Chapter
16

Ethan saw movement at the cave mouth, took one second to look and went for his gun.

“Stop.” Rafe appeared behind a walking grizzly. With pants on. The grizzly not Rafe. Well, Rafe had pants on, too.

“It’s Seth.” Rafe’s hand appeared in front of . . . Seth?

His brother Seth?

Ethan dropped his gun back in his holster, and with his eyes riveted on the bear that was eating his little brother, he approached until he could see the eyes. The reckless, wild blue eyes—just like Pa’s.

“Seth?” Ethan hesitated because they weren’t a hugging family. Then he remembered how Rafe had grabbed him when he’d first come home and how good it felt. He launched himself at Seth, and Seth grabbed on just as tight. When the smell hit him, Ethan’s arms went slack.

Then he met Rafe’s eyes over Seth’s shoulder and saw so much love and concern and determination that Ethan stayed hanging on. Finally he thumped Seth hard on the back and withdrew enough to look him in the eye. “Seth, it’s you. I’ve missed you, boy.”

Seth smiled. Green teeth shone through that wild man beard and hair. The boy needed a bath, a shave, a haircut, and a whole lot of other stuff.

“Ethan.” Seth’s eyes met his, then wavered and looked past Ethan to the canyon. “Where’s the house?”

“We’re going to build one.” Ethan eased around so he stood looking at the valley with Seth. He slid an arm around shockingly bony shoulders. “Rafe is going to—”

“He means our house, the Kincaid house, Ethan. Seth is lost. We’re going to help him get home.”

Ethan turned to look over his shoulder at Rafe. Rafe came up beside them, Rafe on Seth’s left, Ethan on Seth’s right. The three of them. Brothers. Together again after far too long.

Then Ethan looked at Audra. Her mouth was hanging open as she looked in horror at the amazingly messy man Rafe and Ethan surrounded.

Ethan waited until she looked at him, and he gave a tiny shrug, hoping she’d hold off on screaming until she understood a little of what was going on.

Ethan wouldn’t mind understanding, either. But he could clear up some of it. “Audra, I’d like you to meet my brother Seth.”

That didn’t seem to help much. She still couldn’t close her mouth.

“He’s been gone from home a long time.” Ethan looked at Seth again. Seth’s shirt was torn, the collar completely ripped away and the shirt hung nearly in ribbons. Ethan saw through the shirt, and the tattered woolen undershirt beneath it to the ugly scars.

The scars. Ethan’s fault. Every one of those scars was Ethan’s fault.

Seth’s back was a mass of gnarled skin. Most of one arm. The side of his neck. Seth’s hair had caught fire, and twisted lumps of skin showed through if Seth’s hair was ever cut short.

Ethan remembered it all. He remembered burning his little brother. He remembered being frozen and useless after he’d dropped his lantern on Seth. Ethan hated the cavern almost as much as he hated himself. He’d never gone back again after that day he’d burned Seth so badly.

Today he’d entered this cave, only a few dozen yards deep and with at least dim light the whole time. And he’d hated every minute of it.

And Seth . . . here he was. His eyes as wild as a rabid wolverine. His smell far worse. Lost only a few miles from home. And living in a cave. The same cave that nearly killed him.

All Ethan could think was I should have never come home.

“Seth, would you like something to eat?” Rafe’s question pulled Ethan out of his dark thoughts.

Food, of course. Ethan had held Seth in his arms. He was a walking skeleton. Rafe was the smart one. The one who did the thinking and the doing. He would be practical and take charge while Ethan stood around feeling sorry for himself.

“Sure.” Seth turned quickly—too quickly. “I’m real hungry.”

Ethan let him go and went back to being the useless brother.

Rafe drew Seth toward the bag of supplies and eased him down onto the ground. Way too close to Audra and Maggie. Audra gave Ethan a helpless look, and Ethan had to fight the urge to drag Seth away, downwind.

Rafe dropped to his knees and pulled beef jerky out of his bag.

Audra eased away from Seth, trying to be sneaky but putting inches, then feet between her and the smell.

