by T. S. Joyce
Fargo jumped out of the bed and trotted up to the door, sniffed around, but didn’t alert them to any danger. He just scratched at the front door like he wanted to be let in.
“Yeah, I do. She doesn’t attach to anyone lightly, but when she does, she’ll protect them at all costs. I’ve seen her get protective of me, and now she does it with you. Sometimes family isn’t blood, Morgan. Sometimes it’s the people you gather around you who you can trust, who have your back, who cheer when you triumph, and who cry when you cry.”
Morgan smiled to herself in the dark as she pushed open the door. She liked that.
The lights were bright when she flipped the switch, and immediately she knew something was wrong. Her box of old pictures and trinkets was shattered at the entrance of the hallway.
“No,” she murmured, bolting for her room. The hallway was cluttered with the shards of her belongings. She stepped carefully over the mess, and then her gaze went right to the thing that had mattered the most in the world to her—the floorboards where she’d been stashing her treasure.
The bed was moved to the side and the floorboards destroyed, and when she waded through the chaos to look inside, all that was left was the plastic bag her money used to be in.
Cal and Dad had done this.
She sat heavily on the creaking bed, staring at the abyss where her escape money used to be.
“Did they…?” Bre looked so worried from her place at the doorway. “Did they take the money?”
“They took everything,” Morgan whispered. “I saved up for so long so I could get out of here.”
“Morgan, look at me.”
“I can’t,” she whispered, her chin resting on her chest.
“Look at me,” Bre gritted out. “They didn’t take everything. They tried, but they didn’t. Me and Holt have a guesthouse that is just sitting there, waiting for you.”
“Wait, what?” she asked, stunned.
“You can pay us if you want, but it’s yours.”
“You would do that for me?” she whispered.
“Hell, yeah. Look, they tried to break you, and they didn’t, Morgan. Liam is going to be okay despite their treachery. And that money you lost?” Bre shook her head, fire in her eyes. “It’s just money. Look at you. You’re different now, aren’t you?”
Morgan nodded. “Yeah.” And then again stronger, “Yeah,” She was. The changes had started the day she’d put that first five-dollar bill in the floor. And Liam had just pushed the process along faster by believing in her. That’s all she’d needed—to believe in herself and to have one person see what she was trying to do and be proud of her.
Cal and Dad had lost.
Here was the thing about a woman learning her power. If she got knocked down, she had the confidence to stand back up again. Even if it happened slowly, Morgan knew she would get back on track. Sure, she would mourn what they’d taken, and she wouldn’t ever forget this feeling of being stolen from, but it wasn’t the end of her life. And it wasn’t the end of Liam’s. Things were about to improve, and she didn’t want the bitterness or anger of her old life to taint her new one.
She was different. She was stronger. Her limits had been tested, and she was still here.
Morgan looked back down at the hole. No matter what, she was going to gain back everything she lost…and so much more.
And Dad and Cal would always be just the same. Thieves and poachers, users and takers. They had no shot at a happy life because they focused on hurting others.
She’d found Liam and had a bright future despite them.
She. Would. Be. Happy.
She was the lucky one.
They’d lost.
Morgan had found what mattered—people who really cared.
She’d already won.
Chapter Sixteen
The first streaks of gray and pink were painting the horizon when Bre parked her High Boy, Beetlejuice. What a terrible name for a badass truck, but hey, it was Bre’s pickup, so it was Bre’s choice.
Liam’s home sure was beautiful this time of day. Even exhausted, she was stunned. She shouldered the plastic bag of her few belongings and made her way to the front door. Only she was met by Raina. The woman looked tired and pale, but her smile held genuine joy. “He’s waiting for you.”
Through the haze of exhaustion, Morgan set the bag down on the grass. “Liam’s awake?”
It was the relieved tears in Raina’s eyes that opened the floodgates of Morgan’s heart. All she could do was utter “Thank you” through her tightening throat as she walked around the corner of the house.
And there he was, standing with his back to her on the dock behind his home, a blanket around his shoulders, the corners of it lifting in the breeze. His hair was mussed and his legs splayed, as though he was trying to keep his balance, but when he turned, she recognized him down to his soul. His smile was back. The real one, not the animal’s snarl.
Morgan’s lip trembled so she bit down to stop the movement there. She made her way to the end of the dock, the sound of the crickets and lapping waves her sunrise song.
The blanket slipped a little as he held out his hand to her. “I was hoping you would make it in time,” he murmured in a hoarse voice.
“In time for what?” she whispered.
“The sunrise I promised you.”
