Chasing Morgan (36 page)

“Come on. Let’s eat. You’ll feel better. She talked to you. That’s a good thing.”

She coaxed Tyler over to the small table they set up. Everyone ate and talked and laughed together. Emma chatted with Morgan and even little Sam and Matt got up on the bed. They checked under Morgan’s long hair to see if she might have wings. The little ones made up stories about fairies and the adults caught up on their lives.

Eventually, everyone left Morgan’s room but Sam and Elizabeth. Grace slept peacefully at the foot of Morgan’s bed.

Elizabeth held Morgan’s hand while Sam and Tyler caught up on the office.

“The case is closed and all the paperwork is filed,” Sam told Tyler.

“I hate paperwork,” Tyler grumbled.

“Thanks to me, you don’t have to do any of it.” Sam studied Tyler. “Davies said you can take as much time as you need. You’ll get your commendation for solving the case, and Morgan will receive a citizen’s award. He said he’d come by to see you both.”

“Yeah,” Tyler said, his gaze on Morgan. Elizabeth stood beside the bed, stroking her hand.

Sam caught the sweet expression on his wife’s face. “The baby kicking again?”

“Yeah. It’s like a rolling ball of knees and elbows.” She looked at Tyler. “We’re supposed to have the ultrasound tomorrow. We hope to find out if it’s a boy or a girl.” She rubbed her and Morgan’s hand over her belly where the baby kicked. She didn’t want to let go of Morgan. She remembered lying in a hospital bed unable to move or communicate. Human contact was an anchor. Right now, she’d be Morgan’s anchor.

It’s a boy. J.T.

“Morgan.” Tyler whispered to her.

“Did she talk to you?” Sam watched Morgan’s face. She looked better after everyone had spent the day with her. He believed that happiness and contentment, family and love, had made her better.

“Do you want to know if it’s a boy or a girl?” He smiled at them both.

“Yes,” they said together. Sam drew closer to his wife and put his hand to her belly.

Tyler looked at them both, so in love and excited about their baby on the way. “It’s a boy. J.T., she said.”

“She knows his name. I mean, we talked about the names, but she knew. Oh my god, that’s so amazing.” She held tight to Morgan’s hand. “Yes. It’s a boy. He’ll be J.T.” She kissed Sam, so excited Grace would have a brother.

Ask her about the name.

“She wants to know about the name.”

Not for me, for you.

“Oh, she wants
me
to know about the name.” He didn’t know why she wanted him to know how they’d named their son.

“His name is Jackson Tyler,” Sam said. “After Jack and you.”

Taken by surprise, Tyler never expected this.

Babies are named after family.
“You’re family,” she whispered and opened her eyes to look at Tyler.

Taken by surprise again, he nearly fell to his knees. “Morgan. You came back.”

“I never left you.”

Elizabeth and Sam silently signaled each other,
Time to go
. Elizabeth leaned over and kissed Morgan on the temple. “We’ll come by and see you later. We have to take Sleeping Beauty, there, home.”

“She’s dreaming about puppies. She wants one.”

Elizabeth laughed. “She’s been saying
puppy
nonstop since she saw one in the park. We’re thinking about it.”

“I bet she gets one for Christmas,” Morgan said on a sigh.

Sam came over to kiss her goodbye. “I won’t take that bet. You’ve got inside information.” She could barely keep her eyes open, so he kissed her goodbye, picked up his sleeping daughter, and took his family home.

Tyler and Morgan stared at each other. A wave of relief washed over her from him, along with his disbelief she was awake and okay.

“I’m fine, sweetheart. I promise.”

“You scared me. I thought I’d lost you.” He crawled onto the bed next to her. Not an easy task to scoot her over and move all the wires and IV lines, but he needed to be close to her. He put his arm over her and held her gently to him. Face-to-face, he leaned in and kissed her forehead.

“I feel better already.” She leaned her head to his lips.

“Are you in pain? I can get the doctor to up your meds if you’re hurting.”

“I’m okay. It hurts, but you make me feel better.”

“Oh God, honey. What happened?” He’d had a lot of time to replay the scene in his head. He had no idea, and neither did anyone else, what really happened that night.

She understood what he wanted, an explanation for the unexplainable. “I got slapped one too many times. He pissed me off. After that, I don’t know. I wanted to push him away, and I couldn’t physically do it. I don’t know how I did it. It just happened.”

“Now that you’re okay, I have to say, it was awesome. Like being hit by a small explosion.”

“I’m glad you enjoyed it,” she joked.

He held her tighter and kissed her throat, and then her collarbone on her hurt shoulder.

“Honey, I hate to complain, but I’m not up to being seduced.”

“I’m not seducing you. I’m just showing you how happy I am that you came back to me. I don’t ever want to lose you again.”

“You never lost me. I was always with you. I just didn’t have the strength to tell you.”

