The Patchwork Hearts

Chapter NINE

Maya

I slip into the passenger seat of Marcus' shiny sports car, my stomach in knots. He's right beside me, tall and handsome and he smells so good. His car is fancy and has leather seats and I just don't feel like I belong there, at all.

   "Hi," he says calmly, smiling at me.

   "Hi," I repeat.

   He waves towards the house and I see that Nella is watching out the front window.

   "She's enjoying this, I suppose?" Marcus laughs.

   "I think she is," I agree.

   He smiles again and then pulls onto the road and starts driving towards town. The bank is quick - in and out - and I soon have a money order for almost two thousand dollars in my hand. It hits me that this is happening fast, but I have to be okay with it. I agreed to this, and I'm staying in Boothbay. Ryland doesn't know where I am, and I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will just move on and leave me alone.

   When Marcus pulls into the parking lot at a coffee shop called Truck Stop, I remember that it used to be a small bakery when I was a kid. He looks at me and smiles again and then I follow him out of the car and towards the building.

   "So, you moved away for a few years but decided to come back here?" Marcus asks, after we have coffee in hand and are sitting at a small table.

   He places a stack of papers and the iPad on the table between us.

   "Yeah, I was gone four years," I tell him.

   "That's a long time. I moved here from up north, when I was in high school. My dad is fisherman. My brothers have both left to get jobs in bigger places but me... I feel really attached to this place."

   "I was born and raised here," I say, even though I'm sure he knows that. "I needed a change, though."

   "What brought you back?"

   I look at him carefully because I don't know if he already knows. If he does and I lie, then I look stupid. I am just hoping that Nella and George haven't told him much.

   "Just wanted to be around when Nella's kids are growing up," I explain, and he nods, believing me. Thank god.

   "Willow's so awesome, huh?" he asks, and I smile big.

   "She is."

   "Alright... so..." Suddenly he is spreading out some of the papers on the table. "I'll go through it all, but it's mostly standard stuff. There just a few things to sign, and then I'll send you this all by email as well, to confirm, once they have the money order in hand."

   He's all business now, and I appreciate that. Marcus is not just attractive, he's gorgeous and it's a bit distracting. I have to wipe my mouth because I realize I'm drooling a bit, as he's going on and on about all the legal stuff in the paperwork. His dress shirt is tight and I can see that he's in good shape.

   "...so if you're good with all of that, you can sign here, and then here..."

   I realize I haven't been listening, but I have signed other rental agreements. I'm sure this is the same. I nod and reach for the pen, then lean down to sign my name on the lines he's pointing at.

   That's it. It's done. I have my own place, in Boothbay. And I'm terrified.

   "The last thing is the company just wants a record of employment, so as soon as you have a job and get a pay cheque, I'll just get a copy of that," Marcus tells me.