“The car is in great condition,” Morgan said adamantly. “If you want, I’ll call my mechanic again and you can talk to him yourself. Have your own mechanics go over it. Other than the usual oil changes, that car has been running perfectly.”
Gabe’s lips twitched. He didn’t fully understand the conversation, but if they’d been haggling over horses, he’d bet a month’s pay that the dealer was accusing Morgan of trying to sell him a lame animal.
Dennis rubbed his fingers along his chin as if he was trying to come to a decision. He stepped closer to Morgan, and touched her arm just as he leaned toward her. Gabe clenched his hand into a fist.
“I could talk my manager into giving you full book value. Maybe we can discuss it over dinner?”
“You have some nerve,” Morgan huffed. “Get your hands off me right now before I report you to your manager.”
It took Gabe only a few strides to reach them, and he stepped in front of Morgan.
“The lady is through dealing with you,” he said, glaring at the shorter man.
Dennis’ eyes widened, and his smile faltered. He stumbled backwards, and Gabe advanced on him.
“She’ll find another buyer for her vehicle, and when she does, she’ll be taking her business elsewhere.”
He turned, and reached for Morgan’s arm, ignoring the open-mouthed look of outrage in her eyes, and pushed her in front of him toward her car.
“What are you doing?” she hissed.
Gabe didn’t look at her. He pulled the door to the backseat open, and, before he could even think about his actions, took Logan from her arms. The boy fell eagerly against him, squealing like a little pig in a mud wallow. His pudgy little hands reached up and swatted Gabe’s cheek, his mouth wide in a delighted smile. Gabe blinked, staring down at the baby in his arm. He’d never been this close to something this small in his life, let alone held one. His forehead wrinkled, and he frowned.
The boy swiped a hand at him again, and Gabe leaned into the car, setting the squiggly little tyke into his seat. Fumbling with the harness, he tried to secure the boy as he’d seen Morgan do. After several failed attempts, he backed out of the car. He turned, only to face the child’s mother, who was glaring at him with her hand on her hip.
“You’d better strap him into that contraption,” Gabe mumbled, swiping a hand across his forehead. He stepped aside, and Morgan moved past him to duck into the back seat. She emerged seconds later, bolting backwards like a mustang caught in a corral chute, and yanked the other car door open.
“Do you mind telling me what that was about?” she hissed. Her arm shot toward the building, pointing at Dennis, who was no longer there.
Gabe straightened, and faced her fully. Damn, she was riled, but he couldn’t take his eyes off of her at the moment.
“I didn’t like the way he was looking at you,” Gabe said in a low tone. “I wasn’t gonna stand by and watch him take advantage of you.”
Morgan’s eyes widened. “Advantage?” she sputtered. “Do you really think I was going to go out with him just so he’d buy my car?”
Gabe’s mouth widened in a grin. “Something tells me you don’t have much experience dealing with shady characters,” he said slowly. “You weren’t going to get anywhere with him unless you sweetened the deal. He had the upper hand, and it was time he lost it.”
Morgan opened her mouth to speak, then closed it again. She glanced toward the building, then back at him.
“You mean you took it from him,” she finally said. “I had it handled. I already said I was going to go to his manager.” She paused, and shook her head, her lips twitching in the corners. Her eyes sparkled with humor. “You’re impossible, you know that?” Her voice had calmed considerably.
Gabe grinned. “You know I’m right.”
He held the car door open for her, and Morgan moved to climb in. Before he realized her intent, she stepped closer to him and placed her hand against his cheek. The contact of her soft fingertips on his face stunned him to where he stood rooted to the spot. An overpowering sensation of warmth rushed through him. She leaned up, and touched her lips to the corner of his mouth.
The gentle kiss lasted no more than the span of a second, then she climbed into her car. Morgan glanced up at him, her lips parting in a smile that sent his heart racing in his chest.
“He was a creep,” she said. “Thanks for watching my back, Desperado.”
His eyebrows rose, and he grinned broadly. Surely her words had a different meaning than the implied.
