“Mom? Hey, it’s Morgan.”
“Morgan Elise Clark.” Oh, boy. The full-name treatment. This could be bad. “Or is it some other last name now?” The words were coming through clenched teeth, all hissy.
“It’s Hyatt, actually.”
“What? You married the veterinarian?” Mom sounded genuinely confused.
“His younger brother, Josh.”
“And you’ve never, ever said anything about him. Not once. And now, poof! You’re a married woman.”
Basically. That was basically it. How could she explain to her mom? Especially when the whole thing was what it was? For one thing, Mom wouldn’t understand the deep necessity for it. She was a firm believer in the sanctity of marriage—not that Morgan wasn’t, but somehow this was different. Anyway, for another thing, Mom would feel horrible for not being able to remedy Morgan’s situation herself—especially when she was the main cause of it, she and her Frogs in the Sand catastrophe. And for another, she couldn’t actually be trusted to keep the secret.
If Morgan wanted everyone to know something, she told Mom and said it was a secret.
“Point of fact. It’s not actually okay to let your mother find out about your marriage via social networking.” Anger seethed through the airwaves.
Morgan’s insides writhed. She had to find something true to tell her mom. “He’s a really nice person. He’s the one who came up with the way to save Nixie’s life. He called his brother and asked the favor.”
Over the phone, Morgan could hear her mother expel a loud breath, as if she’d been holding it a long time, waiting to explode but had simply deflated instead.
“Well, that is fine of him.” Mom’s voice came out small. When Desiree Clark felt gratitude, she was apt to forgive quickly. That was a good quality Morgan had always admired in her. “I hope he’s not as freakish as he looks in that picture of the two of you.”
Morgan couldn’t stifle a laugh. If that was Mom’s big worry— “He’s really good-looking, Mom. That isn’t the main reason I eloped with him, but it doesn’t hurt.”
Mom gasped a little.
“What? Is something wrong, Mom? Is Nixie okay?”
“You’re not pregnant, are you? That’s not the reason for the elopement, is it? Because, I mean, if it is, I’m glad he had the honor to marry you, which makes me like him all the more, but Morgan! You were always the girl who was saving herself for marriage, and the last thing I thought—”
“Mom! No. I’m not pregnant.” Jehoshaphat. Morgan had never considered this would be the perception of her family. Her friends probably thought so, too. Great. Just marvelous. “I’m still the good girl I always was.”
Mom did that exhale again. “Well, at least there’s that.”
This whole conversation was awful. “Mom, I’m really sorry I didn’t manage this better. I should have called you first.”
“You should have introduced him to me first.”
There was that, too. “I’m sure you’ll love him when you meet him.”
“Well, if he’s anything like his brother the veterinarian, I’m sure I will, but any young man who doesn’t do his due diligence and at least ask the girl’s parent before ripping her from her mother’s bosom is someone I instinctively distrust. He’s going to have to do more than get me a doctor appointment to win that.”
“He did save Nixie’s life.”
“Okay. I’ll give you that.” She harrumphed a little. “It’s just that, Morgan, I thought we always had this big wedding planned for you. Bunting, the white dress, the organ playing as you walk down the aisle, lots of flowers and a big cake.”
“I know, Mom.” She could feel her mother’s sadness through it all, the disappointment with the change from her expectations. Morgan didn’t know how to be honest and comfort her and keep her secret at the same time. She couldn’t just say, It’s all right. We can probably still do that when I get married for real. Nor did she want to admit to the hint of relief inside herself—at escaping all that pomp. Especially the walking down the aisle part.
“Because if this was about your old hang-up—if you only eloped to get out of what you were forever saying you wanted to avoid—I told you I’d get Uncle Boswell to walk you down the aisle. Lots of girls still get married and walk down the aisle without a dad beside them. They work it out.”
Yeah, but Morgan hadn’t wanted to work it out. She’d wanted a dad. And without one, that whole fairy tale wedding thing would always be a broken fairy tale, as far as Morgan was concerned. So this trial run elopement might not be such bad practice for when she really did get married. No bunting, no bridal procession, no ring on a velvet cushion. And no glaring void where her dad should be standing beside her to give her away.
