Chapter 27
MARCUS
Marcus dug his shoulder into the swinging door and entered the commercial kitchen with a tub full of dishes from the dining side of the building. His sister-in-law glanced up and smiled at him.
“Thanks, Marcus. You can put those in the sink over there.” Nikki jutted her chin to where Mark was filling the basin with soapy water.
She really shouldn’t be on her feet after having a baby a few weeks ago, but Marcus wasn’t brave enough to point it out.
As far as he was concerned, Mateo could handle his own wife.
Marcus’s reasons for helping out in the kitchen were more for himself than for Nikki anyway.
Daniel had everything running smoothly on the ranch side of things.
He knew how to delegate and get the guys to accomplish everything that needed to be done well enough that Marcus’s responsibilities had lessened.
And that was saying something, considering there were fewer men on site due to the upcoming holidays.
Busy. He needed to stay busy, and how was he supposed to do that when Daniel wouldn’t pile it on?
Thankfully, Nikki hadn’t hired anyone after Jason had left.
He’d come in occasionally when they really needed the help with prep work while Nikki was down for the count, but otherwise, she and Mark had everything handled.
Marcus carefully placed the dirty dishes into the sink and clapped the guy on the back. “Thanks. I’ll get to work wiping down tables.” Then he turned to Nikki. “Any prep work you need help with for dinner?”
She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. “Not really. Most of the guys are gone this week, visiting family. I don’t have to make as much food and the menu is simpler.” Ah, so that was how Mateo was reining in his wife.
Marcus dusted off his hands even though there wasn’t anything on them. Once the tables were wiped down and the floor was swept, he’d run out of things to do again.
It was his own fault, really.
He’d told his brother he wanted to spend more time at the Delaney property for the coming months—at least until Wynter left—and now that she had banned him from her home, he had nowhere to go.
What was the phrase? Something about idle hands and devil’s work? He sure felt like he was being tortured. He might not be surrounded by flames, but his life wasn’t all light and peace, either. He wished God would just tell him what to do or open up Wynter’s heart somehow.
Marcus had lost count of how many times he’d wanted to go over to Wynter’s house to beg her to talk to him. Deep down he knew if he could just have a conversation with her, she’d come to see reason.
Then again, that was probably his impulsive, optimistic heart talking. He hated this. He wanted to turn back the clock to that night and knock some sense into his head.
Of course, he knew Wynter.
He’d known she wasn’t the marrying type. He knew she was hiding from something. Unfortunately, hindsight being what it was, he couldn’t do any such thing.
“Marcus?”
His head jerked upward, and he found Nikki only a few feet away with concern etched into her weary face.
She definitely needed a break. She looked exhausted.
His eyes shifted to where she was peeling and cutting potatoes.
Rolling up his sleeves, he nodded to the stool in the corner of the room. “Sit. I’m going to do that for you.”
“Marcus…” This time her voice was exasperated, but he refused to let her argue. Instead, he grasped her by her shoulders and led her to the stool.
“Just do what he says, Nikki. He’s not going to back down. He’s like a hyperactive bumblebee.”
Marcus shot Mark a startled look. “What?” The word came out in a laugh, but Mark didn’t retract his statement. Instead, he elaborated. “You’re buzzing around, going from task to task not stopping in between.”
Nikki clicked her tongue, drawing Marcus’s attention next. “He’s not wrong. You’re definitely dealing with something and not very well.”
Marcus picked up the potato peeler and scoffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
His friends chuckled, but he ignored them and set his focus on the potato in his hand.
Nikki kept talking anyway. “What happened with Wynter—”
“Was a mistake,” Marcus ground out. “I know.”
“I wasn’t going to say that,” Nikki hedged, drawing him up short.
He paused his peeling and glanced over at her, expecting to see amusement on her face. She had to be joking. But there was no such sign that she was.
“I was going to say that your heart was in the right place.”
Mark snorted, earning himself two glares.
Nikki shifted in her seat. “I wouldn’t have gone about it the same way you did, but I wouldn’t have left things to fester, either. You love her. That much is clear.”
“Understatement of the century,” Marcus muttered.
She smiled. “So, you needed to tell her.”
“I did.”
“Not by proposing in front of your family. That,” she said and gave him a pointed look, “was manipulation at its finest.”
He froze then, only blinking. Shoot. She was right.
He wasn’t even thinking about the audience he’d invited.
He’d wanted to share the moment with the people whom he cared about most. But Wynter hated having the spotlight on her because she cared about what other people thought.
She pretended she didn’t, but he knew better.
Oh, man! He could kick himself for being such an idiot.
Why couldn’t he get something right for once?
“What do you think I should do?” he asked, sorrow filling his insides.
“I don’t think she’s going to be willing to talk to me any time soon.
Honestly, I wouldn’t be surprised if she picks up and leaves after what I did. ”
Nikki nodded thoughtfully. “You’re probably right.”
That wasn’t what he wanted to hear. It was definitely not where he thought she was going to take this conversation.
