Morgan is excited. He’s out with
Marguerite at the grocery store, shopping for all of Abby’s favorite foods. I
think it’s so cute how far he’s going to ensure her stay is comfortable.
Marguerite told him she knew how to buy from a shopping list, but evidently,
she was not convincing enough.
I stop daydreaming and return to
fixing Abby’s room. It takes me all but an hour to get it done. Tomorrow, I
hope she’ll be comfortable in her pretty pink suite.
“Morgan Drake,” I
gaze into his hazel eyes. “I can’t
believe you woke me and dragged me here so early. You realize her plane doesn’t
land for another two hours right?”
“I just want to make sure I’m here
when her plane lands. In the meantime, we’ll watch planes land and take off.”
It might have been inconvenient for
him to wake me up at six in the morning when she’s not due here until nine, but
I love seeing him this way. Time flies by quickly, and when Morgan sees her
coming toward him, the sight of him dropping to his knees, arms open wide, is
beyond priceless.
Pulling away from the flight attendant,
the petite blonde, curly-haired little girl screams, “Daddy,” and runs straight
into his arms when she sees him. She kisses him all over his face.
I’m so happy for him I almost cry.
I get a short introduction and while he wraps up details with the attendant, I
get the valet to bring the vehicle around.
“Did you enjoy your flight?” I ask
Abby moments later as Morgan steers the vehicle into an open lane.
“Yes,” she answers shyly.
“I have a present for you. You want
to see?”
“Yes!” she answers with a tad more
enthusiasm.
I hand her a pink gift bag.
She screams and claps at the same
time. When she looks into the bag, I think she’s about to go insane. “Daddy,
Daddy, look. It’s pink Barbie Christmas ornaments.”
“I know,” Morgan replies. “Zoë
showed them to me.”
“Daddy said you decorated a tree?”
“I did, but we got another tree for
the family room upstairs that we can decorate together.”
“So we’ll have two trees?”
“Yes, we will.”
I was so nervous about this
meeting, I had a long discussion with Morgan about her likes and dislikes. His
input was spot on.
“So Abby, will you help me decorate
your dad’s boat? We’re going to participate in the Christmas boat parade
tomorrow.”
“What’s a boat parade?”
Morgan responds, “We’re going to
decorate the boat with lights and Christmas decorations and then tomorrow
night, all the boats that are decorated will show off their display in the
bay.”
“So we decorate the tree tonight
and the boat tomorrow?”
“That’s right,” Morgan responds.
“Wow, Daddy. By the time this trip
is over, I’ll be exhausted!”
She’s quite the drama queen. I know
for the next few days we’ll have our hands full, and I’m looking forward to
every single moment of it.
“This is beautiful!”
Abby says, when we walk into the
house. “I love the water.”
“Are you sure she’s five?” I
whisper in Morgan’s ear.
“She’ll be six at the end of
January.”
“Abby, are you hungry?”
“A little.”
“Morgan, why don’t you show her
around, and I’ll make some snacks.”
A while later, I hear a
high-pitched voice coming down the stairs. I realize my crew has added someone
new to their entourage. I feel her tiny hands poking my thigh.
“Zoë?”
“Hello, mademoiselle. What can I do
for you?”
“What’s
Mad-ma-zel
?”
“It means little lady or young lady
in French.”
“Daddy said you grew up in France.
That’s why you talk funny.”
I laugh it her words. “That’s
true.”
“Can I give you a hug?”
“Sure,” I reply, crouching down to
her level. Her tiny arms surround my neck. She pushes my hair aside with her
tiny hands and kisses me on my cheek.
“Thank you for all the love. What’s
it for?”
“I absolutely L-O-V-E my room. It’s
beautiful.”
“You are so very welcome. Where’s
your dad?”
“He’s talking to a man outside.”
Poking my head round the corner, I
realize it’s Lucas. I set up the platter with an assortment of food out on the
patio. It’s a little warmer today, and it’s all blue skies outside. I hope it
stays that way for our boat trip tomorrow.
“Zoë, what color will we decorate
the tree upstairs?”
“Whatever color you want.”
“I think I want it in many, many
colors.”
“Well that’s what it will be. We
can even make some decorations if you want.”