“I’ve never even met Uncle Boswell, and none of us have two dimes to rub together right now, let alone plan a big wedding. It’s ridiculous to be discussing this.” Which was part of why she had eloped. Er, sort of. “But that’s not the point, Mom. I’ll bring Josh up sometime to meet you.” It was small consolation for the dream she’d just apparently ripped away from Mom’s life. Still, she had another daughter whose wedding she could dream about. And, who knew? Morgan might actually meet Mr. Right one of these days, after her annulment, and then she could make it up to her mom somehow, just not with the walking down the aisle part.
“Oh, no need. As soon as Nixie is feeling better, we’re planning a trip to come see you and Tory anyway. I’ll have to see the apartment of Mr. and Mrs. Joshua Hyatt.”
Uh, what? She hadn’t thought of that. Having to keep up appearances for her mom? Create a phony cohabitation?
Great. Josh was going to love this.
∞∞∞
Josh’s Explorer was almost out of gas, but he was near Chip’s house. The two-hour drive had drained the tank, but he was going to have to risk it since it was getting so late. He dialed the phone.
“You and Heather still up?”
“It’s ten-thirty, Josh. What are you calling about? Another hot blonde’s mom have a dog disaster? Because I’m off the clock until tomorrow.”
“Thanks for taking care of that, bro.” Josh maneuvered around a double-parked car on Chip’s street. This Portland suburb had more of that…wait. “How did you know it was a hot blonde’s mom?”
“That woman didn’t stop talking. Even showed me the picture of the girl.”
Heather’s voice hollered from the distance. Apparently he was on speaker phone. “Plus, there’s that whole firestorm her photo of the two of you set aflame online. What were you thinking, Josh?”
“Yeah, Bronco is not amused.” Chip huffed. “Probably no one is.”
“Didn’t think he would be. Which is why I’m coming by.” Josh pulled into the driveway of Chip and Heather’s duplex. “Do you still have that box of stuff from Mom?” He jumped out of his Explorer and rang their doorbell, hoping the three minutes on the phone had given them time to prep for his arrival.
Luckily, they were still up and dressed. “What is going on with you?” Heather let him in. “And what happened to Brielle? Didn’t she just leave a month ago? I didn’t even know you’d dumped her.”
“I didn’t dump her.” At least that was true.
“Oh.” Heather didn’t press for details, just got a little sad look on her face. She brought him a Coke with ice. “And this Morgan girl is okay with being a rebound? You told her about Brielle?”
“I told her.” There was no way to elucidate further. “She’s a good sport.”
Heather half-laughed. “She’d have to be, to marry into this family.” She kicked back on the couch across from Josh and put her feet on the coffee table. Heather was so normal, so good for Chip. “Now, while Chip looks for that box in the attic, as I assume that’s why you came and sent him up there, tell me all about your latest progress in the lab. Any luck securing the patent yet?”
“One patent applied for, two pending, and the big one awaiting a breakthrough.” Josh gave Heather details abo
ut the research he was doing with the compost barrel. “I’m about three mutations from actually making it work, I think.”
Heather pushed her head against the sofa’s back. “I can’t believe you. The bio-tech companies are going to be pounding down your door to get hold of it. You’re going to change the world.”
Josh still hadn’t seen the full result, so he didn’t let himself get his hopes up yet.
“By the way, what does, uh, Morgan—that’s her name, right?—think of sharing a house with an open barrel of compost day and night? She must have a strong stomach. Stronger than Brielle’s.”
Brielle shared only a little enthusiasm for Josh’s research. You should concentrate on learning Russian and Chinese instead of playing with all this, uh,…. She’d omitted the word garbage, but he’d heard it loud and clear. Instead, she’d bought him study books and they’d read online articles in Al Jazeera at night together so he could bone up on foreign happenings. That wasn’t exactly a barrel of monkeys, but the nights they stayed up late watching German language tutorials on YouTube, and laughing so hard when trying to copy the throat-clearing sounds to perfection were good times. Brielle knew so much about the real threats facing all different areas of the globe and cared so much about the welfare of her fellow earthlings, he couldn’t help but get caught up in it. She was the one who was going to change the world, make it a safer place. And as soon as Josh finished school, he was going to be right at her side. By then, she’d know people, the right people, and he’d be able to use her contacts to get the right job.
