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  They talked as they worked and soon moved from the shed to the main cabin. They examined the roof inch by inch, looking for any weakness to reinforce before the coming winter. Hard to think about the colder season though, Drew thought as the sun beat down relentlessly on them. He wiped the sweat from his eyes and found his gaze back on Katie, who was working her way down another row of vegetables, yanking weeds. As she reached over, her sweat-damp shirt slid up, exposing her lower back. The pale stretch of skin made his mouth water, but he didn’t focus on that. Even from where he was, he could see the bony knobs of her spine.

  She straightened and ran a hand through her hair as she stood. Drew frowned as she swayed slightly on her feet, palm pressed to her temple. Before he could say anything, Ethan was handing her a water bottle and draping an arm around her slight shoulders. Katie shook her head as Ethan said something to her, but finally shrugged off his arm and walked away. She didn’t go far, only to one of the trees surrounding the land they’d cleared for the gardens. Lowering herself, she sat with her back against the thick trunk and took a long drink of her water.

  Satisfied that she was resting, Drew forced his attention to the job at hand and focused intently until he heard his sister’s voice.

  “Time for a break, boys.” Chloe looked up at them, shielding her eyes with one hand while the other rested on her swollen belly. “Lunch is ready. Go wash up.”

  After a detour to the river to wash and cool off, Drew returned to the cabin. Everyone else was gathered around the large table already, and he smiled as he took in the sight of his family all together. Chloe sat between her partners, giggling over something Isaac was whispering in her ear. Grace talked with Charlotte quietly as Ethan and Noah discussed hunting the following morning. Drew looked at Katie at the end of the table. She was quiet, poking at the stew in her bowl with her spoon.

  “Sit down,” Chloe pointed to the chair at the other end, directly across from Katie. “Eat up.”

  He pulled out his chair and sat then dug straight into his meal, half-listening to the conversations around him as he filled his belly.

  “I expect Kyle, Matt, and Erik will be here tomorrow or the day after. They had a few things to do on the farm and said they’d leave as soon as they could,” Charlotte said between bites.

  A couple times a year, they joined up with a group from the farm—either here or there—to do whatever work needed to be done, whether prepping for winter, repairing buildings. Drew thought it helped just to socialize with people outside of the ones they lived with. He knew Chloe and Grace enjoyed having Charlotte visit, and not just for the comfort of having the midwife around for Chloe’s pregnancy. They liked the company she offered.

  “We could use the help,” Isaac said cheerfully. “The bunkhouse needs a bit of work, but it’s in better shape than Drew’s shack.”

  Drew shook his head as everyone burst out laughing. Years back, he’d built a small cabin—or shack as everyone insisted on calling it—desperate for some privacy as a young man. It was barely a stone’s throw from the other buildings, and it wasn’t much. One room with enough space for a bed, a table and two chairs. He’d lifted a woodstove, which kept things plenty warm, from one of the houses in the small town nearby. So yeah, it wasn’t much, but it was his. He wasn’t living on top of everybody all the time, and sometimes, the tiny one-roomed building was the only place he didn’t feel as if he were suffocating. So, his family could poke fun all they wanted, he was perfectly happy with what he had. Lifting his gaze, he looked into Katie’s big brown eyes. Who the fuck was he kidding? Happy hadn’t been on his radar in a long time. It was always just out of reach.

  Grace stood and began gathering empty dishes. “Katie, could you make up the bed in the loft for Charlotte?”

  Katie’s gaze flicked to Drew briefly before she nodded. “Sure.”

  “I hope you don’t mind being roomies for a while,” Charlotte said. “I was talking with Chloe, and we decided it’d be best if I stayed here until the baby comes.”

  A clatter rang through the air.

  “S-sorry,” Katie stammered, staring down at the spoon she’d dropped. “Always happy to have the company.” She stood, chair scraping the floor roughly, and walked to the door. “Excuse me. I realized I left my rifle down by the river and…and I should go get it.”

  Drew twisted, watching her rush out. When he turned back, everyone was talking again, but he didn’t hear any of it. His mind was firmly on the wisp of a woman who’d walked out the door.

