The Best Things in Life

by Kate Sweeney

  “Yes, Miss Pembroke. I’d never put you in danger. That is, until I read that article.”

  Chapter 9

  Cara hid her laugh in her napkin when Morgan snatched Pete’s hat off his head.

  “Sorry,” he mumbled into his milkshake.

  “I did it too. Betty would do the same to me.” Morgan sipped through the straw on her own milkshake.

  Cara couldn’t believe the size of the burger set in front of Morgan. Pete had a plate of chicken tenders and fries. Cara opted for a chicken Caesar salad.

  “So, if it’s okay with my dad, I can go flying with you at the cookout, right?” Pete asked with a mouthful of french fries.

  Cara watched curiously as Morgan dipped a couple of fries in her milkshake before eating them.

  “You bet. Is he home?”

  “Yes.” Pete grinned when Morgan pulled out her cellphone, handing it to him. “Give him a call.”

  Pete eagerly dialed and waited. Morgan winked at Cara.

  “H-hi. It’s me.” Pete waited while he listened. “Morgan wants to make sure it’s okay with you if she takes me flying with the other kids at the cookout. Y-you want to talk to her?” He eagerly handed the phone across the table to Morgan. “He wants to talk to you.”

  Cara nearly cried when she heard the hopeful, yet amazed tone from Pete.

  Morgan cleared her throat. “Hi, Paul. I just wanted to make sure it was all right with you.” She stopped and waited. “Yes, we take care of all the legalities. Sure. Yes. No problem. We’ll pick him up and take him home. You know, you’re more than welcome to come to the cookout. We’re supposed to have good weather, and it should be a great time. Sure, I understand. Well, thanks. Here’s Pete.”

  Pete took the phone. “H-hi. Okay. Yes, I will. I promise. Dad? Thanks.” He disconnected the call and handed the phone back to Morgan.

  “Everything all set?” Cara asked.

  Pete nodded. “He said to say thanks.”

  “Great.” Morgan put the phone in her pocket. “It’ll be fun.”

  Pete grinned again. “I can’t wait. I wish he would come with us.”

  “I know,” Morgan said.

  “You know he might work in Ohio?” Pete looked across at Morgan.

  “He mentioned it, yes.”

  “Can I live with Betty and Chuck. Or you?”

  Morgan’s jaw dropped along with her fries. Cara could tell by Morgan’s reaction, this was a new conversation for her.

  “Pete, I-I don’t know.”

  “I don’t want to move. He won’t care. Why not you?”

  “Because it’s the law, and he’s your father. And he does care. You can’t just…” Morgan looked at Cara for help.

  “Pete,” Cara said. “Your father is looking out for what’s best for you. If he has a job—”

  “But what if Betty and Morgan are the best for me? Why can’t I decide what’s best for me?”

  “Good question,” Morgan said. “Let’s hold on to this. You need to have a long talk with your father.”

  “Oh, he never wants to talk. Never mind.”

  Morgan scratched her forehead. “Maybe I can talk to him.”

  “Would you?”

  “Maybe. Now eat your lunch.”

  “Great. Okay.” Pete dug into his lunch.

  Morgan watched him for a moment, then concentrated on her burger.

  *******

  Morgan drove home in silence after dropping Pete at his house. Paul Henderson was in no mood for talking. Pete walked in, and he closed the front door before Morgan could get a word out.

  Cara stole a glance, noticing her set jaw and the frown on her face, which was so out of place. Up to this point, Morgan had been easygoing and affable. Now she was a mix of sadness and determination. She absently tapped her fingertips on the steering wheel.

  “A penny for your thoughts,” Cara said softly.

  Morgan smiled. “You’ll get change. I hope you use it wisely.”

  “You’re thinking what to do about Pete.”

  “I am. And I’m not coming up with much. If he won’t talk, it’s hard to help.”

  “Maybe you can’t do anything.”

  Morgan quickly glanced at her. “That’s pretty pessimistic.”

  “Sometimes, things are not in your control.”

  “You can say that again.” She glanced at Cara and smiled.

  Cara shook her head and looked out the window.

