Loved By The Hero (Hero Romance 3) by Kalena Lyons Page B

in Louisiana. Their phone calls had started out serious and short, but when Richard had passed away, Ethan had talked to her on the phone for two hours. He’d told her about how his uncle had taught him all about being a fireman, and how he had taught Ethan how to ride a bike. The man had been more of a father to him than anyone else in his life.
    “So a few more days then?” she prodded. It was well past ten on her end and knew it was past nine at night on Ethan’s end. He’d have to get to bed soon.
    “Two days, tops,” he told her quietly. She could hear the amusement in his tone and smiled. He sounded good when she spoke to him, but the time he had called her to let her know his uncle had passed, he had sounded like he needed a friend. She had been flattered and a little scared he’d called her first.
    “I’ll see you in two days then. Tomorrow night, same time?” she asked as she yawned.
    “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be keeping you up like this. You have work tomorrow.” He didn’t sound the least bit sorry.
    “You’re not sorry, and neither am I. I miss you. I’ll see you soon,” she told him as a way of goodbye.
    “I miss you, too.”
    She listened to the sound of his breathing on the other end of the line for a moment before she pulled the phone away from hear ear and hung up. Then she lay back on her pillows and looked up at her popcorn ceiling. The sound of her mother still bustling around in the kitchen downstairs alerted her, but it was a soothing sound. Tomorrow was Tuesday and she was getting ready for some readings. Some of the molasses cookies had been saved and she had made some special rum balls for her adult guests.
    All was right in the world, but the emotion she had felt rage into her while she was sitting on Jacob’s porch earlier in the day haunted her. She hadn’t told Ethan exactly how or why her husband had died, but just that he had died. She didn’t tell him that she knew his fire department was the one who had been called that day, and that she was growing more and more suspicious each day when her mother didn’t ask to meet the man she was dating.
    Priscilla, her mother, was a nosy woman. She had been kind to Ethan when he had been there with his mother, but she never commented on Elaine’s late night dates after their meeting in the park. She never pushed Elaine to bring Ethan over for milk and cookies in the afternoon or to even have an adult dinner with the three of them.
    There was something going on, and that anger was dangerous. It was the kind of anger that would eat a person alive, Elaine was sure of it. She took a deep breath and puffed out her cheeks before she let the air past her lips. Then she pulled off her shoes and climbed underneath the covers to give her ever-spinning mind a rest.
    There was time to worry about it tomorrow.

Chapter Three
    “I’m coming home tomorrow.” Elaine never thought she’d hear those four words or any variation for that matter, from Ethan.
    “And your mother packed enough shrimp and grits?” She joked as she plopped another glass into the dishwasher. Ethan didn’t seem to mind her joshing around about his mother as he laughed on the other end of the line. It was a deep sound that reverberated through her body and gave her chills down her spine - the good kind of chills.
    “She did. I think the hotelier’s starting to get a little suspicious.” They had shared a few snorts and giggles before Elaine straightened up when she heard the door open and close. Her mother was home from picking up Thomas at his play date and she was fifteen minutes early.
    “I’ve got to go,” she told him hurriedly before she hung up the phone and made herself look busy as she put more dishes into the top rack of the dishwasher. It was starting to get full, but she wasn’t paying any attention to that. She was listening for the sounds of Thomas giggling or the sound of her mother making a joke or taking off his outdoor clothes, but there