Little Red (19 page)

Huge pieces of tree trunk have been used to construct the exterior.

My mouth drops completely, and I cover my mouth a moment.

The large porch is graced by a large chandelier style light over the front door, and
rocking chairs and tables line the porch

“You live here?” I ask

He nods, pulling the Jeep into park.

“And now you do, too.” He smiles and hands me a small key ring that has just a few
keys on it

“Ethan, this is…” I stop.

“It’s so beautiful.”

“Thank you.

I’ve always had a thing for cabins,” he admits as he climbs from the Jeep

I can barely move.

My eyes are still fixed on the house when he reaches my door

“I was thinking,” he says.

“To sort of celebrate tonight, we could build a fire and make some s’mores.”

I smile as we begin trailing up the steps that have a charming creak to them

“After a homemade dinner, of course.” He smiles as we reach the front door.

“This is your home, too.

The silver key; you first.”

I stare at him in disbelief.

My “home.” A real home for the first time in my life.

A sigh escapes past my lips.

A safe home.

I never thought I would see the day.

It’s overwhelming, and I feel a few tears poke at my eyes as I insert the key into
the dead bolt and twist.

The click lets me know it’s unlocked, and with shaky hands, I push the door open.

I’m rewarded with an interior as grand as the exterior.

The walls are truly made from logs.

Massive logs that are a beautiful amber color and have a delicate shine to them.

Even the furniture and fixtures have stayed true to the cabin theme.

Each item seems to be made of the lovely wood and covered in delicate colors.

As I walk, the hardwood floors give off the settling sound of the wood.

It’s comforting, and for some reason I feel right at home

“Do you like it?” I hear Ethan ask

“Like it?” I ask.

“Ethan, this is amazing.

I think I’m in love.”

He smiles.

“Think you can live here?”

I laugh.

“That shouldn’t be a problem.”

“I’ve had a few of my guys running my shop for me,” he says, and it’s then that I
remember he’s a mechanic; useful information to know when you’re about to move in
with someone.

“So, I will have to go back to work, but James has worked out a plan.

Someone will always be here with you, just in case you get a little sick.”

“Don’t the other boys work, too?” I ask

He nods.

“Aaron and Colt own a construction company.

They’re the ones who built this for me.”

My mouth drops.

I didn’t see that one coming

He laughs.

“Did an alright job, didn’t they?”

I give him a nod as he continues.

“Ian has a motorcycle restoration kind of place.

He fully customized his bike.”

My eyes grow wide as I smile

“Don’t you get any ideas.” He laughs.

“Your bike is here, parked safe in my garage, and that’s where it’ll stay until after
the babies are here.”

I laugh softy.

“I guess pregnant women don’t ride too much.”

“And your red jacket is hanging safe in my closet.” He smiles.

“I had Colt pick it up and bring it here.”

I smile wide; I’d nearly forgotten my treasured jacket.

“Thank you.”

“Very welcome,” he says

“So, what do the others do?” I question curiously

“James is an architect, and Trent and Eli own an antique shop here in town.

Restoration, auctions, they love old things and art.” He grins

“Wow,” I say.

“You boys are just jacks of all trades, huh?”

He laughs and takes my hand.

“Something like that.

I like cars, Aaron and Colt like building things, James likes creating them, Ian loves
bikes, and Trent and Eli both love works of art.” He beams

“Where exactly will I be sleeping?” I ask shyly, almost wanting my eyes to move away
from his

“Well,” he says as he leads me up the flight of stairs that have a slight curve in
the magnificent wood.

“The offer still stands to sleep in the room with me.

But, since I know we’re new to this, I have other rooms if you want.”

At the top of the stairs, I see we have two choices.

Go straight into a hallway of doors, or off to the right to a beautiful loft that’s
filled with books, movies, a large TV, and one large, comfortable looking fluffy couch

He laughs.

“Like it?”

“Well, if you lose me,” I say, “that’s the first place to look.”

