Coming Home (The Morgans)

by Savanna Grey

  Tori was shocked at his admissions. How long had he felt this way? Both of them had been so foolish and lost out on so much time together.

  “Do you remember the time you and Kevin climbed the grain bin on the farm, and you fell off the ladder and broke your arm, and I carried you all the way home?”

  She nodded her head yes in response.

  “You were ten. I was twelve.” He continued. “Even then I couldn’t stand the thought of you being hurt.”

  “You carried me all the way home, up the steps and into the house.” Tori remembered. “You didn’t want to put me down until Grandma made you.”

  “Do you also remember your high school prom when Jimmy Johnson’s car got a flat and you had to ride home with me and my date?”

  Tori looked at the slightly guilty look on his face as he brought her thoughts back to that night.

  “It wasn’t an accident.” Drue confessed. “I let the air out of his tire, so that you would have to ride with me. I didn’t want you alone in the car with him, where he could put his hands on you. It drove me crazy thinking about you alone with him in that car.”

  Her eyes were wide in amazement. Never had she even guessed that he would do or want to do anything like that.

  His actions thrilled her to her core.

  “Why are you telling me all this now?” she asked hope springing from its well-hidden nook in her heart.

  “For some reason the fates have given me a second chance with you, and I don’t intend to blow it, Victoria.” He answered, his gruff sweet voice washing through her like satin.

  What was he saying? What did this all mean? She felt like she couldn’t put together two coherent thoughts.

  “In my heart you’ve always been mine. You’ve always belonged here with me. I just wouldn’t let myself believe it would ever come to fruition because of yours and Kevin’s friendship.” He took a breath.

  “What I’m trying to say is that I want to be with you. I love you, Victoria Winslow. I always have. I am not letting you go so foolishly again.”

  He leaned down and gently kissed her, passion just under the surface as their lips met.

  Her heart flipped as tears pricked her eyes.

  “You love me?” she nearly croaked.

  He gently wiped a tear that escaped down her cheek.

  “Yes, my little spitfire, I do. With all my heart, and it’s yours if you’ll take it.”

  Happiness seared her soul at his words…words she thought never to hear from him. Then reality crept in.

  “Drue, I love you too. I always have, but it’s not that simple, is it?” she said sadly.

  “I live in Chicago and your life is here on the farm.”

  “If you want something badly enough, Victoria, then you find a way. We don’t have to have all the answers tonight, do we? We will figure this out together; otherwise the option is being without each other. Now that I have you, I’m keeping you. You’re mine.” Drue finished.

  She wanted to believe him that they could find a way to make this work. She had never wanted anything more, but uncertainty remained. Was she strong enough to see this through no matter how it ended? They had three weeks until she had to be back at work to figure it out. She would just have to have faith that their love truly was strong enough to see them through.

  She shook her head in amazement. Drue loved her. Whatever else happened, she had that to keep her strong.

  “I love you.” was all she said in reply.

  Their lips locked one last time before they headed back out the dirt road toward home.

  As they pulled up the drive to Tori’s home, she couldn’t help but smile at the events of the evening. How things could change in an instant. Her future looked brighter than ever before. Although she was scared, she wouldn’t let fear stand in her way. She didn’t expect to get much sleep tonight.

  Standing on her front porch, Drue kissed her goodnight. It was different now that he had confessed his love for her. It was like a barrier was gone, and it was as natural and comfortable to be in his arms as if she had been there forever.

  “Good Night. Sweet Dreams.” She told him as she opened the front door.

  “I don’t think sweet comes to mind when I’m thinking about what I want to be doing with you right now.” Drue responded.

  He winked and got in his truck and headed home.

  As Tori entered the house, she saw a note from Katy on the hall table. She’d already gone to bed, but the note said she wasn’t off the hook.

  “Dirt at Dawn” was all it said.

  Tori laughed as she read the note. Leave it to Katy to make sure she didn’t miss out on anything.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Tori was up bright and early Sunday morning. Katy was heading back to Chicago around lunchtime, and she knew she’d be waiting to get what she was sure Katy hoped were the “dirty” details.

  A lopsided grin crossed her face as she remembered last night’s events. She hadn’t been dreaming. Drue had said he loved her and that they would figure it all out.

  She had waited a lifetime to hear those words. Now that she had she wasn’t sure what was next. She’d never been down this road before. All she knew was that the situation was different now. She even felt different. Giddy better described how she felt right now. She was certain that her feet were not touching the ground because of floating on cloud nine.

  She was just prepping the coffee when she heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

  “Oh, I see we made it back in one piece, but did ‘everything’ make it back in tact?” Katy asked teasingly as she entered the kitchen.

  Blushing Tori handed her friend a warm mug of freshly brewed coffee.

  “Ah…heaven in a cup.” Katy breathed in the rich aroma.

  “No normal person can live without this in the morning.” she said seriously.

  “Judging by the beautiful blush creeping all the way up your ears, you had an enjoyable ride home from the fair last night, so spill it.” she demanded.

  “Give a girl something to drool about when she has nothing of her own.”

