The Right Thing
Page 16
This time he was slow and deliberate.
This time he told her how amazing she was, how sexy she was, how incredibly perfect she was in every way.
And then Morgan said what needed to be said, regardless of what had happened tonight or what changed tomorrow. He said what he hadn’t been willing to say to her before.
“Althea,” Morgan said, his heart beating frantically in time with hers. “You are the only woman I’ve ever loved.”
Unable to do anything else, Thea wrapped her arms around Morgan and cried.
Her world as she knew it had come to an end again in her life. With Delilah’s death, most of her family was gone.
And in her weakness, she’d let a man who was more enemy than friend comfort her.
Now he was saying he loved her.
It was more than she could deal with, more than she could handle knowing. So she cried—she cried about Delilah dying, about Angus, about the limited life she’d had for the last ten years, and about ending up in the arms of a man she couldn’t trust, but who was the only one she wanted.
Morgan rolled them to their side to remove his weight from Thea, but stayed inside her body until her tears were exhausted and she finally fell asleep.
Then he lay beside a sleeping Thea, staring peacefully into the dark while he marveled at how completely good it felt to know he was exactly where he belonged and doing exactly the thing he needed to be doing.
Morgan was more sure of the rightness of being with Thea when she needed him than he’d ever been of anything in his life.
But when he woke the next morning, he was alone in bed, and Thea was gone.
As humbling as it was, he had to accept that last night’s revelation had been just his.
And it hurt.
Thea might be grateful for his comfort while she grieved over Delilah. But she hadn’t forgiven him yet, and though Morgan believed she cared, he seriously doubted Thea was in love with him. She certainly had never used the words.
Morgan lay back down and stared at the ceiling while he thought about what Lydia had said about Angus waiting. Thea was worth it, but waiting wasn’t going to work out for him.
Unfortunately, his time in Sedona was almost up.
Chapter 16
Morgan carried the second pan of pasta into the dining room and placed it in the buffet warmers they had set up on several tables now slid together against the wall. Pete carried two large bowls of salad out behind him. They arranged the food and assembled dishes at the end of the serving line.
“Amy insisted on carrying drinks around,” Morgan told him. “I think she just wants something to do.”
Pete nodded. “I guess I’ll go prep the rolls. I won’t put them in until people show up. It should be any time now.”
Morgan followed Pete back to the kitchen, removing his apron and hanging it up. He was rolling down the sleeves of his crisp white shirt when he heard the lock turning on the front door. Peeking out, he saw Amy come in, followed by several older people dressed in black.
Morgan walked out and went to greet them.
Amy put a hand on his arm.
“Thea’s cousin showed up. She’s with him. Gerald is with Lydia and their friends. Based on the crowd at the funeral home, I’m guessing we’re feeding about fifty this evening,” she told him, sighing.
Morgan turned to her, lifted his arms, not surprised at all when Amy walked into them for a hug.
“I hate this,” she said. “Delilah used to keep milk and cookies here for me. I’d stop in on my way home from school. It seems so long ago now. Is this what growing up feels like?”
“Yes,” Morgan said, rubbing her back in comfort. “And in case you’re wondering, we all hate being adults in times like this.”
Amy pulled back, not surprised at all by the sincerity in his voice or on his face. “Well, that makes me feel a little better. Now I’m going to be an emotional coward for a few minutes and go make up some iced tea for our guests.”
Morgan patted her cheek. “Make me one. I haven’t stopped in two hours.”
She lifted to her toes and kissed his cheek before walking quickly away. Morgan had to swallow hard and stand really still until the emotion passed. Then he turned and went to chat with the people who were standing, not quite knowing what they should do. He talked them into food and tables. He took soda orders while Amy served iced tea.
Pete came out of the kitchen, apron gone, and sat at the table with one older couple he seemed to know really well. Morgan brought him a soda, having learned long ago it was Pete’s preferred drink.
Another wave of people came in, and this time it was Gerald and Lydia. He hugged Lydia and kissed her cheek. He put his arm around his father’s shoulders and walked them to the nearest empty table.
