Walking Among the Cherry Trees: The Cook Brothers Series

by Heather D'Agostino

  “It really depends on the campaign we’re launching. If they work on Saturday, they get Monday off though,” she reached for the door in front of us and paused. “No matter what, let me do this,” she looked up with pleading eyes as we walked inside to see her father sitting behind a very large desk.

  HE DIDN’T EVEN look up with I came in. I had to clear my throat to even be acknowledged. When he did notice, his head lifted slowly before his eyes flared. “What are you doing here?” He pointed at where Taylor was standing in the doorway.

  “I invited him,” I crossed my arms over my chest as I narrowed my eyes on him. “Why are you sitting behind my desk, Father?”

  “I’m picking up your slack,” he huffed before shoving back in the chair he was sitting in.

  “There is no slack. I just landed three big accounts last week. What the hell are you talking about,” I rolled my eyes. He stood and stormed over in my direction, causing me to shuffle back slightly.

  “Don’t you dare take that tone with me,” he commanded.

  I was fuming at this point. “How dare you? How dare you try to tell me anything? I have a son, but you already knew that, didn’t you? Didn’t you?” I screamed as I stomped my foot on the ground like petulant child. “You hid him from me! Why?” I could feel the tears coming, but I refused to cry. My father was the one who was wrong here, not me.

  “Morgan!” he bellowed. “Stop acting like a child. You’re a grown woman!”

  By this point, Taylor had closed the door and moved to stand behind me. He’d placed one hand on my shoulder to soothe me, and it was just what I needed to keep from attacking my father. “I cried for months over that baby! Months!” I screamed. “I went to counseling because of it and you,” I growled. “You knew all along what had happened. You robbed me of everything a mother holds dear.” My lips were quivering, my throat was tightening, but I refused to let the tears spill over. “Why? How? How could you do it?” I raised my fist and pounded it on his chest. “How could you watch me go through that?”

  “I was doing what was best for the company.” he hissed. “Look at you! Do you think you’d be where you are right now if it wasn’t for me?” His face was smug as he waved his arms around my office.

  “The company?” I scoffed in disbelief. “All this was for this stupid company? What about your daughter? Do you love me? Do you even care what you put me through? What you’ve put Taylor through? Or your own grandson?”

  “He’s not my grandson,” my father sneered as he stepped behind my desk, causing me to almost crumple to the floor. If Taylor hadn’t been standing behind me, I know I would have. “He will never be my grandson!”

  “You’re damn right, he won’t,” Taylor growled. I think he’d finally had enough of standing in the background and was now making his feelings heard. “He will never know what a selfish tyrant you are!”

  “Are you finished?” my father huffed as he seated himself in my desk chair once again.

  “I haven’t even gotten started.” I stormed over in front of the desk, slammed my palms down on the top, and leaned over in his face as far as I could get without touching him. “I thought I could be enough. I tried for years after Mom left. I tried to be enough. To love you, and please you, and I made myself miserable in the process. How can you sit there and see how I feel and not care? How could you let me go through that?” I paused for a moment to catch my breath. I’d worked myself up so much that I was nearly panting.

  My father sat there staring, a bored look on his face. It was clear he didn’t care what he’d done to me. “You know what?” I stepped back, glanced at Taylor, and then turned to face my father one last time. “You want this stupid company? More than me?” I paused and waited before delivering the final blow, “Fine! Keep it! I’m so done here. I’m done being the perfect daughter. I’m done letting this company run my life. I’m done running from the only man who’s ever truly loved me.” I walked over to stand beside Taylor and grabbed his hand before looking up into his eyes. “I know what love feels like Daddy, and it’s not what you’ve given me. Enjoy your company,” I turned and began leading Taylor out of my office. “We’re done here. Come on.”

  “You come back here right this instant, young lady!” my father demanded from his seated position. “You will not walk away from me!” He continued to bark orders at my back, but I just shook my head as I led Taylor to the elevator. I needed to get away from here. I wanted to spend the day with him, and then I write up my letter of resignation to send to the board of directors. I was done being unhappy. I was so done.

