She glanced around, her gaze lingering on the beautiful moldings and original hardwood floors. “What would be easier for two?”
Spencer shrugged. “Since I don’t plan on living with my big brother for the rest of my life—” he gagged, and she laughed, “—I’m thinking he should stay.”
“I agree.” In her mind, she’d already started ticking off the minor changes she would like to make if Jim kept the house, like adding a backsplash in the kitchen or adding some pictures to the walls. He had spots where you could see pictures had once been, but for some reason he’d taken them down.
“His parents.”
“Huh?”
“The pictures were family photos, pictures of him with his parents. He took them down when they both turned on him.” Spencer shrugged. “Can’t really blame him, but I feel bad about it.”
“Don’t. Not your fault.”
“I still want to kick their asses for how they’ve treated Jim. They hurt him badly, and he’s been mourning them like they’re dead. It’s why I’m glad you’re finally here. Now he has someone besides me to stand by his side.” Spencer shook his head. “C’mon, Jim should be home soon. Let’s go sit in the living room and get comfy.”
Chloe followed Spencer into the living room and settled on the sofa. There was a clear spot where Spencer could easily pull up his chair, making him part of anything going on. It was obvious that Jim adored his brother and was willing to do whatever it took to make him comfortable.
In a way, it was reassuring to her. If he could adjust his life so easily to accommodate Spencer, then maybe his easy acceptance of her disabilities was real as well. If only she could trust that he wasn’t going to run away, or abandon her again. While she didn’t have the panic issues Glory did about being left, she wasn’t keen on the idea of her mate deciding once again that he might be too old, or too busy, or too anything for her.
“He really cares, you know. More than you think.” Spencer’s knowing gaze was full of sympathy. “He’s just not very good at showing it.”
She looked around the house and shrugged. “I’d say he’s berry good at showing it when it matters.”
“His parents have really fucked him up, you know.” Spencer snickered. “Wait until the first time you answer the phone and it’s Wanda. She’d give Gandhi indigestion.”
“I heard.” When he tilted his head in confusion she explained. “She called while we were packing my apartment.”
Spencer grimaced. “Poor guy. She treats Jim as if he were the one who cheated rather than the sperm donor. You’d think, since Jim is her only child, she’d do better by him.”
“That might be why.” Chloe sat back and tucked her legs under her. “If she feels abandoned—”
“But she wasn’t. All Jim asked was that she accept that he wanted a relationship with me, and she couldn’t do it. She put down this ultimatum, and every time he talks to her she screams her head off and tells him he’s a backstabbing son of a bitch.”
“At least she got part of it right,” Chloe muttered.
Spencer leaned forward and patted her hand. “Anyway, I wanted you to know that you were all he talked about when I asked him about home.”
She blinked, blushing furiously. “Really?” Jim had talked to Spencer about her?
“Really. He was worried about having our issues dumped on top of yours, that it might set your recovery back. He was worried that he was spending so much time with me and you wouldn’t be willing to give him a chance because of it.”
“I wish he’d balked to me.” Chloe sighed. “I would have understood.”
“I tried to get him to, but…” Spencer shrugged. “He’s stubborn.”
Chloe’s eyes went comically wide. “No, really?”
“Like a dog with a bone.” Spencer’s smile turned sweet. “I’m glad you’re here. He needs you more than he lets on.”
“How?” Chloe could understand her need for Jim, but Jim was so strong, so self-contained, she couldn’t see him needing anything or anyone.
“He…lives inside his own head too much. He needs someone who can force him out, who can get him to see the bigger picture. He’s one of the most caring people I’ve ever met, but he tends to forget about himself. It’s part of what makes him such a good veterinarian, but he’s running himself into the ground trying to help everyone at once. Hell, he’s still trying to get his mother to acknowledge me as his brother, and if anything’s a lost cause, that is.”
The front door opened and Chloe swiveled in her seat, draping her arm along the back of the sofa. “Hey.”
Jim smiled so wide she could almost see his back teeth. “Hi.” He put the pet carrier down and walked over, giving her a soft kiss. “You and Spencer getting to know one another?”
She glanced over at Spencer and nodded. “I tink so.”
“She’s cute.” Spencer tilted his head. “Do you have a sister?”
“Nope, but I have a cousin, Tiffany.” She laughed. “Then again, I’m not sure I’d inflict her on you. She’s fierce.”
Jim shook his head. “What do you two want for dinner?”
Chloe smiled. “You cook?”
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Spencer shaking his head wildly.
“Knock it off, butthead.” Jim stuck his tongue out at Spencer.
“Our sperm donor should have been Italian. Then he could have named him Sal Monella.”
Jim popped Spencer on the back of the head as he walked by as Chloe cackled and clapped her hands.
Spencer bowed. “Thank you, thank you.”
Chloe was practically bouncing in her seat as she stared at the pet carrier. “George?”
Jim nodded. “Let him out.”
“Wait. You brought home a dog?”
Chloe ignored the squeak of Spencer’s wheels as she swiftly let her new puppy out. George bounced out, knocking her on her ass and covering her in puppy kisses. It took a good ten minutes for her to finally get up off the floor and let the puppy explore.
Jim’s fond smile as he gazed at George morphed into something a great deal warmer as he looked toward Chloe. “What say we order in pizza and watch a movie?”