Marek (Cold Fury Hockey 11)

And just like that, Marek's body loosens and he drops his eyes to me. I can still see the heat bubbling deep within, now tempered a bit with frustration that he can't beat the shit out of Owen.

He takes in a breath and nods. I let my hands drop away from him, and turn to face Owen.

But it's Marek who does the talking. His voice is surprisingly cool and collected when he says, "Get off my property. And if I catch you anywhere near Gracen or Lilly again, trust me when I say you'll regret it."

Owen doesn't say a word, but turns his smirk my way. He points is finger right at me, which can be taken in no way other than a threat. "You're a bad daughter, Gracen. Tell Mommy and Daddy I said hello."

"Go fuck yourself, Owen," I snarl back at him, letting my anger finally win out over the pressing guilt weighing down on me.

I should have left well enough alone, because Owen gives a delighted laugh, lowering his hand. He shakes his head, amused over the little bit of fight he sees within me. "Can't believe you're letting your parents down like that, Gracen. No loyalty whatsoever."

"What the fuck is he talking about?" Marek asks in a low voice.

I ignore Marek.

I ignore Owen.

I turn my back on both of them and march into the house. I'm filled with anger and disgust and downright helplessness. It makes me want to throw up, so I hightail it up the stairs to my bathroom.

Leaning over my sink, I splash cold water on my face, taking deep breaths. Not only was that about the most unpleasant confrontation I've ever had in my life, but now I've got to figure some things out where my parents are concerned. I know about the only thing left to do is to call them and tell them that I couldn't save their house.

Not that they really knew I was trying to save it, but maybe we can discuss it and come up with another solution. Maybe they can go to the bank and work out a monthly payment that's acceptable and I could afford. I make decent money as a nurse, and I've got no real expenses while living here at Marek's.

I bend over, cup another handful of water, and dunk my face into it. As the water dribbles away, I straighten up, only to find Marek standing behind me. His reflection in the mirror puts me on edge.

"What was Owen talking about?" His voice is hard, giving me some inkling that he's not going to accept a bullshit story.

"It's nothing," I say as I grab the towel to wipe my face off. When I turn to face Marek, I add, "Just some personal financial stuff you don't have to worry about."

A muscle ticks in Marek's jaw and he crosses his arms over his chest.

God, what a chest, I think, and my face goes warm remembering how I slept on top of it last night.

"Try again," Marek says through gritted teeth. "That guy has something over you and your parents, and he's clearly batshit crazy coming all the way down here to taunt you with it. Now, you may not think it's any of my business, but Lilly lives in this house and I want to know what's going on."

His proclamation that he's now Lilly's chief protector is both warming and humiliating to me. I love how much he innately loves her, but it's also a clear reminder that I'm lacking in my abilities to provide and protect as well as he can.

"It's nothing I can't handle--"

"Gracen," Marek says in a low voice. "The truth."

My mouth opens and closes as if it wants to let the words pour out, but they just don't come. I'm too humiliated to admit to him how stupid I was to agree to marry someone essentially for money. It wouldn't be my money, but Owen would handle my parents' debt.

"Last chance," Marek says ominously.

I swallow hard, but I can't bring myself to admit what a dumbass I am.

"Stubborn as ever," Marek mutters softly, and spins away from me. As he heads out of my bedroom, I hear him say, "I'm sure your parents can tell me what's going on."

It takes several seconds for his words to penetrate, but then I'm flying down the stairs to catch up with him. I find him in his bedroom, flipping through his contacts. It doesn't surprise me at all he'd still have my parents' cell phone numbers.

"Marek, don't," I hiss at him as I make a grab for his phone. He turns away from me, stabbing his finger on the screen.

He puts the phone to his ear, dodges a second attempt by me to get the phone, and then I'm frozen when he says, "Sheryl, hey, it's Marek."

I imagine my mom has to be shocked as hell to be getting a call from him. Whatever my mom is saying on the other line causes a fond smile to tip the corners of Marek's mouth up.

His voice is tender when he says, "Yeah, it's good to hear your voice too."

My chest squeezes hard, and then I feel a warm, gooey sensation flood through me. Marek loved my parents as I loved his. He still cares for them, and that touches me deeply.

"Listen...is Tim around? I need you to put this on speaker so he can listen in."