  WHEN WE MADE it out of McGregor Enterprises, I stopped on the sidewalk. I wasn’t sure what I’d just witnessed in there. I’d never seen Morgan stand up to her dad like that. I’d never seen her dad be so cold and uncaring. I’d tried to keep my mouth shut and let her handle it, but when Ben started talking about CJ, I just couldn’t keep quiet any more. “Did you just quit?” I looked over at her confused.

  “Yeah,” she nodded. “I think I did. It felt good.” She smiled up at me as we began walking down the sidewalk. “Come on. I want to show you my city. We’ll figure out the rest tomorrow.” She laced her fingers with mine, and conversation ceased as we made our way down the busy streets.

  I could tell as we walked the streets of Manhattan that Morgan truly loved it here. Her face would light up every time she’d show me something. You could see how happy she was when she wasn’t worried about work. Her enthusiasm was contagious, and I couldn’t help but laugh along with her. We stopped at a street cart for hotdogs for lunch and some of those nachos that have cheese that isn’t really cheese. We laughed as we fed some of the bread from our buns to a few pigeons nearby. We walked past Times Square, and the Empire State Building, and finally stopped at the 911 Memorial. Morgan wanted to take me to the top, but after seeing how she reacted on the Ferris wheel, I wasn’t so sure it was a good idea. She’d laughed but then agreed. She’d told me she just wanted to give me the full experience.

  As we headed for Central Park, we stopped to watch a few street performers. It was nothing I’d ever seen before. The way the crowd gathered around them and cheered them on was quite a sight. I tossed a few dollars into the hat they had sitting on the ground before leading Morgan into the park.

  “I see why you like it here; it’s amazing.”

  “Most of the time, yeah it is. Sometimes the noise bothers me, but there’s culture around every corner. I went to school a few blocks that way,” she pointed to our left. “I learned to be independent at a very young age. I could take you anywhere in the city by the time I was fifteen.”

  “So how often do you come here, to the park?” I gestured around as we ambled farther along the sidewalk.

  “More often than you think,” she grinned up at me. “Especially in the spring.”

  “Why’s that.” I crinkled my forehead as she turned us and began leading me toward what sounded like running water.

  “I’ll show you. Close your eyes,” she giggled as she waited for me to comply.

  “You better not let me trip on anything,” I teased as she tugged me forward.

  “I won’t,” she gripped my hand tighter as we moved slowly. We couldn’t have gone too far, because before I knew it she was telling me to open them. “This is why,” she laughed as she spun around with her arms out like a small child would do.

  My mouth dropped open in amazement as I looked around us in all directions. As far as the eye could see there were pink blossoms of none other than cherry trees. A winding path went between the branches of several of the larger ones, and it was lined with several park benches. Some had people sitting on them reading, but there was one that was empty. I grabbed Morgan’s hand and led her over to sit. I sat first, and then gave a gentle tug so she fell into my lap.

  “It’s beautiful here,” I smiled at her.

  “It reminded me of Cherryville. I come here all the time when they’re in bloom,” she shrugged and looked away as if she was emb
arrassed.

  “Morgan,” I gripped her chin and forced her to look at me. “I want you to come home with me. I know things are crazy right now. I know after what just happened with your father that it’s going to take some time to figure things out, but I love you. I don’t care how long it takes, I’ll wait. Just please don’t make me wait another ten years. Come back to me. Move in with me. We’ll raise CJ together.” I waited as her face shifted between happiness and sadness.

  “What if he hates me,” she mumbled as she fought to get out of my arms.

  “He’s not going to hate you. He loves you already. He fought me tooth and nail to spend time with you. He’ll be on top of the world when he finds out you’re his mom.” I wrapped my arms around her and hugged her tighter to me. “Just promise me you’re going to think about this.”

  “I’ll do it,” she mumbled reassuring me. “I’ll come back as soon as I can. I have to formally resign. I’m gonna cash out my company stock, have my dad buy me out, and I have to close up my apartment. It’s gonna take time Taylor, but I’ll do it.”

