by A. C. Arthur
“Harry,” she began, hating the sick feeling creeping in the pit of her stomach.
“No. Please don’t interrupt me,” he said. “I’ve been practicing this for years but I’m still as nervous as a schoolboy.”
Harry chuckled and Morgan shook her head. “But Harry, I don’t think—”
“Right,” he said, reaching into his coat pocket. “I don’t want you to think. Not just yet anyway. Let me just get this out.”
“But—” Morgan tried again to stop him.
“Morgan Ann Langston Hill,” he began loudly. “I swear I’ve been in love with you since the sixth-grade dance when you brought me that cup of water after I choked on those dry, stale crackers.”
She remembered that day and now she couldn’t help but think it might have been easier to simply let him choke. Surely, someone else would have saved him. Maybe Patsy Glenn would have done the honors. Then Harry would be at Patsy’s doorstep right now making a fool out of himself, instead of at Morgan’s.
“I can’t think of any other woman but you. I didn’t have anything to offer you when we were young. You went away to college and I vowed that I’d have my own place and my own business started by the time you returned. That way I could take care of you, of us and our family. Then you came back and got married before I could even get over here to see you.” Harry sighed.
“I watched you all those years with him and then you had his babies and I just wanted to die. But I didn’t and he did and I thought, ‘Thank You, Lord. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You.’ I knew it was my time. But I had to let you grieve. I’ve always been slow. My daddy says that all the time. Anyway, I’m not moving slow anymore. Morgan, I’m asking you to be my wife.”
With one hand Harry popped open the little black box. There was a diamond staring back at her, like an eye judging her for allowing him to get this far when she already knew what her answer was.
“Harry...” she began.
He shook his head. “No. I want you to take a few minutes. Inhale the crisp Christmas Eve air and think about all that we’ve been through and all that we can be to each other. I can adopt the twins. You can move into my place or I can move in here until we find something bigger. We can be a family, Morgan, just like we’ve both always wanted.”
She had wanted a family and for a while Morgan had thought it would be with a man from Temptation. That notion had been dispelled when she’d married James. Now, she had this guy who had been born and raised here. Harry had roots here, he loved this town and he wasn’t going anywhere. That’s exactly what Morgan always thought she wanted. Until Gray.
“No, Harry. I’m sorry, but I cannot marry you,” she told him.
The words seemed cold, or was it the breeze that had decided to blow at just that moment?
Harry shot to his feet instantly.
“You didn’t think about it long enough,” he said. “Let’s go inside. Maybe you’re too cold to think.”
“No, it’s not that,” Morgan said even as Harry stepped toward her.
She stepped back, letting him into her house.
“Harry, I’ve always thought of you as a good friend,” Morgan began. This had to be done and it had to be done right now. Harry needed to know that he should move on without her.
“I’m not in love with you,” she said simply.
“But we’re good friends,” Harry said, looking at her as if he was really trying to understand her words. “A husband and wife should be good friends.”
“We are,” she told him. “And I know that a married couple should have a friendship. But that’s not enough, Harry. Not for me or for you. There should be love. You should love your wife above all else and cherish her.”
“I’ve cherished you for so long, Morgan. And I shouldn’t have waited. I’m so sorry, I shouldn’t have waited.”
He moved closer and Morgan took another step back. She didn’t like how Harry was looking at her.
“I won’t wait any longer, Morgan. I won’t let you make us wait,” he said as he reached out and grabbed her by the arms.
“Let go of me,” she said, trying to remain calm.
“No,” Harry insisted. “Not this time.”
“I’m serious, Harry, let me go!”
Instead, Harry grasped her arms tightly and lifted her right off her feet before pushing her back until she slammed into the wall. “I’m not going to let you go. Not. Again!” he screamed into her face.
Then Morgan felt like she was sliding. Harry’s grip on her was quickly released and before she could speak she was sliding down the wall to her knees.
“I believe the lady answered your question,” Gray yelled at Harry.
Harry was now on the floor beside Morgan’s broken coffee table, where Gray had tossed him across the room.
“You!” Harry blurted, quickly coming to his feet.
Morgan stood as well. She had déjà vu, only with a different cast of characters. Knowing how the previous incident had ended, she hurried over to stand in front of Gray.
“Harry, I want you out of my house before I call Sheriff Duncan over here and have you arrested for assault. That would ruin your mother’s Christmas, now wouldn’t it?” she shouted at him.
“He doesn’t love you!” Harry yelled. “He’s just using you! I know it, half the town knows it! Hell, his assistant, who’s known him forever, knows it. You’re the only one too blind to see it.”
“I want you to go,” Morgan said, trying valiantly to ignore his words.
“You heard her,” Gray insisted. “Get out and don’t come back.”
“I’ll do whatever I damn well please,” Harry shouted back, but he moved toward the door.
“Not to her and not anymore,” Gray continued. He moved toward the door as well. “This is the last time I’ll see you here.”
“Oh, yeah?” Harry asked as he stepped to Gray.
