Except… the idea of a few days away from it all with Hope as his companion had his mind racing with all sort of inappropriate images. That, right there, was dangerous thinking, so he shook it off.

“I gotta get to it. See you at home later.”

“Hey, Paul?”

“Yeah?”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself. We’re both doing the best we can in an awful situation. No one is judging us, least of all Dad. If anything, he’s watching over us and making sure we don’t lose our own minds.”

“Probably.” It was a far better scenario than some he’d entertained recently. “Let me ask you something else…” He’d debated whether he should say anything about what Ethan had told him. On the one hand, he felt disloyal to Hope for telling anyone, but he was more loyal to his brother and mother.

“Sure.”

“Yesterday, Ethan told me his dad is in jail.”

“What? Seriously? What for?”

“He didn’t say, and I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to make a big thing of it with him, but it’s got me wondering.”

“There was nothing about a spouse in jail on the background check we had done.”

“Which leads me to more wondering.”

“Wow.” Alex leaned against the handle of the rake he’d been using, seeming to need the support. “So what does this mean?”

“It means that we have a fantastic nurse helping us with our mom who has a past that she doesn’t want anyone to know about.”

“Maybe he went to jail after they split up.”

“Maybe.”

“Should we ask her about it?” Alex asked.

“I really don’t want to do that.”

“Neither do I. Are we taking chances with Mom’s safety by not looking into this further?”

“I don’t think so. I trust Hope, and the guy’s in jail so it’s not like he’s about to come after her or anything.”

“We need to keep a close eye on things.”

“Agree.”

“Let me know what you hear from David.”

“I will.”

“Could I ask you something?” Alex asked, seeming weary all of a sudden.

“Of course,” Paul said, becoming resigned to getting nothing done that day.

“Have you noticed anything…different…about Jenny lately?”

“Different how?”

“She’s quiet and withdrawn, which isn’t like her.”

“I know it’s hard to sneak in conversation when you’re having constant sex, but have you asked her?”

Alex grunted out a laugh. “That’s not all we do, and yes, I’ve asked her. Several times.”

“And?”

“She says everything’s fine, and that’s all she says. I don’t know what to do. I’m starting to wonder if she’s having second thoughts about the wedding and everything.”

Incredulous, Paul shook his head. “No… No way. For some strange reason, she’s crazy about you. That much I know for sure.”