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

Ethan’s room was closest to the top of the stairs on the right. It was the room his folks had slept in and stretched the length of the cabin. The bedroom straight across from his would be for the children. That room was about half the length of the cabin. Down the hall a second door opened to the left into Seth’s room.
    Ethan swung the door open, and holding Maggie in one hand, he dragged the mattress off Rafe’s bed with the other.
    â€œI think I’ll put Lily in one of those drawers.” Audra pointed at a chest. “Can you pull the largest drawer out and put a blanket in it? I’d like her to be somewhere with sides. She can’t roll yet, but I’d just feel better about it.”
    â€œShe didn’t sleep anywhere with sides at your other house.”
    â€œNo.” Audra gave him a sad smile. “She certainly didn’t. I’d like to do better for the children now.”
    Ethan pulled the drawer out with a whisper of polished wood. “Rafe made all this furniture since I left. There are nice things all over the house.” Ethan set the drawer down, found a small quilt he remembered his mother using, and lined the drawer with it. He took Lily from Audra and laid her in the crib. Neither of the children so much as stirred.
    â€œI’ll show you our room.” Ethan led the way out and entered his own room. The nicest bedroom in the house by far. When he got inside it, he noticed Audra hadn’t followed him. Just as he was beginning to wonder where she’d gotten to, she came in hesitantly.
    â€œIt’s a pretty room. It’s got a nice view of the yard and we get shade most of the day. The house stays cool in the summer, and we’ve got shelter from the wind in the . . .” He noticed Audra’s silence. “Don’t you like it?”
    â€œNo. I mean yes , I like it. It’s not that. It’s just that . . .” She looked at him and her cheeks were flushed pink. Her hands twisted together until her fingers had to hurt.
    â€œWhat’s the matter?” Ethan smiled. He solved all his problems by smiling.
    â€œEthan, you know I just had a baby.”
    â€œUh, yeah. I just laid her down. I’m not likely to forget her.”
    â€œI . . . I can’t be with . . .” The flush turned redder. Her eyes seemed to plead with him to understand.
    â€œCan’t be with what?”
    Audra gestured toward the bed. “You. I can’t be with you. Not as a wife. Not so soon after—”
    â€œOh, wait. Stop. Sure, I understand.” Ethan didn’t exactly understand. “Look, Audra, that’s fine.” It wasn’t fine, except he didn’t really know what she meant by not being with him. The ways of married life were a mystery to him. Did she want to sleep with the children?
    His ma sat around and cried a lot. His pa worked the cattle or took off to check his traplines. That’s all he knew about marriage. Oh, he knew about man-woman things in a general sense. He lived on a ranch after all. He’d helped deliver his share of foals and calves, and he’d certainly known how the babies had come to be in there. But beyond that, he was ignorant.
    â€œLook, Audra. You’ll have all the time you want. We need to get used to each other for a while before . . . before . . .”
    The downstairs door opened and slammed shut. “Ethan?”
    Seth.
    With a sigh of relief, Ethan veered his mind away from before . Or more honestly, he veered it away from after , or really the truth was he had to veer it away from during .
    â€œAnyway, you’ll have all the time you want.” For whatever she was thinking about. Before whatever was supposed to happen happened. “So stop worrying. Let’s go down and see about getting some supper.”
    Audra smiled and looked so relieved it irritated Ethan for no reason he could understand. And that