Carroll: Morgan’s Leap – Leopards Shapeshifter Romance

by Kathi S. Barton

  “No worries. I don’t think these people were killed that day. Coroner will have a better timeline for us on when they passed. This is just a guess, but I’m thinking they were killed because whoever shot at your family would have wanted them out of the way.” That was just where his mind was going now. “I don’t suppose you have any enemies, do you? I don’t know who it would be. You guys are the rock of this area.”

  “We do now.” Daniel looked at him, wide-eyed. “One of the personnel at the elementary school. Ms. Blanche Mission. She’s been complaining about the fruit and things we give to the school. That’s the reason the FDA was here in the first place. She told them we were giving away contaminated foods and that we’ve never been certified.”

  “I’m not sure, but I don’t think you have to be certified by them if you’re only giving the stuff away. You in no way make a profit from it, correct?” Carroll told him they didn’t. “I’ll have to look into that one for you. I’m not sure. But if you have yourself a Fed here, then she’d know. I’ll look into this woman for you. She must have a burr up her butt about something with you guys.”

  “Officer Penick, can I help you?” The man looked around, then back at him. Obviously, he didn’t want anyone else to know. “It wouldn’t be any trouble for me to do this. I like you, and I know you have a young family.”

  When he turned away, Carroll let him. The emotional turmoil was stronger now, and he didn’t have to touch him to feel it. Turning back, he asked him what the long-term effects would be if he were to do this. And what he would want in return.

  “In return? Nothing. I told you, I like you, and I don’t want you to have to suffer needlessly. You need to be around for your little ones, and that would be good for all of you. As for side effects? You will live a great deal longer than you would by not having me help you. You might even get a little extra. It’s something I can’t predict until I heal you. The disease is taking hold, and it’s covering up anything else that might be there.” He asked if he could think about it, talk it over with his wife. Carroll handed him his cell phone, one he rarely used. “You don’t have a great deal of time left. Call her and tell her.”

  Daniel came to find him a little while later. His wife must have busted his chops over wanting to ask her about it because the man was giddy with happiness. Apparently, his wife was all for him being healed.

  Putting out his hand, Carroll waited for Daniel to put his hand into his. He hoped he wasn’t having second thoughts about this. If he did, Carroll was going to call his wife himself and tell her.

  “I will owe you for the rest of my life for this.” Carroll told him as long as he was happy and well, that was payment enough. “No. I will owe you.”

  Putting his hand onto his, he felt the surge of power run from his hand to Daniel’s. Putting his other hand atop Daniel’s, he saw everything the man had been suffering with. Also, how he had planned to kill himself as soon as tomorrow. When he sat down in the grassy yard, Carroll joined him there.

  “Christ, that was amazing.” They both laughed. “Seriously, I don’t remember feeling this good in all my life. If you could bottle that, I’m sure a lot of people would be beating a path to your door for some of it.”

  “That is precisely the reason we don’t tell anyone.” Daniel said he wouldn’t tell anyone. “I know you won’t. I knew that before I made the offer. You’re going to be fine. The little extra you got is that you’re going to heal a good deal faster than you did before. That doesn’t mean you won’t die from a head or heart shot, but you’ll be able to heal faster.”

  “Thank you. Thank you so very much.”

  Daniel walked back to the house and finished up the crime scene. Carroll just sat there, thinking about nothing much, when he saw movement out of the corner of his eye.

  Not making the person aware of him seeing her, he reached out to figure out not only who it was but also why they were here. It was Blanche. She had indeed murdered the older couple here, but she thought she’d have a lot more time before the house was checked.

  Carroll dug deeper into her mind to find out her motive for trying to kill his mom. The reason was astounding. He’d have to get with his mom and tell her right away. While he had no idea how to get the message to the police, he knew his mom was going to have to be extra careful from now on. The woman was going to hurt his mom because she was opening a greenhouse in town, and she hated that Mom was competition.

  Chapter 3

  Hanna sat on the large rock and watched as the little faeries worked. She wouldn’t have seen them, she was sure, but for Mr. Weeds pointing them out. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to see them, he told her, but she wasn’t using her magic to do so. Hanna was going to have to get used to this stuff before she missed a lot of other stuff.

  “Mistress?” She smiled at Leo and asked him if he could just call her Hanna. “No. Oh no. I cannot do that. I would be too familiar, and the others would be jealous. But the reason I’ve come to you now when you are resting is that the faeries here need some help.”

  “Whatever it is, if it’s within my powers, they’ll have whatever they need.” Leo smiled at her. “You already knew I’d do it, didn’t you?”

  “I did. You have a kind heart. They need for some of the trees to be dropped.” She looked at where they were and could see the sun streaming through the trees. “They can only plant the seeds that are good in shade. This area in another hour will be in darkness. The plants they want to use are in need of the extra sun. I have spoken to the trees, and they’ll help, but you need to ask Lord Joel if you might be able to help the little ones.”

