The Right Thing

by McDonald, Donna

  Morgan bit into a fry with no appetite at all. “Saturday morning. There’s a time-sensitive job waiting for me.”

  Thea nodded. Saturday. Two days. And he probably would have liked nothing better than to have just left without her knowing it.

  “I’m sure you’re the best at what you do. I imagine you miss your job after all this time.”

  Not really, Morgan thought, but it was his life. He had to clear his throat to get the next words out.

  “I’ll be on the road for about six weeks all over Nevada. When I settle, I’ll try to give you a call. I’d like to come back in October to visit.”

  Thea nodded and sighed. Her future was going to be nothing more than a constant repeat of routine days. Now she would also have a whole series of empty nights, unless she found someone to replace Morgan.

  She watched Morgan’s mouth as he bit into a fry, remembered those lips and teeth biting into her. It had taken ten years to find someone that interested her a second time in her life.

  She’d likely be Lydia’s age before she found a third.

  “Unless I win the lottery, I imagine I’ll still be in Sedona in October. Give me a call when you get back into town,” Thea said softly. “I’m going to miss you, Morgan Reed. You know how to show a woman a good time when you aren’t investigating her for fraud.”

  “I’m going to miss you too,” Morgan said cautiously, laughing at her teasing, “but—I’m not gone yet, Thea.”

  “No, but you promised to be lousy in bed so I wouldn’t miss you so much. I figure we’ll be fighting by tomorrow night. This is probably the last time I’ll be able to say something nice to you,” Thea joked, sliding from the booth.

  Morgan slid out quickly after her, not wanting to let Thea get away.

  “Well, actually—I might have lied about that a little.”

  He tugged Thea into his arms and used his hands to mold her body to his.

  “I don’t think I can be lousy after all. I want you to miss me.”

  “Already going to happen,” Thea told him, “you don’t have to try any harder.”

  “No. No. I need to make sure you will,” Morgan said, bending his mouth to her neck, travelling up her cheek, and finally over to her mouth for a kiss that took them both to the edge of sanity.

  When they came up for air, Thea put a hand on Morgan’s chest and pushed him off her. “I’m already going to cry every night for a month, Morgan. Don’t make it worse.”

  Then because she wanted nothing more than to fall to the floor and weep over the fact Morgan was leaving, Thea turned on her heel and walked to the kitchen, smacking the swinging doors with enough force to practically knock them off their hinges.

  When Pete walked through them from the kitchen into the dining room a few moments after, Morgan was still standing in front of their booth.

  “Did you and Thea have a fight again?” Pete asked.

  “Something like that,” Morgan said quietly. “Do you think she really will cry when I’m gone?”

  “Thea cried for Angus for a couple of years. Yeah. I imagine she will,” Pete said, rubbing his jaw. “She’s likes you.”

  “I never meant for that to happen,” Morgan said, putting his hands in his pockets. “I have a job. I have to go back.”

  “Do you?” Pete asked.

  Morgan frowned. “Yes. Damn it.”

  Pete laughed. “Well, okay then. I’m going to miss you as well, Morgan Reed. So will your father. Don’t take too long to figure this out. Thea’s been ready to do something different for a while. And I’d like to keep this job.”

  “What are you talking about?” Morgan asked, looking at Pete like he’d lost his mind.

  Pete shook his head.

  “It’s not my place to say.”

  Pete nodded to the customers as they came in.

  “I’ll seat these people and tell Thea. See you tomorrow night.”

  Morgan stood there frowning, then bussed the booth and carried the dishes to the kitchen.

  *** *** ***

  Later than night, they left their clothes by Thea’s front door, washed and aroused each other in the shower, and then made love kneeling on the bed. In the middle of her orgasm, Thea found herself airborne and falling backward. She heard Morgan tell her he loved her, his voice rough and insistent as his body followed hers down.

  Morgan pressed hard into Thea, pinning her strongly to the bed as her body hit the mattress.

  Then he was unrelenting in claiming a woman he considered to be his now, and he did so with long intentional strokes that left no wave unfelt, no motive unclear.

