Chapter 37
The room
was still fairly dark when he opened his eyes, although he felt rested enough
that it didn’t seem all that early to him. When he heard thunder rumble in the
distance, he sat up and pulled back the drape. Dark clouds hovered over the treetops,
blocking out any semblance of sunshine, and the wind bent the branches in
intermittent gusts.
After he
had dressed and made his way to the kitchen, noticing Morgan’s neatly made bed
on the way, he poured himself a cup of hot coffee while he read the note
attached to the counter in front of the coffee machine.
“Went for
a run – be back soon. There are scrambled eggs and sausage on a plate in the
microwave. I also left a bowl of cut-up cantaloupe in the fridge.”
As it
thundered again he looked out of the kitchen window, wondering how long it
would be until the rain began and whether or not Morgan would make it back
before it hit.
He had
finished his breakfast and the newspaper when he heard the first big drops of
rain pelt the roof. Getting up to open the main door, he peered through the
screen and checked the gravel road and drive-way. As the rain began to come
down in earnest, he stuck his hands in his pockets and contemplated driving up
to look for Morgan. The air coming through the screen felt cold and he was sure
she would be miserable. He was also beginning to see flashes of lightning as
the thunderstorm drew closer and, knowing her penchant for storms, was
becoming concerned for her safety.
After watching
the rain for a few minutes more and still seeing no sign of her, McCoy
retrieved his coat from the bedroom and slipped on, unrolling the hood from
beneath the collar to pull it over his head. He grabbed the keys to the SUV and
paused at the door to look for Morgan one more time before making a dash for
the truck.
***The windshield wipers whisked back and forth
at top speed as he parked the truck as close to the yard gate as possible. Rain
was coming down in sheets, echoing loudly against the metal roof. After driving
the narrow back roads for almost an hour and seeing no sign of Morgan he had
returned, hoping that he had simply missed her and would find her safe and
sound inside.
After
pulling the hood of his coat up once again, he threw open the door of the truck
and ran across the yard, dodging puddles as best he could. By the time he made
it to the front door his boots and pants legs were soaked. He shook the water
from his coat before stepping inside, cringing as a bolt of lightning was followed
almost immediately by the crash of thunder.
“Calea!”
he called immediately, pausing to listen for any sounds emanating from the
rooms beyond. But all he could hear was the sound of the rain thudding on the
shingles.
McCoy
removed his boots and left them beside the front door as he headed for the
phone. Picking up a notepad beside it, he dialed the number written on it and
then waited.
“Simon?”
he queried when a voice answered in his ear. “This is Jack. I was wondering if
you had seen Calea this morning.”
“No, she
hasn’t been by here,” Miller replied. “Why?”
“She left
a note saying that she was going running and she isn’t back yet,” he explained,
trying not to sound as concerned as he felt. “I was hoping she was waiting it
out there with you.”
“Damn!”
Miller exclaimed under his breath. “She always did like storms. Do you know how
long ago she left?”
“It’s
been an hour and a half or so since I found the note. I just got back from
driving around to look for her. But I don’t know which direction she went and
there are so many roads to choose from, I have no idea where to look.”
“Did you
drive by the cemetery? That’s one of the routes she sometimes takes.”
“I did
but I didn’t see her there,” he responded as he moved to peer out of the kitchen window toward the road.
“What
about by the stock tanks on the old Marbach place? That’s another road she
likes.”
“I’m not
sure if it’s the place you’re referring to but I did drive by a couple of
good-sized ponds.”
“That
would be the one.” He pause a moment before admitting, “I don’t know what to
tell you, Jack. She could be anywhere. Why don’t I drive over and pick you up
and we’ll go look for her together? She can’t be that far.”
“All
right…” he began, but stopped when a flash of color caught his attention. “Hold
on a minute, Simon. I think I saw something outside,” he said, making his way to the door. To his relief, through the screen he
saw Morgan running toward the house, splashing through the water that had
collected on the gravel road.
“Simon? She just got here. She’s coming in now,” he informed him.
“Thank
goodness,” the other man declared. “I wasn’t looking forward to getting out in
this weather.”
“I’m
sorry to have bothered you. I was just becoming a little concerned,” McCoy
acknowledged sheepishly.
“You
didn’t bother me,” Miller assured him. “And I don’t blame you for being
concerned. She’s lucky she didn’t get fried by lightning. You tell her that
even my old hound dog has sense enough to come in out of the rain.”