“Ethan, start a fire.” Rafe’s voice cracked like a bullwhip. He was in full control now. Full command. “We brought supplies for a meal; let’s get it started. Julia, get coffee on. Use the water in the canteens. Seth, let’s go refill the canteens and get you washed up a little before we eat. Take this with you.” Rafe handed him the jerky.

Seth wiped his hands on his pants as if his palms were soaking wet, then sat up straight, focused on the jerky. The little brother who’d always gotten a lot of orders. Most of which he defied. This time, probably part confusion, part hunger, he grabbed the food.

Julia came up to stand beside Ethan, her arms crossed. The two of them, side by side, standing over nervous Audra, confused Seth, and tyrannical Rafe. She hadn’t been around Rafe long enough to know that when he used his bullwhip voice, a person needed to just obey and obey quick. Ethan turned to warn her.

“Hold it right there, Rafe Kincaid.”

Too late.

Seth set to gnawing and watching Julia at the same time, fear in his eyes.

Ethan felt the need to protect his little brother, but then he sort of understood how Julia felt.

“What?” Rafe barely spared her a glance over his shoulder before he went back to getting the supplies in order. “We need to get Seth fed. He’s hungry.”

The tough meat was quickly vanishing down Seth’s gullet, and Rafe had more ready, along with a couple of biscuits. Seth was probably going to choke if someone didn’t get him a drink of water real soon.

Rafe lifted a canteen before Ethan could even move.

“I have some concerns about this man you claim is your brother.”

“Claim?” Rafe finally gave Julia his full attention.

Watching her defy Rafe was a pure pleasure even if she was a little mean-hearted about Seth. Ethan didn’t even try to keep the smile off his face.

“He left me in that cavern.” Cranky Julia wasn’t jumping in to take care of Seth. That seemed unkind. The kid obviously needed help. Ethan had noticed before that she had a bossy streak. But being left in the cavern, well, honestly, that’d bring out the cranky in a woman.

Seth quit chewing and sat up straight. “I what?”

“He what?” Audra scooted farther away from Seth.

Every drop of amusement drained away, and Ethan crossed his arms and glared at Julia. “Seth wouldn’t do that.”

After what they’d all gone through in that cavern, no Kincaid would ever leave a person stranded down in that pit.

“I . . . I wouldn’t do that.” Seth looked past Julia at the cave entrance. Ethan didn’t like the uncertainty he saw in Seth’s eyes.

“Now, Julia.” Rafe sounded like a real careful man. “You didn’t see the man who scared you.”

“Scared me?” Julia’s voice climbed to a near screech. “You’re saying now he just scared me? He left me down there to die.”

“To die? This man did that?” Audra turned on Seth, and even with her round belly and her arms full with a baby, she looked fierce.

Julia was too busy cutting into Seth’s hide with her razor-sharp words to answer Audra. “It’s only the wildest chance that you came along and heard me screaming.”

“You were screaming, Julia?” Audra’s eyes filled with tears. “You said Rafe found you, but you never said y-you might have d-died.”

Ethan hated when women cried. It surprised him, the urge to go comfort the poor, leaky little female.

“You never said you were screaming . . .” Audra’s voice broke.

Ethan jerked a kerchief out of his pocket and abandoned his stance by Julia since she was saying awful things about his brother. He handed the cloth to Audra. A man couldn’t hardly keep a dry kerchief with all these weepy women around.

“I’m so sorry you went through something so awful.” Audra pressed the handkerchief to her lips. Maybe it meant she was going to quit talking, because she was talking herself into tears, and Ethan was sure hoping his kerchief had the power to stop that.

“I’d never leave someone in that cavern.” Seth took another bite of jerky, and though he kept staring at Julia—whether distracted by the food or just sure the issue was settled—went back to chewing as if she had never suggested that he left her to die.

Or maybe he was starving.

Ethan couldn’t tell which.

Audra blew her nose, mopped her eyes, then turned back to aim a furious gaze at Seth.

“Seth’s been through a lot.” Rafe thrust the canteen toward Seth, who was riveted on Julia. Rafe shook Seth’s shoulder hard, and Seth noticed the water and grabbed it to drink deeply.

“You can’t blame him for anything if he’s not thinking clearly.”