  Chapter Two

  Dropping on the grass, Katie pressed her shaky fingertips to her closed eyes. Everything inside of her just wanted to run. To run as fast as she could away from it all. From everyone. All the laughter, the joking, and happiness, it just made the aching emptiness inside her expand all the more. And the thought of sharing a space with that woman… Though Charlotte would probably spend her nights in Drew’s bed, not in the loft with her. Katie pushed away the anger she felt over that. She had no right. Drew wasn’t hers, not in the way it mattered. But every time she looked at Charlotte, all Katie could see in her mind was Drew fucking the other woman’s mouth, taking her, owning her, and Katie burned. She didn’t know which was worse, the ache or the burning.

  She lowered herself until she lay stretched out on the riverbank. The sky was a brilliant blue with only a few clouds drifting slowly across. The sun warmed her body—she felt so cold these days, it felt heavenly. Her eyes drifted shut, and she felt herself doze a bit, floating between sleep and wakefulness. She really should be getting up to gather the eggs and milk the goat, but lying there felt too good, and she figured she deserved to just be for a little while.

  Next thing she knew, her name was being called, the sun was dipping behind the trees and her skin was covered in goose bumps. She sat up quickly, and regretted it the instant her head spun. Groaning, she rested her head on her bent knees.

  “You need to eat more, and you won’t feel so lightheaded.”

  Another groan slipped from her lips when she looked up. Drew stood a few feet from her. She ran her gaze up his body from his worn boots, over his jean clad legs and the T-shirt that molded to his torso. His biceps stretched the material as he crossed his arms and frowned down at her. His brown hair was longer than he normally kept it, curling slightly, and his jaw was stubbled. She found herself wanting to touch it, to see if it was soft or scratchy against her skin.

  “I’m fine,” she bit out when she met his clear blue eyes.

  He stepped forward and sat next to her. “Don’t lie to me, Katie.”

  She snorted and tried to stand, only to have his long fingers wrap around her wrist and stop her.

  “Let me go.”

  “Talk to me.” His voice, low and rough, slid over her, and she tensed against the thrill of pleasure that followed. “Tell me what’s wrong, baby.”

  She shook her head. He didn’t get to do that, damn it. Act all concerned and call her “baby”. It wasn’t fair. She tugged her hand, but Drew’s grasp remained tight.

  “All right, you don’t want to talk about why you’re not eating and sleeping, fine.” His fingers slipped along the inside of her wrist, and now, the goose bumps had nothing to do with the cooling air. “Let’s talk about today; Grace said you came to walk the trap line this morning.”

  “Yeah, but I wasn’t able to catch up to you, so I turned around,” she lied.

  With his free hand, he gripped her chin and turned her head to look at him. “You’re lying again.” He leaned closer, dropped his voice to a whisper. “You saw us, and you’re upset.”

  Her face heated, and she wrenched away. This time, he let her go, and she scrambled to her feet.

  “Look, it’s no big deal,” she said. “I was just trying to save us all a little embarrassment, that’s all. It’s none of my business who you have a relationship with.”

  “Charlotte and I aren’t…together,” he said insistently.

  Not sure that made her feel any be
tter, Katie shrugged. “Okay then; who you decide to fuck is even less of my business. I’d rather not know the details. I’m not upset, and to be honest, I’d very much like to just forget what I saw, thank you.”

  “Katie,” he drawled, rising.

  “Drew, please, let’s just pretend it didn’t happen.” She cringed inwardly at the pleading tone of her voice.

  He looked as if he wanted to argue, but after a moment, he nodded. “If that’s what you want.”

  “It is.”

  “And we can go back to how we always were?” Drew stepped next to her and nudged her arm with his elbow.

  No! She screamed inside her head, but she smiled and answered, “Of course we can.”

  He grinned and held his arms out. “Then get over here and give us a hug. It’s been months, Katie. I missed you.”

  She swallowed hard and stepped into his embrace. When he wrapped his arms around her and his whiskered cheek rubbed against her temple, she bit back a whimper and burrowed closer.