“I’ll
tell her,” he grinned. “And thanks, Simon.”
McCoy
retrieved a towel from the bathroom before returning to the door to meet Morgan.
He opened it as she reached the steps.
“Where
have you been?” he demanded.
“Did you
see the storm? Did you see how close the lightning is?” she asked eagerly as
she stopped at the door to remove her soggy shoes and socks.
“How
could I not see the storm? I spent
the last hour driving around in it looking for you!” he declared.
“I was
running with my back to it and didn’t notice the clouds until I was pretty far
away,” she explained as she stepped inside. “It took me a while to get back.”
“Well I
was worried sick,” he scolded. “I even called the Miller’s to see if you had
stopped there to wait out the storm.”
Morgan
stood in front of him with her dark hair dripping, her cheeks flushed, and eyes
bright with excitement. “You didn’t have to do that. I was fine. You know I
like running in the rain.”
Taking
note of her expression and appearance, his annoyance melted as he looped the
towel around her neck and began to dry her hair. “Do you have any idea how
beautiful you look right now?” he asked quietly, pulling a corner of the towel
up to carefully pat her face.
Looking down she replied doubtfully, “Yeah, right. I’m soaked to the
skin and spattered with mud. That’s attractive.”
“Don’t sell
yourself short,” he admonished. “Most women would give anything to look even
half as good on their best days.”
She
studied him with serious eyes for a moment before saying softly, “Thank you,
Jack.”
He handed
her the towel and as she began to dry her legs and feet he suggested, “Since
horseback riding is out for the time being, why don’t we drive into
“I don’t
know,” she replied reluctantly. “Why would you want to drive all the way to
“We can
always watch the movie. I was hoping to get out for a while, to see some of the
sights since I’ve never been to
Morgan
finally nodded slowly. “That’s a nice idea. I know the Millers will appreciate
it.”
“Good,”
he agreed with a smile. “Now go get in the shower. You’re dripping on the
hardwood.”
***“What a view,” McCoy commented as he gazed out
of the huge plate-glass window beside their table. “I’m glad you suggested
coming here.”
“It’s
even better on the weekends when more sailboats are out,” Morgan noted,
indicating the small harbor beyond the window.
“I’m
surprised there are any out today with the thunderstorms this morning even
though the weather has cleared off.”
“It is
good to see the sunshine,” she agreed. Motioning to an area behind him she
said, “A lot of this has been added since I was here last. It's really built up. There used to not be much to Kemah. Now it must be quite a
tourist attraction with all the shops and restaurants. It certainly has
blossomed from the sleepy little town it once was.”
“Did you
come here much when you lived in
She
nodded after taking a sip of tea. “I came here fairly regularly. Simon and some
of his friends would pick me up after classes on Friday and we’d come out for
all-you-can-eat shrimp or oysters. I made a little extra cash tutoring
sometimes and this was one of my favorite places to spend it.”
“So you
and Simon spent time together once you were in college, too?”
“Like I
said, he sort of took me under his wing and treated me like a little sister,
even after I moved out of my grandparents’ house. It was nice to have someone
looking out for me. He’s always been a good friend.”
“He seems
like a nice, down-to-earth sort of fellow. I felt very comfortable talking with
him the other day even though we had just met. Has he always worked on his
father’s farm?”
“Always,”
she nodded, “even when he went to school in
“He
must’ve had a good relationship with his father.”
“He did.
His brothers both did, too. The Miller’s were always my idea of the perfect
family. They’ve had their share of ups and downs but they always stick together
and help each other out. If I had kids, that’s the kind of relationship I’d
hope for with them.”
McCoy
reached across the table and entwined his fingers with hers. “You don’t
necessarily need kids to have that kind of a relationship. You can have that
when there are only two people as well. Like you and me,” he added.
A slow
smile lit Morgan’s face. “I think you and I are already there.”
***McCoy closed the door of the truck and walked
around to hold the passenger door as Morgan was climbing out.
“It
turned out to be a clear night after all. I had my doubts about seeing the
Morgan
looked up into the sky. “It is beautiful, isn’t it? I wish I could take this
view with me.”
Noting
the wistfulness in her voice, McCoy took her hand. “Let’s walk out and check on
Molly and
“Okay,”
she readily agreed.
They
walked in silence to the pens, breathing in the cool, fragrant air. When they
reached the fence they stood watching as the calf nursed contentedly from his
mother.