Seth quit chewing and looked at Rafe. “You mean . . . you think I did it? Left her down there?” He sounded genuinely curious. Like if Rafe said it, then it must be true.

“No, we don’t think you did it, Seth.” Ethan knew even if no one else did. Even if Rafe had some doubts. Even if Seth wasn’t so sure. That was a low no Kincaid brother would ever stoop to.

“Maybe my friend did it.”

“Friend?” Ethan turned to his brother and saw everyone else pivot to look at him too.

“What friend?” Rafe asked.

“There’s someone else in that cave?” Julia took a step toward Seth, as if she intended to shake the truth out of him.

“Uh . . .” Seth quit chewing. “I . . . yes. I think, yes. I had a friend. I came here with a friend. He was supposed to help me get home.”

“Who?” Ethan wasn’t sure if Seth was making up the friend or not. He sounded anything but sure of himself.

“His name was . . . was . . . horse. Where’s my horse?” Seth took another bite of beef jerky.

“His name was Where’s My Horse?” Ethan asked. He thought Julia might attack Seth with her bare hands.

“It was?” Seth quit chewing to look at Ethan. “Sounds like an Indian.”

Julia definitely coiled her muscles to pounce. “Was there someone in there or not?”

“Probably . . . my friend is still in there.” Seth said it like it was a complete lie.

“Look,” Rafe said, his voice cutting through Audra’s tears, Julia’s anger, Seth’s confusion. “This is my brother.”

“You used to have a lot of made-up friends when you were a kid, Seth.” Ethan remembered too many of them; they were to blame for most of the scrapes Seth got into. And for the first time, Ethan wondered if maybe Seth really had left Julia down there. He hated the idea, but who could be sure? “Is this friend real or not?”

“He must’ve stolen my horse.” Seth looked around the valley. “Can we go home now? I miss Mom.”

Who’d been dead for nearly ten years. Ethan swallowed hard and exchanged a look with Rafe.

Rafe’s jaw went rigid, his eyes displaying cold control. He turned to Julia. “I don’t know who bothered you in that cavern, but—”

“I wasn’t bothered in that cave. I was left to die.” Julia’s voice went up to a near shout.

“Maybe not. If Seth knew there was a way out—as he clearly did, since he came out that entrance and lived near it—he might’ve moved your rope with no notion he was stranding you.”

“Now you’re making excuses for him?” Julia jammed her fists on her hips. Her hair seemed to almost stand on end with temper, though the wind might’ve been involved.

“This is my brother, Jules. He needs us to help him. He needs food and a bath and a haircut and new clothes. He needs all of that more than you need answers right now.”

“But is someone else in that cave or not, Rafe? I think we need to know that right now.”

“No, we’ll talk about things later. I didn’t see any sign of anyone else in the place he was sleeping. No second bedroll. And Seth was always one for . . . making up . . .”

“You mean lying about . . . ” Julia said.

“ . . . uh . . . friends when he was a kid.” Rafe shot Seth a worried glance. The worry turned to anger. “He might be thinking more clearly once he’s had a good meal, so do you mind fixing dinner now? If you do, say so and I’ll get a stew on without your help.”

Rafe had a knack for giving orders, and he had a knack for slashing a person with his words if they didn’t obey. He’d’ve made a great general in the Civil War. But this was Julia. This was the woman he’d said he was going to marry. A bossy woman, who had her own way with a well-given order.

The air practically crackled between them as Rafe rose from where he crouched beside Seth. Ethan held his breath while he waited to see how well Julia would like the scathing tone of command from a man whom she was planning to spend the rest of her life with.

“I’ll make the meal.”

Ethan heaved a sigh of relief. She was going to obey. He sent a short prayer of thanksgiving to heaven.

“But this is not settled, Rafe.”

Ethan had breathed too soon.

“Not even close to being settled.” Julia slashed with a pointy finger almost as well as Rafe did with his voice. “Your brother is a menace. If he left me in that cavern, stole my rope, stranded me there and never came back, then he’s a danger to me, to Audra, to Maggie, and probably to you and Ethan. He is not going to live in my house.”