“Anytime, Morgan.” He touched his fingers to the brim of his hat.
The lingering feel of her sweet lips, and the touch of her soft hands, sent his pulses racing. Gabe swallowed, trying to compose himself. Every fiber of his being wanted to pull her into his arms, kiss her like she was meant to be kissed. Some part of him wanted to stake a claim on her, as foolhardy as it seemed. The fire she’d started with that innocent brush of her lips on his would be damn hard to put out.
She ain’t for the likes of you, McFarlain.
Morgan shook her head, and laughed, breaking his train of thought. “Get in the car, Desperado. Let’s go home so I can figure out what to do about selling this Beamer.”
Chapter Eleven
“Can you find me a good used truck, Wolfgang?”
Morgan held her phone to her ear by cocking her head at an uncomfortable angle against her shoulder. She needed both hands to unstrap Logan from his car seat. She ducked out of the back seat of her car, and lifted the boy to her hip. Gabe had already walked ahead, and held the door to the house open for her.
“A truck? Um Gott? Why you vant a truck when you have such a nice car?”
The man on the other end of the line nearly shouted. She held the phone away from her ear, and concentrated on his words. The man’s heavy German accent was hard to understand.
Morgan moved into the living room, and set Logan on the ground. She handed him several of his toys, but he crawled away and pulled himself to a standing position at the coffee table. Morgan sighed silently. It had been much easier when Logan wasn’t so mobile. She shook her head, and smiled. Her little boy babbled non-stop, and worked his way to the other end of the table, closer to where Gabe stood, knocking magazines to the ground and reaching for anything his little fingers could get hold of in the process.
Gabe stepped away from the table. Not once had he ever acknowledged or responded to Logan’s attempts to draw his attention. Morgan shook her head slightly and looked away, trying to concentrate on what Wolfgang was saying.
“I don’t have time to explain, Wolfgang, but if you can find a buyer for the BMW, and buy a used truck, something mid-sized and in good running condition, I’ll bake you a German Chocolate Cake the next time I’m in L.A.”
“Oh ja. Ich cannot refuse that.” Wolfgang laughed. “Your cakes are better zan ze ones from ze German bakery. I vill make some phone calls, and shood have einen buyer in un few hours. I sink I might know somevon.” He paused, then added in a disapproving tone, “Und getting ze used truck is no problem.”
“Thanks, Wolfgang. I’ll be waiting.”
Morgan disconnected the call and pocketed her phone. Why hadn’t she simply contacted Wolfgang Heilmund in the first place, rather than go to a dealership she knew nothing about? She should have known right away that trading in her car for a truck that was worth one-fifth of her Beamer would raise flags, but she had wanted to do this on her own, not take the easy route and contact an acquaintance. And, she hadn’t anticipated having to deal with the likes of Dennis.
Wolfgang had been her father’s business partner in importing high-end German collector cars to the U.S., and contacting him might get back to her mother. If she didn’t need to sell her car so quickly, she wouldn’t have called him.
Annoyance at Gabe swept through her. Logan’s babbling became more adamant, and all that cowboy could do was stand there and pretend the little boy didn’t exist. Gabe had always regarded Logan suspiciously, as if h
e was scared of a one-year old.
She was about to open her mouth to say something, when her phone rang. She pulled it from her pocket, and frowned. Turning her back on Gabe and her son, she contemplated whether to answer the call. A loud screech behind her nearly stopped her heart. Morgan whirled around to see Gabe on his knees, prying something from Logan’s mouth. The little boy screeched angrily for having the object taken away from him.
Morgan dashed to the other side of the coffee table and dropped to her knees.
“What are you doing?” she asked, and pushed Gabe aside. If he hadn’t moved of his own will, she wouldn’t have been able to budge him. Logan fell against her, his cries lessening.
“I saw him put this thing in his mouth,” Gabe said loudly, holding up a soda bottle cap with sharp edges.
Morgan blinked, and stared from Gabe to Logan to the coffee table. Someone must have left the cap lying around, and it had gotten covered up by one of the magazines. She made a quick mental note to remove everything from the table from now on, as a rush of relief swept through her.