  As far as Morgan was concerned, Thea was his to pleasure, and doing so was the only thought in his mind as he moved in and out of her, his own pleasure waiting patiently as he focused on earning a complete surrender from her.

  Thea felt Morgan’s possession in every cell as what he was doing to her went on and on. She felt him taking her up and over even when she thought there was no place left to go. It seemed like one wave ended only for another to begin, until Thea eventually couldn’t deny any longer that the man moving inside her had a power over her she had refused other lovers in her life.

  When they were still at last, Morgan kissed Thea lovingly, linked both his hands with hers, and buried his face in her shoulder.

  As passion dimmed, anger and resentment grew inside her, replacing the bliss. How was she supposed to live without this in her life now that she knew about it? Thea struggled to move away only to find her hands being held down firmly no matter how hard she fought to free them.

  “That was your idea of good, wasn’t it?” Thea asked bitterly, her voice revealing both the hurt and the amazement of it.

  It had been better than good. It had been the kind of thing a woman never forgot sharing with a man.

  Morgan nodded his head against the curve of her neck and shoulder. “Yes, I suppose that was my idea of good, though it’s never been quite like that before. I’m going to miss you, Thea.”

  “Damn you, Morgan Reed. It was already going to be hard enough to let you go,” she complained, then burst into tears because with her hands held tightly in Morgan’s there was no other reaction open to her.

  Morgan held Thea constrained for as long as he could, trying to find it in himself to be sorry for feeling like she belonged to him, for wanting Thea to think of him instead of other men for the rest of her life. He’d been a goner the first time he’d met her. He wasn’t sure yet how he was going to live without her. He didn’t feel guilty at all for hoping she’d miss him too.

  When Morgan finally let go of Thea’s hands, she punched his shoulders, then wrapped herself around him tightly, her desperate embrace and sobbing bringing tears to Morgan’s eyes as well. No one had ever held him so closely, or wanted him so much.

  God—he really didn’t know how he was going to be able to live without her.

  Cursing the man she held over and over, Thea continued to weep in Morgan’s arms until she finally fell asleep, all emotion exhausted.

  Morgan wasn’t surprised a bit the next morning when he woke up in Thea’s bed alone again.

  This time he understood.

  *** *** ***

  Friday night, Thea refused to be with him, and Morgan finally had the grace to be ashamed for what he put her through emotionally the night before. Instead of letting him spend his last night in Sedona with her, Thea sent him home to his father’s house.

  She had kissed him goodbye at the restaurant and not much more passionately than he’d seen her kiss her cousin Ryan when he left.

  Morgan knew why Thea intentionally put emotional distance between them, and he really didn’t blame her.

  But it still hurt.

  Driving to Flagstaff to catch his plane Saturday morning was the longest thirty minutes he had travelled in ages. By three o’clock Saturday afternoon, Morgan was back in his downtown condo, looking out over the bright lights of the strip.

  His time in Sedona felt almost like
a dream, but his memories of his father and Thea were all too real. His body was physically in Vegas, but his mind was still in rebellion about it. There was definitely a big part of Morgan that honestly didn’t know why he was somewhere other than beside Thea Carmichael.

  But how could he give up his job and the security of his life to chase a woman?

  Thea certainly hadn’t made him any promises, never once said she loved him. Was he just supposed to give up everything up and move to Sedona on the hope that they could work out things? Did people really do that?

  Maybe if he went back to visit in October, he’d have a better idea then.

  Even though he was jet-lagged and tired from the trip, it still took hours for Morgan to get to sleep as he ran through his options, wondering what to do.

  Chapter 19

  “So it’s doubtful you’ll be teaching even in the spring then?” Thea asked, watching Amy roll silverware into napkins.

  “When you graduate in December, the timing is wrong,” Amy told her on sigh. “If I’m lucky, I’ll get to do my student teaching. Usually, you have to apply in April for fall work. Which means it will be at least fall before I can teach full-time. So I’d like to stay on here another year if I can. I can work the dinner shifts and Saturdays, even with my other part-time work.”