“I’m glad
we were able to spend one more evening with the Miller’s,” McCoy finally said.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen two boys put away as much food as Travis and Toby
did tonight, though. For a while I thought the restaurant was going to have to
send out for more steak. It’s a good thing it was all-you-can-eat night or the
tab might’ve maxed out my credit card.”
“They’re
growing boys. I’m sure it’s going to get worse before it gets better. I can see
now why Lisa plants such a big garden.”
“The
Miller’s are good people. I like them,” he decided.
“Yes,
they are. I’m going to miss them,” she noted, her voice sounding wistful again.
“You
should encourage them to come to
“Funny, I
was thinking the same thing tonight,” she acknowledged. “I was thinking that
four airline tickets would make a nice graduation gift for Travis.”
“Great
minds think alike,” he smiled. With a deep, contented sigh he added, “I’ve
really enjoyed this trip. It’s been quite an adventure.”
“And I was wrong the other night. I think you’d
make a great cowboy, Jack,” she declared sincerely. After a thoughtful pause
she added, “But I’m kind of surprised that this simple life appeals to you so
much considering that you’ve chosen to live in the largest city in the
country.”
“Maybe
I’m getting tired of the rat race,” he suggested. “Or maybe it’s just
the-grass-is-always-greener syndrome. We always want what we don’t have.” He
took her hand once more and turned to start back toward the house. “You know, I
could also get used to playing house with you,” he admitted slowly, keeping his
eyes focused on the ground.
Morgan
stopped and turned to face him curiously. “Playing house?”
He
shrugged and explained, “We have been living in the same house for four days
now. I kind of like waking up, knowing you’re going to be there and that we’re
going to spend the day together. Except for the separate beds, of course,” he
added with a mischievous grin. He hooked his fingers in her belt loops and
pulled her closer, then asked casually, “Have you ever given any thought to
what the two of us might do in the future?”
Morgan
shook her head slowly. “I haven’t really allowed myself to. I guess I can only
focus on one hurdle at a time. Lately, knowing I was going to have to come here
has kind of sidetracked me from everything else.”
“Yeah, I
noticed,” he agreed teasingly.
She put
her hands against his chest and focused on the buttons of his shirt. “I’m sorry.
I know my being so preoccupied hasn’t been fair to you.”
“I’m not
complaining,” he assured her as he slid his hands to her back. “I understand.
I’m the one who suggested that you come here, remember?”
“And I
did warn you that I wasn’t going to be in the best of moods,” she reminded him.
“You
did,” he agreed.
“So are
you sure you’re glad you came along?”
she asked with a slight smile.
He
grinned and bent toward her, stopping when his lips were only a hairsbreadth
from hers. “Let me answer that question this way…”
***McCoy sat bolt upright, his heart pounding,
jolted from a sound sleep by an ear-piercing scream. Flinging back the covers,
he leaped out of bed and sprinted from the room. But in his haste his little
toe caught the door frame, bending it to an excruciatingly painful position. He
yelped in pain, then let out a string of curses as he half-hopped, half-ran
down the hallway, flipping on the light as he did in order to prevent further
mishaps. He burst into Morgan’s room, sure in his adrenaline-induced,
sleep-deprived state that he was going to find someone or something in the
process of attacking her. Instead he found her sitting up in bed, one hand
clamped over her mouth and her eyes wide with fright. A quick glance around the
room revealed no intruder. But when he began hobbling toward the bed, Morgan
scooted back in terror until her back was flat up against the headboard.
“I’m
sorry, Jack, I’m sorry!” she gasped. “I didn’t mean to wake you! I’m sorry…”
Her
reaction made him feel the way it always did, as though he had been kicked in
the gut. He reached the bed and enveloped her in his arms. “Shhh. It’s all
right, Calea, I’m not upset with you,” he chided gently. The reason for her
assumption finally dawning on him, he acknowledged, “I stubbed my toe, that’s
all. It wasn’t you. How can you think I would be angry with you?”
Instead
of being comforted as he intended, Morgan burst into tears and sobbed against
his shoulder as she clutched his tee shirt.
“Shhh,
please don’t cry. I told you I’m not upset with you,” he pleaded as he stroked
her hair and hugged her to him.
She tried
in vain to stifle her sobs for several seconds before she could finally get
out, “I know.”
He
smoothed her hair from her face. “Then why are you still crying? What is it?”
Morgan
choked back the tears but didn’t reply. When she hadn’t answered after several
moments, he held her away from him slightly so that he could see her face.
“Tell me
what’s wrong,” he encouraged .
