The Becoming (Book 4): Under Siege by Jessica Meigs Read Free Book Online Page B

the
direction of the living room. “He’s constantly pestering me about
how I’m feeling, how the baby’s doing, about what I’m doing and why
I shouldn’t be doing it. It’s driving me insane. It wouldn’t be so
bad if it weren’t so constant, but he acts like I’m
incapable of taking care of myself.” She stabbed at the meat in
front of her, slicing some from the bone. Ethan clenched his teeth
and struggled to look away. Cleary, she’d been holding this in for
a while; he figured it was good to let her gripe.
    Ethan pushed away from the counter,
determined to get away from the smell of blood, if only for a
moment. The scent was forcing sudden, strange feelings to the
surface, and he wasn’t sure how to handle them. There was a cooler
on the end of the counter; he flipped it open and found bottles of
warm water inside. He grabbed one and unscrewed the cap, trying to
give himself something to focus on other than an increasing desire
to tear his teeth into the meat Cade was prepping.
    “I wish I could say I know how he feels but,
you know, I kind of don’t,” he admitted. “Anna and I never had
kids. But you already knew that, considering you used to nag us
about it all the time.”
    “Yeah, and that reminds me.” Cade set the
knife on the edge of the cutting board and studied him across the
counter. “How come you never told me you were sterile?” she
asked.
    Ethan looked at her, startled, as she
continued.
    “I had to find out from Remy . You
told her and not me? I thought you told me
everything, Eth. If I’d known, hell, I wouldn’t have been nagging
you like I was. Knowing what I know now, the nagging made me look
like a royal bitch. I thought I was your best friend, and best
friends usually tell each other things like this.”
    “You were. I mean, you are, ” Ethan
replied, setting his bottle down. “I just…I don’t know. Anna and I
only found out right before Memphis fell. And we were still trying
to cope with it ourselves. I hadn’t gotten to the point of talking
about it. And then things went to Hell in a hand basket, and it
never came up in conversation with you.”
    “But…with Remy?”
    Ethan shook his head. “Just a matter of
circumstance. It wasn’t a slight against you or anything. I told
her after we’d had sex the first time. She freaked out because we
didn’t use any protection, and I had to tell her to calm her down.
She didn’t want kids, said she didn’t see the rightness of bringing
children into this world.” He put a hand up before Cade could
protest. “No offense, of course. It’s just her opinion and choice,
and I don’t think it means she’s critical of yours.”
    “Oh, I don’t take it personally,” Cade said.
She picked up her knife and resumed cutting the meat. “I mean, I
didn’t exactly choose this.” She motioned to her belly with
her free hand. “To say it was an accident is probably an
understatement of epic proportions.”
    Ethan raised an eyebrow, intrigued at the
suggestion of an unwanted pregnancy. “So what are you saying? That
you regret it?”
    “Not necessarily.” Cade scooped up some of
the already cut meat and dropped it onto the plate to make room on
the cutting board. “It was just…unexpected. And I worry that it
prompted Brandt to move things along faster than he really wanted
to. I mean, hell, he knocks me up and then feels the need to
propose just over a month later. And not long after that, we
get married. It just feels insanely fast.”
    “Do you regret that?” he asked.
    Cade shrugged. “No, not really. I love him,
you know? I figure the whole marriage thing was inevitable. It just
got here sooner than expected.” She looked down at the clipboard
and then swore, slamming the knife down beside the cutting board.
“Shit, I’ll be right back, okay? I left something off the list that
I gave Brandt, and I need to catch him before he leaves the rec
center.” She grabbed her towel and wiped her hands again. “Can