Chapter 25
MARCUS
Marcus grunted as he dug the shovel against the walkway at the ranch and tossed the snow to the side. It had snowed a lot more than he’d expected. Right now, the snow came up to his shins, and it wasn’t the light and fluffy stuff anymore; it was heavy.
Each time he bent down to scoop up more snow, his muscles screamed.
It had only taken a few weeks for his body to get out of shape.
He’d been so focused on helping with maintenance work that he hadn’t continued his resistance training.
Come spring, he’d be in bad shape when it came to roping and dealing with the larger livestock.
The sun was shining. It hadn’t even been twenty-four hours since he’d seen Wynter and made the biggest mistake of his life.
She hadn’t returned his calls or texts, and he was tempted to head over to Nora’s place to track Wynter down and demand she talk to him.
The conversation they’d had wasn’t good enough.
Yes, he’d made a mistake, but he didn’t regret asking Wynter to marry him. He wanted her. He still did, in fact. Even after he’d been embarrassed by her refusal. This wasn’t a roadblock. It was a speed bump, and he’d get to his destination eventually.
Something hard slammed into his shoulder, and he yelped. Spinning around, he found a very angry Isabelle glowering at him. She shook out her hand, making it clear that she was the one who’d slugged him in the upper arm.
Marcus shot her a flat look as he rubbed his arm. “Geez, Izzie. What was that for?”
“You know why!” she snapped. “You know exactly what you did. Don’t bother denying it.”
“This isn’t my fault.”
“Not your fault?” she scoffed. “Whose fault is it then? I’m sorry, I must have missed the part where you had a discussion with Wynter and came to the same conclusion that the two of you wanted to be together. That happened then?”
Marcus couldn’t help but look away.
“My thoughts exactly. So you blindsided her and what? You thought she’d be all smiles and fall into your arms? I don’t know her as well as you do, and even I know that she wasn’t ready for what you pulled. If I had known what you were planning, I would have—”
“You wouldn’t have been able to stop me, Izzie. I was going to propose no matter what.”
“But in front of all those people? Come on, Marcus!” she said with exasperation. “How could you do that to her?”
Yeah, that was where he’d gone wrong. He hadn’t been thinking.
She was right. He should have pulled her aside and told her how he felt about her.
He should have told her that he loved her and that he wasn’t going anywhere.
He should have convinced her that she could trust him, and that was exactly the opposite of what he’d done.
He swallowed hard and finally met his sister’s eyes. “I messed up. I get it.”
“Yeah, you did.” She continued to scowl at him. “All that hard work.”
Marcus stared at her with curiosity. “Hard work?”
She ignored him. “How could you have been so selfish? You need to fix this. You need to grovel or something.”
“I don’t regret that I asked her, Izzie. I want to marry her.”
“Well, you could have fooled me. Ugh. Men can be so dense sometimes.”
“Hey, maybe go a little easier on him, Iz.”
Isabelle and Marcus turned to find Jason at her back. They’d been so involved in their argument that neither one of them had heard him coming. As thankful as Marcus was for Jason’s interruption, he knew better than to believe he was sticking up for him because they were on the same side.
Nope. Jason didn’t agree with what Marcus had done, he had made that clear before. But Isabelle thought he was taking Marcus’s side.
“Babe, I’m just saying that the guy is in love. You and I can both see that. He wants Wynter as much as I want you.”
Isabelle gave Marcus a look, and her expression softened. “Yeah, I know.”
“So cut him some slack. The guy just had his heart stomped on. I don’t think you need to finish off the job.”
“Gee, thanks,” Marcus murmured.
Isabelle pointed a finger at him. “You’re not getting off that easy. You still have to fix this.”
“I know. Don’t you think I know? But how am I supposed to fix this when she won’t even speak to me?”
“What have you tried?”
“I tried calling. I texted her.”
Isabelle snorted. “Try harder.”
He glowered at his sister. “If you have any suggestions, I’m all ears.”
Marcus stared at the front door. Wynter’s car wasn’t in the driveway.
Chances were really low that she was inside the house.
But Nora would be. And Marcus knew he had more than one Delaney to apologize to.
Last night Nora had been sympathetic. She’d been willing to give him the space to work through what had happened.
If he were lucky, he’d be able to stay on Nora’s good side and get her advice when it came to winning Wynter over.
Again.
He blew out a breath into his hands before rubbing them together. Then he headed for the side of the house. First, he’d shovel the sidewalk, and then he’d knock on the door.
The shoveling didn’t take nearly long enough. Marcus would rather have spent the entire day doing hard labor than discussing his love life with Nora Delaney. When he finished the job, he trudged up the steps to the house. Before he could knock, the door opened.