“Really?”
“Yes. I got some glitter glue and
paint and some pretty wooden shapes we can decorate however you wish. It’ll be
fun.”
I look out the main entrance.
Morgan seems to be listening intently to Lucas. He returns inside with an
envelope in his possession. He slips it into the side table drawer before he
joins us on the patio.
I wait to see if he’ll say
something, but he doesn’t. I won’t discuss it in Abby’s presence.
Later that afternoon, while Abby
and I make decorations for the tree, he paces around the pool on the phone.
He’s been counting down the days until
Abby’s arrival. He’s been so eager to spend time with her. If this were not
some big or important issue, he wouldn’t be so distracted.
By the time we’re done with the
tree, Abby can barely stay awake and Morgan gets her ready for bed. I tidy up
the empty boxes and the trash left behind and go online to finish ordering my
Christmas presents.
I have absolutely no clue what to
get Morgan. What do I give a man who has given me a reason to want to keep on
going even when I thought I had nothing or no one?
He returns from her room and
collapses on the sofa beside me.
“You ready to tell me what’s
wrong?”
Closing his eyes, and leaning his
head back onto the sofa he says, “Deandre and Shaun were found dead today.”
My chest plummets into the depths
of my stomach. “What? Morgan, I’m so sorry. What happened?”
“Shaun’s car ran over a cliff near
Buckeye Point. The car was submerged under water. It was low tide and some
fishermen saw something black hovering over the surface of the water. They got
up close and realized it was a black BMW and called the police. They suspected
it was Shaun because of the reports in the news. After divers went in, they
confirmed it was Shaun’s car.”
“Was it an accident?”
“They don’t know yet. Their bodies
were badly decomposed.”
“What were they doing in that
area?”
“Deandre lived nearby.”
“Babe, I’m so sorry.”
“Me, too. Their family is
devastated.”
“I’m sure. Such tragic news this
time of year. How are you?”
“I keep hoping this was just an
accident and nothing more, but because of the timing of the disappearance, the
police are highly suspicious.”
“Unfortunately, I think that is a
concern we all have. I know this must be rough. I’m really sorry.”
Rising to his feet, he stretches
out his hand, “Come on, baby. It’s been an emotionally exhausting day. Come to
bed with me.”
I wake and
realize Morgan is not beside me. I slip on
a robe and head downstairs.
Lights glow through the teal waters.
I hear Morgan moving through the pool before I see him. My body goes cold as I
view him maneuvering through. He moves with agility, frustration and
anger—almost as if he’s pounding his hands and feet through the water.
This is all about Deandre, and I
realize the
okay
façade he put up earlier is breaking down. No one
understands better than me what he’s feeling. I’d do anything to take the hurt
and the pain he’s going through away. But unfortunately, life doesn’t work that
way. I do the only thing I can do: be there, be present.
I pull a throw off the sofa, wrap
it around my body then go to the pool and sit at the end, submerging my legs
into the warm water. When his eyes meet mine, they are red. No words are
necessary. He swims toward me, circles his arms securely around my hips, and
lays his head on my lap in silence. I feel his hurt, his anguish. My heart
aches for him. I embrace him tightly and the tears come—for him, for Deandre
and his brother, for their family, for Zach…
The next morning,
I wake up to an empty bed. I grab a
quick shower and get dressed, but when I get downstairs and poke my head into
the garage I realize Morgan’s SUV, my crew, Morgan and Abby are all MIA.
As I look into the garage, Lucas
pops his head out from the newly built room.
“Miss Jenkins, Doctor Drake went
out to get the cat and dog outfitted for life jackets. Abby wanted them to go
out on your sailing trip later today.”
“You’re kidding, right?”
He laughs. “I swear to God I’m
not.”
“He’s going to spoil her rotten.” I
shake my head in amusement and walk into the room that I have yet to see. There
are at least ten monitors mounted to the wall. “Wow. How many cameras are on
the property?”
“About fifteen.”
“That’s insane.”
“It’s a state of the art camera
system. The best in thermal imagery equipment.”
“I don’t even know what that means,
but it looks very expensive.”
“It means that even if we can’t see
someone with the naked eye, especially at night, their body temperature will
show us their exact location.”