After
hastily wiping her cheek she finally explained haltingly, “It's everything ... it's just being here ..." She shook her head. "I don’t know what
I’m supposed to do, Jack. This place has been my fail-safe. No matter how bad
things were in my life, I told myself that if all else fails I could always go
home. But this isn’t home. It never was. It was simply a place where I was
forced to live after the accident. And I spent so much of my time here being
afraid. Around every corner and lurking in every shadow there are more bad
memories than good. It isn’t just in this house, either. It’s everywhere.” As
he brushed away another tear that had streaked down her cheek she added softly,
“This is where my roots are, this is where I’m supposed to belong. But I don’t.
I feel like I don’t belong anywhere.”
He shook
his head and said reassuringly, “Of course you belong somewhere, Calea. Your home
is 1400 miles northeast of here, in a little apartment at the top of the Shafer
building, overlooking
Morgan’s
eyes filled with tears again and she leaned toward him to rest her forehead
against his chest. After a moment she noted, “You always know just what to say
to make me feel better.”
McCoy sighed
deeply. “I wish that were true. I wish I knew what to say to make the
nightmares go away forever.” Putting his cheek against her hair he asked, “Do
you have any idea how much I hate it when you’re afraid of me, even for those
few brief seconds when you first wake up after a nightmare?”
Morgan
tried unsuccessfully to stifle another sob. “I’m sorry, Jack. I don’t mean to
be.”
“Shhh, no
more crying,” he admonished, carefully brushing her cheek with his fingers. “I
know it isn’t something you have any control over.”
He
remained as he was for several minutes before reaching with one hand to rub his
still-throbbing toe. At his slight movement Morgan tightened her grip and looked at him pleadingly. “Please stay with me. At least until I
can go back to sleep.”
“Of
course I will. I’ll stay as long as you want me to,” he assured her, leaning
forward to place a kiss on her forehead. Motioning toward the door he asked,
“Do you want me to leave the light on?”
“You can
turn it off as long as you’re here with me,” she answered.
After
complying he returned to climb into the small bed beside her. Slipping an arm
around her shoulders, he pulled her to him and laid back. “Go to sleep now,” he
advised softly. “I’ll be right here beside you when you wake up.”
He held
her for a long time before she finally fell into a fitful sleep. Every time he
dozed off he was awakened by her restless movements. He spent most of
the remainder of the night whispering to her soothingly, doing his best to
quiet her.
The sky
outside was already beginning to brighten when he fell at last into exhausted
oblivion.
***He felt as though he had barely closed his
eyes when something outside his consciousness demanded his attention. He opened
his eyes cautiously and peered across the barely lit room to find Morgan
zipping her suitcase shut.
Sitting
up groggily he asked, “What are you doing up already? And what time is it,
anyway?”
Turning
to regard him she answered, “It’s almost
“Come
here,” he commanded, patting the bed in front of him.
Morgan
did as he instructed, sitting down with one leg tucked under the other to face
him.
After
wearily rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he reached and took her hand. “I
thought you said your good-byes to the boys last night.”
“I did.
But I woke up early and couldn’t go back to sleep so I wanted to go by once
more before we leave. I don’t know when I’ll see them again. I also want to
talk to Simon about the house.”
“The
house?” he repeated in dazed confusion.
Morgan
nodded. “I’ve decided to sell it to him.”
“When did
you decide that?”
With a
shrug she replied, “Last night, I guess. Something you said helped me make up
my mind.”
He
blinked sleepily and asked, “What did I say?”
“You said
that my home was in
He
studied her carefully for a moment before asking, “Are you sure?”
She
nodded decisively. “I’m sure.”
“Do you
want me to come with you?” he offered, pulling her hand closer to him.
Shaking
her head she responded, “Thanks, but it will probably be better if I go by
myself.” Squeezing his hand she suggested, “You should try to go back to
sleep. You look tired. I feel bad that I woke you up last night.”
“That’s
all right,” he assured her. “I didn’t mind.”
Leaning
forward she quickly kissed his cheek, then disengaged her hand from his and
stood. “I’ll be back soon. I’ve already changed the bed you’ve been sleeping in
and gathered up the towels we used. All that’s left to do is change this bed.
It won’t take me long to be ready to leave once I get back.”
“Our
flight doesn’t depart until late this afternoon. We have hours before we have
to leave for the airport,” he reminded her. “You should’ve waited and let me
help.”
