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  “You proposed already?” Kayla asked Mark, her eyes huge.

  “No,” Ashley denied before Mark could answer. She couldn’t read Mark’s expression when she braved a look in his direction, though a hint of amusement lurked in his eyes.

  Mark explained to Kayla, “Becca seems to think that a kiss on the cheek is grounds for a wedding.”

  “Well you only kiss people you love, and when a boy and girl fall in love, they always get married,” Becca explained, realizing she’d said something she shouldn’t have, but not getting what it was.

  “She’s watched too many princess movies,” Kayla explained before bending over to Becca’s level. She assumed a firm, motherly tone as she told her, “Becca, I want you to leave Ashley and Mark alone now. All right?”

  Becca nodded and Kayla said, “Why don’t you kids get bundled up and go play in the snow before it’s all gone.”

  The kids didn’t have to be asked twice. They all went running for their coats and Kayla took the chance to apologize. “Sorry about that. I knew they’d cause problems if I didn’t get over here, but Andrew was sleeping so good that I didn’t want to wake him up.”

  “It’s no big deal,” Ashley told her, fervently hoping it wasn’t to Mark. He was silent, but that wasn’t unusual for him.

  “Where are your mom and Jessica?” Kayla asked.

  “They’re working on you know what up in the craft room.”

  “I’m glad Jessica is helping. We need to get it finished. Will you watch Andrew for me?”

  “Sure. I can handle that,” Ashley replied, tossing Andrew up in the air, making him giggle.

  She and Mark cuddled up in the living room with Andrew and watched Frosty the Snowman. After a little while, Mark said, “Hey, I was thinking of getting pizza for everybody tonight. Do you think your mom would agree to that?”

  “I don’t know. You might have to talk her into it. She won’t want you to spend that much money.”

  “I know. She tricked me out of the Christmas tree, but I’m determined to do something for her. I’ll be right back,” he said as he stood up to go find her mom. When he came back, he said, “Well, that wasn’t easy.”

  “She’s cool with it though?”

  “Yes.” Mark sat down next to her and rested his hand on her knee. “We already called in the order since it was a pretty big one. It’s a good thing too, because the pizza place sounded hectic. The guy taking the order didn’t sound like he appreciated it too much.”

  “Well, with only one place to get pizza in town, it isn’t surprising. What time do we need to go pick it up?”

  Mark shrugged. “I told them to call me when they were ready because they had no idea how long it would take.”

  Ashley summoned all of her courage and touched Mark’s hand. She was just threading her fingers through his, enjoying his warm, slightly rough skin when they heard the front door open. Becca came in crying with Daniel and Chloe right on her heals.”

  “What’s wrong?” Ashley asked, letting go of Mark’s hand and rushing over to her.

  “Daniel hit me with an icicle…”

  “It was an accident,” Daniel interrupted.

  “And my fingers hurt.”

  “Where did it hit you?”

  “Here,” she replied, rubbing a spot just above her forehead.

  Ashley kissed her there and took off her gloves. They were soaking wet and her fingers were red and stiff with cold. “Oh you poor thing,” she said. Ashley clasped Becca’s hands between her own and blew on them to warm them up. “Why don’t you go hold them close to the fire and we’ll take off all your wet things. Mark, will you help me with the other two?”

  Mark stood up and pulled off caps and scarves. Chloe’s hands were in better shape than the others because her gloves were water proof, but she was still chilled. Ashley spread the wet things out on the hearth to dry, and while her back was turned to the kids, she heard Mark say, “Too bad you’re all so cold. I was hoping we could have that wrestling rematch.”

  The kids didn’t bother to reply to that. Ashley turned around just in time to see them all dive at once for him. Mark handled them better this time, since he managed to keep them all away from his neck, and Ashley laughed as Mark occasionally tossed one of them away. That didn’t slow them down for long however, because they hurried to jump on him again.

  Unfortunately, Ashley stood too close as she watched. Mark rolled over and tossed all three kids against her, throwing her off balance. Realizing that she was falling towards the fire, she threw all of her weight forward, away from it. She fell right on top of Mark, pinning him on his back again.

