Chasing Morgan

by Jennifer Ryan

  “I didn’t get your name. Who are you?” His tone demanded her answer in no uncertain terms.

  “I’m Morgan.”

  Everything in him went still. He hadn’t expected this. It all became clear. He finally understood how she knew about he and Jenna, Caleb, the kids, Sam . . . and Tyler.

  “You’re Tyler’s Morgan.”

  She laughed with a self-deprecating smile. “Tyler’s Morgan,” she said softly. “Tyler wouldn’t claim me to save his life. What is it you guys like to call me? Oh, yeah, the psychic ghost. I have to say, I don’t really care for the nickname. I’m no ghost, as you can see. I don’t usually talk to ghosts either. I know that was your next question.”

  Stunned, he stood speechless and a little scared. Psychic, she knew things about all of them. Things Tyler sure as hell hadn’t told her. They hardly talked, and when they did, she only called to offer a clue to one of his cases. Tyler had only seen her once. Several years ago, she’d stopped Tyler in a restaurant and told him to find his sister and saved her life by sending Tyler after her. Since then, they’d only spoken on the phone.

  Tyler was obsessed with finding Morgan.

  “You and Caleb can’t tell Tyler where I am.”

  “How’d you know that’s what I was thinking? Can you read my mind?”

  She laughed. “Not really. Not like you think. You’re easy to read. Tyler’s your friend. He’d like nothing better than to find out where I’ve been all this time. He’s frustrated with me.”

  “Angry is more like it.”

  “Exactly. It isn’t time for us to cross paths. Not yet. We weren’t supposed to meet when we did. His sister should have died in that explosion. I couldn’t let that happen. It would have devastated him.”

  “He is close to her,” Jack confirmed. “I can’t imagine losing my sister or brother.”

  “She took a path she wasn’t meant to go down. I had to correct it, or Tyler wouldn’t be where he is right now. He wouldn’t have been there to help Sam with Elizabeth. She was a victim of circumstance. She and Sam will have a good life together.”

  “You know that?” he asked with skepticism and hope all tied up together.

  “They’re meant to be together, like you and Jenna. Cameron will have his dream for a family come true very soon. You and Sam will have a good time watching him stumble through the process. In the end, he’ll make the right decision because she’s the woman intended for him. She’ll already know it. He’ll take some convincing.”

  “You know about Cameron, too?” Cameron worked for Jenna at Merrick International. They were all friends and close as family.

  She put her hands in the back pockets of her jeans and looked up toward the setting sun. She had all the confidence and certainty she needed. “I know about Tyler’s family.”

  “Yes, but how do you know all this?”

  She gave him a cocky smile. “Do you want to talk about psychic and paranormal phenomena? We could have a really good debate about how I do the things I do, and how you don’t really believe I’m capable of seeing the past and the future.”

  “I don’t know what I believe. I know you’ve helped Tyler and Sam a number of times. They say you’re always right.”

  “I’m right about dinner tonight. Sam and Tyler aren’t expected, but they’ll arrive just the same. How do I know that? I just do. I see it. I always know where Tyler is. It’s like seeing a map in my mind, and wherever he is there’s a pinpoint of light. That isn’t exactly how it is, but it’ll give you a reference for how I know.”

  “Does he know you’re aware of him all the time?”

  “Tyler is too concerned with the fact that I give him information I pull out of thin air, and he doesn’t know where I am. He hasn’t considered the bigger picture. He’s obsessed with finding me, but I don’t think he’s actually considered what he’d do once he had me in his sights. His feelings about me are all jumbled up. The only thing he really knows is that it unsettles him that I can do something he can’t explain or accept.”

  Jack smiled mischievously. “He has a thing for you. We all think he’s half in love with you already. A one-minute conversation changed his life. You changed his life.”

  “Yes. And soon I’ll do the same for you. In order for that to happen, you’ll have to keep my secret. I mean it, Jack. You and Caleb can’t tell him I’m here, or that you’ve seen me.”

