Around the World in 80 Men Boxed Set 31-35 (11 page)

“He
was going to fucking kill your ass, I know! Be fucking mad, Stick! Be
all the mad you want!” Angel yelled loudly and Julianne ran
into the room to see them both crying in Morgan's bed.

Julianne
began to walk in their direction, but Angel yelled again. “Don't
you fucking dare tell her to stop! She can
yell...cry...scream...talk...run....or stand the hell up on this bed,
shake her ass and do the maca-fuckin'-rena!” Angel dared
Julianne to speak again with just a look, and Julianne finally
understood. If it had been her in that situation, she would probably
also need to scream it out and curse the entire universe.

Morgan's
mind wasn't absorbing anything right then. It only wanted to release
all that had been secured for the past several days. “Fucking
bastard! He beat me! He fucking beat me! He left me...to...die!”
Morgan's face had turned a deep red, so much so that Angel began to
worry until she took a few deep breaths. Then, he did what he had to
do.

Angel
jumped off the bed and stood next to Morgan as he took her hand in
his. “He did, baby girl. He did all of that shit. And you know
what? He fucking lost! You're here, Stick! You're fucking here, safe,
with me. Do you hear me? You won, and he fucking lost!” Morgan
watched his tears flow freely down his cheeks, and saw the beads of
sweat flirt with the perfect curls that swayed around his face when
he spoke. She focused on the last of his words.

“He
lost.” It sounded like a question at first, and Angel nodded.
“He lost.” He smiled and nodded again. “He tried to
beat me, and he lost!” Angel put his arms around Morgan's neck,
and hugged her as tightly as he could without hurting her. She sobbed
against his shoulder, and Julianne left the room.

Morgan,
although she didn't realize it at the time, had truly began to heal
in that moment. She needed someone to tell her that she was right,
that something terrible happened. She needed to hear that that
someone was angry about it, and that it was wrong. All she had heard
up to that point was that
everything would be alright
and that
she was going to be alright. She didn't want sugar coating, or
niceties, she wanted truth.

“
Is
he....did you see him? Is he..?” Angel couldn't answer her
question, but he told her all that he knew.

“Finny
dealt with him, Stick. I don't know anything more than that, I
promise.” Angel whispered the words into her ear, and she
nodded. She knew immediately that if Finlay had anything to do with
Carlos, then he certainly wouldn't have told Angel about it. That was
something she intended to ask him as soon as possible.

Angel
wiped the tears and sweat from his face, then did the same for
Morgan. In his hand, his fingers tightened around something small,
something that he'd removed from Morgan's bed when he got in. He
opened his hand and looked down, knowing instantly that it was
Finlay's gift for her. He smiled and handed it over. “Here,
Boo. This is from, Finny Dip.” Morgan took it, and brought it
up to her chest.

It
was another charm. It was a bit larger than the rest, and was solid
white gold. “A Phoenix.” It's head was to the side, and
wings were spread above, touching its wings at the tips. The only
color had been the eye, which was a green emerald.

Morgan's
eyes filled with tears when she turned it over and read the tiny
words that were beautifully engraved. “Like the Phoenix, you
rise from the ashes. Your skies will always be clear.”

*****

Tanner
left the post office and ran a hand into his long hair. It was windy,
and he kept his hand on top of his head until he climbed into his
car. He hoped Anthony would get the package soon, at least in time
for his birthday. It had been five weeks, and the man was making a
miraculous recovery, and Tanner had made a lifetime friend.

It
took only a few minutes to get home, and Tanner smiled at the sight
of the three kangaroos huddled near his porch as he pulled into his
driveway. “I don't like the wind either, mates.” He
walked past them without hesitation and pulled out his phone as he
sat down on the porch swing. A quick message to Elena told her to be
on the lookout for the package, and Tanner slid his phone back into
his pocket.

He
closed his eyes, feeling the moisture in the air. It was going to
rain, and the feeling took him back to that day, over a month prior.
The day Anthony saved his life, was one Tanner would never forget. He
had walked over to Anthony's lifeless body and dropped to his knees
as the first drops had begun to fall from the sky. Lightning flashed
and thunder cracked all around him, but his whispered
thank you
for the sacrifice Anthony made had not gone unheard.

“
Is
the fucker dead?” Tanner remembered Anthony's words like they
happened yesterday, and he laughed to himself. The largest of the
kangaroos stirred by Tanner's laugh, and the other two followed
behind as the large male disappeared into the woods.

Anthony
had been alive. Barely. He had given Tanner his phone, and told him
who to call. By the time the medical team arrived, Tanner had carried
Anthony all the way back up the cliff, despite being nearly washed
away by the flash flood of the creek. It had been his turn to repay
the favor.

By
that night, Elena and Tanner had found out that the bullet had missed
all major organs, and Anthony was lucky to be alive. The next
morning, Anthony was in critical, but stable condition. Tanner stayed
in Costa Rica the entire week, taking turns with Elena and Rudy to
sleep.

Tanner
grew close to Elena that week as well, and the two had promised to
never tell Morgan what happened that night. It was better off that
she knew as little as possible, and they agreed to keep it that way.

When
Morgan had called a week after the incident, finally telling him what
had happened, it was easy for Tanner to pretend she was the first one
to tell him.

Tanner
stood and walked to the edge of his porch. The ominous clouds had
moved past his home without so much as a drop and a few rays of sun
poked through, shining on his grass. “The sky is clear.”