  He was startled for a moment, but quickly recovered. He rolled her over and held her shoulders down. Andrew was a few inches away, looking at them with big eyes. She laughed at Andrew’s expression and said, “Be careful, Mark. We almost knocked over the baby.”

  Mark looked down at her and grinned unrepentantly. Momentarily distracted, Mark wasn’t ready for the sudden assault that the kids launched at him. They all jumped on his back at once, flattening him down on top of her with enough force to knock the breath out of her. With the combined weight of Mark and three kids on top of her, there was no way she’d be able to get it back until they got off.

  It amazed her that Mark was laughing down at her with no hint of urgency to let her breath again. When she was sure she must be blue, Mark pushed up and she gulped in the welcome oxygen. Ashley was about to give him a piece of her mind when she heard Justin say, “Well, isn’t this a cozy scene?”

  Ashley tilted her head back and saw her dad and both of her older brothers’ faces far above her. She was wondering when they’d come in, when Mark’s weight lifted off of her. She looked for him and saw that he was holding out his hands to help her up. When she was standing again, she thought he looked adorable with a slight flush to his face, but she knew better than to tell him that.

  Daniel was protesting that they didn’t get to wrestle for very long, but Keith had a quick answer for that. “Don’t worry. Judging from what I just saw, Mark will be around for wrestling matches for a long, long time.”

  Justin chimed in as well, saying, “In fact kids, you can probably start calling him Uncle Mark.”

  Ashley’s anger threatened to choke her. As if it wasn’t bad enough for them to be teasing her and Mark, now they would be getting the kids hopes up. She was about to say so when Becca spoke first.

  “Daddy, Mommy said we can’t talk about Ashley and Mark getting married until Mark asks her. I sure wish he’d hurry up and do it though.”

  “Oh, good grief,” Ashley groaned.

  Her dad and her brothers were laughing though. Justin tousled Becca’s hair and explained, “There’s a lot that has to happen before a guy asks a girl to marry him.”

  “They have to fall in love,” Daniel said, saying the word like it left a bad taste in his mouth.

  Becca made a big effort to remain patient. “I know. Mark, don’t you love Ashley yet? I do.”

  Mark looked down at Becca with an anxious expression as he rubbed the back of his neck.

  It was too humiliating. For the second time, her family had forced Mark into a corner over her, pushing for a public display of his affection, whether or not he felt any for her. Ashley thought that he did, or was beginning to anyway, but Mark was too reserved to handle the pressure well. Even if he did love her, she doubted that he would pick these circumstances to tell her.

  “Would you all just leave us the heck alone?” Ashley burst out. She felt a momentary regret, realizing that the kids at least were innocent participants. When she saw Becca’s wounded expression, she felt even worse. She reached out and hugged Becca, murmuring in her ear, “I’m sorry, darling. I didn’t mean you.”

  Needing to escape, Ashley hurried upstairs, not even looking behind her when she heard footsteps pounding behind her.

  In her room, she didn’t bother to turn on the light, but went straight to her bed. It was starting to
get dark outside and her room was dim, but the shadows of her room were comforting. Almost immediately, there was a knock on the door and before she could ask who it was, it swung open.

  Ashley looked and saw a tall silhouette framed in the doorway against the bright hall light. She knew it was Mark, but she couldn’t find her voice to invite him in. He stood still for a moment as if he was studying her, then he asked tentatively, “Can I come in?”

  She nodded, and he must have been able to see her more clearly than she could see him, because he came in and swung the door shut most of the way. He sat on the bed beside her, a yellow beam of light from the doorway stretching across the bed between them. He watched her for a minute, but when she didn’t say anything he asked, “Want to talk?”

  A choked off laugh escaped her that showed how close she was to tears. “Sure. You want to talk about how embarrassed I am? I’m sorry they won’t leave us alone.”

  “Oh, Ashley, they don’t mean anything by it. Don’t let it bother you. It doesn’t bother me.”

