Authors: Frances Stockton
“Morgan, everything okay on the home front?” Remy asked.
“I’ve got twenty missed calls from you.”
“Where are you, Remy?”
“Right now, Eve and I are trying to get home.”
“You went to Nevada?”
“Afraid not. Last night’s flight got rerouted due to engine
trouble and we spent the night in Chicago. Managed to get back on the same
plane, only to sit out on the tarmac for two hours and return to the terminal.
The trip was a nightmare.”
“No one was hurt?”
“No, but it was scary and forced us to cancel the trip
altogether. As it is, we’re considering renting a car to get home. Eve’s old
man will love that, don’t you think?”
“Remy, hold on a second,” Morgan said. “Sam, talk to Remy.
He can tell you where he’s been all this time. Not sure why his phone was off.”
Samantha took the phone, speaking to Remy quietly. By the time
she returned the phone, she was already using her own phone to verify something
Remy had told her.
“Remy?” Morgan asked when she placed the flip phone to her
ear. “Did Sam tell you what’s going on?”
“Yes. I didn’t hurt you, Morgan. I sure as hell didn’t set
fire to your store or use my car as a torch. Whoever did is fucked up and I
want them to pay the piper. Eve and I are on our way home. I’ll talk to
authorities in Danvers. She’s my alibi for the night you were hurt and last
night.”
“What?”
“I got a call from Eve the night we went to dinner. She
didn’t want her daddy to know she was in the area and I went outside briefly to
talk to her about something she’d been researching for me, the Ransom Hunter
gig.”
“Thank God,” Morgan said. “I doubted you, Remy. I’m sorry.”
“Under the circumstances, I would have too. We’ll be home as
soon as we can and straighten out our travel arrangements. In the meantime, you
tell that detective of yours to find whoever hurt you or I’m going to tear him
to pieces.”
“Don’t get mad at Ethan. I’ve been distracting him from
work. He’ll get the job done.”
“That’s my girl.”
“Any progress with Eve, by chance?”
“See you soon, babe.” The non-answer said a lot. Morgan
wondered if maybe the third person those two were waiting for was closer than
they realized.
Often, love came when you least expected it. If she read
Eve’s palm or something belonging to her, she thought it was a good possibility
that the third awaited them in Nevada.
Taran returned and claimed his seat. Morgan handed over his
phone, wondering if he knew Samantha had snooped.
It’d been such a girly thing for Samantha to do. Seeing her
flush and practically glow because she was number one on Taran’s contact list
made Morgan hopeful for Taran and Samantha’s future.
“Morgan, I’ve got to go talk to my partner,” Samantha
declared, closing the computer and packing it away. “Chances are we’ll have to
go to Boston.”
“Am I not included in this conversation?” Taran asked. “I am
right here in front of you, in case you forgot.”
“I let you hear me, didn’t I? If I wanted to keep you out of
the loop, I would have led Morgan to Cassie and Alex’s office in the back.”
“Careful, when Phalen gets home, I’m thinking that he, Ethan
and I should teach our women some lessons in common courtesy,” Taran
challenged.
“I’ve already sacked your big brother right on his fabulous
ass when he stepped over the line. I’ll do it to you and Ethan without second
thought. You mess with the bull, you get the horns, know what I’m saying?”
Taran’s gray eyes zeroed in on Samantha’s face. His
intensity was as fierce and dominant as his older brothers. Morgan felt it and
had to look away.
“Threatening to wave a red flag?” he asked, his tone pure
Alpha. “Go ahead, baby doll, I’ll charge and have no fear of your horns. It’s mine
you should watch out for.”
Okay, Morgan was feeling distinctly uncomfortable now and
had to intervene. “Taran, Sam, do I need to send you two to separate corners? I
will. Now’s not the time to challenge each other. Family sticks together.”
“I’m not family,” Samantha said.
“Like hell you’re not,” Taran remarked. “Morgan’s right. We
need to focus on the here and now. When we know who caused the fire and their
sorry ass is rotting in prison, you and I are going on a date, Samantha Riley.”
Sam shook her head no, gathered up the laptop and stood.
“We’ll see, pretty boy. We’ll see. As I was saying to Morgan, Ethan and I will
have to work on this from Boston. You okay with remaining here until we get
back?”