  “I know Tom is going to be able to pay you better than I do for working at his office. Pete said he’d help me on the lunch overflow,” Thea said. “I think it would be good for him. He’s teaching his friend Leonard to man the grill.”

  “Pete changed a lot after he started working with Morgan,” Amy said, daring to mention his name.

  Thea had been avoiding talking about Morgan, even in the smallest ways for over a month.

  “Yes, he did,” Thea agreed, opening the menus to slide in the specials for the week.

  Inspired by pasta night and Pete’s improved attitude, they had come up with a sandwich special that ran each week.

  “Have you heard from Morgan?” Amy asked hopefully.

  “No. I didn’t expect to. He said it would be October before he could get back to Sedona,” Thea said carefully. “So are you and Doug still talking about getting married?”

  “If we could find steady jobs we’d already be living together,” Amy said sadly. “One of us has to be able to pay the rent. Living with your parents at our age is tough.”

  Thea frowned. “I’m sorry, honey. I know that must be frustrating.”

  “It is. I never meant to fall in love with a musician. That’s just how it worked out. But Doug is the right one for me,” Amy said softly. “I know he feels the same, so I guess waiting is our only choice.”

  Thea put a hand out and squeezed Amy’s arm. “Things have a way of working out like they are meant to. One day soon, this will be a story you tell your children.”

  Amy stopped what she was doing and put her arms around a surprised Thea for a hug.

  “Thank you for everything. I think when Delilah died I grew up more. I want to make sure I show gratitude to the people in my life who support and help me.”

  “Oh, honey,” Thea said, sniffling. “You’re the best. Good things are coming for you. I just know it. If I ever see a way to offer you a real job here, I would jump at the chance to give you some security.”

  Amy nodded, pulled away, and went back to rolling silverware.

  “If he was here, we’d make this the best restaurant in Sedona. Then you could hire me full time. I still can’t believe he left us. I miss him, Thea. He had this intense energy that just seemed to make life more interesting.”

  Thea knew Amy was referring to Morgan.

  “Yes. He did. I miss him too,” she said, the admission just slipping out.

  Truthfully, the depth of her missing Morgan still shocked her. Sometimes she was so lonely for the man, she ached. He’d been gone several weeks already and October was another four weeks away.

  “He’s not coming back here to live, is he?” Amy asked, seeing the disappointment in the slump of Thea’s shoulders.

  “No. Morgan really can’t do that,” Thea told her. “He has a job in Nevada that he likes and is good at doing. It’s like Ryan and his writing. I can’t imagine Ryan Carmichael settling down in one city for long. Likewise, I can’t imagine Morgan moving here. Sedona is not Vegas.”

  “Well, if Morgan doesn’t want to be here with us, then we’ll just find you another guy who does,” Amy said. “If I find you a guy, will you go out?”

  Thea shrugged. “I might. Life is too short not to take a chance now and again. Look at Gerald and Lydia.”

  “Has she said yes yet?” Amy asked, grinning.

  “No,” Thea said, laughing, “but he’s taken to spending the nights with his car parked in her driveway. I think all their friends are pressuring her to marry him and make the relationship right.”

  “Right. Wrong. How does anyone ever know what that is? It’s so freaking obvious they love each other. That can’t be wrong,” Amy said firmly, gathering up the tray of silverware and sliding it beside the menus.

  “They’re not much different than you and Doug, just older,” Thea said, laughing. “Lydia’s going to say yes. Like you, she’s just waiting for circumstances in their lives to be better. It won’t be long now. I have a feeling.”

  *** *** ***

  Morgan unlocked his father’s house and stepped into the welcoming coolness. He dropped his suitcase just inside the door, not willing to put it into his room yet. He was crossing his fingers that he might need it to go to Thea’s house tonight instead.

  The month he’d been away felt like a year to him. But he was here at last. The last job was over and so was his career now.

