Around the World in 80 Men Series: Books 11-20 (6 page)

“Fin!”
Her head shot up and she suddenly knew exactly what had happened,
the big Scot took it with him and he was probably planning to have
some expensive jewel soldered to the chain right next to Sean's
sheep. It wasn't exactly good news, but it felt better than thinking
that she had lost it otherwise. “You're in so much trouble!”
She shook her head and laughed as she finally left her room.

When
she went downstairs, Morgan was more than happy to see that breakfast
was being served already. She sat her bags next to her and took
advantage of the free food before checking out. While she devoured an
egg and cheese sandwich, the girl took the opportunity to check the
itinerary that Julianne had sent while she was in the shower.

“Let's
see. I'll leave beautiful Miami at seven-sixteen....two and a half
hours to Chicago...not bad. Eh, another two and a half hours of
layover?” The girl had come to hate layovers. If all of them
were cut out of the equation, her traveling time would be so much
more pleasant. Considering she had fallen asleep early the night
before and had missed Finlay's call, she already planned the time to
call her friends. “Then,” she continued talking to
herself, “another two hours to get to Winnipeg. I'll be there
around two...”

“Would
you like more coffee?” A short woman hovered over Morgan, which
made the girl nearly drop her phone at the sound of the surprise
voice.

“Yes,
please, to-go. I'll also need a taxi called, thank you,” Morgan
told her.

The
woman returned a few minutes later with the coffee and the
confirmation that the taxi was called and should arrive in a couple
of minutes. Morgan thanked her again, checked out, then met with the
fresh morning air outside. As promised, the taxi showed up and Morgan
climbed inside with a silent goodbye to the beautiful city.
Goodbye,
Jake. Goodbye, Miami.
She giggled quietly as she wondered if Jake
was already out running on the beach somewhere.
Probably.

*****

Morgan,
I've told my family about you, so here's what you need to know. I did
business in Ohio back in April. You are a waitress and that's how we
met. We hit it off and blah, blah, blah. We'll work out the rest.
Just in case one of my family members mention it before we get the
chance to talk. Also, remember I haven't proposed to you yet, so
don't mention our engagement. Tyler.

Morgan
smiled to herself as she read Tyler's text message. It was layover
and she had just gotten off the phone, okay, voice mail, with Finlay.
She felt guilty for having missed her Scot's call, but there wasn't
time to think about that. She had to prepare herself for girlfriend
mode. His plan was perfect because it was mostly true. “How
crazy is that!?”

Thanks
for the heads up. Sounds great. . Looking forward to your proposal.
Morgan.
She'd wait and tell him the irony of really being from
Ohio and really being a waitress later.

A
few minutes passed and another text came through.
Perfect. Big
storm coming in, have to cut some fire wood. See you in a few hours.
“We're going to have the best fake relationship that ever
existed!” Morgan laughed again and stored her phone back into
her bag.

*****

Before
Morgan got off the plane, she took a moment to don her sweater and
the coat. Just looking out the little window of the plane made her
cold.
I hope you cut extra wood, because we're having extra fires.
In a few minutes, she was off the plane and finding her way to
baggage claim.

“There
you are! Come here, baby!” Tyler's baby turned around, making
sure that it was her future fiance that was bellowing behind her.

Oh
shit! Oh my god! He's fucking huge! Oh...wow...I love my freaking
job!
“Hi sweetie!” Morgan ended her search for the
bright pink bags, and ran toward the mass of red and white plaid that
was quickly approaching. When he picked her up at least two feet off
the ground, she squealed in laughter as she clung tightly around his
neck. Morgan also did a quick eye scan of the area, and saw at least
six people smiling at the happy couple. She felt his grip loosen,
and knew that she was being placed back on the floor, so she
whispered quickly in his ear. “Is that your family?” He
nodded slightly as her feet made contact with the white tile.

She
had slid down the front of his body, and ended up still against him,
and his large hands at her hips. When she met his eyes again, she
wasn't able to remember what she was supposed to say, if anything.
They're lighter than Alrik's! And that face. Smile, for the love
of all that's good, just smile....and speak....oh that voice...
She watched his eyes as he took her in, the lightest blue eyes that
she had ever seen in her life. And then, came the smile, the kind of
smile that she thought could knock the pants off of any woman in the
place.
Oh, my very own Paul freaking Bunyan. Good god...I'm
going to...

“Let
me introduce you to everyone.” Tyler stood to her side and led
her to the forming circle of family. “These are my parents,
Gwen and Charlie.” Morgan found her voice, telling them that
she was delighted to meet them both. “And this is my uncle
Matt.” He pointed to the little man in a wheelchair, smiling
wildly at her, with the same incredibly light blue eyes that he
shared with his nephew. Again, she used her best manners with the
old man. “And these are my sisters, Jill and Mackenzie.”
He also announced that the identical looking young women were twins,
which forced Morgan to hold her tongue at a smart ass rebuttal.
“They're on their way to London, but wanted to at least meet
you before they left.” The three woman exchanged greetings,
then goodbyes, as the parents and uncle followed the girls to see
them off, announcing that they would see Morgan back at the house.
“And the last man standing, is my younger brother, Cory.”
Morgan smiled and reached for the teenager's hand, but Cory had a
better greeting in mind.

“Oh!”
She had been lifted off the ground once again, that time by the
rambunctious fifteen year old.

