by Kevin, Lucy
“I’ll get them up soon,” Morgan promised, then checked to make sure there wasn't anything urgent that needed her attention before she hung up.
The network's marketing team had loved the angle of Morgan bringing her family’s garden back to life to produce ingredients for her makeup line. With luck, by the time her line and the show came out together, people would already be so caught up in the photos and videos that she planned to post over the next several weeks that they would automatically be hooked when the show began to air and her makeup line finally hit stores.
But as she breathed in the soft scents of the berry fields around her, Morgan knew this garden could never just be boiled down to a PR angle. Not when it was a huge part of who she was, even if she was the only member of the current generation of Walkers who had inherited the family’s green thumb.
Morgan used her phone to take a few pictures of the wild, overgrown acre, working to make sure that she got the light right and framed the plants so that they drew the eye into the picture.
By the time she'd taken and uploaded her final picture for the time being, Brian’s classic Mustang pulled up to the edge of the field. It looked so incongruous sitting next to her convertible. And so much more fitting for the island.
Tad was the first out of Brian’s car. Morgan tried not to laugh as the big football player practically sprinted around to Natalie’s side to open her door for her. But she couldn’t hold that laugh in when Natalie beat him to it, getting out on her own, completely oblivious to Tad’s attempt at chivalry.
“Young love,” Morgan said softly to herself as she saw the crestfallen look on her male intern’s face. He really did have it bad for the girl, didn’t he?
For her part, Natalie was too busy rushing over to Morgan to pay any attention to Tad. The teenager was dressed in jeans and boots that looked like they were designed for slogging through the mud, yet she’d still brought her folder with her. From the speed with which she covered the ground to Morgan, she was obviously eager to begin.
“What are we doing first?” Natalie asked. But before Morgan could answer, she said, “I have some ideas, if you want to see them.”
“I would love to see them.” Morgan definitely didn’t want to discourage that kind of enthusiasm.
Natalie handed over a half-dozen sheets of paper, each with a possible design for the plot sketched out in multicolored pens. Everything was carefully labeled and measured. Clearly, Natalie had come up here more than once on her own time.
“These are really impressive,” Morgan said. She wasn’t just being polite, either. The sketches were impressive. Natalie already understood which berry varieties could be mixed in with herbs and the spots where particular varieties had to be given their own room. There were also paths built into the design to allow for people to easily work on the plants and beds. “You’ve obviously put in a lot of work on these.”
“Mr. Russell helped me with them,” Natalie admitted. “He knew all about the way the garden used to be laid out and what grew really well.”
Of course he would have. Brian had been here so many times with Morgan when they were kids that he knew this acre of land almost as well as she did.
“It still sounds like you put in a lot of work, Natalie. Thank you. I'm really, really impressed.”
Just then, Brian walked over, carrying a beautiful bouquet of flowers. One that was almost identical to the displays that had decorated their prom, wild flowers from this garden and a couple of other nearby fields that combined into a riot of color.
“Good morning.”
He put the bouquet in her hands, and she was breathing in the sweet and spicy scents even as she said, “Thank you, Brian. You…you shouldn’t have.”
He stared at her for a long moment, his dark eyes intense and full of longing that he obviously wasn't going to try to hide from her. “I wanted to. I hope you like them.”
“I do.” How could she not? “I love the flowers, thank you.”
Which was why she needed to take several steps back and turn away from him to put the flowers in a safe place, to give herself a little time to recover. Even as she did so, however, something told her she could take all the time in the world and she still wouldn't be able to shake the sweet, warm feeling that being with Brian gave her.
Realizing Tad and Natalie were waiting for her to direct them, she moved back toward the group and held up Natalie's plans in her hand, comparing them to the weed-choked garden plot. The difference between the end goal and their starting point was almost too much to comprehend, but they could do it if they tried. Morgan was sure of it.
“Let's go with this plan,” she said, pointing to the top design. “It’s going to take a lot of work, but it’s the best design for the space.”
“There’s nothing wrong with putting in some hard work to get what you want,” Brian said. He handed out thick gloves and shears to the two kids. “We’ve got a lot of brambles to clear.”
“We could start over that way,” Tad suggested, pointing to the upper left corner of the plot. “If we get a lot of the larger stuff out, then it will be easier to get in to work on the rest.”
As Brian encouraged the teenagers to work out their action plan for the morning, Morgan could see what a great teacher he was, very patient and encouraging. Here was yet another reason it was going to be so hard not to fall for him again, especially while working this close to one another day in and day out for several weeks...
Working to push that thought aside, Morgan pulled on her own gardening gloves and got to work. Honestly, it was good being outside, doing something physical in the sun, rather than being in a studio for hours to film what would end up being just a few minutes after editing.
After a while, Morgan moved to work with Tad on a section that needed two people to dig away at it. She appreciated that he wasn't at all afraid of working hard.
“Ms. Walker?”
“Why don't you call me Morgan?” she said with a smile.