She
slipped her hands into the pockets of her jeans. “Now that I’ve made my decision,
I don’t want to stay here any longer than we have to. We can drive into
***McCoy gazed out at the mosaic of countryside
far below as the sun stretched its last rays of the day across it. The flight
had left, surprisingly, on time and they had been in the air for well over an
hour. Although he had offered her the window seat, Morgan had declined. After
briefly leaning across him during take off for a final glimpse of the
As the
plane headed away from the setting sun, the land beneath them quickly grew
increasingly dark. With a deep sigh, he leaned his head back and was soon
asleep himself.
***The streetlights whisked by, alternately
plunging the cab into dense darkness and bright light.
Laying
his cheek against Morgan’s head where it rested on his shoulder, McCoy asked,
“Are you tired?”
“I am,”
she nodded. “I’m looking forward to sleeping in my own bed.”
“I’m going to miss you tonight,” he noted softly.
She
turned around to give him a look of amused disbelief, shaking her head. “You
are such a liar.”
“Now what
would make you say that?” he questioned.
“I’ve
kept you up for four nights in a row,” she replied. “You can’t tell me you’re
not looking forward to a nice long night of uninterrupted sleep.”
Pulling
her back against him again, he encircled her with his arms. “Interrupted sleep
is a small price to pay for spending time with you. You didn’t hear me complain
once in those four days about that.”
Morgan
sighed and settled against him. “Maybe not but I still don’t like being the
cause.”
“You
could always do something about it. Just give the word and I’ll put you in
touch with the therapist I was telling you about…”
She
shifted within his embrace and reminded him quietly, “You promised you wouldn’t
bring that up again, Jack.”
“I’m not
trying to pressure you,” he assured her, tightening his arms slightly. “I just
thought I’d mention it since you brought the subject up.” Leaning forward
slightly, he spoke to the cab driver. “You can pull over to the curb just
ahead.”
When the
driver had complied, Morgan and McCoy got out and collected Morgan’s luggage
from the trunk. After instructing the driver to wait while he helped her to her
apartment, McCoy followed her into the lobby.
“I
suppose you have to work tomorrow,” he acknowledged as they entered the
elevator that took them to the sixth floor.
“Yes, I
do. When I called Melissa this afternoon she said she had scheduled two clients
for the morning and two for the afternoon. On top of that I have a desk full of
messages to sort through.”
“It’s too
bad we can’t both take the rest of the week off,” he observed when the doors
opened.
“I’d be
so swamped when I did go back to work it wouldn’t be worth it,” she
maintained.
“Where do
you want your suitcase?” he asked when they were both inside her apartment.
“Just
leave it here by the elevator. I don’t want you to keep the cab driver waiting
too long. He might decide to take off with your stuff.”
McCoy
deposited the suitcase where she indicated and grinned. “He’d be disappointed.
Besides a few tee shirts, all he’d get are some jeans that probably still have
hay stuck in the pockets.” Pulling her into his arms he acknowledged, “It’s
going to be hard to spend the day without you tomorrow.”
“I
thought you’d be looking forward to a little time apart,” she suggested as she
stood on tip-toe to slide her arms around his neck.
“You
thought wrong,” he insisted. “Will you let me take you to dinner tomorrow
night? We can have that celebration I promised you before we left.”
She let
out a weary sigh. “That’s too much to even think about right now. Can you give
me at least a day to catch up a little at work and get back on track? Maybe we
could plan something for Thursday or Friday instead.”
“Does
that mean I’m going to have to go a whole day without seeing you?” he asked
wistfully, locking his arms behind her.
“It’s only
one day.”
“Still,
that’s asking a lot…”
Morgan
stretched up and silenced his protests by planting a kiss on his lips, then
assured him, “You’ll manage.”
“I don’t
know,” he argued, shaking his head. “I’m going to need a little more than that to
get me through.” Drawing her tighter against him, he leaned down for a longer,
more intense kiss.
After a
few moments he finally broke it off, but stood holding her to him, unwilling to
let her go.
“The
meter is still running on the cab,” she reminded him gently.
With a
nod, he brushed her hair from her cheek and said softly, “Sleep well, Calea.”
“You
too,” Morgan responded. Then, giving him another quick kiss, she added, “And
just for the record, I’m going to miss you tonight, too.”
A quick smile
lit his face. “I’ll call you tomorrow,” he promised, reluctantly releasing her
to step back into the elevator.
“Okay.”
As the door closed to separate them, she smiled sleepily. “Good night, Jack.”