“Right? Contrary to that saying, imitation is not the greatest form of flattery.”
“I agree. But deep down everyone who knows you wants to be fabulous like Nina and Gabby Hawkes. We can’t help it. Mackenzie told me the other day she wishes I were more like you.”
Nina erupted in laughter. “You are such a liar.”
“Think about it. A child with you and Seth’s combined fashion sense would have their own clothing line by the age of five.”
“You are right about that.”
“Patton and I have monthly support meetings for fashionably inept people who are married to divas and sex symbols.”
“A two person club? That sounds sad.”
“No, we have more members. Isabelle’s secretly jealous that Tate is sexier than her. Michelle makes the desserts and brews gourmet coffee. She tells us about her secret hatred of Tyler’s hairstyling products and muscle shirts. It’s quite the scene.”
Nina snorted into the phone. “Tyler’s hair doesn’t move in a hurricane. I miss living near you.”
“I miss you too.”
“Well, now that I’ve vented, I can go over to Patton’s mom’s house and pretend I’m interested in her scrapbooking.”
“I’m heading to the aquarium with Connor and Colby today. I’ll take a picture if either of them ends up riding a shark in one of the tanks.”
Nina continued to laugh. “I love you, Morgan. I do.”
“I love you too.” She wiped a tear from her eye. “Thank you for being there for me these past months.”
“Please. You’re going to kick lupus in the ass.”
Morgan ended the call and continued to laugh. Nina sounded miserable, and Patton didn’t seem much better when Seth talked to him. But Morgan still loved to hear from her, even when she was considering murdering her family. She’d love for them to live in Texas so she could see them more often.
Today was shaping up pretty good. She’d had a food fight with her gorgeous husband, had a nice conversation with a once estranged cousin, and laughed her ass off with one of her best friends. Now was going to spend the afternoon keeping her twin babies out of trouble.
Life was feeling familiar again. And that meant life was good.
CHAPTER EIGHT
Morgan loved chaotic Saturday afternoons. Tate cashed in an IOU from Seth and that meant they had Tate and Isabelle’s turn with weekend sleepover duties. She’d told the other couples to bring over the boys as soon as they were awake. As she predicted, Matt, Jack, Owen, and Gabe arrived on their doorstep around seven in the morning still in their pj’s. She didn’t know if they had plans or not but their moms and dads said a quick good-bye as they threw their bags into the house.
After homework was finished, the boys retreated into their respective territories. Jake, Connor, and Jack preferred the outdoors. Climbing, playing games, and hanging out in the tree house was their thing. Colby and Matt were the budding artists and loved it when she spread all the art supplies on the living room table and let them have at it. Seth was pushing Mackenzie in the swing while talking to Riley. It shocked them both when the quarterback had called and asked if he could visit them again. Seth agreed and they’d been talking while Seth watched the outside activity.
So that left Morgan to tend to the activity inside the house. It did her heart good that she got to see Owen and Gabe grow in real time, instead of getting photos of their progress. Being on the ranch meant getting closer to all the members of her family. She’d just finished putting the little tykes down for a nap and narrowly escaped getting splashed with paint when she gave her diligent artists a snack of cheese sticks and juice. She was putting snacks for her outdoors brood together when she noticed Jake watching her out of the corner of her eye. Her oldest son had been doing that a lot lately since they’d informed the kids about her illness.
“Hey, Jake. Just in time. I’m making lunch but I have some cheese sticks and juice for you to take to the tree house.” She handed him a pail full of snacks.
“Thanks.”
“So what’s on your mind?”
“Are you really OK, Mom?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, I feel better than I’ve felt in weeks.” She put down the apple she’d grabbed from the fruit bowl. “Why do you ask?”
“I saw Dad carrying you last night.”
“Oh.” She laughed. She and Seth had been fooling around last night after the kids had gone to sleep…or so she’d thought. “Daddy was carrying me last night for…romantic reasons.”
“Oh.” He thought about it and got the idea. “Yuck.”
She laughed. “You’ll see some day. A long time from now. When you love someone, you do silly things like that.”
“Because if you don’t feel good, you can tell me.”
Morgan looked into her son’s eyes. He wanted the truth. The same truth she’d wished she’d known when her mom was sick.
“Your brothers and sister may not be old enough to fully understand, but I know you’re smart and mature for your age.” She held out a chair for him to take a seat. She joined him. “So I’m going to tell you the absolute truth. What I have is manageable. It can get quite serious, but Dad is helping me stay in good health so I don’t develop complications that can occur.”
“So if you take really good care of yourself, it will help?”
She nodded. “But that doesn’t mean I can’t take care of you guys. Thank you for always helping with the other kids. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the assistance. I know it must be hard sometimes to be the oldest kid on the ranch. You spend so much time looking out for everyone, you barely have time to have your own fun.”
“It’s not so bad.” He shrugged.
“Well, I was thinking we’d have a special day out, just the two of us. We can see a movie or go to an amusement park. Anything you want.”
“Really?”
“Really. We used to hang out all the time back in the day when it was just the two of us.” She rubbed his cheek.
