Champion At Heart (Sequel of Breaking Ice)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Cassie...

Marshall hadn't thought about her since he met Brooklyn the first time. He couldn't deny when he saw her standing on the airstrip, with her heels on, making him chuckle at how adorable and so out of place she looked. Cassie was nowhere in his mind. Only the blonde, short haired woman in front of him, trying to get him to talk to her.

Despite how ornery and rude he had been to her, he had to admit she was insistent, not giving up on getting a few words out of him.

Cassie had left town and him behind, never to return.

"Marshall. Did you hear me there?" Brooklyn asked, pulling him out of his thoughts. As he looked around, he realized they were already by his truck. She stood in front of him with a concerned expression on her face as she held the paper bag filled with clothes, her free hand set on his arm, squeezing it gently to get his attention, bringing warmth to his skin.

He loved feeling her touch and loved seeing her eyes showing that she cared. "You don't have to talk about it if you don't want to." She walked to the back of the truck and put the bags in, making her way towards the passenger door, waiting for him to open it for her.

"I think I do, or else I will never move on. Not entirely, Sugar."

"Very well. Let's go back to the house, then. We need to eat that lunch Sophia made for us and we didn't get to try. She must be feeling bad. You can tell me everything on the way there." As they both got on, she tried to brace herself for whatever Marshall would tell her.

Did that woman mean the world to him, or does she still do? Has he forgotten about her, and she was just someone for him to spend the time and not think about his past? Or was she still around and one day would come back to him, and he had enough feelings for her to return to her arms?

Brooklyn forced herself not to think about it, and just waited patiently for him to tell his story.

"Cassie Sanders was not only my girlfriend," he began, gripping at the steering wheel, sighing. They were still in the parking spot, not moving an inch. Marshall put down a hand and searched for hers, as if looking for that comfort only she was able to give him. "She was also my wife."

A stab in her heart, that's all she felt. Having a girlfriend was a sort of commitment, but a wife was a big deal. Were they still married and she was just an affair he had? She was feeling disgusted by it; she was not the kind of woman to sleep with married men.

"But when I came to the ranch back then, Sophia told me she was your ex-girlfriend. Not your ex-wife."

"No one knew. We kind of eloped. The thing is..." he turned on his seat to face her. "We were crazy in love, making the mistake of sleeping together without protecting ourselves."

"Just like you and I did?" Brooklyn asked, chuckling humorlessly. "What, did she get pregnant and ran on you, too?"

"No. Well, she ran after she had our son."

Brooklyn stared at him, tears clouding her vision, threatening to roll down her cheek, but blinking them away, she took a deep breath. "I am so sorry, Marshall. Did you ever get to meet him? Did you keep in contact?"

He shook his head and sighed. It was difficult for him to tell his story, but with Brooklyn, it was just a bit easier. She gave him the strength to confess what happened to his son, and why he was a miserable man before he met her.

"He was born with a congenital heart disease. Doctors couldn't give us any hope of him making it past the night."

"Marshall, please stop there. You don't have to..."

"He was dead two hours later," he continued, tightening his hold on Brooklyn's hand as a few tears had made it down his cheek. "Cassie and I didn't make it past the next day. She asked me for a divorce and seeing how heartbroken she was-how heartbroken we both were-I agreed. She was gone three days later, as soon as she was discharged, and a week after that, I received the papers. It all happened a month before I met you."

Brooklyn couldn't hold back and scooted over to him, cupping his cheeks as she cried for him, feeling his pain, wanting to console him. Not thinking about anything but them, she leaned over and pecked his lips, hoping to be of some comfort for him.

"I am so sorry you went through this. I truly am," she whispered against his lips, pulling back to look at his eyes, seeing the vulnerable side of the tough man sitting next to her. "I feel guilty."

"Why?" he asked as Brooklyn scooted back to her spot, looking out the window.

"Because I abandoned you, too. And even after finding out I was pregnant, I didn't dare give you the news. I was selfish and a coward."

"Yes, you were," he agreed as she turned her head around to look at him, her eyes wide open in shock at his words. "But..." he grabbed her hand, lifted it to his lips and kissed the knuckles, closing his eyes to savor her. "You came back to me. You're here and you brought me the best gift any man could receive."

Brooklyn nodded. "I did. But if it wasn't because of her insistence, I would probably still be back in Italy," she chuckled, nervously.

"No, because deep inside, you wanted to come back to me. Because whether we like it or not, we still have feelings for each other and you belong with me...To me."

Her heart skipped a bit. Belong to him. Words she never expected for him to say.

"You belong to me, too, Marshall Redd. And I will go to hell if I ever break your heart again."

Marshall pulled back, sitting straight. "Does that mean..."

"Yes. It means that I might be going crazy here, but..." she stroked his cheek, smiling at him. "I will stay here with you. Maybe weeks from now, months, years. Who knows how long? But I will not-and I'm being clear-I will not leave you again. Not while I'm breathing. Because you're mine. And you will always be mine, do you hear me? I was miserable the entire time I was away from you. But not anymore."

Feeling a rush of emotions, Marshall grabbed Brooklyn by the nape of her neck, pulled her towards him, and kissed her fervently, pouring all his anger, happiness, and love into that one gesture.

"Let's go home," he said when they pulled away. "Our daughter must be waiting."

With a soft touch to his face, she wiped his tears away, kissing him one last time before she settled back, waiting for him to start the truck and drive back to the ranch.

With their hands linked, Brooklyn looked out the window, closing her eyes to enjoy the soft breeze that caressed her hair as she felt the electric current running through her body at his touch.

Yes, she indeed belonged here... With him.