  “Why not? What harm is there in the two of you finally seeing each other again? I think you and Tyler could be great together.”

  If only that were true. Unfortunately, their meeting would be tumultuous. She couldn’t see it all clearly, but she understood when they finally did come together, his case would drag her into a dark and dangerous world. She couldn’t tell Jack all of that. He might give her the benefit of the doubt, and he did doubt, but he wanted the best for Tyler. She did too. She wanted the best for all of them.

  “It’s important, Jack.”

  His eyes narrowed with suspicion. Okay, not a good enough explanation.

  “What if I told you that if you tell Tyler where I am, harm might come to someone in your family? Someone you love could be hurt. Would you risk it just so you wouldn’t have to lie to Tyler?”

  “Is something going to happen to someone in my family? Have you seen something? Who’s going to be hurt?”

  She ignored his concern and his questions, though she knew his feelings ran deep.

  “Would you risk it, Jack? Because I won’t. Not even so I can see Tyler now, instead of on a future date I can’t pinpoint.”

  “I’d never risk my family. Who’s going to be hurt?”

  “I won’t tell you that.”

  He dropped the glass in his hand. It shattered on the gravel drive.

  His anger came fast and swift. She’d known he’d be upset about any threat to his family, but she hadn’t anticipated his actions. He grabbed her by the arms, lifting her from the ground so they stood face-to-face. His eyes narrowed and filled with rage. The anger washed over her like the heat of a wildfire and took her breath away.

  “You’ll tell me who’s in danger, and you’ll tell me now.” He spaced out each word to make sure she knew he meant business.

  “Jack . . . Put . . . Me . . . Down.”

  She struggled to assert herself, even though she looked like every ounce of energy had drained from her body. Afraid to let her go, her skin turned translucent and the deep blue of her eyes faded and dulled. It looked like he’d hurt her, and he’d barely touched her. She’d wilted like a flower in the desert heat.

  He set her back on her feet gently and kept his hands on her arms to hold her steady. He brushed a hand over her golden hair. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

  “I’ll be fine.”

  She took a step away and erected a wall to block the remains of his anger. She never thought she’d need one between them. She’d made a mistake in not remembering his love of his family and his overwhelming need to protect and keep them safe. She wouldn’t make that mistake twice. Out of practice dealing with people in person, the computer allowed her anonymity. Maybe a little too much anonymity.

  “Listen. Just tell me what you know about my family. I need to know. I have a right to protect what’s mine.”

  “Yes, you do.” Feeling stronger by the minute, Jack’s concern replaced his anger.

  “Then, tell me who it is.”

  “It won’t help you to know.”

  “I’m not playing games here, Morgan. I want to know. Now.”

  “It’s complicated, Jack. Let me lay it out for you this way. Everyone’s life flows in a line like a river. We’re born and we age. There’s no going back to the beginning, or changing the past. The future is the only thing we are capable of changing because it hasn’t happened. There’s a process to life. Every action has a reaction. If you do or don’t do something, that action can affect the future. In the case of Tyler’s sister, an event changed the timeline and sent her down another path, one she wasn’t m
eant to take.”

  “Okay. So you fixed the line and put her back on the right path by telling Tyler to go and get his sister.”

  “Right. Simplified, but right. She wasn’t meant to be in that house when it exploded. The future she might have had before being there changed. Tyler saved her, and now she has a completely new future.”

  She had to take another deep breath to help clear the last shimmers of Jack’s anger from her system. “The vision I have of your family’s future has an event where someone will be harmed.” She left it vague. She didn’t want to tell him she saw someone shoot his little boy. That would only send his anger into overdrive again. “In the vision, I intervene and prevent the person from being harmed.”

  “How do you prevent it? Why not just tell me? Then, I can make sure the event doesn’t happen at all.”

