The Road To Love: Love by Degree / The Rain Sparrow. Debbie Macomber

she could protest, his mouth firmly covered hers. When the kiss was over, Ellen straightened, resting her hands on his shoulders. “What was that for?” she asked to disguise how flustered he made her feel.

      “Just to say good morning,” he said in a warm, husky voice. “I don’t imagine I’ll have too many opportunities to do it in such a pleasant manner.”

      “No,” she said and cleared her throat. “Probably not.”

      Ellen was sitting at the table, with a section of the paper propped up in front of her, when the boys came into the kitchen.

      “Morning,” Monte murmured vaguely as he opened the refrigerator. He was barefoot, his hair was uncombed and his shirt was still unbuttoned. “What’s for breakfast?”

      “Whatever your little heart desires,” she told him, neatly folding over a page of the paper.

      “Does this mean you’re not cooking?”

      “That’s right.”

      “But—”

      Reed lowered the sports page and glared openly at Monte.

      “Cold cereal will be fine,” Monte grumbled and took down a large serving bowl, emptying half the contents of a box of rice crisps inside.

      “Hey, save some for me,” Pat hollered from the doorway. “That’s my favorite.”

      “I was here first.”

      Derek strolled into the kitchen. “Does everyone have to argue?”

      “Everyone?” Reed cocked a brow in his brother’s direction.

      “First it was you and Ellen, and now it’s Pat and Monte.”

      “Hey, that’s right,” Monte cried. “You two aren’t fighting. That’s great.” He set his serving bowl of rice crisps on the table. “Does this mean...you’re...you know?”

      Lowering the paper, Ellen eyed him sardonically. “No, I don’t know.”

      “Are you...seeing each other?” A deep flush darkened Monte’s face.

      “We see each other every day.”

      “That’s not what I’m asking.”

      “But that’s all I’m answering.” From the corner of her eye, she caught sight of Pat pantomiming a fiddler, and she groaned inwardly. The boys were going to make it difficult to maintain any kind of romantic relationship with Reed. She cast him a speculative glance. But if Reed had noticed the activity around him, he wasn’t letting on, and Ellen was grateful.

      “I’ve got a practice game tonight,” Pat told Ellen as he buttered a piece of toast. “Do you want to come?”

      Flustered, she automatically sought out Reed. “Sorry... I’d like to come, but I’ve got a date.”

      “Bring him along.”

      “I...don’t know if he likes basketball.”

      “Yeah, he does,” Derek supplied. “Charlie and I were talking about it recently and he said it’s one of his favorite games.”

      She didn’t want to tell an outright lie. But she would save herself a lot of aggravation if she simply let Derek and the others assume it was Charlie she’d be seeing.

      “What about you, Reed?” Derek asked.

      His gaze didn’t flicker from the paper and Ellen marveled at his ability to appear so dispassionate. “Not tonight. Thanks anyway.”

      “Have you got a date, too?” Derek pressed.

      It seemed as though everyone in the kitchen was watching Reed, waiting for his response. “I generally go out on Friday nights.”

      “Well,” Ellen said, coming to her feet. “I think I’ll get moving. I want to take advantage of the holiday to do some errands. Does anybody need anything picked up at the cleaners?”

      “I do,” Monte said, raising his hand. “If you’ll wait a minute, I’ll get the slip.”

      “Sure.”

      By some miracle, Ellen was able to avoid any more questions for the remainder of the day. She went about her errands and didn’t see Reed until late in the afternoon, when their paths happened to cross in the kitchen. He quickly whispered a time and meeting place and explained that he’d leave first. Ellen didn’t have a chance to do more than agree before the boys were upon them.

      At precisely seven, Ellen met Reed at the grocery store parking lot two blocks from the house. He’d left ten minutes earlier to wait for her there. As soon as he spotted her, he leaned across the cab of the pickup and opened the door on her side. Ellen found it slightly amusing that when he was with her he drove the pickup, and when he was with Danielle he took the sports car. She wondered whether or not this was a conscious decision. In any event, it told her quite a bit about the way Reed viewed the two women in his life.

      “Did you get away unscathed?” he asked, chuckling softly.

      She slid into the seat beside him in the cab and shook her head. “Not entirely. All three of them were curious about why Charlie wasn’t coming to the house to pick me up. I didn’t want to lie, so I told them they’d have to ask him.”

      “Will they?”

      “I certainly hope not.”

      Reed’s hand reached for hers and his eyes grew serious. “I’m not convinced that keeping this a secret is the right thing to do.”

      “I don’t like it, either, but it’s better than their constant teasing.”

      “I’ll put a stop to that.” His voice dropped ominously and Ellen didn’t doubt that he’d quickly handle the situation.

      “But, Reed, they don’t mean any harm. I was hoping we could lead them gradually into accepting us as a couple. Let them get used to seeing us together before we spring it on them that we’re...dating.”

      “Ellen, I don’t know.”

      “Trust me on this,” she pleaded, her eyes imploring him. This arrangement, with its furtiveness and deception, was far from ideal, but for now it seemed necessary. She hoped the secrecy could end soon.

      His kiss was brief and ardent. “I don’t think I could deny you anything.” But he didn’t sound happy about it.

      The restaurant he took her to was located in the south end of Seattle, thirty minutes from Capitol Hill. At first, Ellen was surprised that he’d chosen one so far from home but the food was fantastic and the view from the Des Moines Marina alone would have been worth the drive.

      Reed ordered a bottle of an award-winning wine, a sauvignon blanc from a local winery. It was satisfyingly clear and crisp.

      “I spoke to Danielle,” Reed began.

      “Reed.” She stopped him, placing her hand over his. “What goes on between you and Danielle has nothing to do with me. We’ve made no promises and no commitments.” In fact, of course, she was dying to know about the other woman Reed had dated for so long. She hoped that if she pretended no interest in his relationship with Danielle, she’d seem more mature and sophisticated than she really was. She didn’t want Reid to think she was threatened by Danielle or that she expected anything from him. Hoped, yes. Expected, no.

      He looked a little stunned. “But—”

      Swiftly she lowered her gaze. “I don’t want to know.” Naturally, she was longing to hear every detail. As it was, she felt guilty about the other woman. Danielle might have had her faults, but she loved Reed. She must love him to be so patient with his traveling all these months. And when Derek had first mentioned her, he’d spoken as though Reed and Danielle’s relationship was a permanent one.

      Danielle and Ellen couldn’t have been more