Epilogue - Morgan #3
Then he saw the crowd of people and hurried over.
“What’s going on?” he asked, then he hugged Mabel. “Hi, Mabel. Why aren’t you inside? It’s getting cold.”
“They all want to come inside,” Morgan said in his best I’m-on-my-last-nerve voice. “All of them at the same time.”
“We can make more coffee,” Jack said, and in his eyes was an earnest desire to fix whatever was wrong before Morgan got himself into trouble by saying something rude. Saying it loudly.
Morgan hated to think that Jack had ever had to worry about him behaving badly simply because he was out of sorts. He’d turned over a new leaf, and he was going to keep it that way so he never had to see that expression on Jack’s face ever again.
“Hey,” Morgan said. He tugged on Jack’s sleeve to pull him closer. “I have a surprise for you.”
“A surprise?” Jack asked, the happy rise in his voice telling Morgan that Jack was already pleased no matter what it turned out to be. Just one of the reasons Morgan loved him so much. “Where?”
Morgan pointed a finger to the sky. A growly sound rose in the cold air. Jack’s eyes widened as he looked around. The group of people, which numbered near thirty, stepped back as Ty drove the bright, shiny, and powerfully red truck into the clear space right in front of the front doors and parked.
Jack could hardly look at it, and he turned to Morgan as though something were dreadfully wrong. With Morgan. Because he was more focused on Morgan than anything else.
“This is for you,” Morgan said.
Ty got out of the truck. He left it running, left the door open, like an invitation, just as Morgan had asked. The people from town, the ones Jack knew and the ones he didn’t, all sighed in unison, a low, soft hush of delight.
“What is?” Jack asked.
“The truck,” Morgan said, pointing. “That truck.”
“But that truck belongs to that guy.”
“That’s Ty,” Morgan said. “He’s one of Gus’s ranch hands. I bought the truck for you and Ty was kind enough to drive it here.”
“For me?” Jack’s eyes grew shiny as he gestured to himself, as though surely this was a mistake. “Me.”
Which wasn’t quite the response Morgan had been expecting. Not at all.
“You need your own truck,” Morgan said. “I got you one. Hope it’s okay. Hope red is a good color for a truck.”
Ty came close and handed Morgan the key fob, which meant that Morgan could be the one to place the fob in Jack’s hand. He folded Jack’s fingers over the fob, and realized Jack was trembling. As though completely undone. As though a shiny red truck was the last thing he could ever want.
But then, Jack surprised Morgan, as he always seemed to do. He launched himself at Morgan, threw his hands around Morgan’s neck, and curled close, burying his face, his breath was warm on Morgan’s neck.
“You shouldn’t have,” Jack said, just about whispering. “What about the windows?”
“You mean more to me than windows,” Morgan said, kissing the top of Jack’s head. Jack’s bare head because, of course, he’d gone without his tuque, as usual.
“We’ll freeze.”
“We’ll cuddle.”
Morgan looked up, his eyes hot because he was about to cry. Because he could feel Jack’s tears against his neck. As he looked, he saw Mabel wiping her eyes with a lace-edged handkerchief. And knew that if he didn’t pull it together quickly, he’d be bawling.
He’d make a fool of himself if he did that—or maybe not. Maybe being all manly and strong and I-don’t-care wasn’t who he needed to be anymore.
“Damn it, Jack,” Morgan said and he took his hand from around Jack’s waist and scrubbed at his eyes.
Everyone saw but he just about couldn’t care because it made Jack laugh. Made Jack look up at him with shiny eyes, his smile growing wide as Mabel came up and hugged Morgan hard, and then she hugged Jack.
And then everyone came up, almost in a rush, as though there was something about that moment they wanted to partake in. Their own joy in the moment that they wanted to share.
Morgan became the recipient of many hugs, and claps on the back, and handshakes. And Jack never left his side. Not even with the shiny red truck so close at hand, its engine growling, showing off, and those snow tires ready to grip the road and take Jack to all the places he’d ever wanted to go.
Now, Morgan was full-out crying, tears on his cheeks, and he couldn’t bring himself to care. Or to mind when Mabel reached up to wipe his face with her handkerchief.
“For Pete’s sake,” Morgan said. He took the handkerchief from her and waved at the front door, and said, “Everyone, thank you for coming and for celebrating with us. There’s plenty of coffee inside, and treats both from the market and the Bean There.
Help yourselves, okay? And let’s get inside before we freeze. ”
Which is what they did. Morgan followed them inside. The feed and grain had never been so full of people, at least not since he’d arrived in town. And they seemed to know their way right to the coffee corner, and didn’t need his help. Which was when Morgan realized that Jack was still outside.
Morgan went back outside, and walked straight up to Jack. Who was standing like a statue, the key fob in his gloved hand as he stared at the truck. Which was still running.
“Shall we try it out?” Morgan asked.
Jack gestured silently at the store. At the idea that they had guests.
“They won’t miss us.” Morgan shook his head, because though he was quite sure they might be missed by some, for a short while, long enough for Jack and him to take a spin in Jack’s new toy, they would be excused. And they would be well-loved and well-welcomed upon their return.
“How fast can it go?” asked Jack as he walked with long strides toward the driver’s side. “How fast can I go?”
Morgan clambered in, well, climbed in was a better description, and buckled himself in. Shut the door with a satisfying clunky.
“As fast as you like,” Morgan said as Jack buckled himself in. He found the Jesus handle and gripped it tightly. “But if you see Young Tommy and his deputy—”
“I’ll wave and hit the gas and see if they can keep up.
” Jack laughed, throwing his head back as he took off the parking break, put the truck in drive, and pressed his foot to the gas.
And sped out of the parking lot so fast, they skidded on a bit of ice before thumping over the curb and onto the road.
When Jack turned the truck onto the main road leading to the highway, he pressed the gas even harder, and the truck almost flew as it leapt into action. When the tires gripped the road once again, the winter-bare, snow-flecked fields along the roadside became a blur.
They were going too fast, but Morgan would rather grip the handle harder than tell Jack to slow down. Jack could go as fast as he liked, and the joy on his face was enough for Morgan.
They’d be home soon enough, with chores, and responsibilities, and bills to pay, and windows to board up. For now, they had this. Speed. The dove-gray sky as it sank toward the earth. The smell of snow in the air. Flecks of white, that while now timid, would become a fury before too long.
And this was life. This was their life. Theirs to keep for as long as they wanted it.
The End