by Mya O'Malley
Wasted Time
By Mya O’Malley
Blue Tulip Publishing
www.bluetulippublishing.com
Copyright © 2015 MYA O’MALLEY
This is a work of fiction. Names, places, characters, and events are fictitious in every regard. Any similarities to actual events and persons, living or dead, are purely coincidental. Any trademarks, service marks, product names, or named features are assumed to be the property of their respective owners, and are used only for reference. There is no implied endorsement if any of these terms are used. Except for review purposes, the reproduction of this book in whole or part, electronically or mechanically, constitutes a copyright violation.
WASTED TIME
Copyright © 2015 MYA O’MALLEY
ISBN: 978-1-942246-65-7
Cover Art by Jena Brignola
For Alexandra, Alan, Mom and Dad. Thank you for all of your love and support.
PROLOGUE
HER FACE WAS THE only thing that had kept him sane during his deployment. At this moment, however, thoughts of Morgan had been pushed to the side for reasons of pure survival. Declan wiped the mud from his eye with a swift movement of his hand, just quick enough so that he could see again. Booming thunder went off near and far.
Swearing under his breath, Declan closed one eye and squinted the other shut as he spied his target. Breathe. One, two, three… he could do this. The first time he’d had to shoot another man he had faltered, hesitated only the briefest of seconds, during which time the man escaped his line of sight and shot a fellow soldier in the leg, causing serious injury.
This time, Declan concentrated, aimed his M4 rifle, and fired. The distinct thud of a man dropping to the ground confirmed the target had been hit. Swiping at the sweat in his eyes from the sweltering mid-day heat, Declan gulped and struggled to his knees. Lining up his rifle again, his neck and shoulders ached with fatigue. He bit down and gritted his teeth, tasting dirt while fighting off the pain.
It seemed as if hours had gone by, when in fact, it had probably only been minutes when finally the haunting sound of gunfire ceased. Not one to trust silence in any setting, Declan mentally counted upward until he reached near fifty.
“All clear,” his buddy, Sean, called out. “All clear.”
Declan, always cautious, still maintained his position until he heard his fellow soldiers from his platoon begin to speak. Peeking up from his ravine, Declan rose slowly to his feet as the rifle was pressed to his side.
Surveying the damage, it appeared that several of their enemies were lying still on the ground. The man he had shot lay still, appearing lifeless. Another man lay several feet away. It seemed the enemies had taken off, deserting the boundaries of the mountainous terrain of Afghanistan. His platoon mates fell silent, all business as they quickly gathered their belongings to head back to base.
Declan clutched his rifle, drawing closer to his victim. Curiosity had gotten the best of him. Fully aware of his previous actions, Declan stepped even closer. He had never killed a man before — injured, yes, but never killed. This man did not appear to be alive.
His heart sped up as sweat caused his fatigues to cling to his body. For God’s sake, the man looked to have been only in his early twenties at best. What have I done? What are we doing here? Waves of nausea rose and Declan swallowed hard.
“Hey! Step back!” Sean called out. “Move out! I repeat, move out!”
Hearing his friend call out to him, Declan turned toward the sound of his voice, realizing his mistake seconds too late. He should have known better; he should have. But no amount of training can prepare you for taking another man’s life.
Glancing swiftly at Sean through tear-stained eyes, he saw the movement in his peripheral vision. Sean raced to the open dirt road. They were sitting ducks, in plain sight. The man that Declan had presumed dead, the one he had shot, raised his own rifle and fired at Sean, who dropped instantly to ground.
“No! No!” Declan spun his head back to the imminent threat, a moment too late. The force of the explosion knocked him to the ground in an instant. Morgan’s face was the last thing that registered in his mind as another shot fired, leaving his world black.
CHAPTER ONE
Two Years Earlier
MORGAN HUSTLED DOWN THE hallway — traffic had been awful that morning since a construction crew had created a nearly thirty-minute delay. One thing Morgan abhorred was being late, for anything, but especially for work. It wasn’t like she worked in an office where she could slide in and nobody would notice. Being a teacher meant being there on time, or her students would be left standing in the hallway with their bus aide. No, she couldn’t have that. Clutching her books to her chest, she scurried toward her classroom.
“Oh! Excuse me!”
A body slammed into her, causing her books and papers to scatter across the floor. Irritation coursed through her until she glanced up to see the person who had knocked into her. A pair of piercing dark blue eyes met hers and she stood, as if transfixed. Neither spoke for a brief moment until the man cleared his throat, breaking the silence.
“I… I’m sorry. I didn’t see you.” The deep voice caused her to stare at this man once more.
Irritation was long gone as she took in his shaggy black hair and fair skin. Dressed in camouflage attire, she couldn’t control her racing heart as she gazed up at this man.
“Here, let me help you.” The man bent down to gather Morgan’s books and papers.
“Oh! Thank you.” Scooting down to help gather her things, she was embarrassed to notice that she had just left her materials lying there on the floor. Suddenly it hit her that the morning bell was about to ring.
“Listen, thanks for your help. I have to run!” She grabbed the books from him and sprinted down the hallway with a smile escaping her lips.
