“I was raised by my stepfather,” she said pressing the pedal. He continued to stare at her. “He was a good man. A great man but he died when I was in medical school.”
“And your mom?” he asked.
“She was an alcoholic who tried to sell me to our landlord to pay the rent.” She could feel Mitch tense up next to her. “It didn’t happen. My stepfather stopped it from happening.”
“Where is your mother now?” he asked quietly.
“I heard she died but I honestly don’t know. I haven’t seen her since I was eleven. It was just me and Hal, my stepfather. I shouldn’t call him that. He was just dad to me.”
“He sounds like a great man that raised a great daughter,” said Mitch.
“Thank you.”
“What about the rest?” he asked. “I’d like to know it all.”
She parked the ATV and stepped out, coming around to his side. She helped him from the seat and he leaned on her once again. Not because he needed to, but because he wanted to.
“Maybe we save that for a second date.”
CHAPTER FIVE
“The food here is delicious,” she said softly. “It’s not doing much for my diet.”
“Then don’t diet,” he said calmly. She looked at him with an expression bordering on anger, then it softened. “I can’t say this enough, Marnie. I like you the way you are. Your weight isn’t a factor in any of my thoughts about you. Or in anyone else’s thoughts on this property. No one here is mentioning your weight. Not one person. Please stop talking about it.”
She set her fork down by her plate and folded her hands in her lap. He was waiting for her to either get angry or cry. He almost hoped she would get angry. Crying would make him feel like shit.
“From the time I was old enough to remember, I was always bigger than the other girls. Taller, heavier, bigger shoes, everything. My mother reminded me of it every day of my life. She would remove food from my plate.
“If I grabbed a slice of bread, she took it back. If I wanted more pasta, she took it from my plate. If I wanted dessert, I was spanked. I couldn’t even go to kids birthday parties because I might eat cake out of her sight. My mom was skinny, really skinny. I know now that part of it was related to the alcoholism but the other part was her own personal belief that I wasn’t enough. Or, maybe I was too much.”
“Those were her issues, Marnie, not yours. I wish I could make you see what I see. You’re a beautiful woman. Have you never met a man that appreciated your beauty? That loved your curves and wanted to get lost in them?” She laughed a sad laugh, shaking her head.
“No. Not one that didn’t want something in return.”
“What did he want?” asked Mitch.
“It doesn’t matter, Mitch. He’s gone and I’m happy working here at the hospital and clinic. Kennedy, Kelsey, all of them are so amazing!”
“Nice change of subject,” he smirked. “Okay. I’ll let that go for now. Listen, all I want you to know is that I’m serious about dating you. Just don’t give up on me before we even get started. Look around the room at the beautiful women in various shapes and sizes. These men love their wives like no other and size has zero to do with it. It’s not how we were raised.”
“What if I’m not good enough for you?” she said with a sad expression. She stared down at those damn folded hands again and he wanted to scream.
“Not good enough? Marnie, you are more than good enough for an idiot like me. You’re the brilliant doctor. I’m just a retired SEAL who obviously needs a full-time doctor since I’m so clumsy I slice open my head on rusty file cabinets.”
She laughed. She actually laughed loud and clear and he smiled, proud of himself for making that happen. Marnie shyly looked up at him, her head cocked a bit to the side.
“What’s it like being a triplet?” she asked.
“Amazing. Annoying. Wonderful. Exhausting,” he laughed. “I love my siblings, all of them. Brooks, Marissa and me are the closest but we have younger triplet brothers that are about to leave for the Navy.”
“You’re joking,” she said wide-eyed.
“Not joking. Caleb, Levi, and Cooper.” He looked around the cafeteria and found them sitting with some of the girls their age. “That’s them over there. The three handsome devils trying to decide which one they love the most.”
“Wow, they are handsome,” she laughed. “They look like you and your brother.”
“And my father and his triplet siblings. And my grandfather and his triplet siblings.”