  “I missed you, too,” she whispered, eyes shut and breathing him in. “And I’m glad you’re home.”

  “Dinner’s ready,” he murmured. “Gracie sent me to get you.”

  God, she’d slept the afternoon away.

  “You needed the rest, and now, you need to eat.” He pulled away and, letting her go, bent down to pick up the rifle she’d forgotten that morning. “And you’re going to eat. No more just pushing your food around.” Drew cupped her cheek a moment before letting his hand fall to his side. “You’ll eat, yeah?”

  “Yeah,” she rasped, turning toward the cabin.

  He reached for her hand, but she pretended not to see and quickened her pace. She couldn’t handle touching him again. Not when she was still quivering from being so close to him. When Charlotte stepped out onto the porch as they approached the cab, Katie could hardly hold back a snarl and, without a word, slipped past the other woman inside.

  “Be right down,” she said loudly with forced cheer, rushing to the stairs and taking them two at a time up to the loft. She needed a minute to calm down, to get her head together.

  Charlotte and Drew’s laughter drifted behind her as they came in. Katie clenched her fists and leaned against the wall next to her bed. Okay, maybe she needed more than a minute.

  * * * *

  “So are you staying now, right?”

  Drew leaned his head on the back of the chair and looked at his sister. They sat on the front porch after finishing their supper. He’d been home for several days now, and he was surprised Chloe had waited this long before asking him.

  “Yeah, don’t want to miss the arrival of this little guy.” Reaching over, he laid a hand on her bump and was rewarded as the baby shifted under his palm.

  Chloe sighed happily and closed her eyes. “Pretty sure it’s not a little guy. Totally a girl.”

  “And how would you know?” He shifted back and settled into his seat.

  “I just know. And both Jack and Isaac are certain it’s a boy—like their Y-swimmers are that much better or something. It’s a girl, damn it.”

  Drew stared at his sister, eyes closed and a soft smile lighting up her face, and was so fucking happy for her. He thought back to when it had just been the two of them, after their parents and grandparents had passed on. They’d been in a bad way. Drew hadn’t realized it then. He’d only been ten, and Chloe ten years his senior. She’d taken care of them and had never let on just how dire things were. There’d been close to no food—just some eggs from the chickens her grandparents had raised and some meager vegetables from their grandmother’s small garden—and Chloe had been making sure Drew had most of that. She’d hidden all of that from him, but looking back, he knew they wouldn’t have lasted much longer on their own.

  Then Grace, Noah and Ethan had come along and pulled Drew and Chloe into their little family. They’d taken care of the siblings, loved them like their own, given them a place in a world that had gone to hell. Years later, Jack, Isaac and Katie made their way into their circle. Chloe had fallen in love with Jack and Isaac. Now, they were having a baby. And the happiness came off the trio like fucking waves. If he didn’t share that happiness, it’d be nauseating.

  “I’m really glad Charlotte’s staying, too,” Chloe said suddenly. “It eases some of the anxiety about having this baby. And,” she smiled slyly, “it gives you more time with her. Though I’m guessing that you’re with her when you’re gone for weeks on end.”

  “What?” He sat up. “No, no. Charlotte and I aren’t together, Chlo. Not like that.”

  “Oh, come on.” She laughed. “None of us are blind, Drew. I definitely saw her going into your shack the other night, and don’t even try to convince me you were just talking.”

  Actually, that was all they’d done. Drew hadn’t laid a hand on Charlotte since that morning in the woods. Not that he wanted to examine the reasons behind that turn of events. Nope.

  “Not together, I swear,” he said firmly.

  She narrowed her eyes slightly. “But you’re sleeping with her, aren’t you?”

  “I have.” He quirked a brow. “Do you really want to discuss my sex life?”

  “Not particularly.” She snorted. “But why aren’t you together? You seem to enjoy each other’s company. You’ve slept together, so what’s stopping you from making it more than just sex?”

  He looked over to where Katie sat near the blazing fire pit with the others, including the group that had arrived the day before from the farm. She still looked exhausted, and despite their conversation at the river, things most certainly were not back to how they’d been between them before.

  “Ah, I see.”

