drinking more than I should have. That caused me to spend less time at the plant, less time thinking about how to manage things and more time worrying about failing.”
“It was a big burden for anyone, especially for someone so young.” Marnie felt empathy for all David had gone through.
“My mother was on the verge of a nervous breakdown. She and my father had just moved into this house, which had been her parents’ home before their deaths. All the remodeling she wanted to do came to a stop.” He looked around the room. “That’s why the largest part of the house looks like this. The last time most of it was redone was fifty years ago.
“Celeste and I were engaged by then. She was angry with me because I couldn’t think about the wedding plans. She thought I spent too much time worrying about the business, while I couldn’t see how I was going to be able to keep the company afloat with my lack of knowledge. I couldn’t be bothered with wedding plans when I had so many other things to think about. I started going to the Roadhouse after work, and that’s where I saw you in your short, tight little skirt and low-cut, tight top.” He grinned at the memory.
“Was I working there again?”
“No, you just started showing up there in the evenings. You’d go home and change into an even sexier outfit than you had worn to work and go to the Roadhouse. Looking back, I realized Jolene must have called you and let you know when I came in. Or maybe you went there every evening hoping I’d show up. You were just waiting to catch me, but I didn’t realize it then. It didn’t take you long.”
Chapter 16
“You mean I chased you until you caught me?” Marnie said with a grin.
David grinned back. “You could say that, I guess, but it was you who caught me, and good.” The smile turned into a frown.
“How?”
“By getting pregnant.”
That statement wiped the grin off Marnie’s face. She had hoped that part of Ruth’s vitriolic tirade had been a lie. From Alice’s report earlier, she knew she had been pregnant with Jonathan when they married, but she was still hoping they had married for love. The story David had been telling her was damning, but there was still a chance they had fallen in love during that period, and she had to know which story was true.
“David, I have to know. Were we in love, or did I get pregnant so you would marry me?”
He sighed deeply, leaned back, and closed his eyes. After a few moments he spoke.
“Marnie, I’m trying my best today to set aside any animosity toward you. I’m trying to tell this story as truthfully as I can. With all the shenanigans you have pulled over the last four years, and especially with this last one—and yes, I know I haven’t told you yet what it is—I would have said you did it to trap me into marriage. But this last week or so, since you came back as such a different person, when I think back to that period of time, I think maybe we were a little bit in love.
“You see, the Marnie I knew at first had more of the personality I see in you now. You were certainly more of an extrovert, both in your dress and your actions, but more importantly, I could confide in you—share my fears with you.” He leaned over and propped his elbows on his knees. “At least after I had a few beers. And you were the only person I could talk to like that.”
“Couldn’t you talk to Celeste? After all, you were going to be married.”
Marnie couldn’t believe she had said that to her husband, pointing out the fact he should have been able to talk to his then fiancée.
“Celeste didn’t want to talk about anything but wedding plans, and I didn’t want to appear weak.”
“But you could to me?”
“Yes. That’s one thing I’ve been thinking about this past week. You did listen to me. You soothed and petted me, told me everything was going to be OK. You told me everything I wanted to hear—that I was smart, that I knew more about the business than I thought I did, that I could turn to others for advice on matters I didn’t have the know-how on.
“That Marnie, the concerned, kind Marnie, was who I think I fell a little bit in