And didn’t she?
Marcus felt like a rock in the storm. Right now, she felt like she was losing control over her life. The job offer. Grams’ refusal to move. Marcus clearly wanting more. Wynter felt like everything was happening to her rather than taking life by the reins.
When she opened her eyes, Marcus was still watching her. She expected him to demand answers. The old Marcus would do that. How many times had he gotten her to confess to who had bullied her at school? She’d given in every single time. He knew her tells. He could get her to talk.
But he surprised her.
The man before her had grown, matured. He nodded, and without question he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close again. He rested his chin atop her head. “You know you can talk to me about anything, right?” There was a hesitancy in his voice that she didn’t miss.
Wynter nodded against his neck. “I know.”
His arms tightened around her. “Okay.”
And for the first time that day, she smiled.
19
MARCUS
The last thing Marcus had expected was to hold Wynter while she cried. The woman was a fortress. She’d been able to handle moving to ten different schools in ten years. She’d been able to deal with the bullies who put her down. She’d managed being left by a father, losing her mother, and losing her grandfather.
Wynter was strength personified.
He couldn’t recall a single instance when he’d seen weakness in her.
Until tonight.
They sat for a long time in the dark on her couch with her cuddled up beside him. So many questions filtered through his mind. He wanted to know what had upset her. He craved fixing whatever it was and promising that she would never have to handle it all on her own again.
No, it was more than a craving. It was a deep-seated need. Marcus couldn’t help but tighten his arms around her as heconfirmed his instincts. Wynter might not realize it, but she depended on him just as much as he depended on her. He couldn’t explain it, but their souls were connected. Despite her running when they were younger. Despite his frustration over her stubbornness. None of that mattered in this moment. He’d be the rock she needed right now.
Wynter’s stubbornness was no match for his own.
He tamped down the fury that threatened. Fury over the way Wynter insisted on putting distance between them. Fury that she didn’t feel safe confiding in him. Fury that all she wanted was surface level.
No more.
One way or another, he’d get through to her.
He had to.
The followingmorning Marcus showed up bright and early. He got straight to work in the barn, unsure of how Wynter would feel after her breakdown the night before. It hadn’t exactly been awkward when she’d finally relaxed against him. They’d sat in the quiet of the house until she took in a deep breath, apologized, thanked him, then admitted she was too tired for anything more.
He’d left even though it was the last thing he’d wanted to do.
Now, as he stood in front of the shelf that hung a little crooked and the workbench with a couple doors hanging on broken hinges, he couldn’t bring himself to focus on what to do first.
The bench had been built into the wall of the workspace. It was a combination of cabinets surrounding a lower, open space. The cabinets surrounding the countertop were worn with age and weathered by use. He could sand them down and refinishthem after he repaired the hinges. One door had a crack that nearly reached the center. Yes, it was in poor shape, but it could be salvaged.
While he frowned at the work before him, he heard footsteps at his back. Marcus glanced over his shoulder and spun when he found Nora standing a few feet away. Her eyes glimmered with something—nostalgia maybe?
“I remember when Jack built this. I thought it was too much. He’d be retiring in less than ten years, and yet he insisted he needed it.” She rubbed at her arms, pulling attention to the fact that all she wore was a sweater.
Marcus lurched forward, removing his buckskin coat, then draped it around her shoulders. “You shouldn’t be out here without a coat,” he murmured gruffly.
She peered up at him with a sad smile. “You visited last night.”
He nodded.