  “How do I talk to him? I mean, do I just call someone and make an appointment?” He laughed, and she smiled. She didn’t want to tell him she’d been serious with her question. “How do I contact any of the others, for that matter? I’m thinking that felling trees wouldn’t just affect the planting area, but also the earth, as well as any creatures that might be using them as shelter.”

  “That is an excellent thought. Yes, indeed. Excellent.” Hanna had noticed that when he was thinking, his wings fluttered so quickly it was difficult to watch without being ill. The colors on it were lovely but too bright with the sun shining on them. “I will contact all that will have some involvement in this. Yes, you were the right person for this job. I will return directly.”

  She had no idea how long that would be but settled on the rock to wait for just a little while. Hanna had decided last night that she wasn’t going to work for the federal government anymore. Making an impact on the earth wasn’t done by sitting behind a desk for most of her workday but going out and doing something about it. Working here and living here would give her all the work she wanted to do and fulfill her lifelong dream of touring this little slice of heaven.

  “Hello.” She turned to see who had spoken. “Don’t be alarmed. Leo told me to meet him here when I could, and this was as good a time as ever. My name is Holly. I am in charge of the landscape of this realm.”

  “Do you know who else is coming?” Holly told her that both Joel and David were joining them, as well as the mother herself. Mother Nature. “She must be terribly busy. I didn’t mean for her to be taken from her work. Any of you, for that matter. It was only a thought that I needed to clear things before I got a crew out here messing things up.”

  “You did very well. Leo is quite pleased with the way you thought of us. I have no trouble with the shoring of the trees, but then the permission on which to fell would have to come from Joel.” She told him what the faeries needed and what she thought might help them. “That’s an excellent idea. What will become of the fallen trees?”

  “I would imagine, like the rest of the things that fall to the earth, they’ll be left where they lay. I’m not sure, now that I think about it if I can make this sort of decision.” He told her she was the only one that could. “What about Morgan? I mean, this is her
land. Right?”

  “It is all of your land, but yes, Morgan owned it before even we came here to help. However, she will tell you that if you see a need, you are to take care of it. Here she comes as well. This will be a good meeting, I think.”

  Chairs appeared around the rock she was on, and a cushion materialized under her. She smiled at Leo when he asked her if she was comfortable.

  The meeting was wonderful. Morgan did tell her she was glad to know Hanna was going to be helping out when she saw the need and that if she thought it was a good idea, Morgan would as well. The kings and queens all agreed that felling the trees would be helpful in so many ways other than just sunlight, but it would help the other undergrowth that was struggling to take hold as well.

  There wasn’t any need for a crew, she soon found out. Joel simply moved along the trees, touching the ones that would be taken down. When he asked for everyone to stand back, the trees simply appeared on the ground as if they’d been cut. The sun coming through the nice opening had all the little creatures clapping and singing. She even joined in on some of the celebrations.

  The faeries didn’t waste too much time in their happiness. Getting to work, they were planting seeds at a high pace. She had to look away a few times, the speed making her slightly ill, but she was so happy she could take part in this.

  “I would like to ask you a favor, Hanna.” She told Morgan she’d do anything for her. “Don’t say that. I might want you to do something terrible, and where would you be? No, the boys have been staying at the house since they were born. As they got older, they arranged their rooms to be like a home. I believe Carrol has five bedrooms in his part of the house. The others have a few, but not as many. My favor. Could you go and have a look at what could be your home? I know you’ve been staying at the hotel in town, but that seems silly when we have so much room here. If, after seeing the home, you don’t care for it, then you can build. But, and this is me being Mom, could you please live close enough that I can see the two of you once in a while? That sounded terrible, didn’t it?”

  “Not at all. I’d like to make sure I can come and see you when I want. You’re a wonderful person, and I love spending time with you.” Morgan thanked her. “I’ll go and have a look at it when I’m finished here. Mr. Weeds is showing me around today. Carroll went to help his brother Marley.”

  “They’re at the cottage. The couple that lived there was found dead this morning. Murdered. Carroll knows who did it and why, but he can’t figure out a way to tell the police without telling them how he found it out.” Hanna said she might be able to help with that. “You could? That would be wonderful. The culprit is Blanche Mission. She wants me dead so her open market will do better. I know that sounds nuts, but people have hurt me for far less.”

  “I heard about your parents, Morgan. I’m so very sorry about that. But you did come out on top.” She smiled at her, and Hanna was happy she’d brought it up. “I’ll go over there later and see what I can do by having a look around. It might just be as obvious as her leaving fingerprints. However, I’ll have a look around and make sure they know my suspicions. I was an agent before I took on the duties of the food and drug part of the job.”

  “I’m so glad that you and Carroll are mates. I think with your knowledge of the laws and your wanting to work with us, it’s going to go a long way in making sure things are done legally. I’ve never had to deal with this sort of thing before. But the more people know about us, the more they want a piece of it. Not necessarily in a good way, either.” The two of them ended up on the far end of the property by just talking and walking. The place they were at now looked like it had been there forever.

  “Mostly, it was built by my grandparents. The winery hasn’t been kept up since Carroll and his brothers came into their own. It’s not that we didn’t want to do it, but there always seemed to be one more thing that needed us more. I was hoping someday it would be running again, with a label on it from here. Do you know what the land here is called and why?”

