I squeezed my eyes shut, knowing it was the only option. I didn’t realize I’d been holding my breath until something brushed against my sides and stomach and made me giggle.
“Audrey?”
“I’m sorry. I’m…ticklish.”And nervous.
He made another attempt, this time gently—like a mother with a child. He tucked the towel around me, and I appreciated the effort to preserve what little was left of my modesty.
“Here we go.” He lifted me up, his skin grazing my stomach, and I landed in his arms with a squeak.
“Oh, um, hi.”God. Could I bemoreeloquent?
He’d had the foresight to place a towel in his arms, so I was cocooned in terry cloth. Even so, I could feel spots where his touch burned my skin through the layers, his arms beneath my thighs, his chest against my side.
He stared ahead, jaw clenched, unspeaking. And, with a deep inhale, he carried me to my room. He set me gently on the bed before pulling the covers up to my chin. I nearly laughed at his obvious attempts to look away.
“I’ll call Doc.”
I nodded, relief coursing through me. “Thank you, Ethan.”
I could hear him speaking in hushed tones just outside the door. The floorboards creaked as he paced along the upstairs landing, and I burrowed down under the covers, thankful to be in bed instead of huddled up on the floor of the shower.
“He’s on his way.”
“Thank you.”
“Are you okay if I work in your dad’s bathroom? You can text me or call out if you need something.”
I nodded but then bit my lip. “My phone’s downstairs.”
He disappeared through the door and was gone for a while, rummaging in the kitchen before returning with a tray. “Here you go.”
My phone was there, along with a banana, crackers, water, and my laptop. How incredibly thoughtful. “Um, wow. Thank you.”
He didn’t acknowledge it, only asked, “Do you want me to bring you some clothes?”
I laughed. “I don’t want to move. But maybe a robe?” I pointed to the one on the back of my door, and he tossed it over the bed.
“Good?”
I nodded. “Good.”
A while later, there was a knock at the front door, and Ethan went down to answer it. I could hear him talking to someone though I couldn’t make out the words. Their footsteps sounded on the stairs.
“Hey, Audrey.” Doc greeted me from the door.
“Hey, Doc.” I pulled my attention away from my phone. I’d been trying to respond to emails, but my hand kept falling asleep from holding it above me. “Thanks for coming.”
We talked through my symptoms, and he prescribed some muscle relaxers before saying, “So, it seems like things are going better with Ethan.”
“I suppose so.” I thought back to the will, to my dad’s wishes, to his last moments. “Do you think he suffered?”
“Who?” Doc Allen asked. “Ethan?”
I shook my head, though I was thrown by his comment. What had Ethan been through? “My dad.”
He tilted his head back, understanding lighting his gaze. “I hope not, but I don’t know. What I do know is that he loved you very much.”
“Then why did he change his will?” I whispered. “Why give the property to Ethan and me?”
