Jane's face turned from blotchy pink to blistering red.
"It's going to be okay," Anna said soothingly, reaching out and covering Jane's hand. "It doesn't matter what anyone thinks, only what you and Paul feel for each other. If people whisper and speculate, just ignore the gossiping bastards. And get your revenge on them by being blissfully happy." Anna jumped up and gave her friend a fierce, tender hug. "I'm glad for you, Jane. Everything's going to be okay. Your mom and dad will come around once they see how happy you are."
"Rumor has it your cupboards are full of human food, Segee," Ethan said as two sets of heavy footsteps tromped through the front door. "And Paul and I are starved."
He walked into the kitchen and directly up to a wide-eyed, pale-faced Jane, then pulled her into his arms. "Welcome to the family," he said, giving Anna a wink over the startled woman's back. He smiled into Jane's eyes. "I can't decide if my brother really is smart after all, or if it's just dumb luck that he got the prettiest girl in Oak Grove to marry him." He gave Jane a brotherly kiss on her blushing forehead, then looked back in her eyes. "And if he ever gives you any trouble, you come to me, okay? I'll help him see things your way."
Anna's heart did a double thump. She had known there was something she liked about Ethan Knight. The guy could charm the bark off a pine tree if he had a mind to— or the nightie off his female foreman. He'd certainly put Jane at ease, if the shy smile she gave her new brother-in-law was any indication.
"Maple leaf cookies!" Paul said, snatching the open box off the table. "I've been trying for years to get Mary to stock these in her store," he said, stuffing a whole one in his mouth.
Anna took the box from him, closed it up, and set it in the cupboard. "You'll spoil your supper," she said, turning back around to give him a big hug. "Congratulations."
"Thank you," Paul said, returning her hug before stepping away and gazing around the kitchen. "Wow, it's like a time capsule in here." He walked over to Jane and put his arm around her. "Feeling better, sweetie?" he asked softly. "We can stay here until we decide what to do."
"I— I know," Jane whispered before taking a deep breath. "You can bring in my suitcase and take it upstairs while I help Anna fix dinner. Then could you fill the wood box so we can have a fire in the hearth tonight?"
Anna was pleased that Jane had apparently decided to begin her marriage as she intended to go on, giving her new husband a to-do list to keep him out of their hair.
"Uh-oh, it looks like the honeymoon's over," Ethan said, shoving his brother toward the living room with a laugh. "We've just been told that if we want to eat, we have to earn it."
"Oh my God," Jane squeaked, her hands going to her mortified cheeks. "Ethan thinks I was ordering him around, too."
Anna waved Jane's concern away. "He needs the practice." She opened the fridge. "Let's see what I've got in here that's quick. How about chop suey?" she asked, taking out the hamburger. "We can throw that together in no time."
"Anna? A bunch of chickadees just hopped through that hole in your window."
"Oh, they're my pets," Anna assured her, walking up to the window and holding out her finger. "Samuel Fox must have tamed them." Bold little Charlie ignored her finger and fluttered onto her shoulder instead.
"It's really sad what happened to Samuel," Jane said, holding out her hand to another one of the chickadees. "What with him living out here all alone, and no one finding him at the bottom of that ravine for two days." The chickadee hopped on her hand. "Old Samuel always seemed sad and lonely, whenever I saw him in town," she continued, picking up a shelled peanut and holding it out for the bird. "His wife died before I was even born, and his daughter hardly ever came to see him. I think he had a granddaughter, but she disappeared years ago."
Anna set Charlie back on the shelf and washed her hands. "Yeah, I think of Samuel every time I drive by that spot. I'll open a bottle of wine so we can toast your nuptials."
"I can't," Jane said, setting her own bird down and washing her hands. "I'm pregnant, remember?"
"Then we'll have the wine and you can have milk."
Between the two of them, they had dinner on the table in less than an hour. And the wonderfully obedient men had the wood box filled and a roaring fire going in the hearth by the time the food was ready. Since they were taking orders so well, Anna had them move the table into the living room so they could dine in front of the beautiful fire. Bear thought it was a wonderful idea, since he could lie on his bed and eat whatever his sappy-eyed begging could get him.
By the time everyone's bellies were full, some thirty minutes later, there seemed to be an epidemic of yawns going around. Anna was dead on her feet, and it was all she could do to carry the dishes into the kitchen.
"Paul and Jane are taking a walk before they turn in for the night," Ethan said, carrying in more dishes behind her. "Can we leave these until tomorrow?" he asked as he turned Anna around and pulled her into his arms. "I'm beat."
"You got to sleep all weekend while I had to entertain my brothers."
He cradled her head to his chest. "Quit whining, Segee. What doesn't kill you only makes you stronger."
"Oh, great, a philosophizing lover." She yawned, snuggling into his rock-solid warmth and wishing she could cuddle against him all night. But thanks to her houseguests, she would have to lie in bed all alone, and think of Ethan lying all alone in his own bed just two hundred yards away.
