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Ellen didn’t mind that either. In fact, it was something she looked forward to, not just because she enjoyed it, but because she felt it gave the relationship she had with Travis more depth and meaning. And definitely closeness. That was probably why it was called intimacy.
“You do it!” Eugene said, handing her the truck that he had been running back and forth on the floor.
“I get to drive the truck?” she asked, and he smiled real big and nodded his head up and down. He was adorable, and Ellen couldn’t wait until it was her turn to be a mom.
“You know, anytime you need someone to watch the children, I’d be happy to,” Ellen said, and not just because she loved children. But, that was the main reason she had come over. To bring a casserole, and to offer to help Alaska with the kids if she needed it. They were both newly married, but as Alaska’s situation was a little different than Ellen’s, and Ellen thought that maybe she would need a little bit of time to develop a relationship with her husband. If Ellen could help by watching the kids, she would.
“Well you know that I trust you with them,” Alaska said. “I really can’t thank you and Travis enough for what you did for Alice. I... Can’t believe how much my life has changed in such a short time.”
“That happens with the Lord. Things look impossible, and then all the sudden, they happen. And you can totally see how everything makes sense, but you remember how hopeless they felt before God opened the door.”
“That’s a perfect description of how I feel. But maybe, I just feel like I need to grow a little more. I don’t feel worthy of Ezra, if that makes sense.”
“It does make sense, but I don’t think you need to worry about it. First of all, Ezra isn’t a judgy person. And secondly, he wouldn’t have married you if he didn’t want to. I’ve wondered about that a little. He’s so serious and methodical. It seems crazy that he did something that seems like such a spur of the moment thing. I think you’ll find he really likes you.”
Alaska smiled a little secret smile, and Ellen figured she probably already was finding out that Ezra did truly like her.
Ellen continued to play with Eugene for a little bit while she and Alaska talked, but she had chores to get home to, and she didn’t want to keep Alaska from her work.
She left with a smile on her face, and excitement in her heart. Her turn to be a mother would be soon, she was sure.
Chapter 22
Alaska watched Ellen leave. It was new, this feeling of having friends. Having people who cared about her, and would help her if she needed it, not because she was going to pay them, or because they were going to get something from it, but because they liked her, and wanted to do something kind to her. That was...one of the best feelings in the world.
Although, she would take the feeling she had while kissing Ezra over that any day.
She’d been bitterly disappointed when he continued his insistence on sleeping on the couch.
Part of her wanted to see if she could talk him into doing what she wanted, or maybe not talk.Kisshim into doing what she wanted. But, that didn’t seem like a good way to start a marriage, trying to get her way by using her feminine wiles.
So, she pushed back on the idea that she could probably get him to do what she wanted using the weapons at her disposal. But again, she didn’t want to think about them as weapons, so she shoved it aside, and decided that she would wait and assume that Ezra knew what he was doing.
Glancing at the clock, and seeing it was two hours until lunch, she grabbed the diaper and took Alice to the spot where Eugene played with his trucks so she could change her diaper beside him.
She’d just gotten Alice’s pants put back on when there was a sound that made her glance up.
The door burst open at that moment, and Chalmer burst in.
Her eyes grew wide. Rex she might have expected, although she thought that as long as he wasn’t on drugs, he wouldn’t venture out to the ranch. And even if he were, now that everyone knew to watch for him, she didn’t think that he would make it the whole way to her without someone knowing.
But Chalmer. This she hadn’t thought of.
“Oh my goodness, if it isn’t the mother of my children.” Chalmer said, in a voice that wasn’t friendly. Not even a little.
“Chalmer. I didn’t expect you.” She couldn’t think of anything else to say. Although that felt like the understatement of the year. He hadn’t been the slightest bit interested in his children, not in paying for them, not doing anything with them at all.
“Of course you didn’t. But, surely you know, that now that you're married to someone who is one of the wealthiest people in the state of North Dakota, that I would be here for my share.”
“No. I hadn’t thought that. And, I don’t think that Ezra is as wealthy as you seem to think he is.”
“How could he not be? Look at this spread. This isn’t something that happens without a massive amount of money.”
“Well I suppose if you ask him, you could find out for yourself.”
“I’m not asking.”
“You’re not?” Alaska said, as she carefully got herself off the floor, and picked Eugene up, who had been clinging to her since Chalmer walked in the door. For some reason, Eugene had always been petrified of Chalmer, even when he was a baby.