“I’m kind of stuck anyway,” Morgan said. “I’m going to have
to deal with the insurance claims adjuster soon. After that, I might walk over
to my apartment and check on things there until you all come back to Salem.”
“I’ll take care of Morgan,” Taran promised.
“I’ll be with her too,” Alex claimed, coming up to stand
beside the booth. “I see the two of you enjoyed breakfast.”
“Yes, thank you for sending over the omelet.” Samantha
pointed to her empty plate.
“Breakfast was delicious,” Morgan added.
She hadn’t been able to clean her plate, but the omelet had
been huge and laden with delicious Vermont cheddar cheese and her favorite
veggies. The potatoes had been more than filling.
In the back of her mind, she couldn’t stop thinking about
Ethan. She wished she could go with Samantha to at least talk to him and assure
him that she loved him no matter what.
“Samantha, will you tell Ethan that I’m sorry?” Morgan
asked.
“Sorry about what?”
“I said some things that I shouldn’t have. I tried to
apologize before but the inspector distracted him. I love him. I want him to know
that.”
Samantha grinned as she put the strap from the laptop case
over her shoulder. “I will tell him. But don’t doubt how my partner feels about
you.”
“I’ll try not to.”
“Don’t try. Do,” Samantha insisted. “Ethan loves you. You
love him. We’ll be in touch when we can.”
“Okay,” Morgan agreed.
Alex cleared away the breakfast dishes. “Stay safe and come
see me about membership when you’re ready, Sam,” he said before she left.
“Membership?” Morgan repeated.
“In Druid Creek Castle’s private club,” Alex amended.
“It’s forbidden unless she joins with me,” Taran stated,
accentuating each word so deliberately that the silence between him and
Samantha became a living, tangible force to be reckoned with.
Morgan and Alex stilled, watching as Taran and Samantha
engaged in a stare-down that made the temperature around them rise. Ultimately,
it was Samantha who caved first when her bag slipped off her shoulder.
Catching it before the laptop hit the floor, she looked at
Alex. “Thank you for the invitation, Alex. I’ll take you up on that offer.”
With that, she walked away, not even daring to look back at the booth.
Taran was smiling, reminding Morgan of a Cheshire cat.
“Score,” he declared.
“Seems to me that she didn’t do what you wanted,” Morgan
objected.
“She played right into my hands. That’s for another day,
sis. Tell me what you two talked about while I was slaving away in the
kitchen.”
“You call ordering the cooks around slaving?” Alex
questioned.
“I’ll have you know that I helped stock supplies while you
were being a peacock protecting his hens.”
“The cooks are men,” Alex said.
“Figure of speech, bro.”
Alex didn’t bother to reply. He grumbled something about
Taran being a pain in the ass and moved on, dishes in hand.
“I think it’ll be best if I go to the office to talk to the
insurance company,” Morgan said.
“I’ll come with you.”
“I won’t go far, promise. I don’t need a babysitter.”
“Fine, if you’re not back in ten minutes, I’m there.”
“Maddox bossiness did not miss a generation with you, did
it?”
“You have no idea,” Taran declared.
“It didn’t occur to you that contacting someone at the
company could take longer than ten minutes?”
“Then I’ll come and check on you and wait in the bookstore.
Go on with you.”
Morgan went to take her phone. Taran handed over his too.
“Mine’s better.”
It was. She accepted the smartphone and went to Cassie’s
business office. Once she was seated behind her friend’s desk, she scrolled
through the contacts on her flip phone until she found the insurance company’s
number and tapped the flat screen on Taran’s newfangled phone.
No sooner had she finished going through the rigmarole of
pressing a series of numbers to get through to an actual person than she was
put on hold. Elevator music’s version of “Stairway to Heaven” came over the
line and Morgan lost it.
Last night she’d soared right up to the heavens with Ethan.
Today, she was in hell because he wasn’t there. She knew he had a job to do and
would do it well, but she missed him.
He’d gone and hadn’t said goodbye. He must be pissed off and
she’d only herself to blame.
Sinking down in the comfy office chair, Morgan dropped the
phone and buried her face in her hands, giving in to a good old-fashioned cry.
She never saw Taran come up behind her or heard him leave in
a hurry.