“Are all the cameras like that?”
“Many of them are, the others are
high definition security cameras that will produce high def videos and images
caught on camera.”
“How much did all this cost?”
“A small fortune. I worked in the
military, and the equipment used here is pretty high-tech.”
“Unbelievable.”
“You can’t put a price tag on
saving a life, Miss Jenkins.”
“Whatever you say, Lucas. By the
way, do you know if the boat has been checked yet? Morgan told me he wanted it
examined before we went out today.”
“It has, and Rick is out on the
dock. Go down whenever you wish.”
“Thanks, Lucas. Have a great day.”
“You too, Miss Jenkins.”
“Please, call me Zoë.”
He smiles but doesn’t respond.
I turn to leave then suddenly get
an idea.
“Can I ask you a huge favor?”
“What is it?”
“Ordinarily, I might have handled
this sort of thing myself, but considering what my life has come to, it might
be best to get you involved.”
“How can I help you?”
“Please don’t say anything to
Morgan about this. I’d like to take him on a trip after Abby leaves, but I’d
like to surprise him.”
“Where did you want to go?”
“I’m not sure, but I think I’d like
to leave the country. That way we can have some peace of mind.”
“The sooner you decide where you’d
like to go the better. I’d advise you not to book anything yourself. Let me
handle all the travel arrangements.”
“Why?”
“Credit card payments are easier to
track down than you think. We don’t want anyone knowing you purchased tickets
for you and Doctor Drake to Timbuktu.”
I giggle. “Hardly where we’ll be
going, but I see your point. So how is the best way to handle this?”
“Let me know the travel dates,
hotel, et cetera. I’ll make all the arrangements.”
“Then I reimburse you?”
“I’ll let you know those details
later. And when you decide where you’d like to visit, the less people who know
the better. Todd Hughes may be on house arrest, but that doesn’t mean his
cronies aren’t out there.”
“Great. I’ll work on that now. I’ll
be back in a while.”
An hour later, I settle on the
details for our trip and give them to Lucas. After I outline the boat with blue
rope lights, I hear Abby shout my name. Coming down the stairs, she and Peaches
and Pixie are all decked out in pink life vests. Morgan follows closely behind.
Rick helps her onto the boat.
She runs to me and circles my
thighs.
“Daddy got us all pink vests. Isn’t
it lovely?”
“Très chic! Very fashionista,” I
say as she spins and models her outfit: floral fuchsia leggings, a light pink
sweater with pink booties, a fluorescent pink life vest on top, and a pink
flower in her hair.
“That’s quite the outfit. Did you
pick it out all by yourself?”
“My mom helped me when we packed.”
“Your mom has good taste.”
After checking the display and
ensuring all the lights work, we set sail, bound for Fisherman’s Wharf in San
Francisco. It’s a nippy 57 degrees today, but the sun shines brightly in the
clear blue sky.
Pixie and Peaches have taken quite
a liking to Abby, and it’s so easy to understand why. She is such a sweet and
loving child. While she sits and plays with them and her toys on the saloon
floor, I sit with the captain at the helm.
We spend the afternoon exploring
the huge bay. As the evening nears, we think about dinner. Morgan calls a
restaurant on the water nearby, and we order some food.
I touch up my lip gloss in the
bathroom while Morgan searches for the restaurant. Soon enough, the boat pulls
up to the dock. When I return to the upper deck, Morgan kisses me gently.
“That’s the restaurant over there,”
he points.
“Wow. The Waterfront Café.”
“Something wrong?”
I shake my head at the memory. “No.
Nothing’s wrong. The last time I was there I was with Zach. Then I got a call
saying I had to meet some
older doctor
at eight.”
He chuckles, “Really? Are you going
to be okay going in there?”
“I’ll be fine.”
I head into the restaurant. I’m
waiting to sign the credit card slip when I notice a man staring at me—blonde
hair, blue eyes, probably in his late forties or early fifties. He looks
familiar, but I can’t place him. He sits with a woman I don’t recognize then
looks straight at me with an unnerving stare. I’m not sure why, but I’m
uncomfortable. When the server returns with the slip, I quickly sign it and
return to the boat.