Nora stood there, arms folded and eyes narrowed. When he didn’t say anything, she tilted her head. “Well? Are you going to come in and tell me what happened?”
Like he’d expected. This was the Nora who didn’t have to maintain any pretenses while she had guests the other night. This Nora expected answers.
Shoving his hands into his pockets, Marcus nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
She motioned for him to come inside. He took off his boots and took a seat. She sat across from him. “Thank you for shoveling. That was sweet of you.”
“Of course.”
She continued to watch him expectantly.
Where to start? From the beginning? From when he’d realized he loved her?
“Sweetie, I’m old, not blind.”
His eyes snapped to meet hers, and he frowned.
“You’re sitting there like you have to spill all your secrets. If you think I didn’t know something was developing between you two, then you’re more foolish than I thought you to be. Wynter, too.”
“You… knew?”
She rolled her eyes. “Hon, I live in this house. The walls are thin. Do you really think that you could keep your budding relationship from me? The question is, what were you thinking when you decided to pull that stunt last night? Wynter wasn’t ready.”
His shoulders rose to his ears when he flinched at her tone. “I know.”
“So why did you do it?”
Marcus forced himself to maintain eye contact. “I was scared I’d lose her again. She kept talking about her plans to return to California. I didn’t want her to go, and I thought…” His face flushed hot. “I thought if she knew I was all in, then maybe she’d reconsider.”
Nora pursed her lips together.
“I guess I got a little over-excited and… didn’t exactly go about it the right way.”
“You could say that again,” Nora murmured. Her eyes softened, and she looked almost sad. “Hon, I think you might have done some irreparable damage with this one.”
Why did those words cut deeper than Wynter’s refusal last night? Because Nora was levelheaded and unbiased. She knew Wynter like she knew Marcus. Better, even. “Have you heard from her?” Marcus dared ask. “Has she talked to you about… you know?”
Nora shook her head. “I’ve tried calling her, but she’s not answering her phone. I don’t know if she’ll be coming back today. I was hoping she would have come home by now.”
Marcus nodded glumly. “She’s not answering my calls either.” He leaned forward and put his face in his hands. “I don’t know what to do.”
She gazed at him sympathetically before reaching over to pat his knee a few times. “All you can do is keep trying. Wynter is a hard nut to crack.”
Didn’t he know it.
The sound of a car door closing outside tore both of them from their conversation, and he bolted to his feet before marching toward the window.
Nora came to his side as they watched Wynter reach into her trunk for her duffel.
She paused at the sidewalk, her focus locking on the shoveled cement.
Then her shoulders slumped as she took in Marcus’s truck.
His instinct was to go out there to see if she’d talk to him.
When he moved toward the door, however, Nora’s hand on his shoulder stopped him.
He turned to meet her eyes, noting the sadness and pain that were impossible to miss.
“Perhaps it would be best if you put some distance between the two of you.”
He nearly stumbled back a step as if she’d slapped him. “What? I can’t. She needs to know—”
“She needs to figure out what she wants. She needs to come to terms with the information you threw at her when you two saw each other last. But most of all, she needs some space so she can do all of that without anyone hovering. Including me.”
Marcus searched her eyes, bouncing his gaze from one to the other. “What if she doesn’t know—”
“I can guarantee she knows more than you realize. Give her a few days. Then try again. That’s the best advice I can offer. She’ll still be here.”
“You don’t know that.”
The look she gave him made it clear she didn’t agree with that sentiment.
Two thoughts battled within him. He could stay and force Wynter to talk to him. But shoving his love down her throat could still choke her. Or he could do as Nora suggested and give Wynter space to breathe. The latter was far more terrifying than he wanted to admit.
But as he turned toward the window to watch Wynter trudge up the front walk, he knew he couldn’t keep hurting her. He couldn’t keep suffocating her. Wynter needed the freedom to find her own way, even if that meant running away from him again. Even if it went against everything he believed.
Marcus nodded resolutely and headed for the door.
Wynter gasped when he opened it and stepped outside. One word escaped her lips in a whisper. “Marcus.”
“Hey, Wynter. I was just leaving.” He glanced over his shoulder toward Nora. “Let me know if you need anything else, will you?”
Nora smiled faintly at him. “Of course, sweetie. Thanks again for shoveling.”
“Always.” He touched the brim of his hat, then ducked around Wynter, making sure not to brush against her. He couldn’t risk it because if he did, he might not be able to control himself and end up pulling her into his chest for a crushing hug.
“Marcus?”
He froze at Wynter’s voice, but he didn’t turn.
“Thank you,” she whispered.
Then he continued to his truck.