Chapter Eleven #3
Marit frowned. “I didn’t want you to confront him. Have him call the cops on you or something. That last time, during the festival . . . you were so angry. Lucas seems like the kind of guy who’d call the cops if you even looked at him wrong.”
“A coward, you mean,” Zach said in disgust. “Someone who has no problem harassing a woman over the phone, but isn’t man enough to stand up to her boyfriend who’s defending her. Typical. You’ve been worrying about this for a while now, haven’t you?” he asked.
Marit gave him a small nod. “I can handle whatever he throws at me. But I can’t handle the first man who supports me unconditionally, the first man who doesn’t constantly joke about my height, the first guy to defend my choice of career, suffering because of some asshole’s misogyny.
I’m used to people thinking I can’t do my job and underestimating my abilities.
Or thinking I’m an easy mark because of my gender and size.
But if someone hurts you because of me?” She shook her head. “I couldn’t handle that, Zach.”
“Look over at the house, sweetheart.”
Confused, Marit took her gaze off the man she loved and swung it toward the main house.
Standing there were all three of Zach’s brothers, his mom, and Britt.
They all looked worried and confused about why she and Zach were still sitting in his car.
But more than that, the men looked . . .
tense. On edge. As if they were two seconds away from pulling swords out of scabbards on their backs and jumping onto their trusty steeds to gallop into battle.
It was a fantastical thought, but Marit had been reading some pretty intense and cool alien romances lately about macho, alpha alien males who were more like Vikings of old instead of the short, green, big-eyed aliens most people associated with the word.
So that’s the first image that came to mind when she saw Zach’s brothers.
“Supporting my girlfriend will not get me into trouble. I’m smart enough to know what I can and can’t say or do to someone to avoid getting the cops called on me.
And if Pearson is stupid enough to call the police anyway, they aren’t going to do anything, because I wouldn’t have done anything wrong.
“But more important is this—the Young family sticks together. No matter what. No one fucks with one of our own, and that includes you. You’re in our inner circle, sweetheart.
I know you’re afraid Pearson will do something that’ll hurt me, but we’ve been in this town for way longer than he has.
Our friends aren’t going to believe or take to heart anything he says.
“Besides . . . you’re like a local celebrity around here.
The only woman working the lobster boats?
That’s enough for people to be curious and to take notice of you.
I think that’s what has Pearson so bent out of shape.
People like you. The lobstermen have no beef with you.
No one has rushed to join his campaign to run you out of town.
You do your job, don’t mess with anyone else’s gear, and you work hard.
You’re a great ambassador for the industry.
If they had to pick between you and Pearson, they’d pick you one hundred percent of the time. Never doubt that.”
Marit looked back at Zach. She wasn’t quite ready to believe him.
Although, thinking back to the presentation she’d given at the elementary school about lobstering, the two men from another boat who were presenting with her didn’t seem to care that she was a woman.
They didn’t bring up her gender. They were very nice to her, actually.
“We can talk about this more later. I’ll want to see the texts if you still have them.
But for now, everyone’s waiting. They’re going to want to make sure you’re okay, then we’ve got a metric crap ton of stuff to move from the big house to Britt and Chad’s new place.
I know Britt just moved here recently, but somehow she’s accumulated a roomful of knickknacks, doodads, and clothes. ”
Marit smiled. “Okay.”
“Okay,” Zach agreed. Then he leaned over and kissed her, lingering on her lips for a moment but not deepening the kiss.
“Lucas Pearson is an idiot,” he whispered.
“If he got his head out of his ass, he could learn a lot from you. But instead, he’s acting like a five-year-old and throwing a temper tantrum for no good reason.
There’s room enough on the water for anyone who wants to be there.
We’ll figure out a way together to get him to leave you alone. Okay?”
“Yeah.” Marit felt much better, and she couldn’t believe she’d been afraid to tell Zach about the texts in the first place.
“And for the record, you do know that I’d never hurt you, right?”
Marit hated the concern and disappointment she heard in his voice.
“I’m sorry,” she told Zach. “It was instinctive. I was afraid that you were upset with me, and it reminded me of how I felt when my brothers yelled at me, and they’d usually end up slapping me.
So when your hand came up . . .” Her voice trailed off.
She hated the look of horror on Zach’s face right now.
“I’m not upset with you, Marit. Do I wish you’d told me earlier?
Yes. But I do understand the reasons why you didn’t, even if they were unfounded.
And I’ll repeat, I will never, ever raise my hand to you in anger, frustration, or anything other than love.
If my hand is coming toward your face, it’s to wipe away your tears or to touch you tenderly. Okay?”
Marit nodded quickly, then surged toward him, doing her best to wrap her arms around Zach. It was awkward, as they were both still strapped into the seats in his Explorer, but she did her best. “I’m sorry! I know you won’t hurt me. I promise.”
“Good. Now . . . my brothers are really freaking out. Shall we go reassure them that we’re good and see what kind of snacks my mom has made for the day?”
Marit eased back into her seat and gave Zach a wobbly smile. “Is that all you think about? Food?”
“No. I think about you naked a lot too.”
She burst out laughing. “Zach!”
“What? I do,” he said with a smile. “Because you’re so damn beautiful. This morning? On the table? Eating you for breakfast? Combination of two of my most favorite things in the world.”
Marit blushed. Her boyfriend was very sexual, easily her match, and she certainly wasn’t complaining. Because he always made sure she was thoroughly satisfied before he took his own pleasure.
He winked at her, then unbuckled and finally opened his door. Marit took a deep breath before following suit. She’d experienced a full range of emotions already this morning. She was ready for the attention to be on someone else for a change, namely Britt and Chad and the move to their house.
She was reminded of just how lucky she was to be in this family’s inner circle when she got huge hugs from everyone once she and Zach reached the porch. And when Linc asked in a soft voice in her ear as he hugged her, “Who do I have to kill?” she laughed.
Looking at his face, she figured he was only half kidding.
“Come on, before we start the hard work, I’ve got biscuits and gravy, bacon, waffles with blueberries and authentic Maine maple syrup, and some mimosas for anyone who might want one . . . except for you, Britt. No alcohol for you and our little one,” Evelyn said happily.
Zach took Marit’s hand and squeezed it as they all made their way inside. She’d hit the life lottery when she’d hooked up with this family, and Marit vowed to make the most of it.