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Chapter 4 - Marcus: Secret Lover
“You are going to need to tell her straight, Marcus. You can’t keep dodging it forever. She needs to know that you don’t want her in that way.” Danny’s voice rang through the speakers of the car.
“I know that, but you know how Ash is. She isn’t always the most stable person.”
“Which is exactly why you should tell her now. I am your sister, and I know better than you do when it comes to women.”
I scoffed, “I know about women, okay. I have dealt with you, and that was enough to educate me on the female species.”
I heard Axel squealing in the background, making noise.
“Axel, baby, please. Mommy is trying to knock some sense into your uncle’s head.”
I rolled my eyes at her even though I knew she couldn’t see me. “Stop telling my nephew nonsense.”
“Marcus, I’m serious, though. You need to put an end to this. I have seen the way this girl looks at you. She looks at you like you put the stars in the sky, and you make the sun rise every morning. She is in love with you.”
I knew that. Hell, I was sure the whole town knew that. I was even sure some people were rooting for us to become something.
I had even heard that there was a pool running to see how long it would take us to become official. That was all Betty Gurber’s doing. She was the town gossip.
“But I’m not in love with her. I can never be in love with her or any other woman, for that fact. You know this, Danny. My heart belongs to one woman and one woman only.”
She was silent for a moment before she spoke softer than she had before.
“I know, but that also isn’t healthy, M. You can’t be alone for the rest of your life. You are pushing thirty. Are you telling me you never want to settle down and start a family of your own? Don’t you want a little mini-Marcus running around?”
“I have Axel, and that’s all I need.”
“But Axel needs playmates. Won’t you give him a cousin to play with?”
“Lily has got that one covered.” The café came into view. “I need to go. I’m at the café now. I promise that I will tell her.”
“Today.”
“Fine,” I gave in to her pestering. “I will tell her today. Bye. Kiss Axel for me. I love you.”
I hung up the phone and parked my car in front of ‘Little Cakes’ the best café in town. Well, it was one of two, so there wasn’t much competition. The perks of living in a small town.
I opened my phone and typed a quick message to Ashleigh.
Me: I’m here.
Not even five seconds later, she replied.
Ash: Waiting for you inside. Can’t wait to see you!
She had put a little kiss face. I was never a man who read into emojis, but this emoji meant something; I was sure of it. She had never sent one before. She was getting bold which meant I needed to pump the breaks.
Ashleigh wasn’t unhinged, but she did have some mental issues. Her official diagnosis was PTSD and chronic depression. It all stemmed from Sarah’s passing. She and Ash had been twins. They had done everything together from the moment they were born.
They were never without each other for more than twenty-four hours. So, it was no surprise when Ash fell into a deep and dark hole after Sarah’s passing. We all had. We all struggled. Sarah had been such a wonderful light to the world, and she had been taken away so quickly. It wasn’t fair.
It got so bad that Ryan and Linda McNeil—Sarah and Ash’s parents— had to move to Sandlewood after their daughter had died. They had done it to save the life of their other daughter. Ash had needed to go into rehab because things got really dark for a moment.
She spent six months in rehab, and then she was under close supervision for two months. Throughout her treatment, I had been there every step of the way. I visited her often, mostly on weekends, but I saw her frequently.
But my motives for being around Ash so much were not all the way selfless. There was a selfish aspect to it, too. Being around Ash made me feel a little closer to Sarah. There was something about her aura that reminded me so much of my dead wife.