What was that man even doing here? Recalling that there was an assembly today for the older students about community jobs, she figured he must be here to present for the children. As the bell rang its final call for line up, Morgan was settled in her classroom and just about ready for class.
“Good morning.” Her classroom aide, Elle, walked through the door moments later. Apparently Elle had hit the same traffic.
“Hey, good morning. Do you mind bringing the kids in? I just have to check on something.”
Elle nodded as she placed her bag and jacket down in the closet.
Her aide was new to this; it was her first experience working in a school, but so far this year she was proving to be reliable and great with the kids. The class was an inclusion Pre-K class, some of the children had Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) stating their goals and objectives; others did not. Morgan made a mental note to ask Elle if she had ever considered going back to school to be a teacher; she thought Elle would be wonderful at the job.
After perusing her calendar for the day, Morgan sighed as she realized she had forgotten to get more celery and cream cheese for her snack project later that afternoon when her second group of students arrived. No matter, she would just run out at lunchtime and pick up the items.
The morning flew by, her mind occupied by snack time, art projects, and recess for her kids. The man in the hallway came to mind several times and she caught herself grinning.
“Somebody’s having a good day,” Elle noted as the women sat on the painted green bench near the swings with the wind whipping across the playground. Swiping a strand of hair from her eyes, Morgan was coming to realize that her aide was very observant.
“Hectic, but good, yes.” Morgan nodded while scanning the playground. Sara was swinging a bit too high for her liking. Rising to her feet, Morgan walked over to Sara, asking her to slow down. Everyone else seemed to be playing nicely, so Morgan headed back to the be
nch and settled in next to Elle once more.
“How’s everything with Billy?”
Billy was Elle’s boyfriend of several years. He had come by to pick Elle up a few times and Morgan liked him immediately. He seemed considerate and attentive to Elle.
“He’s great. We’re great. How about you? When are you going to make time in your life for a guy?”
They had discussed this before. Morgan would rather be alone than jump through all the hoops of dating. Thinking back to Sam, her old high school boyfriend of three years, she bit her lip. She and Sam had been good together, but it seemed that he couldn’t wait for Morgan to return home from college. Perhaps he wasn’t to blame, four years was a long time to wait. Seeing each other on random weekends and breaks hadn’t been enough. They had parted ways amicably enough, but no longer stayed in touch. When and if the time came for another boyfriend, Morgan would be open to the idea, but no, she wasn’t about to go out searching for a guy.
“If it’s meant to be, it’s meant to be.” Side by side, the two women chuckled as Elle joined in and finished the sentence for Morgan.
“We should grab a cup of coffee one day after work. How does that sound?”
Morgan could use a friend. Most of her friends had moved away after college, starting graduate school, getting engaged.
“Sure. Sounds great,” Elle agreed. “Hey, what’s Tommy doing over there?”
Shielding her eyes from the blinding sun, Morgan rose to her feet as she saw Tommy heading towards the edge of the property.
“Sit. I got this one.” Elle was off, calling for Tommy.
Once more, the man from this morning flitted into her thoughts. She could ask around, see who he was, but no, that wasn’t her style. Curiosity continued to plague her, though.
When it was finally time to dismiss her morning class, Morgan headed towards her car for her run to the store. Since she only needed those few items to make her “ants on a log,” Morgan would have enough time to prepare for her afternoon group and eat her peanut butter and jelly sandwich she had packed that morning.
“Hey.”
It was that voice again. Glancing up, she took in the man from that morning in the hallway. There went her heart again. He was even more handsome than she had recalled.
“Oh, hi.” Red heat slowly traveled to her cheeks.
“I’m sorry. I never got the chance to introduce myself. You took off so fast this morning. I’m Declan. Declan Blake.” He extended his large hand as Morgan reached over to shake it.
“I’m Morgan. Morgan Matthews. Pre-K Inclusion teacher here at Willow Brook School.”
The man’s eyes bored into hers. “Are you a Special Education teacher?”
“Yes, I am.” Why did she find it difficult to find her voice?
“Wow, that’s a noble profession. My cousin was classified learning disabled. I think it’s a wonderful thing that you do.”
“Thanks. How about you? I see that you’re in the service.”
“The Army. I joined a while back. I’ve always wanted to join, but I got sidetracked for a while. I headed toward construction after school, the union benefits were great and all, but I didn’t feel fulfilled, you know?”
“So you signed on.” Morgan felt comfortable with this man; conversation flowed easily.
“Yes, I went to basic training, continued on to the Army National Guard, and now I’m back in construction and in the reserves.”
It didn’t go unnoticed that he didn’t take his eyes off her.
“Now that’s a noble profession.” Morgan grinned at him, unable to look away. For a moment, they stood, gazing into each other’s eyes.
Morgan broke the stare and glanced around the parking lot. “Well, Declan Blake, it was nice to meet you.” With a smile, she extended her hand. Declan took it and held on a bit longer than necessary.
“Morgan Matthews, it’s been a pleasure.” His smile reached his eyes as he continued to grasp her hand. “Hey, do you have time to grab a cup of coffee?”