“There will be plenty of time for you to spend up here.” He smiles as he takes my
hand and leads me into the hallway of doors.

“The master bedroom,” he tells me, urging me inside

The room is beautiful.

The bright amber colored logs are accented with only pure whites.

The bed itself is not only huge but made from large pieces of logs as well.

There’s a dresser, night stands, even a beautiful hope chest positioned at the foot
of the bed

“The bathroom is right here,” he says, pushing himself off to the left and opening
a door to reveal an insanely large bathroom complete with shower stall and Jacuzzi
tub.

“If you want, you can take this room, and I’ll take another one.”

Suddenly the words hit me.

For Ethan to take another room feels wrong and less safe.

I shake my head.

“I feel safe when you’re with me.”

He laughs.

“You feel safe with the big bad wolf?”

I grin.

“I told you; you’re not bad.”

He smiles slightly and looks up at me.

“I think you’d be the only person to say that.”

I shake my head.

“Maggie would say that.”

He laughs.

“Alright, Miss Smarty Pants, are you hungry? We can unpack and get settled in later.”

I nod.

“But if I’m going to eat, I’d better take that medicine.”

He nods, taking me by the hand again.

“We may get lucky tonight,” he tells me.

“It being our first night in the house together, they might leave us alone.

Then again, they may smell the tacos and s’mores, so I can’t promise anything.”

I can’t help but to laugh.

Suddenly, I don’t mind the presence of all his brothers.

They’re fun, witty, and protective - everything big brothers should be, and part of
me feels like they’re my big brothers too.

That’s something that I’ve never felt before in my life

* * * * * *

Ethan has kept to his word about making dinner: homemade tacos that I find suddenly
hard to resist.

When I reluctantly push myself away from the table, he laughs

“Oh, my God,” I say.

“Those are so good.

Ethan, you are an incredible cook.

Thank you so much for dinner.”

I see his cheeks flush with a little color.

“Thank you, and hopefully you saved room for s’mores, because once I build that fire,
there’s no going back.”

I laugh and have another drink of tea, swishing my lemon around in the glass.

When a loud pang hits a backdoor that I’m unaware of, I jump, nearly splattering my
tea

Ethan is quick to relax me.

“It’s okay; it’s just my brothers.”

I lean back in my seat as he reaches for a back door.

Aaron, Colt, Ian, Trent, and James all pile in

“Where’s Eli?” He asks

“He’s with Maggie,” Ian answers.

“You don’t even want to know what they’re doing.

Animals.”

I laugh; good to know we’re not the only ones who are the butt of their sex jokes

“You made tacos,” Aaron says, walking past him

Ethan looks at me.

“I told you.”

I laugh as the boys each reach for a plate and a taco.

In a matter of a few bites, they’re gone

“How are you feeling, Red?” James asks, taking a gulp of tea.

I inspect him for a moment and see that he’s still missing the shoulder sling that
he’s supposed to be wearing for a few more weeks.

I fight the urge to scold him

“Better,” I say

“Settling in alright?” he questions, finishing off the last of his sweet tea

I give him a nod

“Find the bedroom okay?” Ian laughs

I fight myself to not throw the flatware at him, but Ethan is quick on his feet, giving
him a good whack for me

“How do you like the house?” Aaron asks

“This is amazing,” I say.

“I can’t believe you guys really did this.”

“Well, we just built it.

James helped Ethan with the plans, but this was really all Ethan.”

“Did Ethan tell you our plan?” James asks.

“About not being here alone?”

I give him a nod.

I can’t help but wonder if I actually need protection, or if they’re completely over-worrying.

I guess first-born children in the family would make them more on edge, but I don’t
quite see the need of having a bodyguard.

I am capable of caring for myself, pregnant or not

“I will be here with you this week,” Ethan says.

“I don’t have to be back to work until Monday.

My guys have control of the shop fairly well,” he tells me.