“I think that you need to give her some space. Maybe write her a letter with everything you think is important for her to know. And then leave it be until she’s ready.”
“And if she’s not? Ready, I mean.”
Nikki’s expression was sad. Empathetic.
He hated it.
“Then you let her make her own decisions. You can’t force her to see things your way. People don’t change their views just because someone has a more compelling argument. We’re made up of our experiences. To change, we have to want it.”
“Well, shoot, Nikki. That’s really smart,” Mark murmured.
She rolled her eyes. “Just get back to work.”
“What? I mean it,” Mark insisted.
Marcus ignored their conversation, especially when it turned into bickering.
Wynter needed to know where he was coming from, but he couldn’t rely on her reading a letter.
He didn’t want the words on the paper to come off wrong in any way.
But Nikki was right. He couldn’t force her to see things his way.
All he could do was say his piece and then let her decide how she wanted to move forward.
“That’s it? That’s your plan?” Jason snickered.
“Ease off him, will you?” Mathew gave Marcus an apologetic look. “Excuse my brother. He’s not thinking clearly.”
“I’m sorry,” Jason sputtered, amusement still in his voice. “The guy invited over his whole family. Proposed to the girl. Then expected her to fall to her knees for him? Romance and love take work. You know that. Look how your marriage turned out.”
Marcus’s eyes bounced from Jason to Mathew, noting the hard lines that filled the latter’s face. Clearly, Mathew wasn’t happy about his own love life coming into the conversation.
Mathew gripped his fork firmly in his fist. “Yes, my marriage failed because I wasn’t prioritizing her. I was more focused on building a life we could both be happy in.”
“And look how that turned out. You’re making more money, but you lost the girl of your dreams.”
“It’s been years, Jason. Will you drop it already?”
Even Marcus could hear the pain in Mathew’s voice. Thankfully, Jason took note because he shrank back in his seat. “Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “Sorry, man.”
Mathew gave him a curt nod and then turned to Marcus.
“What you did was brave. Risky? Of course. But brave, nonetheless. Wynter wasn’t ready, but you were.
You put your heart out on the line, and she wasn’t ready to accept it.
That doesn’t mean it’s over.” Before Jason could say anything, Mathew gave him a warning stare.
“The only question now is whether or not you’re going to keep fighting for her.
I stopped fighting. When my ex-wife said she was done, I gave her the out.
I thought I was showing her how much I cared for her by letting her walk away. ”
The man had been broken. The way his eyes shifted to focus on nothing at all made it clear he’d gone through the wringer.
“Honestly, it was for the best. She didn’t want a life with a man who couldn’t prioritize her, and I wasn’t ready to be there for her in the way she needed.”
“What about now?” Marcus queried.
“What do you mean?”
“If she came back, would you want to try again? If she forgave you…” Marcus could tell Mathew knew where he was going with this line of questioning. Was it worth trying again when there was so much history and pain between them?
Mathew answered right away. “I don’t know. I never thought about it. What about you? If Wynter walked through that door right now, would you drop everything to be with her? Would you do things right this time? Learn from your mistakes?”
“In a heartbeat,” Marcus said with conviction. “I still want her. Maybe even more than ever.”
Mathew nodded. “Then that’s all that matters. Don’t push too hard. Talk to her. Open a dialogue when she’s ready. And then give her space.”
Jason chuckled again. “I don’t know if Marcus is capable of that. Did I ever tell you the way he threatened me when I started dating Isabelle?”
Marcus narrowed his eyes. “That wasn’t an idle threat. I meant every word.”
Jason held up both hands. “Oh, I believe you.” The grin on his face said otherwise, and Marcus fought the urge to lunge at him just to get out some pent-up energy.
Lucky for Jason, his next words were enough of a distraction.
“So that’s what you’re going to do, then.
Wait on her front porch until she comes home?
Demand an audience and wait it out? You might be on that porch step for hours.
In this weather, you could be at risk for hypothermia. ”
Marcus glanced over at Mathew and smirked. “I guess it’s a good thing that I know a fantastic doctor.”
“I wouldn’t say fantastic…” Jason drawled. But then Mathew slugged him in the shoulder, eliciting a yelp. He scowled at Mathew as he rubbed his arm.
Then Mathew slugged him again.
“Hey! What was that for?” Jason demanded.
Mathew jerked a chin in Marcus’s direction. “For Marcus. You need to learn how to support him. He’s going to be your future brother-in-law.”
Jason cut an annoyed look at Marcus, but there was still humor in his expression. “Yeah, okay.”
Mathew chuckled. “Hear that? He’s on your side now.”
Marcus shook his head with a laugh. “If you say so.” He pulled out his wallet and threw some bills on the table. “I guess now is as good a time as ever. I’m going to see if she’ll give me the time of day.” He tossed Jason a knowing look. “Or maybe I’ll just have to risk hypothermia.”
“That’s the spirit.” Jason laughed. “Good luck.”