Hell, Anna thought as he walked away, she was going to cry after all.

Ethan kept going, particularly when he heard Anna’s sniffle. He needed to be alone, to clear out his head and let the thoughts gather again.

‘‘Hey.’’

With his hand on the door, he looked over his shoulder and saw Seth on the stairs—where the boy had dashed like a skillful rabbit seconds before Ethan had started out of the kitchen.

‘‘Hey what?’’

Seth started down, slowly. He’d heard everything, every word. Even when his stomach had begun to pitch, he had stayed and listened. As he studied Ethan now, owlishly, he thought he understood. And he felt safe.

‘‘Where you going?’’

‘‘Back to the boatyard. I got some things I want to finish up.’’ Ethan let the door ease closed again. There was something in the boy’s eyes, he thought. ‘‘You okay?’’

‘‘Yeah. Can I go out on the workboat with you tomorrow?’’

‘‘If you want.’’

‘‘If I went with you, we’d finish sooner and be able to work on the boat with Cam. When Phil comes down on the weekend, we can all work on her together.’’

‘‘That’s how it goes,’’ Ethan said, puzzled.

‘‘Yeah. That’s how it goes.’’ All of them, Seth thought with a flash of pure joy, together. ‘‘It’s hard work because it’s hot as a bitch in heat.’’

Ethan bit back a chuckle. ‘‘Watch the mouth. Anna’s in the kitchen.’’

Seth shrugged, but aimed a wary glance behind him. ‘‘She’s cool.’’

‘‘Yeah.’’ Ethan’s smile spread. ‘‘She’s cool. Don’t stay up half the night drawing or bugging your eyes out at the TV if you’re working with me in the morning.’’

‘‘Yeah, yeah.’’ Seth waited until Ethan was outside, then snatched up the bag sitting beside the chair. ‘‘Hey!’’

‘‘Christ, boy, are you going to let me out of here before tomorrow?’’

‘‘Grace forgot her purse.’’ Seth pushed it into Ethan’s hand and kept his face bland and innocent. ‘‘I guess she had something on her mind when she left.’’

‘‘I guess.’’ Brows knit, Ethan stared down at it. Damn thing weighed ten pounds if it weighed an ounce, he thought.

‘‘You ought to take it over to her. Women go nuts if they don’t have their purses. See you.’’

He raced back inside, pounded up the stairs and straight to the first window that faced the front of the house. From there he could watch Ethan scratch his head, shove the purse under his arm like a football, and walk slowly to the truck.

His brothers sure could be weird, he thought. Then he grinned to himself. His brothers. Letting out a whoop, he raced down the steps to head for the kitchen and nag Anna for something to eat.

TWENTY