“Rafe, when are we going to go home?” Seth suddenly turned away from Julia and looked around the valley. “This isn’t home. I need you to help me find my way home.”

There wasn’t going to be a wedding.

Taking care of family was Rafe’s first purpose in life. Rafe had been willing to let Ethan run the ranch, though Ethan knew, even if no one else did, that Rafe would be in charge from miles away.

But leave Seth? When Seth was in such need?

No. Rafe wasn’t capable of that.

Ethan saw Rafe’s chance for happiness slipping away.

If things went as they probably would, Rafe would choose Seth over Julia. Which left the women alone and helpless. Ethan’s eyes went to Audra, and he considered that someone needed to care for them.

It might not happen today. Or even this week. But Rafe was going to figure out very soon that Julia and Seth could not live under one roof. Which meant Julia was out. Which left Ethan with a choice to make about Audra.

Ethan did his best to not leap to his feet and run away screaming. The only reason he didn’t was because no one had actually turned the care of the leaky-eyed women over to him yet.

But he saved the idea of running and screaming for later, pretty sure he’d need it.

It was all Julia could do not to run away screaming.

Rafe had a couple of marks against him when it came to being a husband.

He didn’t love her. That was a huge mark.

He was far too bossy. And she liked being in charge herself—it would take a while to teach him that.

He didn’t respect the work she was so passionate about. Which made her seriously question his intelligence. Any reasonable person should be able to see that fossils were important.

He came with a brother who met every situation by grinning like a mule eating saw briars.

Okay, that was more than a couple. But she’d decided she could handle all of that.

But living in the same house as a madman? A furry, stinking madman? It was too much. Worse yet, letting Audra and two babies live with him.

Who knew what the lunatic might do? She began filling the cook pot with water, emptying the canteens and tossing them toward Rafe with a little more force than necessary.

“Take these with you and refill them.” Issuing orders gave her tremendous satisfaction. “And for heaven’s sake, fill them before you let your brother in that stream. He’s so filthy he’ll foul the water.”

“Hey!” Seth scowled. At least from his tone she assumed he scowled. She couldn’t really see much through the pelt on his face. Well, good. Why should she be the only one scowling.

But considering he appeared to be furiously mad, it was a wonder the man had the sense to be offended.

“Rafe, take your brother and get him cleaned up. Give him your outer shirt to wear so he’s somewhat decent. He needs clean pants, too, but we’re fresh out.” The ones he had on were so torn they barely covered enough to be called decent.

“He needs a bar of soap.” Julia pulled out the soap she’d brought along to wash the cook pot and slapped it into Rafe’s hands.

Julia turned to Ethan. “Go with your brothers.” There was no real reason to send Ethan other than she was heartily sick of the whole Kincaid family. Including the one she intended to marry. “I’ll get a fire started and the stew on.”

Ethan gave her a tiny salute. He’d done that to Rafe before, mocking his big brother for issuing orders. Julia had found his insubordination amusing then. But this was different. Julia was only telling these men everything that had to be done.

And done her way.

And done now.

She decided she could learn to loathe this charming, grinning fool who never took anything seriously. Except of course he was serious about staying out of the cavern, the one thing she wished Ethan wasn’t serious about. The idiot.

“Audra, I’ve got to gather sticks for a fire, but I won’t go far.” She looked at Audra, who had to be overwhelmed with her burdens and certainly stunned with Seth’s behavior and scent.

“I’m fine, Julia.”

“You keep an eye on him, Rafe.” Julia looked at Rafe so hard, a wise man would have backed up a step. Of course, Rafe didn’t budge. “I know you love your brother. But I’m not even close to loving him, and I sure as certain don’t trust him. So it’s on your head.” She pointed at him and almost jabbed him in the nose. “You make sure he doesn’t hurt anyone.”

“Now, don’t go acting all fussy, little darlin’, just because—”

“We. Will. Discuss. This. Later.” Julia pointed at the stream. “Go.”

She spun away from Rafe and strode toward a slightly larger stand of trees about twenty yards away. She could see considerable dead wood lying on the ground. She gathered an armload of sticks and carried them back.

