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If the baby was his, he wanted it.
He didn’t want to marry Ella.
He couldn’t choose his happiness at the expense of others.
He had to stay in Shelter Valley for at least four years.
Shelter Valley was beginning to feel like home.
He missed some of his buddies in Bierly.
He missed having his own home, filled with his own things—a place where he could knock out a wall if it would help Nonnie maneuver more easily.
Ella couldn’t drive. She wouldn’t be able to get around Shelter Valley.
He couldn’t leave Ella and Nonnie home alone together all day.
Dot would drive both him and Nonnie nuts in no time.
He was in very heatedlike with Addy Kennedy. To the point of almost believing in people being meant for each other. And maybe even close to believing in love.
Ella didn’t interest him anymore.
Could he help that? She’d worried that he’d move on and she wouldn’t be enough for him anymore.
He’d assured her that would never happen.
And it had.
Angry with himself, filled with shame, Mark dialed Ella’s number, hoping that she’d gone to bed and wouldn’t pick up.
“Mark? I called almost an hour ago.”
Her disappointment in him didn’t even begin to mirror his own. He couldn’t live like this. Feeling selfish and base. He had to make this right.
“I was at work, Ella,” he said, his tone purposely soft. Intimate. “I’m not even home yet.”
“You stopping off at the bar? Having a cold one with the boys?”
The Mark she knew would have done so. And she’d have met him there, too.
“No. Believe it or not, I haven’t been to the bar here yet. Mostly I just go home and do homework.”
“Mostly?”
“I’ve been working some extra evening shifts to make up for the hours I can’t work because of class.”
“That sounds like my man.” Her tone had softened, too. He could almost feel the tension easing out of her. “Work before play.”
“Always.” At least that hadn’t changed. There were parts of himself that were still familiar.
“How about you?” he asked. He had to care about her. She’d been his girl for more than two years. That mattered.
He’d known Addy less than two months and she mattered more.
“I made up my mind about us, and I had to call you before I changed it again. I’m trying to be more like you, Mark, doing the right thing instead of the easy thing. That’s what you always said.”
“That’s right, Ella.” He was glad that she was trying to improve herself. Glad that he could help...
