Chapter 17
“ W hatcha looking at?”
Morgan slid into the booth across from me and gestured to my phone, which I was staring at. After John and Peter packed up the temporary buildings, we decided food was in order. We’d been enjoying a nice lunch together at Mirabelle’s and I’d been stupid enough to check my messages when he’d gone to the restroom. I was regretting that now.
“Job offer.” I’d been waiting for something like this, but now I was feeling less than enthused by the prospect. After my revelations yesterday, everything changed, and I wasn’t sure what my path forward was anymore. I didn’t think running to the next thing was the answer, that was for sure.
“Oh.” Morgan sounded about as enthusiastic as I was. “That’s, um, that’s good right. What is it?”
I almost told him it didn’t matter because I didn’t want it. But at the last second, something held me back. I answered him truthfully. “A former captain of mine has a brother who owns a security company in Charlotte. He’s looking for a new team lead and my captain recommended me.”
Morgan was silent for a few beats. “At least it’s not as cold there.”
Apparently, that was the best he could offer. The corners of his mouth were lifted, but I knew all his smiles by now. And that expression on his face? Wasn’t a real smile. It wasn’t even the fake one he gave when he was placating someone. I cleared my throat. I was ready to leap.
“You know, I was actually thinking about maybe sticking around for a while.”
His expression, which I’d expected to morph into one of his happy grins, remained exactly the same. But his voice was soft when he said, “You should take it.”
Not what I’d been expecting. At all. I played it back in my brain just to make sure I’d heard him right. I had.
“What?”
“You should. It’s what you’ve been waiting for, right? Your next phase in life. Take the job.” His tone was so kind and understanding, which was so very Morgan, but his expression did not match his words.
“Hang on. I would have thought you’d want me to stay.”
“No.”
That word hit me like a punch to the chest. I felt like I couldn’t breathe. He’d really just said that. Bluntly and without preamble. He didn’t want me to stay. I had to force air into my lungs or else I was going to pass out. And with that breath came a surge of anger.
“Oh, really? Because I thought you actually cared about me,” I scoffed. My tone was a little harsh, and I instantly regretted it. “Sorry.”
Morgan’s gaze softened then, and tears gathered in his eyes. He reached across the table and grasped my hands. I hung on, hoping that he’d say the words that would make it better, make this pain in my chest disappear.
“I do. So much. And that’s the problem. I want you to be happy more than anything else. And you can’t be happy in Hickory Hollow. So take the job. And maybe you’ll come back and visit now and again, eh?” He squeezed my fingers, then let go quickly. “I have to get back to work.”
“Morgan. Wait. Come on. We need to talk about this.” I wasn’t just going to let him walk away without a conversation. That wasn’t us. That wasn’t how we worked. Except…maybe I had changed the subject one too many times instead of talking about real things. No, I didn’t believe that.
But he was already out of the booth and pulling on his winter coat. He gave me a sad sort of smile and it damn near broke my heart. “I’ll see you around, Barrett.”
What. The. Fuck?
It took me a good sixty seconds just to recover from the shock of it all. Everything had gone sideways so fast, and even though I’d always thought I was a quick thinker, when it didn’t go like I’d thought it would, I floundered. By the time I stood, he was driving away. I blew out a breath and resisted the urge to punch something. Mirabelle didn’t deserve to have her furniture destroyed. I dropped back into the seat heavily and stared at nothing.
It took me a few minutes, which was annoying because I’d been trained to assess quickly and make a decisive plan of action, but the truth hit me hard and fast. Morgan didn’t think I was serious. He didn’t understand that my mindset had changed over the past few weeks. Because I hadn’t explained it .
I was stupid to think that just because we were so in sync, he’d get it without me giving him the words.
My mind whirled. I could just get up and go after him, spill my guts and make him listen. But I was a doer, a fixer, and actions spoke louder than words. It took three minutes for the plan to fully form in my brain. I gave it another two to make sure I’d covered all the angles.
Improvise. Adapt. Overcome.
I picked up my phone and dialed
“Arlo,” I said the second he answered. “Who can I talk to on the town board?”
I t turned out that I wasn’t above relying on my retired military status, and connection to Arlo, to get what I wanted. It helped that my uncle was one of the board members, which somehow I hadn’t known until today. Some nephew I was. I was going to fix that going forward, but there was a bigger problem on my plate right now.
The other six members respected Arlo enough to hear me out as I laid out my case, and it was surprisingly easy to convince them of my plan. They’d sent me out of the room while they deliberated and called me back in five minutes later. Now I just had to get Morgan on board.
Inconveniently, he was not in his office when I arrived. I wasn’t entirely surprised, but it did throw a wrench in the works. I hadn’t known he had a meeting schedule this afternoon, but I wouldn’t have put it past him to schedule one just to get out of the office, and maybe out of town, for a few hours. He much preferred to travel to his meetings than have whomever it was come to him. He thought it was more accommodating that way. His laptop was still on his desk though, so I hoped that meant he planned on coming back in instead of going straight home.
I’d wait. If he didn’t show up, then I’d track him down. But until then, I planted myself in his chair and stared at the door. I was a Marine, I had patience to spare when it came to my life being on the line. And it certainly felt that way.
One hour stretched into two. My ass went a little numb and I had to adjust. Morgan needed a more comfortable chair. I’d see to it that he got one.
Eventually, my patience paid off. Just before the three-hour mark, Morgan opened the door and stopped dead when he saw me. A complicated set of emotions crossed his face, as though he didn’t know what to feel.
“What are you doing here?” Judging by his tone, he’d landed on incredulous.
I spread my arms wide. “I’m your new employee.”
His mouth worked for a moment. “What?”