They had plans.
“Like I said, Morgan’s a good sport.” He did wonder if he’d ever have to tell her about the compost barrel. Probably not.
Chip came in, holding a familiar-looking box. “What did you want this for? And so late at night?” He sat down and plopped the box in Josh’s lap. It was heavier than he expected. “What kind of old perfume and jewelry emergency could there be at this time of night?” Chip’s voice caught. “Oh. Ohhhhh.”
Josh rolled his eyes. “Glad you figured it out.”
He slid the lid off the box and peered inside. The smell of Mom’s perfume wafted out, just faintly, and her smiling face flashed before Josh’s eyes for a second. She’d been a good mom.
“I just need the ruby ring. And it’s not forever. I’ll bring it back when I’m done with it.” Chip dug through the stacks of papers, photos, trinkets of thimbles Mom used to collect and tugged out a little velvet bag. From inside he extracted a gold ring with a ruby solitaire.
“What do you mean, bring it back? Mom would want you to have it, especially after how Bronco has treated you. She’d want to make up for it somehow. You know that.” Chip sounded final.
“No, I’ll bring it back. I don’t need it forever.” But he caught himself—he didn’t want to let on that anything between Morgan and him was temporary. He had to watch that he didn’t leave any clues—anywhere. “It’s just until I can get her something of her own.”
“She’ll want an heirloom, especially this one. It’s a real ruby.” Heather came over and sat on Chip’s lap, entwining her arms around his neck. “Every woman wants a ruby.”
“I’ll get you a ruby someday, Heath.”
“I know you will.” She kissed Chip. “I tried that ring on a while back, and it won’t even fit my pinkie or I would’ve pilfered it a long time ago.”
That, at least, made Josh feel better about taking the ring that had been Mom’s engagement present from Bronco. He pocketed it.
“I should tell you no.” Chip closed the box and set it on the table. He punched Josh in the arm. “What do you mean, not telling me you were getting married? From the pictures her mom showed me, she’s gorgeous, but I’m your brother. I thought we were close.”
“It was kind of spontaneous.”
“So she’s pregnant.”
“No.” Josh rolled his eyes. “Come on, man.” The suggestion made Josh’s thoughts slide where they shouldn’t go.
“Not that I could blame you. From the pic we saw, she’s Hollywood. Makes Brielle look like a potato with—”
“Hey. No trash-talking Brielle.”
“Fine. I’ll just say you picked your rebound very well.”
Heather gave Chip a visible arm pinch. “Josh made sure they went into it with their eyes wide open. They’re going to be fine.”
Good for Heather, coming to his defense. “I think you’ll like her. But, hey. It’s getting late. I’m heading back tonight. Is that gas station still open down on the corner?”
“You can’t drive back at this hour,” Chip said. “It’s a bad, winding road between here and Starry Point. And it’s supposed to rain.”
“This is the Oregon coast. It’s always supposed to rain. But thanks for this.” He patted his pocket. “I’m sure Morgan will love it.” He hoped that was true. Even if it was a fake-out, he needed her to have something she liked. It was the least he could do for the sacrifice she was making. Geez. She was taking herself off the market for a whole year for him, not dating any of the dozens of guys who’d be asking her out. Sure, she got the monetary benefit from it same as Josh did, but Josh had someone, a sure thing after this was over. Morgan might not, so the incredible ruby ring was a weak consolation prize for that. But it was all he could do at this point.
Chip opened his mouth to protest Josh’s leaving—he had his jacket on—but Heather stopped him. “Chip, hon. He’s a newly married man. He has reasons for wanting to get back.” Heather gave Chip a pointed look and then a wink, and then Chip nodded like he knew a dirty secret.
