actually love her?”
“It was love at first sight.” Again he dropped his arm over Kevin’s shoulders. “It’s like that sometimes. The cat wasn’t sure about coming into the house. I wasn’t sure she’d want to. But we tried it and, hey, worked out great, right?”
Frowning in thought, maybe drawing a parallel, Kevin muttered, “I guess.”
“There’s stuff to work out, of course. It’s always that way when things change. But we’re getting there.”
Kevin looked at him. “Okay.”
Before things got awkward, or maybe more awkward, Tonya took control. “I love the idea of a loft bed.” She tipped her head at Kevin. “What do you think?”
“It’d mean climbing a ladder each night, but tall as you are and long as your legs are, it’d probably be only one step for you.” Jesse did a visual measurement. “You’re what? Five-eight?”
“I dunno.”
Jesse backed up to him, did a hand measurement on the difference in their height, and nodded. “I’d say at least five-eight. Maybe five-nine. Tall, for sure.”
“Mom wasn’t as tall as Tonya.”
Jesse didn’t know about the kid’s dad, so he asked instead, “Your grandparents?”
Kevin deferred to Tonya.
“Dad was tall. Mom and Cissy, my sister, were both shorter. I’m guessing Kevin got my and Dad’s height.”
“Couple more years,” Jesse said, “and you’ll be taller than me.”
Maybe flustered by mention of the future, Tonya launched back into the discussion on the bedroom. “Are the ceilings high enough for a loft bed?”
“Yeah. I can make it work if Kevin likes the idea.” Before he could reply, Jesse said, “I’m a contractor, you know? Not to brag, but I can build anything. Especially if you lend a hand.” It’d be good for Kevin to have something to do, other than ponder the rapid-fire changes in his life. “I already have the wood and supplies from leftover orders.”
Kevin scowled at the old bed taking up too much room.
In a rush, just in case Kevin thought to deny him, Jesse added, “You can consider it payback for your taking care of Love.”
“But I want to do that.”
“Great.” He gestured around the room. “And I want to make this setup better suited for you. It’s great when you can enjoy your work.”
Unconvinced, Kevin shifted his feet. “I don’t know how to build anything.”
“Well, neither did I at your age, not until someone taught me.”
“Who?”
“My dad, and Brick’s dad—you’ve met Brick, right? There was an older guy that lived next door to us too. He built furniture and he’d let me lend a hand sometimes.” Shrugging, Jesse added, “Anytime someone gave me the opportunity to hold a tool, I was on it.”
Tonya eased closer to Kevin. “Would you mind if we replaced these things?”
“To make room for Love?” Jesse hoped that’d cinch the deal. Damn, but he wanted to do something for the boy.
“I don’t care.” Kevin swept a scowl over his meager belongings. “It’s all junk anyhow.”
“It’s not bad. I remember being your age,” Jesse told him. “I’d camp out on the ground, the floor, in a tree house... I could pretty much crash anywhere.”
“I guess.”
Needing no more agreement than that, Jesse almost rubbed his hands together. “Tomorrow is Saturday. We can get started then. It might take a few days. It’ll be best if we build the bed right in here, which means we’ll have to move all this out. I have a sleeping bag you can use until we get it all done. Love will probably want to bunk down with you. You’re not allergic to cats, are you?”