Usually that was my line. I rose from the chair and crossed to him. I wanted to touch him, but I wasn’t sure that would be welcome just yet. I had plenty of explaining to do first. I stopped a foot away. “It’s contingent on you agreeing, of course. Maybe you don’t want to work with the person you’re dating.”
“What?”
I was undeterred. “If that’s the case, I’ll find something else. But I thought we worked pretty well together the past few weeks, haven’t we?”
“Yes. But…what?”
Was he going to say anything else? I took a chance, telegraphing my every move, and cupped his cheeks. He didn’t pull away, just stared at me with wide, wary eyes. I let myself get lost in them for just a few seconds. Christ, I loved the way he looked at me. Even now, cautious and concerned, as long as I had his attention, I felt ten feet tall. But I needed to focus. If I wanted him to keep looking at me, I had to use my words.
I tried for a smile. It didn’t feel quite stable. I kept my voice soft, and a bit of pleading slipped through. “I told you I changed my mind about Hickory Hollow. I said I wanted to stay.”
He shook his head, as much as he could anyway, considering I was still holding on. His tone bordered on heated. “What you actually said was that you were thinking of sticking around for a while. You said you thought I’d want you to stay. Trust me. I remember every word.” As if it hadn’t been five hours ago. I could see how much my word choice hurt him. But I’d fix that. He gulped. “But you can’t. Barrett, if you stay, you’ll resent me—”
“No.” I was arrogant enough to feel pleasure that I’d be right about his thought process, but I kept it off my face. That wouldn’t do us any good right now. No, now it was time be unequivocally blunt so there was no more confusion. “It’s not just you, baby. Don’t get me wrong. It’s mostly you. But this town is different than I remember. Better. Homier. And there’s a small chance my childhood trauma colored my perception of things.”
Tears pooled in his eyes as I spoke and he spluttered out a wet laugh. But he wasn’t done arguing. “Probably so. But maybe you’ve just been caught in a holiday daze, eh? Just the magic of the season. Or whatever.”
I smiled softly. God, I wanted to kiss him. But we weren’t there yet.
“If I’ve been stuck in any kind of daze, it’s a Hawley-daze.”
He rolled his eyes at my terrible pun. But then he looked at me, really looked at me, and that wariness was replaced by a sliver of hope. He licked his lips and leaned into my hold. He wasn’t ready to give in just yet.
“Don’t tell me you weren’t trying to show me exactly how great Hickory Hollow is.” I pointed out, trying to remind him that he did, in fact, want me there. “Inviting me to do the House Lights Tour walk with you?”
He had a quick come back. “I needed to check in on things, and I wanted to spend time with you.”
“Fair enough.” I gave a nod. Then narrowed my eyes. “But sending me on the scavenger hunt? Really? Come on. Was there even ever an issue?”
A look of guilt flashed across his face, there and gone in a second. “The submission were lower than expected. They did pick up though.”
“Mhmm. Dragging me with you all over town for every little task? You called me oblivious, but I know what you were doing.” Okay, I had been slightly oblivious. About more than he thought or even knew. I would eventually admit that to him. But not for another few years or fifty.
“Hey,” he was indignant now. “You said you wanted to help!”
I chuckled and leaned in so our faces were less than an inch apart. He sucked in a breath. I bumped my nose to his and finally got a very small, but real smile.
“I did. I do. I want to keep helping you. So how about you let me, huh? Agree I can work for you and let me take some of the weight off your shoulders.”
He stared at me, studying me, looking for something. I stayed still, letting him, hoping beyond hope he’d find it.
“Are you sure? Because I need you to be sure.” His voice was barely above a whisper, as though he was afraid if he said it too loud, if he pushed, then I’d give up and walk away. What he didn’t yet know was I was never walking away from him.
“I love you.” I hadn’t planned on saying it, but that’s what came out of my mouth. The moment I did, a weight lifted. I hadn’t said those words to anyone since my father died. Not out loud. Not for real. It felt so good, I said them again. “I love you and I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Which is fast, I know. And we have a lot to talk about and—mphf.”
He threw himself at me, kissing me hard and long, and with everything he felt. The relief rolled off him in waves. I gathered him close, hugging him tightly and kissing him back just as hard.
“I love you,” he whispered, not lifting his lips from mine. As though he was afraid I’d disappear. He sniffled, and I pulled back to wipe the tears from his face.
“Don’t cry, baby.”
“They’re happy tears. I wanted you to stay so badly . But I would never ask. I was hoping you’d see it yourself but then you didn’t say anything and the job offer—” He stopped short, as though he realized he was babbling. A quick breath and he went on, “And yes, I want to work with you. But we have to lay down some ground rules.”
He pulled back, straightened his spine, and gave a hard stare. Or tried to anyway. The smile broke through a second later.
I nodded, putting on my Marine face so he’d know I was taking this seriously. “Hit me.”
“I’m the boss.”
I quirked my lips. “I take orders well.”
He snorted at that. “If either of us needs a break from being around each other all the time, all we have to do is say. No questions asked.”
“Solid plan.” I wouldn’t need it. But if he did, I could make myself scarce, no problem.
“And…actually, I can’t think of anything else. Except negotiations are always on the table. We have to talk to each other.”
I didn’t point out that’s what I’d been trying to do earlier and he’d been the one to walk away. I was a grown up like that. I just nodded and agreed. “That’s a given.”
“Good. Yes. All right.” He grabbed my hand and tugged me toward the door. I went without resistance.
“Where are we going?”
“Home.” He looked at me over his shoulder and all I saw were his dilated pupils. I swallowed hard. “I love you. I need you.”
I gasped. “But it’s a workday.”
He laughed and pulled harder. I picked up my pace. “I’m the boss, remember?”