“That’ll give me time to show you around town and get you to the doctor.”

“Which will be Maggie,” James smiles.

“You’ll love her.

She’s great.”

I grin.

“She’s the O.B.?” I ask, tucking my hair behind my ear

Ethan nods.

“She and Eli both love children.”

I give him a smile.

“I can’t wait to get to know her.”

“Don’t forget to show her where all of us live,” Ian adds

I laugh softly as Ethan begins clearing the table.

For some reason, I have a feeling that it’ll be a good week but a tad overwhelming.

I have a home.

A real one.

And somehow I gained not only six brothers but a potential husband.

I shiver at the word.

I take the last drink from my glass and stand to bring my plate to Ethan.

I’m quickly ushered out of the kitchen and taken to the fireplace, where I’m told
to rest.

Ethan starts a small fire, and I pull pillows from the couch and lay by the warm glow
of the fire

As I stare at the flickering balls of flames, I try to run through a series of events
in my head.

Meeting Ethan and his brothers in the woods on the night of a full moon.

Having the most passionate and wildest sex I’ve ever had before in my life against
a tree.

Josh finding me and dragging me straight back to Kentucky.

Ethan and James finding me only to have Josh end up dead.

Finding out that I’m pregnant by…by…the Big Bad Wolf.

I make a face, not that he’s actually bad.

The twins having the moon curse does explain my feelings towards the moon as well
as the weird feelings I get, like feeling Ethan’s sexual need for me and the undeniably
strong connection that I feel with him

But, what exactly happens next? I’m pregnant by a man I’m still getting to know, and
now I’m suddenly living with him.

I am currently cursed by the moon because of the pregnancy, and I honestly have no
idea how to start living with Ethan.

Is it weird if we share a bed? Do I cook for him? How will we divide chores? Do I
plan a life with him? If I’m his “mate,” what exactly does that mean? I let out a
sigh as the dancing warm flames have lulled me into a state of relaxation.

I think it may be best to take things one day at a time

The last thing I remember before dozing off is Ethan draping the blanket over me and
receiving a small kiss on the lips, followed by someone murmuring the phrase, “We
have another sister”

* * * * * *

5 weeks later

Fifteen weeks pregnant and counting, and despite finding ourselves in the most awkward
positions, Ethan and his brothers have been more than welcoming to me

I find that his brothers, though crazy at times from the curse, are just big kids
with even bigger hearts.

They’re protective, caring, and already in love with their nephews.

Ethan and I are slowly managing to build a solid and loving relationship.

He constantly reminds me that no matter what happened in the woods, he still would
have come after me when I left, because he didn’t want to be without me.

I’ve admitted to him that I was leaving Josh to find him again.

Getting to know one another and become romantic can be challenging when you’re already
pregnant by the man.

He’s sweet and quite charming, despite him referring to himself as the “Big Bad Wolf.”
He’s protective, and I have yet to see him lose himself in the rage that he speaks
so often about, but I have a strong feeling that Ethan is just hard on himself.

I’ve also learned in these past five weeks that Ethan is an incredible kisser and
manages to take my breath away with every lip lock.

It’s quite nice knowing that I’m not just the girl that he “knocked up.”

It’s also clear that I am very much affected by the moon curse.

While it is not as strong as it is in Ethan or any of his brothers, it is there.

I feel the odd pull of the moon through the twins.

As we near the full moon, I feel the hostility and sheer craziness that Ethan and
his brothers do.

Luckily due to the pregnancy, it’s easy enough for me to pass anything off as a wild
range of pregnancy hormones.

Which, if I am being completely honest, is just as bad as the entire wolf curse

Today has been a slow day.

Ethan is now off work and is relieving Ian from “guard duty,” as I call it.

When they said that I would never be alone, they weren’t kidding.

I don’t mind it much, since the company is nice and I do enjoy getting to know them.

I have noticed that as my normally flat belly is beginning to poke out more, they
all seem to be in awe.