“Sit. I’ll bring food,” Morgan said, hurrying away to fix a couple of plates. When he brought them back, Gerald put a hand out and tugged Morgan down into a nearby chair.
“Stay and talk,” Gerald ordered, picking up a fork and eating a bite of ziti. “It was a nice turn out for the memorial ceremony. Thea is keeping the cremation ceremony brief and small tomorrow. I want you to be there. You need to be there. Ryan is in town, but Lydia and I are still worried about Thea. She’s being too much of a rock.”
“I held her while she cried some of it out last night,” Morgan said quietly, keeping his voice low.
Gerald nodded solemnly. Lydia smiled at him as she pushed the food around on her plate.
Morgan could hear the heaviness of his own breathing in the awkward silence hovering around them. “I’m keeping an eye on Thea all I can, Dad. I’ll be here if she needs me.”
Gerald nodded again. “Neither of Althea’s kids could get home for this. Her cousin Ryan was the only one who could come today.”
Morgan nodded, not knowing what to say in reply. He had zero experience in taking care of people, especially their emotional needs.
“I need to go put out another pan of pasta. I’ll be back.”
He rose from his chair and patted his father’s arm before he walked away.
“He’s a good man, Gerald,” Lydia said, when Morgan had passed through the kitchen doors.
Gerald stopped and studied his food. “I know. I don’t want him to leave now, but I can see he’s going to.”
Lydia patted his hand. “Things have a way of working out the way they need to most of the time. He’s in love with Thea. Anyone can see that—well, maybe except Thea.”
Gerald nodded and sighed.
Lydia laughed. “Thea’s a stubborn woman when it comes to forgiving a hurt. I doubt Morgan realizes the significance of her letting him be with her last night. That’s tantamount to an apology from her.”
“Lydia Roberts, I can’t imagine my life without you in it,” Gerald said softly. “In six months, I want you to marry me.”
Her fork hit her plate and Lydia had to work at swallowing the bite of food in her mouth.
“Gerald, we need to have this discussion at another time. You’re having a bad day, a really bad day, honey. I cared about Delilah, and I still care about you. I don’t need more reason to be at your side.”
“Yeah, I know that,” Gerald said, picking up his tea and looking at her fully. “But I’ve been in love with you since the first time you let me in your door to talk. Now, at the worst day, you’re still here talking to me. It’s true I want to make an honest woman of you in the eyes of world, but that’s not the reason I’m asking, and I figure you know it. The second woman I would have married is gone now. You know damn well you are the last woman for me, Lydia. I love you. I want you to be my wife.”
“Gerald, shush,” Lydia pleaded, her face turning every shade of pink. “People might hear you. Can we please talk about this some other time?”
Gerald shrugged. “Sure. I plan to keep you up most of tonight anyway. I guess we can discuss it then.”
“Oh my God, Delilah Carmichael is in her casket. We’ll both go to hell over this,” Lydia declared.
Because she couldn’t restrain her irritation any more, Lydia reached out and smacked Gerald hard on the arm, the sound of it echoing above the voices all around them. Mourners at the other tables stopped eating and turned expectant faces to them. Those who knew them, knew the truth, looked at Lydia’s flushed face and hid their laughter behind a discreet hand.
“Now see what you’ve done,” Lydia said, scooting back her chair and rising. “I’m completely embarrassed, you old coot.”
She fled to the restroom.
Gerald grinned as Morgan came back to the table with a pitcher of tea for refills.
“What did you say to Lydia?” Morgan asked, noticing the woman’s face matched her soft pink suit as she hurried to the alcove where the restrooms were located.
“Something inappropriate evidently,” Gerald replied. “I’ll tell you later. Too many ears tuned in to us now.”
Morgan snickered and shook his head. “Lydia looked like she could have killed you. Why did you stir her up that way?”
