Read Online In Too Deep by Mary Connealy - Free Book Online Page A

as pretty as outside.”
    His wife smiled, and something tugged on Ethan’s gut that wasn’t jealousy but somehow reminded him of it. It also reminded him that he was a married man.
    Ethan had done a lot of traveling around, but he’d stayed to manly places, spent time in the mountains trapping or mining, spent time on ships at sea. He’d never been around women much, except for his ma. And that hadn’t been any fun.
    The sun was low in the sky, but there was plenty of daylight left as they rode up. “Seth, will you hold the horses while I get Audra inside with the babies?”
    â€œNo,” Audra said. “Let me go with you to see the barn. Then we can go inside the house for the first time together. Is that all right?”
    Ethan smiled. “Sure.” He steered his horse toward the barn. Steele Coulter, Rafe’s foreman, came out of the bunkhouse. No, not Rafe’s foreman. He was Ethan’s foreman now. Ethan had to try and remember that.
    Steele walked into the barn just behind them. “Howdy, Ethan, Seth, Mrs. Gilliland.”
    Steele had been over helping build Rafe’s house and he’d run for supplies and done other work for them. Ethan had come home and brought Seth a few times, too.
    â€œShe’s Mrs. Kincaid now, Steele. Audra and I got hitched today.”
    Steele’s bushy gray brows arched, but he was a man of few words and one to mind his own business. He said nothing, just took the reins of Audra’s horse. Ethan helped her down, with the baby asleep in her arms, as Maggie was asleep in his.
    â€œCan you get my horse, too, Steele? Unless you want to hold the baby.” Ethan smiled at the grizzled old-timer, who took both sets of reins and grumbled but did a top job of stripping leather and brushing down the horses.
    â€œHave you had any luck hiring more men? Rafe looked in town today, but there wasn’t anyone hunting for work.”
    â€œI’ve taken on a couple of new men and put the word out for more. We’re set pretty well for now. Rafe said in about two weeks he’d be ready to take on hands, so we can see how they shape up here before we send ’em over.”
    â€œSounds good. And Seth filed on a claim today. He doesn’t need to live over there for a while, so we might put off building him a house on his new property, but it should be up before the snow flies. You’ll stay with us for a while, right, Seth?”
    â€œWell, sure.” Seth looked confused, and Ethan wondered if he remembered filing a claim at all. “I want to live here at home, Eth. What are you going to build? Another house for Rafe? He don’t need two.”
    Ethan slid his eyes to Steele, who had some idea of how strangely Seth had been acting.
    A barely perceptible nod from Steele assured Ethan the foreman would see that Seth got inside and didn’t end up hanging from the rafters like a bat, or whatever crazy notion took him.
    Ethan wanted just a few minutes in the house with his wife and children. Strange business having a wife and children with barely any notice.
    They walked in and Ethan found things in good order. “Let’s lay the little ones down. The room Rafe slept in is in good shape. I can pull the mattress off the bed and they can both sleep on that. Then if they roll out of bed, they won’t get hurt.”
    Audra nodded and followed Ethan upstairs. He noticed Rafe had changed the railing. The old one had been made of a slender young pine. Now it was carved wood. Rafe had taken his tools to his own place, so Ethan knew he had a lathe and a fine set of razor-sharp wood chisels.
    They reached the top of the steps. “There are three bedrooms. I put Seth toward the back of the house the few times he’s slept over here. I was afraid he’d run off and figured I had a better chance of catching him if he had to walk past my door.”
    They were in a hallway with three doors opening off it.