My jaw drops and I make another futile grab for the phone, to do what with it I don't know. Maybe drop it down the garbage disposal to prevent this call from going a step further.

Marek taps his speakerphone button and then I hear my mom's voice, "Okay, Marek. Tim's standing here with me too. Are Gracen and Lilly okay?"

Marek gives a slight wince from the worry in my mom's tone. He quickly assures her, though. "They're both fine. Gracen is standing here with me now, also on speakerphone. Lilly's with my parents."

"Hey, honey," Tim Moore says to his daughter. I'm close to my mom, but I'm also a daddy's girl. He would have been right beside Marek on that porch, beating Owen to a pulp for the things he said.

"Hey, Dad," I say softly, my throat threatening to close off.

Marek, not one to beat around the bush says, "Owen Waller was just here at my house. Long story short, he said some shitty things to Gracen and I punched him. He's gone now, but he said something before he left that has me worried."

My eyes plead with Marek not to go into this with my parents. I'm not prepared just yet for everyone to know just how far I'd sunk with Owen.

He stares at me, acknowledging my silent request, but his lips are pressed into a grim line. He leans over the phone and says, "Before he left, he'd said Gracen was a bad daughter. And then it was creepy as hell when he said, 'Tell Mommy and Daddy I said hello.' Now I know Gracen is the furthest thing from a bad daughter, but she won't tell me what the hell is going on. I need to know, because I want to know how to handle this douche if he shows back up."

My parents are silent, and I imagine it's because they have no clue what's going on. They were absolutely kept in the dark by me and had no clue I was marrying Owen in a desperate attempt to save their house.

Marek's eyes stay pinned on me expectantly, and the silence coming through the phone from my parents is brutal.

It makes me take a deep breath and admit to all three of them, "I was marrying Owen because he was going to pay off your note that was in default with the bank."

Marek blinks at me in surprise and confusion.

I rush to fill more of the silence. "Obviously, since I'm not marrying him now, he's going to push it through. I'm so sorry I couldn't stop it. I tried but...well...I just can't marry him."

"Gracen Calliope Moore," my mom shrieks into the phone, and I wince as Marek holds the phone farther away from him and toward me. I take a step backward. "How could you agree to do something so stupid? You marry for love, not for money."

My face burns so hot that I feel sweat pop out on my forehead and upper lip. "It didn't start out that way," I feel the need to defend myself.

But then my words stutter as even I know how lame that sounds. I knew from the get-go that Owen was a horrible person and I'd never love him. Rather than cut it off, I let him suck me into this notion that he could at least be a savior to me and my parents.

"I just can't believe this," my mom says in bewilderment. "I'm so disappointed in you, Gracen."

My shoulders slump and my gaze drops to the floor. My parents' approval means the world to me, and while I knew they would be

pissed, I'm not prepared to handle their shame in me.

"Let's not go there, Sheryl," Marek says tightly into the phone, and my head pops up in disbelief he'd defend me. I know he has got to think I'm a dipshit too. His eyes come to me, but he's asking my parents, "What are the terms of the note? I'll help you out with it."

I expect silence from my parents. They're prideful and won't want his help. Instead, my dad chuckles into the phone. "We don't need help with the note. It will be paid off soon."

"What?" I say through lips numb with shock over this revelation. My father's been out of work for a long time.

"Well, your mom and I found out several months ago that we have natural gas on our property. We've been working with an attorney to explore avenues. We looked at letting them put a well on the property and leasing rights, but ultimately we just decided to sell the place to a gas company, which will include payment of the second mortgage."

"You're selling the house?" My voice is thick because my mouth is so dry.

"There's apparently a lot of gas," my dad says with another chuckle, but then his voice turns somber. "I'm regretting not telling you this now. We were going to keep it as a surprise and help you and Lilly get set up in a home of your own."

I stumble a few feet backward, my legs hitting the edge of Marek's bed. I sit down heavily on the mattress, staring at the floor.

"Owen knew about it," my mom says, and my head snaps back up to look at the phone with surprise. "He's been trying to buy this place from your dad and me for months now. I find it horrendous that he stopped asking once you agreed to marry him, I guess figuring he'd get it through inheritance."

"But how did he know?" Marek asks.