“I’d like that.”
“Me too.” She hugged him. “Did you decide who you were inviting to your pool party?”
“No, not yet.”
“I think we should start working on that list to give everyone enough time to RSVP.”
“OK. No girls though.”
“No girls? You get along with Allison and Jennifer in your class. Why don’t you want to invite them?”
“OK. But I still get to do cannon balls into the pool.”
“Of course. No respectable pool party would be complete without cannon balls.” She smiled.
“I know you’ll get better, Mom. You can do anything.” Jake hugged her.
“Thank you Jake. It means a lot that you have faith in me. You’re getting so tall. You’re almost my height.” She kissed the top of his head. “Now take these snacks to the tree house before Connor starts chewing on the wood. Lunch will be ready in about a half hour.”
* * *
Later that night after the kiddies were asleep and Riley had left, Seth swept Morgan into his arms and took her to their bedroom and locked the door. Once there, they undressed and got in the bed.
“We got through this one OK, considering we had that big, extra kid. What grown man throws food at kids?” Seth covered them with the bed linen.
“Well, in Riley’s defense, Connor and Colby did throw that popcorn at him first.” Morgan trailed kisses down his jawline. “Did you see Riley’s face when Jack told him he should diversify his stock portfolio?”
“It was priceless.”
“He really likes you.”
“I don’t know about that.”
“You told him Avery wasn’t here and he wanted to come over anyway.”
“Big whoop.”
“I had a chat with Jake and it got me to thinking.”
“About what?”
“Maybe it’s time that I get on with the business of living again. I’m going to sign off on the lease for the bookstore.
I know what you’re going to say.”
“That I think it’s a good idea.”
“Huh?” She moved her head. “No, that’s not what I thought you’d say.”
“I’ve been thinking too. My overzealousness for keeping you safe might be a little heavy handed. If I insist you do nothing, we’re giving this disease more power than it deserves. There was a time when cancer would have been a death sentence for Cassie. Now she and C.J. are talking about having kids. I have faith that you’ll be fine.” He rolled her onto her back and covered her body with his.
“Is this horny Seth talking or logical Seth talking?” She groaned.
“He’s one and the same.”
“Door locked?”
He nodded. “Door locked.”
Morgan moaned when Seth slowly entered her. He’d been so gentle lately, like he was when she was pregnant. His movements were deliberate and skilled; he always found new ways to give her pleasure. She slid her hands down his back, then to his butt and his thighs. He hadn’t lost any of the definition in his body. He was just as taut as when he played football. She braced herself when Seth began to move in that sultry rhythm she’d come to love. Their bodies rocked together as one for what seemed like an eternity before he began that deep, guttural growl he did right before he climaxed.
In the afterglow, she fought her sleep, but damn she was so sated she could barely keep her eyes open. Seth caressed her body in all the places she’d complained about aching earlier. The last thing she remembered was him putting his head on her chest and listening to her heart beating.
* * *
When John Jacob came to her with his proposal for a massive social service initiative, Morgan thought he was joking. When he came back the next day with a check with so many zeroes it was astounding, she knew he was serious. He said the vision for his family was expanding and she was a big part of it. After insisting she was the wrong person for the job, he calmed her with encouraging words and told her he had faith in both her and Seth and that sometimes a father had to steer their kids to their destiny if they were too afraid to chase after it.
She told him she was still figuring out how to be of some use to Michelle as she opened the second bookstore. She and Michelle had talked and Michelle decided it was a good time to stick around the ranch more. She and Tyler had agreed that they’d change their home base to Texas for a while. Morgan asked Seth what to do and he’d responded there wasn’t much you could do when John Jacob asked something of you. That check was to show her that he was serious about the plans.
So she did what John Jacob asked and assembled a caucus of the best minds she knew and they were meeting tonight. Hopefully everyone would attend. There was one person who she’d invited she wasn’t sure about. But she put it out there anyway. This was about more than egos and besides, they’d buried the hatchet.
Morgan stabbed at the button on the sophisticated intercom system on her dining room table for the third time to make sure it was working.
Michelle glared at her. “Stop hitting the button. We get an automated notification every time someone joins the conference.”
“I can’t help it. I’m excited.”
“I’m excited for you.” Michelle squeezed her hand.
Cassidy came from the kitchen with hot crab dip. “Did anyone join the conference call?”
“No, not yet.”
The automated voice announced a caller had joined. “Hi, ladies. It’s Sydney. I have Charisma and Alicia with me.”
“Hi, Philly Grandma!” Mackenzie leaned on the table to shout into the device.
“Hi, baby. I miss you,” Sydney replied.
“Hello, ladies!” Avery bellowed. “Mom, did you get that text I sent you about my upcoming school break?”
“I did. I put in the request at work and got the time off.”
“Cool!” Avery looked up. “Mom’s coming to visit for a week.”
“Sydney, are you coming down too?” Teri-Lyn asked as she bounced Mackenzie on her lap. “I thought we’d go to this gardening expo in Houston.”
“As a matter of fact I am. I have some things for the kids I wanted to bring down,” Sydney replied.