  “I’m not trying to control anything,” Morgan said. “The poor kid just needs someone to listen to him. I know this has to be hard on his father, but for chrissakes, Pete’s just a kid.”

  “I’m not telling you not to try, just be prepared.”

  Morgan sighed. “I know. Sorry, didn’t mean to snip at you.”

  Cara patted her arm. “That’s okay. You really didn’t.”

  For a moment, she didn’t take her hand away from her flannel-covered arm while she watched Morgan.

  Morgan looked down at her hand. Cara then realized and took her hand away.

  “You may disagree, but I thought that was a nice moment,” Morgan said with a full grin.

  “You would.”

  Morgan laughed, concentrating on the road. “I like you, Cara. I really do. You’re smart. Ya have a great sense of humor. And you’re not fooling me. You care about what happens to Pete too.”

  Cara settled back, trying to avoid the content feeling that engulfed her. But Morgan hadn’t said anything about how she looked. “Watch the road, Miss Gavin. The paper wouldn’t want you to kill one of their reporters.”

  “Their star reporter?”

  Cara let out a snort of derision. “No. They just don’t have that many to spare.”

  “I don’t think you give yourself much credit. Or you’re incredibly humble. You don’t talk much about yourself, do you?”

  Cara raised an eyebrow. “Nice try, but this article is about you.”

  Morgan smiled. “Okay. But I expect to get a little more insight into you when we’re in Chicago.”

  “Remember, I-I’m going on vacation after we get back.”

  “Oh, right. Well then, I’ll just have to find out as much as I can while you’re here.”

  “Why?” Cara immediately regretted asking. Though she was attracted, she didn’t want to get personal with Morgan. What would be the point?

  “Why? Because like I said, I like you. You’re interesting, and I’d like to get to know you better. I’d like to say more.”

  “You already have. But to what end?”

  Morgan pulled up to the house. She turned to face Cara. “If nothing else, to have you as a friend. But as I said, I’d like to pursue something more. I think you’re a fine woman. You’re sweet and sassy. I find that a sexy combination. There. I said it.”

  Cara’s jaw dropped. Morgan grinned, tilted her head, and made the same screwy face.

  “C’mon. Close your mouth. You look like a bass I caught the other day. You have some writing to do, and I have to call my mother about Pete.”

  Morgan was already on the phone by the time Cara walked in. She absently listened to Morgan chatting with Betty while wondering how to get a fire started. In her apartment, she had a gas fireplace. A push of a button and voilà—fire.

  “Unless you have a superpower that you haven’t told me about, you need a match.”

  Cara laughed and stepped out of the way while ignoring the tingling sensation on the back of her neck.

  Morgan grabbed a few pieces of kindling, lit them, then added the larger pieces of wood. “I usually use a starter log, but I ran out. So, the old-fashioned way for now.” She stood, dusting off her hands. “We have fire.”

  Morgan gave her a quizzical look. “What?”

  “There can be nothing between us.”

  “You don’t sound so sure.”

  “I-I am.” Cara lifted her chin for emphasis.

  Morgan laughed. “Nice try. Got ya thinking about it. That’s a start. Coffee?”

&
nbsp; “Uh, no, thanks.”

  “I’m going to make a pot. I think there’s some coffee cake left.”

  “Morgan…” Cara shook her fist and followed her to the kitchen.

  “Don’t you agree that the kitchen is the heart of a home?”

  Cara sighed and sat. “Yes.”

  “Do you have a big kitchen?” Morgan asked over her shoulder.

  “Me? No, not really. I don’t cook much.”

  Morgan turned around. “Really? How do you eat?”

  “Like millions of normal people, I eat out. Or I order. Well, I can cook. I’m just too busy, and by the time I get home, I just want to relax.”

  “I can see that.”

  “Don’t you ever want to just go out for dinner?”

  “Sure. I go to Jensen’s all the time.”

  “No, no…” Cara rubbed her forehead. “I mean a nice place.”

  “Jensen’s is a nice place. They have a great Friday fish fry and prime rib on Saturdays. Oh, and Sundays? Sal makes Swedish meatballs. I think it’s her mom’s recipe.” Morgan grinned. “Barry would be very offended, Cara.”