  “Are you sure? You didn’t look thrilled about it a minute ago.”

  “Sure, but only because I’m not good at talking about how I feel anyway, even when I’m not being asked about it point blank in front of a lot of other people.”

  “I know,” Ashley said, looking down at her hands.

  Mark put a gentle finger under her chin and made her look at him, “Plus, I’m not sure you’re ready to hear it.”

  Ashley gave a watery chuckle and sniffed. She reached over to her bedside table for a tissue and said, “That depends on what you’d say.”

  “I’m sure it does. What do you say we forget about what just happened and talk about all this feelings stuff later, when we’re ready.”

  Ashley nodded and was about to speak when Mark’s phone rang. He took it out of his pocket and glanced at it. “It’s the pizza place. Do you mind?”

  She shook her head and he answered it. When he hung up, he said, “Looks like our order is ready. Will you go with me to pick it up?”

  Ashley nodded and as they got up to go, Mark said, “Maybe if you bring pizza back for them, your brothers will know you’ve forgiven them.”

  Ashley grimaced. “I’m not sure I have. It depends on if they’re sorry, and I seriously doubt they are.”

  Chapter 15

  If You’re Not Here With Me

  When they got down to the living room, Ashley saw that Keith and Justin were quieter than normal and that they looked a little shamefaced. Maybe they did feel bad about teasing her. She was grateful that they didn’t apologize however, since that would have dredged up all the discomfort again. She smiled a little at them, finding it funny to see her older brothers so subdued, and told them that she and Mark would be back soon.

  Before they left, she asked Mark, “Can we take my car?”

  “Sure, I guess. I don’t mind going to get my car though.”

  “I know, but I haven’t driven my car since I got home, and I probably need to start it up anyway because of the cold.”

  Luckily, her dad and Keith had cleared her car off with the other ones, so they didn’t have to waste time with it before they left. As they got in, Ashley was glad that she’d cleaned it out so there wasn’t anything for her to be ashamed of when Mark looked around curiously.

  It took a couple of tries before the engine turned over, but soon they were on their way. Ashley hoped that it wouldn’t take too long for the heater to warm up because it was freezing. In fact, even though the snow and ice had almost completely melted off the road that afternoon, she realized that wet patches were freezing over again. She concentrated as she drove, wishing she had asked Mark to drive. Once they were off the hill however, she felt better.

  “Where are we going?” she asked. “Pizza Barn?”

  “Where else? It’s the only place in town, isn’t it?”

  “Well, as far as I knew it was, but things are changing pretty fast around here lately.”

  “There’s some talk of a national pizza chain coming in, but right now, Pizza Barn is it. Luckily, they have great pizza.”

  “Do they still have their deal where you can buy one mega pizza and get one free?”

  “Yep, which is good since I ordered six of them.”

  “Holy cow! I guess there will be plenty to eat.”

  It didn’t take long to get there, but then, it didn’t take long to get anywhere in Forest View. As they pulled into the parking lot, Ashley was surprised at how full it was. She had to park behind the restaurant in the parking lot for another business.

  Mark took her hand as they walked inside and continued to hold it as they stood in line at the pickup counter. They were in a narrow hallway created by a partition that separated the entrance from the rest of the restaurant. There was a buzz of conversation from the other side, and the line in front of them was long.

  They could hear every word the man in front of them said to the woman with him since he didn’t bother to keep his voice down. He was telling her all about his plans for a romantic evening to come. When their conversation became suggestive, Ashley grew uncomfortable and didn’t know where to look.

  For once she wished that Mark was more talkative so that she would have something to listen to besides the other couple’s discussion. She glanced up at Mark and saw that he was looking disgusted as well. When he saw her expression however, he laughed a little, and smoothed the pucker between her eyebrows with a gentle thumb.

  He pulled her close and put his arms around her, which surprised her since they were in public, and leaned down to whisper in her ear, “Aren’t we lucky to be stuck behind this Casanova over here?”