Julia busied herself breaking off branches with sharp snapping energy. When the men were well out of earshot, she said, “What are we going to do, Audra?”

Tears welled up unexpectedly. Julia had done more crying since she’d met Rafe Kincaid than she’d done in her whole life. Of course, she’d been stranded in a cave and her father had died—not that she’d cried over him, but it had been a trying time.

“Can you put out the blanket so I can lay Maggie down?” Audra asked.

Julia hurried to help, doing her best to keep her brimming eyes turned away from Audra. When she was done, and Maggie was settled into her nap, Audra rose.

“I had no idea you went through something so terrible in that cavern, Julia.” Audra drew Julia into her arms, and for just a few seconds, Julia forgot Audra was the fragile one. They hugged and Julia got her tears under control without letting them fall.

Audra wasn’t a hugger. Or maybe that wasn’t fair. First they’d been strangers. Then Audra had been fat with a baby. Then they’d both showered their love on Maggie, and before she knew it, Audra started getting fat again. Even now, hugging was pretty awkward.

With her emotions under control, Julia went back to building the fire. “We’ve been very busy since it happened. There hasn’t been time to talk it through.” That wasn’t strictly true. Julia just hadn’t bothered to go into unpleasant details because she didn’t want to add to Audra’s worries.

“Seth didn’t hurt me. He frightened me. Maybe if I’d just gone up and talked to the man . . .” Julia shook her head. “But I didn’t like the way he . . . moved. He didn’t come walking up to me. He—he followed me. I heard footsteps. I stopped and the footsteps stopped. I called out. He didn’t answer. When I called out louder, he . . . There was something. It was frightening. I think he laughed. Except it echoed. Maybe he didn’t laugh. Maybe my voice was echoing back at me. Or maybe it . . . I thought . . . I don’t know. I put out my lantern and ran. Then I hit my head. I must have been unconscious, but I have no idea how long. I suppose I was so utterly silent, he couldn’t find me in the dark. When I woke up, I was so turned around. I went the way I thought was back toward the cavern opening, but the sun had set by then, so there was no light to guide me. That’s when I called out for help.”

“When you screamed for help, you mean?”

Julia nodded.

“Oh, Julia, I’m so sorry you were frightened. I know how you love your hikes. You’ve never talked much about your explorations. I don’t quite understand your fascination with fossils and rocks. I was never much of a student. I’m not very smart.”

Julia turned to Audra. “You are smart. You’ve let your father and my father tell you how stupid you are, but you love to read. I’m so sorry we don’t have any books other than the Bible and—”

“The Bible’s enough.”

“I was going to say other than the Bible and my books and scientific journals.” Julia smiled. “I know you love the Bible. But the journals, well, they’re not for everyone. But if you could just read more about the fossils, I know you’d love them as much as—”

Audra’s hand came up to halt Julia from launching into her favorite topic. “Let’s don’t start that right now. Fossils hold no interest for me. I’m sorry, but when you start talking about them, it just gives my mind permission to wander and I start worrying about you and the caves, and I just don’t think you should be in them. And now this happens. Julia, what if something happened to you?”

“You’d be fine. Now that the Kincaids are helping us, they’d take care of you.”

“Stop!” Audra shouted so loud, the sleeping baby jumped. “I don’t worry about myself when you put yourself in danger. What kind of selfish person must you think I am? I’m talking about loving you. Yes, I’d feel terrible if I lost my daughter and sister and the best friend I’ve ever had. But I’m worried about you, not myself.”

Audra launched herself into Julia’s arms. And Julia remembered anew why she’d never told Audra much about her fossil hunting. Audra tended to worry.

Julia hugged her for a long time. When Audra finally eased up her stranglehold, Julia pulled back and put both hands firmly on Audra’s shoulders. Audra was ashen, but her eyes were direct. And strong. Julia realized that Audra was strong inside, where it really counted. And maybe, because Julia had it in mind to take all the physical burdens from Audra’s frail shoulders, she’d also taken all the emotional burdens and even the mental burdens. No wonder Audra thought she wasn’t smart. Everyone, including Julia, treated her like she was a fragile . . . What had Audra said? A fragile hothouse rose that would break off in a brisk wind. And that was a mistake. A mistake Julia was going to rectify. She needed Audra’s help.

