Chasing Morgan (2 page)

Again, she thought of Tyler and pushed his face out of her mind.

“It won’t be long now before you have a new baby. Your wife is well.”

Your wife is well.
Not a question, a statement. Something about this woman wasn’t quite right. Jack felt like he knew her, but he’d never seen her before in his life. Unforgettable, he’d never forget her.

“Yeah, she’s fine. We’re excited about the baby. Our boys are looking forward to it.”

“I bet they are. They’re the spitting image of you and your twin brother. That little Sam was named appropriately. He’s just like his uncle. Matt. Now, he’s the serious one. He’ll take after you. He has a deep love for animals, especially the horses. He’ll carry on the tradition your wife set up for the ranch. He and your nephew, Jacob, will tend the ranch much like you and Caleb tend it now. You’ve made a good life for your family. It’s something to be proud of.”

How did she know about his family?

“Have we met before? Are you friends with my wife?”

“No and no,” she said with a smile. “I moved in almost a year ago. I pretty much keep to myself. I like it here. It’s quiet and beautiful. You can’t beat the trees and the blue sky. I like the land and the expanse of it. You know what I mean.”

Rambling, it had been a long time since she’d had someone to talk to. She needed to remember that while Jack and everyone else in Tyler’s family were like old friends to her now, they’d never met her.

Jack took another long sip of his tea and tried to figure out how she knew so much about him and his family.
You know what I mean.
Again, not a question.

She looked normal. She didn’t seem like some kind of psychotic stalker. Maybe she knew about Jenna’s wealth and that she ran Merrick International. Maybe she had some plot to get money from Jenna.

She chuckled. “I’m not after Jenna, or her money. You can rest easy, Jack. I mean you no harm.”

Surprised and confused, had he spoken his thoughts out loud and not realized it?

She turned the conversation and his thoughts. “You came to see me for a reason. It’s quite a ride over from your ranch. What can I do for you, Jack?”

He shook his head and stared down at her. Unexpected in every way. He felt like he stood on quicksand, sinking fast. Like she knew the joke and the punch line, and the joke was on him. He didn’t like the feeling.

“I came to ask if I could work out some sort of agreement with you to use your land.”

“Yes.”

He kept talking right over her. “I’ve expanded my breeding program, and I have a lot of horses I need to spread out. I have enough pastureland, but your land isn’t being used for any animals. I thought maybe I could rotate the horses from my acreage to yours, leaving mine to recuperate between switches.”

“Yes,” she repeated.

“I’d pay you for the use of your land. We can negotiate a price.”

“Okay.”

“My men or I will have to come and check on the horses and bring them feed. I’ll be sure to set up a water source. Basically, you won’t have to do anything. I’ll take care of everything the horses need. You aren’t using the land, and I don’t believe they’ll bother you.”

“You said that already. And, I said yes. Go ahead. Bring them over.”

“You’re sure?” he asked, surprised she’d agree so easily.

“I’d love the company. I hope you won’t mind if I spoil them by giving them apples and carrots once in a while.”

“No. That’s, yes. You can give them some treats. Are you sure?”

“Yes. It’s no problem. It gets lonely out here sometimes. The curse of living in the boondocks. It’s my own fault really. I don’t do well around people. Too many emotions flying around,” she said and waved her hands in the air like a whirlwind. “I like it here though. When the property came up for sale, I couldn’t resist,” she said with a secretive smile. “I’m meant to be here.”

“It’s a great place,” he agreed.

The three-bedroom house was in great shape. The last owners had updated the kitchen and bathrooms and added on a wide wraparound porch that stretched from the front of the house around to the back into a deck that looked out over a wide expanse of lawn and lush gardens. From the front of the house, Jack saw the roses blooming in a profusion of colors. This woman took care of her home and land. He had no doubt the horses would be safe here with her.

“Why don’t you like other people?”

“I like them fine,” she answered with a shrug and scratched Blue’s nose. “I just have a hard time coping around strangers. You’re the first person I’ve had here, since I moved in. It’s nice to have company, especially a nice man like you. You have good energy.”

Sometimes she sounded like a crackpot, but she enjoyed watching Jack get confused and irritated.

