Because they care about you.All the ire fled from his blood as April joined him at the tailgate and picked up the nearest box.
“What’s it like inside?” she asked.
“About the same,” he said. “I did say you wouldn’t want to come today.” He kicked a half-smile in her direction, couldn’t quite meet her eyes, and turned to go up the front steps.
He opened the door and took the box he’d picked up into the kitchen. Lenore had been here in the cabin, as there had definitely been things removed from it.
It had been built as a rectangle with a short, ten-foot wall extending from the door, partially separating the kitchen from the living room. The pantry pushed past the mouth of thehallway that led back to the two bedrooms, the bigger of which stood on the right side behind the living room, the smaller across from it, with a bathroom and linen closet in the hall.
The cabin had a back door too—straight back from the front door and down the hall—with a huge back deck that spanned the width of the house, just like the front deck did. It faced the trees, and Brandon had known the first time he’d set foot on that back deck that he would take this job and live on this homestead, no matter how dilapidated it was.
He moved out of the way as April put her box on the counter too, and together they surveyed the living room. It held windows along two walls, a single couch, a vintage trunk, and a TV cabinet with doors that actually closed.
“It’s not bad,” April said.
“No,” Brandon murmured, as boot steps sounded on the porch and entered the house.
Dawson carried two boxes in. “These say ‘bedroom’ on them,” he growled.
“Straight down the hall,” Brandon said. “Only door on the right.”
Dawson went past him, and that started Brandon directing everyone as they brought in his belongings. Before long, they had a pile of boxes in the kitchen, a stack in the living room, one in the bathroom, and a bunch in the bedroom.
The linen closet had been emptied and cleaned. A naked queen bed stood in the bedroom. The bathroom had all the necessities—except a shower curtain. Brandon found himself returning to the kitchen after giving everyone the tour.
“It’s got a sink,” Duke said, practically on top of him. “I thought you said there was no water.”
“There’s not,” Brandon said.
“Then why do they have a shower and a toilet?” April asked.
“I don’t know,” Brandon said. “Maybe there was water at one time.”
“Yeah, ‘cause that’s not a compost toilet,” Dawson said. “It’s a regular flushing toilet.”
“I’ll have to ask Lenore about it.” Brandon reached into his pocket and pulled out his pocketknife. “Let’s get things unpacked,” he said. “Unless you guys can’t stay. I’m sure I can manage it.”
He half-hoped they’d go, while at the same time, he never wanted them to leave. His feelings made no sense, as Brandon had wanted to live alone for a long time now.
“We’ll help you.” Duke moved into the living room to slice open the top box there.
“I’ll start with your bathroom and linens,” Dawson said. He moved off to do that, and Brandon figured he could move things around if his brothers put something somewhere he wouldn’t have chosen.
Together, he and April got everything unpacked in the kitchen and broke down the boxes. “I want to keep these,” he said. “I’ll need them when I move back home.”
“I can put them in the closet in the second bedroom?” April suggested.
Brandon gave her a smile and a nod. Duke had unpacked the pillows and blankets and arranged them on the couch to make it look like a real human being lived there. He set up the TV and placed the end table and lamp on the right-hand side of the couch, where Brandon liked to sit.
“This is nice, brother,” he said. “At least you’ll have this to come home to.”
He smiled as Brandon moved to break down the boxes that had been emptied. He handed them to April and went into the bathroom to see that Dawson had laid out his toiletries and hunga shower curtain—even though there really wasn’t any water in the cabin.
Brandon had tried it when he’d come for his interview, and not a drop had come out of any of the faucets. There did seem to be plumbing, however, and the water was definitely a mystery he needed to figure out sooner rather than later.
For now, he turned his back on the waterless bathroom and continued into the bedroom. He found Dawson had made his bed with his beloved dark gray sheets and a bright blue and gray comforter. As he watched, Dawson straightened from plugging in the lamp.
“There’s no electricity,” Brandon said. “Or rather, everything runs on batteries. I’m not sure how this house will have power.”