“Wait a minute.” Julia let go of Audra and stood straight, her spine stiffened, her spirits lifted. “Rafe’s been worried about the cavern being dangerous, but that was mainly because of Seth moving my rope so I couldn’t get out.”

Julia turned to the cave opening right behind her. “With Seth found, we won’t need to post a guard. I can go in alone. Now that I don’t need a rope, I can always get out.” Julia thought of that oddly broken floor. How did one know if stone might crack underfoot? But Julia could take precautions for that somehow. Her heart lightened then as she realized it was safe to go in the cavern again.

As horrible and mad as Seth Kincaid appeared to be, finding him and hopefully bringing him to his senses, or at the very least sending him off to the Kincaid Ranch, cleared the way for her to resume her explorations. Even better, Seth had run along the edges of that pit. If he could do it, she could do it, too. She’d found a back door to that beautiful cavern so she couldn’t be stranded down there.

Suddenly she realized that she was having a very good day. She looked to see the men disappear beyond a stand of trees.

Bathing that pig Seth, who Rafe seemed to think was going to be moving into their house—hah!—ought to take days. She could at least go back to the hole and see how Seth had gone across. She could take a lantern—

A hand clamped on her wrist. “Don’t even think of going in there, Julia.”

Julia realized she’d already started toward the cave.

Audra’s grip tightened.

And there was fear in her eyes.

Julia patted her sweet little stepmother on the arm. “You’re right. Of course I won’t go in there.”

She wanted to go in there something fierce.

“Weren’t you supposed to start dinner?” Audra’s tone almost sounded like she was giving an order.

That would be different.

Julia found she didn’t like taking orders from Audra any more than she did from Rafe. But it didn’t matter. The stew needed attention. Something always needed her attention. Frustrated, Julia nodded hard, trying to shake the idea of exploring that cavern.

Frustrated by the endless duties that kept her from exploring, she built the kindling into a fire and built her resentment right along with it.

She’d make stew. Stupid boring stew. Feed this crowd while epic discoveries, only steps away, went unexplored.

Bah! Stew.

She pulled some jerky out of the supply bag and started shaving it into the still-cold water as flames grew and crackled and licked at the pot.

The cave seemed to call to her. Taunt her. A look across the valley showed no sign of the men. They were probably going for a swim. Rafe could help his little itsy-bitsy baby brother take a bath. The fire needed stoking.

Bah! Get more sticks.

The need to explore the cave was like a maddening itch just beyond the reach of her fingertips. But she did her duty. Her duty to everyone while that cave held her duty to herself and God and to the whole known history of the world. She pared potatoes to add to the stew.

Bah! Chop up potatoes.

As she crouched by the fire dropping in the last of the potatoes, she peeked at Audra, who was bending over Maggie to adjust the blanket that covered her. Julia took a second to look once more at that cave entrance. Maybe if she got the stew going and Audra decided to take a nap and the men tarried with their—

A movement inside the cave drew her full attention.

Julia rose to her feet, staring. Had she seen something? It wasn’t like when Seth had poked his head out. This was more just black moving on black. Had a cloud gone over the sun? A glance at the clear sky told her no.

Had a branch swayed in the wind to cast a shadow?

Possible.

She looked a long time and couldn’t see anything more. It was not possible there was anything or anyone else in the cave. Finding Seth proved that. If so much as a mountain lion lived in there, Seth would have been supper long ago.

“What about my friend?”

A chill raced up her back and raised goose bumps on her arms. Seth had put the thought in her head. That was why she’d seen something.

If there was another person in there, Seth would have found him and scared him into running away . . . from his stench alone.

But where was Seth’s horse? Why would he walk all this way? And from where? Rawhide? Colorado City? The nearest train was half a state away, and Seth didn’t appear to be a man who could afford the train fare. And why come here? If he knew about this cave entrance, he was the only Kincaid brother who did. Julia was positive this second entrance to the cavern the brothers had explored as children had been unknown to Rafe and Ethan before today.

