Page 9 of Cougar

“Em,” Marcus breathed. It sounded like a plea.

I felt the air shift in the room, aware of our family’s presence. But they remained silent.

Lifting my head from his chest, I noticed the fight he once had in his eyes was gone, replaced with acceptance.

He was ready.

My gaze shifted to Jay, clinging to his other side, sound asleep. Then I glanced around the room at our family quietly looking on, waiting. They’d all said their goodbyes.

Reaching up, I cupped his cheek and forced myself to keep it together as I whispered, “I love you, Marcus Alexander King, and I always will. Thank you for sharing your life with me. For loving me. For your faithfulness and devotion to our family. Thank you for your patience. Your kindness. And for giving me the most amazing daughter. There will never be a day that I will not think of you or miss you. I will love you for the rest of my life.”

His eyes fluttered closed and his throat bobbed with a hard swallow. I pressed my lips to his, tasting the saltiness of my tears. He opened his eyes and his gaze drifted down to Jay. Apprehension and sadness marred his sunken features, knowing another round of goodbyes would only cause her more heartache.

Slowly, his gaze returned to me. There was so much fear reflected in his eyes.

But not of dying.

Fear of letting go of Jay. His Jaybird.

Fear of letting go of his family.

“It’s okay, baby,” I reassured him. “We’ll be okay. She’ll be okay. I promise I’ll take care of her.”

With a weak nod, he turned his gaze toward the floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking the beach, just as the sun began to set, closed his eyes and exhaled, “For eternity,” through his last breath. It was faint, but I heard it.

I exhaled harshly, choking on the air as it left my body in a whoosh. The room spun around me. People were talking, but I couldn’t make out what they were saying over the sound of my pulse pounding in my ears. I lowered my head to Marcus’s chest as I’d done almost every day for nearly twenty-two years. And for the first time, he didn’t curl his arm around me or kiss the top of my head. I couldn’t feel his heart beating under my cheek, or the rise and fall of his chest with every breath he took.

He was really gone.

“Emerson?”

“Emerson?” My mother’s voice pulls me to the present. I turn my head, blinking slowly. “Honey, are you going to answer him?”

“Who?”

I feel a gentle squeeze of my hand and I turn my head, coming face-to-face with Miles Townsend.

“Miles, I’m so sorry. I’m a little out of it today. Thank you for being here.”

Miles is an old friend of Marcus’s who ownsRhythm & Riffs,a magazine with exclusive access to King Records’ new artists.

Miles gives my hand another squeeze. “Of course. Marcus was a good friend and colleague.” He looks over his shoulder, and I follow his line of sight. “Jayla gave a wonderful eulogy today. I can’t believe how grown-up she is.”

“You should go over and introduce yourself. She still owes you an interview, and I promise as soon as she’s ready, we’ll set something up.” Marcus had set up an interview for Jayla six months ago to introduce the latest Royal Mayhem album,Jaybird,which she and Marcus co-wrote and collaborated on.

“Jaybird. Before I forget, I scheduled an interview for you next month with a man named Miles Townsend fromRhythm & Riffsmagazine.”

“Why?” she asked, brows furrowed.

“The album,” he drawled sarcastically. It started out as just a pet project with a handful of original songs written by Jay and a few covers of Marcus’s favorites. But Marcus decided the album was too good to go unheard, so he stuck her in a studio and produced it himself. The world needed to know how talented his little Jaybird was—his words.

“I figured that much.” Jay rolled her eyes. “But why are you letting him? I thought I wasn’t allowed to talk to reporters.”

“You’re not. Miles is an old friend. I trust him with you.”

“Okay.” She shrugged. “If you trust him, then so do I.”

That same night, Marcus had a seizure that landed him in the hospital for weeks. Needless to say, the interview, as well as the album release, has been put on hold indefinitely.

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