  “Really? Just like that?” I chuckled before pressing my lips to her cheek.

  “Yeah, really,” she nodded before adding. “I love you too. I’d do anything for you. Well… almost anything.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” I watched as she grinned at me.

  “I’m not moving into your house. It’s too small,” she shrugged. “You can move into mine. You and CJ can come as soon as you want.” She paused as a small smile tugged at her lips, “I want our son to grow up walking among the cherry trees just like we did.”

  “I’d like that too,” I leaned in and captured her lips in a soft kiss.

  We sat there talking in low voices, making plans for the future for most of the afternoon. I don’t think we would have left if it hadn’t started getting dark. As the sun began to set, we walked hand in hand back to the street in silence while the pink blossoms swayed overhead. The limbs of the trees waved in the breeze as if they were saying goodbye, and I couldn’t help but think about the fact that I’d be going home in the morning and leaving Morgan here to deal with the fallout between her and her father.

  IT WAS SURREAL standing at Grand Central Station and saying goodbye to Taylor and Trevor. I wasn’t prepared for him to go, but knowing that I’d be leaving in the coming weeks helped ease that pain. Normally, I was the one leaving him behind, but as I stood there and watched him disappear into crowd, I felt a little guilty at the way I’d left town. It was hard, having him hug me, and then just turn and walk away.

  “How long you gonna make him wait?” Tyler elbowed me as we made our way back outside. He’d been silent during most of the goodbyes. I think he felt like he needed to give Taylor and me some privacy.

  “I’m not making him wait. I’m going as soon as I get things done here.” I lifted a shoulder as we shuffled along. “When are you going to go back home for a visit?” Tyler hadn’t been back but a handful of times since he’d left. He never really had a reason, at least not a good one, for avoiding Cherryville and his family.

  “I just made partner; you really think I’m going to have time?” His face was serious at first, but then broke out into a smile.

  “Your family misses you.” I looked up at him and saw a faraway look in his eyes.

  “I’m sure they do, but,” he grinned again. “The ladies here need me. Who else would be their weekend fantasy?”

  “That’s all you think about, isn’t it? Who’s going to be in your bed each night? What happened? You didn’t used to be this much of a player. What did I miss after I left back then?” I grabbed his arm to stop him. Tyler had had a girlfriend in high school. She was sweet and very quiet. They seemed like complete opposites, but it had worked for them.

  “It’s a tough job, but you know?” He shrugged as he chuckled.

  “I’m serious, Ty.” I smiled. “Don’t you want to settle down?”

  “I’m twenty-five Morgan, what do you think?” Ty rolled his eyes. “Besides,” he paused as his voice dropped, “she didn’t want me.”

  “Wait,” I glanced up at him in confusion. “Who didn’t?”

  He shook his head in annoyance. “Who do you think?”

  “I really don’t know.” I stared at him as we wandered along. We weren’t really paying attention where we were going, and if Ty hadn’t stopped us, I would have crashed right into the person in front of me. I stumbled slightly as he gripped my arm to steady me. In the same spot that Taylor and I had seen performers yesterday was a small group. It was hard to see if it was the same dancers since the crowd was so large, but as Ty started to lead me around them, I paused. “I wanna watch,” I whined as I pouted. Ty rolled his eyes, but chuckled under his breath as we pushed into the group to get a better view.

  When the people near the front parted, I could see a man and woman dancing together. It was a mix of modern dance and ballet. They were graceful as they moved together. It wasn’t like seeing two people, it was more like one fluid body. The woman looked young, like she could be in her twenties, but the man was older. He lifted her with ease, and grace. He treated her as if she was made of glass. Her copper hair was pulled back in a bun at her nape, and the dark green costume she was wearing complemented her complexion perfectly. “Wow!” I gasped and looked back at Tyler. “They should dance on Broadway or in the ballet.”

  “They probably do,” he murmured. “Sometimes the dancers will perform out here just to get away from the stress and rigors of being on stage. Especially if they’re new to the company. Let’s go,” he tugged at my arm as the couple began taking a bow.