Maybe she could sneak over to his cabin once the newlyweds had gone to sleep.
"You haven't fallen asleep on me, have you?" Ethan asked, ducking his head to see her face. "Come on, I'm taking you to bed," he said, dropping one hand behind her knees and sweeping her off her feet.
"You are not taking me anywhere," she hissed, squirming in his arms as he strode through the living room and up the stairs. "I have company."
But she might as well have been a gnat caught in a spider's web for all the good it did her. Ethan's smile turned darkly promising as he carried her into the bedroom and dropped her on her bed.
Anna immediately rolled off the opposite side and pointed at the door. "Out, before they come back and find you up here."
He pulled something from his pocket and held it up, and Anna saw that it was a toothbrush. "I packed some of my stuff and brought it over," he said, using the toothbrush to point at a small duffel bag on the floor by her bureau. "I gave Paul and Jane my cabin, and told them I'd bunk with you."
"You what!"
He tossed his toothbrush on the bureau, keeping himself between her and the door. "Newlyweds need their privacy," he said, crossing his arms over his chest. "And if my brother's getting some tonight, I intend to get some, too."
"Getting some?" She rounded the end of the bed and stepped up to him. "Nobody is supposed to know about us."
"Paul and Jane won't say anything. I have their word."
Anna picked up his duffel bag and shoved it at his chest. "Out."
"The damage is done, Anna," he said, tossing the bag back on the floor. "They already know about us, and they're probably already doing it in my bed." He bobbed his eyebrows. "So let's you and me do it in your bed. I've grown quite fond of your flowery sheets," he whispered, pulling her against him and holding her head to his chest. "I drove all the way to Greenville this morning to buy more condoms. That should tell you I'm determined to keep our affair quiet."
Anna sighed, half aroused as she drew in his wonderful scent while listening to his strong heart beating against her ear. Oh, what the hell. She should heed her own advice to Jane and not worry what any of the gossiping bastards in town might say if they found out. She could "do it" on the hood of her truck in the middle of town if she wanted to.
"No, you can't," Ethan said with a strangled laugh as he suddenly held her away, his expression incredulous.
Dammit, she was so tired she was thinking out loud. She wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled his mouth down to hers. "How many did you buy?" she asked, her lips just inches from his.
"Oh, good, we can add them to the two boxes my stepmom packed in the stuff she sent me," Anna said, her lips brushing his. "Along with some sexy new underwear," she whispered, finally kissing him— passionately enough for him to know she had no intention of ever slowing down where he was concerned.
Chapter Thirteen
You go start the generator and turn on the water heater," Anna muttered into her pillow. "I'm right behind you."
"You are so lying," Ethan said from beside her, not moving.
Anna turned her head just enough to open one eye and look at him. "Not that I'm keeping a diary or anything," she said, "but how many times was that last night?"
"Four and a half."
"A half?" she repeated, rolling onto her back. "How can there be a half?"
"You slept through one of the times, so it only counts as half," he said, sliding his legs over the side of the bed and sitting up with a groan.
"You don't consider that cheating?" she asked with a laugh, studying the play of muscles on his back as he stretched his arms over his head.
He turned and grinned at her. "I found a rule book on affairs next to the condoms in the drugstore, which I read cover to cover over the weekend so I'd be up to speed. And rule number seven clearly states that if one of the 'affairees' can't stay awake, it's perfectly legal for the other participant to take full advantage of the situation. But it only counts as a half." He finally stood up, not the least bit concerned with his beautiful nakedness.
Anna sat up, clasping the comforter to her chest as she watched him get dressed. "I want to see this rule book," she said, silently marveling at his lean, graceful strength— not to mention his amazing endurance.
He faced her as he tucked his shirt into his pants, his expression deadpan serious. "Sorry. It's strictly for men. It states in bold letters right on the first page that the Male Society of Self-Preservation says we can't let women read it. You'll have to buy the women's version, which is probably in the feminine aisle. Come on, get up," he said when she fell back against her pillow in laughter. "It's going to look suspicious if we both show up late for work."
"I'm calling in sick."
The comforter started sliding away despite Anna holding on tightly, which resulted in her being pulled back up into a sitting position. "Do I have to carry you downstairs and throw you in a snowbank?"
"I don't like being manhandled."
He bent at the waist as he finished buttoning his shirt, getting his face really close to hers. "Yes, you do," he said. "In fact, you goad me into manhandling you every chance you get." He straightened with a derisive chuckle. "Your brothers don't know squat about you, Segee. They believe you don't care for bossy boyfriends, but that you don't respect boyfriends you can boss around."
"They said that? To you?"
"No, they were talking between themselves in French while I was freezing my tail off in two feet of icy water."
Anna wasn't surprised Ethan knew French, considering half the workers around here were Canadian. "I don't like bossy men," she said, lifting her chin with a haughty glare.
