Free Rocky Mountain Haven by Vivian Arend

be your panties.”
    Beth swallowed, the racing beat of her heart making her lightheaded. He was right. She needed to stop being wishy-washy about this. Although, when they did find a time and place to be truly alone, she wasn’t sure her body was going to survive.

Chapter Six
     
    In the middle of clearing away supper dishes, Beth looked longingly at the recliner in the living room. A simple flick would light the gas fireplace, and she could lean back and rest her head on the soft cushions. The incredible sexual tension Daniel had lit in her body after school refused to diminish. Combined with the sheer workload of being a single mom—she was beat. A chance to put up her feet, even for a few minutes, would be paradise.
    A crash jerked her from her blissful daydream. Nathan gasped then complete silence reigned. At her feet the broken bowl from the evening pasta dish lay in pieces. A few leftover noodles clung to the shards, the rest scattered over the floor like miniature snakes.
    “Shit.” Lance turned from the fridge where he’d been putting away the milk.
    “No swearing.” She held out a hand to keep the boys in one spot. “Don’t move, I don’t want you to cut yourself on the glass.”
    She grabbed the dustbin from under the sink and dealt with the larger pieces. Lance got the broom, and by the time the mess was cleaned up, the lethargy that had crept over her was gone. Which was good, since even though it was the weekend, she still had papers to mark and a lesson she wanted to revise. The boys needed homework spelling words checked and…
    A soft sniff interrupted her mental rambling. Nathan stood to the side of the kitchen, eyes wide, his face white.
    “Nathan? You okay? Did you get cut when the bowl fell?”
    He shook his head rapidly, tucking his hands behind his back.
    Oh God .
    “Honey, it’s okay. It was an accident.” She held out her arms, and he moved towards her slowly, warily. Damn bastard of a husband. “Mommy’s not mad at you. I bet the bowl was slippery from the butter on the edge. We’ve cleaned it all up.” She wrapped her arms around him and held him close, the rapid pitter-patter of his heart as it pounded in fear making her crazy.
    She should have known better. She should have been stronger and dealt with Samuel long before he began to be such a dangerous influence in his sons’ lives. He’d been so damn demanding and easily irritated. As the years passed, they’d all learned to walk on eggshells around him.
    Breaking something had been akin to murder in Samuel’s book.
    Lance glanced back from where he stood at the sink, his young face twisted into a grimace as he fought not to cry. When he turned and started washing the dishes, Beth’s soul ached a little more. It was so like him—her firstborn—once again trying to act the grown up. Caring and acting beyond his years.
    A sense of frustration swept her. What was she doing? There was so much she needed to deal with, repercussions from ten years of mental abuse. How was she supposed to be able to make things better for her boys when she felt instant fear when the situation deviated even minutely from the “proper way”?
    What she wouldn’t give for a cup of coffee and a good long talk with a sympathetic ear to listen. She didn’t want to talk to the school counsellor and bring the whole mess into her new workplace. She didn’t want to return to the stony-faced therapist she’d been seeing in Calgary.
    Daniel crossed her mind again and her face warmed. She stood, still cuddling Nathan, and shuffled her way into the living room. Her leg ached, but she wasn’t about to put him down. He needed her. Heck, she needed him. They settled together in the big armchair. The grading could wait. The lesson—she’d put aside her usual method of getting all their work out of the way immediately and instead make time to check it over during the next couple of days.
    Tonight her boys needed a reminder that life was not as confining as