Page 33 of Secret Baby for Mr. Grump

I agonized over this idea for some time as I heard the low rumbling of a truck pulling right up next to me.

I pulled to a stop, sensing who it was before I even glanced over to see the rust-brown truck.

“Get in.”

I cocked my eyebrow, resisting the command in his tone. “Would it kill you to say please or be polite?”

“Would it make a difference?”

“Yes,” I said, even though his presumptuous tone was annoying.

“It might storm,” Marcus said. “You don’t want to be caught out on the street when it does.”

“What’s it to you?” I asked, feeling very stubborn and vindictive, though it only made him smile more.

“I don’t want to lose my brand-new employee.”

Employee? That would imply he wouldn’t be tearing down the resort yet, and I still had a job.

Just what game was he playing?

I didn’t ask, not wanting to get my hopes up and be made a fool of again.

I crossed my arms but ultimately walked around the car. The news had said that there was a possibility of a snowstorm, and even my pride wouldn’t let me get stuck with that. I opened the door and slipped into the seat. A gentleman would probably have gotten down and opened the door for me, but at this point, I didn’t have any expectations when it came to Marcus.

I tried to suppress a shiver as the heat in the car somehow made the cold outdoors even sharper.

Marcus still caught it because he leaned forward to turn up the heat even though he’d taken off his jacket already and had a sheen of sweat on his neck.

“I’m fine,” I told him, but he ignored me. Once I secured my seatbelt, he began pulling out onto the road.

‘Where to?” he asked.

“Uhm, to Athena’s,” I responded.

He hummed something in response, tapping a finger on the wheel as he drove. I watched him, trying to get a read of his emotions, but there was nothing on his face. I couldn’t tell if he was happy or mad or stressed. There was nothing there.

“How do you do that?” I blurted out before I could think better of it.

“Do what?” he asked.

“That. Completely shut down, not give anything away.”

He glanced at me, and the side of his lips kicked up, but it wasn’t a smile. Something that bitter and sardonic couldn’t be born from happiness.

“When you’re constantly being watched, people wait for a chance to use every expression against you,” he said. “You learn a few things to shield.”

Suddenly, shame washed through me. Because here I was, mad at him about a building and a dozen things that didn’t matter when he’d faced far more than I could ever imagine. He’d faced the persecution of this town and seen the nastiest side of it as the gossip nearly destroyed his life.

I remember when I first heard the rumor about him killing someone, I laughed. I’d been in the hardware store at the time, and the woman who ran it, Mrs. Crawley, mentioned that she saw the police dragging Marcus out from his home, saying that he beat someone to death. The story was so ridiculous, and the woman was known for making up elaborate rumors, so I just chalked it up as one of her usual tales.

But then, Saxon, the old farmer, confirmed it.

And that was when my heart raced out of my chest.

I immediately ran to the police station and begged them to let me see him. Officer Evan was in my brother’s class, and he always hung around my house, so I was able to eventually persuade him until he agreed to let me in to see Marcus for a few minutes.

I remembered how Marcus looked then, staring at the opposite wall while sitting in the cage. He didn’t look up when we went in, not even when Evan smacked his hand across the cage to get his attention.

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