“I like her stirred up. And I’m not as good as everybody thinks I am, at least not where Lydia Roberts is concerned. It cheers me up to know I have the power to make her mad. I know how to soothe her too,” Gerald said, grinning, already thinking about doing just that.
“Yeah? Teach me how to soothe a woman, Dad. I could use some good ideas,” Morgan said, teasing.
“It’s one of those individual things,” Gerald said, lifting his tea. “There’s Thea finally.”
Morgan turned to see Thea walk in the door just ahead of a tall man whose hand was on her back. “He’s awfully friendly for a cousin.”
Gerald laughed. “Ryan’s your age. He’s been hanging around Thea since he was a teenager. She was married to Angus most of that time. He does come see her a couple of times a year, but I don’t think there has been anything between them of a serious nature.
“Well, she never slept with him. I know that for sure,” Morgan said, then flushed when he realized what he’d revealed to his father. “Hell. Can you just overlook my jealousy and never tell Thea I bragged about that?”
Gerald snorted. “I don’t blame you for being proud of it. Nothing wrong with wanting to claim a woman that’s meant for you.”
“I hope you’re right, Dad,” Morgan said, watching Thea move from table to table, while the man she came in with leaned against the bar. “I guess I better mingle and refill tea. Try to be nice to Lydia. I like her.”
Gerald rolled his eyes. He knew Lydia was even now thinking of his marriage proposal and getting excited. He could hardly wait to get her into bed tonight. “It is my current goal in life to be nothing but nice to that woman.”
Morgan grinned at his father as he walked away.
*** *** ***
As she moved around the room visiting, Thea had a hard time following the various conversations when her gaze kept returning to Morgan in his crisp white shirt and black pants. He had a lean body that was just meant for dress clothes, she thought, wondering for the first time if he had to wear them for his work.
Amy was sitting at a table with Tom’s family. Sylvia had hugged Thea at the funeral home and thanked her for giving Tom the boost into marriage finally. Thea protested, but hugged her back.
There had never been anything but friendship in her feelings for Tom. Why she had such a strong attraction to Morgan was still a mystery to her.
She watched as Morgan walked from table to table filling iced teas. He’d seen most of the people in the restaurant over the last couple of months. They might not have spoken to him directly before, but they seemed to accept his presence and his participation today as if it were just natural for him to be involved. In the few months Morgan had been there, he had come to be a regular in the restaurant. It was going to be strange when he left in three weeks—and lonely.
Pulling her attention away from Morgan, she finally remembered that she had left Angus’s cousin, Ryan Carmichael, leaning against the bar. As Thea walked back to him, he opened his arms. She walked into the familiar hug with more relief than she’d known she would feel. For long moments, she let Ryan’s body comfort hers, and then she pulled back to see his wicked grin.
“What’s so amusing?” she asked. “I could use some humor right now.”
“Who’s the guy glaring at me, and why does he want to kick my ass for hugging you?” Ryan asked, laughing against her hair as he hugged her again before letting her go.
“What guy?” Thea turned, but Morgan was talking to people at a table, pouring tea like before.
Was Ryan talking about Morgan? Morgan wasn’t even looking.
“You know what guy. You’ve been watching him since we got here. And he barely looks away from you. Just because I do travel pieces now doesn’t mean I wasn’t a field reporter for fifteen years. I don’t miss nuances often. Thea, that man looks completely capable of making good on that evil look of his. Introduce me so I can stop worrying about it,” Ryan teased.
“You don’t need an introduction. That’s just Morgan Reed—Gerald’s son,” Thea said, crossing her arms over the black knit dress she’d worn. “He’s cooking for me for a few months.”
Ryan narrowed his eyes and laughed. “Liar. If that man is a cook, I’m an NBA star.”
Thea smacked a hand to his chest. “Shut up. He is a cook—a damn good one in fact, but okay, he’s—well, he’s really a fraud investigator. He’s just working for me temporarily.”
Ryan studied the man again. He wasn’t returning Ryan’s perusal, but Ryan could tell the man was completely tuned in to his conversation with Thea.