Good thing they didn’t know how wrong they were about that.
Chapter Thirteen
There came a tapping on Morgan’s window, the one facing the Estrella Court courtyard. She peeled open an eye. It was still dark. She pushed aside the curtains and saw a figure of a man, silhouetted by the light behind him. She stifled a scream and shut the curtain, pulling the covers up over her chest, clutching them.
Just then, her phone beeped a text. She grabbed it, trying not to hyperventilate.
Josh: Can you come outside?
Morgan: Josh. Geez. Don’t scare a girl like that.
Josh: Sorry. Sorry so late. Or early. Or whatever.
Morgan: Give me a couple of minutes.
She hurried, and soon she was out under the stars—which were exceptionally bright tonight. No clouds. Josh was pacing back and forth in the courtyard, between the decrepit bench and the dead hydrangea bush, when Morgan came outside in her fuzzy slippers, teeth brushed but nothing much else done. He looked crazed.
“You all right? You don’t look all right.” A stab of fear pained her. “Did someone find out?” They were going to jail. They had to flee in the night. Phony, marriage-fraud fugitives! Her heart raced.
“No. It’s fine. I’m fine. Just had way too much caffeine in the last couple of hours.” No wonder he looked hopped-up. “I have to work really early tomorrow, er, today, in the lab,” he checked his watch, “in about forty-five minutes, and I didn’t want to wait another day. I’ve been getting questions, and I think you have, too.”
That was an understatement. She hadn’t bothered to return any of the thirty-five missed phone calls or the fifty that had accumulated since then. Her heart slowed to a normal pace.
“Maybe this will make it easier to change the subject.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out something small. It was hard to see in the poorly lit courtyard, but Morgan did catch a little glint as Josh held it toward her. “What? You look kind of disappointed. Don’t you like it?”
She loved it—what she could see of it here in the dark of Estrella Court’s dilapidated courtyard. “No. I mean, I’m sure I’ll like it. It’s just—”
“What?”
“I just kind of told a couple of people you proposed on the beach.”
“Beach it is! Nice we have one so handy.” He grabbed her hand and tugged her toward the parking lot. In a second, she was seated on the roug
h seat cover of his Explorer, at which point she realized just how short her nightgown and robe were. The backs of her legs noted the worn parts of the seat. When was she ever going to be dressed appropriately for any activity she and Josh did together?
By the light of the dash, she could see he’d noted her bare legs as well. “Need a blanket? I’ve got one in the back.” His eyes might have lingered on her legs a little long.
“It’s okay.” She tugged her robe around her shoulders, wishing for at least a sports bra. This was ridiculous. But, she thought, looking out at the night, the moon was sure pretty tonight, or, this morning, or whatever time it was. “The heater is working.” Indeed, it was blowing down on her ankles and warming her just fine for the three minute ride to the beach, which was ending already.
“Do you want to be down by the waves, or is the rocky shore close enough?” Josh asked as he pulled into the parking lot at the beach. He came around and let Morgan out.
There was a fifty-yard walk from the parking lot down to the water. In her fuzzy slippers, she’d rather stay up here. Plus, here by the light of the parking lot’s streetlamp she could see the ring, and Josh’s very nice teeth. The air smelled of salt and pine, the Oregon coast smell.
“Here is good.” A tremor of a chill shook her stomach muscles.
They stood together on the gravelly asphalt. He was so jumpy. She didn’t mind. It was kind of cute to see him all excited. “It’s all out of order,” he said, “but we need a story to tell, and we might as well be telling the same one. Beach proposal it is.”
“We don’t have to include all the details.”
“Like the bats swooping for mosquitoes above us.”
“Exactly. But this works.” Morgan shivered. “We might have to hurry.” Her stomach and kneecaps were trembling from the chill of the night.
Then Josh seemed to come to himself, and he slid to one knee. He pulled out the ring again. Morgan stepped toward him. The waves sloshed in the distance below, and Josh looked up at her with expectancy in his face as she inched closer.
Legally in Love Boxed Set 1 Page 9