  “Wait, I want to watch some more,” I begged.

  “They’re done. Come on,” he tugged harder causing the crowd to part. He was drawing attention to us, and not the kind he wanted apparently. His hand released mine, and he started to leave until someone called out his name.

  “Tyler?” a feminine voice sounded from behind us. Ty stopped and hung his head as he slowly turned around.

  “Mia,” he mumbled as his head slowly lifted and his eyes connected with the female dancer.

  “It’s been a long time.” Her expression was sad as she stood staring at him.

  “Not long enough,” he grumbled before turning to storm off.

  I raced down the sidewalk after him, and when I finally reached his side, his shoulders were rising and falling as he tried to reign in his temper. “Who was that?”

  “Drop it,” he snapped as his head turned to mine.

  “But?” I watched as he hailed a cab. “Ty?”

  “I don’t want to talk about it, Morgan. I’ve got stuff to do. Go home and get ready to go have your happy life with my brother and forget you ever saw that.” He pointed in the direction we’d been, before jumping in the cab and leaving me there. It took me a few minutes to register what had just happened, but then the pieces fell into place. That was her. She was the one he’d been talking about.

  A WEEK PASSED before I heard anything from Morgan. At first, I had wondered if she had truly meant what she said about coming back. I’d seen first hand in the past how her father could manipulate her. She was an adult now, but I knew if he got her alone, he might be able to convince her to stay. It was a complete surprise when I awoke to her knocking on my door tonight.

  I’d gone to sleep shortly after CJ had gone downstairs to Trevor’s. It had been a hot day, and after working in the store all day, CJ and I had gone swimming. It was fun going down to the creek and it reminded me of when I was child and would go with my brothers. The tree was still there, but I didn’t dare flip off of it. I had more common sense now and didn’t want to risk breaking my neck.

  I had just fallen asleep when a soft tapping sounded at my door. I cracked one eye open as I laid in bed listening. I wasn’t sure if I’d heard correctly, and it was so hot I didn’t want to move. The sheets were sticking to my sweaty body and the only breeze was coming from the fan overhead.

  I rolle
d to my side to see the bedside clock flashing eleven thirty in bright red numbers. Who the hell would be here this late? I sat up, scrubbed my hands over my eyes, and shuffled toward my door. I hadn’t been asleep that long, but I was more tired than I could have imagined.

  When I rounded the corner, I could see her silhouette through the curtains that hung on the window by the door. The porch light was still on, and she was standing with a suitcase beside her. I grinned as I began to wake more before yanking the door open. The smile that crossed my face almost split it in two as I stared at the sight before me. There, in a light pink sundress, Morgan stood with her hands clasped together in front of her. Gone was the sleek business attire and styled hair. In its place, she wore soft, loose clothes and sandals. Her hair was hanging down her back like she used to wear it when we were kids, and other than some lip gloss, she wasn’t wearing any makeup.

  “You came,” I smiled as I stepped out of the way to let her in.

  “I said I would.” She chewed her lip as she glanced around. “I’m sorry it’s so late. I had to take the late train,” she shifted awkwardly on her feet.

  “No biggie,” I shrugged as I led her into the kitchen. “Want something to drink?” I opened the fridge and rummaged for something cold for myself.

  “Sure,” she slowly lowered herself down in a chair by the table. “I can’t believe how hot it’s gotten,” she murmured as I handed her a bottled water.

  “One of the hottest summer’s we’ve had in years,” I mused. “Creek’s getting used a lot.”

  “I bet,” she nodded.

  “Wanna go swimming,” I wagged my brows at her.

  “What about CJ? You can’t just leave him here,” she glanced around like she was looking for him not even thinking about the time.

  “He’s at Trevor’s. Something about needing to spend the night at his cousin’s. I think they’re planning something for our annual July 4th picnic,” I shook my head and sighed. “I don’t know whether to be excited about what they have planned or nervous. He gets in to trouble with those two,” I pushed off of where I was leaning against the counter. “So what’d ya say? Swimming?” I moved to stand in front of her, and watched her play over the idea in her mind.