“Yes,” Gray answered without hesitation as he stepped toward Harry. “Don’t let the suit fool you,” Gray warned. “I’ll break your jaw before you can throw the first punch and that’ll only be the beginning.”
There was something sexy about those words, spoken so icily and coming from a man dressed in a designer black suit. He looked formidable, almost like those gangsters in mob stories. His tone sounded deadly enough that it wouldn’t have surprised Morgan one bit if he’d reached behind his back and pulled a gun from the band of his pants.
Harry must have thought the same thing, or something in that neighborhood, because he backed away so quickly he almost fell through the door.
“You’re gonna be sorry,” Harry continued, still yelling as he walked to his truck. “When he breaks your heart, Morgan, you’re gonna be so sorry you let me walk away. And I’m not gonna let you back in. Even when you’re crying and sorry, I won’t!”
Harry pulled off with a screech of tires and Morgan slammed the door. She leaned into it, letting her head fall as she wondered how the hell she’d missed Harry’s true feelings for her. If she’d cut him off earlier, years ago, this would have never happened.
“Hey,” Gray said, touching a finger to her chin and lifting her head until she was staring up at him. “He’s a fool.”
She began shaking her head. “No. He’s not. He was just in love with me.”
“No,” Gray told her simply. “If he was truly in love with you he would beg, steal, tear down walls and climb mountains to keep you.”
Morgan didn’t know what to say to that. She didn’t know what had made Gray say it and she was too afraid to ask. Instead, she accepted his hug and the warmth of his sweet kiss. She did not, however, contemplate the words that Harry said about Gray using her, or the fact that Kym had basically said the same thing. She wouldn’t think about what might possibly happen between her and Gray in the future. Not right now.
* * *
“Let it be Christmas every day!” Ethan shouted, a huge grin spread across his face.
Arielle Beaumont, who played Tiny Tim, simply shook her head. They’d spent three hours yesterday going over this part. Morgan had corrected Ethan at least four times, telling him the line was “I will keep Christmas in my heart,” but Ethan, true to form, did his own thing.
“God bless us, every one,” Arielle stated, her voice loud and clear over the chuckles that had begun.
The stagehands, Lenny and John Petrie, pulled on the curtains until they closed completely and the crowd continued to clap. Morgan let out a deep breath. It felt like she’d been holding it in for the last four hours, when final preparations for this evening’s event had kicked off.
Mayor Pullum took the stage then, with Rayford Malloy standing proudly beside her. Rayford’s chest remained poked out—he was proud of his son for making a mockery of the play with his original lines and gestures.
“We want to give a hearty thanks to Morgan Hill and her first-grade class for bringing Charles Dickens’s timeless classic to a whole new life here in Temptation. It was truly a wonderful time,” Mayor Pullum enthused.
More applause and Morgan smiled as she hurried to the back, where Wendy and Granny were helping to get the children undressed. There would be mingling and refreshments for probably another half hour. Nana Lou and her daughter, Pam, were in the front hall of the community center, where they’d cleaned up after the potluck dinner and now had cake, cider and coffee prepared.
As for Morgan’s part in Temptation’s annual holiday extravaganza, it was done. Now she was looking forward to a hot bath and quiet Christmas Eve with her twins. Tomorrow would be breakfast after the children enjoyed their gifts and then dinner at Granny’s. She was due at her grandmother’s house at noon to help with the cooking and preparations and Morgan was really looking forward to spending that time with her family. These were the people she knew and was sure of, unlike Harry. And Gray.
All day long Morgan had attempted to put the memories of what had happened at her place with Harry and Gray out of her mind. Just five days ago she’d been seen naked by Gray’s assistant, the woman she’d ultimately had to punch in the face for running her mouth about Morgan’s children. Then the confrontation with Harry that Morgan was sure could have gotten more out of hand if Harry hadn’t come to his last bit of sense and left her house when Gray told him to.
Morgan didn’t know what was going on. When did her quiet and routine life get turned upside down by rude and delusional people? The moment Gray Taylor waltzed back into town was the undeniable answer.
“He’s making a statement.” Wendy tugged on Morgan’s arm. “Come on, we gotta get up front so we can hear him.”
Morgan had just arrived in the back room, only to see that the children were already dressed in their regular clothes and headed toward the foyer with their happy chatter.
“Come on!” Wendy insisted.
Morgan followed her sister with tired feet and a headache she’d been praying would stay tamped down until she got home. That probably wasn’t going to happen, Morgan thought as she stepped into the auditorium once more to see Gray standing on the stage where Mayor Pullum had been.
“I know that some of you have wondered why I’ve been here for just about a month now,” he said.
He looked really good, as always, wearing gray slacks, a gray shirt and cheerful red tie. Morgan had gotten used to seeing him in his casual clothes these last couple of weeks, but nothing beat the sight of this man in dress clothes. He took her breath away every time. Tonight, she couldn’t resist the small smile as she noticed he was wearing the tie that Jack and Lily had insisted Morgan buy when they were out gift shopping earlier in the week. It was all red, but at the bottom there was a wintry scene with two snowmen having a snowball fight.