“Okay, um, Morgan...you know how you liked the flowers Coach Russell brought you? Do all girls like getting flowers?”
Morgan couldn’t hold back her smile. She suspected that if Tad had a defensive line charging toward him, he wouldn’t flinch, but just the thought of trying to find a way to woo Natalie obviously had him tied in knots.
“It depends on the girl, but if I had to guess, I'd say that most do.”
Under any other circumstances, Morgan might have given Tad a little advice about actually asking Natalie out. Yet for as much as Tad obviously liked Natalie, Morgan simply couldn't see how things could work out for the two of them in the long run. Not when Tad was an island boy through and through, and Natalie was clearly going to have a big future ahead of her off the island. Probably a long way off.
No, Morgan told herself as she yanked at a weed with all her might, it was better that Natalie and Tad remained just friends. That way, neither of them would have to know how bad it hurt when it came time to say good-bye.
CHAPTER SEVEN
Brian had never much enjoyed pulling weeds, but today digging deep into the worst of the tangles was the perfect way to work out his frustrations.
Lord knew there were plenty of frustrations for him to choose from right then. How did Morgan always manage to look so incredibly beautiful, even while cutting through brambles? How was he going to be able to keep from staring at her for too long and wanting her so much that he could actually feel the ache in the center of his chest from it? And how could he have ever been so stupid as to let her leave without a fight all those years ago?
Every instinct told him he should go over to Morgan and kiss her. Just take her in his arms and make her his again. Especially when he knew that she was still attracted to him from the way her skin flushed and her breathing sped up whenever he was near. Their physical connection was obvious. It had always been obvious. What they felt for one another had never been in doubt, so why not take that to its logical conclusion? Why not take back wh
at they’d once had?
But he knew why, knew all the reasons he couldn't just grab her in the middle of the garden and kiss her. He couldn’t risk scaring her off. Not when he had blown his chance with her once before by letting her walk away and didn’t want to blow it again now by moving too fast. The hug he'd given her the night before, along with today's bouquet of flowers, were enough of a starting point. Small gestures, but ones that showed Morgan he was serious about wanting to make things work this time.
“What do you think we should work on next, Mr. Russell?” Natalie asked.
Grateful for the break from the questions that kept circling over and over inside his head, Brian looked over what Natalie had done so far. “Why don’t you tell me what you think needs our attention?”
“We could probably do a little more clearing of these heavier vines between the bushes, but I think it will be good if we leave the blueberries and the raspberries in together since the soil seems to be more acidic at this end of the plot.”
“That’s a good analysis, Natalie. You're really enjoying this project already, aren't you?”
“Oh yes! Getting to work with Ms. Walker like this is such an amazing opportunity.”
“It really is, isn't it?” Just getting to be near Morgan had always been amazing for him. So amazing that even seven years hadn't been enough time for the hole in his heart to close.
“Plus, with all of these different species of plants in such a small environment, it’s so interesting to see all the ways they work together—which ones tangle and choke one another and which ones give each other the chance to grow. And then after we harvest the plants, we're going to get to explore the science of getting exactly the right chemistry for the makeup.”
Working together and chemistry. So much of life came down to both of those things. Especially his relationship with Morgan.
Brian shook his head and turned his focus back to the heavy brambles in the center of the plot. Getting them out by hand was hard work, but it was the only way they could proceed without damaging the plants they actually wanted to keep growing. Besides, he had no objections to the job taking a little longer if it meant that he could spend more time around Morgan.
Just then, he saw Tad slowly making his way over to Natalie and smiled as he realized he wasn’t the only one happy just to get to be near a girl he couldn't stop thinking about. Only, as Natalie never lifted her head from the job, Tad looked more despondent by the second.
“Hey, Tad,” Brian called out, “come over and give me a hand with these, would you?”
“Sure, Coach.” They worked to lift several heavy wooden posts out of the way before tad said, “Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure. What's on your mind?”
“You know how you gave Ms. Walker flowers? Was that your way of asking her out?”
Brian wasn't sure how to explain his relationship with Morgan to one of his students, or even if he should. “I've known her for a really long time, but it's been awhile since we've seen each other, so things are kind of complicated between us. That's why I figured flowers might be a nice way to try to break the ice.”
“Yeah,” Tad said with another glance across to Natalie. “I can see how things can get really complicated really fast, even if you see each other every day.”
Brian had seen the way Tad had looked at Natalie ever since she had set off some small, multicolored fireworks she’d made in class a few months back. All the other kids had been staring at the display, but Tad had only had eyes for her.
“Come on, Tad,” Brian said, “we both still have a lot of work to do.”
He let the teenager get back to work pulling up brambles near Natalie, who glanced up briefly when he came near and gave him a big smile. Brian headed in the opposite direction toward Morgan, and when she looked up and also smiled, he thought he caught a flash of pleasure—and heat—in her eyes.
Who would have thought that he would find himself stuck in the same situation as one of the teenagers he taught, trying to make headway with a beautiful woman? At the moment, it seemed that getting through an opposing football team’s defenses would have certainly been a lot easier than the task either of them faced.