"Sure you do." Sitting down on the edge of the bed to put on his socks, he shot her a wink over his shoulder. "You feel all feminine and stuff when I overpower you with my manly strength, and make you writhe and quiver beneath me."
"Of all the— " She threw her pillow at him. "You got your psychology degree in a cereal box!"
He ducked and was suddenly on her, pressing her into the mattress and pinning her hands beside her head, using his weight to hold her still. "It said in my book of affairs," he teased, "that if we men don't sweep a girl off her feet and keep her off balance with wild, mind-blowing sex, we might as well pack it in and go home, and consider ourselves lucky to have escaped emasculation."
Anna didn't know whether to smack him or kiss him, so she burst out laughing again. She'd never seen this playful side of Ethan; in fact, she hadn't known he even had a sense of humor, especially a warped one. The scary part was, she worried there might be a grain of truth in his teasing her about liking manly men. If she still got to be the boss, of course.
"I want to make up for that half a time."
He shook his head. "It won't work if we're both awake. We'll still be a half off."
Anna snapped her eyes shut and started snoring.
"Come on, lazybones," he said, shoving off the bed and taking the comforter with him. "You have a crew of thirty men just dying to spend their day with you bossing them around."
Anna rolled off the bed and sashayed past him, utterly naked but for her smile, and pulled a fiery red satin bra and matching boxer panties out of her bureau drawer. She turned, dangling them from her fingers. "I'm taking a long lunch today," she drawled in her best Mae West voice. "And driving down to Greenville to get me one of them books on affairs for women. I bet it comes with a set of handcuffs," she called after him when he strode out the door— adjusting the fit of his pants.
Anna threw herself back on the bed with a laugh, gathering up Ethan's pillow and drawing in his scent with a satisfied sigh.
* * *
Ethan sat with his feet propped on his battered old desk at Loon Cove Lumber, watching Anna through the window as she stood outside talking to Keith. "What did you say?" he asked Paul, forcing his mind away from her fiery red underwear and bringing it back to his brother.
"Jane wants to keep working," Paul said, frowning. "And I told her I'd rather she stay at home."
"You don't have a home yet. And if you live at the sporting camps with everyone, Jane will feel like a houseguest. Sarah's too efficient when it comes to cooking and housekeeping, so what's Jane supposed to do all day while you're at work? Trust me, a woman needs to be busy."
"But I don't want her working."
"Have you forgotten what it was like when Alex's first wife came to live with us? Charlotte kept trying to nest, but Mom had already created a comfortable nest." Ethan shook his head. "Two women sharing a house doesn't work unless one of them is gone all day, and even then it's iffy. Nesting is programmed into women from birth."
"Then we'll get our own place," Paul countered. "I have enough saved to put a down payment on a house, and Jane can stay home and… and nest," he said with a dismissive wave.
"But what's wrong with her working?" Ethan asked, dropping his feet to the floor and leaning his arms on the desk. "Last I heard, pregnancy wasn't a disability. Working as Dr. Betters's receptionist is interesting and respectable, and Jane will feel like she's contributing to your household. Didn't you say she's worried everyone will think she got pregnant so you'd marry her and she'd get a free ride through life?"
"Well, yeah. But she's taken a leave of absence to watch her sister's kids while Pete's in the hospital. She just has to tell Betters she's not going back."
"But why?" Ethan asked with growing impatience. "What's wrong with her working?"
"I am quite capable of supporting my wife."
"Ah," Ethan said with a sigh, settling back in his chair. "So this isn't about Jane, it's about you."
"Me?"
"You Tarzan, her Jane? You bring home the bacon and she cooks it. That way people will see what a good provider you are, and everything will be neat and tidy and picture perfect."
"It worked for Mom and Dad."
"A generation ago." Ethan leaned forward on his desk again. "Things have changed since Mom and Dad got married. If Jane wants to work for Betters, then let her, and to hell with what people think." He shrugged. "After the kid's born, then you can see how she feels about working."
"Everyone who goes to Betters's office is sick," Paul said desperately, knowing he was being unreasonable.
"But that's— " Ethan straightened and looked out the window, noting that Anna and Keith had disappeared. "Do you hear that?"
Paul
also looked out the window. "I don't hear anything."
"Exactly. The saws have stopped and everything's gone quiet. Dammit," he growled, heading for the door. "What in hell broke now?"
Ethan stepped outside to a completely deserted yard. There wasn't one man in sight, and every piece of machinery looked like it had been abandoned right in the middle of a job.
"Over there," Paul said, pointing toward the massive rows of timber that had been stockpiled over the winter. "I just saw two men running that way."
The only thing behind all that timber was the Kent River, which defined the mill's eastern property line. Ethan suddenly heard the distinct sound of an excavator start up, listened for several seconds, and started running toward it.
The Stranger in Her Bed Page 16