Around the World in 80 Men Series: Boxed Set 21-30 (99 page)

His
own lips curved into a smile, as his brows came together. “Ye
sure 'bout that, lass?” She nodded. “Ye ready then?”
Morgan nodded again.

Morgan
grabbed her purse, phone and camera, and started to follow Sean
through the hallways, toward the front of the home. “You know
what,” she half-spoke to herself, “I don't need this
tonight.” She pulled her phone out of her purse and set it on
the small table beside the front door. There would be no
distractions, no drunk calls from Tanner, just Sean.

The
drive took only a couple of minutes, so close that they could have
actually walked. He parked along the street, and always like a
gentleman, he came around to her side to let her out. “Ye
ready?”

“It
can't be that bad,” Morgan replied as she climbed out of the
car.

“I'm
just asking, because they don't 'ave hamburgers and pizza. They do
'ave beer though.” He grabbed her hand and gave it a teasing
squeeze.

“That
works for me,” Morgan giggled and followed him inside. It was
warm, and more busy than she would have thought from the street. In
fact, they were seated at the last available table in the restaurant.
“Okay, I don't even want to know what you order. Surprise me.”

Sean
nodded, and when the waitress approached the table, he pointed at his
order on the menu. “That's settled, then,” he told
Morgan, then looked back to the waitress and gave her an order for
two beers Morgan had never heard of. “So, tell me, what 'ave ye
been up to? Anything new in yer life?”

Immediately,
Morgan's mind went to Eryk, Finlay, Tanner, Angel, Peru, Kole....
“I...uh...I'd just rather not talk about it.” There was
too much on her mind, and she didn't know how she was ever supposed
to live like she meant it, if she was never living in the moment.
“Oh! That looks good!”

Just
as Sean was about to answer, the waitress returned with their pints
of beer , two bowls of chowder and what looked to Morgan as bread.
“It's soda bread, go on,” Sean pushed it toward her. The
loaf was messy looking, homemade. Perfect.

Morgan
pulled her soup closer and tore off a chunk of the bread. It was
crunchy on the outside, and soft on the inside, and smelled more
wonderful than any bread she could remember in a very long time.
“Wow, that's good! Really good. But, bread is an easy one! I
don't think I've ever found a bread I haven't liked.” Morgan
giggled and took another bite, then wiped crumbs from her lap.

“Just
wait for it, Love.” Morgan's gaze lifted to his.
Don't call
me that. Please don't call me that.
It was something Finlay
always called her, and coming from Sean sounded foreign, but it could
certainly grow on her.

“Wow,
what's that?” Moments later, the main course arrived. It
looked and smelled wonderful. However, the only item she instantly
recognized was... “Cabbage.” Of all things that he could
have ordered. “I have a new love for this stuff.”
Morgan flipped a few shreds onto her fork and smiled. Sean didn't
ask what she'd meant, he was just happy that she seemed to be
enjoying their meal.

“This,”
he pointed to the small bowl to the side of her larger plate, “is
Colcannon, a vegetable casserole of sorts. And this,” he took
a deep breath to prevent from laughing, and pointed to her main dish,
is mutton and cabbage.” Morgan's brows came together as she
nodded.

“Okay....and
what is mutton?” She'd heard the word before, and associated
it with venison, but she knew that wasn't it.

“Sheep.”
When he saw her brows raise, he corrected himself. “Baby
sheep. Lamb to be exact.” Morgan looked down at her food, then
back at him.

“I'm
so telling your mom!” They both laughed and Morgan took a small
bite of the meat. Her eyes closed and she chewed slowly. “Oh
my god...it's so good.” On her third bite, a laughing Sean
began to enjoy his meal as well.

Not
much was discussed as they ate, other than the different ways to
prepare lamb. It was when two more drinks were delivered, and their
plates cleared, that Sean began to ask about her life again.

“So,
no phone...no Angel....no..”

“No
distractions. That's all.” It was the truth as Morgan knew
it. She loved the people in her life, but she was finally realizing
that she needed a break from it all once in awhile, even on her time
off. “What I want to know,” she put her hand on Sean's,
“is....what are we going to do about Gael?” Something
had to be done, if anything, to keep Sean sane. Most importantly for
Morgan, though, was to help the sweet woman who so clearly needed
help with something.

Sean's
hands went to his face and he rubbed his eyes. “There's
nothin' to be done about her, Morgan. She's addicted to the damn
things and I 'ave to put my foot down, is all.” Morgan didn't
agree, but wasn't going to argue about something that she may be
wrong about.

“Okay.
I won't push, Sean. But I do think it's more than just being
addicted to sheep.”

“I
thought you didn't want distractions?” Sean's eyes sparkled as
he reminded Morgan that she came to see him to just relax and enjoy
herself. “Ya know, ya don't need to save the world, Holland.”
Morgan smiled and nodded, but his words struck a nerve deep within
her soul.

His words made her realize, in that exact moment, that her
grandmother might have been right about her.
Your heart is too
big to keep it all to yourself. Share your love, Morgan. Make the
world even more beautiful than it already is.
Perhaps it wasn't
her destiny, or even calling in life, but she had always been drawn
to helping those that she cared about, and she had no intentions of
ever stopping.

Morgan
had no idea what to do about Gael, and she wouldn't figure it out
that night, but she knew for certain that she would try do something
before leaving Ireland.

