Chapter 11
Ethanand I were in the office. He was at his desk entering sea lion details into a database. We’d been out most days in the past two weeks tagging sea lions. We were probably halfway through them. With each sea lion we tagged, Ethan would record as much information as he could.
I stole glances at him while he concentrated. His brow furrowed as he checked his notes. After that, he stared steadily at the screen, typing. There were many faces to Ethan Shaw. Some were more secretive than others, like the small smile when Rose said something snarky to Bailey and he replied with perfect understated sarcasm. Or the way he tried to hide his annoyance when the kids interrupted his report writing in his room. I had to give him credit. He was never rude or nasty to them.
The phone rang. I hoped it was the cabinet maker. He’d been saying for two weeks that he had nearly finished the kitchen and would be out soon to put it in. It was November now and if I didn’t keep on top of them, the house wouldn’t be finished by the Christmas break. And Ethan would still be living with us.
“Hello, Jasmine speaking.”
“Hi, Jasmine, it’s Paul the tiler.”
“Hi, Paul. I haven’t heard from the cabinet maker today.”
“He better get a hurry on. I keep booking jobs in and at this rate I won’t have any space left before Christmas.”
I clenched the phone. Dealing with tradies was worse than dealing with young campers. “Please keep a week open for me. I’m going into town tomorrow. I’ll hassle him in person.”
“That’s a good idea. That’s my normal tactic with him. I’ll slot you in for two weeks’ time.”
“Thanks,” I said before I disconnected.
After the tiler would be the painter and the floor people. We were cutting it close. If it wasn’t done before Christmas, we’d have to wait until halfway through January for them to start work again. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. It could be worse. Ethan could be an arsehole.
The messenger app beeped. I looked at my phone at the same time Ethan looked at his. It was a message from Jack. Ethan has a parcel.
Ethan smiled. What was that all about? It would be nosey to ask. We weren’t exactly friends. Or were we? If I lived with someone else, would I ask them? There went the whirlpool of thinking again. I’d had my life under control for five years and certainly hadn’t overthought anything in the last four. This was ridiculous.
“What’s in the parcel?”
Ethan smiled that damn charming smile of his. “It’s a surprise. I’ll show you when we get home.”
Argh. I would be counting the hours down until we got home to see what the parcel was. I didn’t want him to see how curious I was, so I went back to work filling out the daily tour report. I looked at the time. Still an hour and a half to go before I left to pick up the kids. So still two hours in total before we got home, and I could see what was in the parcel.
* * *
Rose and Baileycharged inside the house, dumping their things as they went. Seriously, every day it was the same. They stopped short at the kitchen counter where a big box sat.
“What’s in the box?” Bailey asked Ethan.
“Something to make my mornings better.”
That was cryptic. The only thing that would make my mornings better was for Rose and Bailey to stick to the routine. Maybe there were whips in there.
Did Sex on Legs like to use whips? I blushed. What the fuck was I thinking?
“Are you going to open it?” Rose asked, climbing up onto one of the chairs at the counter. She tucked her short hair behind her ears. It had been short since she was four and had declared that long hair was annoying.
Ethan nodded and got a knife out of the drawer. He sliced along the tape and lifted the flaps. Then he reached inside and pulled out another box. I tried not to notice how his biceps flexed as he was lifting it out. Trying and doing were two different things. I was only human.
“A coffee maker?” Bailey asked.
That’s all he needed to make his mornings better?
“There’s nothing better than the smell of fresh coffee to awaken your senses,” Ethan said.
Rose stared at him. “Where are you going to put it?”
“I was hoping your mom would let me have some counter space?” He looked over at me, raising his eyebrows and giving me a smile.
I shrugged. “Sure.”
Bench space was easier than storing whips. I held my laughter in. As much as I hated to say it, this was Ethan’s home too. And I needed to be accommodating for at least another few weeks.
“How does it work? Are you going to make one now?” Bailey asked.
“It might be too late in the day for your mom.”
“No, it’s fine,” I said.
“I bought one that can make coffee as well as hot chocolate for you and Rose.”
Rose clapped her hands. Bailey grinned. That was very thoughtful of Ethan. He didn’t need to consider the children in his decision-making. Max never would have, and he was their own father.
“How about I set the machine up while you put your stuff away?” he said to the children.
Rose jumped off the seat, grabbed her schoolbag and placed it next to her bookshelf, where it belonged. Then she placed her school shoes next to it. She ran to her room and was back in no time, putting her school uniform in the wash. Bailey hadn’t budged. He was watching Ethan unpack the box.
“Bails, put your stuff away or else we won’t get hot chocolate,” Rose said.
Ethan twisted his mouth like he was trying not to laugh at Rose’s insistence. He caught my eye and his lips quirked.
I sidled up to him and whispered, “Hot chocolate might be my new reward system if they do their chores.”
Bailey reluctantly turned away and did as his sister said. I kept myself busy unpacking their lunch boxes. It had been a long time since I’d had anything but instant coffee. There were no coffee shops in Haven Bay and I was usually too busy when we went to Somewhere Bay to stop for one. Could it be as good as Ethan said?
Rose watched Ethan. “What are you doing now?”
“I’ve put the water in and now I’m putting the milk in. It goes in this plastic part at the back. When we’re finished making the coffee or hot chocolate, we can pull it off and put it in the fridge to keep the milk fresh.”
That was a good idea. I liked the idea of not wasting the milk.
Ethan pulled two packets out of the box. One was hot chocolate and the other was coffee. He reached in again and pulled out some glass cups with lids. “These cups are reusable. Not like what they use in coffee shops, so we won’t be adding to waste.”
Bailey sat down at the bench. “Have you seen that TV show War on Waste?”
Ethan shook his head.
“You should see how many coffee cups are thrown away every day. And they can’t be recycled because they have plastic lining. Australians use one billion coffee cups a year.”
Ethan turned to Bailey, considering him, and then gave him a small smile. I was watching the moment a connection was formed.
“A lot of cups end up in the ocean.” Ethan said. “After a long time, they break down into small pieces and marine life thinks it’s food.”
Rose’s eyes became big circles. “Do they eat it?”
Ethan nodded. “Yes. They can get very sick.”
“And die?” she asked, her voice tentative.
“Yes,” Ethan said.
I appreciated that he didn’t sugarcoat it. The children needed to know that humans were responsible for environmental damage.
“This machine doesn’t use coffee pods,” Ethan said. He looked at Bailey. “So even less waste goes into a landfill.”
Bailey smiled. I smiled too at my little environmentalist.
I stood by Ethan as he made them a hot chocolate. He pointed to a button. “This button is for warm rather than scorching hot. It will be safe for the kids to drink straight away.”
This coffee machine may have been his indulgence, but he’d made sure it was suitable for all of us. He set to the coffee next. He was right. The scent was amazing, all earthy and smoky and just glorious as I breathed it in. Calmness spread through me.
I was standing so close to Ethan I could feel his heat and smell him too. Salt and freshness direct from the ocean with a hint of something else, woody or musk maybe. I leant a little closer. God, he smelled good. It was a smell that drew you in. It had nothing to do with his smile or looks, but more to do with pure manliness. I jerked away. What the hell was I thinking?
Ethan looked at me, his head tilted. My face was burning. I reached for the coffee bag to read the ingredients and take my mind off him. I didn’t know how that was ever going to work. The association between coffee and his manly smell would remain forever.
I needed to get over these thoughts. He might be kind and thoughtful, but it didn’t mean anything. Maybe he was buttering me up because he needed my help. I could tell myself that, but I didn’t really believe it.