Everything & More (Book 1 in the E.C.N Series)

Chapter 4-Martha

"You here to make pancakes with me and Mama?" Jonathan's eyes kept flickering between Paige and I. As much as I don't want to pretend to be one big happy family, I didn't want to deprive Paige of spending time with her father. No matter how much of an asshole he is.

"Of course baby, daddy's here to help out." I answered for him, his eyes going wide in shock.

"Yay." Paige shimmied down Jonathan's body and made her way over giving me a kiss. She pulled over a chair and plopped in it making herself taller by sitting on her knees.

Jonathan was cautiously making his way further into the kitchen and closer to me. I wanted Paige to spend time with him but that didn't mean he had to be next to me. "You know what, why don't you and daddy put the ingredients together and mix it all up. Mama actually needs to change, I don't want to get my robe dirty." I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"Okie Mama, Daddy watch me crack the egg." I walked toward the doorway feeling eyes trail my every move.

~~~~~~~

This morning has been one thing after another. I knew I couldn't avoid him forever but I was damn well going to try. By the way Jonathan kept stealing glances at me every 5 minutes, I knew he wanted to talk to me alone. Thankfully, Paige took every opportunity to spend time with him and I couldn't be more grateful. We finished eating and I was washing the dishes when I felt his presence behind me. The aroma of woodsy and citrus filled my senses letting me know just how close he was.

"Martha, we need to talk." his lips were close to my ear, I couldn't think straight with this proximity between us. The shiver that made its way down my spine only confirmed that after what he did he still had a hold over me and I hated myself for it. I made the mistake of turning around not realizing I would still be trapped between the sink and his body. Jonathan was so close to me, I noticed his eyes darting between mine and my lips.

My chest started tightening and my anxiety felt like it was on a new high. His hand came up to my face and tucked a piece of hair behind my ear. My chest was visibly moving up and down as I tried to control my breathing. What set me off was the audacity he had when he leaned in and tried to kiss me. I immediately shoved him away in a panic, "No!".

"You're right I'm sorry." He said with his hands in the air, "I shouldn't have done that." I was on the verge of screaming for him to get the fuck out regardless if Paige heard but the doorbell and a knock jolted my senses.

"Do you want me to get that?"

I put my hand up and made my way out of the kitchen, "No I'll do it." As I walked down the hallway I steadied my breathing, hoping that would be enough to look normal.

When I opened the door, Ryan's head came into view as he smiled at me. Soon that smile faded as he examined my state. "Hey are you okay? You look flushed."

"Uh.. yea, now just really isn't a good time."

"Martha what's wrong?" I was about to tell him that nothing was wrong and that he should just come back later.

"Everything alright?" Jonathan's voice boomed from behind me. As he took the door in his hand and widened it. I immediately stepped to the side not wanting to be directly next to him. Both men were now glaring at each other in a heated staring contest and I began feeling very small between all this testosterone.

Like I didn't have enough to deal with already.

Ryan's eyes never left Jonathan's as I saw his hands curl up into a fist and his royal blue eyes darken with pure rage. I had only seen him like this a few times in my life. Ryan wasn't an angry person, he was a fun loving, charmer type of guy, yet quiet. Though when you managed to piss him off, everyone knew it was your own fault. After the other night I can only imagine what Ryan is thinking, "What the fuck are you doing here?".

"I live here," Jonathan said plainly. That statement made Ryan's eyes dart to me, they softened a bit when he saw how on edge I was by this encounter. "What are you doing here anyway? Last time I checked you were out of the picture."

Ryan's eyes became hard again as he turned his attention back to Jonathan. "Yea, you made sure of that didn't you."

Jonathan scoffed at his statement, he turned his head to look at me, "Of course the first thing you do is run to this fucker."

The uncomfortability and sadness I was feeling throughout this morning quickly changed to anger. "Well I had a rough night, I probably shouldn't have been operating any heavy machinery with our 5 year old daughter in the fucking car after what I found out." Jonathan saw the fire in my eyes as I watched him squirm under my glare. He knew he fucked up by saying that to me, especially after what he did.

"Who is it?" Paige came into view and her eyes brightened as she looked at the doorway. "Uncle Ryan!" She leaped up into his arms and he kissed her cheek. Paige was able to change the mood of the room with just her presence; she was always such a happy girl.

"Hey Shorty, did you have a good morning?" Ryan said with her in his arms. When I looked at Jonathan his face was hard as he watched their interaction.

He hated how attached Paige was to Ryan. I couldn't blame them for having a good relationship, he was just always there. There to pick her up from school when neither Jonathan or I could and there at her piano recitals when Jonathan wasn't. These past two years without him have been hard on her. Paige was always asking why he wasn't around and I would never know what to say.

"Yea, Daddy helped make pancakes this time!"

"Sounds great." Ryan had a smile on his face but if his tone was any indication he thought it was anything but.

"You wanna see, there are still some left over?"

"Sure why not?" He put Paige on her feet as they both walked inside. Jonathan stepped to the side to let them in. He closed the door, his eyes never leaving Ryan's retreating figure. When Jonathan's gaze turned to me, I immediately walked away to join the other two in the kitchen. Ryan was seated on the counter with Paige next to him as they split a pancake.

My arms crossed across my chest as I watched in amusement, "Um excuse me, who said you could sit on the counter. There is a perfectly good table right there."

"Oh come on Mar, live a little, we promise to clean up whatever mess we make."

I scoffed, "Yea right." The tap to my shoulder reminded me it wasn't just the three of us but that my husband was also in this damn house. "What is it?" I said, my eyes not leaving Ryan and Paige. Ryan slightly lifted his attention to us before turning back to listen to what Paige was saying to him.

"Martha, can we talk?" I shuffled on my feet, not making eye contact. That unsettling feeling was coming over me again and I didn't like it. I just wanted him to leave, I didn't want to do this. An arm circling my shoulder made me look up as I saw Ryan looking down at me with a small smile, "You okay?".

"She's fine."

Ryan's head whipped so fast in Jonathan's direction, I thought he gave himself whiplash. "Was I talking to you? Last time I checked, Martha can speak for herself."

"Well, I need to talk to my wife, so that doesn't involve you." I flinched at the way he possessively said 'my wife'. He had no right and it only pissed me off even more.

I looked around searching for my daughter, I didn't want her hearing this. As if reading my mind Ryan ignored Jonathan and turned back to me. "She ran upstairs to get some new toy she wanted to show me." I felt a small bit of relief, just a small bit.

"Martha... please." Jonathan pleaded.

Just breathe