“Thank you,” she stammered. Guilt nagged at her that her first thought had been that Gabe was somehow hurting her son.
Gabe nodded silently, then stood.
Morgan patted Logan’s back to console him, then reached for his stuffed horse on the ground.
“Play with your horsey, Logan,” she encouraged.
Her phone rang again. Morgan groaned. Bryce’s name lit up on the LED display for the second time. Her eyes darted up to Gabe, who’d backed away from the table, as if he was afraid that Logan might touch him. It had come as a complete surprise that he had taken Logan from her at the car dealership. His quick reflexes to take the cap from her son astounded her even more.
Gabe’s eyebrows raised expectantly, apparently puzzled why she wasn’t answering her phone. Morgan pushed herself to a standing position. She hesitated, then inhaled a deep breath, and held the phone to her ear.
“Hi, Bryce,” she said with false cheer.
Her gaze drifted to Gabe again, and she quickly looked away and turned her back. An almost angry expression had darkened his face.
“Morgan,” Bryce said, his voice as business-like as she remembered. “How are you?”
“Fine,” she answered slowly. “What’s up?”
“Your mother called me, in tears that you’ve gone off somewhere, and I was worried about you. I was wondering if you were free for dinner tonight.”
“Tonight?” Morgan nearly laughed. “Not really. I’m not exactly in the neighborhood, and –”
Her phone buzzed, indicating there was another call. “Hang on a minute, Bryce.”
She put him on hold, and answered the other line.
“I have un buyer for ze car,” Wolfgang shouted into the phone.
“Wow, that was fast.” Morgan hadn’t expected him to get back to her so quickly.
“He vill pay your price, in cash, but he wants ze car today. Is zat possible zat you can bring it to my shop?”
“Today?” Morgan glanced at the clock hanging on the wall by the kitchen. One pm. If she hurried, she could be in L.A. in a few hours.
“I can try and be there in three or four hours.”
“Wunderbar,” Wolfgang exclaimed. “I vill have all ze paper vork ready, and a truck for you, too.”
“You’re amazing, Wolfgang. Thank you,” Morgan beamed. She could still be on the road heading to Montana tomorrow. She’d already resigned herself that their departure might be delayed by a day or two.
“I vill look forward to a cake from you.”
Morgan pressed her lips together. Maybe she could bake that cake in Montana and ship it to him overnight.
Morgan disconnected her call with Wolfgang, then reconnected with Bryce.
“Don’t put me on hold again, Morgan,” he said quietly. Sweetly misleading. “Where are you?” he demanded.
Morgan’s back stiffened. “My mother put you up to this, didn’t she?” She couldn’t help from raising her voice. He didn’t answer her question.
“Can I see you? Have dinner with me. Tonight.”
Morgan paced the living room. Her eyes fell to Logan, who had finally plopped down on the ground after he’d failed to get Gabe’s attention, banging his stuffed horse on the carpet. The front door opened behind her, and she turned just in time to see Gabe disappear outside.
“Morgan?” Bryce’s clipped voice startled her.
She pressed her lips together, and inhaled a deep breath. Bryce should see his son again before she left for Montana. It was only right. Not that he couldn’t come to Montana, if he really wanted to see Logan.
She had to drive into L.A. anyway to deliver her car. What harm would it do to see Bryce for an hour? She scoffed silently. She’d rather have a root canal.
“Fine, I’ll have dinner with you. And I’m sure you want to see Logan, right?”
There was a pause on the other end. “Yes, of course.” He didn’t sound pleased at all. “I’ll expect you at my place at five.”
“Make it six, and not at your place.”
Reluctantly, Bryce named a restaurant, and Morgan agreed to meet him there. After a quick call to Ashley about where she was going, and asking if she could borrow the black cocktail dress she’d seen hanging in Ashley’s closet, Morgan scooped Logan in her arms and headed for the bathroom. Forty minutes later, she squeezed her feet into a pair of black stilettos, and smoothed her hand down the sides of the dress. Ashley definitely liked to wear her clothes tight. Dressing up hadn’t been Morgan’s preferred choice, but the restaurant Bryce had chosen demanded it.
