“The medication was enough.” She tries again to hand me the envelope, but I ignore it.
“How did you find me?” I ask her.
“My best friend, Carrie. When I told her about your generosity, she recognized your name.”
“Not you?”
“Not me what?”
“You didn’t recognize my name?” I watch her closely to see if she’s lying, but when she tells me no, I believe her.
“So what are you girls doing today?” I ask the baby girl. “Madeline, right?” I ask the mom. “And you’re Wren?”
She nods. “We came to give this back to you.”
“Other than that.”
“Nothing. I couldn’t work today because Madeline can’t go to day care until she’s fever-free for twenty-four hours.”
Heavy footsteps and the voices of my brothers carry, and I know they’re about to round the corner to see who my visitor is.
“Oh, who’s this?” my sister-in-law Sawyer asks. She stops next to me and peers down at the angel in the car seat.
“This is Madeline and her momma, Wren.” She gives me a questioning look, and I shake my head as subtly as I can. She thinks they’re mine, or at least the baby. They’re not. I would have remembered Wren. Her short blonde hair rests just above her shoulders, and her blue eyes are piercing, almost like looking up at the sky on a cloudless day. I’m guessing she’s about five foot four or so comparing her to my six-foot-one frame. She’s sexy as hell, and if I hadn’t seen her with her daughter, I never would have guessed she was a mom. Or a widow if the woman at the pharmacy’s story checks out.
“She’s what? Five months?” Sawyer asks.
“Yes,” Wren replies.
“I have a five-month-old little boy at home,” Sawyer explains.
“Aren’t you the cutest?” Layla chimes in. I didn’t even realize she’d joined us from behind her desk. “I have a one-and-a-half-year-old. Boy.”
“We have lots of boys. Two more on the way,” I tell Wren. “These are my sisters-in-law, Sawyer and Layla. I have two more who are both expecting boys a week apart,” I explain. Doing so helps me seem like less of a creeper from our interaction yesterday.
“What? You can introduce our wives but not us?” Royce asks.
“What are we, chopped liver?” Owen jokes. It’s so good to see him coming out of his shell. We have Layla and their son, Carter, to thank for that.
I chuckle. “These knuckleheads are my brothers. Royce, Owen, Grant, and Conrad,” I point as I say their names.
“That one’s mine,” Royce says, pointing to Sawyer.
“And this one’s mine,” Owen says, placing his hand on Layla’s shoulder.
“Ours aren’t here,” Grant speaks up.
“We should open a bakery in the building,” Conrad muses.
“That’s not a bad idea.” I point at him. “It would make our morning stops so much easier.”
“It’s nice to meet you all. I just—” Wren starts. When I look at her, I see a flush to her cheeks.
“Come with me.” With Madeline in her seat in one hand, I place the other on the small of Wren’s back and lead her away from my loud, nosey family and to my office. Once we’re inside, I shut the door. “Sorry about that. There’s a lot of us, and we sometimes forget how overwhelming it can be for all of us to be in the same place at once. Especially for someone new.”
“Here.” She thrusts the envelope at me.
“I’m not taking that back,” I tell her as I place the infant seat on my desk. “What do you think, Madeline? Can you help me out here? Can you tell your momma to keep the money?” The cutie grins at me and sticks her hand in her mouth.
“Marshall,” Wren sighs.
I turn to face her. “Look, what I’m going to say is going to make me sound like an as— butthole.” I quickly catch myself before cursing. Not that Madeline is old enough to understand, but regardless. “I’m just going to say it, but know that it’s coming from a good place, and I’m not trying to be rude or degrading.” I wait for her to nod as she crosses her arms over her chest. “I don’t need the money.” She opens her mouth to argue, but I raise my hands to stop her. “My family has worked hard to grow this company to what it is today. I’m proud of that. I’m proud to be a part of it. My brothers and I were handed our family legacy, and we’ve expanded and grown. The business is thriving. The shoes I’m wearing cost four times what I gave you. I can afford to help you, Wren, and I want to help you.”
“I’m not your responsibility.”
I nod. “You’re right. You’re not. You’re a complete stranger to me, but that’s okay. What is the point of my having all of this money and not being able to use it for good? How do you expect me to sleep at night knowing you and your daughter are struggling, and I have the means to help?”
“What? Are you going to try and save the world?”
“No. Not the world. I just want to help.” I shrug.
“Why?” Her tone is softer. “I’m not sleeping with you.” There’s a tic in her jaw, and she shuffles her stance from one foot to the other. She’s nervous.
I can’t hold in my laughter, and it’s so loud it startles the baby, making her cry. “I’m sorry,” I tell the baby as I rock her seat back and forth on my desk. “Look, this isn’t some scheme to get into your pants. I was there at the right time to offer assistance. That’s all this is. I can help, so let me help.”
“I-I don’t know what to say,” Wren says, her voice cracking.
“You say thank you, and when you get back on your feet, and you see someone in need, you help them out. It’s that simple.”
“Thank you for paying for her medication. I can’t tell you what that means to me. And this—” She holds up the white envelope. “This is a gesture too kind and one I will never forget, but I’m sorry, Marshall, I can’t keep it.” She places the envelope on the edge of my desk and lifts her daughter still in her seat from my desk. “Thank you for your generosity. I’ll never forget it.” With that, she walks out of my office.
I stand rooted to my spot. I should run after her, insist that she take the money, but I saw the look in her eyes. Determination and pride both prevent her from taking the gift. I thought I could convince her, but I guess I was wrong.
What’s even more shocking is that she truly didn’t seem to know who we were. Not one ounce of recognition flashed in those big blue eyes when she met my family.
I wish that she would have taken the money. It wasn’t much, but I’m sure it would have given her a little bit of relief. I release a heavy sigh as I sit back at my desk. There is nothing I can do. I gave it my best shot.
It’s barely been ten minutes since she left when a shadow falls over my desk. Glancing up, I see my brother Royce standing in front of my desk.
“What’s up?”
“Wren seems nice.”
“I don’t know. I guess so.”
“How did you meet?” he asks.
I see shadows outside my office door, and I know the rest of my family is out there listening in. “You can all come in,” I call out. One by one, my brothers shuffle into the room. “I don’t know her. I was at the pharmacy last night picking up Mom’s prescription, and she was in front of me in line. She doesn’t have insurance and didn’t have enough money to pay for the baby’s medicine. I stepped up and paid for it for her.”