“It’s just like when we played in the snow and built George,” Jack had said as he stood in the store holding it up proudly.
“Yup, it is. It’s a memory!” Lily had added with her own excitement at having participated in finding the perfect gift for Gray.
To Morgan’s surprise and relief, Gray had been elated to receive the early gift from the children and had promised to wear it tonight. Morgan wasn’t sure how she felt about him making promises to her children, even if he did keep them. No, that wasn’t totally true. She was sure it made her feel wonderfully warm on the inside, her heart near to bursting with joy. She just didn’t know if it was safe to like that feeling so much.
“I decided that to make an informed decision about whether or not to sell this building and the hospital that I needed to get to know the town of Temptation once more,” Gray continued. “When I left this town I was only a child. This used to be home, only it wasn’t as happy and wonderful as some of you may have thought. In these past weeks, however, I’ve experienced more change than I think I have in my entire adult life. I owe that to some pretty special people.”
Morgan’s cheeks burned with embarrassment as some of the adults looked to her. Wendy did a quiet hand clap in Morgan’s direction because she was all for giving people in town something to talk about.
“Let them gossip, girl,” she’d told Morgan after Morgan had shared what happened with Kym in Gray’s room. “That’s what they do around here. No sense in you or anybody else trying to change that. At least they’re gossiping about you and a good man, instead of some deadbeat.”
As usual Morgan hadn’t thought of things that way, but leave it to Wendy to put her own slant on a situation. Morgan added that to all the things her big sister did better than her.
“I’m not sure how all of you collectively will feel about my decision, but I’ve decided that tonight would be the best night to announce my plans,” Gray said.
The room went completely quiet at that moment and Morgan touched a hand to her stomach, which immediately had butterflies flipping and flopping around. She was just clearing her throat when she saw Jack and Lily run up on the stage with Gray.
“What are they doing?” she whispered and then made a motion to go and get them.
“Let them be,” Granny said, touching a hand to Morgan’s arm. “They wanted to be with him and I let ’em.”
“But it’s rude, Granny. He’s up there talking and look at them,” Morgan stated as she looked back at her grandmother and then up to the stage, where Gray had already picked up Lily, planting her on his side. Lily dutifully lay her head on his shoulder, while Jack stood right beside Gray as if he was attached to his leg.
There were a few chuckles as Gray said, “Thanks for the help you two,” and grinned wildly.
“My father had plans to return to Temptation,” Gray continued. “He wanted to come back and finish helping the town that had given him his family. So in that vein, I will not be selling the hospital. I will be renovating it and adding on The Taylor Generational Wing, which will focus on obstetrics and fertility studies.”
There was immediate applause and Granny laced her fingers with Morgan’s. But she didn’t look to her grandmother—her gaze was trained on Gray.
“In addition to the hospital,” he said over the low murmurs, “I will also be renovating the community center. This facility can serve such a bigger function here in Temptation and I’d like to see it flourish. One of the main updates to the center will be a separate theater center, where professional plays can be put on for the public.”
If Morgan had been blushing before, she was about to full-on gush now, as Gray stated the idea she’d given him for the community center’s use.
“It took a while to figure this out, but Temptation will always be home to the Taylors, and a family should always take care of home,” Gray said. “I wish the town of Temptation and all of you a very merry Christmas and a happy start to the New Year.”
He walked off the
stage with Jack and Lily in tow, just as Millie hurried over to where Granny, Wendy and Morgan were standing.
“You did it!” Millie said to Morgan. “Hot damn, Ida Mae, she did it!”
Millie pulled Morgan to her for a quick hug. Behind her, Fred grinned.
“Yes, I must say we’re in for some big changes here in town and we owe that all to you, Morgan,” Fred said.
Morgan was already shaking her head. “No. You’re mistaken. This was Gray’s decision, I had nothing to do with it.”
“Oh, Ida Mae, this girl here is something,” Millie told Granny. “She doesn’t know a thing about a woman’s power, does she? But I knew it all along. Ever since I saw you two together at the charity ball. I knew you would be the one to turn him around. That’s why Fred and I gave you all that information. We knew you would help save our town.”
“But I didn’t,” Morgan responded.
“Just smile and say it’s wonderful, Morgan,” Granny said.
Wendy agreed with their grandmother’s declarations as she leaned in to whisper in Morgan’s ear. “That’s right, just smile. This town’s going to be kissing your ass for years to come for this.”
Morgan didn’t want anybody kissing her ass and she didn’t want to take credit for something she didn’t do, but just about an hour and a half later, as she walked into her house, she heard Gray say the same thing.
“None of this would have been possible without you,” he stated.
Jack and Lily had gone into their bedroom to change into their pajamas. The Christmas tree was lit in the living room, presents underneath. The house still smelled like the cookies Morgan and the kids had baked yesterday and the pine candle that Granny had given her when she’d complained about Morgan not having a real tree.
“You made the decision that was right for you and your family, Gray. Your father had those plans long before I came along. I won’t take responsibility for a conclusion you came to on your own,” she told him.