  Drew realized Chloe had followed his gaze and was smirking in response. “Shut up. You see nothing.”

  “If you say so,” she said.

  “I do say so,” he returned. “Just because I decide not to be in a relationship, doesn’t mean there has to be reason beyond not wanting to be in a fucking relationship.”

  “Mm hmmm.” She rubbed her belly in slow circles that smirk still curving her lips.

  “Chloe,” he sighed. “Just don’t. All right?”

  “You’ve been watching her.”

  “I’d be watching you too if you weren’t eating and sleeping,” he said softly.

  “She’s fine,” Chloe assured, though she frowned in the younger woman’s direction. “This time of year, preparing for the colder months, is always tough, and she’s taking on even more with me…” She gestured to her bump. “It’s how she is, you know that.”

  “Which is well and good as long as she’s not making herself sick with it.”

  “She’s not. I wouldn’t let that happen.”

  But you are! Everyone is! And they were completely blind to it.

  “She might be working a bit hard, and maybe…” She frowned. “She hasn’t had much of an appetite, but I don’t think it’s anything to be worried about. It’s probably just the heat of the summer, and that will pass soon enough.”

  Drew listened as his sister continued to list reasons why Katie wasn’t taking care of herself—excuses, really, for why no one had done a damned thing about it. To be fair, he didn’t blame any of them. They had their own worries and things happening, and Drew was certain Katie did everything she could to hide what was going on with her. If he hadn’t gone away, he may not have seen it right away, but it was glaringly obvious to him, coming home after months away, that she wasn’t taking care of herself.

  “Join us by the fire, sweetheart.”

  Drew looked up to see Jack strolling toward them, his eyes on his partner.

  “All right.” Chloe glanced at Drew who waved her off with a reassuring smile. “You coming?”

  “In a minute.”

  She nodded as she stood then stretched with a groan. “If I sit on one of those blankets on the ground, you’re going to have to haul my ass back up again, Jack.”

  The other man laughed, took her hand and led h
er away to join the others. Laughter and conversation flowed freely as darkness began to settle over them. But he saw Katie didn’t join in. She stared at the flames, smiling periodically over something said. Drew’s concern and anger grew as she stifled yawn after yawn and blinked her eyes rapidly as if struggling to keep them open.

  He stayed there, just studying her, until she stood and made her way to the cabin. She barely looked at him as she walked into the building. He waited a second then got up and followed her. And found her leaning against the doorway to the pantry, taking slow, deep breaths.

  “What the fuck?” he muttered and moved to her side. “What’s wrong?”

  “Nothing,” Katie said, breathlessly. “Just need a sec—”

  “What you need is something in your belly and a solid night’s sleep,” he ground out. “Did you eat any of your supper? Or did you just spread it around your plate to make it look like you did?”

  “Shut up. I ate.” Her knuckles were white on the doorframe. “Quit fussing, Drew. I need to grab a couple bottles of Grace’s wine for everyone.”

  “The hell with that. You’re going to bed. Now.” He grasped her elbow. “Let’s go.”

  “Stop,” she protested and turned to look him in the eyes. Her defiant expression softened slightly. “I’m going to bring out the wine then—”

  “Then you’ll sit out there for another hour or two out of some sense of obligation or some shit. Then you’ll be up before the sun working your ass into the ground again.”

  “I’m not…” She sighed and looked at him with tired eyes. “What do you want from me, Drew?”

  “I want you to take care of yourself,” he replied curtly. “Go up to bed. I’ll take the fucking wine out to our fine guests.”

  Her brow furrowed. “Why are you being such a dick?”

  He stepped closer, crowding her against the doorway. “Because I don’t like coming home and finding you wasting away and no one is doing a fucking thing about it.”

  “What do you care? I’m doing fine.” She let go of the wooden trim, turned slightly and pushed her palms against his chest. “You have no right, none. You run off to who knows where for months at a time, without a second thought to the ones you leave behind. You’ve no right coming back with h—” Katie cleared her throat. “Coming back and treating me like a child. The last time I checked, my father is long gone. I had to suffer through four stand-ins, and I sure as hell don’t need another.”