“I have to say I’m intrigued about this call,” Charisma said. “I’m not sure why you included me.”
“Because I need your help. I need all the strong women in my life to help me with something new that I’m trying to accomplish.”
“Sounds interesting,” Sydney said.
“Tyler’s been talking about taking some time off from racing,” Michelle blurted out.
“Oh. What does he want to do instead?” Morgan replied.
“He wants to spend some time at Blake Enterprises. He says it’s time he learns the business. He figures since I’ll be down here helping you with the new store, he would keep himself occupied.”
“Looks like we’re all making changes in this family.” Morgan said.
The automated system announced another caller had joined. It was Sam, who was visiting her sister Parker, who’d been in another shootout and had been hospitalized with a flesh wound.
“Sam, how are things going? Is Parker OK?”
Sam sighed. “Physically she’s fine, but she has a parade of people waiting to yell at her for her reckless behavior. John keeps going in her room and storming out.”
“Sounds like my son.” Teri-Lyn replied.
The automated sound buzzed again. This time it was Summer and Autumn.
“Hi, ladies! Sorry we’re late. We just got out of a meeting,” Autumn said.
“No worries, we’re still waiting for—”
The sound beeped again. “It’s Nina and Gabby!”
“Now that we’re all here, we can get started. Does everyone have their snacks and wine?” Michelle said.
Alicia giggled. “We’re all good here. Derek has an awesome wine bar in his house. I think he’s going to regret telling us to make ourselves comfortable.”
“Mom, are you drinking?” Avery said.
“What if I am? You better not be.”
“I don’t see how a little wine could hurt. I’m almost twenty-one.”
“It’s just like being almost pregnant. Nice try though,” Alicia said.
“No worries, she’s sharing a juice box with Mackenzie. Only the finest grape juice for my niece.” Morgan tapped Avery on the nose.
“I have an iced tea,” Sam said as she played with Jack and Gabe in the background.
“We’re fine here too. Sipping on some cucumber water,” Nina said.
“OK.” She cleared her throat. The last person wasn’t going to attend her presentation after all. Just then, the automated announcement sounded again.
“I hope I’m not too late.” It was Penny Winterbourne-Dennison. “Prudence is fighting off a cold.”
The ladies at the table stared in shock at Morgan.
“No, Penny. You’re right on time,” Morgan replied.
After a moment collecting her thoughts, Morgan dove into her presentation. “John Jacob presented me with an idea that I’d like to share with you. As you know, I started Reading Builds Bridges years ago as a reading initiative for the community. I am happy to say we’ve made a tremendous difference with the story times at the library, book fairs, workshops, and classes at the bookstore. Isabelle has done wonders with her Classic Music Rocks organization. Some of her students have received scholarships to prestigious music schools. We have been blessed with resources to reach out to communities all over and empower those who may not have the means to do it themselves. Now John Jacob has tasked me with taking it a step further, but I can’t do it without your help. I am in the company of intelligent, wonderful women who each have incredible gifts to share with the world and I am asking for your help. The Blake Foundation would be a non-profit organization that would focus on raising awareness on health issues as well as funding literacy, music, technology, and self-defense programs. I’m also open to other ideas. I will be working on the second booksto
re with Michelle, but I’d like to start the planning. With any luck, we can be fully operational within a year. We could do so much good for others in need.”
Morgan plopped down into her seat and exhaled. It was a huge undertaking, what she was proposing.
Teri-Lyn beamed. “I think it’s a great idea.”
“You have my full support.” Cassidy smiled.
“We’re in!” Summer and Autumn replied.
Avery bit her lip. “Maybe we can do something with a veterinarian angle?”
Morgan nodded. “I like that. I know there’s always a need for a rescue shelter.”
“I think we can do this. I have the security angle covered,” Sam said.
“You know my ride or die philosophy with the people I love.” Michelle hugged her. “I’d follow you into purgatory.”
“I know, sweetheart. I just wish you wouldn’t say things like that when you’re driving and I’m a passenger.” Morgan hugged Michelle back and kissed her on top of the head. “We have to work on your road rage issues.”
“I’ll help, of course,” Nina said. “But I don’t know what I could do from Alabama.”
“Nina.” Morgan swallowed hard. “About that. I’d be honored if you worked for the foundation in a part-time capacity. You’re awesome at everything you do, and I would love to have you as part of the administrative team. It would require you to visit Texas more often.”
“I’d have to talk to Patton,” Nina stammered. “But I'm sure he’d go for it.”
“I know I’d be interfering with cousin Rollo’s ability to pitch his ideas to Patton every Sunday after church.”
“Screw Rollo. He’s a lawsuit waiting to happen if any of his crap actually makes it to the marketplace.”
Morgan laughed. “Great. I hope it’s possible.”
“Team Reed is ready to go,” Sydney chimed in.
“I know you already hold down the fort in Philadelphia. My deepest thanks for keeping everything running smoothly up there.” Morgan smiled. “And Charisma, I mean it. You’ve already helped Sydney so much with Reading Builds Bridges, I’m counting on your input too.”
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