  “It doesn’t matter how I prevent it. I can’t be specific enough about the vision to say, ‘Don’t go here on this day.’ I don’t know which day it is, and it’s an event that happens in your family often enough to make it difficult to say exactly when it will happen.”

  “Either you’re deliberately trying to confuse me, or you’re being vague to piss me off.”

  “I’m not doing either,” she snapped.

  She couldn’t get Tyler to accept what she did and the things she saw. It shouldn’t surprise her Jack remained just as skeptical.

  “I’m simply trying to explain the event I see is something you do all the time. I can’t pick out a specific enough time to tell you when it will happen, except to say that on this occasion I’m there to stop the person from being harmed.” She put her hand up to stop him from interrupting again. “Now, if you tell Tyler where I am, you change the timeline. The event I see happening will still happen, but I might not be there at that time because you’ve changed things. You see, the event happens on a day that Tyler and I meet again. In the vision, he isn’t expecting me to be there. That, I know for sure.”

  “So, you’re saying if I change things now, it could change things then.”

  “Exactly. You don’t like lying to Tyler, or keeping secrets from the people you love. But you can’t risk one of your family members getting hurt. Right?”

  “I’ll make the deal, if you swear the person won’t be harmed.”

  “I can’t promise. What’s meant to be will be. I can only tell you in my vision I keep them safe.”

  She had to make him understand. Just because she saw something in the future didn’t necessarily make it absolute. “We’re talking about a future event. When I see the vision it’s only the truth so long as none of the events leading up to it aren’t altered. The future isn’t written in stone. I can only promise that if I show up at the event in the future, and it happens the way I envision it, I’ll stop the person from being harmed.”

  “Then how do I know my meeting you now hasn’t altered that future already?”

  “Because I knew you were coming today because you want to put your horses on my land.” She gave him a brilliant smile.

  “You did?”

  “Yes. I also know that Sam and Tyler are on their way. Go home to your family. Leave the future to fate. Let life happen.”

  His frown deepened. He didn’t quite believe her, but he couldn’t ignore her prediction either.

  “Go home. Have your family dinner with everyone. Decorate cupcakes and enjoy the evening. Things are as they should be. Tyler will wait. It’s how it’s meant to be. He isn’t ready to see me. He hasn’t figured out what he wants from me, besides to ring my neck for not doing what he wants, when he wants it.”

  He took a deep breath and accepted he couldn’t change a future he couldn’t see with a slight nod. “Will you be all right here alone?”

  “I’m fine. I’m not alone. I have Tyler, whether he likes it or not. I hope I have you, too, Jack. I hope we can be friends.”

  “We are.”

  Struck by his certainty, it had been a long time since someone simply accepted her for who she was. She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “Thank you.” Her voice cracked, despite her valiant attempt to hide her emotions. “I can’t wait to see the horses.”

  “You’re welcome at the ranch anytime you want to visit. Jenna would love to meet you.”

  She smiled. She’d be a part of their lives soon enough. They had their own living to do for the time being. “We’ll see. Like I said, I don’t do well around people.”

  “Let me clean this up for you.” Jack indicated the broken glass at their feet.

  “I’ll take care of it.”

  “Sorry about that.”

  He boosted himself up on Blue and stared down at the striking woman who’d kept them all guessing for years. She wasn’t what he’d expected. He didn’t think she was what Tyler would expect either.

  “I won’t tell Tyler, or anyone else, you’re living here. I’ll bring the horses myself and take care of the fences and water. I’ll be the one to check on them. If I have to send someone else, I’ll tell him to stay clear of the house. Is that okay?”

  He wouldn’t involve Caleb. He didn’t want to make his brother-in-law lie to the family too.

  “That’s fine.”

  “Do you have everything you need?” He looked around again at the house and the SUV parked in the driveway. The car wasn’t new, but it looked well maintained.

  “I’m fine, Jack. I work from home, so I’m here most of the time. Don’t worry about me. I’ve gotten along for a lot of years on my own.”