Chapter
Eleven

Morgan
drove for hours through the familar streets of Canton. It was only
the third time that she'd left the hotel beyond the corner cafe or
the drug store three blocks away. Healing had taken up much of her
time, physically and mentally. That morning, Julianne didn't argue
the fact that Morgan needed some time alone, even more so, some time
to see for herself if she were ready to be back in the world alone.

She
drove along a small gravel road that she'd walked many times as a
child. It was also the same place that she'd had her very first kiss.
Brian Grayson, the thirteen year old boy who had walked her home from
school one afternoon as summer was about to begin.

“I
like you.” Those were the only flirtatious words spoken by the
boy, but it was enough to get Morgan to stand still for a hard peck
on the lips. He never spoke to her after that day, but when they'd
see one another in school the following year, a small knowing smile
would spread across their lips as if they carried the secret to life
in their young minds. Morgan's smile, just as when she was thirteen,
took hold of her entire face as she parked the car and got out.
“Those were sweet moments.”

She
looked up to the very top of the pine trees that lined the small road
and closed her eyes as the morning air blew her hair from her
shoulders. Yes, it had been years since she'd been back to her home
that she shared with her grandmother, and she realized in that moment
that it had been far too long. She opened her eyes and looked through
the trees to the front yard. It was almost as if she could hear her
own laughter as Gran chased her with the garden hose on the hottest
summer days. She leaned against the skinny trunk of a small tree and
wrapped her arms through the branches. Morgan had a thought of
climbing it, like she'd done with every other tree on the property,
but released her grip at the reminder that she would most likely hurt
herself. “Again.”

Slowly,
she walked the rest of the driveway and stopped in front of the small
old house. Surprisingly, it didn't look much different than it had
when she left. It was only days after losing her Gran, and as far as
she knew, it had never been lived in since.

Morgan
had been told to leave directly after the funeral by a no nonsense
lawyer. The man told her that she would be permitted to pack one
suitcase full of possessions, and vacate that afternoon. The lawyer,
as it turned out, was a distant cousin of her grandmother. The man
wanted the property, all thirty acres of it, and tried his best
through the courts to take it. Morgan had no idea that the man had
lost, nor did she know that it had all been left to her. Not that it
was worth much in its current state, on paper that is, but it would
have been worth everything to Morgan if she had known.

She
stood on the front porch of her previous home, still wondering what
would become of it, and dared to take a look inside. Through the
large front window, her eyes scanned every piece of furniture that
had been left behind. It was as if it had been untouched, and her
tears fell instantly at the realization that her whole life had been
left and forgotten within the old walls of that house.

“You're
a peeping Tom, now..huh?” Morgan jumped and turned at the
voice, then slapped Cade hard on his arm. She was in no mood for
company, and was angry that he had followed her. “Hey, calm
down. Julianne asked me to keep an eye on you, you know how she is.”
Morgan nodded and wiped the rest of her tears away.

“Doesn't
mean you had to scare the hell out of me.” Cade joined her in
front of the window and looked in. He had no idea who's home it was,
or why Morgan was there, but he was careful with his words as he
wanted to ask why she was there. Why she would want to see a broken
down old home. What he did ask, however, was who it belonged to. “So,
who are we spying on?” He cupped his hands around his eyes and
looked around the dusty living room. Morgan sighed, and leaned
against the wooden banister.

“I
don't know. I mean,” she stood and stepped towards him,
stopping to look inside once again, “I grew up here. But after
my Gran died, I don't know who moved in. If...anyone.” It still
didn't make sense as to why all of their things were still there.
Cade laughed and pulled his phone out.

“That's
an easy one.” He clicked a name in his phone and left the porch
while adding, “my old man works for the county, he can look it
up.” Cade didn't care who lived there, but he did care about
Morgan and it must have been important to her. Morgan spoke a soft
word of thanks to his back as he left the porch, and she finally
walked to the front door. Her hand shook as she reached for the knob,
and her fingers squeezed the metal for several seconds before
attempting to turn it.

It
opened. The door creaked as she gently pushed it, and a puff of dust
moved along her feet when fresh air met the neglected silent room.
She took one step and was in the tiny foyer before she could think
about her next move. Morgan stood still, memories crashing around her
of the thousands of times she ran down the stairs, to sitting on the
floor in front of the fire, to being lured into the kitchen by the
aroma of some amazing treat coming out of the oven. Her eyes closed
as she allowed images of her grandmother to fill her mind. “I
miss you.”

“You
don't have to miss it, Sunshine. It's yours.”

Morgan
turned quickly to Cade, who was standing in the doorway with one arm
propped on the frame. “Mine?”
“That's what he
said. Morgan Holland, owns this home.” Cade stepped inside and
walked over to the handrail along the steps and ran one finger across
it. “Looks like ya have some work to do.” He held his
dusty finger up and Morgan nodded. It was overwhelming. She wanted to
cry, she wanted to laugh, she wanted to sit down on that dirty floor
and look at pictures of how it used to be. It was a mix of emotions.
Everything was still there. Every last thing.

“I
don't even know what to say. I thought I lost this forever.”
Finally, the tears fell and she wiped them quickly. She wanted to see
her old bedroom, and climbed the stairs slowly, closing her eyes at
each familiar creek. It all brought her back to that time in her
life.

As
she reached the top, she was nearly out of breath, but she managed to
walk the rest of the way to her room. Her body still had a dull ache,
but it had become more of an annoyance than anything. She knew, one
day she would wake up and not even feel the pain anymore.