“Relax, Jack. You can bring the horses. The fee you’re thinking of is okay with me.”

“Huh?”

“You’ll need to shore up a few of the fences. I’ve let them go, since I moved in. I’m fine with you taking the cost of the repairs out of the monthly fee, since the improvements will be to my land. I only have one request. If you aren’t the one to come and check on the horses, then I’d like it to be Caleb. I think it will be okay if it’s just the two of you. I’d like it if you or Caleb wanted to stop in and say hello once in a while. But no one else. I don’t like strangers.”

“You don’t think of Caleb and me as strangers?”

“I know a lot about the two of you. For instance, I know you have to get home because you’re expected at Sam’s place for a family dinner. You’ll decorate cupcakes with the children. Sam and Tyler will be home today.”

“Sam won’t be here for another week, and Tyler doesn’t usually come with him. How do you know about them? About dinner?” He took a step toward her. Those all-seeing blue eyes gazed up at him and a soft smile spread on her pretty face. Her hair softly swayed in the breeze like a living thing.

“I didn’t get your name. Who are you?” His tone demanded her answer in no uncertain terms.

“I’m Morgan.”

Everything in him went still. He hadn’t expected this. It all became clear. He finally understood how she knew about he and Jenna, Caleb, the kids, Sam… and Tyler.

“You’re Tyler’s Morgan.”

She laughed with a self-deprecating smile. “Tyler’s Morgan,” she said softly. “Tyler wouldn’t claim me to save his life. What is it you guys like to call me? Oh, yeah, the psychic ghost. I have to say, I don’t really care for the nickname. I’m no ghost, as you can see. I don’t usually talk to ghosts either. I know that was your next question.”

Stunned, he stood speechless and a little scared. Psychic, she knew things about all of them. Things Tyler sure as hell hadn’t told her. They hardly talked, and when they did, she only called to offer a clue to one of his cases. Tyler had only seen her once. Several years ago, she’d stopped Tyler in a restaurant and told him to find his sister and saved her life by sending Tyler after her. Since then, they’d only spoken on the phone.

Tyler was obsessed with finding Morgan.

“You and Caleb can’t tell Tyler where I am.”

“How’d you know that’s what I was thinking? Can you read my mind?”

She laughed. “Not really. Not like you think. You’re easy to read. Tyler’s your friend. He’d like nothing better than to find out where I’ve been all this time. He’s frustrated with me.”

“Angry is more like it.”

“Exactly. It isn’t time for us to cross paths. Not yet. We weren’t supposed to meet when we did. His sister should have died in that explosion. I couldn’t let that happen. It would have devastated him.”

“He is close to her,” Jack confirmed. “I can’t imagine losing my sister or brother.”

“She took a path she wasn’t meant to go down. I had to correct it, or Tyler wouldn’t be where he is right now. He wouldn’t have been there to help Sam with Elizabeth. She was a victim of circumstance. She and Sam will have a good life together.”

“You know that?” he asked with skepticism and hope all tied up together.

“They’re meant to be together, like you and Jenna. Cameron will have his dream for a family come true very soon. You and Sam will have a good time watching him stumble through the process. In the end, he’ll make the right decision because she’s the woman intended for him. She’ll already know it. He’ll take some convincing.”

“You know about Cameron, too?” Cameron worked for Jenna at Merrick International. They were all friends and close as family.

She put her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and looked up toward the setting sun. She had all the confidence and certainty she needed. “I know about Tyler’s family.”

“Yes, but how do you
know
all this?”

She gave him a cocky smile. “Do you want to talk about psychic and paranormal phenomena? We could have a really good debate about how I do the things I do, and how you don’t really believe I’m capable of seeing the past and the future.”

“I don’t know what I believe. I know you’ve helped Tyler and Sam a number of times. They say you’re always right.”

“I’m right about dinner tonight. Sam and Tyler aren’t expected, but they’ll arrive just the same. How do I know that? I just do. I see it. I always know where Tyler is. It’s like seeing a map in my mind, and wherever he is there’s a pinpoint of light. That isn’t exactly how it is, but it’ll give you a reference for how I know.”

“Does he know you’re aware of him all the time?”