Grabbing a cup of coffee with this man seemed like her idea of heaven, but she knew that she didn’t have the time right now.
“I’m sorry. I have to run to the store and be back here for my second class of the day.” He must have noticed the regret in her eyes, because he persisted, trying once more.
“Okay, how about grabbing that cup of coffee after school, say around four o’clock?”
There was nowhere she’d rather be. “Sure, sounds great. Want to meet at the diner up the road?”
“Milly’s it is. Four o’clock.” With a sexy salute, he was off to his pick-up truck.
Morgan had no idea that she was holding her breath until she released a huge sigh. Something told her that this guy was special. Placing her hand on the car door, she watched him walk away before getting in. She sat for a moment, unable to get that grin off her face, before heading to the store.
What was that all about? It had been quite a while since a woman had evoked that kind of reaction from him. From the moment he had smacked into her in the hallway, he hadn’t been able to get her out of his head. During the assembly, he had continually scanned the audience, looking for her, but he never spotted her. Nor did he run into her again in the hallway. At one point he had even walked the hallways, feigning that he was lost, until a custodian directed him to the lobby doors.
Once he was in the parking lot, Declan took his time meandering over to his pick-up truck. He would wait five minutes; that was all.
His appearance at the assembly had been a hit, as some of the teachers invited him back to their rooms for a question and answer session. By the time he was finished, it was just about lunchtime. Teachers had to eat, right? And sometimes they went out to eat. Just four minutes more.
With only two minutes left, he spotted her walking toward him with long legs, and dark, wavy hair whipping in the wind. Come on, man, you can do it. Just talk to her.
Was it his imagination or had she appeared interested too? He could have been standing there making a complete fool of himself; a woman like that was bound to have a boyfriend, a husband even. But she had said yes to his invitation for coffee and now here he was, sitting across from this unbelievably stunning creature.
“Did you always know that you wanted to teach?”
“Pretty much. I mean, my mom used to hear me every day after school playing teacher with my dolls and stuffed animals.” She blushed sweetly.
Somehow he could picture that; he could almost see her as a little girl, standing there, speaking to her toys. A light chuckle escaped as he met her gaze.
“What’s so funny?” Her own laughter sounded in the room.
He liked the way her eyes crinkled when she laughed; hell, he liked everything about this woman, from her beautiful looks to her shy, sweet smile.
Hours flew by, conversation flowing. At one point, they had stopped to order a piece of cheesecake to share. It was as if he had known Morgan for a very long time; it felt natural being with her. He needed to see her again, that much was clear to him.
“Would you like to go to dinner on Friday?” The words were out before he could even mull it over.
“I’d like that.” Without hesitation, Morgan agreed to meet him again.
Perhaps he should make sure that she was single, that she didn’t have a boyfriend first, but he knew instinctively that she wasn’t that type of girl. Luck must be on my side, stumbling across Morgan, he mused.
“I had a nice time, meeting you here.” Morgan spoke softly, lifting her gaze to meet his.
He reached across the table and held on to her slender hand. Sparks ran through his body and judging from her expression, she felt it too. Feeling like a shy schoolboy, he gulped softly. He didn’t want to leave, but knew from the darkness outside that it was getting late.
“Let’s get out of here.”
After helping Morgan with her jacket, he took hold of her hand, natural as could be, and led her to her car in the moonlit parking lot. N
ight air created a chill and Morgan shivered slightly. He leaned over and rubbed her arms.
Dammit, this woman created emotions, reactions in him that he’d never experienced. Before he could question it, he impulsively lifted her chin and placed his lips to her soft ones. Groaning to himself, he gently paused, savoring the moment, never wanting it to end.
“Wow.” It was a whisper, barely audible.
“Wow.” Declan’s whisper matched hers. They had exchanged numbers back at the table and Declan knew that it wouldn’t be long before he found himself calling her.
“Miss Matthews, have a good night.” He attempted to walk away, but it was as if he had no control.
This time the kiss grew more intense as his heart rate increased. Breaking free before he got himself in trouble, he pulled back. “You’d better go or I won’t be held responsible for my actions.”
This got a strong chuckle out of Morgan. “Good night, Declan Blake.” With the blow of a kiss from her hand, she was off.
CHAPTER TWO
HE CALLED FOR THE first time that very night. Just as Morgan was settling down for bed, her mind was wrapped around Declan Blake. This was nothing like it had felt with Sam, even when they had first started dating. No, it was worlds away from anything Morgan had ever experienced. Hearing about love at first sight had seemed utterly ridiculous to her. Never a believer in such nonsense, Morgan grinned widely as she pulled her arms tightly around herself.
The jarring sound of her ringer startled Morgan, snapping her out of her thoughts. Glancing at the caller ID screen, she lit up — his number was programmed in her phone already. Morgan’s heart did flip-flops as she took the call.
“Hi, Morgan.” The sound of his voice only accelerated her heartbeat more.
“Hey, Declan.” Trying to play it cool, she steadied her voice.
“Is it too soon to call? I couldn’t wait.”
