Breathe by Donna Alward Read Free Book Online Page A

relief?
    â€œIt was an accident, Mama,” Matteo protested, but she raised an eyebrow at him.
    â€œAnd I told you, you needed to be careful. What do you say?”
    His little lips were set in a mutinous line. “Sorry,” he mumbled at Jace. Anna looked at the latter and prayed he’d just leave it for now. Thankfully, he settled back in his chair as Anna took over. She ignored the squalls from Aurelia, setting her teeth as she attended to Matteo. She picked up the large pieces of glass, laying them gently in her palm and then taking them to the sink. When she returned, she caught Matteo looking somewhat triumphant as he glared at Jace. The look Jace was returning was anything but kind, and she couldn’t help but think they’d both met their match. Sometimes Matteo’s stubbornness reminded her of Jace when he’d been a boy, but this time the idea didn’t bring a smile. The last thing she needed was for everyone to be at odds.
    And still Aurelia cried.
    She sent Matteo off to his bedroom, and her annoyance grew as Jace just sat there while the baby’s squeals pierced their ears. Couldn’t he just go pick her up or something, or offer to clean up the mess? Instead she got the feeling he was staring at the top of her head thinking about how he knew this was a bad idea.
    Children were children, and perhaps Jace needed to be reminded. After all, he had been one. And he’d been a handful. Papa had always said so.
    With a cotton towel laid over the remainder of the mess, Anna pushed her hair off her face and went to get Aurelia.
    â€œShhh, cara .” She snuggled the girl against her shoulder and the tears stopped at once. “Mama’s here. It’s okay.”
    She sighed. Today she could definitely use a second set of hands. Matteo needed a talking to about attitude and Aurelia was distressed and clinging to her neck. There was glass and water on the floor and a table full of dirty dishes. Anna closed her eyes. She didn’t want to inconvenience Jace any more than she already had. And in truth she’d thought they’d have privacy in a guesthouse and be completely out of his way. She wanted to do it all before he had a chance to. She needed to prove to him she was capable of handling everything.
    â€œLeave the kitchen. I’ll clean it up. I just need to get the children settled first.”
    â€œNever mind, Anna.”
    He refused to turn and look at her. Instead, he stood at the sink and looked out over the hill behind the house. A wave of what felt like failure swept over her. She felt like she’d let him down. Let herself down. Their first night here and all it had demonstrated was that her life was out of control.
    Feeling like a failure was getting to be way too familiar.
    â€œPlease. I’m the one who caused this, let me fix it.”
    The words tumbled out. She did consider herself responsible and she was trying to fix things. And she kept feeling pressure to do it now, when she was really doing the very best she could. Like keeping it together was somehow expected of her. She’d always been the steady one. The one to make logical decisions rather than ones based on her heart. Not even Jace understood how much her heart had been broken back then. They thought her simply strong.
    They were wrong.
    â€œWhat do you need from me?” He remained staring out the window, but she heard the softening of his voice and knew he meant more than at just this moment in time.
    She blinked, smelling the baby-powder scent of Aurelia mixed with the aroma of dinner.
    â€œUnderstanding.”
    She said it softly. It settled through the kitchen like a prayer.
    â€œPatience.”
    His fingers tightened on the counter’s edge. She knew that request would be harder for him.
    â€œAnd time. Just give me time, Jace, to make everything right.”
    Her neck was damp with the moisture of Aurelia’s breath as Jace turned back to her. Her heart