“Okay,
Love...I can see your wee wheels turning from here. Stop thinking.”
He flipped his hand and took hers with a firm grasp. She laughed
and allowed him to pull her to her feet.

“Where
are we going?

“Up
for some karaoke?”

“You
have no idea how amazing that sounds.” Morgan smiled, knowing
that a wonderful night was ahead of her.

Morgan
walked in front of Sean as they left the restaurant, and she was
swallowed up quickly by a small group of tourists that were also
leaving. Sean smiled and shook his head. Quietly, he spoke, but the
words were for his heart only, and never made it to Morgan's ears.

“I
heard yer conversation with the Australian. I also know that the wee
ring is from Fin. Ye have so much love given to ye, how would I ever
find room in yer heart, Love?” He was done speaking when
Morgan turned to find him. She wouldn't know how Sean really felt,
not then, and he would do all he could to make sure she never did.

*****

“Git
yer lazy arses out of the bed, it's nearly three o'clock! I swear,
when I was your age....” Gael's voice trailed off as she left
the room, but Morgan was sure she heard some colorful words come from
the woman, about how it used to be.

Morgan
sat up and rubbed the sleep from her eyes and was relieved to see she
was still dressed. Sean's mother had no care in the world, and it
wouldn't have mattered if both of them were naked in bed, she still
would have come in the room with a wake up call. “I'm still
wearing my boots...” Morgan giggled and reached down to remove
her shoes. “How drunk was I?”

Sean
groaned and shook his head underneath the pillow he'd covered it
with. The bright sun hurt their eyes, and neither were ready to face
the day. “I can't even remember how we got home, if that tells
ye anything. Did she say it's three?”

“Yeah.”
Morgan threw her boots to the ground and fell back to the pillow. “Do
we have to get up?” she giggled again.

“Yes,
ye have te get up. I've made ye lunch and I'll be damned if ye don't
get up right now and eat!” Gael stormed into the bedroom and
pulled the blanket from Morgan and Sean, then stood at the foot of
the bed, with one hand on her hip.

“Fine,
fine, we're getting up. But, mum...please. A minute?” He
pointed toward the door, embarrassed his mother was in his bedroom.
She stood her ground, waiting for Sean to get up. “Ye can't be
doin' this. I don't
need
ye te take care of me. I don't
need
ye te tell me when te wake up. I don't
need
ye to make
lunch.”

Morgan
looked at Sean as he spoke, and bit down on her bottom lip as her
eyes moved to Gael. She knew what she would see, and it broke her
heart before it even happened. Gael's smile faded, and her eyes
glistened with the threat of tears. She dropped the blanket on the
ground, and nodded silently.

“I'm
sorry, me boy.” The four words were barely above a whisper,
and Gael quickly turned and left the room. A few moments later,
Morgan heard the front door open, then close.

“Just
fookin' perfect!” Sean threw the thin sheet off of himself and
climbed out of the bed, and went straight into the bathroom. “I
can't win with that woman!”

“Sean,”
Morgan tried to coax him back into the bedroom, but he didn't
respond. She sighed and climbed out of the bed too, and after a quick
change of clothing, she left the man to clear his mind.

In
the kitchen, Morgan's heart ached once again. Eggs, prepared three
different ways, bacon, sausage and... “blueberry muffins.”
She grabbed one of the little treats and immediately plucked a berry
out and ate it. Morgan's eyes moved around the kitchen, from the
sheep plates, to the sheep curtains, to the sheep rug. It was on her
fourth berry that it finally hit her.

Morgan
ran back into the bedroom and straight to the bathroom. “Sean!
That's just it!”

“What's
what?” He was drying off his face, when he answered.

“It
all makes sense! The sheep, the little names on them, her trying to
help you...” Morgan walked closer and put one hand on his
shoulder.

“What
are ye getting at?” He was still grumpy, and Morgan hated
seeing him that way. She only hoped that her idea was correct.

“She
needs
someone to take care of.” Morgan hoped that the
someone in question, would allow his mother to do just that.
Otherwise, Sean's house would surely begin to rip at the seams with
the sheep overload. “She's not being nosy, or pushy, or even
trying to invade your privacy. Sean, she just needs to take care of
you. It's what keeps her going.” Sean shook his head,
finished drying his face with the towel, and left the room.

Chapter
Six

“I
hope you bring all of your dates here, it's incredible!”
Morgan found Sean's hand and pulled him towards the bright yellow
building. Sean laughed and shook his head as he followed her inside
the pub. “How old is this building?” She looked around
as they stepped inside the four level restaurant, and marveled at the
look and feel of days long ago. Sean walked straight towards the bar
and pulled her with him.

“No
idea.” Laughing, Morgan scolded him for not knowing his own
city's history. Sean motioned for two large beers, and faced Morgan
again. “I don't actually care, Love..,” he pushed
Morgan's glass to her hand when they were placed on the bar, “all
I care about is the here and now.” She met his toast,
reluctantly, then smiled.

“Cheers.”
A loud clank of the glass between them was enough to make them both
laugh. “Let's not break our beer, huh?” After a few
sips, Morgan added, “that reminds me of Tanner.” She
regretted the words before they even left her lips, and Sean could
instantly see her discomfort in speaking them.