A light application of eyeliner and some facial powder, and her make-up was complete. She ran a quick brush through her hair and applied a mist of hairspray, letting the natural waves frame her face.
“Come on, little man,” Morgan said, scooping Logan up from where he’d been playing in his crib while she’d finished getting ready. She could barely bend over in the tight dress, but it was all she had to wear that was fancy. She’d left most of her clothes at her mother’s house, bringing only what would fit into one suitcase.
She snatched up her purse from the bed, making sure her cellphone was there, slung Logan’s diaper bag over her shoulder, and left the bedroom. Gabe emerged from the kitchen, a tall glass of water in one hand, just as she rounded the corner from the hall into the living room.
The look on his face sent her heart racing. His eyes darkened to near midnight, appreciation written all over his face as his gaze seemed to practically devour her. Morgan swallowed back the lump in her throat, and she lifted her chin. Thoughts of Gabe, and his behavior earlier today, had played over and over in her mind while she’d showered and gotten dressed.
Some women might have been offended at the way he’d taken charge at the car dealership. She hadn’t known whether to react in anger at the way he’d acted, or be flattered. He hadn’t been arrogant or macho about it, nor had it seemed like he wanted to show off, or prove his superiority over her. One thing was sure, though. She’d definitely have to have a chat with him about his mindset regarding men’s and women’s roles. It would only land him in hot water someday if he continued to think a man was in charge of everything.
He’d simply thought he was protecting her, she reasoned, because it was probably how men perceived things in the eighteen hundreds. Reaching up to him, giving him that light peck on the lips as a gesture of thanks had come almost naturally. In hindsight, she shouldn’t have done that. She didn’t want to give him any wrong ideas.
Morgan cleared her throat, and plastered a smile on her face. She adjusted Logan on her hip.
“You have the house all to yourself. I should be home no later than eleven, and Ashley gets off work at midnight. There are leftovers in the fridge. No more than five minutes in the microwave, like I’ve shown you, should be enough to heat up a plate.” She paused, and smiled. “Please try not to burn the house down.”
“Where are you going, all
fancied up like that?” he asked slowly. His forehead wrinkled. “A dress like that,” he said slowly, his gaze moving over her, “oughta be outlawed in public.”
Heat crept up Morgan’s neck. She faced him squarely. Was he complimenting her, or chastising her again?
“Bryce asked me to dinner, and I have a buyer for the car.”
The corners of Gabe’s eyes twitched slightly, and his lips drew together in a tight line. He stared at her for what seemed like an eternity, but couldn’t have been more than ten seconds. He rubbed his chin with his thumb and forefinger.
“Do you, ah, need someone to, you know, watch your back?” The corners of his lips rose.
Morgan gaped at him. He looked mad a second ago, and now he was joking with her? To conceal the heat that only intensified from his continued stare, she laughed.
“I have the distinct feeling that your idea of watching my back and mine are two completely different things.”
She rushed around him into the kitchen. The weight of his stare followed her, making her heart speed up. Morgan’s hands trembled slightly when she pulled some crackers from a cupboard for Logan to eat on the long drive, and called over her shoulder, “And no. Either way, I don’t need you to watch my back. I’ll be fine.”
Logan grabbed for the box of crackers, and Morgan handed him one. She turned to find Gabe close behind her. His eyes lifted to her face. He’d clearly been looking at some other part of her anatomy while her back was turned. Her heart reacted with a quick flutter. Morgan swallowed, and raised her eyes to meet his gaze.
“You don’t need to appoint yourself my protector. I’m not a damsel in distress.” She cocked her head to the side. “Or is that Shakespeare? How would you say it in the wild west of 1872? A wilted flower, or something like that?”
Gabe laughed. “I ain’t quite sure what that means, but you sure don’t look like a wilted flower, Morgan.”
Diamond in the Dust (Second Chances Time Travel Romance Book 3) Page 10