Page 109 of Leave a Mark
Her head was tilted down as he spoke, but something caught her eye, and she looked up toward his house. Lee followed to see his father and Barbara crossing the yard cautiously, confusion clear on their faces. He’d have to deal with them eventually, but now he needed them to stay back.
“Hang on, guys. Give us a minute.”
“But Leland, you’re half-naked and causing a scene,” his father said, still approaching. “Let the girl go.”
Anger, like a flash bomb, blew away the last of his restraint. “Dad, back the hell off!” he yelled, earning himself their stunned expressions.
Wren even looked up at him. But instead of finding surprise, all he saw was sadness. She rolled down her window a single inch.
“You heard the man, Lee. Let me go.” Her voice sounded completely hollow. “Step away. I don’t want to hurt you.”
She took her foot off the brake, and the car started to roll.
He locked eyes with her but pushed back from the car. “You already have.”
LEE WATCHED HERpull away and kept watching until the turquoise Mustang turned onto Cherry Street. Then he pulled out his phone and sent her a text.
Lee:This isn’t over.
He’d give her a few minutes to calm down and lick her wounds, but he wasn’t going to let her start her workday without getting them back where they needed to be. But first, he had to establish some ground rules. He turned back to his dad and Barbara.
“We need to talk.”
“I’ll say we do,” his father grumbled, his affronted expression stoking Lee’s anger. He swallowed the urge to take a swing at the man, but the intention was clear in his voice when he spoke.
“What happened this morning willneverhappen again.”
“Well, I’m glad to hear that be—”
“Because you will treat the woman I love with care and respect, or you won’t be welcome here.” He aimed his gaze first at his father and then at Barbara. “Neither one of you.”
The look of shock on his father’s face had to be genuine. “But we’ve always treated Marcelle that way. We love her like—”
“Dad, I’m not fucking talking about Marcelle,” he said through gritted teeth. “I’m in love with Wren Blanchard, the girl you just insulted — maybe beyond repair. She’s the love of my life, and, if she ever gives me the chance, I’ll marry her and thank my lucky stars until the end of time.”
Barbara’s hand settled over her heart as her mouth made a silentO, but his father’s face went slack with confusion. “What?”
Lee was about to grab the man by his throat when the sound of a buzzer cut across the yard. They all turned toward the open kitchen door.
“Is something in the oven?” Barbara asked.
Wren.
Of course something was in the oven. That was why she hadn’t been curled up in bed with him when he awoke — when he awoke to her screaming. She’d been making him breakfast. Again.
Lee ran back into the house with his parents at his heels. The kitchen smelled of sweetness and warmth and home, and Lee shut off the timer and grabbed two potholders. He pulled open the oven door to find a dozen perfectly golden blueberry muffins.
“Oh, Wren,” he whispered.
He set the muffins on the stove and gripped the counter. The morning had given him the most unwelcome sense of déjà vu. The night he’d fallen in love with Wren, she’d left his house hurt and unprotected. Today had been no different. And both times, she’d done something so incredibly sweet for him.
“She made those?” his father asked, eyeing the steaming tin with surprise. Lee nodded.
“From scratch by the looks of it,” Barbara said, appreciatively.
“Well…” his father began, frowning. “…why did she leave?”
Lee faced him with a scowl. “Because you embarrassed her, and then you insulted her, Dad. You talked about her like she didn’t matter,” he said, years of resentment pressing behind each word. “Like you’ve done with so many things that were important to me. My job. My house. My choices…”