It was not possible that there was someone else in there. But the Kincaids had been clearly horrified to think Seth had left her down there. They’d want to believe someone was there. Rafe would use it as an excuse to block her explorations forever.

But three people in that cave all at once? Her, Seth, and someone else? It wasn’t exactly a busy street corner in Houston, after all. She was imagining things, and to speak of her strange imagination would cause nothing but trouble. But even though she’d imagined it, she wasn’t as eager to go back in the cave as she had been. A little spooked. Far more eager to have Rafe along for company. She was contented for now to stay out here and cook and care for Audra and Maggie.

Then later . . . tomorrow . . . she’d nag Rafe into going into that cavern with her. He’d promised after all, when he’d been wheedling her into marrying him.

She knew she’d have her hands full dealing with the stubborn man as it was. It would be impossible if she told him she’d been spooked.

The big dummy.

If maybe, just for a second, she pictured one of these uneducated troglodytes—bossy Rafe, Seth the lunatic, and that always stupidly grinning Ethan—choking on an undercooked chunk of potato, well, it was a sin sure enough.

But a woman couldn’t stop her thoughts until she had them, now could she?

She prayed for forgiveness and added an onion to the pot, hoping a savory stew would make up for her violent daydream.

“Scrub up his pants, Ethan. He’ll just have to wear them wet.” Rafe stripped his brother naked and saw Seth’s scars, the old burns and some new ones that looked like he’d been peppered by a shotgun all across his back. Rafe almost eased up, but that wasn’t how Seth wanted things. He hated pity. So Rafe tossed him in the stream.

Seth hollered, then came up sputtering. “Cold!”

Rafe looked at Ethan. The two of them laughed, tore their clothes off and jumped in.

Ethan screamed next. “It’s like swimming in melted snow.”

Rafe only had a second to notice Ethan had thought to bring Seth’s pants with him before Ethan threw them in Rafe’s face.

Rafe shouted and dove. Before Ethan could move, Rafe jerked him under.

Ethan came up coughing. Rafe met his eyes, and the two of them turned to Seth, who was grinning . . . or at least he seemed to be under that beard.

“You’re getting a shave and a haircut and the bath of your life, little brother,” Rafe said, advancing on Seth. Seth’s eyes flashed like wild blue lightning.

The war was on. The three of them splashed and wrestled and laughed like loons for so long they started to get warm, almost, and clean, definitely. They’d wrestled like this all the time as boys. Sometimes a fist would land a bit hard or some buried resentment would come to the surface and the fight would get a little heated. But they’d worked it all out with their fighting and had gone back to being best friends afterward. Fighting with his brothers made having them together again more real.

Once they were exhausted, and half-drowned, Rafe turned to Seth. “Now we use Julia’s bar of soap and give you a shave and a haircut.”

Seth ran his hands through his slicked-back hair, then tugged on his beard. An uncertain look flickered across Seth’s face, and he looked down as if surprised to see he had a beard. “Sure.”

“It’ll hurt,” Ethan said. “Better to wait until we can get a basin of hot water.”

Rafe nodded.

“Nope, let’s get it done. I’m not much of a one to worry about a little hurt.” Seth went under again, and when he came up he shook the water out of his hair, twisting his body so Rafe could see his back. His scarred-up ugly back.

Rafe looked over at Ethan and saw that Ethan was noticing the new wounds. Rafe wondered if Seth still had nightmares.

“My knife is razor sharp. I shave with it all the time. Let’s get rid of that fur.” Rafe turned away. He had his brothers again. His dearest wish. He knew they’d left because of him. Going into that cavern drove Ethan away. Being overprotective had driven Seth away.

So he’d change.

Except he’d promised Julia he’d go in that cave. And he had to protect Seth.

But he’d do it better. Ethan didn’t have to know Rafe went into the cavern. Seth didn’t need to notice he was being protected.

And what about Julia? He needed to take care of her. He didn’t even like to admit how badly he wanted her for his wife. How was he going to control her when she clearly loathed Seth? Well, he’d figure it all out. He’d make it work. He had to.

He got his knife, checked the edge, and dove back in the water to get busy turning this wild man back into his little brother.