  His resignation was submitted and accepted, and he was officially unemployed for the first time in his life. Maybe he should have been worried, but when he thought of Thea, all he really felt was relief to be here.

  Gerald came out of the bedroom. “I heard your car, but I was in the shower.”

  He walked to Morgan, putting his arms around him for a hug. “What took you so long?”

  “I wanted to finish the job before I left for good,” Morgan said easily. “I have to find some storage soon. Everything I own is arriving on Wednesday. It’s not much, but it’s not going to fit in your garage.”

  Gerald shrugged. “We’ll figure it out.”

  “Are you an engaged man yet?” Morgan asked, following his Dad into the kitchen.

  Gerald pulled two beers from the refrigerator and brought them to the table.

  “Beer? Are we celebrating?” Morgan asked on a laugh. His father rarely drank anymore.

  “Welcome home,” Gerald said, clinking his bottle against Morgan’s. “And yes, Lydia finally agreed. You’re the first to know.”

  “What did it take?” Morgan asked, sipping his beer as he grinned.

  Already, the tightness inside him was unwinding.

  “Time,” Gerald said, disgusted. “Too much damn time, but that’s how some women are. You have to wait for their thinking to come around to yours.”

  Morgan laughed. “I’m not good at waiting.”

  “You’ll learn,” Gerald said on a laugh. “Does Thea know you’re back?”

  Morgan shook his head. “No. But I have an appointment with Tom in an hour. I called him when I got to Phoenix. I start at his office in a month. Until then, I thought I might get my old job back at the restaurant.”

  Gerald snorted. “Better hope the new guy doesn’t gain any more ground while you’re busy looking for a job.”

  Morgan wrinkled his face. “New guy? What do you mean?” He took another swallow of beer.

  “Thea’s dating some guy Amy fixed her up with,” Gerald said, wiping his shirt when Morgan spewed a mouthful of beer everywhere. “Well, you primed her pump and left boy. What did you expect she would do? Amy told Lydia that Thea mentioned you hadn’t called.”

  “I don’t know what I expected, but I can’t believe she’s actually dating,” Morgan sa
id, jealousy eating at him. He stalked to the sink and got a towel to clean up the beer. “She was supposed to be waiting for me.”

  “Waiting? For a man that never called in four weeks? No man is that good in bed,” Gerald said, shaking his head at his son. “Women need the whole connection son. You should have called, reminded her you loved her, told her you missed her. No telling what kind of things she’s been imagining about you. At the least, Thea probably thinks you forgot her.”

  “Forgot her? Hell, I came back for her—well, and for you too, but—” Morgan stopped. “Well, shit. I guess I was arrogant enough to think Thea wouldn’t want anyone else after being with me.”

  Gerald laughed. “Well, get over yourself. Fortunately, the guy’s a suit like Tom. I doubt the man has even managed to kiss her. He is good-looking though. You might want to show up in something other than jeans when you go by the restaurant. He comes in for dinner most nights.”

  “Dinner? He’s hanging around her at the restaurant?” Morgan demanded, thinking of how often he had done the same thing.

  Gerald nodded and laughed at Morgan’s consternation. “Get your act together and get over there, Morgan.”

  *** *** ***

  “Amy, take Brad’s table tonight. I’m tired of trying to tell the man I’m not interested. We went to a movie and had dinner. He spent the whole evening talking about his ex-wife. Why would he think I’d want a repeat of that?” Thea exclaimed, shuddering.

  Amy sighed. “Brad seems like such a nice guy. Tom likes him. I think he’s just lonely.”

  “Well, fix him up with someone else if you must, but don’t look at me again. I’m not the solution to his problem. Introduce him to Carol. I see she came in alone tonight,” Thea said, pulling two beers. “She likes men like him.”

  Amy giggled at the irritation in Thea’s tone. Brad was like a puppy around Thea. “I’m sorry I got you into this.”

  Thea sighed. “Don’t be. It’s not your fault. I said yes to a date with him for the wrong reason. I’ve learned my lesson. I’m waiting for some animal magnetism next time.”