CHAPTER EIGHT
"Are you already napping? It's not even lunchtime!"
Morgan’s eyes snapped open as she shot off the couch. She’d just been having the nicest dream where Brian was…no, better not to think about that.
“I’m awake,” she said sleepily.
“Sure you are,” Rachel retorted. “Just the way Charlotte claims to be awake before she snuggles back down under her covers and tries to pretend that I’m not there.”
“I’m jet-lagged,” Morgan said with a groan, but when she saw there was no point trying to pretend she wasn't still completely addicted to naps the way she'd been as a young girl, she asked, “Where's my favorite niece? ”
“Charlotte’s at the dance studio with Paige and Grams while Michael is downstairs helping install some new software on my computer,” Rachel said. “They’re doing a butterfly dance workshop at the studio. Charlotte loves butterflies so much that we stenciled her bedroom walls with butterflies in every possible color.”
“I wish you had told me about it,” Morgan said. “I would have painted her face to look like a butterfly before she left for the studio today.”
“She would have loved that,” Rachel agreed with a smile.
Morgan got the feeling that her sister didn’t do as much of that these days as she should have. Rachel had been the carefree, wild one when they were kids. But now that she had a daughter and worked for one of the local insurers, she was so careful all the time…
Morgan got up and followed her sister into the kitchen, where Michael was sitting at the kitchen table with a laptop in front of him. “Hey, sleepyhead.”
She yawned and waved before opening the fridge to see what there was to drink. She hadn’t heard him come in, which meant he’d obviously been there for a little while. Clearly, she'd napped longer than she’d intended.
“You’re here again?” Emily said to Michael as she also walked into the kitchen. “Don’t you ever feel like seeing the inside of your own place?”
“But then I wouldn’t get this kind of warm welcome,” Michael teased, making Emily smile despite herself.
Michael had always been like a brother to them growing up, and all the sisters, except the one who wouldn't admit that she was head over heels in love with him, were perfectly happy with him wandering around as he pleased. Plus, he always did so much around the house, from fixing the porch to repairing the roof and the pipes in the kitchen.
Why was Emily so determined to ignore the spark that existed between them, even though everyone else could see it? And why did Rachel have to fall in love with a guy who had seemed great until he got her pregnant and left her to raise their baby completely alone? If only, Morgan wished, everyone could get exactly what they wanted from their lives.
Which left one obvious question. What did she want?
“I know that look,” Rachel said. “It’s the same look you always had when you were worried about an assignment when we were kids. Do I need to get out the hot chocolate?”
After their mother’s death, Emily had done a lot to look after the rest of them, but as the second-oldest, Rachel had been there, too, always ready with unconditional sympathy. In a lot of ways, she’d been the strong one. It was strange how things had changed. There was something almost fragile about her sister now.
“Since none of us are ten anymore,” Morgan said, “how about we make it wine?”
Emily had already grabbed a bottle and three glasses. “You have until we finish the bottle to tell us what's going on.”
Morgan knew better than to try to argue. With two of her sisters ganging up on her because they loved her, she had no chance of getting away with her secrets intact. In any case, she wasn’t sure she wanted to hold it inside anymore. Not when she needed to talk to someone about every
thing that had happened since she’d gotten back on the island yesterday. Needed them to tell her that she wasn’t crazy and that she was doing the right thing by keeping her distance from Brian.
Leaving Michael in the kitchen to work on the computer, the three sisters settled down on the couch in the living room, each with a glass of berry wine that had come from the other side of the island. Emily generally didn’t see the point in buying things from off the island when she believed everything they needed was already there. In this case, she had a point, since it was really fantastic wine.
“So,” Emily said, “what happened with Brian today out at the garden?”
“It’s not just Brian,” Morgan insisted. But when her sisters gave her that look, she admitted, “Okay, maybe it mostly is about him, but there’s also this thing with the interns that I don’t know how to deal with.”
“There’s a problem with the interns?” Emily asked. “I thought they would be just right for your project. I mean, they’re both good kids, so if they’re doing something wrong, especially so early on, then you should talk to them. They probably just need a little extra guidance.”
“No, they're doing a great job with the land. In fact, you should see the plans Natalie drew up. They're incredible. And Tad will work until he drops, which is super helpful considering how much thick brush there was for all of us to clear away. It’s just that Tad is obviously head over heels for Natalie, and while I know that Natalie has her own big dreams off the island—”
“Don’t get involved,” Emily said firmly.
“Wait a minute,” Rachel said. “We don’t even know what Morgan was about to say.”
“Trust me,” Emily continued, “you don’t get involved in the love lives of students. Ever. They won’t end up thanking you for interfering, not when both of their hearts end up broken and they’re filled with angst.”
Rachel thought about it for a few seconds before finally agreeing. “Emily's probably right. Besides, I'm pretty sure you’re only bringing those kids up to try to distract us from the important stuff. Namely, what’s up with you and Brian?”