“Alright,
Casanova.” Tyler pulled her from his brother's grip, and the
three laughed nervously as Morgan was placed back on her feet.
“Cory, go with mom and dad, I can get her bags.” The
towering man pushed the younger one away, and turned back to Morgan
when he finally had her alone. “Wow, you're beautiful.
And...thank you!” He was staring at her, open mouthed, when
she giggled and nodded.

“You're
pretty beautiful yourself, and you're welcome.” He closed his
mouth and laughed, it wasn't very often that the bulking man was left
feeling like the teenager that he had just sent away.

He
carried all of her bags, including her carry on which she tried to
insist that she could handle, and they made their way through the
airport, then across the parking lot. The cold that racked Morgan's
small frame was unlike any cold that she had ever felt, not even in
Sweden.

Tyler
yelled over the wind that swept through the large lot. “It's
not usually this cold this time of year, but a storm's moving in.”
She nodded, already being told about the storm several times, and
followed him to the large black pick up that he was putting her bags
into the back of.

She
was happy to see the truck, since it clearly wouldn't fit seven
people inside, because she wanted more time alone with the man to
make sure their stories would jive. She also thought, as she climbed
inside and strapped her seat belt, that she wanted more time with him
so that she could just look at him...a lot.

“In
case you're wondering, the family will meet us back at the house
after the girls' flight leaves.” There it was again, that wide
smile that she was hoping to see. Morgan nodded, and rubbed her
hands together as they pulled out of the lot.

The
ride to his home was only fifteen minutes, but it was plenty of time
to learn all that she needed to know. It was pretty simple, they met
in Ohio when he dined in a restaurant that she worked in. The two of
them dated for the week that he was in town, and they fell in love.
Of course, they had fallen more in love through keeping in touch over
the last six months, and he had reached a point in their relationship
where he wanted his family to meet her.

“I
get it, but I do have a question.” They were pulling onto a
long driveway with trees on either side that hid everything else from
view.

“Why
am I doing this?” His face took on a more serious expression,
and he waited for her nod. “My family is sweet, so I hope this
doesn't come out the wrong way.” He took a deep breath, and
slowed the truck as he continued. “They drive me crazy,
Morgan. I'm the oldest son, and the one that they're counting on
right now to marry and...carry on the family name.” He had
actually stopped the vehicle, then turned in her direction. “We
own fourteen stores in town, and I run almost every single one of
them. I don't have time to find my true love, get married, and have
a house full of kids, but, they don't seem to care about that.”
He looked forward, knowing what was at the end of the driveway.
“It's been pretty bad lately, it's all they seem to talk about.
So...I...”

“You
found a way to buy you some time. Fall in love, propose, then have
your heart broken.” She leaned forward to get his attention,
then waited as he finally looked at her.

“Is
that awful?”

“Awful?
It's freaking genius!” Her laughter filled the truck, and his
could have filled the entire
outback
. “Come on, let's
get ready to get you off the hook. Oh, and when I'm done breaking
your heart, they'll probably leave you alone for at least another
year!”

When
they drove the final stretch of the mile long driveway, Morgan's
laughter came to an abrupt end. Her eyes not only landed on the
enormous white mansion standing front and center, but across the
surrounding acreage and the four mini mansions that were obviously
part of the entire estate.

Morgan
wasn't sure why she felt relieved, but she did when they drove past
the main home, and pulled onto a smaller driveway that led to the
furthest home from the front.

Chapter
Six

“Why
are there so many homes?” Morgan asked before getting out of
the truck. Talking in the cold wind wasn't an option. She could
barely breathe, let alone form words.

Tyler
explained to her about the multiple homes. He said that his
great-great grandfather had built the first one after the first
family business took off. Then his boys had needed a home so they
just added to it. “That's just how things were done, you know?”
I know, just keep talking...

“Well,
as it would go, those four boys had wives and children, so the home
grew more and their children's children...” he continued
explaining.

“I
see,” Morgan nodded. She didn't understand why the family still
continued to live that way instead of moving on, but after another
look at the homes, she could understand why. They were beautiful,
each of them.

“We've
done a bit of remodeling, of course.” Tyler smiled and opened
his side of the truck, allowing a frigid gust of wind to sweep
though. “You go on inside, I'll get your bags!”

“Okay!”
Morgan yelled back. She wasn't going to argue. Mr. Bunyan could
handle her bags. She jumped out of the truck and ran for it, cursing
with each step in regard to the coldness. “Shit, shit, shit,
shit...fuck you!”

It
was the kind of cold that could instantly anger someone. The kind of
cold that made Morgan wonder why anyone would choose to live there.
One thing that she did know was that smoke was rising from the
ceiling and her first order of business was to discover where it was
coming from.

She
didn't have to look hard to find out. When she walked into the front
door, and after catching her balance on the slick floor, Morgan saw
what she was looking for; the grand fireplace in which she was
already planning her love affair with. “We're going to be great
friends!” The girl didn't even take a moment to look around,
she went over to the roaring fire in the large brick cave and sat
herself on the thick rug, merely inches from the licking flames.

The
chattering of her teeth had slowed down considerably by the time her
lumberjack came through the front door and Morgan was grateful. There
was no way she could have had a normal conversation with all of that
going on. “I see you've found the warmth,” Tyler pointed
out, and again, Morgan had to hold back a smart reply. Instead she
nodded and hugged herself more tightly.
A blanket would be nice.
Like you. Come 'ere and cover me with your body. Bring me those big
arms and wr...