He laid his head on her pillow next to hers. All of a sudden he felt very tired. The last few days were finally catching up with him.

“Sleep with me,” she said. He looked so tired and she felt his body relax next to hers. She had to admit, Tyler next to her was the best medicine.

“I thought you said you didn’t want to be seduced,” he teased.

She closed her eyes and snuggled up against him as best she could without hurting her shoulder or ribs. She waited for him to relax. When he did, she began to drift off to sleep.

Morgan?

I’m still here with you,
she said and wanted to smile because he spoke to her this way—her way.

Will you marry me?

I thought you’d never ask,
she answered on a giddy laugh
.

Is that a yes?

Yes.

Epilogue

T
HEY’D MET IN
a restaurant and today they married in one. Elizabeth graciously closed Decadence on a Saturday night three months after Morgan had been released from the hospital and recovered from her injuries.

Jenna, Elizabeth, Summer, and Marti went all out decorating for the ceremony and dinner reception. As if her garden exploded in the restaurant, everywhere you looked, bouquets of roses and lilies overflowed vases, their sweet scent filling the room.

They’d gone back to the house in Colorado for her recovery. Tyler took a two-week leave of absence to be with her. He’d surprised her with an engagement ring the day she left the hospital. He surprised her again by buying her a horse from Jack. Over the two weeks on her property, he taught her about horses and even took her riding. With her shoulder in a sling, she’d had to keep to a walk, but she was getting better and would soon be riding as well as Jack and the others.

Their new house in the hills near San Francisco was isolated as much as it could be near a big city. Their closest neighbor was over a mile away, and they’d paid dearly for the privacy. She’d have to work some serious magic with her stocks and investments to earn back what they’d spent for their home. She didn’t care. Tyler could have his work, and she could have the space she needed away from others. They’d moved into the new house two months ago and furnished it with pieces they both picked out. Then they’d christened every room in the most outstanding ways. Her body still heated and tingled when she thought about some of the naughty things they’d done in those rooms.

Tonight, they’d been married with their collected family present. Even Tyler’s sister, Agent Davies, and his wife joined their group for the wedding and reception. As she looked around the table, she had to sigh. All of these people where her family, maybe not by blood, but by choice and an abundance of love.

Sam, as Tyler’s best man, gave the toast to the happy bride and groom. He’d wished them a long and happy life together and officially welcomed Morgan to the family.

Everyone sat, enjoying the food and the company. Morgan thought it the perfect time to give Tyler his wedding gift. She stood and held up her full glass of champagne. She’d only had the one sip after Sam’s toast. She held it before her and cleared her throat to get everyone’s attention.

“I’d like to make a toast and an announcement.”

Everyone stared at her and the collective expectation and excitement from the group made her head spin. They were all so happy for her and Tyler. A far cry from the last time she’d stood before this group of people in this restaurant. They’d all been anxious and down about Tyler getting married then. Not this time. This time, they were ecstatic for him and her.

This time it was right.

“For a long time you fought the connection we shared.” Tyler frowned beside her. She kissed it away and said, “Wait for it. It gets better.”

“I already found that out,” he answered, referring to the long wait they’d had to get to this moment.

“You asked me to explain it, but I never could. Now, I look around this room at the family you’ve made me a part of and I finally understand. We are connected in mind and heart and soul. To soul mates,” she toasted, holding up her glass and using it to point to each of the couples around the table. Summer and Caleb. Jack and Jenna. Elizabeth and Sam. Cameron and Marti. She turned back to Tyler. “I love you.”

“I love you, too, honey.”

“I have a gift for you, but he won’t be ready for several months,” she said and ran her hand along his cheek and through the side of his dark hair as she stared into his love-filled eyes.

Her words didn’t really register at first. “That’s okay, honey, I can… Wait. Did you just say
he
wouldn’t be ready for several months?”

“That’s exactly what I said. For a long time, all you wanted was a wife and children, family and love. You have them. Well, one child. We’ll work on the rest,” she teased.

He stood and cupped her beautiful face in his hands. He was going to be a father. The one thing he wanted more than anything besides Morgan.

“This, you, him, everything, it’s exactly what I wanted and so much more. I love you.” He kissed her and everyone cheered.

Their collective happiness and Tyler’s overwhelming joy made her lightheaded and euphoric. She took it in and felt blessed in a way she could never explain, but cherished, along with her life with Tyler and their family.

Before Morgan sat down, Sam asked, “So, Mrs. Reed, do you have a prediction for the future?”

Oh, how she liked being called Mrs. Reed.

Everyone at the table held their breath, waiting for her to answer. The last time she’d come to this restaurant knowing the future, they’d all gotten a huge scare.

She gave them a knowing smile. “I see bright Colorado skies and smooth sailing for the Turner-Shaw-Reed family.”

Tyler squeezed her hand. She’d described it perfectly.

I love you.

I love you, too.

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