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Mark smiled at me and my stomach flip-flopped.
“Let’s just go,” I said somewhat breathlessly. Clearing my throat, I added for Father Montgomery, “He’s just not worth it.”
Father Montgomery clearly had a death wish. The next thing I knew he was spouting off something that sounded like scripture. It was all about the men of God and harlots in the church.
Before Mark could take him out, I whispered, “You can’t kill the vicar.”
“You are mistaken.” Mark’s tone was deadly calm when he added, “He is just a man, and not a good one at that.”
Sadly, Father Montgomery wasn’t the only one to throw insults at me. There were several others, including Martha and Gabriel, a fact which didn’t set well with Mark. When we were back at the trailer, Mark sat me down in the living room.
“They are abusive to you, and yet you seem to be oblivious to the insult,” he said with disgust. “At first, I thought your intelligence was lacking.”
That hurt a little.
“Has that impression changed?”
He gave one short and succinct nod. “I’ve realized that you do these things out of the kindness of your heart. Heaven knows why, but you do care.”
“They aren’t that bad,” I protested because, honestly, they weren’t. I knew abuse. One didn’t grow up with an addict and a prostitute and not know abuse.
Mark looked at me incredulously. “Martha criticizes every last thing you do. Earl takes advantage of your generous nature. Your boss treats you like the gum underneath his shoe. Alice and Reena use you much as a hired companion would. And the preacher? He should be horsewhipped. Why do you feel you deserve so little, Miss Landry?”
I didn’t like the question, or the pity that I could see in his eyes.
“People are just a little wary of me,” I mumbled. “My mother did a lot of people wrong.”
Mark leaned into me, tracing my jawbone with the tip of his finger before he said quietly, “You are not your mother.”
I drew back, my body tense. “I know that.”
He watched me with knowing eyes. “Do you?”
It was a good question. One that I didn’t have an answer to.
Mark obviously wasn’t finished. “Explain to me why the grocer wouldn’t look you in the eye.”
I was hoping he hadn’t seen that. “I don’t know what you are talking about.”
“Sutton.” My name was almost a plea on his lips. “What in the fuck happened to you?”
I swallowed but didn’t answer. As much as I liked Mark, I wasn’t ready to share pasts and friendship bracelets.
“Who takes care of you, Sutton?” he inquired softly.
I pushed away from him, needing some distance. “I don’t need anyone to take care of me. I have taken care of myself most of my life and got along just fine.”
“Do you want to know what I see?” Mark challenged, grabbing my wrist and pulling me close to him so that I could smell the mint he had eaten after lunch.
“Will you let me go?” I pressed against his rock-hard chest, but he didn’t move.
“I see an independent woman that works long hours at a thankless job.”
Okay, that doesn’t seem to be too bad.
“Everyone needs to work, Mr. Williams,” I retorted flippantly.
“I am not finished,” he took my hands and pulled them into his chest so that I couldn’t escape. “I can see the little girl that was so desperate to be loved that she allows strangers to abuse her kind heart.”