“I always wondered what the first guy after Angus would be like. Damn, Thea. He’s a bit rough around the edges, probably jaded too. What did you see in him?” Ryan asked, joking. “Well, other than having the nicest father in the world. Was that it? You couldn’t have Gerald, so you went for the son?”
“Very funny, wise guy. Stop trying to figure it out,” she said, studying the bar and frowning.
“Don’t be mad Thea, and don’t get me wrong. I’m happy for you. God knows you deserve somebody to take care of you a little. You passed up that accountant of yours—and me,” Ryan said, laughing.
“You? I didn’t pass up you,” Thea said, outraged at the suggestion. “There was no you.”
“That’s because you had the not interested sign hung out whenever I tried. I flew to Sedona to see you five times the year after Angus died, and four times the year after that. I didn’t even visit my house that often,” Ryan joked. “Why did you think I was coming here? Just to see Aunt Delilah?”
“I don’t know,” Thea said, annoyed with the conversation, which was making her decidedly uncomfortable. She had simply never considered Ryan an option. “I wasn’t thinking of anything except surviving. I was learning to run the restaurant. It was all I had energy for, and I didn’t even want to do it. I honestly never thought you were anything more than concerned in a familial sort of way.”
“Which makes this guy even more interesting to me,” Ryan said on a snort. “He looks like he’s my age.”
Thea shrugged. “Yeah. Okay. He is. So what?”
Ryan smiled wickedly. “You’re sleeping with somebody my age who’s not me.”
Thea blushed. “If I am, it’s none of your business and totally unrelated, you big tease.”
Ryan laughed. “It’s okay. Don’t feel guilty for breaking my heart. I’m completely over you now. I fell in love with my yoga teacher years ago, but she was married at the time. Guess I haven’t exactly picked winners myself. Anyway, the good news is that she’s divorced now. I’m moving back to California to put the moves on her. I’m almost forty-five. It’s time I settled down and got married.”
“I guess you think that woman will just fa
ll into line with your idea of settling down and be eternally grateful for your sacrifice,” Thea said sarcastically.
“Still as romantic as ever I see,” Ryan teased. “Your Morgan must be one hell of a guy to have gotten so far with you.”
“Actually, he seduced me, investigated me, and accused me of a crime. Trust me, he is not my Morgan,” Thea told him, emphatically.
Ryan was openly laughing now, drawing an even more vicious glare from Morgan Reed, as well as some frowns from the other mourners.
“What happened after he hurt you? Did you cry and make him feel guilty?” Ryan prompted, biting his cheek to keep from laughing more.
He knew full well that if Thea cried, it wouldn’t have been her first reaction. He’d seen her cut loose with her temper on Angus a time or two.
“No. I did not cry—at last not in front of him. I bloodied his nose and refused his apology,” Thea said proudly.
“Oh God, you’re still gloating over it too. You are a hard woman,” Ryan informed her.
“Well, my pride didn’t get me very far. After I blacked both his eyes, I had to hire him to cook because the restaurant was losing business. He—he has some good ideas about making money. They seem to work. So I’ve called a truce,” Thea said logically.
“Since he’s obviously keeping tabs on you as you’re talking to me, I suspect you’re still sleeping with him too, aren’t you?” Ryan asked, seeing the answer in her blush. “He sounds a lot like my cousin in that regard.”
“No, he doesn’t. Morgan is not at all like Angus. And again—none of your business,” Thea told him. “I’m going to the kitchen now. Don’t forget to eat. Morgan makes really good pasta.”
“Is that all Morgan’s good at?” Ryan asked her, laughing again as Thea huffed in frustration and marched away without answering.
Ryan moved his gaze to Reed who was discreetly watching Thea head to the kitchen. He planned to have a long talk with the man and get to know him. He’d accepted years ago that there was never going to be a romantic future for Thea and him, but he’d loved her since he was a teenager.
Angus and Thea had become the only family he’d known after his parents had died. He was always going to care about Thea, always going to want to believe she could find love and be happy—even if not with him.