  “Okay, then. Oh, about the money?”

  “The amount you have in mind is okay with me.”

  “You know the amount?”

  She gave him a cocky half grin and winked. “I sure do.”

  “Tell me what it is.”

  “Goodbye, Jack.” She’d let him question that for a while. It would drive him crazy wondering whether she really knew or not.

  WITHIN THE MONTH, Jack arrived several times with small herds of horses. In the end, there were more than twenty-five beauties in her pastures. She visited with them often. Jack spent time working on the fences, and she enjoyed hearing about what Tyler and Sam were up to. It was strange getting information about Tyler from someone who knew him personally. Everything she learned about him came as glimpses from his mind. She still didn’t understand the connection between them, but she’d learned to accept it. She wished Tyler would do the same.

  The first month the horses arrived on her property, Jack came to pay her for the use of the pastureland minus the amount for the improvements to the fences and water lines.

  He gaped at her when she caught him lying about the amount.

  “This isn’t the agreed-upon fee. You know it and, more importantly, I know it. You just wanted to see if I’d say anything, or if I’d know. Shame on you, Jack,” she said and tried not to laugh.

  “Oh, come on. I just wanted to see if you were pulling my leg, or if you really did know what I was thinking.”

  “I know. It’s okay.” She didn’t really care about the money, but he handed over another hundred dollars. She accepted it and his juvenile behavior. Used to it, people questioned her all her life about whether she really had a gift, or if she was simply lying.

  “How’s the baby?”

  “Beautiful like her mother. Come to the house and see her.”

  She would love to see the baby. She wanted one of her own and a family like Jenna and Jack had created. Not in the cards. Her future remained uncertain, shrouded in a thick fog she couldn’t see past. Frustrating as hell to see other’s so clearly, but not her own.

  Her future rested on the outcome of seeing Tyler again . . . and beating the evil waiting for her.

  “We’ll see.”

  “You won’t come, will you?”

  “It’s not time yet. You’re going to California tomorrow.”

  Jack smiled. A last-minute trip, Jenna had some work to do at Merrick International. “Yeah. Want to come? You could see Tyler.”

&n
bsp; “Not yet. Timelines, Jack. This trip you’ll spend time with Cameron. He’s got quite a journey ahead of him.”

  “Yeah? I hear he’s got a new woman in his life. I hope Emma likes her.”

  She concentrated on Cameron, his daughter, and their life. The woman in his life now swirled Cameron’s future into chaos, sweeping up his past and obscuring his ability to see things clearly. The second woman had the ability to bring him into the eye of the storm where everything was calm and clear. There, he’d find the future he wanted—for him and Emma.

  “Emma won’t like the woman who’s there now. She’ll like the second one.”

  Jack knew she wouldn’t tell him anything more. He’d reluctantly accepted that about her over the last month.

  “I’ll see you soon.” He slid back into his truck, shaking his head, and left her alone on her porch, an angel with golden hair and a smile on her lips.

  “I can’t wait to see Tyler’s face when he sees you again.”

  Chapter Three

  * * *

  Present day . . .

  “I HATE PAPERWORK,” Tyler grumbled and grabbed the coffeepot, pouring himself a second cup. Might as well have an apple-raspberry turnover from Decadence to go with it. The food would be good, even if the coffee was several hours old and probably tasted closer to motor oil.

  Ever since his partner, Sam, met and married Elizabeth, he’d gained ten pounds and spent an extra day at the gym each week trying to keep from gaining ten more. The fact that she owned and ran two of the best places to eat in the city didn’t hurt. He often ate at both places. Most of the time it was so he could see her and his other friends. They just happened to be Sam’s family, his twin brother Jack, along with Jack’s wife Jenna and their three kids. Cameron Shaw was another friend and part of the group. Jenna was the CEO and Cameron the president of Merrick International. Cameron had recently married Martina Fairchild.

  All his buddies were married with children.