  “He says he loves me – that he always has.”

  Katy’s coffee spilt as she choked on her sip and sat the cup on the table with a loud clink.

  “What?” she sputtered. “Are you serious? What did you say?” she asked as she sat up straighter in her chair and leaned forward as if hanging on Tori’s every word.

  “What do you think I said?” Tori responded. “I love him too – always have.”

  “Oh My God! This is huge – front page we’re talking here, not some page eight editorial fill –in.” Katy said in amazement.

  “What does this mean?” she asked. “I mean, two separate cities, your job, your book…what are you going to do?”

  “We haven’t gotten that far yet.” Tori took a sip of her coffee as Katy asked all the same questions that had been plaguing her since she got up this morning.

  “Drue said we don’t have to have all the answers right this moment, that we will figure it out together. I just hope he’s right.”

  “That sounds logical to me.” Katy continued. “No need to make rash decisions. You’ve admitted your feelings for one another. That’s a big step. Now see where it leads. It’s not like people don’t have long distance relationships.”

  Tori didn’t know how she felt about that. Being apart from Drue wasn’t very appealing. If they were going to make a go at a real relationship, didn’t they need to spend time together to find out where it could lead?

  Although four hours distance away wasn’t that far. If they were truly committed to having a relationship, being required to make that extra effort would mean something, wouldn’t it?

  “You may be right. I just don’t know how all this is going to work. On one hand I’m walking on air, on the other I’m scared to death.” Tori shared with her friend. “I need to stop thinking so much and take it a day at a time.”

  She rinsed out her coffee cup and
placed it in the dishwasher.

  Katy hugged her. “I’m really happy for you, ya know, maybe even a little jealous.” she teased. “Remember if it’s meant to be, it will all work out.”

  She squeezed Katy tight and shook her head in agreement.

  “I think I’ll take a little walk and get some fresh air.” Tori said.

  All this analyzing and fear of the unknown was getting her nowhere.

  “I’ll be back in a little while.”

  “Okay. I’m going to hop in the shower and get situated to head out.”

  Grabbing her sweater, Tori headed out the front door into the crisp October morning air. It was chilly but not uncomfortable. The wind blew leaves lightly across the yard as she made her way around the house up a familiar path to one of her favorite spots, an oak tree that sat on a small hill in between the Winslow and Morgan properties.

  The tree stood tall and proud like an extension of Mother Nature overseeing the land, it’s branches widespread but baron of leaves.

  She sat down and leaned back against the large trunk.

  Really it was her and Kevin’s favorite spot. They had spent many an hour under this tree from pigtails to puberty. Their initials were actually carved on the tree. They had left their marks when they had been-oh when was it- around ten she thought.

  The opportunity for them to really sit down and catch up had not presented itself since she had come home. So much had happened in a week’s time. Had it really only been a week since she came up the drive to the Morgan’s home? She chuckled. She was still having trouble processing all that had happened when she heard leaves rustling and crunching under someone’s feet.

  She looked up and saw – speak of the devil – Kevin coming up the hill towards her.

  “Good Morning!” he greeted her as he reached the top of the hill and sat down beside her. “Fancy meeting you here.”

  “Likewise, although there was a time if people were looking for us, this is where they started.” Tori responded reminiscing.

  Kevin smiled in return. “Doesn’t seem like it’s been six years since we sat here pledging never to lose sight of our friendship as we went our separate ways into dreaded adulthood.” he said as he shuddered.

  “I think we’ve done a pretty good job of keeping that promise, don’t you?” he asked as he clasped her hand and gave it a friendly squeeze.

  It was normal for Kevin to grab her hand, wrestle with her, give her a piggy-back ride or whatever the mood struck. It had never been awkward until this moment.

  His tone held something different in it than usual. She looked up at his face to try and read what he wasn’t saying.

  “I know we have.” answered Tori.

  ‘We have always shared pretty much everything with each other, haven’t we?”

  Tori answered “Yes…”

  “Everything except how you really feel about my big brother.” Kevin said and lifted Tori’s chin with his index finger as she had looked down at her feet at his comment.

  “I have one question.” he continued. “Why not? Why didn’t you feel you could share your feelings for Drue with me? Did you think I’d have an issue with it?”

  Tori wasn’t sure how to explain it to Kevin so that he would understand.

  “I’ve had different feelings for Drue back further than I can remember.” Tori explained. “At first I was embarrassed, a young girl with a crush. Then it grew into more, and I didn’t know what to do. He didn’t seem to see me as more than your annoying little friend who was always around, so when I turned 18, I decided to do something about it.”

  Kevin waited patiently for the rest of the story.

  “Needless to say it didn’t go well. From that night on, I vowed to bury my feelings for Drue and move on with my life. I thought I had, but I guess that was only because I hadn’t been here very much to test that.”

  Tori laughed and shook her head.

  “It’s crazy really. It was like a lightning bolt struck when I came home and ran into Drue, thinking it was you. Feelings that I thought were long gone forged to the surface not to be denied. The even crazier thing is he feels the same way.”

  She looked at Kevin and worried how he would respond.