  Ashley wrapped her arms around his waist, enjoying how solid and warm he was. “What makes it even worse is knowing they’re going to have pizza breath. Yuck!”

  Mark laughed so loud at this that the couple in front of them turned to glare at them, puzzled and annoyed. That made her laugh as well, and soon she and Mark were both having a hard time getting their mirth under control. At least it irritated the other man so much that he stopped talking.

  Mark was about to say something when his phone made a buzzing sound in his pocket. “Just a second,” he told her, letting go of her to get his phone. He read the text he’d gotten and sent one back. Then he put his free arm around her again and they walked a few steps as the line moved up. Ashley wondered who was texting him, but she didn’t think much about it until he got another one a minute later.

  As Mark was texting the person back, Casanova guy was getting his pizza and leaving. Mark saw this and stepped up to the counter. He set his phone down and got out his wallet. The man behind the counter asked what name was on his order, and when Mark told him, the guy grunted.

  “You having a party or something?”

  “No. We’re just feeding a lot of people.”

  “You had one cheese, one Canadian bacon, two pepperoni, and two sausage?”

  “That’s right.”

  As Mark was paying, he got another text. Ashley glanced down at his phone without thinking and saw Kari’s name on his phone. She looked away with a sick feeling in her stomach. She tried to control the jealousy and insecurity starting to simmer inside her, but she was confused and hurt. She longed to know once and for all where she stood with Mark, but she knew she wouldn’t be able to ask him about why he was texting Kari. She would look nosy.

  As the man went to get their pizzas, Mark glanced at his phone, read the message and slipped his phone into his pocket. A few seconds later, he took the tall stack of pizza boxes and asked her, “Would you mind getting the door for me?”

  Ashley didn’t trust herself to speak right then because she knew her voice would probably give her away. Mark didn’t seem to notice that she’d gotten quiet as she pushed the door open and held it for him. They walked in silence back to her car, and Ashley opened his door for him. He sat down, putting the pizza boxes on his lap, and she walked around to her side.

  As
she drove home, Mark asked her, “Can you drive a little faster? Dang these boxes are hot!”

  “You should have put them in the backseat.”

  “I didn’t want them to slide around.”

  Ashley shook her head, and relaxed a little. He wasn’t acting guilty, that was certain. Maybe whatever he was texting Kari about was innocent. After all, everything about Mark seemed so genuine that it would be out of character for him to be seeing two girls at once. She would just have to trust him.

  When they got back, it was amazing how fast the pizza got eaten even though it was a little early for dinner. Ashley felt bad for Shawn, who had gone to bed sick and was missing out on his favorite meal. She thought of him as she ate a couple of slices of pizza. Mark teased her when he saw that she was only eating cheese pizza, saying that it seemed like a waste not to have any other toppings.

  “Then why did you get a cheese pizza?” she asked him.

  Because your mom said that she didn’t think the kids would eat anything else.”

  “Well the kids have good taste.”

  Mark shook his head like he was disappointed in her and looked at his watch. He frowned slightly and said “I have to leave in an hour.”

  “What? Really?”

  “Really. I got a 9:00 flight, but I have to be there in time to get through security and it’s a forty-five minute drive to the airport.”

  Ashley looked at the clock and saw that it was 6:15. “Wow. Where did the time go?”

  “I don’t know. Hey, look, I need to do a few things to get ready before I leave. How about if I go home for a little while and get stuff done, and then you can come over and say goodbye at, say, 6:45?”

  “I could do that. Are you sure you don’t need any help?”

  “No thank you. I can manage, and I think you would be kind of distracting anyway,” he said with an affectionate smile.

  “Ok then, I’ll see you in a little while.”

  It took Mark a few minutes to leave however because he had to say goodbye to everybody. They all wanted to thank him for dinner and wish him a Merry Christmas. Eventually he managed to slip away, and Ashley watched him walk to his house with an urgent stride. She wished desperately that he didn’t have to go, but she knew it was a selfish wish. His family would be disappointed if he didn’t come.