35. Chapter Thirty-Five #2
Morgan spotted Gracie playing jump rope with a couple of town kids.
She was wearing a frilly pink party dress and had her black hair in her usual pigtails with pink ribbons trailing from them.
Doug had really upped his game being a single-girl-dad, mastering pigtails and hair accessories in the past six months.
Morgan was impressed. It also served as a reminder that maybe Doug and Gracie didn’t need her as much as she thought they did.
There was both a feeling of sadness and relief as she realized that.
She loved helping them, but she also wanted her own life.
Gracie must have felt eyes on her, because she looked over at them. She grinned when she saw her aunt, and Morgan couldn’t help but smile back.
“Aunty Morgan! Mr. Pinecone Man!” Gracie called as she ran over.
That definitely caught Doug’s attention.
He had his back to them, and he’d been chatting with William from Corner Pieces Bakery.
He turned to face her after Gracie called her name.
His eyes found Cody, and then he clearly noticed the hand holding, but he stayed where he was and started talking to William again.
Morgan shook it off and focused on Gracie. “Happy birthday, Gracie!” She handed over the gift bag and Gracie thanked her before giving her a big hug.
“Daddy says you’ve been sick,” Gracie said. “Are you okay now?”
“I’m starting to feel better, yes.” She gave Gracie a reassuring smile. The little girl took the gift bag and skipped away. She deposited it on the picnic table where all the other gifts were before heading back to play with the other kids.
Despite the uneasy feeling that Doug’s look had given her, Morgan felt surprisingly okay.
She probably needed this, a reason to leave the cottage, or else she never would have left Cody’s bedroom.
She was worried she was going to feel like an outsider for the rest of her life, because none of these people knew about the horrible thing she’d done.
There was the Morgan before she stabbed a girl, and the ‘Morgan After’, and she was still figuring out who the Morgan After was.
Cody squeezed her hand. “You good?”
She looked up at him, her rock, and her heart swelled with how much she loved him.
She had absolutely no clue how she would be faring if he hadn’t taken care of her the past few days.
Well, not good, probably. But with him, she felt she could do this.
Face the day. Go to the birthday party. Get back to her everyday life. “I’m feeling better than expected.”
It wasn’t long before Doug sauntered over. He wasn’t glowering, but he didn’t look pleased, either. “Morgan? A word. Alone.”
She sighed, but Cody let her hand slip free.
She followed Doug into his cottage, where they could have some privacy in the kitchen.
Doug leaned up against the counter, so she stayed standing, crossing her arms over her chest. From her vantage point, she could see out the kitchen window, where Cody was now chatting with Lexi, who was looking really cute in a strappy black sundress.
Morgan felt a tiny flare of jealousy, but tried to push it away and turned her focus to Doug: “Yes?”
“So, you and Cody.”
“Yes. I love him and he loves me. So, whatever you were prepared to say, just…save it. We’re together and you’re going to have to be an adult and deal with it.”
Doug nodded, showing no emotion on his face. “And you were sick for a few days? What was that about? You okay?”
“Some crazy stuff happened and I needed some time on my own. I don’t feel like talking about it right now.” She was pretty sure she’d never feel comfortable talking about it with anyone but Cody.
“So, you’re pregnant already?” Doug asked matter-of-factly.
“What? No!” Morgan said, although she did feel some excitement at the thought of having babies with Cody one day. But that was one day, and definitely not today.
“He’s good to you?” Doug asked.
“The best.”
“And he’s not going to ghost you again and break your heart?”
“No,” Morgan said forcefully. “He’s not.”
“But if he does, you realize I will hunt him down this time and kick his ass.”
Morgan shook her head. “That’s not happening.”
She looked out the window and something pink caught her eye, and it wasn’t Gracie or any of the little girls in their party clothes.
It was her. She was tall, elegant, and wearing a full-length pink dress.
Her long pink hair was flowing down her back in gentle waves.
That weird white parrot was sitting on her shoulder, as usual.
She was holding a paper cup, waltzing around the cottage’s yard as if she was welcome there.
“Why the fuck is the gift shop lady here?” Morgan asked, pointing out the window.
Doug turned to take a look. “Oh, Temica? I invited her.”
“You invited her? Why?”
“She’s part of the town and her shop is right across the street from the Food Mart.” Doug shrugged. “Why wouldn’t I invite her? Nearly everyone else is here.”
Morgan looked at Temica, who just waved at Bob, and then Morgan looked back to her brother. “Are you into her?”
Doug laughed and shook his head. “Of course not. I am not remotely ready to jump back into the dating scene. Not sure if I ever will be. I thought it’d be a nice, neighborly thing to do, that’s all. I thought you liked her. You've bought clothes from her shop, haven’t you?”
“No, I do not like her, I fucking hate her. And you need to ask her to leave. Now.”
“What? Did she hit on Cody or something? Are you jealous?”
“No, but she’s a bitch.” Morgan stormed out of the cottage, her brother close behind.
Cody must have noticed Temica just as Morgan was exiting the cottage, because he was already making a beeline for the goddess bitch. He reached her first.
“You!” Cody pointed at Temica. “What the hell do you think you’re doing here?”
Temica looked past Cody to where Doug and Morgan were approaching. “The birthday girl’s father invited me.”
Morgan made it to Cody and quickly clasped his hand in hers. “You’re uninvited,” she told Temica.
Temica’s eyes looked down to where Morgan was holding Cody’s hand, before flicking back to her face. “You’ve been putting up an admirable fight for your man. The meal I had the other day: scrumptious. In fact, I’m still licking up plenty of crumbs, waiting for my next big meal.”
“The buffet is over,” Cody said. “And I’m pretty sure I’ve said this before, but get the fuck out of here.”
“Language,” Doug scolded and Morgan squeezed Cody’s hand again, silently reprimanding him.
“Oh, I’m sticking around at least until you finish our little game, maybe longer,” Temica said. “We’ll see.”
“This is my party!” Gracie shouted, startling Morgan. She hadn’t even noticed the little girl joining them. “And you’re weird. And I don’t even know you. And my Aunty Morgan and Mr. Pinecone Man don’t like you. I want you to leave.”
“Gracie,” Doug said. “That’s not very nice. I invited Miss Temica.”
Gracie looked up at her dad, a stubborn scowl on her cute face. “Please ask her to leave, Daddy.”
“It’s fine,” Temica said sweetly. “I’ll do as the birthday girl requests.”
The goddess bitch swept up her gown dramatically and gracefully walked away.