  “I—never mind.”

  “I’m just teasing you. You can see there’s not much going on here, but there is Fort Frances, in Ontario. That’s like forty minutes. That’s a nice little town. They even have a Dairy Queen.”

  “Are you finished?”

  “Pretty much, yeah.” Morgan laughed. “It’s so much fun to play with you. Look, I see what you’re saying about not wanting to cook after work. That’s why I take a Saturday and make everything before it goes bad and put it in the freezer, so when I’m pooped, I just take it out of the freezer. Like the stew.”

  “I’m not that ambitious, but it is a good idea.”

  Cara eyed the coffee cake Morgan put on the table. Damn this woman and food. When Morgan put the plate of butter on the table, Cara just glared at her.

  “Are you sure you don’t want some coffee? I’ve got some lemonade.”

  “Fine, I’ll have coffee.”

  “You don’t have to.” Morgan offered an impish grin.

  “Just pour the coffee.”

  “So, tell me about your childhood,” Morgan said, cutting into the coffee cake.

  “No, you tell me about yours. That’s how this works.”

  “Okay.” Morgan took a bite first, then washed it down with coffee. “I’m an only child, as you can guess. I had good friends and still do. Well, those who haven’t moved away. Let’s see. I love hockey.”

  “A participant or fan?”

  “Both.”

  “You can ice skate?”

  “Kinda hard to play hockey without them. Besides, everyone in Minnesota knows how to skate and cross-country ski.”

  “You cross-country ski too?”

  “God, no.”

  “You just said every…never mind. Go on.”

  “Aren’t you going to take notes? I’d hate to be misquoted.”

  Cara laughed. “Don’t worry. We can go over anything you don’t agree with. So, please continue. You’re an only child. You have good friends. And you love hockey. There has to be more.”

  Morgan shrugged and sat back. “Well, you know about my flying and about the lake.”

  “What about relatives? I’ll be honest, I discussed your cousins with Betty.”

  “Ah, them. Yes. That was a sad time. They were selfish as kids and as adults. I don’t know how that happened, Uncle Jerry and Aunt Therese were great people. I think their kids just didn’t want anything to do with living here. They wanted them to sell. It caused quite a problem.” Morgan stopped and regarded Cara.

  Cara drank her coffee, waiting for her to continue. “So what happened?”

  “Did my mother tell you about the will?”

  Cara raised both eyebrows; she sat forward. “No. What will?”

  “Jerry and Therese gave a good chunk of money to their kids but left the bulk of the property to me with the stipulation the land is to be left alone, as it is. Not sold to any business.”

  “Wow. No wonder they were pissed.”

  “Oh, yeah. They took me to court and tried to have the will overturned, but they realized it wouldn’t work, and they’d have to pay for the court costs. I tried. But they were so angry over it. They thought all of it should be theirs by right. Their lawyers knew they couldn’t do anything.”

  “That’s basically what Betty said, but she didn’t tell me your aunt and uncle left you the property. I can see where they’d be angry.”

  Morgan waved her hand. “They made out fine. They left me the lakefront property. There was over twenty acres they parceled off and sold. That’s the money they gave to the kids. But of course, like anywhere, lakefront property is prime and most expensive. Anyway, it was a sad thing. They were horrible to their parents. And after they died, they were like vultures. I got into an argument with my cousin. He was so angry, he took a swing at me.”

  “Did he connect?”

  Morgan pushed away the hair from the side of her face near her left ear. There was a tiny scar near her cheekbone. “Caught me with his class ring.”

  Cara laughed. “Did you retaliate?”

  “I did. I missed and went flying over a desk. My dad still laughs about it. He said he should have taught me boxing instead of ice hockey. I’m not much of a fighter.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with that. Too many people solve their problems with their fists. Or guns.”

  “You’re against guns?”

  “Not in the least. Just against crazy people getting access to them. But that’s another story. I’ve written many articles on it.”

  “I’ll have to check them out. I’ll do the Google, as my mother says.”

  Cara laughed, toying with her coffee cup. “You can archive them. I’ll show you if you really want.”