She tried to keep her emotions in, she really did, but tonight had scared her so badly. It had changed her. Everything was different except for one thing—how much she loved Liam.
He pulled her in front of him and hugged her from behind, rested his cheek against hers as they stared at the dawn together. His whiskers tickled, and she tossed up a silent thank you to whatever power existed that he was okay.
“The war is just beginning. I’m not finished with your dad, Morgan. Or Cal. You should know that.”
Fargo came to sit right beside her, and she brushed her fingertips along the fur on his head. “I know you aren’t.”
“I don’t want to be the man who takes your family away, but I can’t let them… I can’t…”
“Shhhhh,” Morgan said, nuzzling her cheek against his. “They aren’t my family, Liam.” She turned in his arms and looked up into his face so he could see the truth on her face. “You are.”
He searched her eyes for a moment before he leaned down and kissed her lips. When he eased away, he told her, “You have me. You won’t ever be alone. I know you need to do some things on your own, but I’ll always be here.”
She cupped his cheeks. “I’ve lost my home, and they took all the money I saved. Ask me if I’m happy.”
He rested his forehead against hers. “Are you happy?”
“The happiest I’ve ever been,” she admitted on a breath. “And it’s because of you. Liam Lachlan, you have me, too. You have me for always.”
She’d lost everything she thought was important, but at the same time, Liam was showing her a life that was more valuable. He’d given her so much more than she’d ever thought.
Holt and Bre, Raina, and even a crazy, giant-ass guard dog.
He’d given her a safe place to land.
Confidence.
A stark belief in herself.
And then he’d gone and done something amazing.
He’d shown her how to love and given her real, unconditional love in return.
She, Morgan Holland, would never be just a poacher’s daughter again. She would never be invisible. She would never lose herself or her voice.
Liam wouldn’t let her.
She, Morgan Holland, was his deep water.
And he was hers.
Up Next in this Series
Fargo gets his story in
Bite Deeper
Keepers of the Swamp, Book 3
Coming September 2019
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More Series by this Autho
r
Daughters of Beasts
Novak Grizzly (Book 1)
Beck Bear (Book 2)
Ash Bear (Book 3)
Sons of Beasts
Son of the Cursed Bear (Book 1)
Son of Kong (Book 2)
Son of the Dragon (Book 3)
Red Havoc Panthers
Red Havoc Rogue (Book 1)
Red Havoc Rebel (Book 2)
Red Havoc Bad Cat (Book 3)
Red Havoc Guardian (Book 4)
Red Havoc Bad Bear (Book 5)
Harper’s Mountains
Bloodrunner Dragon (Book 1)
Bloodrunner Bear (Book 2)
Air Ryder (Book 3)
Novak Raven (Book 4)
Blackwing Dragon (Book 5)
Kane’s Mountains
Blackwing Defender (Book 1)
Blackwing Wolf (Book 2)
Blackwing Beast (Book 3)
Bears Fur Hire
Husband Fur Hire (Book 1)
Bear Fur Hire (Book 2)
Mate Fur Hire (Book 3)
Wolf Fur Hire (Book 4)
Dawson Fur Hire (Book 5)
Chance Fur Hire (Book 6)
Saw Bears
Lumberjack Werebear (Book 1)
Woodcutter Werebear (Book 2)
Timberman Werebear (Book 3)
Sawman Werebear (Book 4)
Axman Werebear (Book 5)
Woodsman Werebear (Book 6)
Lumberman Werebear (Book 7)
Fire Bears
Bear My Soul (Book 1)
Bear the Burn (Book 2)
Bear the Heat (Book 3)
Gray Back Bears
Gray Back Bad Bear (Book 1)
Gray Back Alpha Bear (Book 2)
Gray Back Ghost Bear (Book 3)
Gray Back Broken Bear (Book 4)
Lowlander Silverback (Book 5)
Last Immortal Dragon (Book 6)
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About this Author
T.S. Joyce is devoted to bringing hot shifter romances to readers. Hungry alpha males are her calling card, and the wilder the men, the more she'll make them pour their hearts out. She lives in a tiny town, outside of a tiny city, and devotes her life to writing big stories. Foodie, bear whisperer, ninja, thief of tiny bottles of awesome smelling hotel shampoo, nap connoisseur, movie fanatic, and zombie slayer, and most of this bio is true.
Bear Shifters? Check
Smoldering Alpha Hotness? Double Check
Sexy Scenes? Fasten up your girdles, ladies and gents, it’s gonna to be a wild ride.
For more information about T. S. Joyce and her work, visit her website here.