The Warning
A knock sounded at the door. Marty ran to it quickly. She had just put Gracie down for the night. She didn't want her baby to awaken.
As she pulled the door open, she saw the face of the man she had once loved. He had been her world... until the day she caught him kissing Natalie. He had betrayed her; turned to another in Marty's darkest hour. Their baby had died... and instead of staying with Marty and comforting her, John had turned to Natalie. He had slept with Natalie for his own comfort.
"John," she said softly, staring into his dazzling blue eyes. She had loved those eyes. She had loved everything about him.
Why had she been such a fool?
Now looking at him, her heart ached. Her soul cried. She wanted to push him out the door. She almost did... but then he started speaking.
"Marty, I need to talk to you," he said. "It's important."
He pushed his way inside and closed the door. Marty stared at him. What did he possibly want?
"Shouldn't you be home with Natalie?" she asked.
"Where's Gracie?" he questioned at the same time.
"She's sleeping," Marty answered. "John, what are you doing here at this late hour?"
Marty felt almost naked as she was wearing nothing more than her nightgown. She had been close to going to bed herself when John had came to the door. Her body shuddered. It had been so long since a man had touched her. As she looked at John, longing washed over her, but she pushed it down and buried it beneath her pain. How could she want a man who had left her for another? He had betrayed everything. He had left her after the tragic loss of their precious baby.
"Marty, I came to warn you..."
"Something is wrong. I can feel it," he told her urgently.
"What the hell are you talking about?" she asked, becoming annoyed.
John was always the rescuer. She wouldn't let him rescue her. Not anymore! Those days were gone and over!
"You're not safe here," he stated. "I just know that something bad is going to happen."
"John, you're not making sense."
"Manning lives next door!" he exclaimed.
Less than two weeks ago, Todd had taken the apartment beside Marty's. She had hardly seen him. He kept to himself mostly... and never once had he said anything off-color to Marty. She wasn't worried.
"I'm safe with Todd," Marty replied. "We made our peace years ago. Todd would never hurt me."
John stared Marty. He wasn't convinced. Not entirely. Something had alerted him to danger- some sort of sixth sense. Marty wasn't safe. He was sure of it. He always knew when a woman was in need of rescue. Marty needed his help; she just didn't know it.
He wanted to argue with Marty about her safety, but she was stubborn. She wanted to take care of herself and be independent. He started to protest again, but Marty wouldn't hear of it.
"Go home to Natalie, John," she said firmly. "Gracie and I will be fine."
She was sure this was some sort of ploy. John probably wanted to get back into bed with her.Never again! As much as she desired him, she wanted a man who cared about her and no other. She wanted a man who would always be there for her. She knew she deserved so much more than John McBain.
John hesitated, gazing at Marty in her thin nightgown. He longed to peel it off her, but he didn't. He couldn't. He had lost her. He had been a fool.
"Good night, Marty," he said softly. "Stay safe."
"I will," she said as she watched him walk out the door.
She closed it behind him, leaning against it. He was gone. He was going back to Natalie.
A tear gathered in Marty's eye. She was alone...
But she wasn't alone. She had Gracie; her beloved baby.
Then she thought of the man- the man who had told her he was Gracie's father. Who was he?
She didn't feel alone, because he was there. He had been at her bedside after her daughter's birth. He had been watching her... sending her letters. Shouldn't she be unsettled by that? Shouldn't she be afraid?
As she locked the door and crawled into bed, Marty wasn't afraid. He was coming for her. She knew it. He was her destiny.
Author's Note: The next chapter will be called "The Heart." Stay tuned!