“Tyler is too concerned with the fact that I give him information I pull out of thin air, and he doesn’t know where I am. He hasn’t considered the bigger picture. He’s obsessed with finding me, but I don’t think he’s actually considered what he’d do once he had me in his sights. His feelings about me are all jumbled up. The only thing he really knows is that it unsettles him that I can do something he can’t explain or accept.”

Jack smiled mischievously. “He has a thing for you. We all think he’s half in love with you already. A one-minute conversation changed his life. You changed his life.”

“Yes. And soon I’ll do the same for you. In order for that to happen, you’ll have to keep my secret. I mean it, Jack. You and Caleb can’t tell him I’m here, or that you’ve seen me.”

“Why not? What harm is there in the two of you finally seeing each other again? I think you and Tyler could be great together.”

If only that were true. Unfortunately, their meeting would be tumultuous. She couldn’t see it all clearly, but she understood when they finally did come together, his case would drag her into a dark and dangerous world. She couldn’t tell Jack all of that. He might give her the benefit of the doubt, and he did doubt, but he wanted the best for Tyler. She did too. She wanted the best for all of them.

“It’s important, Jack.”

His eyes narrowed with suspicion. Okay, not a good enough explanation.

“What if I told you that if you tell Tyler where I am, harm might come to someone in your family? Someone you love could be hurt. Would you risk it just so you wouldn’t have to lie to Tyler?”

“Is something going to happen to someone in my family? Have you seen something? Who’s going to be hurt?”

She ignored his concern and his questions, though she knew his feelings ran deep.

“Would you risk it, Jack? Because I won’t. Not even so I can see Tyler now, instead of on a future date I can’t pinpoint.”

“I’d never risk my family. Who’s going to be hurt?”

“I won’t tell you that.”

He dropped the glass in his hand. It shattered on the gravel drive.

His anger came fast and swift. She’d known he’d be upset about any threat to his family, but she hadn’t anticipated his actions. He grabbed her by the arms, lifting her from the ground so they stood face-to-face. His eyes narrowed and filled with rage. The anger washed over her like the heat of a wildfire and took her breath away.

“You’ll tell me who’s in danger, and you’ll tell me now.” He spaced out each word to make sure she knew he meant business.

“Jack… Put… Me… Down.”

She struggled to assert herself, even though she looked like every ounce of energy had drained from her body. Afraid to let her go, her skin turned translucent and the deep blue of her eyes faded and dulled. It looked like he’d hurt her, and he’d barely touched her. She’d wilted like a flower in the desert heat.

He set her back on her feet gently and kept his hands on her arms to hold her steady. He brushed a hand over her golden hair. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

“I’ll be fine.”

She took a step away and erected a wall to block the remains of his anger. She never thought she’d need one between them. She’d made a mistake in not remembering his love of his family and his overwhelming need to protect and keep them safe. She wouldn’t make that mistake twice. Out of practice dealing with people in person, the computer allowed her anonymity. Maybe a little too much anonymity.

“Listen. Just tell me what you know about my family. I need to know. I have a right to protect what’s mine.”

“Yes, you do.” Feeling stronger by the minute, Jack’s concern replaced his anger.

“Then, tell me who it is.”

“It won’t help you to know.”

“I’m not playing games here, Morgan. I want to know. Now.”

“It’s complicated, Jack. Let me lay it out for you this way. Everyone’s life flows in a line like a river. We’re born and we age. There’s no going back to the beginning, or changing the past. The future is the only thing we are capable of changing because it hasn’t happened. There’s a process to life. Every action has a reaction. If you do or don’t do something, that action can affect the future. In the case of Tyler’s sister, an event changed the timeline and sent her down another path, one she wasn’t meant to take.”

“Okay. So you fixed the line and put her back on the right path by telling Tyler to go and get his sister.”

“Right. Simplified, but right. She wasn’t meant to be in that house when it exploded. The future she might have had before being there changed. Tyler saved her, and now she has a completely new future.”

She had to take another deep breath to help clear the last shimmers of Jack’s anger from her system. “The vision I have of your family’s future has an event where someone will be harmed.” She left it vague. She didn’t want to tell him she saw someone shoot his little boy. That would only send his anger into overdrive again. “In the vision, I intervene and prevent the person from being harmed.”