“That’s much better,” Esther praises. “Our value and worth aren’t defined by what we do. It’s defined by who we are and how we are toward others. If you could never work another day in your life, you’d still be valuable to all of us, Marnie.”
“I’m beginning to understand that fact,” Marnie replies. “I’ll do better.”
Playfully scolding, Esther tells her, “You better or I’ll have you cleaning out the chicken coops once you’re able to move around better.”
Mina claps her hands and says, “I’ll help you, Marnie!”
As we all laugh at the precocious little girl, the back door slams open and Ruby comes running in, yelling, “Grammy! Guess what?”
“What, pumpkin?” Esther asks.
“Pappy and I got some guinea hens!” Ruby says. “They’re like those birds in the movie we like, Mina.”
“Which movie?” Mina questions.
“The one with the dinosaurs!”
Marnie looks at me and mouths, ‘Jurassic Park?’ and since I have no clue, I shrug.
“Oh,Ice Age.Yes, those birds were silly,” Mina replies, nodding her head.
“Paul, you didn’t,” Esther states.
“Now, Lovey, we were loading up the truck and Bill O’Connor pulled up and said he was just gonna let ‘em go free if I couldn’t take them. Figured we have the room, so why not.”
“He was going to just toss them out?” Esther asks. “When they’ve no doubt been hand-raised, I bet.”
Paul nods and says, “Yep. He said Helen decided she didn’t want them after all.”
“She always was a wishy-washy sort,” Esther scoffs.
It’s not long before breakfast is done, and I watch in amusement as Mina and Ruby ‘help’ Esther clean the kitchen. I assist Marnie out to the porch since her meds are kicking in and get her settled on the porch swing. Grabbing the light blanket that’s on the back, I cover her and give her a kiss. “Not sure when I’ll be back today, but I want you to rest, sweetheart, okay?” I’ve already brought her water tumbler, sketchpad and pencils, as well as the pigskin, ink, and tattoo gun out on the porch so it’s accessible for her when she rouses, and the drugs have worn off.
“Okay. Thank you, Ash. I’m sure Esther will have me napping after lunch like an old biddy,” she teases.
“Prettiest old biddy I’ve ever seen,” I reply, kissing her again. I like the fact that she’ll be outside getting some fresh air. While the nights are getting cooler, it’s still rather pleasant during the day.
She giggles while rolling her eyes at me as I head down the stairs. Before I start the day, I’ll go talk to Rebel and let him know of my plans.
SIXTEEN
MARNIE
“Ash, you’re not being fair,” I grumble, my body thrumming with pent-up desire. “I don’t understand why you insist on waiting!”
He crawls up next to me and pulls me into his arms. “Because while I appreciate the fact that Paul and Esther are allowing me to stay with you in your room, I’m not going to disrespect them by having sex under their roof,” he replies, kissing my temple as he pushes back my sweaty hair.
“Then maybe we need to go back to my apartment,” I mutter. When he laughs, yes,laughsat me, I swat at him. “It’s not funny, Ash.”
“Sweetheart, you haven’t been cleared by the doctor yet to resumeallactivities,” he says. “So, no, we can’t go back to your apartment. Stairs, remember?”
I growl while pounding the mattress. So what if I’m unstable on my feet! He’s strong enough, he could carry me up and down if he had to, for fuck’s sake! I start to say that very thing when he rolls halfway on top of me and puts his hand over my mouth. I can feel his erection digging into my side, so I know he wants meas much as I want him, but his skewed moral compass is keeping me from getting well and truly fucked.
“Marnie, I’m unwilling to let my brothers at the clubhouse hear us. Those walls are paper thin and I’m a jealous fucker. Your moans and sighs are for my consumption, no one else’s, do you understand? Plus, I know you could probably manage stairs by now, but it takes you twenty minutes just to go down the ones on the back porch and there are only four steps. There are at least fifteen steps up to your apartment from the inside, and twice that many if we went in through the back. Sweetheart, you still fatigue easily as well. I promise, I want you with every breath in my body, but now’s not the time.”
“You’ll probably make me wait untilChristmas,” I snap, now in a total snit.
I feel like such a bitch right now, and don’t know how to stop myself. I guess everything’s getting to me at this point; the assault, the kidnapping, what happened to Holly. I haven’t taken the time to process all of it, just choosing to go with the flow. I mean, I only have a few more weeks before my twelve weeks is actually up at this point. I probably would’ve been released already, but mine and Holly’s kidnapping adventure set me back.