  “I was embarrassed at first, then I just wanted to forget. Now I’m feeling happier than I ever have and scared to death of how it may or may not end up.”

  She waited for his response. What she would do if Kevin didn’t forgive her for not sharing with him, she didn’t know. He just had to.

  “First of all I already knew you had feelings for him. I just didn’t realize how deep. I know you to well, remember? I even know you’re still a virgin, unless that changed last night.” Tori gasped in surprise at his statement and punched him in the arm.

  “Didn’t think so. Secondly, I know my brother. He’s wired differently than me and certainly more cautious even if what he wants is right in front of him.”

  Suddenly he flipped Tori on her back and lay across her chest playfully pinning her to the ground.

  “Lastly, I love you like a sister. You are already part of my family. There is nothing that would make me happier than for that to become a reality, so go make it happen and if you need help with my sometimes block-headed brother, just let me know.”

  He kissed her forehead and hugged her. Tears filled her eyes as happiness overwhelmed her.

  “Now can we move on? This is old news already.” He teased as he helped her stand.

  “Mom said to be ready for church at ten o’clock on the dot. We’ll pick you up. Don’t be late or you’ll know the wrath of Claire Morgan.”

  Tori smiled remembering how Mrs. Morgan had so easily kept them in line for so many years growing up.

  “Is Katy coming with you?” Drue asked.

  “No, she decided to head out early to hopefully beat traffic this afternoon.”

  “That’s too bad. We had a really good time last night. Tell her I said goodbye.”

  Tori thought she picked up something in Kevin’s voice when he asked about Katy, something a little more than general curiosity.

  “Something happen between the two of you last night?” Tori asked.

  “What? No! We just had a lot of fun that’s all.” Kevin replied defensively.

  “Hmmm. Me thinks thou doth protest too much.” She teased and ran down the hill as he reached out for her.

  “See you at ten.” Tori headed home to get ready for church service. It would be great to see so many of her friends in town.

  Tori didn’t know that Drue had witnessed the entire scene with her and Kevin from afar as he had exited the tool shed and saw Kevin climbing the hill to her.

  His gut was clenched with jealously as he watched Kevin holding her hand. He had almost climbed the hill when he saw Kevin flip her over and lay atop her. When he had kissed her forehead

  that had just about been his undoing. He didn’t want any other man touching her even if it was his brother.

  He knew they were best friends, but dammit, that was his woman.

  He was cleaning his hands as Kevin rounded the vehicles beside the tool shed.

  “Hey, big brother. You better get cleaned up for church. You know what happens when we are late. You’ll end up on the black list with Mom.” he told Drue.

  “Looks like you weren’t too worried about being late up on the hill a few minutes ago.” he answered sarcastically.

  Kevin stopped midstride and turned to face Drue.

  Frowning he said, “You’ve never been one to mince words, so spit it out if you’ve got something to say.”

  “Just looked to me like you were nice and cozy up there under that tree with Victoria.” he grunted.

  “Oh, so that’s what this is about.” Kevin shook his head. “I can see why you might want to be all possessive of someone like Tori, but let’s not forget that she has been my best friend a lot longer than she has been your…” he hesitated and questioned his brother. “Just what is she to you exactly, bro?”<
br />
  Drue’s back went rigid first at Kevin’s words then at his question.

  “That’s none of your damn business.”

  “I’ve always made it my business to know what’s going on with Tori, and you know that. Not going to change just because you’ve decided to take a liking to her.”

  Kevin stood his ground ready to hash this out with his brother.

  “Like?” Drue said incredibly. “You think what I feel for Victoria can be classified as ‘like’? You’re not in the same ball park. Hell, you’re not even in the same state.” he finished bracingly.

  Kevin had lifted his eyebrows in surprise during his brother’s heated torrent.

  “Wow! So that’s how it is, huh? I had no idea you felt that way about Tori.” He shook his head in disbelief.

  “Does she know how you feel?” he asked.

  Taking a deep breath, Drue confessed “Yes, she does. We talked last night. I don’t know what it means, where it will go. I only know I want Victoria in my life.”

  Kevin smiled at his brother.

  “Word of advice. Stop acting like such a knucklehead, and you might have a shot of making that happen.” he teased. “Now come on, or we are both in danger of being late.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  The little brick church that Tori, Drue and Kevin had all been baptized in sat in the middle of town surrounded by trees that flanked all sides standing tall as if guarding the saints within. It’s stain glass windows gleamed in the bright October sunlight.

  Tori had ridden in the truck with the Morgans per Mrs. Morgan’s insistence, which made for close quarters in the back of the extended cab. It was the first contact she had made with Drue since last night’s confession of love, and she felt a little uncertain as to how to act.

  Drue had never been one for public displays of affection, not even as a teen. So when he reached over and clasped her hand as she exited the truck and continued to hold her hand as they walked into church, she was speechless. He gave her hand a reassuring squeeze as if he knew she was uncertain and smiled.

  How did one simple gesture flood her with warmth? It wasn’t the smile really but what she saw reflected in his eyes when he looked at her.