  “I really want.”

  Again, their gazes met, and Cara had a difficult time looking away. This was not good.

  “And if you’re going to write my life’s story, I have to make sure you know what you’re doing.”

  “It won’t be your life’s story, but it will be accurate.”

  “I have no doubt of that. And I meant it when—”

  “Where is everybody?”

  Cara jumped when she heard Betty’s voice. Morgan hung her head, lightly banging it on the table.

  “We’re in here,” Cara called out through her laughter.

  “Don’t you ever knock?” Morgan asked.

  “What a silly question. You’re not going to believe this, so hold on to your hot dish.” She grinned evilly, looking from Morgan to Cara. “Well, go on.”

  “I swear to God,” Cara said to her while Morgan laughed.

  “Mom, you’re going to chase Cara away before I get a chance.”

  Cara groaned. “Why? Why?”

  “Because I must,” Betty said. “And you’re too wonderful not to play. Isn’t she wonderful, Morgan?”

  Morgan tried not to smile. She cleared her throat. “Mom, what’s up? You look like a crazy woman.”

  “Looks?” Cara asked.

  “After all we’ve been through,” Betty said sadly.

  “Mom, why are you here?”

  “Oh. Guess who’s on their way to talk to us?” Betty looked eagerly from one to the other.

  “I give,” Morgan said.

  Betty rolled her eyes. “Your father is bringing Paul Henderson here to talk about Pete.”

  “Now? How did you do that?” Morgan asked.

  “I called him and told him. And I wouldn’t take no for an answer.” Betty clapped her hands. “Isn’t it a good idea? I hope Paul isn’t dawdling. You know how your father loves to wait.”

  “I can go do some writing when he gets here.” Cara put up her hand when Betty tried to argue. “This man doesn’t seem to want to talk much. He may talk even less with a stranger. I have plenty of notes to go over. Morgan has been a chatterbox.”

  Morgan reached over and put
her hand on Cara’s wrist. “Let’s just see how it goes. You’re easy to talk to. You never know.”

  Betty looked from Morgan to Cara with a happy grin. “Well, well. What’s this?”

  When Cara and Morgan looked up, Betty backed up. “All right, all right. I’ll shut up.”

  Chapter 10

  Paul Henderson sat at the kitchen table, looking around. Cara could tell he was uncomfortable, but there was something else in his face—a hopeful yet helpless look that Cara found heartbreaking.

  Morgan broke the ice. “So, Paul, I hear my mother threatened you.”

  Paul laughed, scratching his head. He had the same coloring as Pete, down to the soulful brown eyes. Cara could see his hand tremble slightly.

  “I did not,” Betty said. “Well, I tried not to.”

  Chuck took out a pipe, gently banging it against his palm. “Mind if I smoke?”

  “Just blow it thataway,” Betty said.

  Morgan retrieved an ashtray for him. “Where’s Pete?”

  “He’s at the library. His favorite place,” Paul said. “Look, I don’t want to burden you with my problems.”

  “You’re not, not at all. We want to help. It’s had to be so hard dealing with everything and alone.” Betty reached over and held his hand. “You don’t have to do it alone. We can help.”

  Paul nodded, looking as though he might cry. He glanced at Cara when she started to rise.

  “Please, you don’t have to go. I don’t mind.” He laughed nervously. “Safety in numbers, I guess. So, you’re the reporter from Chicago?”

  “Guilty on both charges.” Cara sat back down. “I understand you have a job lined up in Ohio.”

  Again, he nodded. “I need to work. Since I got laid off, we’ve been living off whatever savings we had built up.”

  Cara could hear the anger in his voice. Morgan frowned while she listened. Chuck lazily puffed on his pipe.

  “Paul,” Chuck started. “We want to help you in any way we can. It has to seem impossible for you right now. But trust me, son, when you lose someone you love, you never stop loving them. And it will always hurt, but you learn how to live and be happy again.”

  Cara could see Morgan visibly wither when Chuck continued.

  “When we lost Jerry, it was so tragic and unexpected.”

  Morgan looked down at her hands; Cara could see the tears forming and wondered what had happened to her uncle.