Samantha was once again in the driver’s seat getting ready
to pull out of the parking lot, which was fair since Ethan was too fucking
pissed to drive safely.
All around them, firefighters lingered, but the last of the
embers had been doused and there was no longer concern of the fire jumping to
other buildings. Plus, it had begun to rain.
Ordinarily, Ethan didn’t mind the rain. Today rain reminded
him of tears, Morgan’s tears. In his heart, he knew she was crying right now.
“Sam, I can’t leave,” he said.
“We have to,” Sam stated. “Captain’s expecting us in thirty
minutes.”
“Morrison can wait. I need to talk to Morgan.”
“Yes, but I told you she said she was sorry. Call her while
we’re in route. What the fuck is he doing?” Sam demanded, slamming on the
brakes.
A heavy thud brought Ethan’s head around. Taran stood in
front of the car, preventing them from pulling onto the narrow street. He
walked around to Ethan’s side, rapped his fist on the window and waited until
Ethan put the window down.
“Taran, we don’t have time for trouble right now.”
“Not here to cause trouble, Ethan. You’re to get your ass
inside that diner and comfort your woman. She’s fucking crying, you prick!”
Ethan barely managed to open the car door before his little
brother wrenched the thing open wide enough to threaten the solid hinges.
“Easy, bro, I’m going, I’m going!”
“Hurry,” Taran urged, crossing his arms over his chest.
“Everything’s gone up in flames around her and she’s worried about pissing you
off. Take care of her or so help me God, I’ll shove my foot so far up your ass,
you’ll walk funny for the next millennium.”
Taran could save the butt kicking for another day. It was a
sure bet they’d get into it if Ethan stayed and he couldn’t risk it. Not when
Morgan was crying.
Rushing off to the diner, he made his way inside, didn’t
immediately see her and paused to look around.
“She’s in Cassie’s office,” Alex called out from the
kitchen.
Ethan found Morgan huddled in a chair, crying loud enough to
be heard in the bookstore. He didn’t hesitate to go to her, bring her out of
the chair and take her into his arms.
Nothing mattered right then. Not the case, the fire, where
they were or who might see them, nothing except soothing his lady.
“I’m right here, baby. I’m right here. I’m sorry,” he
murmured, carrying her around until he could sit on the desk with Morgan across
his lap. “Just cry it out, I’ve got you.”
“I…thought I’d lost you,” she said, barely loud enough to be
heard over the tears. She hiccupped and rested her forehead on his shoulder.
“You can’t do that, Morgan. Nothing can make me walk away
from you.”
“I was an idiot.”
“You lashed out because you were hurting and I lashed back.
I made you cry, for that I might let Taran kick my ass later.” Holding her
tighter, he hoped his strength would give her the push she needed to look up.
“I’m sorry for what I said. I don’t blame sex as the reason
for the fire or why Grandma isn’t here.”
“I know. This is a fucked-up situation. If I could change
it, I would. The only thing I can do is catch the sonofabitch and lock them up.
It might take hours or all night or a couple of days. I’m not going to rest
until it’s done.”
“Is this your way of saying you may not come home tonight?”
Morgan uttered with a little more oomph.
“I’m going to try. Unfortunately, that’s all I can promise.
With my job, there will be interruptions, endless hours of overtime and
sleepless nights, but at the end of a case or workday, it’s you I will
always
come home to. Even if it means all we do is sleep for a few days until I can
make love to you.”
“Even when we have a fight?” she asked.
“Especially then, Morgan,” he said. “It takes communication
and commitment to make a relationship work. I’m in for the long haul, thought
you knew that.”
“I’m not going anywhere either. I’m feeling sorry for
myself.” Stronger now, her tears lessened and he was able to get her to lift
her head. Her eyes were bloodshot and her nose was running.
Ethan didn’t fucking care. She was the woman he loved. It
was his honor to make sure she knew that. Gently, he touched her cheek and
wiped away the tears. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to go? If you need me
here, I’m here.”
“You need to find this fucker and stop them before they
start another fire or go too far and someone is killed.”
“We might have a female perp. Hope to God we’re wrong, because
something isn’t right in the Bailey-Andrews families. I aim to find out every
dirty little secret they’ve been hiding for years.”