  “Morgan’s Leap. I know what it means, but not why it’s called that. I mean, other than the obvious.” Morgan laughed and explained to her more about her parents. “So you changed the name of the place from White Plantation because they used slave labor to pick the grapes and never paid their people. They don’t sound like people I would have liked to have known. I know that you pay your people now. They seem to be making a good living here as well.”

  “Yes. I also gave up the name White, and me and the boys became the Golden family. Mostly all we have here working are the creatures from the earth. Occasionally a human will come along for some reason and stay here. Lincoln was part of the staff when my parents were alive. He’s been there for me every step of the way. Then about ten years ago, he decided he wanted to be out of doors and out of the house, and he moved to one of the homes that was built for him.” She asked her what it was he did now. “You’re going to think this is funny, but he hangs out in the nursery. There are babies born all the time, and he said it makes him feel so much younger when he gets to be around the newborns. They’re mostly trolls or an occasional brownie that might find their mate who has children, but there are usually one or two born daily.”

  “Okay, another place I have to visit.” They were laughing again. It felt so wonderful to have a female friend after working in a male dominated workplace. They didn’t treat her badly, but she never was going to be one of the boys. Here she felt free and needed. She told Morgan that. “I do need to ask you why you’re taking this vacation. Is it because I’m here? I’d hate to think I’ve run you off.”

  “No. Never that. But I’m exhausted. I’ve not been taking care of myself since I took this on. I wanted to be the best, something as a child I never obtained. Not being the best, but having someone recognize what I’d done. Sounds vain, but it’s not. I worked very hard to make sure the animals that worked here were in good shape. I was never allowed to go see to the darkies, as my parents called them. I would get them beaten, and myself too, if I tried. So I stayed focused on the animals. Then that branched out, much like you did with the trees today. Finding things that would make their lives better, like cutting down a few trees. When the animals worked better, the people here did as well. Not that my parents ever noticed it, but I did, and I made that an adjustment to seek people out that did something great as soon as I took over this place.” Hanna told her how much she was enjoying watching the way things were working here. “It’s taken a very long time to get it right. Sometimes we still don’t have it correct, but we get closer all the time. We’re still having issues with the irrigation for the gardens, but it’s a lot better than it was.”

  “I saw what you’re doing with the plants that need a great deal of water. I don’t think I would have thought of putting in spigots along the rows so you could water them to their hearts’ content. Shiloh said you had traded meat for the things needed to make it work. That’s wonderful.”

  Morgan said they used the barter system whenever they could.

  It was a lovely afternoon. She not only knew more about what was going to be her home, but she enjoyed spending the day with Morgan. Hanna thought she looked better, more rested. She certainly didn’t seem as stressed. Making a mental note to seek out her new mother-in-law daily just for walks like this, the two of them ended up on the back end of the house. It was, Morgan told her, where the boys lived.

  “You do know they’re not boys, right?” Hanna said they were forever her little boys. “Okay, but I’m just going to point out to you that they’re bigger than you are and more than likely still afraid of you. I can see it in their eyes when you gather them around you.”

  “Good. That’s what a mother should do to her kids. Scare them a little.” Hanna loved how the entrance to each of the sections of the house was different than the others. She could tell which one was Carroll’s without being told. “He so loved when he did glass cutting. I think fo
r a while there, he was making a good living at it.”

  “I didn’t realize they all had jobs outside of here until last night. Why didn’t they just stay here to work?” Morgan told her she didn’t want to make them do anything they might not enjoy. The projects here were hers. And since the boys had decided they liked it better here, they worked on their own projects. It usually ended up with the same goal in mind. Make the world a better place. “Bailey still teaches classes at the vocational school. He told me he likes seeing the kids’ faces when something they’ve planted or put together grows into something sustainable.”

  “He is creating the next generation of people like us. Or so he tells me. Every year they have a garden put in. Some of the kids around here might be getting their only fresh vegetables from it that year. But once they are finished, there is a contest to see who has the best. After that, they have a cookout, then trade the things they’ve grown with others in the same area. It’s worked out so well that we bring some of the kids here a couple of times a year to sell off some of the produce we raise, including pumpkins. A few years ago, we cleared a lot of pine and let them sell them for Christmas trees. It has not only given the kids a great way to make money but also the town helps out as best they can.”

  Carroll joined them as they were sitting around the pool. She was getting used to him kissing her when he left or found her. She was sure he wanted more from her, but at the moment, she was still getting used to being around him. Not to mention just being around his family.

  “I was just telling her that you’ve got a nice place here. You should show her around, Carroll. Oh, you’re the first that I’m going to tell. I’ve decided not to go on the little vacation. I have found that since Hanna so willingly puts up with me, I’ll stay until she runs me off. You’ve got a good mate here, son.” Morgan left them then, going into the house, whistling a tune she’d never heard before. “Dinner in town tonight, Carroll. Since the lot of you forgot my birthday.”